Veterans

It would be almost a misnomer to classify cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie as “new faces”; the two men are far from new in New York. With a complete lack of talent at cornerback, though, the Jets needed to bring both men back to help them carry out their defensive strategy of tight man coverage and physical play at the line of scrimmage. 

The Jets also added slot cornerback Buster Skrine to the mix. At 5’9″ and 185 pounds, Skrine is far from the physically imposing cornerback one would expect in head coach Todd Bowles’ scheme, but he’s been an effective slot cornerback. According to Pro Football Focus, he yielded completions on 56.9 percent of the throws into his coverage last season; he yielded eight touchdowns, but also had four interceptions and eight passes defensed.

In moving to free safety, former San Diego Chargers defensive back Marcus Gilchrist may have more to prove than anyone else on the Jets roster this summer. The Jets will have to trust Gilchrist on the back end as the lone deep safety in coverage, which is a big part of Bowles’ system. The problem is Gilchrist has struggled in coverage throughout his career, yielding completions on 75.7 percent of throws into his coverage with 15 touchdowns and five interceptions, according to Pro Football Focus.  

James Carpenter is a dramatic upgrade over Brian Winters at the left guard spot. The 6’5″, 321-pound former Seattle Seahawks guard is a physically imposing presence and is a mauler in the running game. The Jets have a lot of balls in the air at right guard (more on that later), but it looks like Carpenter is locked in as a starter.

Rookies

Surprisingly, USC defensive lineman Leonard Williams was still available with the No. 6 pick in this year’s draft. Also surprisingly, the Jets were not content with their abundance of talented defensive linemen and chose to nab the star that fell into their lap. Now, with news of Sheldon Richardson’s four-game suspension and other off-field issues, the Jets have to be thanking their lucky stars and feeling that they made the right choice.

But defensive line wasn’t a big need for them at the time. One of their biggest needs, for years, has been outside linebacker. In picking Lorenzo Mauldin in the third round, the Jets finally appear to have put that need in their rearview mirror. If nothing else, they appear to be putting Calvin Pace in the rearview mirror. Pace may have much more experience than Mauldin, but the rookie has much more long-term upside than the 12-year veteran.

One more key rookie to watch will be Devin Smith. Smith is dealing with a broken rib, which will keep him out four to six weeks, according to Albert Breer of NFL Network; when the rookie returns to the field, though, he will bring a versatile presence to the fold.

Smith lined up both outside and inside at Ohio State. His long speed from the slot (20.7 yards per reception in college, 4.42-second 40-yard dash at the scouting combine) would add an interesting dynamic to the Jets offense with three vertical threats on the field at the same time. 

Battle at Right Guard

It’s the position that is the most wide-open in the Jets’ starting lineup. There are at least five possible players who could finish with the starting job, young guns and veterans alike. Willie Colon is the incumbent, but at 32 years old, Colon is not the long-term future. The Jets should probably start looking at younger options; Oday Aboushi, Brian Winters, Dakota Dozier (all 24 years old) and rookie Jarvis Harrison (23 years old).

That being said, the battle may not even come down to one of the five players listed above. The Jets are also showing interest in veteran guard Evan Mathis, as revealed by general manager Mike Maccagnan. The Jets have settled in on four of their five starters on the offensive line. The fifth one will take some time, and as important as training camp will be, the real battle will take shape in preseason games.

Wide Receiver Combinations

One of the hallmarks of offensive coordinator Chan Gailey’s system is his affinity for spread formations. He relies heavily on three- and four-receiver sets to execute his game plan, which is based around a heavy dose of short and intermediate throws where matchups are key.

We can say with certainty that Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker will be the top two receivers in the offense, and will be on the field for almost every snap. Things start to get hazy after that.

Jeremy Kerley is the incumbent in the slot, but his playing time could be threatened by rookie Devin Smith. Kerley doesn’t have anything to worry about right now, due to Smith’s broken rib. When the regular season comes, though, Smith could be in a timeshare with Kerley as the No. 3 receiver. Smith’s versatility to line up outside and inside sets him apart from the four-year veteran.  

There’s also DeVier Posey, T.J. Graham, Chris Owusu, Shaq Evans, Quincy Enunwa and five more receivers in the mix. This battle will be one of the most intriguing of camp, but a big part of the decision process should be based on how these receivers function when they are on the field together. Routes need to be run at varying depths to create openings and holes in the coverage. Chemistry and cohesion are a big part of the picture at wide receiver.

