With Chad Pennington at the helm, it looked like the Jets would go 9-7, but the trade that brought Green Bay’s Brett Favre to New York may have upped the tally in the win column for this team. Last season the New York Jets went 4-12, ending up third in their division.

new york jets

With Favre on board, the team has a clear shot at a Wildcard spot. The club notched 10 victories in 2004 and 2006 and went to the post-season. Ten should get them there again.

Offense

Favre starts and that looks to be good news for this team. The receivers are talented and include Laveranues Coles and Jerricho Cotchery. Coles caught 55 passes, six for touchdowns in 2007. Back as the leading receiver with 82 catches, Cotchery offers speed and skill. The ground game will utilize the talents of Thomas Jones (310 CAR, 1,119 YDS, 3.6 YPC, 1 TD). More good news, the O-line, which gave up 59 sacks last season, is improved and should be tough and sound.

Defense

Panther DT Kris Jenkins is a welcome addition to a defensive line that in 2007 was 29th versus the rush and 25th in sacks. LB Calvin Pace comes to the Jets from Arizona and rookie LB Vernon Gholston looks good. Both should help what was a weak group last season. The secondary is talented and young. Last year, rookie Darrelle Revis earned the nickname “Baby Lockdown” for a good reason. Revis has the talent to be one of the best.

Special Teams

There’s skill and talent on the runback squad. The team suffers from simply standard kicking, which could be a detriment in close contests.

Overview

Coach Eric Mangini has a much better team than he did last season. The Jets have signed some good free agents, done well in the 2008 draft and traded draft picks for other vets. Both offense and defense have been improved. Now Favre and company must mesh in order to make a game of it.

Paul mroczka
Sports Pundit member

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