Peter King Ranks All 32 Teams
Peter King has ranked all 32 NFL teams in his MMQB article today, and the Jets are in his middle of the pack “The Usual Suspects” grouping at Number 14.
14. New York Jets. If Eric Mangini learned one thing from all those years with Bill Belichick, it’s pressure or perish. Pressure the quarterback well or go 4-12. And the Jets’ pressure was pathetic last year. The guys who were supposed to rush the passer (Bryan Thomas, Shaun Ellis, Keyon Coleman and Victor Hobson) combined for 11 sacks.
This year the Jets should have three sacks a game, easy, with first-rounder Vernon Gholston and expensive free agent, Calvin Pace, coming from the edge and Kris Jenkins pushing the pile and drawing attention in the middle. (“I want to thank the Jets for getting that guy out of our division and out of my hair,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden said last month.) One other thing, Jets brass: Give Kellen Clemens a chance to be the quarterback; don’t put him through an eight-game trial. Don’t you know what you have in Chad Pennington by now?
Fourteenth best team would rank them just a smidge out of the playoffs, which is the low point of my expectations for the team in 2008. Here’s the other AFC East teams …
New England: 1
Buffalo: 13
Miami: 27
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I think that is a fair ranking considering that we were 4-12 last year and are unproven this year.
Personally, I have higher expectations than this ranking but we are still unproven with all the new talent that we have.
This ranking is surprisingly fair in my opinion. I’d have expected them to be ranked significantly lower, only because the “experts” (and I usually agree with this) don’t look kindly upon free-agent spending sprees and attempts to change everything in one offseason.
But I do have confidence that the JETS will be around where this ranking has them, and that the possibility is there that they’ll even make a run for a wildcard spot.
I agree, *suprisingly fair* DSmizzle, coming off a 4-12 season without a clear cut starter at qb and having *overpaid* for many players during free agency I wouldn’t expect such kind treatment from someone in the national media.
Everyone in his “Usual Suspects” group has some big question marks to answer and if they do any one of those teams could be in the playoff mix at the end, and I think that is a fair projection given the current state of the Jets.
My prediction: Shortly after the first Jets-Pats match-up, PETA calls for the suspension of Gholston. Sadly, Tom Brady has to be euthanized on New England’s twelve yard line.
It’s encouraging to see Peter King use the full weight of his metric powers to predict three sacks a game, easy. His analysis is held in such high regard he doesn’t need to show his work.
Team would have to win more than 2 of its first 4 games to merit higher than middle of the pack. Week 1 is a classic trap game. Week 2 is a loss. Week 3 is a win. Week 4 is a game that winners win and losers lose. We shall see.
at Miami
New England
at San Diego
Arizona
I will not be shocked with missing the playoffs (or eeking in for that matter). I will be very disappointed if we find ourselves behind the penny pinching Jills again.
That will be hard to stomach.
Harlan
hey styne…u cant label week one a trap game. and u cant just count week 3 national tv against the chargers as a win…
how is a game against SD a sure win?
Skip to Page 5. PK is so biased towards his beloved NE Patriots that he deserves a punch to the balls for this load of BS:
“Do what you love, and be ready to put everything you have into it … There’s no ‘I’ in team. There is an ‘I’ in ‘win’ and what that ‘I’ stands for is individual responsibility.”
–New England coach Bill Belichick, in a speech to 3,200 students and townspeople at Salem State (Mass.) College on Wednesday night.
When has Bellicheat ever been been associated with Individual Responsibility. To his wife – no. To his team – no. To his league – no.
Give it a rest PK, no matter how you spin it, Bellicheat is a turd.
If you count wins against teams against which we are of a higher rank and losses against those who outrank us, it would be 10 wins 3 losses. The closely ranked teams, Buffalo and Seattle are the other three. Not a bad outlook!
baltimorejet……..i can’t agree with you more i think the chargers have the best def..in the game but for some reason if they start clemons were 11-5 if they if they start chad were 8-8 so being rank 14 is up in the air depending on the situation.
