Much of the off-season speculation in regards to this team has been focusing on one position-the quarterback.

The knock is that the Jets didn't have a quality quarterback-well guess what, now they have at least five, and one of them is going to start on opening day.  Today I will look at this position and start out with the most unlikely scenarios and finish with whom I think will be the starter on opening day.

Brad Smith (6'2", 210 pounds) is a versatile player who could be used at a variety of offensive positions and is an accomplished player who while playing for Missouri as a quarterback started all 48 games during his college career, throwing for 8,799 yards while rushing for 4,289 yards with 101 career touchdowns (56 throwing). He also holds the NCAA Div. I-A career rushing record for QBs, with 4,289 yards, and he became the first NCAA Div. I-A QB to throw for 8,000 yards and rush for 4,000 yards in a career. In his final game, Smith rushed for 150 yards and three touchdowns in an Independence Bowl victory over South Carolina. In 2003, and had his best showing against Texas Tech, rushing for 291 yards and five touchdowns.

He won't be starting on opening day (not as QB anyway) but we can expect to see him either returning punts or as a tailback, possible in a "slash" type of role where he will be a running and passing threat almost every time he steps onto the field.

Next up is the 49^th pick of the draft-Oregon QB Kellen Clemens.  The Jets expect the rookie passer will add more fuel to the intense quarterback competition, but will he be ready to play in the NFL as a starting QB in September?  He is a guy who head coach Eric Mangin says this about him: "He's got that type of personality that's described as infectious.  His players rally around him.  So I'm excited about the depth and competition he adds and the person that we've added to the team."

Yes he will compete, but he won't win the job this year.

That brings us to Brooks Bollinger, who in my opinion never got the chance to show what he can do.  He came on last year after Chad Pennington and Jay Fiedler were out for the season, but only after the Jets brought Vinny Testraverti suddenly out for a few games (with predictable results).  Brooks worked behind an offensive line that never gave him much of a chance, he never had much protection and little time to throw the ball.  He nevertheless rallied the team in games against Atlanta and Denver, and left Denver coach Mike Shanahan thinking that "This kid has a tremendous upside".  He say potential in this guy, and I wouldn't be surprised if the Broncos picked him up-if he gets cut.

Brooks Bollinger is one of the most glaring errors of the last Jets regime.  The perennial backup for three years never got the call when the first two quarterbacks went down-the coach had no faith in him-leaving many to wonder what he was doing on the roster for all that time (other that wasting Mr. Johnson's money that is).  He is a long shot to start on opening day.  He gained some valuable experience last year, and with the right protection around him, he may hold his own in camp against Patrick Ramsey.

That brings us to the number two on the list.  Ramsey is also going to provide competition for the starting quarterback, but will loose out to......

Chad Pennington!  He due to start throwing again this month and is my odds-on favorite for the opening day starter for one main reason-I have seen first hand what he can do with enough protection around him, and he will have plenty of protection.  He is likely the smartest of the class-a Rhodes Scholar nominee who has shown that he can get the job done if given the opportunity.  He needs protection, he needs time, and he needs targets.  He needs to stay healthy.

I am betting that he will, and that our new coaching staff will provide him with plenty of protection so that other teams won't rattle him.  His confidence will return, and so will hiss poise and accuracy.

His shoulder will heal and he will be our starting quarterback.

This may no be your favorite division but it is for the Jets fans, so today we are going to take a look at what we need to do to win this division.

It won't be as easy for the Patriots this year. Their division got a lot tougher and will become more competitive. They had a 10-6 record and finished 5-1 in the AFC East but I do not think that they will fare so well this year-one or two of the divisional teams will win a game against the Pats and they will fall to 3-3 in the division and 7-9 overall.

Miami will find out if Dante was worth it, and Ricky Williams should be allowed to play in the CFL-in fact, they should encourage it providing that the CFL works out an insurance policy to protect the Dolphins interest in the case of an injury. Nick Saban will have his team ready though and will steer them through their distractions.

