Where Do The Jets Fit In The 2016 AFC?

I got us at 8-8 and another january-less year of fanhood.

if we pull 10 wins though we're in there. I'd be very proud of another 10 win season with this schedule.. an i'd say Fitz has officially turned his career around.

 

I think the Jets have a shot to be good and make the playoffs but ranking them third in the AFC right now is a little high.

You're not giving the Bengals enough credit for being really good. They have one of the best rosters in the league, and have a for a while now. They're a beatable team but on paper, they are better than the Jets

Sanchez will hold Denver back from being a top team in the league again, but they should be able to contend for a playoff spot/division title. Jacksonville should be pretty good as well.

It really stinks that our schedule is so tough, but it is what it is. We can't give away games this year like we did last year.

 

Not where I think they will place but talent level of team. The AFC east is one of the toughest divisions in football minus the Dolphins.


1. Broncos- Superbowl Hangover change at QB may take a big step back
2. Patriots- Until they get beat they are still on top but very vulnerable this year with Brady on the Bench for 4 weeks
3. Bengals- Talented roster but can't win the big one. They can very well be number 1.
4. NY Jets- Talented roster on both sides of the ball. Have a chance to move up or down with tough schedule
5. Steelers- A bit overrated if you ask me with a horrible defense. The Ravens and the Browns suck so they will be competing for the division
6. Jags -are my surprise team they had a great off season and play in a weak division. They will hands down win this division
7. Buffalo Bills- Rex will have the defense playing well and will contend in most games
8. Oakland Raiders- If the Broncos falter Oakland may very well win that division
9- KC Chiefs- Based on last year but a very overrated team.
10. Houston- Again overrated Osweiler will be exposed just play in the weakest division in football
11. Colts- They suck to but have Luck and a weak division (Any of these teams can win the division)
12.Ravens- Why are we even talking about them being good the only reason they will not be last in their division is because the browns are in it.
13-15- Chargers, Dolphins, Titans- All suck about the same
16. Cleveland Browns- Most inept run organization in pro sports

 

I disagree with your rankings. I think the Broncos will take a big step back not only because of their QB situation, but they lost some key defenders as well.

The Ravens do not suck imo. They had the most injuries in the NFL last season. They will bounce back this season in a big way, imo. I also think you have KC and Houston rated too low. With Houston's D and weapons, Osweiler won't have to carry that team, he can stay within himself and keep developing. KC has a ton of talent and is well coached.

I think the Titans will be a lot better than you say as well. Mariota will have settled in, and he has a lot of weapons around him Their OL and D should be improved.

 

The AFC as a conference is wide open for the first time in a long time. Despite Manning #18 having a down season last year, him just being retired gives another quarterback/another team an opportunity of stealing a postseason appearance.

Not only that but with the jury still being out on Jimmy Garoppolo and with Tom Brady missing N.E's 1st 4 games, this gives a few teams the chance/opportunity to get off to a fast head start ahead of N.E.

This creates for a wide open Conference.

But until proven otherwise, imo; the Patriots are to be considered as the class of the AFC.

1.) New England Patriots.

It's wide open from there.

I wanna say that Pittsburgh's the 2nd favorite due to a dynamic offensive trio of Ben Roethlisberger, Le'Veon Bell & Antonio Brown @ QB, RB & WR. But then again the days of the Steel Curtain and dominant defenses under Dick LeBeau are now long gone as a thing of the past. Last year Pittsburgh's defense only ranked 11th in scoring defense, 21st in total yards allowed and 30th in pass yardage allowed. Until they can prove they've improved an atrocious pass defense within an offensive passing league I can not rank them too high coming off a 10-6 season. The loss of Martavis Bryant could also hold them back. An underrated topic of discussion considering Bryant put up 50 receptions for 765 receiving yards and 6 TD receptions during only 11 games. Could've had a breakout season as a 3rd year player if not for this 1 year suspension.

Because of these Pittsburgh question marks I'll rank Cincinnati as the AFC's 2nd Team coming off a 12-4 season.

1.) New England Patriots.
2.) Cincinnati Bengals.