WE CANNOT LOSE THE FIRST GAME TO THE DOLPHINS!! It would be a disaster! It would mean that everything we did in the off season was for naught. It would mean that Parcells has them going in the right direction, and Mangini has us going in the wrong direction. If we are going to establish ourselves as a team to be reckoned with, then we need to beat the team who went 1-15 last year.
WE CANNOT LOSE THE FIRST GAME TO THE DOLPHINS!!
Dont get ahead of urself John Stynne…
Its a long season and it is not even close yet… With that atitude, the season is over before it even begins.
Cheer up and hope for the best!!! We are a new team with a new atitude… Anything less than 10-6 this year is a failure in my book!
I actually consider last year a winning season…we beat Miami twice.
If we go 14-2, and the 2 losses are to Miami, then its a loosing season.
Johnny Styne,
I could punch you in the face for saying that!
HELL YEA!!!!
I dont know what kind of attitude John has… someone needs to smack him around so he can get pumped for this year!
Wait a minute… Peter King just said, “Give Kellen Clemens a chance to be the quarterback; don’t put him through an eight-game trial. Don’t you know what you have in Chad Pennington by now?”
That’s a very smart and well reasoned statement from Peter King, and it’s absolutely the right approach for this team. Very well said, PK…
…I think my head is about to explode.
If Clemens is the QB, I’d be very concerned. Clemens played terribly against the Parcells coaching tree last year. He nearly suffered a season-ending injury against the Pats and Crennel made him look awful against the defensively-challenged Browns. So, King thinks his first 2 starts of the 2008 against Parcells and Belichick is a good idea? Start Chad, let him try to get the Jets off to a good start. Chad’s killed Miami and San Diego and has had some success against the Pats. If he falters, then KC can come in. If the opposite happens…KC starts and Chad takes over, I’m not sure KC can mentally come back from that. When PK says it, the opposite is always the better course.
Dangerous to anoint Clemens the starter now based on what we saw last year. He’s gotta win it on his own in training camp.
I’m sorry but Buffalo is always picked to do something and never quite gets there. Kind of like the Ravens and Denver the past couple of years. Lots of pre-season hype but no results. I don’t take these pre-season picks seriously.
sackdance…
how can you say give chad the spot? clemens needs a chance to show what he has with a strong O-line. PK is completely right- we know what Chad has to offer, we dont know what clemens has the potential to be
this is not hersheys. change is good. you cant keep doing the same thing and hope for diff results
Peter king , for all his wisdom, is out of his mind! Doesn’t he know that chad is the only proven winner of all the QB’s? He is the most accurate passer in the NFL. We finally have a highly competitive team in every position (with the exeception of only a couple ) and he wants to give the only real chance we’ve had to get some real respect in the NFL in about twenty years to a unproven QB. I think he’s drinking from the same bottle as Cimini!!. Forget the numbers, WE WILL GO TO THE PLAYOFF BABY!!! then its a brand new season….see Giants circa ‘07.
agree with you EddieC, we know Pennington cant throw the out or the deep ball. Give Clemens a chance behind a revamped O-Line, and more importantly some game experience, albite it wasnt very good but there were some flashes. We know exactly what we have in Chad, and that is not getting to the Superbowl.
I’m shocked he has the NO Saints lower than the Jets. I expect great things from the Saints this year.
i’ll take chad anyday over clemmens……lets give CHAD a chance with a real team behind him…….true he had one in 02′ but he was wet behind the ears and still won a playoff game…….44-3 jets over peyton mannings colts
Johnny, how is a week 1 a trap game? Usually a team that made the playoffs last season and plays Miami is considered a trap game. Also, the Dolphins are a division opponent. Week 2 mostly like is a loss. Week 3 is gonna be a tough one to win too. Week 4 is also a win against Arizona. 2-2 after first 4 games in my opinion. If they are 3-1 to start the season, that would be phenomenal! Especially against the two teams who made the AFC championship game last season
jets will start the season 3-5 but that’s o.k they will still make the playoffs
my fellow jets fans….i know it’s hard to get chad out your system butt he is a has been we have to go with clemens he is our future;going back to a wash up qb.with no arm and always injured were taking a step backwards if he start we will go 6-10 at best because defense already know that he is limited for what he could do on the field.football is like playing chess if they know your moves than your going to lose.
