Bill Parcells will tackle the task of taking a third franchise to the Super Bowl, an unprecedented feat, but he'll have to do it with a revamped offensive line

Johnson, who led the Jets in catches, is one part of the offense that Parcells won't have to worry about.  Vincent Laforet/Allsport

As the Jets begin the '99 season, the most notable off-season changing of the guard was the changing of the guards. When was the last time a team started training camp as one of the favorites to reach the Super Bowl yet had absolutely no clue who would play either guard spot? In one of the more daring gambles this off-season, coach Bill Parcells released last year's starting left guard, Todd Burger, whom Parcells considered soft, and bid farewell to right guard Matt O'Dwyer, a serviceable player who left as a free agent. Without Burger's and O'Dwyer's combined 10 years of pro experience, Parcells found himself opening camp with five guard candidates who had played a combined total of zero NFL games.

Has Parcells let his guard down? After all, the coach broke up a line that he estimates had played together for 98% of the Jets' plays last year and helped New York outscore every team in the conference except the Super Bowl champion Broncos. Still, Parcells was not satisfied with the size of the holes opened for tailback Curtis Martin, who got tackled at or behind the line of scrimmage 95 times.

So Parcells used three of his eight '99 draft choices on guards, including his first two picks, in the second and third rounds, and a sixth-rounder. Staring at three rookies and two glorified scout-teamers, Parcells then hired one of his best former guards, William Roberts, as an unpaid intern to tutor the young linemen. Parcells believes he has found a Roberts clone in rookie Randy Thomas out of Mississippi State, whose only previous claim to fame was getting kicked out of an all-you-can-eat buffet at a Holiday Inn near Starkville after ingesting 18 pieces of chicken. A former high school basketball player, the 6'4" 301-pounder is extremely mobile for his size, which allows him to pull and block effectively in the open field, skills particularly important in a Jets offense that relies heavily on traps, sweeps and screen passes.

Parcells proved last season that he isn't afraid to play a rookie lineman; he drafted tackle Jason Fabini in the fourth round and started him in all 16 games. In fact, Parcells had hoped his other '99 guard spot might also be filled by a rookie: third-round pick David Loverne, a player so tough that he refused to sit out last January's East-West Shrine game despite a torn pectoral muscle. But Loverne is still too erratic and high-strung to win Parcells's trust just yet. So on Aug. 9 the coach met backup tackle Kerry Jenkins as he walked off the practice field and said, "Know all of the guard plays when you come out tomorrow." The 6'5", 305-pound Jenkins, whom the Jets signed off Chicago's practice squad in '97 and who played exclusively on special teams last season, had never played a game at guard in his entire football career and had not previously been mentioned as a candidate for the job. "It all starts on the offensive line," Jenkins says. "So I believe that Randy and I can't have any lulls if this team is going to reach its goals."

There is no unit on the field in which chemistry and teamwork are more critical than the offensive line, and how quickly the Jets' new front gels could affect the team's play-calling. "Rome wasn't built in a day," Roberts says. "I'm just trying to get these guys to understand the sense of urgency."

Parcells has tried to support his rebuilt front wall by signing free-agent tight end Eric Green, along with introducing the new F-back formation that will often employ fullback Keith Byars or Richie Anderson as another tight end in motion to help with run blocking. (There is concern about the availability of left tackle Jumbo Elliott, who will go to trial the day after the season opener on a misdemeanor assault charge stemming from a July 10 barroom altercation. If he's found guilty, Elliott could face a league suspension.)

Other than the two new guards, the addition of Green, safety Steve Atwater and the return of oft-injured linebacker Marvin Jones, the Jets are essentially the same team that earned its first division title since '69 and reached the AFC  Championship Game. They will again rely on the magic of Vinny Testaverde and the big-play skills of Keyshawn Johnson and Wayne Chrebet, who formed the NFL's best pass-catching duo with 158 receptions in '98. There is a strong sense around the Jets' camp that this could be the final season on the sideline for Parcells, who is trying to accomplish the unprecedented feat of leading his third franchise to a Super Bowl. Ever the motivator, this capricious coach issued T-shirts to his coaches and players during training camp with a simple message printed on the back: START OVER.

-- Tim Crothers

Fast Facts

1998 RECORD: 12-4 (1st in AFC East)
     NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 13/4/4; defense 14/9/7

1999 SCHEDULE STRENGTH (rank): 23
     Opponents' 1998 winning percentage: .488; Games against playoff teams: 4

Player to Watch

The most important reception of the Jets' 1998 season, the game-winning touchdown catch in a 17-10 win at Buffalo on Dec. 19 that secured the AFC East title, was not caught by Keyshawn Johnson or Wayne Chrebet but by the easily overlooked Dedric Ward. Toiling in the considerable shadows of Johnson and Chrebet, Ward broke through with 25 catches for a team-high 19.1-yard average. The 5'9" 184-pounder, who runs a 4.4 in the 40 and holds the school record in the 200 at Northern Iowa, provides the Jets with a critical deep threat. The third-year man describes himself as "greedy" and says that his ultimate goal is to become a starter, an attitude that coach Bill Parcells has fostered in Ward, one of his pet projects. After watching Ward run routes for the first time this summer, Parcells handed out one of his rare compliments: "The DBs couldn't cover him," he said. "That little s.o.b. is something. He got me fired up."

Other Info

1999 Team Schedule
Team Depth Chart