Madden 17: A New Era For The Jets

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The Jets Observer

The Jets entered 2015 with several new faces and plenty of question marks to go along with them. After a miserable campaign in 2014 where they managed only four wins on the season. They looked to revamp their front office, by recruiting a new head coach in Todd Bowles.

The Jets had plenty of cap space in the offseason and went on a spending spree by re-signing players like Bilal Powell and David Harris as well as revamping the secondary by signing the likes of Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie, Marcus Gilchrist and Buster Skrine. However, the key players in their 2015 season were acquired through trades, which saw them acquire wideout Brandon Marshall and veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Despite the successful recruiting drive during the offseason, the Jets still managed to face adversity, as there was an altercation in the locker room which lead to quarterback Geno Smith been punched in the face and ultimately cost him his starting job. The recently acquired Fitzpatrick put the team on his shoulders and lead the Jets to 10 wins on the season, however when it mattered most, Fitzpatrick couldn't provide the performance needed to beat the Bills which meant they missed out on a playoff birth for a fifth consecutive year.

After 5 years of subpar performances by the Jets, owner Woody Johnson decided to sell the team to financial mogul Alex Miller. Miller has always been a huge fan of the NFL and see's a real opportunity and challenge to turn around the Jets franchise. Miller views this as a new era for the Jets organisation and would like to build a continual winner from top to bottom and this begins with the 2016 draft where they acquired the following players.

Round 1- Darron Lee (OLB)

Round 2 - Christian Hackenberg (QB)

Round 3 - Jordan Jenkins (OLB)

Round 4 - Justin Burris (CB)

Round 5 - Brandon Shell (OT)

Round 7 - Loc Edwards (P)

Round 7 - Charone Peake (WR)

Stay tuned to the Jets Observer to see how the Jets progress under a new regime. Up next we will be focusing on the implications of the offseason.

[Sliq_Hazard]

The Jets Observer

Welcome back to another instalment of The Jets Observer, today we are going to take a look at what went down throughout the offseason.

Lets start by addressing the rookies; Coach Todd Bowles said the following after the final preseason game, "I've been really pleased with the performances of our rookies throughout the course of our preseason games and truly believe that they can all make an impact as starters on this team". It's believed that at least four out of the seven drafted players will be starters for the Jets in their week 1 matchup against the Bengals.

Now lets move onto the biggest question people have... Who will be the quarterback of this team? Well needles to say that has been addressed by Todd Bowles and Alex Miller, who had held a press conference to announce the starting quarterback, and to the surprise of a lot of people they have decided to go with the rookie out of Penn State, Christian Hackenberg. This is intriguing as several players voiced their opinions and said that they wanted Fitzpatrick back this year to lead the Jets... So the Jets organisation provided him with a one year deal.

The big question with Hackenberg is wether or not we will see the real Hackenberg... Will the real Hackenberg please stand up? He was a mediocre quarterback over his final two collegiate seasons (28 touchdowns, 21 interceptions), but there wasn't much talent around him and he didn't fit the Nittany Lions' new spread system. Opposing coaches thought they could beat him mentally and that he lacked courage under fire. As a freshman, in Bill O'Brien's pro-style system, Hackenberg showed promise (20 touchdowns, 10 interceptions). Some talent evaluators projected him as a future top-10 pick. The Jets are hoping to get that Hackenberg, not the Hackenberg who appeared rattled at times over his sophomore and junior seasons. He took a beating (103 career sacks), raising questions about his pocket presence and whether he's skittish. Said one AFC personnel executive: "He has some special qualities, but you have to ask yourself, 'Can I get this guy back on track?'" Hackenberg was a mess at the scouting combine, causing some scouts to shake their heads as he threw wildly in drills. He fell short of the 60 percent mark each of his three seasons; completion percentage usually is an accurate barometer of future performance. The Jets are placing a lot of faith in offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, their quarterback whisperer.

Now I know all you Jets fans are shaking your head, but don't worry as the Jets studied three years of tape, went to Penn State for a private workout and brought Hackenberg to One Jets Drive for a pre-draft visit. Here's what the Conclusion is: "There's a lot of upside and potential," Maccagnan said. "We vetted him thoroughly." In fact, Maccagnan, Gailey, Todd Bowles, quarterbacks coach Kevin Patullo and a couple of scouts attended the private workout. Aside from Hackenberg's physical talent, they were impressed by his smarts, work ethic and leadership. One opposing scout said Hackenberg "didn't see eye to eye" with Penn State coach James Franklin, which may have contributed to a tense environment. The Jets hope they can rehabilitate the quarterback, making it 2013 all over again.” So in theory its simple, the key to success will be getting Hackenberg into a system he feels comfortable in and providing him with the protection needed to make accurate throws in the pocket.

