The New York Jets entered the 2013 NFL draft with countless needs on both sides of the ball. Coming off one of their most disappointing seasons in recent memory, the Jets traded Darrelle Revis to Tampa Bay for the 13th selection. Today, I’ll share my thoughts on each of the Jets’ selections:

Round 1, Pick 9: Dee Milliner, CB, Alabama

Some mock drafts had Milliner as high as third overall, which may indicate value. Milliner was the consensus best corner back in the draft and will attempt to fill the void left by Revis. However, I’m not sure if this pick makes sense for general manager, John Idzik’s long term goals. By trading Revis, Idzik implied that no one corner back can be THAT valuable. Paying $15 million per season for a corner back may seem outlandish to an organization that values depth. The only issue is–the Jets don’t exactly have a ton of depth, so using a Top 10 pick on another corner back makes little sense. The public is not privy to medical reports, so the Jets may know that Revis won’t return to his level of dominance. However, this argument is a tough sell given Tampa Bay’s willingness to offer Revis a $96 million contract extension. Overall, the handling of the corner back position has been flat out odd.

MV Analysis: I’m not a scouting guru, but given Milliner’s track record and the need for a Revis replacement, the Jets seemed to get a good value at Pick 9. 

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It’s been a tumultous season for Rex Ryan’s Jets. After flirting with Peyton Manning, the Jets signed Mark Sanchez to a three-year, $40.5 million contract extension. Sanchez had two years remaining of his rookie contract, so the move was surprising. However, the Jets made the most puzzling move in franchise history a few months later. The Jets sent a fourth round pick to Denver for Tim Tebow. The looming presence of Tebowmania was evident as Sanchez’s clearly looked uncomfortable in the pocket. The offense’s production went from ‘bad’ to ‘worse’ as Wildcat guru, Tony Sparano was signed as offensive coordinator. Ryan was hellbent on getting back to a ‘Ground & Pound’ offense that he overlooked the offense’s biggest problem–Sanchez’s inconsistencies as a passer. Sparano’s offense is predicated by a hard-nosed ground game and accurate throws down field–two facets the Jets simply don’t have. Sanchez was booed to the bench and Tim Tebow Greg McElroy took over. McElroy isn’t the long-term answer, but the thought of McElroy starting seems like blasphemy.

While the offense’s on-field play was a downright disgrace, injuries clearly affected production. Santonio Holmes suffered a season ending foot injury and Stephen Hill and Dustin Keller couldn’t seem to stay healthy. Practice squad fodder (e.g. Chaz Schillens, Mardy Gilyard) became Sanchez’s go-to receivers. One could argue that Sanchez played so poorly that it didn’t matter who was on the field. Still, every team must overcome injuries and the Jets didn’t do it.

The defense has always been the Jets’ strength, so this year’s statistics were downright pitiful. The Jets have the NFL’s sixth worst run defense, yielding 135.3 yards per game. Of note, the 49ers gashed the Jets for over 250 yards, which Ryan coined as his worst performance ever. Bart Scott looked old and simply couldn’t defend tight ends. The Jets lost Darrelle Revis early in the season, but the pass defense did not miss a beat. Newcomers, Yeremiah Bell and LaRon Landry secured the safety positions and Antonio Cromartie played at a Pro Bowl level. The Jets were the NFL’s second best pass defense, yielding just 187 yards per game. Kyle Wilson started in place of Revis and was always picked on by opposing quarterbacks.

Special team’s coordinator, Mike Westhoff, will retire at season’s end. Known as the ‘Creator of Special Teams’, Westhoff experienced many highs (and lows). The Jets scored (and gave up) two special teams touchdowns, but suffered numerous gaffes. Tebow was placed on the punt team and made his share of mistakes.

Overall, it was a terrible season for the Jets. Ryan’s pre-season assertions about his team’s talent level were downright comical. Still, Cromartie made the Pro Bowl and Muhammad Wilkerson is beginning to play like an All-Pro. If Revis fully recovers from his ACL injury and Bell and Landry re-sign, the Jets will have the league’s best secondary. The Jets are encouraged by the play of Wilkerson and Quinton Coples, so the defense can return to its dominant ways if adds a few pieces.

On offense, the Jets need a new offensive coordinator. The Jets are stuck with Mark Sanchez, so they need a coordinator that can help develop him as a passer. Norv Turner and Charlie Weis have track records of fixing quarterbacks, so they may be options. Ryan does not know anything about offense, so he needs a strong coordinator that can fully take over. Dustin Keller will be a free agent, so the Jets need to make a decision. Still, the Jets will hope the injury gods shine more favorably upon them next season.