SD99, we should start whoever performs well enough to win the position in training camp and preseason and don’t look back. If Chad wins it, so be it, but I think we would be in trouble if he does since he can’t throw the out or the deep ball anymore. If Clemens proves himself, it won’t matter who they face in the first 2 weeks, if he earned the starters spot then he should start week 1.
Giving Chad 2 starts against the Parcells coaching tree to “keep Clemens safe” and then turning the reigns back over to Clemens means 2 things: 1) it means Clemens hasn’t truly proven himself if we need to start someone else against the “best coaches” and 2) it would start a QB controversy that would divide the locker room and haunt us for the whole season.
If Mangini did what you were suggesting, I would seriously question his judgment and decision making skills.
if chad wins the starting job than we wasted 2 draft picks on dustin keller and marcus henry they are built for clemens rocket arm behind a good off.line and if he starts that will make these draft picks look like busts….
im with peter king clemens has to be the starter.
Ramble wins the Kewpie for correct Jet attitude. Fillet the Fish. Death to the Raiders.
harlan
IMHO..i think KC did better than most have the guts to say…1 stat no1 has is all the dropped passes from KC…if not for dropped passes he should have gone at least 5-3 in his starts…bottom line a QB gets the praise when a team wins and gets the fault when it loses…he did what he can with that god awful o-line that was in front of him…what i remember seeing was an entire team crumble around him…he really had no support…same goes for C.PENN…but it was clemens who got the wins not c.penn…i love chad but in the end i would rather the younger kid get the job…just my thoughts…
I agree with SD99, Johnl,Hank/naples, N.Y City PE, with regtard to Chad vs Clemens. This team is build to win now! Chad… even with one leg and half of an arm
behind a solid offensive line can do a better job than Clemens.
Those fans who want to see Clemens , Peter King included, they do not realize that to become a solid QB you need time. Last year we put Clemens in games to see what he had and we almost destroyed his confidence and perhaps his development. DO NOT FORGET THAT HE ENDED UP AS THE WORST RATED QB.
It may take just a bad start this year, maybe a couple of games and his career could be over……
I want Clemens to be our QB when he is ready…and from what we showed last year he is not!!
To All — Trap Game does not necessarily mean Loss — Loss means Loss — all Trap Game means is that there is a reasonable danger that the Jets will look past the Dolphins to the Patriots — If they do, they are in for a long day — If they don’t, they should win –
Like most of you, I expect the Patriots to beat the Jets — Given that, the nationally televised game against the Chargers becomes effectively a do-or-die game for the Jets — For that reason, I see the Jets winning that game — Whether they show up to play Arizona is all on Mangini –
if chad is name the starter i will guranteed yar that he won’t be able to play 16 games he never does all he is doing is stopping clemens growth;he plays 4 games we go 1-3 he get injured they put clemens in and it’s another lost season we have to see this kid from day 1 a then we will know what we have in the future i don’t know about you guys but im tired of going backwards already
i think i might be the only 1 who thinks we have a shot at beating NE…true their offense is still the same but the same can’t be said of their defense…
where as we pretty much built up our defense and our offense should be alot better than last year…now im not saying were gonna be the SBchamps… but i truely believe this is the begining of the end of the paties… call me what you want but what goes up always comes down…but we will win 1 of the matchups between the 2 of us…if not both…just my thoughts…
Its impossible for an opener to be a trap game. PERIOD. but yes most would agree that the pats game is likely a loss….but whether our record is 0-2 or 1-1 or 2-0…the charger game will be tough, and a pleasant surprise if we win it.
I have to disagree with everyone taking it for granted that we will lose against the Pats.
I really think that we have a score to settle with those guys and our guys are going to play very tough like they always do.
With that said, look for us to play straight up against the dolphins and save all of our tricks and new defense and disguises for the Pats. Similar to what happened 2 years ago when we beat them in Foxboro, I dont think they will know what hit them.
