Two-a-Days: 2010 New York Jets

TheSportsWatchers.com wants to get you in shape for the upcoming 2010 NFL season. And in the spirit of training camp season, we are doing two-a-days to get you in gear for each and every NFL team.

The first team of the day is the New York Jets—a team that had one hell of a run at the end of the NFL season, but still has a lot of questions entering the 2010 season. Regardless of the questions surrounding this team, the Jets are expected to be Super Bowl contenders, and we all know how New York handles high expectations. Can the Jets live up to those? We will see.

2009 Recap
The New York Jets ended the 2009 NFL regular season by winning two must-win games, defeating two stand-up playoff teams in the first couple of rounds of the NFL playoffs, and were 30 minutes away from pulling the upset over the eventual AFC Champion Indianapolis Colts. However, despite all of the success the Jets had, they should not have even been in the playoffs. Had the Colts not elected to pull Peyton Manning in Week 16, let’s face it, the Colts probably would have beaten the Jets that game and New York would have been eliminated from the playoffs. While “ifs” aren’t the name of the game, it does put in to perspective just how on the fringe the New York Jets were at the end of last season.

2010 Offseason Transactions
In a temperament befitting of their cantankerous head coach Rex Ryan, the New York Jets went after players in the offseason like a bat out of hell. First, they acquired cornerback Antonio Cromartie, a former San Diego Charger who isn’t too far removed from being an all-pro cornerback when he led the league and interceptions. The Jets didn’t stop their and continued to get better on the perimeter, adding wide receiver Santonio Holmes to their team via a trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Following that trade, news came that Holmes would be suspended for the first four games of the season. During the 2010 NFL Draft, the Jets selected cornerback Kyle Wilson with their first round pick.

2010 NFL Prediction
The New York Jets covered up a lot of wholes by filling out some of their perimeter positions. The acquisition of Cromartie gives the Jets two solid corners on the outside—that’s assuming that Darrelle Revis is not going to hold out this season. That is going to make the Jets defense that much tougher, because now they can ramp up the pressure even more, which should help their mundane 32-sack total from a season ago. Offensively, the addition of Holmes gives sophomore quarterback March Sanchez a legitimate possession receiver with the capability of being a factor on every play. That will take some of the pressure off Braylon Edwards, who will likely be the #2 target with Jericho Cotchery running routes out of the slot. Those three should be even more dangerous if the Jets offensive line, Shonne Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson can maintain the Jets position as the #1 rushing team in football.

At the end of the day, however, it all comes down to Mark Sanchez’s growth as a quarterback. If the New York Jets are going to be any kind of threat to beat a team like the Colts, New England Patriots or even the Cincinnati Bengals, they need to be able to throw the ball vertically to all of their weapons. If Sanchez can’t get that done, the Jets run may not live up to expectations. That being said, it is my prediction that the New York Jets will win the AFC East with a record of 10-6 and will make it to the AFC Championship game, where their season will end.

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