The Jets should give Rex Ryan one more season. The Jets will likely have a Top 12 draft pick and the return of some key pieces will help. In addition, the Jets will play a 3rd-or-4th place schedule next season, which should pad their win total. Ryan’s defense can regain its dominance, but the offense desperately needs a strong coordinator. Tebow, Sparano, and Mike Tannenbaum should not be brought back, but Ryan should be given one more chance.

The New York Jets are so desperate at the wide receiver position that they reached out to the recently cut WR Braylon Edwards, who was on their team in 2009 and 2010. Back then, Edwards was considered a top receiving option, as he had 53 catches for 904 yards and seven TDs in 2010 before becoming a free agent and going to the San Francisco 49ers.

Since that point, Edwards has been a disaster, as he had just 15 catches in nine games with San Fran before heading to Seattle and catching eight balls in 10 games on the active roster. Seattle cut him, and the Jets added him just in time for him to play against the Tennessee Titans on Monday Night Football.

The extra day of practice should really help Edwards out, as he hasn’t caught a pass in a live game since Week 6 of the season. The Jets have the 30^th ranked passing offense in the league, and QB Mark Sanchez is surely on his way out at the end of the year if New York can find a better option. However, Tennessee ranks 25^th against the pass this year, and it could be a vulnerable team.

The good news for the Jets is that they have won five out of six SU in this series and have covered all six games. They’re clearly the team with more on the line, as they are just a game back of the final Wild Card spot with three games to play. Winning out might be the only option for getting into the playoffs though, which makes this one all the more important.

New York is a slender one-point favorite on the NFL odds on Monday Night Football in Week 15.

If you’re QB Mark Sanchez, it’s degrading enough to see QB Tim Tebow running plays in your offensive scheme while you’re either flanked out at wide receiver, where you have made a grand total of zero impact over the course of the season, or standing on the sidelines. However, at least you knew if you were Sanchez that you were coming back in the game. On Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals though, Sanchez slunk to a new low, as he threw three picks in the ugliest offensive game that the New York Jets have played in years, and was ultimately benched for QB Greg McElroy.

What’s worse for Sanchez? McElroy went on to lead the Jets to the only touchdown of the entire game in the 7-6 triumph.

Sanchez had to know that his job was going to be questioned all year long, and quite frankly, it’s surprising to think that he has actually started all 12 games this year. However, to think that Greg McElroy might take his job? That’s just out of this world.

However, some time to make decisions prompted Head Coach Rex Ryan to make the prudent call this week and go with Sanchez as his starter in a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars that, oh by the way, could put the Jets just a game within the .500 mark and potentially within a game of the playoffs in the AFC as well.

The USC Trojan knows that this has got to be the end of him as a starter in this league if these last four games don’t go well. He has thrown for just 12 TDs this year against 13 picks, and a 55.0 percent completion percentage just doesn’t cut it. Sanchez gets a Jacksonville defense this week that is allowing 260.9 passing yards per game, ranking 28^th in the NFL.

If you want to make your NFL picks on the Jets this weekend, it’s going to cost you a bit, as they are laying a field goal to the Jags at EverBank Field.

Yesterday, Rex Ryan announced that Mark Sanchez will start this week’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The 2-10 Jaguars are one of the league’s worst teams. Led by Chad Henne, the Jags boast an array of uninspiring wide receivers and a very mediocre backfield. Maurice Jones-Drew has missed nearly the entire season and is not expected to play this week. However, the hapless Jags may have a shot at home against the reeling Mark Sanchez and the slow-moving Jet offense. Current NFL betting picks have the Jets pegged a 2.5 point road favorite, but that line may surprise some people. Henne has shown the ability to put up big numbers and the Jets won’t face Ryan Lindley each week.

Starting Mark Sanchez is the right move from both a football and financial standpoint. The Jets owe Sanchez a guaranteed $8.2 million next season, so based on pure dollars alone, he should start. In addition, the Jets don’t have servicable backup quarterback. Tim Tebow clearly isn’t an option and Greg McElroy is nothing more than a backup. Sure, McElroy led the game winning drive against Arizona, but his talent doesn’t jump off the page. Sanchez should start, but it reminds to be seen if he’ll finish the game.

