New York Jets

Rex Ryan and his mean green machine are rolling into a town near you. As if such a carnival of chiding could go unnoticed…

The Jets have been the bully-boys of the AFC for the past two seasons now. Their trash talking ways have moved them past the Steelers – who themselves have taken on a rather quiet, but menacing persona – in the fear factor rankings. They’ve always appeared like a punk kid when compared to the bookish sophistication of long-time division rivals and perennial playoff participants, the New England Patriots. And just like a punk, they get angry when things don’t go their way, they whinge and moan and spit out their dummy for all to see. And they don’t apologise.

They just piss you off.

And you know what? In a league of such relative parity, having that mental edge is often all you need to win. The Jets wind up their opponents something rotten, and they are frequently rewarded for it. The moment the fear scrapes the surface, the Jets have won.

However, things are different this year. The guys used to being on the wrong end of a New York beat-down are suddenly all juiced up. It’s like beating up the geeky kid on the last day of school before going away for summer and returning to find he’s had a bicep-centric growth spurt.

The Texans are contenders. There’s no way the playoffs won’t be featuring both the Steelers and the Ravens. The Patriots look unstoppable. And even the Bills and the Browns and the god damn Raiders look capable of putting a spanner in the works for the presumptive Jets.

Will they make the playoffs? They should do, but navigating the hungry young teams won’t be easy.

Verdict: they should finish in the mix for sixth seed with maybe a 10-6 record. I think they’ll make it by the skin of their teeth.


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