Week 2, at Indianapolis Colts

If the Jets want to prove they have an elite defense, they have to perform at their peak against elite quarterbacks. Colts quarterback Andrew Luck has inserted himself into the discussion of the best quarterbacks in the game in his short career.

The Colts have assembled an underrated group of pass-catchers; wide receivers T.Y. Hilton, Andre Johnson and Donte Moncrief pair well with tight ends Dwayne Allen and Coby Fleener. The real question is whether the Colts have finally given Luck a formidable offensive line so that he won’t be running for his life every time he drops back.

That being said, the Jets should be aiming to exploit the Colts’ weaknesses up front from the very first snap. The Jets should also aim to make the Colts one-dimensional by shutting down their lackluster rushing attack, which averaged only 3.9 yards per carry last season, ninth-lowest in the NFL.

Week 7, at New England Patriots

Jets head coach Todd Bowles may not have vocalized the bravado of Rex Ryan in proclaiming that his team would come after the Patriots, but make no mistake—if the Jets are able to win in New England, Bowles will be a made man.

Of course, by the time the Jets face the Patriots, quarterback Tom Brady will have served his four-game suspension (pending the legal hearing set for August 12), but that’s all the better for Bowles. If his defense can suffocate Brady with pressure and smother his receivers with coverage on the Jets’ way to victory, there will be a lot of chatter about whether the Jets are ready to unseat the Patriots atop the AFC East.

It’s much easier said than done, though, and as much as the physical battle on the field will ultimately determine the outcome of the game, the mental battle between Bowles and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick could be the ultimate deciding factor. 

Week 13, at New York Giants

If the Jets want to assert themselves as the real kings of New York football, this is their best bet at doing so this season—well, besides making the postseason.

“Snoopy Bowl” aside, the Jets could be in must-win territory at this point of the season unless they play extremely well in the early portion of the schedule. 

The Giants have been a below-.500 team over the past three seasons (20-28 record), but their passing game has taken some strides recently. The Jets have kept Eli Manning in check when they’ve faced him (42.3 percent completions, 73.5 passer rating), but the two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback is still 2-0 against his in-stadium rivals. 

Those two previous meetings also took place when the Giants had a much better defense, but over the years, the Giants defense has deteriorated and ranked in the bottom half of the league in points allowed in each of the past two seasons. If the Jets defense can pitch a strong performance, the offense could find holes to exploit in the Giants defense.

The Jets Find an Answer At Quarterback

With one high-profile addition to their roster after another, the Jets told their opponents that they are going all-in to win big in Todd Bowles’s first season as head coach. They won’t be successful in that endeavor unless they find a solution to their continuing quarterback controversy.

There are three possible endings to this story:

1. Geno Smith maintains his hold of the No. 1 spot on the depth chart and plays well throughout the season, warranting continued consideration as the starter.
2. Smith bottoms out, opening the door for veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick to get another run under Gailey as the starting quarterback.
3. Neither man shows any long-term prospects as the starter, giving Bryce Petty the green light to being a starter in his second year.

If it’s the first, the Jets have no worries. If it’s the second, the Jets need to make sure they pull the plug on Smith early enough that they haven’t blown their playoff chances. If it’s the third, well, the Jets probably won’t be going to the postseason in 2015.

The Jets Defense Returns to Prominence

The Jets defense was one of the top 10 units overall in Rex Ryan’s first four years as head coach, and in five of his six seasons. In 2013, they finally slipped outside the top 10 to 11th overall. They haven’t been as successful in keeping their opponents off the scoreboard, though, and have ranked 19th or worse in each of the past four seasons. 

With all the investments on defense ($39 million fully guaranteed for cornerback Darrelle Revis, $13 million fully guaranteed for Buster Skrine, $7 million fully guaranteed for Antonio Cromartie and $15 million fully guaranteed for linebacker David Harris), there’s an expectation of dramatic improvement.

The Jets defense would need to finish among the league’s best in terms of both scoring and yards in order to justify the unloading of a Swiss bank account’s worth of dough. 

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes and paraphrases obtained via team news release. All salary-cap and contract information obtained via Over The Cap.