I know who WESTHOFF is. I also know who TJ Conley is. I don't know who Westoff and CJ Conley are. Apparently you didn't catch it as well as you thought you did. :wink:
1) It's not exactly a spelling error if you misspell TJ by using a C. It's just not knowing his name, and if you don't know his name, I'm wondering what you based your proclamation on that he'd be a terrific punter. 2) Kind of
Anyway...back to football.Our success hinders on the play of the unknowns Plax and the Rookies.Obviously we need Mark to steadily improve but we kinda sorta (it's slang and I'm leaving it that way) know who he is as a player.What we don't know is how good or bad these rookies are and what Plax will give us.If they play well,we could be SB bound for sure.If not....out comes the Rex haters! For the record,this is off topic,but I hope I'm not the only guy who loves Rex as a coach! Sure we came short on his guarantees but for a while we were a joke.We didnt have a chance at sniffing a SB and now we're annually in the mix.Do us a favor and assault Rex haters.If anyone should be ridiculed it should be Schotty who was a holdover from our previous piss-poor regime.
Getting back to the OP, a large part of this question will be answered not so much by changes in the roster as in the continued development of Mark Sanchez, and to some extent whether the coaching staff, which imo does for the most part a great job, can avoid in the future let downs similar to the flat play the team showed in the Pitt playoff game. I do not intend here to imply the CS is mostly to blame for that, but I am sure Ryan and his staff are themselves consideing what they could do in future situations of that sort to lead to a different result. But the main thing, let's face it, is whether and to what extent we see continued improvement in Sanchez. He's already impressed me with his poise in the playoffs, for the most part. But improved consistency in the regular season will go a long way to getting the team better seeding in the playoffs, which appears to be a required situation in order to make a move to finally get to the SB.
The Jets will be stronger at QB, assuming further positive development by Sanchez. Burress and Mason are question-marks, so the receiving corps could potentially be weaker than last year. But by and large, I'd say this Jets team is as talented as last years Jets. And if you make the AFC Championship Game and manage to retain the same quality team, you've had a successful off-season.
Sal Alosi was always praised as a guy who kept players in great shape too. He had something to do with it.
This is a fun idea, so I'll weigh in. I think the secondary will be better as Cromartie now knows more about the system. The LB corps is a tricky one. While you do have to look at the departure of Jason Taylor (and the forks sticking out of him) as a good thing, there really isn't any guarantee that Westerman is going to perform anything better than average as a fulltime starter. I would call this a wash for now. The DL I would say has taken a step back simply because you're throwing in 2 rookies that are not proven at the pro-level and because an emotional leader/veteran was lost in Ellis. I know some may disagree, but I think his level of play hadn't really slipped all that much and that he did more than his share of dirty work. I think that will be missed until Wilk/Ellis can pick up that slack (for the record, I think they can do this but it may take them some time to get to that point). Overall it's tough for me to say that the defense has improved because I don't think they addressed the biggest weakness they have on D; the pass rush. I know that some will make the argument for Pace's health as sufficient passrush improvement, but I don't see that. Last year the Jets had to scheme to generate pressure and if they were able to fire 2 OLBs that were good (and not necessarily great) passrushers this season I would call that an improvement. I think the defense is either breaking even or even slightly weakened until Wilk & Ellis step up. The offense, IMO, took a BIG step back going from Edwards and Cotchery to Burress and Mason. I know they're big names, but it's really a hard sell for me to believe that a 34 and 37 year old WR are an improvement to that WR corps (especially when you factor in Smith's departure). As a few have mentioned, the STs are going to hurt with all the guys that left. That's probably the biggest area of concern. Despite all that, I think the Jets ARE better this year due to one man; Mark Sanchez. He didn't have any surgeries to recover from this offseason and, by all accounts, was very active in his preparation. If his game improvements the Jets are better regardless of what minor differences there may be elsewhere on the roster.
The DL is def going to struggle with the two rookies and losing Ellis, good thing the secondary is solid. The WR corps is def weaker and more injury prone, let's hope that WHEN plax and mason get hurt it's not at the same time. Im confident in shonn green, his improvement alone will make up for LT's diminishing skills. what I'm not confident in is that Connor is gonna replace the best FB the NFL has ever seen IMO.
Conner gave a kid a concussion already. He's going to do fine. Tell schotty and sanchez what week Plax and Mason are going to get hurt so they can plan ahead. What's your clairvoyance on McKnight? Will he vomit on opposing LBs?
I think you're underestimating the value of Damien Woody to our offensive line. Don't get me wrong, Wayne Hunter is a good player, but this is the same guy who's stance was allegedly tipping of the Steelers about our play calls during their goal line stand in the AFC Championship game. There is no way at the start of the season that we should consider our offensive line to be the same or slightly better than last year's.
If Sanchez takes the leap and our receivers play to their potential, I don't see a team beating us in the AFC (outside the Pats, possibly). The D already looks better than last year - and it's still preseason. D-line is improved, secondary has another year in Rex's system, etc. So long as the O keeps up, there's no question the Jets are better this year than last.
WHY will he be a terrific punter? Because he just needed "time to mature?" 'C' J Conley scouting report hint: punting's like a tailgate: it's about the 'hang' whatever maturity might've been needed, there prolly was a technical adjustment (ball release level / leg-lock contact point) that needed to be addressed outta Vandal U., his "dome-assisted" 47+ yd. gross ave. notwithstanding ...i dunno, whadda ya think?.. ;-) let's hope his "hang" (time) matured
The receiving corps isn't as good and the front 7 doesn't really intimidate you, but it all comes down to Sanchez. If he can show the poise, skills, and arm he displayed in the 2nd half of the AFCCG over the course of a season--the Jets will be just fine
Defensively I think were better across the board. The d-line last yr was thin. This year we have more depth and were younger. The linebackers are the same minus Taylor who had a few bright spots last season but was nothing more than a below average performer in his role. I think westerman will be just as good. A little worried about depth here but hopefully some young guys can step up. The secondary is the unit I see being most improved. Strickland to me was a signing that went under the radar but whether this guy plays the role of our 3rd or 4th corner he's a huge upgrade over Wilson in his rookie year, or drew Coleman. Then we have Wilson who should be much improved in year two. If he develops into the corner we expected when we drafted him then I don't see how anyone throws on us. Our safeties of course arent great but another year in the system and Jim Leonard back they should be solid again. Offensively the o-line worries me. We now are playing two new guys from our dominant line we had in rex's first year. Hopefully slausson will be improved and hunter can play at the level he played filling in for woody. Other Than that I'm not worried about recievers or backs and whether or not this unit improves will, as many have mentioned already, depend on Sanchez. Special teams concerns me. Still don't like folk and he's struggling in camp from what I've read. I still don't trust him and feel at any second he can implode. Also the loss of brad smith leaves a bunch of roles to fill. Westoff always finds ways to make it work though so happy to have this guy. Hopefully he can find some newbies to contribute. Overall I think our defense will be number one this year. So if Sanchez plays better during the regular season we will be a better team and i expect that to happen.
