Wednesday, April 21, 2010 the New York Jets signed Jason Taylor. I know this is not much of a lead, or really news to anyone who obsessively reads ESPN like I do. However, what this does mean is that the New York Jets have to be favored to win the AFC East, they have to be expected to win the AFC Conference Game, and have to have pretty goods odds to win the Super Bowl.
Somebody doubt me? Let’s look at the additions made so far this NFL offseason so far, broken down by position.
Offense
Running Back
They released Thomas Jones in favor of letting Shonn Greene run wild as the feature back. Jones is still a fine back, but he is expensive and Shonn Greene’s performance in the first two of the rounds made Jones expendable. The Jets still needed a good second option to come in on third downs and make a goal line push, so they went out and signed Chargers castoff LaDainian Tomlinson on March 14.
Tomlinson may no longer be a feature back, but he is still very valuable asset, as proven buy his 12 touchdowns. Now most of those touchdowns were one or two yard romps into the endzone, and that is exactly what the Jets needed.
Wide Receiver
In order for Mark Sanchez to be a great quarterback he needs options. He already had a solid tight end in Dustin Keller coming into his rookie season. Then the Jets traded for Braylon Edwards in the middle of the season. Well, the front office resigned Edwards.
This gave Sanchez a wide out combo of Edwards and Jerricho Cotchery. Neither is a superstar. Edwards has his issues with drops and Cotchery has his issues with disappearing in games. Still, these would not be bad options as the number two and three options, and, after the Jets raped the Steelers and took Santonio Holmes for a fifth round draft pick, that is just what they are.
Holmes had some character issues in Pittsburgh. They are surely not going to go away in New York, but the playmaker will be excused for any behavior short of self-inflicted wounds if he can help Sanchez spread the field.
Defense
The defense was already a top unit in the NFL. They allowed the fewest points and yards per game. They also forced the third most turnovers in the AFC. Still, the Jets went out and added three players to the roster to make winning now an almost certainty.
Safety
Rex Ryan has replaced safety Kerry Rhodes with Brodney Pool. Rhodes fell out of favor with Rex Ryan and was discarded to Arizona for a 4th and round pick this year and a seventh round pick next year. Pool was the lone bright spot for the Cleveland Browns last season. He had four picks in 11 games and 10 passes defended. He joins Jim Leonhard as part of the last line of defense in the secondary.
Corner Back
Ok, so the addition of Pool is a little underwhelming, but the addition of Antonio Cromartie for a third round pick in 2011 should make a bigger splash. The Chargers had no issue letting Cromartie go because of a terrible effort in the playoffs.
This may be a little disconcerting, but this is one of the most talented corners in the league when he does try. He is coming to New York to play for an intense defense-oriented coach who should be able to keep him motivated. This has to be the case; otherwise, the Jets are one step closer to becoming the East Coast Raiders with the trio of Edwards, Cromartie, and Holmes.
Linebacker
Yes, Jason Taylor is old and he has not had a double digit sack year since 2007. Yes, the Jets already have a young Vernon Gholston waiting in the wings at outside linebacker. But the Jets are reportedly trying Gholston out at defensive end, and the addition of an experienced outside linebacker in the 3-4 could make this defense even better than last season.
This whole column is taking a big early chance marrying me to the Jets, especially before the draft. At the very least, this hyperactive offseason was a necessity since they only have five picks in that draft. They have a first, second, fourth, sixth, and seventh round pick. These picks are very late in the rounds. The first, second, sixth, and seventh rounds are the 29th pick of the round, and the fourth round pick is the 26th of the round. This did not give the Jets much room for improvement, so in order for this team to take advantage of other team’s trepidation heading into an uncapped year they had to be major players on the market.
This infusion of talent, coupled with a couple rookies ready to play this season, gives the Jets a ton of talent on both sides of the ball. The only real weakness is the youth of the key offensive personnel.