We cant look past the dolphins but I dont think that we will show anything exotic on D. We will leave that to surprise the Pats because they wont know what to expect.
Look for a close game with the Jets looking to make a statement early in the season after a miserable 4-12 season. Otherwise, everyone will say….. :”Same ol’ Jets!” Just my thoughts and that is what I expect us to do.
najy
you must of misread my post…becuz i also think we can beat the paties…
They should trade for Chris Simms and sign Ty Law. If that happens, Jets will make the playoffs!!!
That win against NE when Brady ended up on the ground in the mud still brings a smile to my face. The Jets played that game with fire and a desire to make a statement after the Bellicheat dissed Mangini in their first meeting.
If the Jets are going to win this year, they need to show fire. Fire against the Pats and fire against the other teams that are trying to steal their lunch.
The QB is going to have to have that attitude. Chad has shown it in the past. I’m not sure KC has it, but if he’s going to play, he better get it!
I think, with so many new guys on the team, that the 2 and 2 start is more likely. After the bye, I think lights out, we begin a five game win streak. Then playing NE the second time will be the chance to beat them. Then you have three more wins before Buffalo and Seattle. Should be up to, at least, split them. Then Miami is the last game of the year. Should be a good year!
I would love to beat the Pats, but a team that was 4-12 should be much better at playing the rest of the league. All our sites are at the Pats but we only play 2 games against them. If they play close with the Pats (like the Giants did in the last week of the year) then u know we have closed the gap on them. We will see when both games are played
to ALL you SO CALLED J-E-T-S “fans” out there…..MARK MY WORDS……BEST case scenario JETS will be 11-5 & WORST case scenario 9-7
ps: we will ABSOLUTELY win ONE of the games vs the 18 and ONE patsies……ALL DYNASTY”SCOME TO AN END!! OURS is just getting STARTED!
jetski,
How is Chris Simms and Ty Law going to get us in the playoffs? Chris Simms has done nothing in his career to warrant that. There is even doubt he can come back effectively after that spleen injury. Ty Law is over the hill, and is a shadow of his former self.
I love Chad Pennington the QB, I have the utmost respect for him as a player and a person, but his era is over. Chad cannot get us to a Superbowl, we have to go in a different direction, whether it be KC, Eric Angie, or someone else, but Chad can’t do it.
With him at QB our offensive pass game will be very limited and one dimensional. We need to be able to do different things in the passing game including be able to throw the medium and long routes. if we can opnly throw the short game, then we will not have and effective passing game or running game.
Many people predicted double-digit wins for the Jets in 07, even after the Pete Kendall trade. This year, if Clemens starts and his receivers don’t drop the football and the O-line can open holes for the running game and Thomas Jones can be a legitimate starting running back and the defense can stop the run and put pressure on the opposing quarterback and even one Mike Nugent kickoff results in a touchback, then, yes, I predict double-digit wins for the Jets in 08.
Hey Nuge got at least two touchbacks last year!
it’s curious to see the patriots play a whole season with out cheating i think they take a step backwards this yr.because they won’t have that cheating advantage anymore so we must take advantage of the opportunity at hand.
Just — Yes, he had 9, up from 2 in 06 and 1 in 05.
I don’t think the taping (cheating) really gave them a big advantage. As much as I hate them, they are a very good team.
Ramble, I totally agree with you.
As much as I want to see the Jets have a successful season, if they can’t have a winning season, I will still be happy if they beat the Dolphins in both contests.
Look, I’m not a huge Chad fan, but I also don’t think KC was ready to take over for Chad last season and I think that Chad was hurt. If Chad is 100% healthy, he will beat out KC in training camp. Chad is a smarter and more poised QB than KC. He can hit his no. 3 receiver and not take a year and a day to figure that out. Yes, Chad has arm strength issues, but I really thought he lost just enough zip due to his ankle injury to make him incapable of being an NFL QB. Clearly, if he can’t make basic throws, like the short out, then by all means start KC. However, if we have 2006 Chad, with this improved OL and the additional weapons (primarily Keller and Franks), then I see no reason why Chad couldn’t lead the Jets to a 10-6 or better season.
