New York Jets 2010 Season Preview

Football Betting Lines

08/22/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - To be a fan of the New York Jets is to be encoded with the skepticism chip.

When you've hitched your wagon to an organization that has, for more than four decades, taken two colossal steps back for every stride forward, developed disappointment and heartbreak into a cottage industry, handed the keys to the organization to Rich Kotite and drafted Browning Nagle No. 34 overall, you have more than a few reasons to be jaded.

So, all the good feelings currently surrounding this team feel about as natural to the team's long-suffering fans as a plate of enchiladas at the Thanksgiving dinner table.

Many have resisted their inhibitions and jumped aboard Rex Ryan's bandwagon of positivity, but some just can't bring themselves to believe that this is indeed the year.

Here's how the push and pull goes between the naysayers and yeasayers:

Optimists: The Jets finished with a flourish last year, going 7-2 over the final nine games and getting all the way to the AFC Championship. After beating the Bengals and Chargers on the road come playoff time, this team has the confidence and talent to build on that success.

Pessimists: The Jets were a 9-7 team that wouldn't have even reached the playoffs had the AFC been stronger last year. They got gifts from the Colts and Bengals, who didn't play to win over the final two weeks of the regular season, then got lucky in the playoffs when Shayne Graham and Nate Kaeding forgot how to kick a football. This team hasn't even won the AFC East since 2002, and we're talking Super Bowl?

Optimists: Quarterback Mark Sanchez played well as a rookie in the playoffs last season, and will take a major leap forward in year two.

Pessimists: Quarterback Mark Sanchez has a long way to go before he becomes a consistent NFL quarterback. He completed just 53.8 percent of his passes a year ago, threw 20 interceptions against just 12 touchdowns, and did his best work when he was managing games and letting the running backs and defense do the heavy lifting. He's not a Super Bowl quarterback yet.

Optimists: LaDainian Tomlinson and Santonio Holmes will help this offense be more dynamic and consistent.

Pessimists: LaDainian Tomlinson is past his prime and will be the No. 2 back behind the unproven (at least over a whole season) Shonn Greene. Santonio Holmes is suspended for the first four games, and even if he can keep his nose clean when he comes back, he's never had to be the No. 1 receiver.

Optimists: The best defense in the league will rule the day when all else fails.

Pessimists: The best defense in the league might not even have its top player, disgruntled cornerback Darrelle Revis, and his absence would severely threaten the Jets' status as the NFL's top defensive unit.

Optimists: Rex Ryan is a great coach who has this team believing

Pessimists: Rex Ryan did not look like such a great coach during that 1-6 stretch of football last year, and his emotional approach might not stand up to what amounts to a 22-week grind. He's entertaining, but he has a long way to go to prove that he can lead a team to the Super Bowl promised land.

So, Jets fans, which camp do you fall in?

Below we take a capsule look at the 2010 edition of the New York Jets, with a personnel evaluation and prognosis included therein:

2009 RECORD: 9-7 (2nd, AFC East)

LAST PLAYOFF APPEARANCE: 2009, lost to Indianapolis, 30-17, in AFC Championship

COACH (RECORD): Rex Ryan (9-7 in one season with Jets, 9-7 overall)

OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR: Brian Schottenheimer

DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR: Mike Pettine

OFFENSIVE STAR: Mark Sanchez, QB (2444 passing yards, 12 TD, 20 INT)

DEFENSIVE STAR: Darrelle Revis, CB (54 tackles, 6 INT)

OFFENSIVE TEAM RANKS: 1st rushing, 31st passing, 17th scoring

DEFENSIVE TEAM RANKS: 8th rushing, 1st passing, 1st scoring

KEY ADDITIONS: QB Mark Brunell (from Saints), RB LaDainian Tomlinson (from Chargers), RB Joe McKnight (4th Round, USC), WR Santonio Holmes (from Steelers), OL Vladimir Ducasse (2nd Round, Massachusetts), OLB Jason Taylor (from Dolphins), CB Kyle Wilson (1st Round, Boise State), CB Antonio Cromartie (from Chargers), S Brodney Pool (from Browns), K Nick Folk (from Cowboys)

