JETS WEEK: OFFENSE

I'm thrilled the Jets have Brett Favre as their quarterback this year. But the significant improvement the 2008 Jets will show over the 2007 version might be due a lot more to the person on the right side of this picture than the guy on the left.

That's Alan Faneca, and his name, along with a couple of other new ones on the offensive side of the ball, would have helped the team improve even if the quarterback wasn't named Brett Favre.

But that is the quarterback's name, so let's break down the Jets offense, as they head into their season opener on Sunday in Miami.

QB: Brett Favre is not as good as his numbers last year indicated. But he's still a great quarterback, and a different type of quarterback than what the Jets have had the past six years. He can throw the ball downfield and at a high velocity - two things that haven't been part of the Jets' gameplan recently. Of course, there's a higher risk factor than there has been as well, since Chad Pennington didn't turn the ball over very much....but in the end this is an upgrade, and it makes certain players better.

RB: One such person is running back Thomas Jones. Jones is coming off an OK season - he did have more than 1,000 yards, but only 2 rushing touchdowns. I think he'll break free more often this year in part because of the downfield threat that Favre brings to the table, but also because of fullback Tony Richardson, who has blocked in front of a number of very good running backs in his career (who probably wouldn't have done as well had he not been there). Jones and backups like Leon Washington will also benefit from a revamped:

Offensive Line: Youngsters Nick Mangold and D'Brickashaw Ferguson have had an up year and a down year. I didn't realize it at the time, but their up year was definitely aided by the veteran presence of Pete Kendall, who then left the Jets in an ugly contract dispute. This year, there's another veteran presence, with the additions of Faneca and Damien Woody alongside those two and Brandon Moore. Chad Pennington and Kellen Clemens had no shot last year because there was no stopping the opposition's pass rush. Thomas Jones, as a result of the passing game, had no shot of getting significant yardage. You can realistically expect all of that to change this year because the Jets will have a legitimate offensive line, unless Mangold and Ferguson take a big step backward.

Receivers: Laveranues Coles and Jerricho Cotchery, as I've written before, seem very similar to the targets Brett Favre is used to from Green Bay. They can pick up a lot of yards after the catch. What they haven't had much opportunity to do over the years is outrun defenders for bombs, but in the pre-season it seems like Cotchery and Brad Smith have had those opportunities, and done well with them. (Although I can't help but think about how good Santana Moss would look running down Favre rainbows.) The biggest stumbling block for the Jets' receivers might be for Coles to get over the fact that his friend Pennington was released to make room for Favre. Once he realizes the Jets have a chance to win a lot more games this year, I think he'll be fine. Tight end Chris Baker might see his playing time reduced by the emergence of rookie Dustin Keller, but I think the tight end position will be a strength this year as well...or, at the very least, a popular target for Favre.

WHAT THE....?

At what point in the trade process did it become clear that this was going to happen?
Because I'm pretty sure, based on the look on his face while Mayor Bloomberg was reading scripted notes that the mayor clearly did not understand, had he known about it in advance, Brett Favre would have nixed the entire deal.

What an awkward situation. A Metrocard? To go where? Why don't we save this City Hall stuff for after Favre wins a Super Bowl (an occasion he's now prepped for, with an empty key ring in anticipation of a key to the city)...or at least a playoff game. For now, let him get the heck to practice, please.

WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?: Chad Pennington took the high road out of town, which for him is the only road there is. "I've learned a lot, become a better professional and a better man because of my experience and my time in New York," he said. He'll have a positive impact on whichever team picks him up - even if he doesn't have a good statistical year. Wherever he goes, I'll be keeping a close eye on him and keeping you aware as well.

AN UPDATE

I haven't intentionally been ignoring the Jets blog. It's just that there's so much going on with the Mets, and as excited as I am about football season, there are other things happening in life: i.e. the impending birth of my first child, getting new curriculum ready for the school year, and there's not much to write about out of Jets camp, thanks to Eric Mangini's secrecy.

But there are a couple of things to note. Chad Pennington is back to his old self, I guess. He's throwing the ball well, and has all but won the starting quarterback job back, which is very exciting. That alone gives Jets fans hope that the Jets might not be as bad as everyone thinks - Pennington knows how to win. I'll leave it at that.

