QB

Matt Sanchez

 (+) With the team adding Santonio Holmes to the squad, the Jets now possess one of the better receiving corps in the NFL
 (+) Despite his interception total and completion % in 2009, Sanchez is normally a very accurate QB who may have just needed a year to acclimate to the speed of the Pro’s
 (+) The Jets have such a strong running game that the field is normally left open for the pass by opposing defenses
 (+) With the Jets having the 3rd toughest schedule against the rush this season, the coaching staff might have to open up the aerial playbook a bit this season
 (–) However, with the best offensive line in the game, the Jets can still rush the ball on anybody… and will
 (–) Sanchez did not post a 300-yard game and only cracked the 200-yard mark 4 times during the 2009 regular season
 (–) He also never put up 3 or more TDs in a game and posted 2 TDs just twice in 15 games last season

RB

Shonn Greene

(+) Plays in the most run-based offense and behind the best O-Line in the NFL
(+) Did you see him in the playoffs last year?!?!  Thomas Jones and Leon Washington are gone because of it
(+) Has a pure NFL body with breakaway speed
(+) Proved he can do it when it counts (playoffs)
(–) With Greene still unproven, who knows what the Jets have in store for the veteran LT and rookie Joe McKnight
(–) He is NOT a 3rd-down back in the slightest bit
(–) Has had injury problems in the past

LaDainian Tomlinson

(+) Though Shonn Greene looks good, LaDainian is a future Hall-of-Famer with something to prove after his last couple of seasons
(+) The Jets ran the ball 607 times last year compared to 393 passes – If they run it even close to that much this year, there’s no reason LT shouldn’t get 200 of ‘em
(+) Tomlinson could thrive in a new setting, especially when his competition (Greene) only has 108 carries in his career
(–) With 2,880 carries, LaDainian has the most tread on his tires for a running back in the NFL and currently ranks 12th all-time in that category
(–) Jets tattoo on his calf or not, LT21 has seen his better days

WR

Santonio Holmes

(+) Holmes is a significant upgrade at the WR1 position over “male-model” Braylon Edwards
(+) Because of the offseason trade, Santonio has worked extensively with Mark Sanchez in the offseason
(+) He’s proven himself to be one of the best down-field targets in the NFL
(–) Holmes is suspended for the first 4 games of the season, so if you grab him, you better have a good enough WR2 and WR3 to pick up the slack for a few weeks
(–) Wide receivers moving to a new team typically don’t do very well
(–) Bummer – he’s now playing in the most run-based system in the league
(–) Plain and simple: Holmes was suspended for drugs, fucks with airplane regulations, and always has the chance of being mauled by a K-9 sniffer entering opposing stadiums

Jerricho Cotchery

(+) Sanchez is coming out of his Rookie season and should have at least a few more chances to get the ball downfield
(+) Cotchery should have the best rapport with Sanchez coming into 2010 - He almost doubled Braylon Edwards’ receptions over the final 6 games (playoffs included)
(+) Cotch is the best possession receiver in this crowded WR corps, which should bode well for being on a team that controls the clock with their running game and defense
(–) The Ravens plan to run it down opposing teams’ throats, as proven by their 32nd ranking in the league last year for pass attempts
(–) Targets will be fewer and farther between with Braylon Edwards, Santonio Holmes, and the addition of a good pass-catching RB in LT21
(–) With as little as the Jets pass the ball, taking only a slice of the passing pie will be slim pickings all around for the NYJ pass-catchers
(–) Rex Ryan has brought in two poor-profile WRs since coming on board in the last year – Could be indicative of how he portrays Cotchery’s ability to make plays downfield 

Braylon Edwards

(+) In Cleveland, all the pressure was on him to live up to his draft-pick status.  Now that those expectations have deflated, he can sneak up on teams to make an impact
(+) Sanchez should feel a bit more comfortable in the offense this year, so the Jets may let him air it out more
(–) He may be the only player we dislike more that TO and LJ – ZERO CLASS!  But now we at least know why he went after LeBron in Cleveland; a match made in Douche Bagonia
(–) Simply put, Braylon drops too many passes, including 3 dropped TDs last year.  He’s missed 57% of his targets the past two years, dead last among starters in the NFL
(–) Edwards is not a great route-runner and is a potential cancer in the locker room.  Though better left behind, he will get drafted too early – don’t be that guy!

