WOZZY'S WEEK 1 FORECAST - THE PICKS

Throughout each week of the season I will briefly break the Jets matchup down, as well as provide my picks for each game. If Ectropy chooses to post his picks, we'll keep a running tally of correct forecast's for the entire season. So without further hesitation, here is Wozzy's week one forecast.

GANG GREEN

Jets (+3) @ Titans

Neither team is projected to have a particularly noteworthy season, as public opinion has both clubs dwelling in the cellar.

With new head coach Eric Mangini moving over from New England, look for the Jets to play a ball control game similar to Belichik's style, in an effort to win the time of possession battle. The Jets will feature a three pronged ground attack and run Cedric Houston, Kevin Barlow and Derrick Blaylock at the Titans, while mixing in the accurate passing of Chad Pennington. Pennington's arm strength is certainly an enormous question mark, but his accuracy has always been superb. The Jets should play to Blaylock's strength and utilize his pass catching skills.

Meanwhile, the Titans bring a fresh look to the quarterback position with the departure of Steve McNair to Baltimore. The Vince Young era has begun in Tennessee, but don't expect to see Young behind center until later in the season. For now, Billy Volek will take the snaps, while Chris Brown seems to have won the starting tailback job over LenDale White and Travis Henry.

Both teams have relatively young and inexperienced defenses, while the Titans seem to have a bit of an edge on offense, especially on the ground. However, the Jets offense will do just enough to keep them in the game, and Jonothan Vilma will make a second half game-changing play to propel Gang Green to an opening day road win.

THE PICK: Take the Jets and the three points.
PREDICTED SCORE: Jets 20, Titans 17

THE REST OF THE LEAGUE

Pittsburgh vs. Miami (EVEN) - Pittsburgh - Even w/out Big Ben, the Steelers will be amped to raise their Super Bowl Banner.
Tampa Bay vs. Baltimore (-3) - Baltimore - Goodbye Kyle Boller and hello Steve McNair!
Cleveland (-3) vs. New Orleans - Cleveland - Drew Brees does not look to be completely healthy just yet.
Carolina (-5) vs. Atlanta - Carolina - The Panthers could be Super Bowl bound this season.
Seattle (-5) @ Detroit - Seattle - The Seahawks will be the toast of the NFC along with Carolina.
Philadelphia (-4.5) @ Houston - Philadelphia - Houston still has no offensive line or running back, and McNabb is healthy.
Tennessee vs. New York Jets (+3) - New York Jets - See above.
Kansas City vs. Cincinnati (+2.5) - Cincinnati - Chad Johnson will unveil the first of many genius endzone celebrations.
Denver @ St. Louis (+3.5) - St. Louis - Tough to pick against the Rams at the Dome, especially when they're getting 3.5.
New England (-9) vs. Buffalo - New England - Who's playing QB for Buffalo? Exactly.
Jacksonville (-2.5) vs. Dallas - Jacksonville - The Jags boast a stout defense.
Chicago (-3.5) @ Green Bay - Chicago - The Packers are young and inexperienced, while the Bears have the league's best D.
Arizona (-7.5) vs. San Francisco - Arizona - The Cards' high powered offense will fly in their new stadium.
Indianapolis (-3.5) @ New York Giants - Indianapolis - Peyton has a little more experience than brother Eli.
Washington vs. Minnesota (+4.5) - Minnesota - Don't sleep on the Vikings in the NFC North. Hear that Chicago?
San Diego (-3) @ Oakland - San Diego - Tomlinson and Gates are quite a tandem.

Strait Back to Cleveland! Suggs Fails Physical

Less than twenty-four hours after the Jets and Browns announced a deal that would send Lee Suggs to the New York for Derrick Strait, the trade has been rescinded. Suggs failed his physical this morning and was immediately shipped back to Cleveland.

I referred to yesterday's move as a "calculated risk" that could provide a positive reward for a managable amount of risk. Today it seems as if the risk has far outweighed the reward as Suggs never even made it to the practice field, let alone off the sidelines and into a game.

Now the Jets are left to scramble for yet another running back that might help their ground game. In the meantime, Derrick Strait is headed back to a team that deemed him expendable just yesterday. For a player that has yet to live up to grand expectations, today's events can only damage his psyche.

As we so-often find ourselves muttering in Jetsland: "Same Old Jets!"

