INSIDE SLANT
After two seasons of diminishing returns, Jets fans surely welcomed the kind of turnover that enveloped the franchise throughout the offseason. The Jets will have at least 10 new starters by the time they finally kick off the season against Tampa Bay on Sept. 8.
But will the new faces yield appreciably better results than the old ones? That's the big question facing the Jets as they prepare for their first training camp under new general manager John Idzik and, perhaps, the last one under potential lame-duck head coach Rex Ryan.
Idzik, who was hired away from Seattle in January, began rebuilding the Jets by patching a bunch of holes with placeholder veterans on short-term deals. While that provides the Jets valuable future financial flexibility, it may not do much this year to improve a team that was among the least-talented in the NFL last season, when the Jets went 6-10 and beat just one team that finished the season with a winning record.
The biggest move Idzik made -- selecting West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith in the second round of the draft -- was also his most controversial. Smith tailed off badly after a Heisman Trophy-caliber first half of his senior season and had his character as well as his ability to adapt to an NFL-style offense questioned in the weeks leading up to the draft.
If Smith proves the criticisms unfounded, then the Jets may have the franchise quarterback they've lacked since Joe Namath. If not, then the Jets haven't upgraded at all on Mark Sanchez, who has been the king of the bad turnover for two years running. Smith didn't distinguish himself during OTAs, which makes it likely Sanchez will be behind center against Tampa Bay -- which, in turn, won't do anything to win back the members of an increasingly frustrated fan base.
Strengths: If Ryan is going to go down, he'll do so with the type of run-oriented offensive attack he's always preferred. After two years with the plodding Shonn Greene as the lead runner, the Jets will aim to employ a "thunder and lightning" approach with Chris Ivory, whom they acquired from the Saints for a draft pick, and Mike Goodson, whom they signed as a free agent. Ivory's fierce running style gives the Jets an element they've lacked since Thomas Jones' departure, while Goodson provides a big-play threat Ryan's never had out of the backfield. Of course, that's contingent on Goodson dodging jail time and/or an NFL suspension stemming from his arrest on drug and gun charges in May.
After years of contentious contract negotiations -- and one season-ending knee injury -- the Jets traded Darrelle Revis to Tampa Bay. But secondary was one of the Jets' few bright spots last season, when Antonio Cromartie played at a Revis-like level following Revis' September injury. First-round pick Dee Milliner looks like a keeper and should team up with Cromartie to provide the Jets one of the best cornerback duos in the league.
Muhammad Wilkerson single-handedly strengthens an otherwise questionable defensive line. Wilkerson, who had had three forced fumbles and five sacks last year, should make the first of many Pro-Bowl trips this year.
Weaknesses: There may not be a worse passing game in the league than the one owned by the Jets. Jeremy Kerley had a solid breakout season last year, but he's miscast as a No. 1 receiver. He slides into that role by default with the Jets, especially with Santonio Holmes' long recovery from Lisfranc surgery threatening to drag into the regular season. The rest of what passes for the top of the Jets' depth chart -- Stephen Hill, Clyde Gates and Jordan White -- have a combined 40 NFL catches. Tight end Jeff Cumberland was a find in his first full season, but it's telling that the Jets not only signed Kellen Winslow Jr. but hope he can contribute after missing most of last year with lingering knee injuries.
With such a weak receiving corps, it won't matter who quarterbacks the Jets. Nonetheless, it'll be a bad sign if Smith can't take the job from Sanchez by the Jets' bye week in November. The Jets know what Sanchez can and cannot do and it behooves them to begin finding out if Smith is the long-term answer. Smith's inevitable growing pains will be much easier to absorb if he shows tangible improvement by the final quarter of the season. If not, then the word "bust" will surely be bandied about.
New faces will dominate both lines as well as at linebacker, where Quinton Coples needs to show the pass-rushing skills he displayed at North Carolina, and at safety, where Dawan Landry and either Antonio Allen or Josh Bell will have to replace LaRon Landry and Yeremiah Bell, who missed less than 70 snaps combined last season.
NOTES, QUOTES
--The Jets lost one of their biggest fans when actor James Gandolfini -- forever known as Tony Soprano -- died of a heart attack in Italy at the age of 51.
Gandolfini, a native of northern New Jersey, was a staple at Jets home games, where he sat in the seats with the masses instead of nestling in a cozy luxury suite. Gandolfini's Jets fandom was written into "The Sopranos," whose next-to-last episode in 2007 featured Tony Soprano stepping away from a table in a restaurant to say hi to then-Jets coach Eric Mangini, who appeared as himself in the scene.
The Jets issued a statement via Twitter shortly after news broke about Gandolfini's death: "We're deeply saddened to hear about the passing of our friend James Gandolfini. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family & friends."
--The Jets hope they found a surprise keeper in tight end Kellen Winslow Jr., who participated in minicamp on a tryout basis and signed a one-year contract on June 14.
Winslow flashed his Pro Bowl ability throughout the three-day minicamp, and the Jets will have a steal if he can revert to the form he's shown during the five seasons in which he played 16 games.
