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Fantasy Football Team Preview: Jets

Mark SanchezWith Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse is here to preview each and every team -- one per day until we've done them all.

Meet The ...
Offense in transition. With a new head coach along with rookies at quarterback and time-sharing running back, the best work of the Jets' offense will be in 2010 and beyond. They'll look to win with defense and taking care of the football in 2009, and you know that doesn't bode well when it comes to garnering massive amounts of fantasy points.

There are finds to be had on any team, but no Jets should be taken in the first three rounds of your draft -- and that's being conservative.


Jets Trade Up Again, Get Shonn Greene

In most drafts, the thought of giving up a handful of picks to move up the board and take a flier on a player usually smacks of desperation. History is littered with examples, none bigger than the Chargers trading up for Ryan Leaf.

But 2009 is different. It's a decidedly weak class, and players who went in the first round on Saturday would be lucky to hear their names called on Day 1 in other years. Which is why the Jets have happily traded up and jettisoned picks all weekend: they have a few needs, targeted specific players, and went out and got them.

New York Jets: And the Quarterback Is...

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

What a difference five weeks made for the New York Jets. From 8-3 to 9-7. from Eric Mangini as head coach to Rex Ryan, and from Brett Favre as the starting quarterback to, well, your guess is as good as ours. Those last five games sent the franchise into yet another new direction, one that will only start coming into focus when free agency opens on Feb. 27.

NFL Free Agency on Fantasy Island

Franchise tags and salary-cap concerns play a very important role in real-world wheelings and dealings, but what if the biggest-named free agents were matched with the teams that gave them the best chance to make a Super Bowl run? What would that list look like? Glad you asked.

Yes, this is a strictly fictional account, one that requires you to suspend reality for the next few minutes. But, hey, it's the NFL offseason, which means that there won't be any meaningful football for another seven months. What else do you have to do?

King on Favre: 'I Think He's Had Enough'

It sounds like new Jets head coach Rex Ryan can scratch through the biggest item on his to-do list because according to Peter King, Brett Favre's BFF, the future Hall of Fame quarterback has very likely played his last NFL down. For real this time.

Rex Ryan Hopes Vernon Gholston Can Be Great Player, Admits He's Not Sure

During his introductory press conference Wednesday, new Jets head coach Rex Ryan compared rookie linebacker Vernon Gholston to Ravens Pro Bowler Terrell Suggs, suggesting that Suggs had been considered a bust early in his career before the Power of Ryan saved him from himself.

Unless the "Suggs Is an Unmitigated Bust" bandwagon got rolling between the time Baltimore drafted him in April and just prior to the start of the 2003 season, I'm not getting the parallel. But as the coaching bromide goes, "it is what it is." The Eric Mangini Jets selected Gholston with the sixth-overall pick in April and now Ryan and new defensive coordinator Mike Pettine have to find a way to make this work.

Rex Ryan Is Very Confident, Wants NFL to Know 'Jets Are Coming'

Rex Ryan held his first press conference as the Jets' new head coach Wednesday afternoon, and he's just like Eric Mangini ... but exactly the opposite. The Newark Star-Ledger's Dave Hutchinson described Ryan as "charismatic and straight-talking," two qualities seldom mentioned when discussing Mangini.

Interestingly, for all the straight talk, Ryan was noncommittal about the biggest issue facing the team this offseason: Brett Favre's retirement plans, offering only a "I would think anybody would want him as their quarterback. ... Brett will be a huge decision, but he may make that decision for us,'' '

Hardly a ringing endorsement, but maybe Ryan really doesn't want Favre to return. The same can't be said for linebacker Vernon Gholston, who had a forgettable rookie season:

New Jets Coach Rex Ryan Might Bring Ray Lewis to New York


Here's what we know: former Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan is the new Jets' head coach, current Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis will be an unrestricted free agent in a few weeks, and Brett Favre has yet to inform anybody of his retirement plans.

And while we wait for that announcement (some people think Ryan should make Favre's decision for him), a little something to consider: Lewis could join Ryan in New York.

Despite Ankle Injury, Bret Favre Has His 'Signature Gunslinger Swagger'


The last time we heard Brett Favre's name it was from a dejected Tony Kornheiser, who only mentioned the "most compelling story of the NFL season" a mere 22 times during Monday Night Football.

The cognitive dissonance must've been too much for the once-respected writer turned in-booth buffoon because not only did Kornheiser quit muttering Favre's name during the second half, he quit talking altogether. I can only assume that the ratings went through the roof even though the game was pretty much decided by that point.

No need to worry, Mr. Tony; Favre is fine. In fact, according to the Newark Star-Ledger, the Jets quarterback "was back behind center and walking with his signature gunslinger swagger at practice today, leaving no doubt he'll start on Sunday against the Cardinals."

Woo-hoo, season saved! Favre apparently suffered a twisted ankle during the Chargers game, but he's none the worse for wear as New York prepares for a pretty good Arizona team.

Great News Raiders, Jets Fans: McFadden, Gholston Have Bust Written All Over Them


It's finally here, people: the NFL season is upon us. In the seven months since the Giants beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl, front-office types have wheeled and dealed, players have trained, and coaches have game-planned, all for this moment.

Today everybody's upbeat -- ecstatic, even -- especially the fans, many of whom use football as an escape from real-world drudgeries that can sometimes make the offseason seem unbearably long. And by "everybody", I mean "everybody but Greg Cosell." Cosell is the guy behind the guy behind the guy at NFL Films, and he's basically Ron Jaworski's off-camera alter ego.

His most recent column is about as uplifting as a funeral procession, but without all the ceremony. The title pretty much sets the tone, and if you're a Raiders or Jets fans, it just gets more depressing/infuriating from there: "McFadden, Gholston have look of NFL busts."

Now this could very well be the case, but jeebus, man, we haven't even seen either of them play a snap in a regular-season game. It's one thing to call out Alex Smith and Matt Leinart for their shortcomings -- there's plenty of film of those two in various states of underachievement -- but Darren McFadden and Vernon Gholston? Okay, let's hear it.

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