Take a new head coach who isn’t afraid to put his foot in his mouth, put him in the media capital of the world, and you've got an instant celebrity. When that coach — Rex Ryan of the Jets — propels his team to overachieve during a surprising playoff run, it creates even more buzz for the following season. Do the Jets deserve the hype they've garnered? Let's take a closer look at New York on the 31st stop of NESN.com's 32-day flight across the NFL.
2009 Record: 9-7 (lost to Colts in AFC Championship)
2010 Schedule Difficulty: Their opponents went a combined 128-128 (.500 winning percentage) in 2009, which is tied for the 16th most difficult schedule in the NFL.
Key Additions: Cornerback Antonio Cromartie, running back LaDainian Tomlinson, wide receiver Santonio Holmes, linebacker Jason Taylor, cornerback Kyle Wilson (draft), guard Vladimir Ducasse (draft), kicker Nick Folk
Key Losses: Running back Thomas Jones, cornerback Lito Sheppard, safety Kerry Rhodes, guard Alan Faneca, running back Leon Washington, kicker Jay Feely, cornerback Donald Strickland
Burning Question: Was there too much tinkering?
If the Jets left everything alone, there'd be little doubt of what they were capable of in 2010. But they mysteriously unloaded Thomas Jones, Leon Washington and Alan Faneca, and acquired LaDainian Tomlinson, Antonio Cromartie, Santonio Holmes and Jason Taylor. (After 2009, the writing was on the wall that the Jets would dump Kerry Rhodes, Lito Sheppard and Donald Strickland.)
The four high-profile additions come with plenty of baggage, and their personalities could be enough to rattle the core of a very talented team. Of course, their talent could also be enough to push them over the top, but therein lies the great debate in the Big Apple.
If the Jets stayed on track and let players develop without distraction under a coaching staff that breeds optimism, they'd be almost certain contenders to get back to the AFC title game. But now that the Jets have gone for broke, they're facing a series of questions heading into the season.
2010 Outlook: The Jets have a Super Bowl-caliber defense, but they've revamped the running attack that led the league in yardage last season. If Shonn Greene, Tomlinson and Joe McKnight aren’t as productive as last year's crew, it will put more stress on quarterback Mark Sanchez, who needs to take some major strides in his second season.
Bare minimum, the Jets should return to the playoffs in 2010, but there are too many unknowns to forecast their true potential.
