NFL Teams Betting - New York Jets - AFC East

If Pennington and Law are healthy, Martin can continue to defy age and the pass rush holds up, the Jets will challenge the Patriots and Steelers for AFC supremacy. But if they slip, the Jets could disappear behind the Bills in the division race. The Jets were among the most disappointing teams a season ago, missing out on the playoffs for the first time in Rex Ryans three-year head coaching tenure. Plagued by locker room dissension and poor team chemistry, New York appears determined to bounce back from a nightmarish 2011 season. Ryan is committed to taking a more hands-on approach by keeping his players dedicated to each other and focused on competing for that elusive Super Bowl berth.

Rex Ryan will never admit it, but the Jets may well be in a rebuilding mode despite the presence of veterans such as running back Shonn Greene and linebackers Calvin Pace and Bart Scott.

That comes as a result of last year’s 8–8 debacle that ostensibly cost offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer his job for trying to turn Mark Sanchez into Peyton Manning. Former Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano now takes the offensive reins and will attempt to bring back the ground-and-pound attack that took the Jets to two straight AFC title games (2009 and ’10).

The biggest area of improvement needs to come off the field, however. Reconstructing locker room unity, which didn’t just disintegrate but exploded all over MetLife Stadium, will be a major undertaking and involve all of Ryan’s motivational skills — especially with wide receiver Santonio Holmes, who remains unrepentant for becoming the team’s biggest divisive force.

Ryan believes he has enough veteran talent to take the Jets back into the postseason. But after taking Brandon Jacobs’ advice to “Shut up, fat boy,” Ryan’s laying low on the rhetoric. But we all know how he feels. It’s up to the Jets to have his back — something they failed to do last season.