You have a lot of valid points, but a couple of things... - The '09 draft class could actually end up being pretty decent. You're looking at stats alone, which don't always tell the full story, because most of those guys got little or no playing time, with some exceptions. Vollmer will definitely start this year (maybe at RT), Chung has a chance of starting opposite Meriweather, and Butler will likely be their 2nd or nickel CB. Brace didn't get a lot of playing time behind Wilfork, and was in large part an insurance policy in case they couldn't sign Vince. You're absolutely correct about rookies making a limited impact, so anyone they draft this year will probably not contribute much. But the guys they took in '09 should be much further along, which is good for us. - '06, '07, and '08 were all terrible drafts for the Pats... just awful. And '06 was a borderline disaster with Maroney and Chad Jackson (who, I think, served me coffee this morning). The team is actually feeling the effects of these bad years now. '07 was a wash, since they traded picks for Moss and Welker, but it's the poor drafting done during this period that is hurting the team right now. One guy you didn't mention from '08 is Wilhite, who has seen the field a lot more than Wheatley. He struggled at times but may end up being OK. - So although I agree in lots of ways, I'm not sure how you say, "the Patriots have more to prove" though. They just came off a decade where they won three super bowls, went to four, and won more games (playoffs included) than any team has ever won in a single decade. "Yesterday's news," I know, so don't come at me with that... but what I'm saying is that even if the Pats go 8-8 next year, they have very little to prove to anyone as an organization. It's pretty difficult for any team to be good for that long of a period of time, and if they drop off for a year or two as they retool, so be it. I do think the Jets have an excellent chance of winning the division, and I actually love the off-season hype that NY and Miami is getting. The Patriots do better and seem to play harder when there's a chip on their shoulder and they're not in the limelight as much. And with such huge importance on the QB position, it's hard to argue that they don't still have a pretty big edge on the AFC East in that department.
The Jets are the trendy team right now for 2010. If Sanchez steps up to the next level and the team stays healthy then there's a good chance they'll win the AFC East and make a serious move on the Super Bowl. All the Pats have to do to win the AFC East is to have Brady play at his proven level and also avoid injuries. I think it's pretty clear that the latter of those two propositions is somewhat more likely to actually happen when the race actually starts in September. Here in April I give the Jets their best chance to outright own the AFC East since 1999 and I think the Pats have their worst situation. That's progress at least.
We seem to dominate March and April a lot lately, at least this past year it translated some into December and January. I'd still like to go better than 9-7 before proclaiming us the team to beat at anything.
It pains me to admit but if Sanchez steps up, and they solve the OLB and Safety issue, the Jets are the team to beat. Brady and Moss are aging and Welker is coming off a bad ACL tear. Give the Dolphins another year and the division will come down to the Jets and Phins.
You are missing the kid's point entirely. For us Jets fans, what he is saying is equivalent to, reasoning that because Gholston sucked his rookie year, well then Dustin Keller will suck too because the coaching staff doesn't know what they are doing. or Shawn Greene sat out a lot of games then our draft pick this year will sit out too. Each player is unique in what they bring to the table. Sure the Patriots could miss on a few draft picks they could hit also...
Gotcha. Everything's relative too. If they pick up a rookie pass rusher who manages 10 sacks (not out of the realm of reality for a rook), that makes the secondary look that much better. As a fan I admit I'm not terribly optimistic about 2010. But then again, the team has done more with less talent in years past. I don't think the 2010 version will be any less talented than, say, the '01 team that won the Super Bowl. You never know. No matter what, Ryan's made the Jets fun to watch. Once the Patriots were out I was actually pulling for you to beat Indy, LOL!
All the while Jets Fans cling onto waiting for us to fuck up, SOJs will never die. Fortunately, immortality doesn't exist.
SOJ is a way of life it will always be there until we win the SB until then its a dark cloud lurking in the sky
SOJ is like Jets fan herpes. There is no cure for it, you can only treat it's flare ups and try unsuccessfully to avoid infecting others.
then we need to genocide those who are SOJ Fans. My Final Solution would ensure the correct fans being in place to make this franchise better than the Steelers.
Does this mean we have to be blonde and blue eyed? SOJ fans are a dieing breed and I can't wait to drive a stake through the last one.
blonde hair and blue eyes = richard todd dont want to relive the afc championship game again from 81 as for SOJ once we win the SB ,just like MESSIER won the cup for rangers then it will die until then its out there in the innermost recess of every jet fans soul laying doormat until it strikes and takes away our happiness.
Soon they will all need the handicap-able seats, and those are very limited. I so look forward to not hearing that at the games.
