VTBman

Hello, all! Visiting Jet fan here ... After reading predictions here, they span the usual gamut of conservative/pessimistic to irrational (just like on the Jet boards I frequent.) It IS interesting to me to learn more about how you guys view your team, and where there is progress and where there are concerns. From my less informed perspective, you guys are at least a year ahead of the Jets in terms of emerging from the Dark Ages. Having the front office in place, drafting competently, signing but not reaching on free agents - you guys are doing much better/further along in the culture building process. The Jets "may" be heading in the right direction - unfortunately, it takes time to tell if it's going well or if it's going to be another sh*t show. Starting talent wise, I think the teams are fairly well matched - with both teams having hopes for their QB's - and trying to get some talent around them and to protect them. You have a distinct advantage by being in the second year of your coaching regime: I think it's really underrated how being able to start a year in an established offensive and defensive system propels a team closer to achievement, and you are deeper. The Jets are paper thin (or bereft) at key positions like CB. The only factor I would say is being underestimated is that the previous Jets coaching staff (other than special teams) was just HORRENDOUS. Everything from game management to evaluation of talent to scheme to whatever - just maddening. Frustrating as a fan. The previous Jet GM - Mr. Coffee - let our only two Pro Bowl players walk (I believe you guys have Roberts - he's a keeper) as part of his "strategy" of improving the team, being a cheap skate when he had cap money to burn (because we had so few players drafted over the past five years who were worth resigning to second contracts - almost none.) So short and simple, whatever talent the Jets had was poorly coached and utilized - so you may see some guys deployed in ways that maximize their talents - which for us Jet fans is a novelty. We lost a lot of games last year in the fourth quarter by playing "not to lose." (I think we had one game last year where we got a "delay of game" penalty on the first offensive play right after receiving the kickoff - it was enough to get you to switch to hard liquor from beer even before eating at halftime.) Whatever talent there is on the team was badly under-coached. We shall see if our previously mediocre guys start actually looking like NFL players. So - in summary - good luck, no injuries, and I think we are seeing two teams emerge from some dark years. (I'm 60+ and started my years of masochism in the early 70's.) I think we can always agree with the sentiment "Anyone but the Cheatriots." I live in VT, and God, do I want to see the NE fan base suffer - for decades. They are insufferable, especially the younger bandwagon types. An example of how I feel comes from one Jet board poster, who when asked by another contributor if the intro press conference of Joe Douglass, our new GM, was "a success", responded with "Well, since he didn't reach down and pull Brady's severed head out of a canvas bag, I'd say no."