Power Rankings: ESPN May 11, 2008
With the calendar turned over, the draft through it feels like a new year of football finally. ESPN has released a set of power rankings. So how did the Jets do?
#21 — Jets 4-12-0 — An offseason spending spree upgraded the roster without answering the Jets’ most pressing question: Do they have the right QB?
First off, please remember how we feel about draft grades, power rankings, etc. — that it’s not worth getting worked up over. It’s an easy and formulaic way to approach writing so it has some value, but not much more than conversational.
Also, before we start, let’s consider the Jets last season rankings. They started ranked 14th in Week 1 after losing in the playoffs to the Patriots and ended the season ranked 30th.
It’s a valid question, but one where answers weren’t abounding for the Jets during the current offseason. Great quarterbacks are never available on the open free agent market; was there anyone better than Daunte Culpeper? As far as the draft, Matt Ryan was gone by the time the Jets picked, and the rest of the players taken are more project or upside than instant QB. With only 5 QBs (a slightly low number) were taken in the first three rounds (of which the Patriots pick is widely considered a reach) shows you how thin this class was considered.
It might be that the Jets are stuck with two questionable quarterbacks, but with a better line and more targets in the passing game, the offense and the quarterbacking could be substantially better in 2008.
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I think if given the opportunity he should be given, KC will surprise a lot of the “experts”.
I find it hard to believe that the Cardinals, Panthers, and Saints are going to end the season better than the Jets.
Our preseason playoff ranking is usually inversely proportional to our actual performance, because whenever we are expected to do well, the wheels fall off, but otherwise the MSM always underrates the Jets. This is good news.
I think a jump from 30 to 21 is about right. If the Team plays to its potential that number will get smaller each week. I hope teams do overlook us, especially in the first 4 weeks of the season.
Go JETS
“If they settle on a QB, the Vikes could become a playoff team.”
Couldn’t the very same statement be made about the Jets? I would much rather be choosing from Kellen Clemens or Chad Pennington than from Tavaris Jackson, Brooks Bollinger and John David Booty. The Vikes have AP (or All Day or whatever), he is pretty good, I get it, but if the only knock on the Jets is going to be the QB situation I think it should apply to the Vikes as well. And the choice of the word “settle” would imply that their some sort of choice to be made, if thats true then their #12 ranked squad is in serious trouble, John David Booty beating out Tavaris Jackson would be like Erick Ainge beating out Chad and Kellen, I don’t know too many Jet fans that would be happy with that outcome (It would be great for Ainge but it would also mean the incumbents fell flat on their faces).
As for the rest I see plenty of teams ranked ahead of the Jets that have just as many question marks (if not more), from the #14 Redskins to the #20 Texans.
QB is a big question mark. While I’m not thrilled at the Jets’ choices, through training camp and the pre-season games, a QB will emerge and, if that QB can just play competently, the Jets’ offense should be greatly improved. I am optimistic, primarily because I think the defense and special teams will be very good; however, I think it’s fair to say that the QB position will not be a team strength. In the AFC with Peyton, Brady, Big Ben, Palmer, Rivers (not to mention Anderson, Cutler, Garrard, and Vince Young) the gap between the Jets QB play and their competitors’ will be a lingering problem for the team, which could limit the Jets’ upside. It’s an issue that will have to be addressed, one way or the other and, with the possible exception of Ainge, I do not think that the Jets have a franchise NFL QB on the roster.
You want to talk about “settling” on a QB, let’s look at 50 year old Kurt “Robo-Arm” Warner or unproven Matt Leinert, the Bucs QB by committee, and Vince “don’t look at the stats” Young. Yeah, they definitely have an advantage over KC and Chad… sike.
Also, I have a problem with the Staints so high. They were terrible last year for no particular reason. Why should they be any better this year?
DC, most of the “experts” like the Saints’ defensive pickups, ie J Vilma.
Still, at 21 there are seven teams on our schedule ranked lower! Miami we play twice. This says 8 and 8. I’ll take that as a start and I think the Jets are better.
We cant lose if the other team cannot score points…
Vilma is a good pick up for the Saints… but what else do they have that’s different from last year? Jason David is still a starting corner… Dan Morgan is projected to be a starting line backer… woah.
Just play the game, all of this prognosticating is useless!
Hashmarks averages out each conference with both West conferences coming out on the bottom. Good timing for playing them, even with the travel!
Najy
Doesn’t that also work for us as well?
Aargh!!! CP is not a questionable QB. He is one of the most accurate passers, and one of the better game managers to play the game. Arm strength is overrated!
