New York Jets Information
The New York Jets have been in existence for more than 40 years, both in the AFL and the NFL, and they were a team involved in the merger of the two leagues. The team won the 1968 AFL championship, but since joining the NFL, they’ve only won two division championships and made eight playoff appearances in more than 30 years. One reason for optimism is that two of those appearances happened in 2001 and 2002, both under coach Herman Edwards. Edwards has a 25-23 record over his three years with the organization, but he’s a very emotional and fiery man with a bit of a short fuse. He’s a coach that players want to play for because they know he’ll always stand up for them and respect them, but at the same time, he’s known to be somewhat of a disciplinarian which can rub some players the wrong way if they’re looking for a certain level of freedom.
Chad Pennington was drafted by the team in the first round of the 2000 draft out of Marshall, but he didn’t take over the starter’s role until 2002. In 2002, Pennington posted stats that made him a top five QB in the league, but an injury early in the 2003 season limited him to 12 games. He’ll be back in 2004 to lead the team in the huddle, on the field, and in practice. Vinny Testaverde, the longtime quarterback in the league, didn’t want to be a backup in the system, so he signed with the Dallas Cowboys in the off-season. Curtis Martin was as reliable in 2003 as he’s been his entire career, posting more than 1,300 yards on 4.0 yards per carry. The alarming stat from his line of last season is that he only found the end zone twice all season with many of his goal line carries going to LaMont Jordan, a bigger back who can work his way into the end zone. The Jets also used star wide receiver Santana Moss on reverses often in 2003. Moss, out of the University of Miami, has unparalleled speed which he showed on kickoff and punt returns when he was younger. Moss still takes punt returns for the team, but his main contribution comes off the line of scrimmage. He caught 10 touchdown passes and averaged 15 yards a catch while recording more than 1,100 yards.
The Jets defense played hard on every play in 2003, and although they couldn’t come up with stops on every play, they did about as much as they could with the talent they had. Sam Cowart and Marvin Jones each recorded more than 100 tackles last season (13 players had at least 40 tackles in 2003) and Shaun Ellis led the team with 12 sacks. John Abraham and Jason Ferguson tossed in another 6 and 4.5 sacks, respectively. Aaron Beasley had a team high 3 interceptions (3 players had 2 interceptions) and Ray Mickens had an amazing 18 passes defensed.
The New York Jets had 10 draft picks in the 2004 draft, but they only had two on the first day. In the first round, they addressed a defensive need by selecting Jonathan Vilma from the University of Miami. Vilma played the inside linebacker in college, and he’ll likely move into the same role with the Jets. In the third round, the Jets again made a pick on the defensive side of the ball by taking Derrick Strait, a corner back out of the University of Oklahoma. Strait likely won’t play as much as Vilma in the beginning of the season, but he’ll work often for the team. The team also compensated for the loss of receiver Curtis Conway by drafting Jerricho Cotchery out of North Carolina State.