Jets Trade Derrick For Suggs - Strait Up!

Wire reports have confirmed that the Jets have dealt third year cornerback Derrick Strait to the Cleveland Browns in return for running back Lee Suggs. The move comes just weeks after Strait was moved from cornerback to safety to replace the injured Erik Coleman (apandectomy).

With future hall-of-famer Curtis Martin on the shelf recovering from offseason arthroscopic knee surgery, and only Cedric Huston and Derrick Blaylock slated as replacements, the move for a back like Suggs seems to be a well calculated risk.

At best, Blaylock is a third down back who's strongest attribute is receiving short dumps and screens out of the backfield, while Huston's performance late last season showed that he is not physically equipped to handle the workload of a full-time runner.



Suggs brings both youth and promise to the field, in addition to a history of injury and missed playing time. Drafted by the Browns in the 4th round in 2003, after a fairly successful career at Virginia Tech, Suggs represents promise unfulfilled. In his limited playing time between injuries, Suggs has shown flashes of NFL caliber play, including a 186 yard - two touchdown-performance in the final game of the 2003 season.

Strait came to the Jets with high expectations in 2003 as the Jim Thorpe Award-Winner for the nation's top college cornerback. Drafted in the 3rd round in 2003, Strait was expected to bolster a struggling Jets secondary. Unfortunately, in two season's as a backup, he failed to record an interception, and never quite matured as much the team had hoped. It is safe to say that he's been a bit of a disappointment.

As a result, this trade is well worth the possible risk/reward - Wozzy approved!

Make Up Your Mind

Earlier today, ESPN.com posted an article on their front page claiming that sources had confirmed that Chad Pennington had already been named the starting QB. However, just a few hours later, that article was removed from the site and replaced by another article claiming that the first report was erroneous. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2537001

Naturally, ESPN.com chose to blame the misinformation on an unnamed source that spoke with the "Newark Star Ledger." This excuse is humorous, because rule number one in journalism is to make sure your source is valid BEFORE you go ahead and print/post something. In this case, ESPN.com placed more emphasis on "breaking" the story, as opposed to accurately informing their readers.

At any rate, it is a positive sign for Jets fans to see Pennington earning high praise early in camp. First year head coach Eric Mangini went as far as saying "We're surprised at the progress he's made. No one expected him to along this far this early." If you choose to believe it, the "Star Ledger" source went on to say that the organization is surprised with Pennington's arm strength and accuracy early in camp.

It would be an absolute shame to see Pennington's career expire long before it's possible ascension. This Jets fan is surely rooting for Chad to take control of the position that is rightfully his. Ideally, Gang-Green will be led by Pennington on opening day in Tennessee.

Chad Throws - Mickens Returns

Quarterback Chad Pennington took a huge step in his quest to return yesterday, when he threw at a Jets mini-camp. While the media was prohibited from attending the workout, the Jets are reporting that Pennington ran reps on every passing route in the playbook, and was able to successfully make every throw. It is not known how hard or how many passes Pennington threw, but the QB reported no pain after the workout.

Pennington had surgery before last season, and returned to start the year after only eight months of rehabilitation. After reinjuring the shoulder against Jacksonville, Pennington was forced to undergo a second shoulder surgery with Dr. James Andrews. If he were to start this season, Chad would have eleven months of rehab under his belt before taking the field.

In other news, cornerback Ray Mickens returned to the Jets this afternoon. After playing his first nine seasons with New York, and missing the entire 2004 season, Mickens signed with Cleveland in 2005. The veteran cornerback returns home to NY where he will help solidify the secondary, most likely in third down and nickel situations.

The Jets also signed free agent wide receiver Reggie Newhouse and cornerback Rayshun Reed. Newhouse was drafted by the Cardinals out of Baylor in 2003, and played two seasons with Arizona. He has spent the past two years in NFL Europe with the Cologne Centurions. Reed, also drafted in 2003, spent the past two season's with the 49er's.

New York also waived QB Kliff Kingsbury and cornerback James Taylor.

WOZZY'S DRAFT PREVIEW

With the NFL draft scheduled for noon tomorrow, and the New York Jets holding two first round picks, there is plenty of speculation as to which direction Gang Green will head with their picks. Naturally, the #4 overall pick will hinge directly on the first three picks preceeding it, while the #29 overall pick could be utilized in any number of ways to address the countless voids on the current roster. Here is how I see the first few picks shaping up, as well as what I would like to see the organization address in this year's draft.

