Jets vs. Eagles preseason review

Jets Eagles 27-20 in preseason finale

Thursday’s Jets-Eagles preseason game got me thinking…Gus Johnson calls Eagles preseason games?

Everyone knows the 4 th preseason game means nothing, so I thought about taking the week off and watching “The Hills” on TiVo. Obviously, none of the starters for either team played Thursday night, so we’ll use this column as a recap of the preseason; what we’ve learned from preseason Jets football 2008, rolling Thursday’s 27-20 win over the Eagles in as well, and if we have enough time, a review of Stephanie Pratt’s birthday party.

My favorite part of the Eagles game was watching it on Philadelphia TV, with the expert color commentary of none other than Charley “Mario Williams had 14 sacks last year, did you see that? Did you also see Reggie Bush only gets 3.7 yards a clip?” Casserly. Not only did Casserly seem lost, but he had no problem admitting that he had no idea who 90 percent of the players were. Way to keep it professional Chaz. I can’t wait for your “insider” information on CBS.

Alas, this article is supposed to be about the Jets, so let’s talk about them.

I think Eric Mangini and the coaching staff is finally starting to realize that Kellen Clemens can’t play. Getting replaced after 1 series in the preseason finale is embarrassing, but probably not as embarrassing as taking 27 sacks last season. I’m already excited for the Bret Ratliff era in Jets football.

Clemens did return, but who really cares about what Rob Johnson 2.0 did in this game? Hopefully this will be the last time in a long time that Brett Favre suits up and doesn’t take the field.

Although we didn’t learn much about what to expect from the 2008 Jets from Thursday’s action with the possible exception of that bull Jesse Chatman (29 carries for 93 yards and a touch), we have learned some things about this team from the 2008 preseason.

Jets Offense

In the off-season the Jets beefed up their offensive line adding All-Pro Guard Alan Faneca and converted center/guard Damien Woody, who will play right tackle. They also added Chatman who will be the third running back to a backfield that already included former 6 th overall pick Thomas Jones and 2007 Jets team MVP Leon Washington, but this team has not shown any glimpse of an ability to run the football. I’m sorry, but I refuse to drink the Kool-Aid, even though I do love that enormous pitcher dude who goes “Ohhhh Yeah!” I’m not saying that this team won’t be able to run the football this year, but in Weeks 2 and 3 against strong competition (NE, SD) the Jets will struggle to run the ball.

The truth is that the biggest factor in the success of the Jets’ ground game is Brett Favre. The fact that the Jets now have the ability to stretch the field allows them to keep defenses honest. Something they could not do with noodle-armed Chad Pennington.

Let’s face it, if you claim to be a Jet fan and you are not ecstatic about this Favre trade then you are an idiot. Would you really want Kellen Clemens as your starting QB? The guy spends more time on his back than Tera Patrick. I’d rather have Matt Saracen as my starting quarterback. Also, for all you Pennington apologists out there, get over yourselves. He’s gone. He played horribly last year. The guy is finished. Let’s just pray I don’t have to eat those words Week 1, but knowing the Jets I probably will.

With Favre, the Jets offense should be much better than the sorry unit that scored 17.8 points per game a season ago. If Favre can some how duplicate the approach that he has had the last year and a half, the Jets are in very good shape, but I would expect Favre to take a lot of chances and therefore make a lot of mistakes. Favre’s timing with receiver Jerricho Cotchery already looks stellar, but Larry Coles has not seen any time with Favre during the preseason.

Expect this unit to produce a lot more in ’08 than it did in ’07.

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Jets Defense

The Jets defense just looks better. It’s as simple as that. Kris Jenkins is a beast and his play this preseason backed that up.

I’m not confident that they’re going to be able to rush the passer though. Yes, they should be much better against the run with Jenkins and the addition by subtraction of DeWayne Robertson. OK, they signed Calvin Pace and drafted Vernon Gholston. Pace played very well in the preseason, so what? Gholston did not play well, so what?

Time will only tell how this team will rush the passer this year. Hopefully more times then not when my dad yells “sack ‘em”, they actually will.

The biggest positive defensively this preseason has been the play of 4 th round pick Dwight Lowery. He’s been solid and looks like he should contribute. If he becomes a player, the Jets secondary will be extremely stout because standout defensive backs Kerry Rhodes and Darrelle Revis anchor the defense.

Jets Special Teams

Mike Nugent is still shaky.

Prediction for the Season

After underachieving last year, this is a very important season for Eric Mangini. This team has improved in so many areas that they should compete for a wild card berth. But honestly would anyone be shocked if they went 4 and 12?

I think the Jets will be competitive and should win somewhere between 7 and 9 games, so I’ll go on record saying they will go 8 and 8.

By Dan Rein
ProFootball-fans.com New York Jets Correspondent