Now lets take a look at the depth chart for this years team;

Offense:
QB: C.Hackenberg, R.Fitzpatrick, G.Smith
HB: M.Forte, B.Powell, C.J.Spiller
FB: D.Coleman
WR: B.Marshall, E.Decker, Q.Enunwa, R.Anderson, J.Marshall
TE: A.Seferian-Jenkins, N.Boyle, B.Bowman
LT: R.Clady, B.Shell
LG: J.Carpenter, C.Watts
C: N.Mangold, W.Johnson
RG: B.Winters, D.Dozier
RT: B.Giacomini, B.Ijalana

Defense:
LE: M.Wilkerson, A.Johnson
RE: L.Williams
DT: S.McLendon, D.Simon
LOLB: J.Jenkins, L.Mauldin IV
MLB: D.Harris, D.Lee
ROLB: S.Richardson, J.Martin
CB: D.Revis, B.Skrine, M.Williams, D.McDougle
FS: M.Gilchrist, A.Allen
SS: C.Pryor III, R.Miles

Special Teams:
K: N.Folk
P: L.Edwards
KR: J.Marshall
PR: J.Marshall

As you may have noticed the Jets added two new additions to the team in tight end Nick Boyle and fullback Derrick Coleman.

Hackenberg and the Jets face a tough schedule this season, however they will be looking to continue on last years campaign. Here's what the schedule looks like:

Week 1: Vs Bengals

Week 2: @ Bills

Week 3: @ Chiefs

Week 4: Vs Seahawks

Week 5: @ Steelers

Week 6: @ Cardinals

Week 7: Vs Ravens

Week 8: @ Browns

Week 9: @ Dolphins

Week 10: Vs Rams

Week 11: Bye Week

Week 12: Vs Patriots

Week 13: Vs Colts

Week 14: @ 49ers

Week 15: Vs Dolphins

Week 16: @ Patriots

Week 17: Vs Bills

Stay tuned to see how the Hackenberg lead Jets go in week one against the Bengals.

J-E-T-S J-E-T-S J-E-T-S

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The Jets Observer

After what appeared to be a long offseason we are finally back here for some Jets football. The Jets are playing host to the Bengals in this week 1 matchup, in what should be the fight between one of the hottest defensive units in football with the Bengals up against rookie quarterback Christian Hackenberg who is set to lead the Jets into a new era for the organisation.

Before the game we asked what Bowles expects from his rookie quarterback and he mentioned this, " First and foremost I want to take some of the pressure off his back by establishing the run game early on with veteran running back Matt Forte. With the running game established I expect Hackenberg to have some time in the pocket, where he will be able to target the likes of Decker and Marshall for some key completions. At the end of the day I will be more then happy if he throws a couple touchdowns and keeps the football safe... If he can do that, we have a real chance of beating any team in this league".

Lets take a look at how the game played out! Throughout the majority of the contest it was quite a back and forth game, going score for score up until the third quarter where the Jets were able to post 9 unanswered points. As you can imagine, both offences lit up the stat sheet with the final score been 39-27 to the Jets who recorded their maiden win on the season.

Both teams struggled to find continuity in their offence in the opening quarter but as both quarterbacks got settled in, partly to the help of the running game. We got to see some really good offensive football with both Hackenberg and Dalton eclipsing over 250 passing yards, along with several touchdowns and no interceptions.

Hackenberg looked poised in the pocket throughout the duration of the game and picked apart the Bengals defence, by throwing for 4 touchdowns on the day. A big factor in this was the reliable running game of Matt Forte who provided over 100 yards on the ground and reeled in 7 catches in the passing game.

Lets take a look at some of the stats!

Jets Player Stats:

Passing:

Once Christian Hackenberg settled into the game we got to see some glimpses of what he is capable of. His passing game today was methodical, however he still remained aggressive which was fantastic to see as he threw 32 times for 26 completions, 257 yards and 4 touchdowns on the day.

Rushing:

A bulk of the heavy work was done by Matt Forte who showed he can still contribute at a high level, as he accumulated 107 yards on the ground from 26 carries. It should also be noted that Hackenberg showed what he can do when the pocket collapsed as he ran the ball four times for 32 yards and a touchdown.

Receiving:

By league standards you could argue that the receivers had a quiet game, but it was good to see a combination of players contribute as opposed to one. Matt Forte lead the day in receptions as he had 7 receptions for 64 yards, but it was Eric Decker who hauled in 6 receptions for 110 yards and 2 scores on the day that looked to be a game changer for the Jets offense. The tightends provided a bit of a safety blanket for the rookie quarterback as both Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Nick Boyle were able to make tough catches in traffic. Austin Seferian-Jenkins had 3 receptions on the day for 30 yards and 2 scores, whereas Nick Boyle made two tough catches for his quarterback and was only credited for 6 yards on the day.

Defense:

The Jets defense still has a long ways to go until they become a top defensive force in this league again, but there was a lot of bright spots out there today. Marcus Gilchrist was everywhere as he lead the team with 13 tackles and even rookie linebacker Darrron Lee was able to contribute with 9 tackles. The Jets defensive unit was able to record 4 tackles for a loss on the day as they were slowly able to stop the running game as the game went on. Sheldon Richardson was the lonely player to get a sack on the team and that is something the Jets will need to change. Richardson's sack did force the ball lose from Dalton and allow Buster Skrine to get the fumble recovery in what provided a short field for the offensive unit.

Join us next week as the Jets travel to Buffalo to take on the Bills, in what should be a tight contest for two division rivals.