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Bold Predictions About the Jets: 5 Good, 5 Bad

Before I start this article, which is self-explanatory from the title. I’d like to offer the opportunity to have a “mailbag” type article. Basically, when you leave a comment on this article, feel free to leave a Jets or NFL related question and I will dedicate my next article to answering all the questions left for me. I have no idea how this going to work out, since comments are kind of up and down here. Back in March we had articles with 60-70 comments, and now sometimes we articles with 0-5 comments. Generally most articles, seem to fall in the 5-12 range, so I’d be happy to answer any questions left for me in my next piece. Anyway, moving on:

Bold Predictions About Jets in 2008 - 5 Positive Ones, 5 Negative Ones (In Alternating Order)

1. Thomas Jones Will Run For 1250 Yards And 7 Touchdowns - Grab him in your fantasy league, while everybody else passes up on him because of his disappointing year in 2007. Jones proved that he was durable and consistent last year, while showing some ability catching the ball out of the backfield. This year instead of having Adrien Clarke and Anthony Clement blocking for him, he will have Alan Faneca and Damien Woody leading the way. Beyond that, the Jets added pro-bowl fullback Tony Richardson and veteran tight end Bubba Franks to help the ground game.

2. Third Year Not A Charm - Many people believe that Brad Smith’s third year in the league will translate into his breakout one at the wide receiver position. However, I think this is the season we receive confirmation that Smith is nothing more than a number 4/5 receiver, who can contribute on some trick plays and special teams. Chansi Stuckey and Marcus Henry are going to leap frog him in terms of balls thrown their way.

3. Kellen Clemens Will Be Alright - Kellen Clemens will open 2008 as the Jets starter and be pretty good. He will take some lumps in his first full season as a starter but his arm strength and mobility will help create plays for the Jets on offense. The Jets will rely on their running game primarily, but Clemens will still be able to provide 15-18 touchdowns, with 10-12 interceptions, along with better yardage totals than Chad Pennington could offer.

4. Not That Good of a Pace - Huge amounts of pressure are going to be put on Calvin Pace to live up to his contract. Unfortunately, the guy isn’t a pure pass rusher, he is more of an all-around linebacker. I think he will have a solid year and continue to develop into a very good 3-4 outside linebacker. Yet, if he goes out and gives the Jets 110 tackles and 7 sacks, will everyone be satisfied? Don’t anticipate this guy having 12-15 sacks, because it isn’t going to happen.

5. For the First Time Since 1998 - The Jets will have two 1,000 yard receivers on their team. Both Jerricho Cotchery and Laveranues Coles will get into four digits, when it comes to their receiving yardage total. Cotchery is entering his prime as one of the NFL’s better young receivers, and Coles is going to bounce back strong from his injury plagued 2007 season.

6. No Double Digits - The Jets won’t have a single player with over 10 sacks this season. This may sound bad at first, but if Pace, Bryan Thomas, and Vernon Gholston can all get 6-9, the Jets should be fine. I don’t think Gholston is going to start playing full time until the second half of the season, which is why I think he will fall a little short of being a double digit sack guy in his rookie year.

7. Big Man, Big Payoff - I think Kris Jenkins is highly motivated, in-shape, and is going to have a very good year in green and white. The big guy is going to improve the Jets run defense immensely, and provide a good push up the middle on passing downs. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him make the pro-bowl this year.

8. No Prime Time Love - This isn’t a very bold prediction but the Jets are headed to a 0-2 record on prime-time television this season. I think they will play the Chargers and Patriots tough on the road, but I don’t think they are pulling off either of those upsets.

9. Second Place - The Jets will finish second place in the AFC East. New England is clearly the best team, and the Dolphins are still clearly the worst. Yet, most people seem to be on the Bills bandwagon as the number two team and a wild-card contender. Personally, I think the Jets are that team this season not Buffalo.

10. A Baker Mess - The circus at training camp about Chris Baker’s contract is going to be a prolonged dispute, probably ending up with a trade towards the end of summer. It is going be annoying to hear Baker ripping the team for a few weeks and read about him pouting around the field.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 17th, 2008 at 12:46 pm and is filed under Jets Sites, The Cockpit, Blogroll, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.