| Andrew Perna. 17th September, 2008 - 6:44 pm
 The sheer existence of Brett Favre in the media hotbed known as New York City will undoubtedly be a story throughout the year, but his physical presence behind center isn’t the only benefit he has provided to the Jets.
After posting a 4-12 record last season, the team appears ready to compete for AFC East supremacy with a host of new talent on both sides of the ball and Tom Brady out of the lineup for New England.
Favre has been good through the first two weeks, 33-for-48 with 375 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception, as he continues to learn a new offense for the first time in sixteen years.
In addition to that, he seems to have provided a number of Jets with the confidence to believe they can beat any team at any time.
1. Mr. Jones And Me
Thomas Jones was good in 2007, but he could have a huge season with a passing game that is already forcing defenses to worry about the long ball. He’s on pace to set a career-mark in rushing yards (1,368) and has already equaled last season’s touchdown total (1).
He is 30-years-old, but there aren’t a number of miles on his odometer. Only twice in his career has he logged more than 300 attempts in a season, and he only averaged 125 touches in his first four seasons (Arizona and Tampa Bay).
He’ll run more than 300 times this season even with Favre slinging the ball around because of Eric Mangini’s supposed commitment to the running game.
His production only stands to increase as the year progresses. He’s averaging 4.4 yards per carry, the best rate he’s posted since he was only a part-time option with the Buccaneers back in 2003.
As he so often did in Green Bay, Favre has also unearthed unknown weapons just two games into his New York career. Second-year receiver Chansi Stuckey, who missed his entire rookie campaign with a foot injury, has six catches, 80 yards, and two touchdowns already this season.
2. A Rejuvenated Defense
After finishing in the bottom half of the league in both yards (18th) and points allowed per game (19th) in 2007, the Jets look much stronger on defense thanks to a few added playmakers and a renewed dedication to maintaining their pride.
For starters, their rush defense is already showing signs of life. After ranking 29th in the league last season, they have limited their two opponents (the Dolphins and Patriots) to just 76.5 yards per game on the ground. They also rank in the top-ten in yards allowed and points per game (8th).
Linebacker Calvin Pace, who played his first five seasons with the Cardinals, has been a quick study in New York. He has eleven tackles and 1.5 sacks already, as he attempts to best the 6.5 sacks he posted in 2007 with Arizona.
Pace might be a new face, but returners like Bryan Thomas and Darrelle Revis have been outstanding to start the season as well.
Thomas leads the team with twelve tackles, three sacks, and a forced fumble while Revis has three pass-deflects and an interception.
The defense, unlike the offense, isn’t being criticized by pundits in New York, which is a testament to both the additions they have made and Defensive Coordinator Bob Sutton.
However, the defense will face their toughest test of the young season on Monday night when they travel to San Diego to take on the fiery, and hungry, Chargers.
3. Is Mangini Micromanaging?
The Jets didn’t need to be on their ‘A’ game to knock off the Dolphins in Week One, and it was mildly surprising that the final score was 20-14, but New York lost a very winnable game to New England this past Sunday.
The defense performed relatively well, limiting the Matt Cassel-led Patriots to 19 points, but the offense couldn’t get going against a motivated Bill Belichick defensive unit.
Favre did throw an interception, a costly one in a game that Cassel managed perfectly, but does it make sense that ‘Brett The Jet’ threw only three more times than Cassel, a first-time starter?
In a slow, plodding game, the Jets played right into the Patriots’ hands by sticking with the running game even while trailing by two possessions for a majority of the second half. Instead of allowing Favre to make magic in his home debut, Mangini often called for handoffs to Jones.
Jones was successful against a team that he historically struggles against, but running the ball an inordinate amount of times kept the clock ticking and Favre from making anything serious happen when it mattered most.
"We knew we had to play our best football to win," Favre said after the game, "and we weren't able to do that."
The question is – did they need to play their best football or did Mangini keep them from earning a win despite playing less than their best?
San Diego’s defense is among the league’s toughest, so ‘The Man-genius’ will have to come with a dynamic offensive gameplan in order to give the Jets a shot at winning this Monday night.
Will he do so, or will he continue to try to ‘outthink’ the opposition rather than go with what suits his quarterback?
Andrew Perna is a Senior Writer for RealGM. Please feel free to contact him via e-mail with comments or questions on this piece: Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com. |