He does need a supporting cast. Give him an OL, a running game and some quality receivers and he will do just fine. Add a defense that can make a few stops and you never know.
96debacle,
Well we cannt win….
But we cannt lose either!
Greg, I love your positive vibe. But Chad is no longer an NFL starter. So calling the situation questionable is actually more credit then I’d give Chad. (Who I respect, blah, blah, blah.) Give KC a chance and lets see where we go.
DCMike — After playing the Fish, Pats, and Chargers back-to-back-to-back to open the season, it will be a legitimate challenge to Mangini to have the team up to play the Cardinals –
DC, the Saints also picked up Randal Gay, and Bobby McCray, a DE from the Jaguars. They drafted Sedrick Ellis. They also got more CB insurance with one of my favorite JETS, Aaron Glen.
Greg, I agree arm strength can be overrated, but you have to have SOME. Chad has none. I love the guy, and I hope he proves all of us wrong. But I don’t think so.
what top flight starting an in this league doesn’t have solid arm strength? Chads arm makes the offense boring and gets his receiverS killed. Start I’d give ainge a couple years
Giants won and Eli Maning wasn’t anything special. He had a good postseason, but in the regular season he had 20 picks and like 13 fumbles with a 73 QB rating.
Ainge is a potential franchise QB? By what criteria? And knowing SD, it’s the same criteria that would have Yao Ming pegged for Canton.
sec108,
I agree that people are overlooking the Vikings QB situation over the Jets sitation but you have to be fair. The Vikings do something the Jets haven’t done in since 2004, stop the run! Vikings have the best tackle combo in the league and they just added Jared Allen to improve their pass D. They also do something else the Jets don’t do, the Vikings run offense isfar superior to the Jets! They have better combo and a better(proven) line. They also won more games than the jets last year.
As far as Chad goes, hes not an NFL QB anymore. Chad should be thankful that hes been throwing to coles and cotchery the past few years, two guys who are a tough enough to go across the middle and get their heads taken off! How many times does Coles have to lay his body out for a soft lob in the air till we realize that Chad isn’t the same QB anymore. His claim to fame was not making mistakes- but since 2006 he’s thrown some huge 4th quarter picks.
For people who say Chad was only bad because they had no run game and a terrible offensive line, well then we have no idea Kellen will be because he played behind the same offense! This is Kellens team….
i like the way everybody is sleeping on kellen clemens i hope he have a big yr. like the one derek anderson had last yr a then espn will talk about how fantastic the jets are the same way they are talking about the browns only thing we can do is proove them wrong on the field.
MPG, I guess the qualifier “with the possible exception” did not work for you. Ainge was a highly productive and accurate QB for the Vols playing in college football’s elite conference, the SEC. He also rarely gets sacked. So, without seeing him play, I cannot dismiss that he could become the next Anderson, Hasselbeck, Bulger, Romo and/or Brady as a late round or UDFA that makes it in the NFL. So, that’s my criteria, that we just don’t know what he can do. But, I know your criteria and you would put Kent Desormeaux in Canton…the smaller the QB, the better.
I believe, this team is going to the playoffs.
They will be able to beat anybody and they will beat the PATS at least once.
With regard to QBs, I agree with Greg. Chad will be again one of the top rated qbs in the league; and the general that he is will march his troops to final victory.
Hart , bravery and sacrifice will prevail not only over the pandits(clowns) but also over those intimidated Jets fans.
sec108, great point, 100% true
I normally try to refrain from making personal insults on sports blogs but DCMIKE… are you crazy? You would rather have chad and KC over Vince Young?!??
Vince young is 18-11 as an NFL quarterback without any respectable WR’s. He also led his team to the playoffs last year. He also threw a higher completetion percentage than Kellen.
I agree with your point that the Jets aren’t the only team with QB issues but you can’t use Vince as an example! Theres no one in Tenn right now wondering who their QB is now and in the future!
While Chad may not be an NFL QB now, he once was an NFL QB. KC, on the other hand, has not established himself as an NFL QB. That’s why the press continues to say that the Jets’ QB situation is a question mark and, for once, the press is right. Everyone’s hopes and wishes cannot overcome on the field production and, on the field, KC was awful. Can he rebound and become a productive NFL QB? Perhaps, it’s just that it’s not likely from his early returns that he will do so.
