Here's How Jets Can Be Contenders. Hypothetically. Mark Sanchez during an informal Jets practice this month organized by Sanchez at his high school alma mater in California. The Jets descend again Thursday on Cortland, N.Y., where they were last spotted not knowing what to do with Tim Tebow. Of course, Tebow is gone, and so, too, after a failed experiment in a failed season, are the general manager, the 3 coordinators, 7 other coaches and 10 starters, including the best cover cornerback in the league. Training camp is a time for optimism, and, right now, 32 teams in the N.F.L. absolutely, positively believe that they will advance to the Super Bowl. The teams that feature outstanding quarterbacks, a sturdy defense and a flock of offensive weapons are considered favorites. Then there are the Jets, who can reasonably count on Nick Mangold and D'Brickashaw Ferguson, on Muhammad Wilkerson and Antonio Cromartie. Beyond that, their hopes, unlike those of the Denver Broncos or the Seattle Seahawks, are rooted in the hypothetical. It is hardly an exact science, but one can almost evaluate a team's chances of contending by listing how many things must go right. Engaging in that exercise for the Jets would require the left side of a legal pad. A sampling: ■ The winner of their quarterback competition - be it Mark Sanchez or Geno Smith - plays the position at a higher level than it has been played during the last two seasons, minimizing turnovers while directing an offense that is efficient and balanced and scores more than a paltry 17.6 points per game. Certainly it would help if ... ■ Santonio Holmes shows no lingering effects from the serious foot injury that cost him the final 12 games of last season, emerging again as a reliable No. 1 receiver who opens up the field for Jeremy Kerley; Braylon Edwards, who took a physical exam Wednesday; and ... ■ Stephen Hill, who overcomes the drops and inconsistency that plagued his rookie season to flourish in ... ■ Marty Mornhinweg's West Coast scheme, which stresses shorter, horizontal routes and emphasizes precision and timing. The change in coordinators revitalizes the offense and transforms a group replete with modest and inexperienced players into an above-average unit that profits from ... ■ A stable of largely unproven running backs who can catch passes out of the backfield and slash between the tackles, their production alleviating the pressure on ... ■ A defense that regains its snarl, generating a consistent pass rush from creative blitzes and a promising young line; benefits from the rapid adjustments made by as many as seven new starters; and receives lockdown cornerback play from Cromartie and ... ■ Dee Milliner, who in his rookie season demonstrates why he was viewed as the top cornerback in the draft, excelling in man-to-man coverage as comparisons - inevitably, unfairly - to Darrelle Revis are bandied about. One man unlikely to voice that connection, even for all of his bravado, is ... ■ Rex Ryan, who adored Revis but, because he adores this job even more, is determined to adore it for a little while longer. What is undoubtedly a transition year for the Jets is nonetheless a critical one for Ryan, whose ability to coax a winning season - or, at worst, a nonembarrassing one - from a roster gutted by an off-season overhaul might determine whether he returns in 2014. Ryan insists that he is not bothered by the possibility that this might be his final year with the Jets, if, after a full season of working with him, the new general manager John Idzik decides to bring in his own coach. So Ryan will try to integrate all the lessons he has learned over the past four years while channeling his coaching acumen from 2009. That is when he called defensive plays and ran defensive meetings, which he will do again this season as he revisits what was for him a successful formula. But the issue of his job security will percolate throughout the season until his status is defined, one way or another, which is why it is imperative that the major decisions Ryan makes - and those he has already made, such as hiring Mornhinweg - work out. Chief among them will be settling on the Jets" starting quarterback for the Sept. 8 season opener against Tampa Bay, and, just as important, for every week thereafter. For even if Sanchez were to edge Smith in the competition, he would have to, in effect, convince Ryan in practice daily - and in games, especially - that he deserves to retain his job. Already this training camp promises to be unlike any other of the Ryan era, with an unsettled quarterback situation; rampant turnover among the coaching staff and the roster; and, for the first time, a new boss watching it all. By the time their three-week sojourn in Central New York expires, the Jets will have practiced 14 times, held one intrasquad scrimmage and played in one preseason game - Aug. 9 in Detroit - providing evidence of their strengths and weaknesses accruing every day. They will still have nearly a month before games start to count, and even if the Jets do not reach any conclusions before they return to their home base of Florham Park, N.J. - Will it be Smith or Sanchez? Will Holmes be available for Week 1? Do they have enough depth in the secondary? - they will continue to expect that everything will go right.