WOZZY'S TOP 10 + 1 PREDICTIONS

1. HOUSTON - Reggie Bush - RB - USC.
2. NEW ORLEANS - Mario Williams - DE - N.C State.
3. TENNESSEE - Vince Young - QB - TEXAS.
4. NEW YORK JETS - D'Brickashaw Ferguson - T - Virginia.
5. GREEN BAY - A.J. Hawk - LB - Ohio State.
6. SAN FRANCISCO - Vernon Davis - TE - Maryland.
7. OAKLAND - Matt Leinart - QB - USC.
8. BUFFALO - Brodrick Bunkley - DT - Florida State.
9. DETROIT - Michael Huff - DB - Texas.
10. ARIZONA - Jay Cutler - QB - Vanderbilt.
29. NEW YORK JETS - LenDale White - RB - USC.

ANALYSIS

#4 Pick: D'Brickashaw Ferguson - I know some will argue that the Jets should take Matt Leinart at this spot if he's available. However, with the loss of Mawae and Fabini, the Jets are incredibly thin on the offensive line. Ferguson is a tremendous pass protector, and brings a ton of athletic ability to the table. A quarterback needs a solid line in order to be successful. Ferguson is the smart pick.

#29 Pick: There are any number of directions the Jets could go here. I've seen predictions for Manny Lawson, the defensive end out of N.C. State, as well as Davin Joseph, the offensive guard from Oklahoma. However, if Carolina does not pick up LenDale White with their twenty-seventh pick, I would like to see the Jets take a chance on White. Curtis Martin is not getting any younger, while Blaylock and Huston are not the answers for the future. White has decent speed, a strong build and a championship pedigree. He would be my pick at number twenty-nine if he remains on the board.

SLEEPER PICK

If I had to pick a sleeper at the #4 slot for the Jets, I would go with tight end Vernon Davis out of Maryland. I know, I know. The last thing Jets fans want to hear is that they should take another tight end after all the previous busts at the position. However, Davis runs a 4.3 forty, all while carrying 250 lbs. He could turn out to be an explosive and athletic Antonio Gates-like tight end.

And We Have Lift Off!

Welcome to the inaugural season of "2 Jets Fans." While this may be our first year in the blogosphere, I'm honored/saddened to admit that Mr. Ectropy and I have been New York football Jets fans and season ticket holders since we were little scrubs. Here is a brief history of how I (Wozzy Bear) became a loyal supporter of "Gang Green."

THE METAMORPHOSIS

As long as I can remember, I have been a Jets fan. As a young lad, my father became enthralled with the AFL and the free-wheeling offenses and passing games that defined this upstart league. Before I was even born, the pops split a season ticket with his pal at Shea stadium in the 1970's. A few years later, I popped onto the scene (1980) and was naturally dooped into becoming a Jets fan by my pops.

I can recall sitting with my father in the living room on Sunday's watching the Jets blow games (Some things never change), driving us to the brink of insanity. As if being a father of four wasn't daunting enough, the Jets would invariably ruin his Sunday afternoon's. After any given loss, my father would tell me fairy tale's of the glory days of Joe Namath and Don Maynard, and I would soak up every minute of it in my Freeman McNeil jersey. I hadn't even reached double digits yet, and I was hooked.

GAME TIME

Finally, at the age of ten, I attended my first home game at Giants Stadium. Just a few years earlier, I had become friends with Mr. Ectropy when we were placed on the same pee-wee soccer team. Both sons of rabid Jets fans, we naturally hit it off and became fast friends. By now, with a family to attend to, my father had gotten rid of his tickets at Shea Stadium, so I had yet to attend a game. Finally, on September 16, 1990, Mr. Ectropy took me to my first game with our fathers. Lucky for me, the Jets defeated the Cleveland Browns 24-21, and the memory of that day will stay with me forever.

Since those early days, my father was able to grab tickets from some of the lawyers he works with from time to time, and just four years ago, I was presented with my season tickets. On Sunday's, I now sit in section 308 with my big brother, whom we have since converted to Jets nation, along with the rest of my family.


The Gang Green Family

Coming Tomorrow: NFL Draft Preview