I always find it interesting to see how other publications view the Jets. Not national ones like ESPN, but your local teams who (in my opinion) seem to know what they are talking about more than the popular national media. Saying that, I came across a blog post from the Baltimore Sun newspaper today which looked at the Jets ahead of the week 1 clash.
So I thought I would post it up here for people to take a look at, anything you agree with or disagree with, let it be known.
Head coach: Rex Ryan (11-8 overall record)
2009 record: 9-7 (lost to Indianapolis Colts in AFC championship game)
Biggest addition: Trading for WR Santonio Holmes. Even though he must serve a four-game suspension, Holmes is the perfect fit for a run-first offense that takes timely shots downfield.
Key loss: RB Thomas Jones. The Jets will regret the decision to replace Jones with LaDainian Tomlinson. Sure, Shonn Greene will take an increased role, but Jones (1,402 rushing yards) will be sorely missed.
Question mark: The Jets have to figure out how they will fill the void left by left guard Alan Faneca, who was released because of his high salary. An unproven lineman – either rookie Vladamir Ducasse or second-year pro Matt Slauson – will have to replace the Pro Bowl guard.
Projected 2010 finish: 9-7 record, second in the AFC East. The Jets attacked the offseason like they were the Washington Redskins. But that rarely guarantees success. It will be difficult for the Jets to live up to the hype.
Obviously not the most in depth analysis you are going to find but I don't think you can disagree too much with this. Perhaps you could say that Cromartie was a more important addition than Holmes, especially with Holmes missing 4 games. I personally don't think we will miss Jones all that much, and I don't think we need to go through the argument of how many of those 1,402 rushing yards were down to Jones and how many were down to the offensive line. However I think they are right to list it as a key loss because we really didn't lose anything major at other positions (some may argue for Faneca). The question mark is spot on in my opinion.
I do disagree with the projected finish, I think this team has every opportunity to finish 11-5 and top the AFC East. At least we know how the boys over at the Baltimore Sun view the Jets heading into 2010 though.