Atlanta’s defense was 25th in the league last year. I’m not sure how that qualifies as top notch.

I’m praying Sexy has the cojones to fight off the pressure from above, and if training camp says Clemens is your best bet to win, he puts Clemens out there. If camp says Franchez is your best best to win, you put HIM out there.

I see more talent in Sanchez than in the 3 of them. Sanchez may never reach (think he will) but has the most up side.

Matt Ryan: will put up the same numbers every year, solid all around QB.

Joe Flacco: has a crazy long ball and good fast ball,did what he was told and probably cant do anything else.

Mark Sanchez: All around QB who is a playmaker that can one day be mentioned in the top 10 all time.

These are my opinions on the vision i have on these guys so feel free to share yours.

You’ve brought up that Steelers rebound as a potential comparison several times, so let’s have a closer look at the numbers and see if that’s a reasonable one or not.

First off, let’s look at the basic numbers:

PIT record: 6-10
DVOA: -1.6% (19)
Offense: -8.3% (19)
Defense: -3.3% (15)

NYJ record: 9-7
DVOA: 5.4% (17)
Offense: 5.1% (18)
Defense: 2.5% (14)

Even allowing for the easier schedule, the 08 Jets were the better team. That said, their superiority came from the offense. Pittsburgh’s defense, although ranked lower due to the tougher defensive environment of 2003, was notably better than the Jets, and their special teams were top three.

What went wrong for Pittsburgh in 2003? Well, they did have declining play from Tommy Maddox, whose DVOA dropped from 9.5% in 2002 to -2.3% the following year. Still, the big problem wasn’t the passing game, which dropped from 9th to 16th in the league. It was the running game, which collapsed, going from the 16th best in 2002 to the worst in the league in 2003. Was there a connection with Maddox’s worsening play? Yep- it was the injuries they sustained on the offensive line. Marvel Smith only played six games at left tackle; Alan Faneca actually started eight at LT in Smith’s place, forcing Keydrick Vincent into the lineup. Oliver Ross missed another five games at right tackle, so you’re looking at a collected 23 games where the Steelers were either missing starters or playing them out of position along the offensive line. In 2004? No one missed a game, and the Steelers didn’t have to juggle their line once. Needless to say, they were better the following year, as their Adjusted Line Yards jumped from 3.82 to 4.60.

The Jets line last year also didn’t miss a single game, and their Adjusted Line Yards was 4.72, even better than the 2004 Steelers (though not as good as the 2004 Jets). But that’s the thing- they have nowhere to go but down, as they are unlikely to stay injury free for another complete season.

Let’s look at the defense. You’re suggesting that Dick Lebeau came in and changed up the scheme, resulting in a more aggressive defense that better utilized the talent. Well…that’s not entirely the case. The Steelers had been a top ten defense in 2002, 2001 and 2000. They were excellent against the run in all those years, and they were excellent again in 2003, posting a -12.1% DVOA, 7th best in the league. The problem was the pass defense, which fell off from -4.1% in 2002 to a positive 7% in 2003. That’s a big drop. Of course, in 2002, the starting corners missed a combined 1 game due to injuries. In 2003, they missed 8. So again, what the Steelers needed to improve was not necessarily a more aggressive scheme- in 2002, when the corners were healthy, they put up 51 sacks and had an Adjusted Sack Rate of 8.5%, numbers that were as good as or better than their pass rush numbers in 2004 with Lebeau (42 sacks, 8.7% ASR).

The Steelers were going to get better simply by getting healthier. The Jets don’t have that cushion, because they are highly unlikely to remain as healthy as they were last year.

Clemens was drafted after Pennington’s last shoulder injury/surgery, which was in 2005. Chad had an ankle injury in the season opener in 2007, but he only missed one game because of it. Clemens only got the chance to start in the second half of that year because the Jets weren’t winning with Pennington, and Mangini had nothing left to lose.

Thanks. Of course, the Steelers also happened to draft a guy named Polamalu in 2004 and he kinda worked out, too. Also, Big Ben went 13-0 in the regular season and didn’t start until the 3rd game. Point is, with a good defense and punishing ground game, a rookie can start and prosper. The Steelers only passed around 37% of the time in Big Ben’s rookie season. Although, I think Schotty’s head would explode if the Jets ran over 60% of the time.