Week 13 Update:

Mark Sanchez’s career has reached an all-time low.  After throwing three, first half interceptions and failing to generate any points, the Jets benched Sanchez in favor of Greg McElroy mid-way through the third quarter.  Each of Sanchez’s three interceptions was pretty ugly.  On his first pass attempt, Arizona deployed pressure up the middle and Sanchez threw a floating pass off his back foot.  Ex-Jet Kerry Rhodes jumped the pass and intercepted the ball.  Two drives later, Rhodes once against picked off Sanchez to close out the first quarter.  Sanchez was targeting Jeff Cumberland on a deep drag route, but the ball was underthrown and undercut by Rhodes.  To close out the first half, Sanchez threw a deep post route to Chaz Schillens, but Patrick Peterson wrestled the ball away from Schillens and came away with the interception.  After three unsuccessful second half drives, Sanchez was benched and McElroy led the Jets to the victory.

Sanchez’s decision making was very poor and he continued to revert back to the same mistakes.  Sanchez refuses to throw the ball away when there’s no play and opts to throw off his back foot when he’s in trouble.  It’s baffling how much Sanchez has regressed as a passer.

Week 14 Update:

Mark Sanchez’s job is safe for at least another week.  Greg McElroy did not dress after last week’s impressive showing, confirming the Jets’ decision to stick with Sanchez.  Sanchez’s afternoon got off to a shaky start after Jason Babin sacked Sanchez and stripped the ball. Afterwards, the Jets’ play calling became ultraconservative. Tony Sparano didn’t give Sanchez too many opportunities to make plays.  Sanchez looked tentative in the pocket and had trouble completing passes in excess of 15 yards.  During the fourth quarter, Sanchez completed his longest pass play of the game.  Sanchez completed a 37-yard pass down the seam to a wide open Jeff Cumberland for a first down.  Overall, Sanchez effectively managed the game and spent most of the afternoon handing the ball off to his running backs.  Dustin Keller was inactive and Stephen Hill left with an injury, so Sanchez is clearly lacking weapons.

When you’ve got an offense that features a plodding runner, a quarterback that is in above his head, and a bunch of wide receivers that probably should be playing in the Arena Football League, you can’t afford many self-inflicted wounds. That’s why the New York Jets have been getting embarrassed at times this year, something that they can’t afford to do on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.

Oh sure, New York is the subject of many NFL picks at -4 ½ on Sunday, but if the team turns the ball over like it has at times this year, there is just no telling how ugly this game at MetLife Stadium might get.

Last week alone, the Jets turned the ball over five times. Two of those turnovers ended up being returned for touchdowns, and as a result, the final score was an ugly 49-19 in favorite of the New England Patriots.

New York has no lost a whopping 12 fumbles this year to go with 10 INTs. Five times, those turnovers have been returned for TDs. To put that in comparison, the whole offense only has 20 TDs scored for the year, so for every five touchdowns that the squad scores, it directly gives one up.

Take away the very first game of the year against the Buffalo Bills, and the offense is averaging scoring just 17.3 points per game, and if you take away all of the special teams and defensive touchdowns from that number as well, the offense is actually only averaging 15.2 points per game.

Arizona brings a defense to town that has forced 23 turnovers this year. This defense had a string of 15 straight games without allowing more than 23 points snapped four weeks ago versus the San Francisco 49ers, and the team hasn’t allowed fewer than 23 points in a game since that point. Last week though, the St. Louis Rams scored 14 of their 31 points directly off of interceptions returned for touchdowns.

The New York Jets haven’t had a heck of a lot go their way this year. They’re a 4-6 team, they have one of the most embarrassing offenses in football, and they pretty much have to beat the New England Patriots on Thanksgiving Day night to be able to stay in the playoff chase in the AFC.

If there’s one bright spot though, it is the New York secondary. This unit, even without DB Darrelle Revis for most of the season, still ranks fourth in the league in pass defense at 200.1 yards per game. Part of that is the fact that the offense can’t keep up and teams end up just running the ball to run out the clock on the Jets, but there is still no denying just how good this unit really is at the back.

Case in point: Look back to what happened a few weeks ago when these two teams met. The Jets kept the Pats close every step of the way and forced overtime. Yes, they ultimately lost the game, but they also made a real statement at the time that they could still beat any team in the land in spite of their struggles.

QB Mark Sanchez – yes, that Mark Sanchez – threw for 328 yards and a TD that day. The immortal QB Tom Brady? Just 259 yards and two scores. It was one of the only games this year in which the Patriots scored just a total of two offensive touchdowns.

Since giving up 259 yards to Brady, the New York secondary really has stepped it up. The team allowed 149 yards to the Miami Dolphins, 188 to the Seattle Seahawks, and 170 to the St. Louis Rams, and the last game against St. Louis came when QB Sam Bradford and company threw the ball 44 times.

