Three Big Questions Facing the Jets this Season

The New York Jets have reached the AFC Championship in the previous two seasons and have been minutes away from the Super Bowl in both years. Outspoken Head Coach Rex Ryan has once again promised the Jets Fans a Super Bowl this year. The Question is have the Jets Improved enough from last season to take that giant step towards NFL Champions? Here are three Questions the Jets have entering the season that could make or break their Super Bowl Dreams.

Sanchez

1) Mark Sanchez- Mark Sanchez has proven he can win games in New York, but has failed to show that he can be an elite Quarterback in the NFL yet. A Super Bowl win this year and Mark will establish himself among the NFL Elite, however a poor performance this season and Jets will have to reevaluate whether or not Mark Sanchez is the future of this organization. For Mark to succeed this season he will have to improve in several areas. He will first have to improve his consistency. Mark Sanchez is prone to having great games, but then following that up with an awful showing. The Jets will need him to play solid week in and week out and be leader along the way. The second area Mark Sanchez needs to improve in is the red zone. Mark Sanchez has been terrible in the red zone the last two years averaging only 2.4 yards per attempt. His passing accuracy also drops 8% in the red zone compared to the rest of the field. Part of this issue is due to inexperience, but the other part is Mark Sanchez appears to be scared once he gets inside the 20. The Jets signed Plaxico Burress, arguably one of the best red zone recievers in the league to help solve this problem. Mark Sanchez however is going to have to take more risks for the team to succeed. If he trys to make more throws in tight spaces and finds Plaxico high above the cornerbacks, the Jets will succeed in the Red Zone this season. The final area Mark Sanchez needs to improve in is finding his tight end Dustin Keller more often. Dustin Keller's combination of speed and athleticism create match up nightmares for opposing Defensive Coordinators. Sanchez however has failed to find Keller often enough. If Keller can get more actively involved in the offense the Jets could put up huge numbers on the scoreboard this season.

2) Wayne Hunter- Another big question is at Right Tackle position. Over the past few years the Jets have cut big names from their offensive line including Alan Faneca and Damien Woody. This has left the team with better cap flexibility, but a gapping hole at right tackle. The Jets handed the job to career journeyman Wayne Hunter before camp even started, which could be a dangerous move for a usually solid offensive line. The Jets are taking a huge risk handing a 30 year old linemen who has never started an entire NFL season a starting job on a team with Super Bowl ambitions. If Wayne Hunter performs well the Jets will have a fighting chance at the Lombardi, but if he does not they could be heading for an early off season.

Burress

3) Plaxico Burress- The big question the Jets will have hanging over their heads this season is if Plaxico Burress will play better than the man he replaced, Braylon Edwards. Burress has much better potential than Edwards, however no one will know how he will perform after spending the previous two seasons behind bars. This fact will work to his advantage in one way by his body will be fresh after not getting the wear and tear of playing in the NFL over the previous two years. Michael Vick has proved that a player can get out of jail and return to their pre jail form although it took Michael Vick two seasons to find his groove again. Plaxico Burress plays a much easier position to adapt to though and should be able to perform immediately. Burress was a premier receiver in the league only two years ago and the upside in this situation is definitely worth the risk for the Jets. If Plaxico Burress performs better than Edwards the Jets are a better team than last season, however if he performs worse the Jets are a worse team than last season.

Post by Jordan Cole