AFC East Preview/New York Jets

Projected 53 man roster

11 Kellen Clemens QB 26 6-2 221 4 Oregon
19 Chris Pizzotti QB 23 6-5 225 R Harvard
6 Mark Sanchez QB 22 6-2 225 R USC

23 Shonn Greene RB 23 5-11 227 R Iowa
20 Thomas Jones RB 30 5-10 212 10 Virginia
49 Tony Richardson FB 37 6-1 238 15 Auburn
29 Leon Washington RB 26 5-8 195 4 Florida State
35 Danny Woodhead RB 24 5-9 195 2 Chadron State

17 David Clowney WR 24 6-0 188 2 Virginia Tech
89 Jerricho Cotchery WR 27 6-0 203 6 North Carolina State
15 Wallace Wright WR 25 6-1 197 3 North Carolina
16 Brad Smith WR 25 6-2 210 4 Missouri
83 Chansi Stuckey WR 25 6-0 196 3 Clemson

85 James Dearth TE 33 6-4 265 9 Tarleton State
81 Dustin Keller TE 24 6-2 248 2 Purdue
-- Robert Myers TE 23 6-3 238 R Utah St.

74 Nick Mangold C 25 6-4 305 4 Ohio State
56 Michael Parenton C 23 6-2 287 R Tulane
66 Alan Faneca G 32 6-5 305 12 Louisiana State
65 Brandon Moore G 29 6-3 305 7 Illinois
68 Matt Slauson G 23 6-5 315 R Nebraska
67 Damien Woody G 31 6-3 330 11 Boston College
60 D'Brickashaw Ferguson OT 25 6-6 310 4 Virginia
78 Wayne Hunter OT 28 6-5 303 6 Hawaii
74 Mike Kracalik OT 26 6-8 335 1 San Diego State
75 Robert Turner OT 24 6-4 308 2 New Mexico
Defense
NO. NAME POS AGE HT WT EXP COLLEGE
70 Mike Devito DE 25 6-3 305 3 Maine
93 Marques Douglas DE 32 6-2 290 9 Howard
92 Shaun Ellis DE 32 6-5 285 10 Tennessee
98 Zach Potter DE 23 6-7 280 R Nebraska

98 Kareem Brown DT 25 6-4 260 3 Miami (Fla.)
95 Howard Green DT 30 6-2 320 5 Louisiana State
77 Kris Jenkins DT 29 6-4 360 9 Maryland
91 Sione Pouha DT 30 6-3 325 5 Utah

56 Vernon Gholston LB 24 6-3 264 2 Ohio State
52 David Harris LB 25 6-2 245 3 Michigan
53 Larry Izzo LB 34 5-10 225 14 Rice
97 Calvin Pace LB 28 6-4 265 7 Wake Forest
57 Bart Scott LB 28 6-2 240 8 Southern Illinois
99 Bryan Thomas LB 30 6-4 266 8 Alabama-Birmingham
57 Jason Trusnik LB 25 6-4 250 3 Ohio Northern

31 Ahmad Carroll CB 25 5-10 190 5 Arkansas
30 Drew Coleman CB 26 5-9 180 4 Texas Christian
34 Dwight Lowery CB 23 5-11 198 2 San Jose State
24 Darrelle Revis CB 24 5-11 198 3 Pittsburgh
26 Lito Sheppard CB 28 5-10 194 8 Florida
27 Donald Strickland CB 28 5-10 185 7 Colorado

36 Jim Leonhard S 26 5-8 186 5 Wisconsin
32 J.R. Reed S 27 5-11 202 6 South Florida
25 Kerry Rhodes S 26 6-3 214 5 Louisville
33 Eric Smith S 26 6-1 205 4 Michigan State
Special Teams
NO. NAME POS AGE HT WT EXP COLLEGE
3 Jay Feely PK 33 5-10 205 9 Michigan
9 T.J. Conley P 23 6-3 220 R Idaho

Position Battles

Rookie QB Mark Sanchez should likely win the starting QB job over ineffective Kellen Clemens. Rookie free agent QB Chris Pizzoti has the size and the arm to have a chance in the NFL, and if he can continue to improve, don't be surprised if Clemens eventually slips all the way to the no. 3 QB.
Thomas Jones is still the starting RB, but with Leon Washington getting better all the time and showing breakaway ability, don't be surprised if Washington steal some carries this season. Rookie Shonn Greene will man the 3rd RB spot with Tony Richardson maintaining his starting spot at FB. Danny Woodhead, who was injured last season, will have to beat out RB Jehuu Caulcrick for a roster spot.
WR Jerricho Cotchery is now the no.1 WR with Laveranues Coles now in Cincy, and Chansi Stuckey should win the job as the other starting WR. Brad Smith could play QB in the Wildcat formation, but he will have to beat out David Clowney for the 3rd WR job. Special teams ace Wallace Wright should again be the 5th WR.
2nd year TE Dustin Keller could blossom as the starting TE, and don't be surprised if rookie free agent Rob Myers from Utah St. takes the no.2 TE job. James Dearth is the 3rd TE and also the long snapper.
C Nick Mangold will again start along with T's D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Damien Woody and G Alan Faneca, but Brandon Moore will have to battle rookie G Matt Slauson to maintain his starting job. Rookie free agent Michael Parenton is the only other center on the roster and will backup Mangold. G Robert Turner will compete against Stanley Daniels for a backup job and roster spot. Wayne Hunter should backup at tackle, but Mike Kracalik will have to compete against Nevin McCaskill and rookie free agent T's Ryan McKee and Tavita Thompson to make the final roster.
DE's Shaun Ellis and Marques Douglas should start, with Mike Devito and rookie free agent Zach Potter backing up. Kris Jenkins is the starting nose tackle, with Sione Pouha and Howard Green competing for playing time when they go to a 4-3. Kareem Brown will be competing for a roster spot against DT's Craig Kobel,Matt Kroul, and Ty Steinkuhler.
LB David Harris should be back healthy and starting along with ex-Raven Bart Scott,Bryan Thomas, and Calvin Pace. Pace is suspended for the first 4 games though, so look for 2nd year LB Vernon Gholston to fill in while he is out. Larry Izzo is still a good backup and excellent special teamer, and Jason Trusnick should round out the LBing corps.
CB Darelle Revis has become one of the better CB's in the league, and on the other side 2nd year CB Dwight Lowery will compete with ex-Eagle Lito Sheppard for the other starting spot. Vets Ahmad Carroll,Donald Strickland, and Drew Coleman will all be in a battle for the dime back job.
S Kerry Rhodes will again start along with ex-Raven Jim Leonhard, with Eric Smith backing up. J.R.Reed will get competition from rookie free agent DB Keith Fitzhugh for his roster spot.
Rookie free agent P T.J.Conley will compete with Reggie Hodges for punting duties.