Denver may have won the super bowl as a 12-4 team but this is a team that I'm dropping within the power ranks. They've replaced Manning & Osweiler with that of Mark Sanchez. Sanchez might've played in two AFC Championships as a Jet but those teams not only had strong defenses but also offensive rushing attacks that hid his weaknesses. Denver should still have a top 5 defense but they've lost the likes of Malik Jackson (DT), Danny Trevathan (IMLB) and David Bruton Jr (Strong Safety). A key backup DE for depth in Vance Walker is now out for the season after yesterday's injury as well. I just don't believe Denver has the 2009/2010 ground game that N.Y had in order to prevent Sanchez from becoming exposed as a mediocre QB. They've also lost their 3rd WR due to injury which won't make it any easier on Sanchez.

I'll have to say the Chiefs coming off an 11-5 season are AFC West favorites heading in.

But as far as power rankings are concerned rather than playoff picture I have broken down into 4 tiers.

Tier 1:
New England Patriots.
Cincinnati Bengals.


Tier 2 (no specific order).
Kansas City Chiefs (11-5).
New York Jets (10-6).
Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6).
Denver Broncos (12-4).
Houston Texans (9-7).
Indianapolis Colts (8-8).

Tier 3 (Unproven potential):
Buffalo Bills (8-8).
Oakland Raiders (7-9).
Jacksonville Jaguars (5-11).


Tier 4 (Teams without a playoff chance):
Cleveland Browns (3-13).
Miami Dolphins (6-10).
Tennessee Titans (3-13).
Baltimore Ravens (5-11).
San Diego Chargers (4-12).

Early Playoff Prediction:

1.) New England.
2.) Cincinnati.

3.) Kansas City.
4.) Indianapolis.

With the Jets, Texans, Steelers & Broncos (possibility Oakland) all fighting for two of the final 6th & 7th seeds.

Hopeful we can compete for the East but I'll first have to see N.E start 1-3 before getting my hopes up.

 

Doesn't really matter where we rank... can we eliminate the self-destruction?? We need our units to all click on sundays.. that's what the top teams do.. we'll have games where our offense is stout and our defense stinks... usually more so the other way around.. then if we do have a day where both units do well, the special teams gives up points and turnovers.. or the coaching staff is managing our time outs weird... like the jets find ways to lose games.. we can def. beat any team in the AFC.. but we'll find a way to go 8-8 knowing us. I wanna believe the new regime will get us on track. Just win ALL of those winnable games!

 

Basically a good job, but I disagree with a couple of your tier selections. I think that Oakland probably belongs in Tier 2 and possibly the Jaguars do as well. I think the Ravens are a Tier 3, if not a Tier 2. Why do you have them rated so low? Any team for which Ozzie Newsome is the GM is gonna have talent and depth. They had off the charts injuries last year. Chances are they won't this year. They looked pretty good vs the Panthers last week.

 

Here we go.

 

There you go...

 

You promise?

 

The First month and a half of the season will tell us all we need to know about this team,,,,the schedule is just ridiculously tough . I would be happy to be 3 and 3 or 4 and 4 at the halfway point,,,,,anything better than that and I will do handstands.

 

3 and 3 in our first six and we can definitely make the playoffs IMO. We just need NE to drop a few of those first four games and for Brady not to start lightning it up from the get go. If that happens we might be able to win the division.

 

I personally think even with the tough start to the schedule, we have the best shot at winning the division this coming year. Esp with the early absence of that QB over in Boston. Plus Pats D is not gonna be as good as they think, time for us to grab the division by the horns.

#GANGGREEN

 

As hard as our schedule is, I think it very much to our advantage that these tough games are right up front. Particularly in this pass-happy era, it usually takes 3-4 weeks before offenses are hitting on all cylinders. After the Giants game, I have a lot of hope that our D will be at its best right out the gate. I also think the front-loaded schedule will make it easier (though never easy) to cover some deficiencies as injuries pile up through the season.

 

We got spanked by the Raiders, they should be in the same tier as us, their future is just as bright if not brighter.

Tier 1:
Patriots
Broncos [Manning is gone, but that defense and run game is still pretty good]
Bengals


Tier 2:
Chiefs
Steelers
Texans
Raiders
Jets

Tier 3:
Colts
Bills
Jags
Ravens

Tier 4:
Cleveland Browns
Miami Dolphins
Tennessee Titans
San Diego Chargers

A lot of jockeying for position in Tier 2 and Tier 3, it's a big time log jam. Gotta win division and conference games. I personally have us pegged at 9-7 right now

 

Cant... wait.... for.... week.... TWO!!!!!