Jason Taylor was the victim of a hate crime while leaving a charity function. Racist pigs have no place in this world and should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law-and then some. Even worse, this crime made me feel compassion for Mr. Taylor (ug!) and wonder how much longer people will treat each other this way. What a fool who believes he is better than someone else because of the color of his skin-as if anyone has any control or choice in the matter. They will also sweep the Bills and split with the Jets and Patriots.

In Buffalo, the team's a mess again. The team cannot seem to bring in enough front-office talent to allow 80+ something Marv Levy a reduced role in the organization. He led the Bills to four straight Superbowl's and is a fellow of class and character, but he made some moves in this year's draft that left some scratching their heads. The owner also wants to move the team out of upstate New York and my gut tells me that there are too many distractions going on up there for the bills-they will finish last and at the bottom of the division.

That will bring us to the Jets. They are going to have to sweep the Bills (not an easy feat no matter how much of a mess the Bills are) and at least split with the Pats and the Fish-and that is only the start. I have them winning against Tennessee, Detroit (they are due to finally beat the Lions) Chicago, Houston, Minnesota and Oakland. That will put them at 10-6 for the year and give them a shot at winning their division. It would help if Miami picked up a game from the Pats.

The Jets improved their line and will continue to add big, smart, dedicated players to the line on offence and defense. Yesterday, the Jets signed bulked-up UCLA offensive tackle Ed Blanton (6-9, 346) and another college team captain, DE Darrell Adams (6-4, 277) of Villanova. Also signed: Nevada DE Craig Bailey (6-4, 260) and Georgia DE Will Thompson (6-3, 254)

Our new GM Mike Tannenbaum said last week, "We're not going to draft a kicker or a punter." But the Jets added a kicker/punter as a free agent, Notre Dame's D.J. Fitzpatrick.

In other news around the league, thirty teams will hold at least one mini-camp in may. The two exceptions will be the Texans who hold their first camp in June and the Broncos who don't start until July.  How is it that the Broncos don't start their mini camp until July?

I smell a rat.

Soon it will be time for the players throughout the NFL to gear up and start practicing-training camps will be opening in a few weeks and the Jets will have a dramatically different approach to this seasons training camp.

So long Captain Jet.

Let me go back a year to last season's camp run by "smilin'" Herm Edwards. During on of the final training camp sessions, a fan dressed up as "Captain Jet" caught Herm's eye. "Come over here" he called out to the elated fan, who then rushed up to meet him. "Take this practice pad and stand out there." Herm told the fan. He then proceeded to call his team to charge the poor soul, giving him what must have been a thrill of a lifetime. Then he did it again.

 What was the message here to the fans and players? Practice can be fun? Our team is ready and can't get much better so let's fool around a little? We have plenty of time to get ready for the season?

Flash forward to the season opener: Chad Pennington fumbles the first snap of the game. The Jets finish with one of the worst records ever and are never in most of the games that they play.

Duh.

My expectations of the Jets at this point in the year are for them to practice much harder than last year-and I do not expect that we will see any fans invited onto the field by the head coach. I expect them to be prepared, and to spend their waking hours focusing on their job. While we are at it, I also expect the playbook (that was slashed by Mr. Edwards and co) to grow immensely. You should NEVER cut plays from your playbook unless you plan to replace them. Herm eliminated plays because he thought our playbook was too difficult for our players to understand. I kid you not. To make matters worse, he announced that he cut down the playbook at a news conference. This had two effects: First it demoralized our team, made them feel dumb, unchallenged, and complacent in their ignorance. Second it elated all of our opponents who knew that they had a much easier job ahead of them when they faced us.

I am anticipating that our new head coach and his staff have quietly built up the playbook. I also anticipate the Kansas City Chiefs to begin their slide down to the bottom of their division. Herm never beat the Pats when they were in his division, and he will never beat the Broncos. Period.

For the Jets, I know that they will be better prepared for whom ever they face and that they will be competitive in every game. That is the bare minimum that you can ask for, so it isn't asking for much. Maybe in Kansas City the have the "Kansas City Chief" who will run onto the field and give the players and the fans a laugh or two during training camp. I promise that won't be happening this year at Hoffstra. The announcement in January that Eric Mangini would be our new head coach signaled a sudden and early retirement for Captain Jet who will stay in the stands this year where he belongs.

