Clayton: Jets Could Surprise In 2008 Monday, May 12th 2008, 3:51 pm by Gary Grund In an article for ESPN.com, John Clayton pegs the Jets as one of five potential teams who can surprise this upcoming season. The Jets really don?t know what they have with Kellen Clemens at quarterback, but they are operating like a team trying to make a big move. Management put out $142.5 million in contracts for linebacker Calvin Pace, defensive tackle Kris Jenkins, guard Alan Faneca and right tackle Damien Woody. They hired Bill Callahan to coordinate the running offense. The schedule, using the .020 formula, is 3.3 games easier, going from a .523 to .457. The biggest hope for the Jets rides with the running offense and the defense. The Jets went 4-12 last year despite an 1,119-yard season from Thomas Jones. If the Jets find a way to get into the top 10 in rushing, they have a chance for a three-game improvement. They finished 19th in rushing last year, averaging 106.3 yards a game on the ground. Top 10 rushing teams usually fall into that seven- to nine-win projection. Eric Mangini also hopes that Pace, Vernon Gholston and Jenkins can pull the Jets? defense out of the bottom four in football. Clayton also lists the Panthers, Rams, Raiders and Bills as four other teams who could surprise in 2008. I think there is a very good chance that the Jets could pull out a 9-10 win season if everything clicks. Whether the starting quarterback is Chad Pennington or Kellen Clemens, the quarterback position will need consistency and remains the biggest question mark with this team heading forward. Shoring up the offensive line with Alan Faneca and Damien Woody, paired with Bill Callahan who will coordinator the running game, this team appears to be making the move to the run first-pass second offense. I believe that getting Leon Washington a little bit more involved in the running game would definitely help this team as he continues to be a home run threat when he gets the ball each time. As far as the defense goes, Pace and Jenkins are obviously the huge risks here. The Jets are relying on these two guys to pull them out of a rut defensively, and while they are capable and have all the intangibles of doing so, it remains a risk.
At least someone is giving us the credit deserved from our FA signings and draft. Lightbulb head sees the big picture. 7-9 wins, that sounds about right.
clayton reminds me of mr potato head before he gets his hair piece. that said, i'll take any postive ink. thanks mr clayton.
I see us winning 8 - 10 games with 1 of them vs the Pats. We play them tough at their home lately, didn't we beat them 2 years ago on the road?
Yeah, it sounds like Clayton thinks 7 wins is a surprise. The team could of easily had 7 wins last year if a few plays were different. I think a surprise would be a playoff appearance for the Jets. 8-8 would not be a surprise to me.
Yea he also said that he thinks the Raiders will be a team on the rise because of a soft schedule (385) & all the additions & draft choices they acculmated over the off season
I think we can win 10 games. It's not as if we got totally blown out. We could have just as easily been 7-9 last year. -X-
Well of course its a risk. Every free agency signing is a risk. It was a risk when the Jets gave up a first round pick to steal Curtis Martin away from the Patriots. He could have blown a knee out in week one, but he didn't. The Jets felt it was a risk worth taking. Clayton is just stating the obvious. The fact that he makes a pretty penny to do so is disturbing.
It's a reasonable assessment but I think the big thing is that the Jets have to overcome the Bills. If we can't overtake them then even going 10-6 won't mean much.
We surprised in 06 and in 07 no reason to think we can't surprise in 08 along with every other NFL team.
Seven wins would be a huge dissapointment. Anything less then the AFC east title is a failure. Our only goal should be to take over the Pats.
Agreed, but considering the number of asshats in the business, Clayton appears to be one of the sharper ones.
i'm not saying we'll get 10 win, but i think it's possible considering how bad we were last year and how many close games we lost. what i'm wondering is, will 10 wins be enough for a playoff spot in the AFC? figure the Pats, Colts, Chargers, Jags are getting the top 4 spots. i know it's vogue to hop on the Browns bandwagon, but they did improve and should do well, possibly getting 10 wins also. are there any other teams that can get 10 (or more) wins, perhaps raising the bar of playoff qualification?
AFC ---- Top Tier: New England Indianapolis San Diego Jacksonville Very Good: Cleveland Pittsburgh Buffalo Could Go Places: New York Denver Baltimore Tennessee Houston Garbage: Oakland Kansas City Miami Cincinnati
