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Feb. 12, 2008
Overview: After making a surprising foray into the postseason in head coach Eric Mangini’s first season in the Big Apple, the Jets followed it up with a dud of a 2007 campaign. The tone was set as early as Week One, when they were blasted 38-14 by the Patriots at the Meadowlands. Unlike many of the league’s more disappointing teams, the Jets don’t have the luxury of blaming injuries for their pitfalls, as they stayed relatively healthy throughout the season.
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Date
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Opponent
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Spread
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Result
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09/09/07
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New England
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+6
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14-38
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09/16/07
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at Baltimore
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+9½
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13-20
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09/23/07
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Miami
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-3
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31-28
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09/30/07
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at Buffalo
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-3.5
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14-17
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10/07/07
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at NY Giants
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+3½
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24-35
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10/14/07
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Philadelphia
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+4
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9-16
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10/21/07
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at Cincinnati
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+6½
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31-38
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10/28/07
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Buffalo
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-3
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3-13
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11/04/07
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Washington
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+3½
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20-23 (OT)
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BYE WEEK
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11/18/07
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Pittsburgh
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+9
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19-16 (OT)
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11/22/07
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at Dallas
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+14½
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3-34
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12/02/07
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at Miami
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+2
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40-13
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12/09/07
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Cleveland
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+3
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18-24
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12/16/07
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at New England
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+20½
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10-20
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12/23/07
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at Tennessee
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+8
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6-10
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12/30/07
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Kansas City
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-4½
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13-10 (OT)
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Team MVP: S Kerry Rhodes was the consummate enforcer patrolling the secondary. Equally adept at playing deep in coverage or creeping into the box to help out against the run, he took the next step in his evolution as one of the game’s more versatile safeties. The defensive backfield was one of the team’s only units to meet, if not exceed, expectations, and nobody made his presence felt more than Rhodes.
Biggest surprise: Seeing as how they traded up in the second round to draft him, it might not be all that surprising that rookie ILB David Harris had such a standout rookie season. But expecting him to immediately emerge as one of the league’s premier inside linebackers is something that nobody could’ve predicted. After Jon Vilma went down in midseason with a bum knee, Harris entered the starting lineup with gusto. He notched 41 tackles in his first two starts and has likely supplanted Vilma permanently.
Biggest disappointment: When the Jets traded for former Bears RB Thomas Jones last offseason, they expected that their rushing woes would become a thing of the past. But it didn’t exactly work out that way. Without the services of a mauling offensive line to open up running lanes, Jones was incapable of picking up real estate on the ground. Backup Leon Washington’s overall numbers weren’t great either, but he was easily the more dynamic of the two.
Offseason outlook: The pressure’s on Mangini and general manager Mike Tannenbaum to make some big changes. The Jets were mauled in the trenches on both sides of the ball in 2007, so look for those areas to be targeted for upgrades. The Jets have a notoriously unforgiving fan base, and it won’t tolerate another resounding thud. Kellen Clemens didn’t do much to prove that he’s the quarterback of the future, forcing Mangini to make a tough call on what to do regarding Chad Pennington’s future in New York.
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