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2008 Team Report: New York Jets

Quarterbacks

Starter: Brett Favre
Backup(s): Kellen Clemens, Brett Ratliff, Erik Ainge

Starting QB: The Jets got their starting quarterback when the Packers put Brett Favre on the trade market. The 17-year veteran should be able to pick up the offense quickly and represent an upgrade over last year's quarterbacking duo of Chadd Pennington and Kellen Clemens. Even at 38 years old, Favre still has one of the better arms in the league (in sharp contrast to Pennington). The additions of G Alan Faneca (Pittsburgh), T Damien Woody (Detroit) and FB Tony Richardson (Kansas City) should cut down on the whopping 53 sacks the Jets allowed last season. With better protection, the Jets can take advantage of Favre's ability to read defenses and throw accurately.

Backup QB: Clemens hoped to challenge for the starting job this season in training camp, but that hope was dashed when the Jets traded for Brett Favre. If Clemens does see action, he has some fantasy potential because of his ability to throw the deep pass and his added value as a rusher. Clemens showed flashes of ability last year and many QBs make big jumps in efficiency after their first season under center. Also keep in mind that Clemens played the majority of his games without Laveranues Coles last season. Brett Ratliff has outplayed Kellen Clemens in many people's eyes, but whether the Jets are willing to hand the QB2 role over to the former undrafted free agent remains to be seen. Erik Ainge is tall and tough, and played well the past two years in the SEC.

Running Backs

Starter: Thomas Jones
Backup(s): Leon Washington, Jesse Chatman
Fullback(s): Tony Richardson

Starting RB: Thomas Jones played the role of good solider last season, never complaining despite playing behind one of the worst offensive lines in the league. The additions of Faneca and Woody playing alongside 2006 first-round picks T D'Brickashaw Ferguson and C Nick Mangold, could transform the Jets offensive line from a weakness to a strength. But it may be the signing of Tony Richardson that helps Jones most. In 2005 and 2006 with the Bears, over 50 percent of Jones' rushes and nearly all of his touchdowns came out of the I formation. In his first season in New York, only 16 percent of his rushes came with the FB lined up in front of him. New York didn't have a true blocking FB last year, and Richardson -- who has paved the way for four different 1,000-yard rushers the past five seasons -- will help Jones improve on his 2007 numbers.

Backup RBs: Leon Washington saw a reduced role in 2007 with the addition of Jones, but he still found a way to make an impact; he led the NFL with three kick returns for touchdowns. Washington may be short and agile, but he's not small. At 5-foot-8, 210 pounds, he is both an outside and inside threat. He ranked fourth on the team in receptions, and should continue to play a complementary role in the passing and running games in 2008. If Jones were to get injured, it's unclear if Washington could truly carry the load for the Jets, but he is the only other true tailback on the 53-man roster. Jesse Chatman is suspended for the first four games of the season.

Fullback: Richardson comes to New York from Minnesota after the 37-year-old fullback received another Pro Bowl berth last year. He's helped block for Priest Holmes, Larry Johnson, Chester Taylor and Adrian Peterson in recent years, and doesn't seem to be slowing down with age. He'll be lucky to touch the ball more than twice a game, so he'll only affect fantasy teams by paving the way for Thomas Jones.

Wide Receivers

Starters: Laveranues Coles, Jerricho Cotchery
Backups: Brad Smith, Chansi Stuckey, David Clowney, Marcus Henry [R], Wallace Wright

Starting WRs: Coles and Cotchery have led the Jets in receiving the past two seasons. Both benefit from above-average speed, hands and toughness. After playing in over 100 consecutive games, Coles succumbed to injury last season. At 30 years old, he should still have a few more productive years left. He had two multi-TD games last year before being lost for the season in Week 14. While Coles was Pennington's favorite target, Cotchery has an early rapport with Brett Favre. After breaking out in 2006, Cotchery matured as a WR last year, pulling in 169 more yards on just two more targets. Coles is better in the red zone, while Cotchery is more talented after the catch. Both receivers will benefit from an improved offensive line because the pass protection imploded often in 2007.

Backup WRs: Brad Smith plays QB, RB and WR for New York, and is one of the most versatile and athletic players in the league. Now in just his third season as a wide receiver, Smith is still learning the position but has the potential to one day be the starter. With the departure of Justin McCareins, Smith could be in line for a larger role. David Clowney has been the talk of camp, and may work into the rotation in 3- and 4-receiver sets. Chansi Stuckey impressed in preseason last year before missing his entire rookie season with a leg injury. Marcus Henry starred at the University of Kansas last year. His big frame may make him a red-zone target for the Jets. Wallace Wright played well on special teams in 2007.