KEY DEPARTURES: RB Thomas Jones (to Chiefs), RB Leon Washington (to Seahawks), G Alan Faneca (to Cardinals), DE Marques Douglas (to Dolphins), LB Ryan Fowler (not tendered), LB Larry Izzo (not tendered), CB Donald Strickland (to Chargers), CB Lito Sheppard (to Vikings), S Kerry Rhodes (to Cardinals), K Jay Feely (to Cardinals), LS James Dearth (to Redskins)

QB: Much of the Jets' offensive development in 2010 will hinge on the development of Sanchez, who played just like you would have expected a rookie to play before guys like Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan raised the bar a year before his arrival. To his credit, Sanchez did make some big throws in the postseason, and the team is hopeful that he can carry that confidence over this year. The team signed 39-year-old Mark Brunell (102 passing yards, 1 INT with New Orleans), who backed up Drew Brees with the Super Bowl Champion Saints last season, to be the No. 2 and help mentor Sanchez. That could spell curtains for former second-round pick Kellen Clemens (125 passing yards), who could be served up as trade bait.

RB: The running back torch was passed during the Jets' 2009 playoff run, when Greene carried the load and posted 100-yard games in wins at the Bengals and Chargers. Those performances made Thomas Jones surplus to needs, despite the fact that Jones was fresh off a fifth consecutive 1,000-yard season and had scored 29 touchdowns in the previous two tears. The Jets gambled that future Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson (730 rushing yards, 12 TD with the Chargers) would embrace the short-yardage and third-down role more than Jones would have, and signed Tomlinson to a two-year, $5.2 million deal. The club also drafted USC's Joe McKnight in the fourth round, though reviews of McKnight were not positive early in camp or the preseason, and the team could be forced to pursue other options. Nearly as interesting is the fullback battle taking place between quality veteran Tony Richardson (48 rushing yards), and sixth- round fullback John Conner (Kentucky). Don't be surprised to see the Jets find a way to keep both, though if their hand is forced, bet on Conner making the team.

WR/TE: If Sanchez has to make excuses at some point for a poor 2010, the presence of a weak receiving corps can't be among them. After adding Holmes (79 receptions, 5 TD with the Steelers) and Braylon Edwards (35 receptions, 4 TD) to the mix since last October, the Jets group of outside targets can now be called top-tier. Edwards had some trouble with drops and invisibility after being acquired from the Browns last year, but the hope is that he'll be better after a full offseason working with Sanchez and learning Brian Schottenheimer's offense. When all else fails, Jerricho Cotchery (57 receptions, 3 TD) is still around to make critical catches as well. The bottom of the depth chart is interesting, as Brad Smith (7 receptions, 207 rushing yards, 1 TD), David Clowney (14 receptions, 1 TD) and prodigal son Laveranues Coles (43 receptions, 5 TD with Cincinnati) would all seem to have some value, but at least one is going to be gone once Holmes returns from his four-game suspension. At tight end, Dustin Keller (45 receptions, 2 TD) and Ben Hartsock (1 TD) both return after appearing in every game last year. Another holdover, Matthew Mulligan (1 reception), could stick if the team keeps three at the position.

OL: Though it's not a move that gets discussed in the midst of all the Jets' other drama, the decision to release guard Alan Faneca and replace him with second-round rookie Vladimir Ducasse could loom large. Faneca was in decline, and Ducasse is a very promising talent, but there's no way the raw youngster will be the veteran's equal at this stage of his career. The rest of the crew up front will remain the same. The Jets gave left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson a contract extension, and Pro Bowl center Nick Mangold will likely get one as well. The right-side duo of Brandon Moore (guard) and Damien Woody (tackle) should give Ryan and Schottenheimer few sleepless nights. Within the backup forces, swing tackle Wayne Hunter, second-year guard Matt Slauson (a fail-safe in case Ducasse falters) and utility man Robert Turner all have experience.