He also has some help in the backfield. Though Curtis Martin looks more and more like he'll be sitting out the year (if not forever), the Jets have a bunch of options in the backfield. I love Cedric Houston, and would have loved to see him take the starting job, but the Jets gave lots of looks to Leon Washington and Derrick Blaylock. Then they went out and traded for Kevan Barlow, who they feel confident has turned around the problems (mostly with conforming) he's had in the past. Eric Mangini said they looked into his background enough to feel like they're getting a character guy, which is important for the Jets. Mangini even went so far to compare Barlow to Bryan Cox, with the Jets in the late '90's, when Mangini was a coffee boy for the coaching staff.

How has this turned out? Well, Barlow has already compared his former coach in San Francisco to Hitler. So, not too well. And he says Mike Nolan, as a first year guy, tried to be too much of a dictator. Think that concerns Mangini at all? It concerns me.

So we'll see how Barlow turns out. If the Jets were to deal for a running back, I would have rather seen them deal Justin McCareins for T.J. Duckett, said to be in the works over the weekend. I like Duckett, and McCareins is in Mangini's doghouse for some reason, so I don't know how effective he'll be for the team (unless a Bill Parcells-esque motivation technique being used by Mangini). The Falcons, Broncos, and Redskins worked out a 3-way deal on Tuesday sending Duckett to Washington and Ashley Lelie to the Falcons. FANTASY ALERT: I wonder how the Redskins getting Duckett affects the season of Clinton Portis...maybe he's more injured than we thought.

So that's where my thoughts on the Jets are at. Maybe I'll write more during the pre-season, maybe I won't write until the regular season. I'll try to keep you posted on the Mets blog.

I was expecting to have more e-mails to answer, but I just have this one, from good ol' Dave in Brighton:

"Dear JohnnyJets,

What's the latest on the Curtis Martin situation? Do you think the Jets should have drafted a RB higher in April? (I heard that Martin actually suggested they do so, because he has concerns over his own health.)

Do you like Leon Washington? Is he good enough to be an NFL starter? If not, what's the trade market like?

If you were going to do a fantasy football draft, would you draft Martin as a late-round sleeper?

Signed,
Dave in Brighton"

I pretty much addressed all of those questions above, except the last one, to which the answer is an emphatic "NO!".

There's this one from Dave, too, which has been in the inbox for a while, I guess:

"Dear JohnnyJets,

Good to see you didn't hold out of camp this season.

You wrote on Sunday that each of the Jets QBs is getting equal reps in practice. Do you think this irks Pennington? He doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would complain (I could hear him saying something like "I have a lot to prove this year, and I'm ready to go out and prove it."), but he can't be happy about it.

And kind of as a follow up, what's your read on Kellen Clemens. Were his parents big fans of Roger? Is that why they gave him a weird name that starts with K?

--Dave in Brighton"

I think the equal reps thing irked Pennington a little, but you're right, he's not the type of guy to complain. I bet he used it as extra motivation, and Jets fans will reap the benefits this year. Maybe Kellen Clemens is an illegitimate child of Roger. Maybe all "K" Clemens are. It might be like a secret society.

I'd like to do a spread-pick-'em pool this year on the site with all 5 of my readers....but I don't think, with the baby and all, I'll have time to make comments on each of the games. So maybe I'll set up a yahoo! or espn free league, where we pick the games vs. the spread, and the winner gets a yet-to-be-created t-shirt (I haven't made a johnnyjets one yet). E-mail me with thoughts and level of interest, please.

NEW ERA

Day One of Training Camp has come and gone, and the Jets' new era is underway. It's going to be tough for fans and media, because Eric Mangini is from the Bill Parcells/Bill Belichick school of "don't say anything" - it will be tough for us to get complete answers regarding injuries, or pretty much anything else, for that matter.

You know what's really tough - I haven't been able to find anything anywhere about Day One of camp, and specifically how Chad Pennington looked.