Why did they put the HOF in Canton??? The question I have is what would be more effective… a system QB or a franchise QB? For every Brady there is a Dilfer.
dilfer has a ring
Bilal,
I will agree there other factors that separate the Vikes from the Jets (the main one being that rookie of the year they have at RB whose initial’s could possibly change to MVP soon), my only point was that if you are going to say there only issue is to “settle” on a qb, while the jets need to find out if there is one to settle on already on the roster, then you are implying that a franchise qb could be plucked from among Jackson, Bollinger and Booty, while one cannot from Clemens and Pennington. I’m calling BS on that, their QB situation is just as muddled as the Jets, if not more so, I’d much rather be “settling” on Chad or Kellen personally and I’m sure many jet fans (excluding SD99 of course) feel the same. I did not expect the Jets to be rated at or above the Vikings, although I do think there defense as a whole is a bit over rated.
you guys know your stuff.I think that Chad will have a better year this coming season.Clemens i have this bad felling will regress.I see a lott of potential in Ainge he has this thing about him. all Chad has to do is just through the damn ball harder=get it to his receivers quicker and hell be real good.if this season doent work out for QBs ,i hope we draft a great on.package all or picks if need be.
Bilal,
In Mike’s defence (sic), I’m glad we don’t have Vince Young too. I dislike watching run-first QBs and feel that in the NFL they will always eventually be exposed by the better defenses. Young still floats far too many ill-advised passes for my liking too.
VY has a chance to be pretty good, if he develops into more of a pocket passer like McNabb did, but he may never develop beyond what he is now. At the moment I would characterise (sic) him as a QB that can get you to the playoffs, but not much further.
I really didn’t want the Jets to draft him two years ago (they never got the chance in the end). He has been everything I expected him to be so far. 21TDs and 30 interceptions (including 9/17 last year) is not very inspiring.
I love all the posts that state with absolute certainty that Chad is not an NFL starter anymore. Always good for a laugh. As a disclaimer, I’m not saying he’ll start or do well this year, just that these blanket statements (as if we see so much more than the coaches do) are why so many fans get knee problems from all the jumping on and off of bandwagons.
Let’s see how both he and KC look in camp with a real Oline. Why count out players that had to play last year surrounded by utter crap?
I badly want KC to start because I think its terrible he had to play his first career starts behind that heinous O-Line and with an injured Coles etc. I think he wasn’t given a good foundation to build on perhaps not having to run for his life on every play he’ll be able to get some good throws off (he’s got a good arm) and bring down his INT’s but thats just my opinion. Unfortunately I think Mangini and his “play it safe approach” will put Chad back in the drivers seat over a young man with a way higher ceiling give the guy a fair shot!
Would it be so bad to see the QB’s rotate? Have either one start and rotate down to down or series to series. At this point, its too early to tell who will emerge as the starter. I understand all about chemistry but both QB’s, Chad and Kellen, HAVE the respect of the players…wouldn’t hurt.
Also Laveranues is always injured because he is put in harms way by Chad’s weak throws and Jerricho will follow because these two guys are gamers they only care about catching the ball their bodies are the last thing they think about on gameday so you cannot have a QB who on every down tosses up a jump ball to his WR’s I feel that this style will one day cause someone a career ending injury I feel its that serious KC will always get a little air under it even if its not as on target as Chad’s its less likely to get someone crushed as a result.
You know, Football Outsiders had the same arguements about Brady and Manning. And they had to move the posts off the main site so that OTHER discussions could take place!
Billvv- no offense but the QB situation is the biggest topic to be discussed, if you want to discuss “something else” go right ahead but this is a public forum
NYJBeast89,
I agree, and I also want KC to start and be a good NFL QB. We despretely need that to happen. The Chad era was great, from a fans stand point, especially 2002, but he has sustained too many injuries, and will only take us so far.
Despite what some have said about KC having no shot at being a productive QB because he is only 6-2 and didn’t set the league on fire in his 8 games last year, I saw enough good things from him to be optimistic.
Ramble914, Thanks for the agreeance I cant understand how some take KC’s 07 performance and immediately annoint Chad the starter hes had his chance, a second chance and yet another chance enough is enough im sick of the “same ol’ jets” moniker time for some change and it should be this year!
what i see from the jets org. is a far better team than we had last year…like 1 of you guys pointed out…as the wins come so will the better ranking…
The Vince Young conversation can really go both ways.
A. Titan fans are excited and hopeful for the future with Vince Young, he had a great college career and he is full of potential. They know he will be their starting quarterback for a long time.
B. Vince Young kinda sucks. Hes been a lousy starting quarterback if you ask me.
But seriously, maybe the stats dont account for Youngs intangables. Defensive coaches need to game plan for him both as a passer and a runner. He gives his team the ability to have flexibility, although he is limited by his lack of offensive weapons. He did lead his team to the playoffs, but hes been a pretty bad passer. His 62.3 completion percentage was decent, but 9 touchdowns and 17 picks is pitiful. 395 rushing yards with 3 rushing touchdowns is good, but less than you would expect from Young. While vince young gets more hype, its compltetely possible for kellen clemens to become the better quarterback.
