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2005 Record: 4-12 (4th in AFC East)
2005 Rankings
Offense: 31st (28th pass; 31st run)
Defense: 12th (2nd pass; 29th run)

Head Coach: Eric Mangini (1st season as NFL head coach)

2006 Draft Class
1.4 â€" LT, D’Brickashaw Ferguson, Virginia
1.29 â€" C, Nick Mangold, Ohio State
2.49 â€" QB, Kellen Clemens, Oregon
3.76 â€" LB, Anthony Schlegel, Ohio State
3.97 â€" DB, Eric Smith, Michigan State
4.103 â€" WR, Brad Smith, Missouri
4.117 â€" RB, Leon Washington, Florida State
5.150 â€" TE, Jason Pociask, Wisconsin
6.189 â€" DB, Drew Coleman, Texas Christian
7.220 â€" DT, Titus Adams, Nebraska

Arrivals
Eric Mangini, Head Coach
Trey Teague, C (Buffalo)
Monsanto Pope, DT (Denver)
Andre Dyson, CB (Seattle)
Kim von Oelhoffen, DE (Pittsburgh)
Anthony Clement, OT (San Francisco)

Departures
Herm Edwards, Head Coach
John Abraham, DE (Atlanta)
Jonathan Goodwin, OT (New Orleans)
Ty Law, CB (Kansas City)
Kevin Mawae, C (Tennessee)
Jay Fiedler, QB (Tampa Bay)
Jason Fabini, OT (Dallas)

Team Overview

During the 2004 playoffs, the Jets were mere feet away from advancing to the AFC Championship game. From an organizational standpoint, the only thing that ended their 2004 season was the weak kicking leg of Doug Brien. What Herm Edwards & Co. didn’t realize was that they didn’t lose to Pittsburgh because of Doug Brien, they lost because Edwards called that final series too conservatively, which made that field goal attempt in Heinz Field much more difficult than it needed to be.

So they drafted Mike Nugent (Ohio State) in the 2nd round, and gambled that Chad Pennington could return from shoulder surgery after only 6 months.

They lost that gamble, as Pennington was lost in Week 3, and in the same game, they lost his backup, Jay Fiedler. This left them no choice but to coax Vinny Testaverde away from the Del Boca Vista co-ed shuffleboard team for a few games. If Curtis Martin posting career lows in games, yards and touchdowns isn't enough of an indicator that the offense was awful, all you need to know is Brooks Bollinger was the teams starting quarterback at one point.

The situation was equally bleak on the defensive side of the ball as Larry Johnson and the KC Chiefs rolled over the Jets in Week 1, much like how Sherman rolled through Georgia, and the word was out: The Jets can’t stop the run. The J-E-T-S had ranked 5th against the run in 2004 all the way down to 29th in ’05. That’s an enormous drop, and it’s one factor in how this team went from 10-6 and on the brink of the AFC Championship game one year, to 4-12 and picking in the lottery the next.

Once Herm Edwards was on his way to Kansas City, the Jets shocked just about everybody by hiring the relatively unknown Eric Mangini as head coach. Mangini’s name had raised eyebrows a year earlier when Bill Belichick named him as Romeo Crennel’s successor as the Patriots defensive coordinator, and his ascent to the head coach level in the Big Apple was unexpected.

Mangini (the rookie head coach) and Mike Tannenbaum (the rookie GM) quickly went to work on the roster, and dealt oft-disgruntled DE John Abraham to the Falcons for a 1st round pick. After allowing veteran offensive linemen Kevin Mawae and Jason Fabini to leave town, the Jets used their two first round picks on their replacements, selecting LT D’Brickashaw Ferguson with the 4th pick, and grabbing Ohio State center Nick Mangold with the 29th pick. Neither were “sexy� choices, but both Mangini and Tannenbaum realize that the best way to rebuild up front is through the draft.

To replace the departed Abraham, they brought in former Steelers DE Kimo von Oelhoffen, and former Bronco Monsanto Pope. Both veterans figure to play a pivotal role in the Jets transition to a 3-4 alignment. Another change on defense was the departure of Pro Bowl CB Ty Law, whose salary was far too high for a team looking to rebuild. Replacing him will be second-year corner Justin Miller, who made strides in year 1. The Jets did bring in veterans Andre Dyson and Ray Mickens to add depth at the CB position, should Barrett and Miller fail. Even though the names don’t leap off the page, Mangini coached the defensive backs in New England for 5 years, 3 of which culminated in World Championships. If he can’t get solid performances out of this group, nobody can.

The star of the defense is third-year middle linebacker Johnathan Vilma, who recorded a team-high 169 tackles in 2005. His sack and interceptions may have decreased, but there’s little doubt that Vilma is a Pro Bowl-caliber linebacker.

Offensively, the word is Chad Pennington could be the Week 1 starter. With rookies at the two key spots on the offensive line, we’ll see how long that lasts, if it even happens at all. Curtis Martin returns as the starting RB, and the Jets actually have decent depth behind him. Cedric Houston, last year’s 3rd round draft pick, should improve in year 2, and the team drafted former Seminole Leon Washington this year. If the Jets can manage to keep Pennington or Kellen Clemens upright, the primary target will once again be Laveranues Coles, whose production was seriously hampered by the revolving door at the QB position a year ago. Justin McCareins starts opposite Coles, and is the team’s designated deep threat, but one player to keep an eye on is Jerricho Cotchery, who has no real competition for the #3 WR spot. Tight end duties will once again be shared by Doug Jolley and Chris Baker.

The rebuilding process is underway, and the Jets are going to lose a lot of games. Mangini and Tannenbaum made the right moves on draft day, and perhaps next year, they’ll address the front seven on the defensive side of the ball.

Three & Out

- How long can Pennington last? He’s attempting to return to the field after tearing his right rotator cuff not once, but twice. His velocity and accuracy were noticeably down after the first procedure, and you’d have to suspect that it will decrease even further after the second operation. In the winds of the Meadowlands, this could spell trouble. The team used a 2nd round pick on Kellen Clemens from Oregon, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see Clemens finish the season as the starting QB for the New York Jets.

- Why shift to a 3-4, if you don’t have the personnel to do so? Vilma is emerging as an elite middle linebacker, and now in his 3rd year, he’ll have some “help� from guys like Eric Barton, Victor Hobson, Brad Kassell and converted DE Bryan Thomas. In the 34 defense, the success of the linebackers is contingent on the success of the down linemen. Can they keep blockers away from Vilma and allow him to chase down the ball carrier? I doubt it.

- Patience. Not exactly a virtue that Jets fans are known for, but they’ll need an abundance of it over the next few seasons. The team needs to clean up the mess left behind by Herm Edwards, and the front office has this ship pointed in the right direction. With an ever increasing salary cap and a good draft class or two, the Jets could be back among the contenders in the AFC very soon.

Fantasy Island

You’d be wise to avoid drafting any New York Jet players early this year. Curtis Martin did lead the NFL in rushing in 2004, but he isn’t getting any younger and is coming off an injury-plagued season. That means you should think about grabbing taking Cedric Houston at some point in your draft.

Houston stepped in as the starter when Martin went down, and showed that he had the ability to start at this level. He’s not good, not great, receiver out of the backfield, and is worth having on your roster just in case Martin’s age has finally caught up to him.