Changing Of The Guard

Offensive line has been a sore spot for the Jets the past couple of years. In the last decade or so the Jets have found success drafting mid round lineman like Jason Fabini, Ryan Young, and Kareem McKenzie, but lately the replenishing of the line has placed the Jets in a much higher tax bracket. First rounders Brick Ferguson and Nick Mangold in 2006 and this offseason super guard Alan Faneca.

The Faneca signing will be the most important free agent signing in the league as history suggests it is this position that translates into W’s and immediate and substantial dividends in the ground game rankings. Faneca will also be much more than a single position upgrade over uber whiner Pete Kendall. He’ll be the mentor and on field coach that will continue to make Ferguson and Mangold two of the leagues best young players on the offensive line.

While the line has been solidified since the start of free agency it appears that the Jets front office needed some impact additions as well. Who knew? The biggest news was the hiring of an aisstant general manager. It doesn’t appear that Scott Cohen — the man Mike Tannenbaum tapped — has any prior connections to Tannenbaum or the organization but at the very least he comes from a solid front office and winning franchise so that can’t hurt.