Chad only seems to lead us to 10-6 after 4-12 seasons. An 8-8 with KC is a better season to me than a 10-6 first round exit in the playoffs. I think Keller would be better utilized by Clemens. At least with taller recieving options they wont have to jump as much to get concussions or maybe he will compensate.
Frank,
In my opinion and until proven otherwise, the Pats are the benchmark in the league. If we can beat the Pats, then we can beat anybody.
Thats why so many fans and even the players look at the Pats on the schedule cuz thats where it begins and ends. We can make our entire season if we beat the Pats. Confidence and intimidation will set in and we play other teams if we beat the Pats.
Once we get confidence and intimidation on our side, then we will be a scary team.
I don’t want a 10-6 season, I want a 12-4 season. In my entire life of being a Jets fan, which goes back to the 1969 season the Jets have been 12-4 only once! Once, in 40 years and that was under Parcells in 98′. I’m sick of going 4-12 then 10-6 every other year.
Chad will only take us so far, knowing that whats the point in him starting. Let KC play and gain the experience.
If I were confident that KC could become a good NFL QB, then I’d say play KC and let him learn because he’s the future. I can’t say that after KC’s terrible 2007 campaign. If he were Aikman, Peyton or Palmer, then sure, play him because no. 1 picks with prototype size and stellar college resumes are the types of guys that you have to invest in, even if it means growing pains. KC, on the other hand, was very much a 2nd round project. He was hurt in college, had pocket poise issues in college, and he does not have prototype size. As everyone knows who follows my posts, I hope he’s supplanted by Ainge or someone else, but for now, I’d like to see the Jets win and Chad gives the Jets the best chance to win IF he can make the same throws he made in 2006. Let KC sit and learn more and, if he comes in, he’ll be coming in more prepared and on a better team. But, if he starts from game 1 and the Jets fall into an 0-3 hole and KC doesn’t look good losing, he’s done as an NFL QB (or, at least, the Jets QB). It’s better for him and the Jets that Chad gets first crack.
Sack, Parking Expert, Nikolas –
I couldn’t disagree with you more. Kellen not only gives us the best chance to win in the future (since he and Ainge have the potential to improve while Chad only has the certainty to regress), Kellen gives us the best chance to win right now. And it’s not even really that close.
I know that Kellen Clemens is still real raw, undisciplined in the pocket, takes too many sacks and is inaccurate. I know that he only had a 52% completion percentage and that he finished 2008 with a lower QB rating than Chad did. However, I also know that Kellen is 24 and healthy while Chad is 31 and abused. I know that during Kellen’s last two years at Oregon, when he was playing behind a line that actually gave him more than 0.3 seconds to look at the field before having to switch into panic mode, he went 408 for 661 (61%) for 4954 yards (7.4 YPA) and 41 TD’s against 14 INT’s (a 2.92 ratio). The last time Chad had a TD-INT ration that approached 3 to 1 was in 2002, and that was two arm surgeries ago. I know that Chad Pennington’s game, while extremely accurate on short slants and dumpoffs, is so limited vertically that in the fourth quarter, where defenses tighten and load up for the pass, Chad’s inability to go deep lead to CB’s keying on short routes and Chad posting a miserable 59.7 rating with 1 TD against 5 INT’s.
I know that Chad will be better in 2008 than in 2007, because our team is improved and Chad’s a game manager… you surround him with talented people and he’ll distribute the ball and move the offense. But, we also know that 2008, 2009, and 2010 Chad Pennington is a very limited quarterback who has, with increasing frequency, played horribly (especially against good defenses) and singlehandedly cost us games because he just can’t make every throw and can’t dictate the offense, instead only working within the space the defense allows him to work in. There will be multiple situations in every game where Chad will need to make a play that he simply is incapable of making. It’s like when Jim Abbott pitched in the NL his last year – he’s still a decent pitcher who will keep you in most games, but there’s going to come a time where you really need him to sacrifice bunt over the guy on second and he’s going to end up striking out instead because his body just isn’t capable of that.
