3) New York Jets: I think they did a great job in free agency. They started by hiring a star defensive coordinator in Rex Ryan as head coach. Then they added a number of quality players to a defense that was in need of an overhaul.
DE Marques Douglas, DT Howard Green, ILB Bart Scott, LB Larry Izzo, FS Jim Leonhard, CB Lito Sheppard, CB Donald Strickland were all acquired during the 2009 offseason.
Helping matters further, Douglas, Scott, and Leonhard all played for Ryan when he was the defensive coordinator in Baltimore.
That gives him an amount of good players who are familiar with his system, which should also help the returning players for the Jets to pick up Ryan’s new system.
The Jets were a mixed bag on defense last year. They had the seventh ranked rush defense, ranked sixth in rushing touchdowns allowed, and seventh in rushing yards per attempt allowed.
They were a respectable 18th in points allowed, and 16th in yards allowed. Not great, but it gives Ryan something to work with. They also recorded 40 sacks.
The problem was that they couldn’t stop the pass. They were 29th in yards allowed and 23rd in touchdown passes allowed. Quarterbacks averaged an 86.2 QB rating against them, which is too high.
Scott and Shepherd figure to step in and be immediate starters. The other players may compete for starting jobs, but if nothing else will add critical depth.
The Jets have a much-improved defense going into the 2009 season. They have the talent in place to be a Top 10 defense.
The problem going forward for the Jets is on offense. Brett Favre is no longer the quarterback. That leaves Kellen Clemens and Brett Ratliff to fight it out for the starting job.
Ratliff has yet to throw a NFL regular season pass. Clemens has a career rating of 59.3 with five career touchdowns and 11 picks. It is as weak of a quarterback situation as any team in the NFL.
The Jets also lost several offensive weapons. WR Laveranues Coles was released and has since signed with the Cincinnati Bengals. TE Chris Baker was cut and signed by the New England Patriots. TE Bubba Franks has not yet been resigned.
That leaves Jerricho Cotchery as the No. 1 receiver, Chansi Stuckey as the No. 2 receiver, and Dustin Keller as the tight end. That is probably one of the weaker starting units at wide receiver in the NFL.
Those offensive losses offset some of the gains they had on defense. That is going to put a lot of pressure on 31-year old Thomas Jones to repeat his 290 carries for 1,312 yard and 13 rushing touchdowns.
Jones is not happy about his contract and his protesting by skipping voluntary workouts.
While his numbers increased due to the additions on the offensive line in 2008, it also improved because defenses were worried about Brett Favre in the passing game. If they do not add anyone else, teams should be able to put eight in the box to stop Jones.
The Jets aren’t going to be the favorites to win the AFC East. However, they really didn’t have a lot of avenues to improve the offense in free agency, so they did the best that they could and really improved their defense.
With the 17th, 52nd, and 76th picks in the draft, they figure to be able to address the quarterback and receiver positions. The only promising QB on the market was Cassel, and the Patriots were not going to trade him to the Jets.
If the Jets use those draft picks right, they might be able to contend for a wild card spot in 2009. Jets’ fans should be happy about that, considering how their season ended last year.
http://www.nflsportchannel.com/news/2009-nfls-free-agency-winners-and-losers/