Can you feel the palpable excitement in the air? Its late August and the third week of the preseason begins tonight. The NFL regular season is two weeks away! While the offseason in the NFL has lacked the fireworks of the NBA offseason, I think we all are ready for a new season. Just like a thrilling season finale of your favorite show, Super Bowl LI was the epic exclamation point that left us all wanting more.

The 2017-18 season is shaping up to be quite the interesting affair. One team is the clear favorite to hoist the Lombardi Trophy in Minneapolis next February, while the rest of the league is jockeying for a chance to just be there at the end. Between all of the coaching changes, roster moves, and intriguing draft picks there is a feeling among many that cover the league that this could be one of the most chaotic seasons in recent memory.

This brings us to the beginning of the second full season of “No Huddle.” Today we’ll get started with my 2017-18 NFL preview with a look at the reigning Super Bowl champion New England Patriots and the rest of the AFC East. Now why are we starting here you might ask? Well, the quick answer is that, other than the Super Bowl champions being in this division, this is probably the easiest division to handicap heading into the season. So with that in mind, let’s not waste too much more time and just jump right in.

New England Patriots (last season: 14-2)

In most cases, its tough to imagine the reigning champions getting better during the offseason in the modern NFL. Of course, not every team is as savvy as the Patriots. While the Pats lost goal-line specialist LeGarrette Blount, cornerback Logan Ryan, and tight end Martellus Bennett in the offseason, they certainly did well to make upgrades all over this roster. On paper, this is potentially the best roster that the Pats have put together since they flirted with an undefeated season in 2007-08.

For the cost of a first round pick in the most recent NFL draft, the Patriots acquired speedster Brandin Cooks from the New Orleans Saints. While the Pats typically run a gameplan offense week-to-week, Cooks adds a dimension that this offense has not had (or needed) since the days of Randy Moss. It still remains to be seen how Cooks will ultimately fit in with Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski, but defensive coordinators are going to have nightmares trying to scheme against New England this year.

New England also added running backs Mike Gillislee and Rex Burkhead to the backfield in free agency. Gillislee made his name as the effective backup to LeSean McCoy in Buffalo last season while Burkhead is the under-the-radar type of name the Pats always seem to find each season. Both will get a crack at filling the Blount role in this offense alongside the versatile running back tandem of James White and Dion Lewis.

Over on the defensive side of the ball, New England’s other major move of the offseason could end up being the biggest upgrade of all. The Patriots signed former Bills cornerback Stephon Gillmore to a contract worth $14 million per season. Gillmore, the top corner on the market, joins an already formidable secondary, which will be the backbone of what could be a devastating defensive unit. Not only did the Patriots get better with the Gillmore signing, but made Buffalo weaker with one more. Classic New England.

Provided this team stays healthy, repeating last season’s 14-2 record is not out of the question. New England could very easily go 6-0 in the AFC East, and should coast to the number one seed in the conference once again.

Miami Dolphins (last season: 10-6)

Things were looking up for the Dolphins after a disappointing finish in the playoffs last season. A knee injury to Ryan Tannehill took the wind out of the Dolphins sails heading into the postseason. Unfortunately, Tannehill’s knee would get reinjured during the first week of training camp and will force him to miss the entire 2017-18 season. Not the way head coach Adam Gase could have envisioned his second year in Miami starting.

As they say, desperate times call for desperate measures. In an effort to stay in contention this season, Gase reached out to one of his former quarterbacks from his days as an offensive coordinator (no, not Peyton Manning). Gase talked Jay Cutler into putting his broadcasting career on hold and come out of retirement for one last season.

Early indications are that Cutler isn’t going to change his game, but it remains to be seen how he will affect this offense. Jay Ajayi will likely be the top option in this offense after a breakout year in 2016, so look for Miami to be run-heavy this year. In the passing game, I’ve got a feeling that DeVante Parker will turn into the Dolphins top weapon. Over the course of Cutler’s career, he has fallen in love with big-bodied receivers. Parker not only fits that bill but also plays the same position as another former Cutler target, Alshon Jeffery.

