| Kyle Driskell. 23rd August, 2006 - 8:00 pm
 Curtis Martin's career is basically over barring any major comeback. The former Pitt Panther who ranks fourth all time in rushing yards has been replaced by another Panther named Kevan Barlow. Or has he been replaced with former University of Tennessee product Cedric Houston? Or possibly Derrick Blaylock, Martin's backup for the past few years? No matter who steps in, the shoes will be tough to fill. Martin's ninety career rushing touchdowns will be replaced with thirty six total rushing touchdowns by the three remaining Jets rushers. By remaining, I mean the only credible running backs, and even that is almost foolhardy to state. Even though the compensation for Barlow is unknown as of right now, the Jets should have saved the pick (most likely a fourth or fifth rounder.) There were plenty of valuable backs that are looking to join a new team, such as T.J. Duckett, Chris Brown, or Thomas Jones, so why not go for one of them?
Barlow averages less than four yard a carry, doesn't find holes, and has a better time dancing around than Drew Lachey. All of that for only $16 million dollars over three years? WHAT A BARGAIN! Had the Jets traded for Chris Brown, who is entering the final year of his contract, the Jets could have skipped on resigning him next year if they were unhappy with his productivity. They are stuck with Barlow for the next three years, taking up cap and bench space. Barlow could be a great running back, for teams such as Pittsburgh or Seattle, who happen to have an offensive line. The Jets' offensive line has more holes in it than Swiss cheese, and not the type of holes that Barlow can run through. D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold have a lot of upside and can hopefully stabilize the line slightly, but two rookies will not be able to change the face of the offensive line in one year.
Along with the holes at RB and OL, no one really knows what is going to happen with the Quarterback position either. Chad Pennington, who had very productive 2002 and 2004 seasons, is coming back from surgery on an arm that was already the equivalent of a high school chemistry professor's. In the three games that he played last year, he fumbled the ball eight times. He only lost one of those fumbles, but he'll have to return to his 2002 form to keep the fans in New York happy.
If Pennington doesn't have a good season, and Eric Mangini chooses to go to one of the backup quarterbacks, there will be mass hysteria in New York. Rookie Kellen Clemens, Perennial Backup Brooks Bollinger, and Patrick Ramsey will not be able to lead the Jets to more than four wins. It is not like they won't be able to find a receiver, they just have to do it on a consistent basis. The Wide Receivers are sufficient for the Quarterbacks, but could use some improvement. Coles, Cotchery, and McCareins have the ability to succeed, but they are not surrounded with the appropriate tools on offense.
The defense is pretty solid with some good individual performers in Shaun Ellis, Andre Dyson, Kimo von Oelhoffen, Johnathan Vilma, and somewhat underachieving Dewayne Robertson. If they can mesh together, the Jets could have a very devastating run defense. With Dyson as basically the only threat in the secondary now that Ty Law is gone, the passing defense could be one of the worst in the league. Under Armour spokesman Vilma has become one of the best young linebackers in the game, but his talent won't keep Tom Brady and Daunte Culpepper from throwing over the top of him. Eric Coleman and David Barrett each had very good seasons, but without a shut down corner, they will be forced to play a lot of zone defense.
It seems that leaving after a few years has become a mainstay in New York these days. Law and Larry Brown headed out after a year. Herm Edwards tucked his tail and ran to Kansas City to replace Dick Vermeil and Law followed shortly after. It seems that the city that has a population of 8 million has more sports players leaving than any other city. Well except for one team I suppose. While people are dying to come to New York to play for the Giants and play with Eli Manning and Tiki Barber, the Jets are focused on one thing this season…
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