Jim: Well, congratulations to the Patriots. They were, on Sunday, clearly the better team; they are what the Jets are working to become: a team with 44 pretty darn good guys and one spectacular one, where everybody knows their role and performs their part to something close to perfection, or at least with minimal errors. Oh yeah - and everyone knows to bring their A-game in the Playoffs. The Jets are a good team; I think they genuinely were the fifth-best team in a very strong American Football Conference - but they’re not capable of beating the Patriots in Foxboro twice in one year.

So what about the offseason? Well, somebody on one of Jersey paper chat boards put it well - Chad Pennington, with his comparitively weak arm and very smart head is the Jets quarterback, until somebody comes along with an arm and head combination that is better. I’d like to see Kellen Clemens get some serious playing time in the next preseason. I love Pennington and the heart and guts he showed this year, but it’s hard to see him as the future of the franchise. As for Patrick Ramsey, I’m sure the Jets will take any offer they can get for him, or maybe keep him as a third-string insurance. (By the way, can you imagine what a guy like Pennington would be worth to, say, the Chicago Bears? A guy who manages the game and doesn’t make many stupid mistakes? (A lot of Pennington’s interceptions were tipped balls) If I’m the Bears, I’m readying a new QB for 2007.)

It would be nice to have a feature running back. I’m not pleased with the running-back-by-committee format, and the only back who’s really impressed me this year was Leon Washington. And even then, he’s the smallest player on the team, I don’t know if he’s an every-down back. The offensive line went from a disaster last year to pretty good this year; I’d like depth, and maybe one or two new guys who can open up some running lanes. We have two studs at reciever (Coles, Cotchery) and if we can upgrade Justin McCrarens for a speedster in the mold of Santana Moss, I’d be happy. Tight End Chris Baker keeps having some good plays, and then disappearing for long stretches.

On defense, the Jets were great in the last half of the season, except for the Buffalo game. Yet against the Patriots, they couldn’t stop the run consistently enough, and they couldn’t pressure Tom Brady, meaning he had enough time to pick apart a generally improved secondary. The talent on the team doesn’t really match the 3-4 defense; we need a huuuuuuuuge nose tackle who can occupy two blockers. (By the way, when the Jets traded John Abraham to the Falcons, all the smart guys in the media said it was a disastrous move. Well, Abraham missed a lot of games for Atlanta, while the Jets used the pick to select center Nick Mangold, who started every game and may have been even better than D’Brickashaw Ferguson, the number four overall pick.) A shut-down corner would be nice, but every team in the league could use another one of those.

I understand the Jets have a decent amount of salary cap room; if we could sign Buffalo Bills CB Nate Clements, and/or Ravens linebacker Adalius Thomas or both, I would be happy. And as usual, I’m sure Mangini will be eager to sign any Patriots he can.

A wild-card loss is frustrating, but is still a major accomplishment for a young team with a rookie head coach. There aren’t a lot of teams I would rather be rooting for right now; a bunch in the AFC collapsed in the final weeks - the Bengals, the Jaguars, the Broncos, the Titans. (In the NFL, beating the teams you’re supposed to beat is actually a major accomplishment.) Miami’s a disaster area, the Bills never seem to make much progress beyond “pretty good, but inconsistent.” The Steelers have to wonder if they’ve got a quarterback for the long haul, or whether Rothlesberger’s 2005 season was a fluke. Under Herm Edwards, the Chiefs will be doomed to be “pretty good, but flawed” for the duration of his tenure.

Let’s see - four months until the draft, seven months and change until training camp?

Cam says: That’s a great analysis Jim. Really, the only thing I can say is “ha ha… the Patriots won”. :)