Still, the Jets at +6 ½ for NFL picks on Sunday at home against New England. If the team is going to pull the upset though, it’s the secondary that is going to have to be big.

Is Head Coach Rex Ryan on his way out the door with the New York Jets? When his team was at its best, the men in green and white looked and felt like a bunch of misfits together. The Jets were the bandits that came to your home stadium with a seemingly unwarranted swagger, and they found a way to scrap and claw their way to the most pivotal of victories.

What was once a locker room in accord is now one of disgust and disgrace at the moment. On Wednesday, the news broke from the New York Post that some of the New York players referred to backup QB Tim Tebow as “terrible” and referred to him as “hated.” Even for as bad as QB Mark Sanchez has been this year, it is clear that at least some of the players in the locker room would rather continue to hitch their wagon to him than the former Florida Gator.

The truth of the matter is that the 2012 Jets may as well be on the Titanic right now. They’re 3-6, they’ve lost five out of six games, and in that stretch, they have been held in single digits three times and without an offensive point in two of those games. They have allowed at least 28 points in four of the six as well, while the special teams unit continues to have meltdown after meltdown.

Now comes the ultimate disgrace. New York is on the road this week against the St. Louis Rams. Yes, these are the same Rams that finished with the second worst record in the NFL last year, and they’re the same Rams that had the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft just a few years ago. These Rams haven’t closed as a favorite in a regular season game since November 27^th of last year, a stretch of 15 straight games.

And yet here St. Louis is, a favorite by 3 ½-points on the NFL odds this Sunday, and it is just one more indication that the Jets might be grounded in 2012 once and for all.

The New York Jets have been a disaster this year, but they are still hanging around in the playoff picture in the AFC. They’re 6-point underdogs on the NFL odds on Sunday afternoon against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field, and if they are going to ultimately figure out how to pull this one out, it is the defense that needs to get back up to snuff.

For as much grief as the offense has been given in the media, Head Coach Rex Ryan’s defense really hasn’t been that great this year. The team only has 12 sacks for the campaign, and no player has more than just two sacks. To put that in comparison, the team averaged 2.5 sacks per game in 2010 and 2.0 sacks per game in 2009, and both of those years, the team went to the AFC Championship Game.

The New York defense is getting gashed to the tune of 141.1 yards per game on the ground as well, and the end result is that teams are putting up 25.0 points per game against it. Over the course of the last two weeks, the Jets have allowed 59 points, though we know that not all of those points are the product of the defense.

The Seahawks rank seventh in the league in rushing behind RB Marshawn Lynch, one of the more bruising backs in the league. The Jets have only faced four other teams that rank in the Top 10 in rushing, and the results have definitely not been pretty. All four teams have rushed for at least 131 yards, and the average rushing yards per game allowed was 185.0.

DB Antonio Cromartie came out in the media this week and said that the Jets were going to make the playoffs. If they are, they’re probably going to have to win in Seattle this weekend, and that’s going to require a significantly better effort than what the team has been giving on the defensive side of the ball.

The New York Jets are set to take on the Seattle Seahawks this week, and this is terrible news for QB Mark Sanchez. Sanchez knows that he has everything going against him at this point, and this is a tough test to avoid failure in.

To make your NFL picks on the Jets on the road, you’d have to have confidence that Sanchez is going to be a heck of a lot better than he has been this year. Half of his games featured completion percentages of less than 50%, and he has only completed more than 14 passes in four of his eight games as well.

This is going to be the 13^th game for Sanchez against an NFC opponent in his career. In those games, he has averaged just 215.1 passing yards per game, and he has completed just 54.5% of his passes. Even worse is his utterly terrible 9/17 TD/INT ratio in those games.

Sanchez has never faced Seattle before, and he is probably going to be happy when this one is said and done with. The Seahawks rank seventh in the NFL, allowing just 206.8 passing yards per game. This isn’t a fluke either, knowing that men like QB Cam Newton, QB Tony Romo, QB Tom Brady, and QB Matt Stafford have all faced this illustrious defense.

Remember as well, that Seattle Head Coach Pete Carroll knows all about Sanchez, having coached him up during his collegiate career with the USC Trojans. Little did we know that the team that passed on him in the NFL Draft, these Seahawks, would be where Carroll would end up coaching when he took a second jump to the NFL.

Could this be the end of the “Sanchise” in the Big Apple? We have heard all about how QB Tim Tebow is expected to have a bigger role in the New York offense, and one more lousy game against the Seahawks might be just what the doctor ordered to give Offensive Coordinator Tony Sparano the keys to let Tebow get on the field more in place of Sanchez.