DL: One of the most amazing parts about the Jets' rise to the top of the NFL defensive charts a year ago is that they did it with space-eating nose tackle Kris Jenkins (13 tackles) missing the majority of the season with a torn ACL. Jenkins is back, which should allow Sione Pouha (45 tackles) to shift back to end after doing yeoman's work in the middle. Shaun Ellis (53 tackles, 6.5 sacks) should again take his place at left end after making the Pro Bowl a season ago. Also expected to garner some time along the three-man front is former first-round pick Vernon Gholston (17 tackles), who has been a zero at outside linebacker but the team seems determined to find a spot for. Gholston doesn't seem big or physical enough to play end in a 3-4, but if the experiment works, you can call Ryan a genius. Ropati Pitoitua (3 tackles) and Mike DeVito (28 tackles) are other holdovers with experience along the three- man front. DeVito could actually see a lot of time at right end, ahead of Pouha and Gholston.

LB: In one of those "man bites dog" moments that seems to pop up every now and again in professional sports, the Jets raised eyebrows in April when they signed free agent pass rusher and old Dolphins nemesis Jason Taylor (42 tackles, 7 sacks with Miami). Taylor will be 36 when the season starts, but can still be effective coming off the edge and should make life easier for Calvin Pace (55 tackles, 8 sacks). Taylor's signing would seem to have negative consequences for Bryan Thomas (53 tackles), whose two sacks last year were his fewest since he moved from end to outside backer in 2007. On the inside, David Harris (127 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 2 INT) and Bart Scott (92 tackles, 1 sack) will continue to reign supreme. The duo ranked 1-2 on the Jets in tackles a season ago, though Scott failed to make a ton of big plays in his first year in a Gang Green uniform. Jamaal Westerman (10 tackles, 1 sack) and Lance Laury (6 tackles with the Seahawks) both have experience as special-teamers and backup LBs, and the team is also high on undrafted rookie free agent Brashton Satele (Hawaii).

DB: It's hard to know how much of the Revis situation is real, and how much is bluster (on both sides), but there's no doubt that neither party would be done a service by the league's best corner missing the entire season. Revis' absence would turn the Jets' secondary from top-tier to above average, but putting ex-Chargers Pro Bowler Antonio Cromartie (33 tackles, 3 INT with San Diego) and promising first-round pick Kyle Wilson (Boise State) out there would not be a total loss. Cromartie is looking to bounce back after struggling in San Diego over most of the past two seasons. Holdovers Dwight Lowery (24 tackles, 3 INT) and Drew Coleman (22 tackles) are other CB options. The safeties will likely be the same, with Jim Leonhard (76 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 1 INT) and Eric Smith (48 tackles, 1 INT) making up a reliable tandem. Ex-Brown Brodney Pool (48 tackles, 4 INT with Cleveland) has experience but has not had a great training camp or preseason to date, and James Ihedigbo (19 tackles, 2 sacks) is best known for his special teams prowess.

SPECIAL TEAMS: The Jets will be undergoing a change at kicker, where the team allowed Jay Feely to escape to Arizona in free agency and signed ex-Cowboys Pro Bowler Nick Folk (18-28 FG with Dallas). Folk fell apart in Dallas last year and was released, but has done a nice job in the preseason and looks to have turned things around mentally. Punter Steve Weatherford (42.0 avg.) doesn't have the biggest leg in the league but is good enough. Cotchery (10.3 avg.) and Leonhard (8.2 avg.) both handled punt returns last season, and Brad Smith (31.0 avg., 1 TD) is capable of breaking a big kickoff return. The Jets have made a change at long-snapper, where James Dearth is gone after nine years of service and first-year pro Tanner Purdum is now in charge.

PROGNOSIS: The Jets are not a perfect team by any means, but are clearly on the rise after the way they finished 2009. Even if Sanchez has his struggles, Greene and Tomlinson fail to lift the running game as Thomas Jones did, or Holmes isn't quite the receiving presence he was in Pittsburgh last year, there is still that fine defense to help the Jets win games. The presence of Revis on the roster would definitely help, but if he does the unthinkable and stays away all year, Ryan and defensive coordinator Mike Pettine will be able to push enough of the right buttons to keep the unit playing at a high level. Look for double-digit wins, the team's first division title since 2002, and a legitimate chance at the organization's first Super Bowl appearance since Broadway Joe.