Tight Ends

Starters: Chris Baker
Backups: Dustin Keller, Bubba Franks

Dustin Keller was the top tight end selected in the draft, but the former Purdue star is more of a receiver than a tight end. He's an excellent athlete that should play in the slot. The Jets want him to be their version of Dallas' Jason Witten or Indianapolis' Dallas Clark. Bubba Franks is the opposite of Keller. He's a grizzled veteran with very strong blocking ability, but Franks provides little in the passing game. Chris Baker remains the nominal starter, but no one can deny that Keller will have a larger role in the offense. Keller has been unstoppable in camp while Baker has stewed over his contract status.

Place Kicker

Mike Nugent : After the Jets traded to draft Nugent in the second round in 2005; he had an uneventful rookie year. He started off 2006 very poorly, missing two FGs and one PAT on opening day. Afterwards he was almost perfect. His only other miss the remainder of the year was from 52 yards, and he finished 24 of 27 (88.9%). He made 34 PATs. Last year Nugent's accuracy and PATs decline, however his field goal opportunities increased. He made 29 of 36 (80.6%). His 110 points put the Jets near the middle of the pack in kicker scoring, a place they've been eight of the last nine years. Last year Nugent had his best year on kickoffs since joining the NFL, averaging 61.1 yards with nine touchbacks.

Kick and Punt Returners

Kick Returners: Leon Washington; Justin Miller; Brad Smith; Jerricho Cotchery; Wallace Wright; Abram Elam; Chansi Stuckey

In his first two years in the NFL, CB Justin Miller proved to be one of the better kickoff returners. As a rookie in 2005 he averaged 26.3 yards and scored once. In his second year he averaged 28.3 yards and scored twice. He played in only two games last year before a knee injury landed him on injured reserve. Already returning punts, RB Leon Washington added kickoff returns to his duties and turned out to be just as good as Miller, and perhaps even a little better (47 returns, 27.5 avg., 3 TDs). Potential backups include WR Brad Smith (9 returns, 20.3 avg.), WR Jerricho Cotchery (4 returns, 14.0 avg.), and WR Wallace Wright (2 returns, 15.5 avg.). Free agent acquisition DB Abram Elam averaged 23.8 yards on four returns for Dallas in 2006. WR Chansi Stuckey had only two kickoff return during his career at Clemson, but has practiced in that role for the Jets.

Punt Returners: Leon Washington; Darrelle Revis; Jerricho Cotchery; Dwight Lowery; Chansi Stuckey; Justin Miller

Leon Washington took over on punt returns during the latter part of 2006. Although the Jets didn't force opponents to punt very often last year, Washington handled all 20 punt returns (9.2 avg.). His combined numbers made him the second ranked fantasy returner for 2007. CB Darrelle Revis averaged 10.3 yards on punt returns during his college career at Pittsburgh and scored twice. Jerricho Cotchery led the team in punt returns in 2005, with 23 returns and a 7.9 yard average. Fourth round draft pick CB Dwight Lowery averaged 14.4 yards on punt return for San Jose State last year and scored a TD in the Sugar Bowl. Chansi Stuckey averaged 7.5 yards on punts during his college career and scored once. Justin Miller failed to carry his success on kickoff returns over to punts (6 returns, 1.5 avg. in 2005). The Jets have scored in the top ten in fantasy returns each of the last two years.

Offensive Line

Projected Starters: LT D'Brickashaw Ferguson, LG Alan Faneca, C Nick Mangold, RG Brandon Moore, RT Damien Woody
Key Backups: Wayne Hunter, Will Montgomery, Jacob Bender

Commentary coming soon.

Team Defense

The Jets entered '07 with great optimism. Unfortunately, last season saw the defense take a huge step backward. The one bright spot on paper was the ninth-rated pass defense but even that is misleading. With the 29th-best run defense and an anemic offense, no one had to pass against them. New York tallied a pedestrian 29 sacks and only two clubs recorded fewer than their 21 takeaways. In fantasy terms, there is no place to go but up for a club that was No. 32 in many scoring systems. Bad as last season was, there were some encouraging things to come out of it. The club has set in place several cornerstones on defense. Impressive rookies Darrelle Revis at corner and David Harris at ILB are long-term solutions that along with veterans Kerry Rhodes, Shaun Ellis and Bryan Thomas, give the Jets a very solid foundation to build on. New York continued to build a strong house with additions like NT Kris Jenkins to anchor the middle and Calvin Pace to boost the pass rush at OLB. Last year's poor record allowed them to draft early enough to land Vernon Gholston, as well. This unit should be vastly improved in '08 and playing a weak schedule only adds to their value. It would be no surprise to see them jump to middle of the pack.

