The Pat's still have #12 that makes them tough. I will say their secondary is in shambles..When Ellis Hobbs is "the man" back there..well.I don't care how good the Pat's are on offense ,an average NFL QB will shred that secondary even with the two at best below average players they just acquired..The LB'er core is ancient in terms of age..Hey The Pat's were 18-1 but they have some serious issues with this defense for 2008 and if your a Pat's fan and don't see that then your wearing those rose colored glasses.
The Pats went 18-1, but the tail end of that run had some luck thrown in for good measure. Weaknesses and cracks in the armor began surfacing in the last half of the season and I'm not sure they've done much so far in F/A to correct them. The Giants did an excellent job in getting after all those weaknesses. There's still the draft though, and Belichick always seems to find a way to stumble upon outrageous value, but if we draft as well as we've selected F/A talent, we might at least have a shot at splitting with them and maintaining the same W-L record up until playoff time. Still, the Jets have a history of looking like powerhouse SB Champs in the springtime and then... the season starts!
I'm pretty confident the Pats will still win the division but I hope I'm wrong. I think we'll compete this year unlike last year but NE should win this division.
All I know from watching the SB is that ANY QB that faces a rabid pass rush from all angles is going to appear 'human'. We simply cannot have enough guys getting after Brady, and hard. The joy I felt watching a team wipe that smug, 'oh shucks we're so good' smile off his face was the best part of the whole thing. It was like seeing the bully in school get his ass-kicked. Sweet joy! As much as I dispise him/them, I would never wish an injury to any player, but, he's been remarkably healthy for them over the years. Barring an injury to Brady, the Pat's are still the best team in the AFC, but for the first time in a very long time, I believe from what's transpired so far, the gap has closed.
I believe he meant to say man castle.... It is nice to finally see someone giving them credit for the work they have done this off season.
The GIANTS superbowl should have taught us one thing..You don't need a great QB to win it all. If a mediocre QB like Eli Manning can win the SB, it should come as no suprise that the Jets feel like they can win the big one with Chad or Kellen. :gpc:
yeah but at the same time there is no guarantee the jets will do better, I hope that the pats do end up sucking cause I hate them more than the sox
We are better than we were, but the Patriots are still a very good team and certainly will probably make the playoffs in '08 (also probably as the division winner); I do not see them augering like we have in the past.
The Jets have gotten better, I am very happy. There is a great chance they will do better than 4-12 this year, which excites me. Talking about unseating the Patriots at the top of the division seems kind of like crazy talk though right now.
I don't think we are predicted to do well. I keep seeing our signings getting slammed, of course if the Pats made the same moves they'd be applauded. I do not expect the National media will have high expectations of us.
The Pats have won 3 SB's in 6 years with a mediocre QB. When his OL is not allowed to hold all game, Brady folds like a cheap suit under pressure. If your line can hold at will, you have all day to throw, and Randy Moss to throw to, you're going to look like a god. 90% of close calls going your way doesn't hurt either. The Pats D is getting old. Eventually letting their CB talent go is going to bite them in the ass. They have an elite front 3 without doubt, but are very beatable beyond that.
Funny, I was talking to my Phinz buddies about this very topic the other day.... There's certainly no denying that the Jets have made some significant improvements on paper this off-season, we just don't know for certain how much improved they will be on the field once September rolls around. My friends and I did all agree that if there was going to be a team in the East that could knock off the Patriots this year, it would be the NY Jets....
Although all 3 AFCE teams have somewaht closed the gap on the Patriots, neither one can be considered legit contenders for the AFCE title until they figure out their QB situatiuons. As it stands now the 4 Qbs in the AFCE are.. Kellen Clemens Tom Brady John Beck Trent Edwards Which one is unlike the others?
Giants also have a ton of guys who can get to the quarterback. I don't trust Ellis to do it, I don't trust Thomas to do it. I like Pace, but even Pace didn't have double digit sacks last year. Kellen also hasn't proven he can do what Eli did in the playoffs last year, and no one on our team can do what Plaxico could do. If Clemens can step up and be a pretty solid QB, which is entirely possible, then we can make the playoffs definitely. I wouldn't consider us challengers to the Patriots at this point. It's not impossible, but I'd be shocked (barring injuries to New England).