Schedule

1 Sun, Sep 13 @ Houston 1:00 PM
2 Sun, Sep 20 New England 1:00 PM
3 Sun, Sep 27 Tennessee 1:00 PM
4 Sun, Oct 4 @ New Orleans 4:05 PM
5 Mon, Oct 12 @ Miami 8:30 PM
6 Sun, Oct 18 Buffalo 4:15 PM
7 Sun, Oct 25 @ Oakland 4:05 PM
8 Sun, Nov 1 Miami 1:00 PM
9 BYE WEEK
10 Sun, Nov 15 Jacksonville 1:00 PM
11 Sun, Nov 22 @ New England 4:15 PM
12 Sun, Nov 29 Carolina 1:00 PM
13 Thu, Dec 3 @ Buffalo 8:20 PM
14 Sun, Dec 13 @ Tampa Bay 1:00 PM
15 Sun, Dec 20 Atlanta 1:00 PM
16 Sun, Dec 27 @ Indianapolis 4:15 PM
17 Sun, Jan 3 Cincinnati 1:00 PM

Preseason Preview

Okay, Matt Ryan showed people that rookie QB's can win in their first season. Unfortunately for the Jets, Jerricho Cotchery isn't Roddy White. Well Thomas Jones isn't exactly Michael Turner now either, is he? While the Jets do have a very good offensive line, they will need to run the ball a lot to keep games close. Jones and Washington should help in rookie Sanchez's success, but with no proven WR besides Jerricho Cotchery, don't expect huge success from Sanchez this season. Dustin Keller could blossom into a star at TE, but how well Chansi Stuckey or any of the other WR's can do in a full time role is still a big question mark for the Jets.
Ball control will be key, and with Mangold,Faneca,Ferguson, Moore and Woody up front the could have some success, but they do have to play the Pats and Dolphins twice as well as the Titans out of the division, and those may be some tough times for the running game in 2009.
As for the defense, I still think the Jets will be over-rated coming into the season as I think teams will still be able to run the ball effectively against them. Kris Jenkins is stout in the middle, but DE's Shaun Ellis and Marques Douglas are both 32 and better at rushing the passer, and besides Jenkins at DT there is not much to write home about. If Mike Devito,Zach Potter, or Sione Pouha or someone else can show they have enough skills to play well when needed, then maybe it will be better than I think, but at this point, I just don't see the Jets being able to defend the run very well in 2009. With David Harris healthy and Bart Scott coming over from the Ravens, they're LBing crew should be very good, especially when Calvin Pace gets back from his 4 game suspension. Bryan Thomas is also pretty good but the Jets would like to see him return to his 2006 form when he had 77 tackles and 8.5 sacks. Gholston needs to show he can fill in and be effective while Pace is out, and in second season must continue to improve if this defense is to get better as well. Lucky thing for the Jets their DB's are pretty loaded. Darelle Revis,Dwight Lowery and Lito Sheppard give them an excellent trio at CB, and Kerry Rhodes and Jim Leonhard also should be very good safeties. How good Ahmad Carroll,Donald Strickland, or Drew Coleman can be in the dime package in my opinion is still questionable though. Their starting team may look good on paper, but the way injuries happen in the NFL, this defense could be in trouble if the injury bug hits the Jets again like it has in some past seasons. Also, let's remember that without depth, your starters have to play more, and this could also lead to trouble in the 4th quarter.
K Jay Feely probably doesn't get as much credit as he deserves, and if T.J.Conley can prove to be better than Hodges, at least their special teams will be in good shape, because return man Leon Washington is one of the best in the game. He may have to win a few games all by himself this season though.
Don't laugh, but if injuries get out of hand and things start going wrong in NY, the Jets could end up being this years Lions. I know 0-16 is unlikely, but don't be surprised if the Jets only go around 3-13 in 2009. Best case scenario I wouldn't think would be any better than 5-11. Remember, we're talking about a team with a rookie QB(God help them if Clemens ends up starting ) and not much experience at WR, and in my opinion a defense that is over-rated. Don't worry Jets fans, things will get better...just likely not this year.

Fantasy Outlook

Select QB Mark Sanchez at your own risk! I have him ranked at no.32 out of 32 starters, so buyer beware.
RB Thomas Jones should still be a solid no.2 RB, but if you can get him as your no.3 you should be pretty solid.
RB Leon Washington could turn out to be a nice late round pickup, especially Jones gets hurt.
WR Jerricho Cotchery should be a solid no.3 WR.
TE Dustin Keller is a solid late round starter.
Possible Sleeper:RB (R)Shonn Greene