Defensive Line

Starters: DE Shaun Ellis, DE Kenyon Coleman, NT Kris Jenkins
Backups: DT Sione Pouha, DE CJ Mosley, DE Kareem Brown, DE Mike DeVito

Starting DL: Shaun Ellis has been a valuable part of the Jets defensive line for 8 years. He's a solid 2-way DE who would probably be more productive playing in a different system. Kenyon Coleman spent most of his career as a backup with the Cowboys before signing with the Jets last year. He proved to a good fit in the Jets defense and a surprising fantasy option thanks to his 56 solo tackles, which led all defensive linemen last year. One of the biggest weaknesses for the Jets in trying to run the 3-4 defense was a lack of a prototypical NT. They appear to have addressed that need by acquiring Kris Jenkins from the Panthers for a 3rd and 5th round pick. Jenkins is a former All Pro tackle who has enough size and strength to anchor the line, but his fantasy value is minimal.

Backup DL: Sione Pouha is a big strong player who saw his first extensive playing time last season and should provide solid depth at NT. CJ Mosley provides youth and depth on the line but is probably a better fit as a 4-3 DT. Kareem Brown is a promising player who was a 4th round pick of the Patriots last year that the Jets picked up on waivers. Mike DeVito is a converted college NT who signed with the Jets as an undrafted free agent out of Maine last year.

Linebackers

Starters: OLB Calvin Pace, ILB David Harris, ILB Eric Barton, OLB Bryan Thomas
Backups: OLB Vernon Gholston [R], OLB Cody Spencer, OLB Marques Murrell, ILB David Bowens

Starting LBs: Calvin Pace is a former 1st round pick at DE who was looking like a bust before his breakout season at SLB last year. The Jets signed him to a huge contract and hope that he'll provide a big upgrade to their anemic pass rush. The Jets traded up to select David Harris in round 2 last year and he wound up as one of the year's biggest IDP surprises. After beginning the year as a backup, he took over for an injured Jonathan Vilma in week 8 and finished with an amazing 75 solo tackles and 5 sacks in his last 9 games. Eric Barton has been very productive in the past and is a capable starter who can do a lot of things well. However, his fantasy production took a big hit last year with the emergence of Harris and it will probably stay that way as long as Harris is healthy. Bryan Thomas is another former 1st round pick at DE who made a successful transition to OLB. After earning a big contract with an 8.5 sack season in 2006, his play tailed off dramatically last year and he was expected to be displaced by 6th overall pick Vernon Gholston. Gholston has struggled to master the playbook though and, at least for now, Thomas remains in the lineup.

Backup LBs: The Jets didn't spend tens of millions of dollars on Vernon Gholston to have him sit behind Bryan Thomas. But he did nothing in camp to suggest he's ready to be a major contributor. Gholston has off-the-charts athleticism but must show more attention to detail and a discipline that he didn't need as a freelancer at Ohio State. While he could require some time to adjust to playing as an OLB, he's a very strong and athletic player who should make an immediate impact as a 3rd down pass rusher. David Bowens was a productive pass rush specialist for the Dolphins, but he didn't make much of an impact in his first year with the Jets. The team hopes a move to inside linebacker will revive his career.

Defensive Backs

Starters: FS Kerry Rhodes, SS Eric Smith, CB Darrelle Revis, CB Justin Miller
Backups: S Abram Elam, CB David Barrett, CB Dwight Lowery, CB Drew Coleman, CB Ahmad Carroll

Starting DBs: Kerry Rhodes has emerged as one of the best playmakers from the safety position, and the Jets rewarded him with a 5-year contract extension. His tackle numbers seemed to take a hit once David Harris entered the lineup but he made up for it with a big boost in interceptions. The Jets traded up to draft Darrelle Revis with the 14th overall pick last year and he wound up starting all 16 games as a rookie and leading the secondary with 74 solo tackles. He is already very good but has the potential to be an elite corner in this league. Justin Miller is a talented player and Pro Bowl kick returner who has been a disappointment at CB and is coming back from major knee surgery. Eric Smith was a 3rd round pick in 2006 who has played mostly on special teams thus far but won a starting spot in camp.

Backup DBs: Drew Coleman was a 6th round pick in 2006 who started 4 games as a rookie but then failed to make an impact last year. Abram Elam is a good special teams player who got a chance to start midway through last season and played well enough to hold onto the job. He's not much of a playmaker but is a good tackler who could have some value in deeper leagues. David Barrett is the type of player who the team is always looking to upgrade but somehow manages to hold onto an important role. At 30 years old, he's very experienced and plays well in zone coverage but can struggle when matched up man to man.

Last modified: 2008-08-31 22:14:23