But Winslow, who averaged 78 catches for 872 yards in those five full seasons with the Browns and Buccaneers, has battled knee woes since entering the league with Cleveland in 2004 and played in just one game for the Patriots last season. The Jets will surely be content if he proves he can still withstand the rigors of a 16-game season.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "We've got a ton of stuff to improve on. We know that. So this is just the beginning of the process. But again, I'm happy with how we went through the OTAs and mandatory camp, really all (of) the phase one, two and three of the offseason program." -- Jets head coach Rex Ryan, speaking at his final minicamp press conference on June 13.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
Cause for concern: A lean wide receiver corps looked even more barren during OTAs. Santonio Holmes didn't take a snap as he recovers from Lisfranc surgery while Jeremy Kerley, Stephen Hill, Clyde Gates and Jordan White were all limited by injury as well. More alarmingly, Kerley and Hill each had multiple drops when they were on the field. There's not much help to be found on the free-agent market in the weeks before training camp, but the Jets may need to add someone, anyone, to provide some depth and reliability.
Position battles: The Jets will give Geno Smith every opportunity to supplant Mark Sanchez at quarterback, though Sanchez will probably fend him off as Smith adjusts from the spread to the West Coast offense. With Santonio Holmes unlikely to be ready for the season opener and Jeremy Kerley the only NFL-caliber starting wide receiver likely to hit the field for the Jets' first workout in Cortland July 26, there will be a wide-open competition between Stephen Hill, Clyde Gates, Jordan White and a bevy of camp bodies for the No. 2 job opposite Kerley.
FRANCHISE PLAYER: None.
TRANSITION PLAYER: None.
UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS (not tendered offers)
--WR Braylon Edwards (not tendered as UFA).
--TE Dedrick Epps (not tendered as ERFA).
--G Brandon Moore (not tendered as UFA).
--WR Chaz Schilens (not tendered as UFA).
--LB Bryan Thomas (not tendered as UFA).
RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS: None.
EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS FREE AGENTS: None.
DRAFT CHOICES SIGNED
--G Brian Winters (3/72): $2,903,876/4 yrs, $643,876 SB.
--T Oday Aboushi (5/141): $2,359,000/4 yrs, $199,000 SB.
--G Will Campbell (6/178): $2,279,500/4 yrs, $110,500 SB.
--FB Tommy Bohanonn (7/215): $2,222,248/4 yrs, $62,248 SB.
DRAFT CHOICES UNSIGNED
--CB Dee Milliner (1/9).
--DE Sheldon Richardson (1/13).
--QB Geno Smith (2/39).
PLAYERS RE-SIGNED
--TE Jeff Cumberland: RFA tendered at $1.323M with no compensation; $1.323M/1 yr.
--K Nick Folk: UFA; $780,000/1 yr, $65,000 SB.
--RB Lex Hilliard: UFA; 1 yr, terms unknown.
--T Austin Howard: RFA tendered at $2.023M with second-round pick as compensation); terms unknown.
--LB Josh Mauga: Potential RFA; terms unknown.
--LB Calvin Pace: FA, had been released by Jets; 1 yr, terms unknown.
--LS Tanner Purdum: Not tendered as RFA; 2 yrs, terms unknown.
PLAYERS ACQUIRED
--LB Antwan Barnes: UFA Chargers; $4M/3 yrs, $900,000 SB.
--G Willie Colon: FA Steelers; $1.2M/1 yr.
--NT Antonio Garay: FA Chargers; 1 yr, terms unknown.
--RB Mike Goodson: UFA Raiders; $6.9M/3 yrs.
--RB Chris Ivory (trade Saints).
--S Jaiquawn Jarrett: FA; terms unknown.
--S Dawan Landry: FA Jaguars; terms unknown.
--WR Ben Obomanu: FA Seahawks; terms unknown.
--G Stephen Peterman: FA Lions; terms unknown.
--TE Kellen Winslow: FA; 1 yr, terms unknown.
PLAYERS LOST
--FB/TE Josh Baker (released).
--S Yeremiah Bell: UFA Cardinals; 1 yr, $905,000/1 yr, $65,000 SB.
--DE Mike DeVito: UFA Chiefs; $12.6M/3 yrs, $6.2M guaranteed.
--RB Shonn Greene: UFA Titans; $10M/3 yrs, $2.5M guaranteed.
--TE Dustin Keller: UFA Dolphins; $4.25M/1 yr, $2.25M guaranteed.
--S LaRon Landry: UFA Colts; $24M/4 yrs, $14M guaranteed.
--NT Sione Po'uha (released).
--CB Darrelle Revis (traded Buccaneers).
--LB Bart Scott (released).
--G Matt Slauson: UFA Jets; $815,000/1 yr, $100,000 SB/$200,000 guaranteed.
--S Eric Smith (released).
--T Jason Smith (released).
--QB Tim Tebow (released).
This post was edited by Falcon_A on Jul 4 2013 08:35pm