I concede that Kellen may end up bombing the joint out and he could be worse than Chad. However, Tony Romo could have very easily been worse than Drew Bledsoe; Jason Campbell could have been worse than Mark Brunell; David Garrard could have been worse than Byron Leftwich; Matt Hasselbeck could have been worse than Jon Kitna; etc. etc. etc… and, yes, Chad Pennington could have been worse than Vinny Testaverde. But all of them had the potential to be better, which Kellen has. All of them have upside and physical ability and needed to be given an opportunity to start and show if they could hack it or not. For the health, both short term and long term, we must give Kellen the opportunity. We know that Chad If he fails, Chad will be there to take the second half of the season.
Again, there will be multiple situations in every game where Chad will need to make a play that he simply is incapable of making, and the defenses know this and adjust accordingly, thus reducing our offensive effectiveness before the ball is even snapped. Kellen only has the potential to play poorly; he therefore also has the potential to play excellently. Chad will play slightly above average QB in many situations and horrible QB in several others. Those are not potentials, those are absolutes.
It’s simply foolish to not play Kellen Clemens from Week One. Name him the starter, give him the confidence and the practice week reps, let him lead the drills in camp and build a relationship with the WR’s. Let him sink or swim.
Sorry, meant to say:
For the health of our franchise, both short term and long term, we must give Kellen the opportunity.
I still don’t understand your logic, SD99. So the only QB worth starting is one selected in the first round? Let’s say the QB we are talking about was Brady Quinn and he had similar numbers to Clemens due to the offensive line play last season in his first year as a starter. Would you be making the same argument? Would Chad still present the best opportunity to win?
Look, I am okay with a camp/preseason competition at QB. If Chad still presents the best chance to win, then I am okay with that. Next season we can draft a QB and drop Chad. But if KC (or even Ainge for that matter) proves he is ready to start, then he should start Week 1 regardless of who the opponent is. Our starting QB should not be babied into the first 2-3 games of the season because if he loses he will be out on his ear. And who says that will be the case anyway.
What if KC plays exceptionally well as the starter, scoring 30+ points per game, but our defense falls apart and gives up 40 points in each of the first 4 games. Is KC going to be thrown out because we are 0-4?
What if he plays mediocre in those losses, but Chad has lost the ability to make throws and Ainge isn’t ready? KC would then present himself as the best option right? Are you going to tank the season by inserting Chad or Ainge?
Let’s see how preseason plays out and then make some decisions.
tommiesmithjohncarlos,
Excellent post.
and kellen clemens can scramble for the 1st down he is faster than i thought he was!
It was so refreshing to see the Jets go vertical when Quincy Carter threw deep to Laveranues and Santana Moss against Baltimore in 04. Of course, Herm took the ball out of Quincy’s hands and called for the halfback option as not to show up Chad’s torn rotator cuff. At that moment it was sealed that we would have the privilege of watching Chad Pennington start at quarterback for the Jets until the end of time.
It was so refreshing to see the Jets go vertical when Kellen Clemens threw deep against Baltimore in 07. Of course, Justin McCareins dropped the game winning touchdown two times as not to show up Chad’s torn rotator cuff. At that moment it was sealed that we would have the privilege of watching Chad Pennington start at quarterback for the Jets until the end of time.
Obviously, Coles was a Redskin in 04 — I meant Baker — (How could I possibly confuse the two?) –
i cant wait to see clemens throw that rocket up in the air and marcus henry go up and get it for a td…johnny shyne
Sign Chris Simms! The only difference between Manning and Clemens is that Manning gets the calls from the refs, which if you watch sports than you’d know it means everyhing. Manning gets the calls because of his last name/pedigree (his daddy and big bro) and their influence/connections in the league. If the Jets sign Simms than they get all of this plus Simms has at least the same talent as Manning and was playing well. The Jets should take the gamble on his health and trade for him. Mark my words, if they don’t trade for Simms the Jets will regret it when he wins the Comeback Player of the Year award and he’s leading a team like Chicago to the playoffs!