The Jets are going to be a trendy betting darkhorse

In the words of that noted philosopher Dizzy Dean: "It ain't braggin' if you can back it up."

Turns out, Ryan wasn't braggin'; his 2009 Jets backed it up.

In Ryan's rookie season at the helm, the Jets went much deeper in the playoffs than the perennial AFC East champions did: New York used its wildcard berth to advance to the conference title game; New England was one and done, bowing to Baltimore, 33-14, on NFL wildcard weekend.

Now, the Jets are favored by many to finish in first place in the division for the first time since Herm Edwards' team won out over the Patriots in a tiebreaker in 2002.
Why not?

As good as they were last season – 11 wins, including the playoffs (one more than the Pats) – with the free-agent additions of Hall of Famers in waiting on offense (LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego) and defense (Jason Taylor, Miami) and trades for problematic but productive players on both sides of the ball (wide receiver Santonio Holmes from Pittsburgh; cornerback Antonio Cromartie from the Chargers), it isn't out of the realm to think that the Jets will be even better than they were last season when they were on the brink of advancing to Super Bowl XLIV.
Ryan has made the Jets relevant again.

For better or worse – and team chemistry could be an issue here – this much is certain: Ryan's Jets are going for it.

The organization and its bombastic head coach have made that clear.

The folks in New England have gotten the message.

"The game is played between those lines out there," Patriots nose tackle Vince Wilfork said while addressing reporters at Gillette Stadium during the offseason. "On paper, they're making moves and making great moves. But you know what, at the end of the day, it's played between the lines. It doesn't mean anything to us one way or the other.

"We see each other twice a year, sometimes three times. It doesn't bother us whatsoever. We need to keep our focus on what we need to do to be a better football team. We can only control what the Patriots can control. We can't control what any other team is doing. Hey, more power to them."

while Greene had a pair of 100-yard games in the playoffs, is Dustin Keller  he a true No.1 running back?  Also, is Tomlinson healthy?  He won't be an every-down back, but we're not sure how much longer his body can hold up.  Guard Alan Faneca is gone, and while the Jets still have one of the best lines in the league, losing him will hurt.  Braylon Edwards, Santonio Holmes and Jerricho Cotchery is the type of receiving corps that can kill you one week, then drop two touchdowns in the next game.  Still, the offense depends on the progress of Mark Sanchez,  who tossed 20 picks last year and didn't look like the pivot that NCAA football betting players saw at USC.  Sanchez also had a knee injury this summer, so that's something to watch.

The defense is the reason why the Jets are a 3-point NFL Week 1 betting favorite against Baltimore (ironically, head coach Rex Ryan was the defensive coordinator in Baltimore before heading to the Big Apple), and it could be better this season.  If Antonio Cromartie can remain focused, he'll be a very good corner opposite Darrelle Revis, who is trying to sort out a contract dispute right now.  Shaun Ellis will receive help up front from a returning and healthy Kris Jenkins, while Bart Scott knows what Ryan wants his linebackers to do as he followed him from Baltimore.

2010 NFL Predictions The Jets football jerseys are going to be a trendy betting darkhorse to ride this year, but for all of their talk, we think they could take a step back.  They'll still make the NFL playoffs Predictions with a wild card because their defense is simply too good to give up a ton of points, but Sanchez is worrying.  Any time a quarterback throws 20 picks, that's too many, and we know he was a rookie, but he had four games with three picks or more.  He may even end up with fewer throws as Ryan tries to minimize his mistakes.  We're not sold on the backfield duo of Greene and Tomlinson, and while they have a great offensive line to run behind, Green is a second-year player, and Tomlinson is hurting.  Take them to the playoffs, but we wouldn't bet on the Jets' online sports betting odds to win it all in 2010.