Jets Continue To Make Headlines With Offseason Acquisitions

The New York Jets were the defined overachievement last season, as their rookie coach and quarterback rode the backs of a violently aggressive defense all the way to the AFC Championship game before looking overmatched against the Colts. As a result, Jets ownership, management and personnel entered the 2010 offseason with a mixed sense of accomplishment and unfinished business.

For a franchise that was supposed to be in the second year of a rebuilding plan, the arrival of veteran playmakers Santonio Holmes, acquired from Pittsburgh for a 5th round pick in this year’s draft, and the signing of LaDainian Tomlinson to go along with a full year with Braylon Edwards on the offensive end will be welcomed changes to a unit that didn’t exactly set the league on fire in 2009.

While Tomlinson is expected to be more of a mentor to second year back Shonn Greene, Holmes and Edwards give sophomore quarterback Mark Sanchez targets on the outside that he didn’t have when he entered his first training camp last season. Throw the reliable Jerricho Cotchery in the slot and blossoming tight end Dustin Keller, one of the best young tight ends in the NFL, in more of a pass-catching role and the New York Jets should have an offense with the ability to stretch the field or eat the clock. Either way, a lot of pressure should be taken off Rex Ryan’s animalistic defensive crew.

This will also force the hand of offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, who -without a veteran quarterback and reliable deep threat- had no choice but to play it close to the vest for much of the season. The arrival of Edwards changed his play calling slightly -more so in the red zone - and enabled him to confidently preach to Sanchez that he was working with real NFL receivers and he had to throw the ball in a zone, not place it in a bull’s-eye. Still, the relationship between quarterback and receiver never reached its peak which should leave Jets fans salivating this summer.

There will also be more pressure placed on Sanchez, who has been given the weapons to seriously improve an offense that ranked 20th in the NFL in total offense last season. The ranking could have been a lot worse considering they were led by a rookie learning on the fly but Sanchez ranked 28th in quarterback efficiency, lower than players such as Brady Quinn and Alex Smith. He did show flashes of brilliance however and improved drastically in the playoffs, where he had a better QB rating than Tony Romo, Phillip Rivers and Tom Brady.

When Sanchez & Co. can’t complete a drive with an end zone dance, Nate Keading was brought in from San Diego to secure their special teams and give them a kicker with ice water in his veins to put the ball through the uprights in the postseason.

Jets management don’t look as though they are finished yet either. Rumors are still swirling about the possibility of Jason Taylor bringing his one man sack show to Broadway, a relationship that seems perfect on paper. Add Taylor to an already rabid defense that picked up Antonio Cromartie and Brodney Pool to solidify their backfield and you could have one of the most productive defenses of all time. Cromartie, Edwards and Holmes all had character issues at their last stop but the Jets don’t seem concerned with the way they will affect the new locker room in New York.

Whether everything fell perfectly in place for Rex Ryan and the Jets last season or they are a franchise on the verge of becoming on consummate contender is yet to be seen. One thing is for sure though, New York ownership will not let the outcome be decided without giving Ryan the best personnel possible and the confidence to win a championship. As if he needed any more.