The Jets dynamic duo of Mike Tannenbaum-Eric Mangini have left the building folks, and with them they bring the hope of long-term stability to a team that has been depleted of it most important players.  I'm talking about the offensive/defensive linemen.  We will get to Reggie and Matt in a minute, but first I want to tell you about a few past mistakes that put them in the position that they were in on Saturday's draft.

Remember the non-dynamic duo of Herm Edwards and Terry Bradway?  They collectively had the worst off-season in Jets history in 2003 as we watched four of our top rated players leave for the Washington Redskins.  They were: John Hall (K), Lavernious Coles (WR), Chad Morton (KR-WR) and Randy Thomas (G).

Flash forward to today and you will find just one player still in Washington after three years passed: Randy Thomas, a guard that we should have never let go and who is still considered one of the top guards in the NFL.

In 2005, we let Jason Ferguson (DT) and Kareem Mckenzie (T) two of our best lineman go to the Cowboys and the Giants respectively.

Then, something funny happened.  Chad Pennington forgot how to be a quarterback, so did Jay Feidler, and Curtis Martin forgot how to run, and the Jets couldn't stop the run, and we giving visiting teams quarterbacks enough time to complete just enough plays to make Jets fans everywhere wonder where everything fell apart.  Our running backs couldn't run, our quarterbacks couldn't throw and at times looked completely frazzled.

Who makes a running back great?  The line.  Who gives the QB enough time to throw?  The line.

The line of scrimmage in football is like a line in the sand.  Imagine if you will that you and I meet one day on the beach.  I draw a line in the sand and dare you to cross it.  Are you afraid?  Are you intimidated?  That's the line-you have to stack it up with intelligence, talent and the most selfless players that you can find.

On offence, their job is to get those hard-fought yards that are so crucial to success on your downs.  They should always be able to get your team a yard or two.  On defense, it isn't enough to hold the line you need to penetrate it-consistently.  The Jets were terrible at both last year and our new brain trust knew it.

Now to Reggie Bush and Matt Leinhart.  Do you take a running back knowing that you had to surrender most or all of this years picks for him?  If your answer is yes, then you need to examine your reading comprehension.  We have no line to open up holes for a running game-period.  This would apply to the QB situation as well only it falls under the heading of protection.  Our O-line was as effective as a screen door in a submarine.

Let's face it-two things can make a QB or RB a star-one is natural born talent-to the level of Barry Sanders or Dan Marino-a rare find in the draft, they have the ability to elevate the players around them.  Not something that you can bet on in the draft, nowadays impact players like them can be found through free agency.

The second way is the better way to do it-build the line, protect the quarterback and open some holes for the running back.  Pick any starting quarterback in the NFL and give him an extra two or three seconds to throw the ball and he will be a star like Tom Brady.   Take it away and he will by flat on his back.  Give any running back some pro-bowl blocking and he will turn into Emmit Smith.  Take it away and he is running into a brick wall.

In order to be a playoff caliber team, you need a mix of both.  How?  Simple, stay cool and follow your plan.  Build the line in the early rounds to offer the most talent up front of offence and defense.  Pick your WR's and your QB's in the later rounds because pro-bowl caliber players on the offence and defense can take those mediocre players and allow them to make plays and turn them into superstars.  They can be brought along over a couple of seasons while your linemen will start right away and start turning this mess around.

This may speak more to why the Jets chose not to take a QB early.  Here is the plain truth:  If you swapped Tom Brady for Chad Pennington last year, Brady would have fared no better than Chad did behind the weak line of protection that simple could not provide enough time for the offensive plays to develop.

Our new brain trust for the Jets will make sure that is not the case this year, and our quarterbacks will prosper in a new era of protection.

Mark my words-we got better last weekend where we needed to and it will have tremendous repercussions on the competitiveness of our team.  We got a lot better with a group of impact players like D'Brickshaw Furguson and Nick Mangold that we drafted who will start and become impact players for years to come.

Our line in the sand is much more intimidating now and trust me, you don't want to cross it.