TE

Dustin Keller

(+) The Jets use Keller more to catch passes as he’s not a great blocker
(+) Good speed and hands help out his big play possibilities
(–) The Jets will try to run it down their opponent’s throats, while Keller will be fighting for targets among Cotchery, Edwards, and Holmes
(–) Sanchez looks to be another year or two away from seeing any potential as a decent pocket passer

-  The Jets started the 2009 season under new head coach Rex Ryan and were expected to begin rebuilding
         with rookie QB Mark Sanchez
-  The rebuilding process became more of a retooling process under Ryan, The won their first three games
         against 3 winning teams
-  Later in the season Ryan said the team was out of the playoffs after winning 5 of their last 6 the Jets
         found themselves in the playoffs and made a run to the conference championship only to lose to the colts
-  The Jets scored 348 points while allowing 236 points against

Nick Folk for Dallas in 2009...

2009 Total Points Rank:         20th (90 tot pts)
2009 Average/Game Rank:     19th (6.4 pts/gm)

Jay Feely for the Jets in 2009...

2009 Total Points Rank:         7th (122 tot pts)
2009 Average/Game Rank:     9th (7.6 pts/gm)

FR=Fumbles Recoverd, PA=Points Allowed, FP Rank=Fantasy Points Rank, FP/G=Fantasy Points per Game

2010 Jets Defensive Outlook... 

In the off season of 2009, the Jets went after key members of the Ravens defense to help build a foundation that would help them contend.  They attained Rex Ryan who had been with the Ravens since 1999 in many capacities including Defensive Coordinator / Asst. Head coach in 2008.  Rex immediately hired several of his coaches from the Ravens staff including Mark Carrier, Dennis Thurman, and current Defensive Coordinator, Mike Pettine.  Rex also brought along some of his players, including standouts Jim Leonhard and Bart Scott.  Sometimes the best things in life are pilfered.  The results have been very rewarding.

The Jets have the best defense in football.  One large concern - Darrelle Revis is holding out, and it could get ugly.  He is the best defender in the game, so we can’t say that’s a small loss, but even without him they will still be great.  With Revis, they are the clear #1 pass defense in football and PYRO has them ranked as the #3 rush defense as well.

-  David Harris led the team with 127 tackles, Bart Scott had 92
-  The Jets had 32 sacks last season
-  Leading sacker was Calvin Pace with 8
-  How can the Jets convert their strong pass rush into more sacks and turnovers
-  Darelle Revis led the team with 6 INTs
-  Team forced 15 fumbles
-  Team forced a total of 32 turnovers

Team PYRO is hyper about Offensive Lines!  Understanding who will be blocking for the players on your roster is vital to your teams Fantasy success.  We take many factors into account when we rank these units, including weight, height, starts together as a unit, starts per year played, rushing average, sacks allowed, draft position, contact situation, pro bowl/all pro honors, Adjusted Line Yardage (ALY) and Adjusted Sack Rate (stats found at the link below).  O-Line Rank is one more piece of the puzzle that directs us towards delivering you a Fantasy Football Championship. 

Here is another great resource for looking at O-Lines…    http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/ol 

The fantasy lifeblood of the players sitting on your roster boils down to one EXTREMELY important stat.  Drum Roll please……………………………  ATTEMPTS!!!!  Ahhhh, there, we said it.  Before you can make a play, you gotta have the pill in your hands.  It’s pretty simple really, in the immortal words of the maligned Keyshawn Johnson… “Just give me the damn ball”.  There is no “I” in the word “team”, but don’t fool yourself, it’s in the word rotisserie twice. 

For the QB, it’s Pass Attempts, for the RB, it’s Carries, and for the WR and TE, it’s Targets.  If you look at the players in the league who are amassing large quantities of points, they are the ones who are seeing the rock come their way the most often.  Sure, you have to be good enough to do something with the p-skin when you get it, but never forget, you can’t make a play until you have the pill in your hands. 

The PYRO Offensive scheme charts aim to deliver you perhaps the most important information you could attain before and after draft day; Will my player get the chances they need to put out or will they be shut out?  It really boils down to what the offensive game plan on Sunday is.  These charts should provide some perspective on which teams are going to live by land and which are going to live by air. 

By Air

-  Mark Sanchez will start his second season as the teams QB. Last year he had up and down games especially in the playoffs
-  The Jets finished last season ranking 31st in the league with 2,380 passing yards
-  The Jets have done a lot of work on their receiving corps over the last year, adding Santonio Holmes and Braylon Edwards by trade. Jerricho Cotchery remains on the team with Brad Smith as the 3rd and 4th receivers
-  The TE position is strong at the top with Dustin Keller but lacks depth

By Land

-  The Jets were the best rushing team in the league last season racking up 2,756 yards on the ground
-  The Jets will hand over the reigns to second year player Shonn Greene as he will be expected to carry the load for the team
-  LanDanian Tomlinson was signed to be a veteran back and provide some stability at the RB position
-  Brad Smith, used in the wildcat, gained 207 yards on just 18 carries

Grade* = Team PYRO took this number directly from NFL.COM - not a number devised here by us, you know, your friends who don’t sleep?  In other words, proceed with caution knowing the source, but we thought it was at least a worthy effort and could help you gauge just how solid the teams draft was.  We hope it helps, we think it will.  (10 pt)

Draft Review...