The Jets have to take this ranking and post it on the bulletin board. If the new players are motivated — we can be right up there. As a Jet fanatic, I am always optimistic but, I can’t wait to see this team hit the field.
So what would be easier, Chad gettin the arm or Kellen gettin the brains?
Hey Ralph, that rreminds me of the old if we could put chrebet’s heart in Keyshawns body bit :) Good point to!
Power Ratings, Draft Picks, Free Agent Signings will not help the Jets if the Coaching Staff continues the bad job it did in 2007 (with the exception of Westoff- but he’s gone). With a staff shakeup, will it help the Jets win more games?
We’ll see if Brian and Bob do their jobs in ‘08.
Bob Sutton does not inspire confidence!
well you have to hand it to mangini…he doesn’t blame and fire his help like HARM always did…i hate that guy…absolute worst…thank god he’s in KC…
KC should start! Really didnt see too many poor decisions by KC last year. A couple of his interceptions were balls that were not catched by his receivers and ended up in the defenses hands. Cant blame him for those couple. Also there were a couple of drop balls by our recievers that could of led to TD- most notable McCaerins at the 5yd line over the middle.
I like KC mobiliy- he led a game or two for us in rushing yards- how pathetic is that for our RB and OL. With our new improved line(hopefully) he should have more than 2 sec to make a decision; add a healthy coles, keller, and hopefully henry in the redzone as well as a better ruinning game – things should be much easier for KC.
KC improving mentally, making smarter decision, improving timing and chemistry with his WR is possible, but CP improving arm strength is very unlikely and thats CP’s biggest weakness- cant throw a line drive pass over the middle or on the out route. CP cant make all the throws anymore so he shouldnt be the starter.
I hope all these publications continue to pick us near the bottom in all their rankings. Less pressure on the team! They can just go out and play some smash mouth football up front on offense and defense like they have been built for.
sec108 – Thank You! I loved your analogy of the Jets and the Vikings. I’ve been thinking of the same thing ever since the draft. The Chicago Bears and the Ravens previously, have proven that you can go far in the playoffs with a strong running game, a so-so QB, and the ability to stop the run. All that is required is a good game manager at QB (IE: Chad). I’d bet the Vikings would love to have our stable of QBs to pick from. Listen, say what you want about Chad’s erosion of skills, but he DID win 10 games in 2006 behind an almost all-rookie line with a banged-up C-Mart! Remember, Eli was a “skiddish” fraidy-cat non-leader at this time last year. No one thinks that now. So I’m a believer (as always) in the Jets this year!
How the Rams are at 28 and not 17 ranked I do not know. This team can become a playoff contender if the offensive line stays healthy. And the defense becomes more solidified.
The sign of Jacob Bell and the draft of Jon Greco and Roy Schuening will provide the Rams solid physical backups. As well watch for the return of Orlando Pace to block Marc Bulger’s blind side.
Running Back Steven Jackson should have a break out year. Especially since he is in the last year of his contract. He rushed for 1,000 yards last season despite missing four games! Next to LT. and Adrian Peterson he is the third most powerful back in the league.
Torry Holt is expecting to leave after his last two years in St. Louis. This is primarily because of Linehan not providing the support they need to re-build their once power “Greatest Show on Turf” again. But dont expect that to damage his year. He will post 90 + grabs and make yet another Pro Bowl. The main concern is with un proven WR Drew Bennet with Isaac Bruce gone Bennet needs to make himself felt next to Torry Holt he is tall and physical so expect him to drive defenses crazy in the redzone.
On defense it is yet to be determined if 1 round draft pick Chris Long will start over James Hall. Hall was delt in a trade last year from Detroit and did not produce what was expected out of him in 2007 (1 sack). If Long retains the job expect him to provide 5 to 7 sacks in a solid rookie year.
The main concern right now is the secondary with and aging Fahkir Brown and Corey Chavous the Rams only bright spots are backup Ron Bartell and Starter Tye Hill and Oj Atogwe (who should have made Prow Bowl last year over Roy Williams with 9 interceptions as compared to williams 1).
The linebacking corps will be on the shoulders of veteran MLB Will Witherspoon. With the Packers signing Brandon Chillar Quinton Culberson should start. He is a great contact player not shying away from contatct but lacks size. Pisa Tinoisamoa is coming off a season ending injury and needs to play healthy to have a solid year.