A new season brings new hope. Besides Panthers fans, today is the day we all fantasize about going undefeated and capturing the Super Bowl. For half of us, that dream ends by Monday night. Will we be on the wrong side of that equation? Let's take a look!
Mikey Macc suffers from unusually high expectations as a result of the remarkable things he accomplished in his first season. However in year two, Macc must follow HIS work and not the ineptitude of John Idzik! He now has to meet the bar HE set which is unusually high. Did he succeed? In some instances yes, in others not so much.
Offense
Let's be honest here, the offense is all about Marshall, Decker and Fitz. The trio covers up a multitude of sins, particularly around the offensive line. The left side of the line appears to be in decent shape with Clady, Carpenter and Mangold. If healthy, this is an improvement over last year. The right side is a mess. Brian Winters and Ijalana/Qvale are not good and Fitz will be slinging it to save his life. Worse yet, the entire line is one injury away from blowing up any hope of the entire season. The backups do not belong on an NFL roster. They are THAT bad.
It would be nice if Fitz had a third (and fourth) option to throw to. Enunwa will certainly catch more balls than he did last year. Macc did a remarkable job finding second level receiving talent in round seven and UFA. Peake, Marshall and Anderson are welcomed additions but they will hardly keep defensive coordinators up at night trying to scheme. For that role Macc drafted Devin Smith however he had the misfortune of being selected in the second round which in Jetsland means it was a terrible pick. More on that later.
The running game will have a new look and new identity having swapped out Chris Ivory for Matt Forte. Forte will likely have the third most catches on the team this year provided he can get and stay healthy. Bilal should finally come into his own this season and contribute in his own way, rather than being Ivory-lite.
Defense
The front four is the key. Yes I said FOUR. I expect lots of 4-3 schemes because Bowles, unlike Ryan, understands his players, not his system make plays. Bowles will want to have the best 11 guys on the field and that means lots of Mo, Sheldon, McClendon and Leo. Add to that the inexperience of half of the LB and it will be a front loaded scheme indeed. It also means Todd will send pressure from everywhere while the big guys take on the opposite team's fatties.
With Cromartie, Milliner and McDougle gone, the cornerbacks should still be solid if not spectacular. Revis will be tested and while the island may be gone, the peninsula will be remain. He'll get beat once in awhile (starting tomorrow!) but he will hold up. Gilchrist and Skrine are adequate especially with the pressure the front seven will provide. I'm curious to see how fourth round selection Justin Burris progresses. He's got the size and seems to have the intangibles if not the speed. I'm expecting him to work his way into the rotation by mid-season. I really like what Darren Lee and Jordon Jenkins can bring to the defense. Their speed will provide a noticeable upgrade.
All-in-all the defense will be better despite giving up more points and yards than last year. (See, rough schedule).
Off-season
I like what Macc has done by bringing in guys like Forte, McClendon and Bruce Carter. Solid role players who will complement the stars. As previously discussed, Lee, Jenkins and Burris may become a core part of a great young defense. Only problem is for the 7th straight year, the offensive line has been ignored. That's not good. Add to that the opportunity to address said line in the second round with a potential starter, Macc instead chose Hackenburg. Hackenburg? Seriously? Just don't get that. Also, I would have preferred Macc making some moves to free up free agent dollars to sign a starter on the line, a guy such as Kelechi Osemele who signed with the Raiders. I also would have grabbed a tackle such as Jason Spriggs in the first round and found another ILB in later rounds. Osemele and Spriggs would have been HUUUUUGE improvement over Winters and Qvale.
Despite the usual optimism by Jets Nation at this time of year I really don't know what to expect from this team. They could win 10 games again and actually make the playoffs. More realistically I think they are an 8-8 team despite being better than last year. That may disappoint some but I think it could make for an even more interesting 2017 off-season with fewer holes to fill. By then, I think Macc will realize the offensive line can be ignored no more.
Mikey Macc suffers from unusually high expectations as a result of the remarkable things he accomplished in his first season. However in year two, Macc must follow HIS work and not the ineptitude of John Idzik! He now has to meet the bar HE set which is unusually high. Did he succeed? In some instances yes, in others not so much.
Offense
Let's be honest here, the offense is all about Marshall, Decker and Fitz. The trio covers up a multitude of sins, particularly around the offensive line. The left side of the line appears to be in decent shape with Clady, Carpenter and Mangold. If healthy, this is an improvement over last year. The right side is a mess. Brian Winters and Ijalana/Qvale are not good and Fitz will be slinging it to save his life. Worse yet, the entire line is one injury away from blowing up any hope of the entire season. The backups do not belong on an NFL roster. They are THAT bad.
It would be nice if Fitz had a third (and fourth) option to throw to. Enunwa will certainly catch more balls than he did last year. Macc did a remarkable job finding second level receiving talent in round seven and UFA. Peake, Marshall and Anderson are welcomed additions but they will hardly keep defensive coordinators up at night trying to scheme. For that role Macc drafted Devin Smith however he had the misfortune of being selected in the second round which in Jetsland means it was a terrible pick. More on that later.
The running game will have a new look and new identity having swapped out Chris Ivory for Matt Forte. Forte will likely have the third most catches on the team this year provided he can get and stay healthy. Bilal should finally come into his own this season and contribute in his own way, rather than being Ivory-lite.
Defense
The front four is the key. Yes I said FOUR. I expect lots of 4-3 schemes because Bowles, unlike Ryan, understands his players, not his system make plays. Bowles will want to have the best 11 guys on the field and that means lots of Mo, Sheldon, McClendon and Leo. Add to that the inexperience of half of the LB and it will be a front loaded scheme indeed. It also means Todd will send pressure from everywhere while the big guys take on the opposite team's fatties.
With Cromartie, Milliner and McDougle gone, the cornerbacks should still be solid if not spectacular. Revis will be tested and while the island may be gone, the peninsula will be remain. He'll get beat once in awhile (starting tomorrow!) but he will hold up. Gilchrist and Skrine are adequate especially with the pressure the front seven will provide. I'm curious to see how fourth round selection Justin Burris progresses. He's got the size and seems to have the intangibles if not the speed. I'm expecting him to work his way into the rotation by mid-season. I really like what Darren Lee and Jordon Jenkins can bring to the defense. Their speed will provide a noticeable upgrade.
All-in-all the defense will be better despite giving up more points and yards than last year. (See, rough schedule).
Off-season
I like what Macc has done by bringing in guys like Forte, McClendon and Bruce Carter. Solid role players who will complement the stars. As previously discussed, Lee, Jenkins and Burris may become a core part of a great young defense. Only problem is for the 7th straight year, the offensive line has been ignored. That's not good. Add to that the opportunity to address said line in the second round with a potential starter, Macc instead chose Hackenburg. Hackenburg? Seriously? Just don't get that. Also, I would have preferred Macc making some moves to free up free agent dollars to sign a starter on the line, a guy such as Kelechi Osemele who signed with the Raiders. I also would have grabbed a tackle such as Jason Spriggs in the first round and found another ILB in later rounds. Osemele and Spriggs would have been HUUUUUGE improvement over Winters and Qvale.
Despite the usual optimism by Jets Nation at this time of year I really don't know what to expect from this team. They could win 10 games again and actually make the playoffs. More realistically I think they are an 8-8 team despite being better than last year. That may disappoint some but I think it could make for an even more interesting 2017 off-season with fewer holes to fill. By then, I think Macc will realize the offensive line can be ignored no more.