Ducasse is unlikely to supplant anyone on this beefy offensive line.  Same with McKnight and Conner, we don’t see them doing much outside special teams with Shonn Greene and LT in the way.

Team PYRO considers our Strength of Schedule data an essential part of building you a Fantasy Championship.  This data is integral in helping us rank our players each year.  So far, so good.  We go to GREAT lengths to deliver you this PYRO nugget and we know nobody else in the industry is putting forth this type of effort, which puts you at a great advantage if you have been using us as your fantasy football research outlet.  Our SoS considers three factors when determining rankings for schedules for the upcoming year:

1) 75% weight is applied to the strength of defense from the previous season.  This is determine by fantasy points given up (run and pass).  Easy right? Here's where Team Pyro goes deep: before we get to that number, we factor in the quality of teams that these defenses had to face (essentially, a strength-of-schedule for the prior season).

 
2) 20% weight is applied to Free-Agent, Trade, and Injury Returns that will help or hurt the team for the current year.  We rank each players impact to their former team (2008), sum it all up, and then rank each team accordingly.

3) 5% weight is applied to the NFL drafincoming rookie impact.  It's a challenge to successfully gauge a rookie's effectiveness (too many Jamarcus Russells out there) which is why we valued it so low.  Some teams not only drafted highly touted defensemen this year, but will be immediately filling deficient positions from '09 with rookies, and usually, anything is an upgrade when you are starting a rookie.

Chart Key =

Ranking:  1=easiest  32=toughest

QB's, WR's, and TE's

(INDY) Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne, and Dallas Clark have the EASIEST passing schedule in 2010

(BALT) Joe Flacco, Anquan Boldin, and Todd Heap have the HARDEST passing schedule in 2010

RB's

(SF) Frank Gore has the EASIEST rushing schedule in 2010

(MIA) Ronnie Brown has the HARDEST rushing schedule in 2010

July 13, 2010

Waived DT Simi Toeaina.

June 22, 2010

Signed RB Joe McKnight. Waived PK Jared Ballman, S Brannon Condren and DT Mick Williams.

June 4, 2010

Signed FB John Conner to a four-year contract.

May 27, 2010

Waived K Clint Stitser.

May 13, 2010

Signed G Marlon Davis and C Robby Felix. Waived G Keith Buckman and C Michael Parenton.

May 3, 2010

Signed LB Cory Reamer and LB Brashton Satele. Waived LB Broderick Stewart.

April 24, 2010

Released G Alan Faneca.

April 20, 2010

Agreed to terms with LB Jason Taylor on a two-year contract.

April 15, 2010

Signed RB Leon Washington.

April 14, 2010

Signed CB Drew Coleman to a one-year contract.

April 13, 2010

Signed QB Kellen Clemens to a one-year contract.

April 6, 2010

Signed PK Clint Stiser.

March 23, 2010

Signed OL Wayne Hunter to a one-year tender.

March 22, 2010

Signed WR Braylon Edwards, WR Brad Smith and S James Ihedigbo to one-year tender offers.

March 19, 2010

Signed LB Lance Laury.

March 18, 2010

Signed S Eric Smith to a one-year contract.

March 16, 2010

Signed DE Rodrique Wright. Agreed to terms with FB Tony Richardson on a one-year contract.

March 14, 2010

Signed RB LaDainian Tomlinson to a two-year contract.

March 11, 2010

Agreed to terms with S Brodney Pool on a one-year contract.

March 10, 2010

Re-signed TE Ben Hartsock to a two-year contract.

March 6, 2010

Traded S Kerry Rhodes to the Arizona Cardinals for a 2010 fourth-round and a 2011 seventh-round draft pick.

March 5, 2010

Released RB Thomas Jones and DB Donald Strickland.

March 4, 2010

Released CB Lito Sheppard.

February 23, 2010

Signed K Nick Folk and OT Michael Turkovich.

February 12, 2010

Named Mark Carrier defensive line coach.

February 3, 2010

Fined coach Rex Ryan $50,000 for making an obscene gesture at a mixed martial arts event on Jan. 30.

January 25, 2010

Announced the contracts of assistant quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo, assistant defensive backs coach Doug Plank, special teams assistant Kevin O'Dea, pass rush specialist Chuck Smith and defensive quality control coach Brian Smith had expired and would not be extended.