The New York Jets

Division: FC East

Coaching Changes

Special Teams Coodinator:

The Jets special teams were less than stellar following the loss of one of the greatest coordinators of all time in Mike Westhoff. Enter Thomas McGaughey. The special teams coordinator for the LSU Tigers coached in a National Title Game in his first year with the team, but he also already has a Superbowl ring in New York to his credit as an assistant with the 07 Giants. This exciting young coaching talent had about as much buzz as I've ever seen for a Special Teams Coordinator signing.

That's it in terms of significant coaching changes, but I'd be lying if I said that wasn't significant in and of itself. The Jets young roster will be all the more dangerous with stability throughout the coaching staff and front office.

Free Agency

Players lost/cut

The most notable loss was Austin Howard, but GM John Idzik was never going to offer him the contract that Oakland did. Replacing him in a transitional year with Breno Giacomini provides more veteran presence on the offensive line while a number of promising young players battle for spots in camp.

The removal of Cromartie, Holmes, and Sanchez's contracts played a huge role in transforming the face of a roster that looks nothing like it did in Rex Ryan's first two seasons as head coach.

Players signed

Two common themes are pretty apparent here:

Right guy, right price. Idzik was willing to grab Decker and Johnson but only because their potential additions to the offense were proportional to their cost. Just because we had the money didn't mean we were willing to overpay.

Growing the team from within. A disproportionate number of the free agencies moves were Jets players being retained. John Idzik is 2nd generation Ted Thompson guy and he is a big believer in re-signing instead of replacing whenever possible

Overall grade for the Draft: A

In the era of the new collective bargaining agreement, you build through the draft and with 12 picks in 2014 the Jets did just that. Hitting on the 5 biggest positions of need in the first 6 picks while consisting finding incredible value showed the John Idzik is willing to hedge his bets instead of betting the farm on a single talent.

The biggest value in this draft was Tajh Boyd coming out of Clemson, who was previously a highly touted prospect and will now have a chance to develop on the bench.

Helping the secondary and bringing in a big target in Amaro was great, and bringing in 3 fresh wide receivers to compete in camp was even better.

Projected Starting Lineup

QB: Eugene Cyril Smith III

RB: Chris Ivory, Chris Johnson

FB: Sheldon Richardson, Tommy Bohanon

TE: Jace Amaro, Jeff Cumberland

WR: Eric Decker, Jeremy Kerley, David Nelson, Stephen "Look like Megatron, play like shit" Hill

LT: D'Brickashaw Ferguson

LG: Brian Winters

C: Nick Mangold

RG: Willie Colon

RT: Breno Giacomini

DL: Muhammad Wilkerson, Damon "Big Snacks" Harrison , Sheldon Richardson

LB: Quinton Coples, DeMario Davis, David Harris, Calvin Pace

CB: Dee Milliner, Dimitri Patterson

S: Calvin Pryor, Dawan Landry, Antonio Allen

K: Nick Folk "Hero"

P: Ryan Quigley

KR: Jalen Saunders? Honestly this one is wide open

Defense. This team isn't just going to stop the run, this team is going to make teams completely abandon it before they take the field. With the entirety of the best 3-4 defensive line in the NFL returning, and the addition of Calvin Pryor, this unit will continue to keep us in games.

It has never been a secret that our record, for better or worse, will be determined by the offense. This offense from top to bottom is better than it was last year. With four capable starters at running back and several young exciting wide receivers, Geno will look to build on his production in December of last year.

The special teams unit is still very, very questionable, but with a young exciting coordinator and a kicker coming off of a career year, hopes are high.

Schedule Predictions:

The biggest thing to keep in mind about the 2014 Jets schedule is that not all schedules are created equal. 8-8 in 2013 and 8-8 in 2014 are two completely different things. With games against the NFC North and AFC West, this team will have to have a lot of improvement and a lot of luck to come out at .500 again

Here's a great in-depth look at the Jets schedule game-by-game from /u/ThreeCranes

Training Camp Battles to Watch:

Quarterback is the easy answer here, but it's not the best answer. With more than 10 players entering camp at both the wide receiver and cornerback positions, camp will be wide-open for anyone to step and prove why they should be on the field on Sundays.

There's also a good chance that one of the rookie or 2nd year offensive lineman could make their way into the starting roster.

Summary

John Idzik is slowly and methodically building the kind of roster that is competitive year in and year out. This team probably won't be a contender to bring home a Lombardi trophy this year, but they'll continue to get better and build through the draft.

As a Jets fan, it's an exciting time to watch the seeds of greatest planting themselves within the team as more and more young players step in and buy into the message and attitude that Rex Ryan is projecting.

How do I feel about the 2014 season?

CAN'T WAIT.