1. Wayne Hutner reassuring me that he's a a capable right tackle:
For better (slow feet in pass blocking) or worse (great run blocker), Damien Woody is now free to ride all the water slides he wants in retirement. The responsibility of right tackle now falls to Hunter, who I thought looked very solid in limited action last year when Woody was injured (see the Bears game). Obviously the guy isn't D'Brickashaw Ferguson, or else the Jets wouldn't have drafted Vlad Ducasse as the heir apparent at the position.
But they also didn't bring in an established veteran to challenge him for the spot, which makes me think that the coaching staff believes in his ability to play full time. Since the line is so talented across the board with the exception of him and Slauson, he doesn't need to be dominant, just solid. So look for #78 tonight. Are the Jets comfortable running it off right tackle, and when they do, is it successful? When he gets matched up with Mario Williams, does he hold him at bay more times than not? This is a good litmus test for Hunter to see if he can stand up to top level competition. A good performance will help soothe some unease among fans, who are conscious that the Jets road to the Super Bowl requires Sanchez in the drivers seat of the car, not Brunell in the pilot seat of the minivan.
2) How do the recent draft picks look?
This extends to Kyle Wilson, because if you didn't see his rookie year, then I didn't. It's been widely publicized that Wilson worked out all offseason trying to learn how to do this, or at least a convincing impression of it. Looking back on last season, it was a whole lot to ask of him to not only move from the outside to the slot corner, where he has no help from the sidelines, but to do so against 2 and 3 NFL receivers. I think he has the raw talent to not only be a good corner, but a great one, and if he does pan out that way, throwing the ball against the Jets will go from being a challenge to being a gamble.
Unsurprisingly, Kenrick Ellis is raw after playing most of his college career at "whatever the opposite of a powerhouse is" Hampton. Raw talent development hasn't necessarily been the Jets forte in the past (f*cking Gholston), but they can afford to bring Ellis along slowly, and he'll actually have successful, humble (read: incredibly underpaid) veterans to learn from like Pouha and DeVito. The thing with Gholston is that the Jets never saw flashes of what he could become, because what he became was useless. With Ellis tonight, I'll be content with a solid run stuff or hurrying a QB into a mistake.
The biggest debut tonight belongs to Mo Wilkerson stepping into the big shoes of the Big Cat. Shaun Ellis is gone, and I'm kind of pissed about it, but not $4 million pissed. Wilkerson's YouTube highlights show a physically dominating player that got into opponents backfields with regularity last year from the interior and exterior of the Temple defensive line. I'd be a much bigger believer if the opponents on the tape weren't Buffalo and post-Dan Lefevour Central Michigan, but as Cleon Salmon says...
As opposed to his rookie line mate, Wilkerson will be starting from day one, and he has expectations to live up to. Since Rex has been here, he's essentially installed a brick wall against the run, and opponents will obviously be testing what's perceived to be its weakest link early and often this season. Wilkerson can show tonight that he's up to the task against one of the best rushing attacks in the NFL. If he provides any sort of a pass rush, or even a sack or two, prepare yourselves for inane, drunk on power predictions tomorrow right after I buy my Super Bowl tickets.
3) Jeremy Kerley and the guy old enough to be his dad:
I don't know what expectations to have when looking at Jeremy Kerley. On one hand, TCU hasn't exactly flooded the league with stud wide receivers the past few years, because they usually care about their offense about as much as Albert Haynesworth cares about anything besides money. Obviously, he didn't exactly put up monster numbers in college, his speed numbers are about as exciting as that of a used Camry (4.56 40 yd dash), and if you're reading this right now, there's a good chance you're taller than him.
On the other hand, I have seen plenty of great catches by him when compiling preseason highlight tapes for TCU at work last year. He's an electric special teams player, and every Jets writer who talks about him does so with the use of at least one superlative. He'll be the fourth receiver (wait I second while I knock on wood for Plax's ankle)...on this team, so as long as he runs correct routes and has soft hands, that's all I'm looking for from him tonight.
More importantly, he replaces Brad Smith, one of the most dynamic players the Jets had last year. Not just on special teams, but also in the Wild Frog/Seminole/"Hide the Mexican" formation. If Kerley can show solid hands returning punts, he'll beat out Leonhard for the job (who has great hands, but almost never provides an interesting return), and if he holds a candle to what Smith did, it's just another set of trick plays that Schottenheimer can run into the ground at wildly unnecessary times.
Listening to sports talk radio down here in Baltimore, not having Derrick Mason for Joe Flacco has thrown the majority of Ravens fans into a panic. I haven't watched all that much of the Ravens since I've been down here, but by most accounts I've heard from people in Baltimore, he's the Jerry Rice of security blankets.
Looking at the numbers for Mason, they're undeniably solid. 7 touchdowns each of the past two years, and 1,000 yard years ever year before last. Obviously those numbers will go down as a third receiver (one more time)...but he's definitely the best 3rd receiver Sanchez has had (yes, better than Jerricho), and has a reputation as being QB friendly. By that, I mean he does a great job of coming back to the ball when the play breaks down, and is also smart enough to change his route on the fly to accommodate different defensive coverages.
Given that Plaxico doesn't have a reputation as very QB friendly (somehow I don't think Eli and him are the greatest of friends), and has never really been known as a cinephile in the film room, I want to see exactly how much easier Mason can make life for Sanchez. Hope everyone down here isn't just blowing smoke.
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