Here's where SNY is going to show if it's worth watching. I'm TiVo-ing "Jets Nation" on Saturday. This show was a joke during the off-season - just three guys sitting around and arguing. But the day after the first practice of training camp - it better be comprehensive. If it's not, I don't know if I'll bother watching the rest of the year. So hopefully I'll have more info Saturday.

ROOKIES: D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold, the Jets' first-round draft choices, as well as 2nd round pick Kellen Clemens, are all under contract, which is good. The Jets don't need holdouts hanging over their heads in addition to all their other question marks.

INJURIES: Curtis Martin, Justin McCareins, and Trey Teague were all placed on the Physically Unable to Perform List (the PUP) on Thursday, before the first day of practices. This is more of a formality at this point, meaning that they just can't practice. Once the season begins, the PUP is a bigger deal, because that means the players are inactive for a longer period - like until Week 6. The problem here, though, is that Curtis Martin's knee is still not fully healed from his surgery at the end of last season. Apparently, he was expected back by now. I guess the good news is that he's not going to be rushed back before he's ready...but the bad news is that his career could be coming to an end fast.

I'll be updating periodically throughout training camp - thanks for coming back to the site!

One more day until the first day of training camp...and the Eric Mangini Era.

I spent Tuesday afternoon at Jets training camp. I have to admit, the team didn't look extremely sharp. They almost seemed to be going through the motions, anxious to get practice overwith. The big news of the day was that the Jets had signed Quincy Carter to a one-year deal. He was there, working with the coaches, and stayed after practice to throw a few extra passes. I'm sure this was not the most intense Jets practice of training camp...but I haven't seen any others, so I have nothing to compare it to. Let's just say if the Jets are practicing like this everyday, it's going to be a long season. I have a feeling, though, this was just a tired team (who had the morning off), anxious to get to their third preseason game, and looking forward to the end of training camp. I'm anxious for the regular season - I'm sure these guys are too.

Here's a little of what we saw on Tuesday (Click on the picture to make it bigger, then click "back" on the browser to get back to this page):

JETS4
Originally uploaded by Johnnyjets.

Former Jet Mark Gastineau made an appearance at camp Tuesday, checking out practice from the sideline. He was allowed inside the fence. I was not.

JETS3
Originally uploaded by Johnnyjets.

A good sight: After practice, Jets rookie linebackers Jonathan Vima (l.) and Darrell McClover (r.) put in extra time running wind sprints. The two were teammates at the University of Miami.

Vilma's going to be awesome. McClover - I don't know, but he's got a good work ethic.

JETS3
Originally uploaded by Johnnyjets.

A good sight: After practice, Jets rookie linebackers Jonathan Vima (l.) and Darrell McClover (r.) put in extra time running wind sprints. The two were teammates at the University of Miami.

Vilma's going to be awesome. McClover - I don't know, but he's got a good work ethic.

JETS5
Originally uploaded by Johnnyjets.

Here's a sight that'll get you ready for the season: The Jets first team offense on the field.

The Jets have until next Wednesday to sign Chad Pennington to a long-term deal, or else negotiations have to wait until the end of the season. The Jets NEED to take care of that by next week.

JETS2
Originally uploaded by Johnnyjets.

Herman Edwards (standing) going over to talk to brand-new Jets backup Quarterback, Quincy Carter(sitting and stretching on the right).

Edwards is all about Carter getting a second chance. I really think this is a good move for the Jets, if Carter has his head on straight. More on that in the season preview, coming next week.

JETS1
Originally uploaded by Johnnyjets.

That's Ken-Yon Rambo in the foreground, stretching with the rest of the team. This picture was only put in so you can check out his hair.

JETS6
Originally uploaded by Johnnyjets.

Jets receivers working on a drill. From left, Justin McCareins, Jonathan Carter, Santana Moss, Ken-Yon Rambo, Jerricho Cotchery, and Terrence Stubbs. (I think #9, Matt Dominguez, is hidden behind Cotchery, but he's not making the team anyway.)
I think Moss has been missing a lot of practices thus far, but he practiced at full speed Tuesday and wasn't holding back. I'm sure he'll be ready to go by the regular season.
Noticeably absent - Wayne Chrebet. He's been bothered by injuries all pre-season.