Defensively, we should expect more of the same from the Dolphins this season. Consistency will be the key here as the Dolphins will have to string together solid performances early on in the season. The first six weeks are crucial for the Dolphins having any chance at getting into the playoffs for a second consecutive season.

Buffalo Bills (last season: 7-9)

Okay this is where this column takes a turn and I start sounding like a negative Nancy. This is for good reason though, because things in Buffalo aren’t all rainbows and butterflies. Former Carolina defensive coordinator Sean McDermott is now at the helm in Buffalo and has a long road ahead to turn the Bills into contenders once again.

The first indication that Buffalo is in the process of rebooting (not quite a rebuild yet) came a couple of weeks ago with the surprise trades of Sammy Watkins and Ronald Darby to Los Angeles (Rams) and Philadelphia, respectively. In return the Bills got picks and receiver Jordan Matthews.

As in past years, this offense will rely heavily on the running game, led by Shady McCoy, especially now that the receiving core lacks a “stud” on the outside. The free agent signings of fullback Patrick DiMarco and “fullback” Mike Tolbert should signal that Buffalo is doubling down on the ground game.

Another sign that things in Buffalo aren’t looking great came in the form of the sudden retirement of Anquan Boldin last Sunday. 13 days after signing with the Bills, the future Hall of Famer decided that it was time to hang up the pads. Yikes. The only positive to come out of this is that we will get a good look at rookie Zay Jones this season (fantasy alert!).

However, the pressure now falls on quarterback Tyrod Taylor to prove he is capable of leading an NFL offense. To say that Taylor could be on a short leash is an understatement. There is a growing sentiment around Buffalo that fifth round pick Nathan Peterman could play a significant amount this season should Taylor falter early on this season. Once again, not good signs for Buffalo.

Defensively, I do like the regime change for the personnel here. The Bills defense was a lot better running a 4-3 scheme under Jim Schwartz than the 3-4 scheme employed by former head coach Rex Ryan. However, this doesn’t mean that the Bills will return to being a top-five defense under McDermott. This team has to readjust to the 4-3 both schematically and roster-wise.

Overall, this is shaping up to be a lost season in Buffalo and the playoff drought will likely continue. Hey, at least we’ll have the social media greatness of the Bills Mafia to keep us interested in Buffalo throughout the season.

New York Jets (last season: 5-11)

Holy dumpster fire Batman! The Jets bring today’s column to an end with a whimper. There is nothing to really get excited about for New York heading into this season. You know things are bad when repeating a 5-11 record seems like a pipe dream.

While the calling card of this team is its defense, don’t expect this unit to be saving the Jets a lot this season. This is due to the fact that this offense is looking like the worst in the NFL. Brandon Marshall left the Jets for the Giants in free agency, Eric Decker was cut then signed with Tennessee, and surprise contributor Quincy Enunwa is out for the season with a neck injury. Robbie Anderson is now the lead target in this receiving corps.

It only gets worse when you look at the quarterback situation. Ryan Fitzpatrick and Geno Smith are gone, leaving Josh McCown, Christian Hackenberg, and Bryce Petty vying to lead this offense. McCown is a journeyman while Hackenberg is the definition of unproven (don’t hold your breath on him though). Barring a herculean effort from running backs Matt Forte and Bilal Powell, don’t be surprised if this offense barely averages 14 points per game, which might even be generous.

Now I’m not saying that the Jets are definitely going 0-16, but they could give it a run as they are trending towards having the top pick in the 2018 NFL draft. Sorry Jets fans, it is going to be a looooooooooooooong season.

That’s it for me today. I’ll be back tomorrow to continue my NFL preview with a look at the NFC West. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney, subscribe to Shooting the Moon on WordPress, and like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook