The New York Jets were in the market for an offensive lineman. That much was known from the beginning of the NFL's legal tampering period earlier this month. 

What offensive lineman that was going to be after Mike Iupati signed with the Arizona Cardinals? Well, that was anyone's guess. 

On the first day of free agency, New York came to terms on a four-year, $19.1 million contract with former Seattle Seahawks first-round pick James Carpenter.


So, what exactly is New York getting in its newest offensive lineman?

About.com took to the film room to break down Carpenter's play. Below you will find the good and bad, along with links to video breakdowns. Have a question? Email Connor Hughes. 

The Good

• When Carpenter was drafted by Seattle in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft, it was as an offensive tackle. It's easy to see why he made the move to offensive guard. Carpenter thrives when matched up against bigger-bodied defensive linemen-- for example, defensive tackles. He's able to lock on, hold his block and not let go. At 6-5 and 321 pounds, Carpenter uses that size and strength to his advantage, rarely getting overpowered. 
• Carpenter has some good movement in his hips and is able to direct opponent's linemen as such. He does a solid job opening his hips to lure a lineman inside or outside, then planting his feet to secure the running lane off his butt. 
• Where Carpenter seems to excel is when he is asked, or tasked, with man blocking. For example: Your guy is the defensive tackle, move him here. While adjustments can be made at the line, when Carpenter knows exactly who is he supposed to block he does it quite well. Again, it goes hand-in-hand with his ability to handle bigger bodies. As long as he gets positioning, he rarely gets overpowered. 

• Per ProFootballFocus.com, Carpenter played his best against 4-3 defenses a season ago. When watching film of him against 4-3 defenses, he did. Again, that gives him the most opportunities to deal with bigger guys. Five of his six positive-graded performances came against 4-3 fronts. Next season, the Jets play 10 of their 16 games against 4-3 teams. 
• Carpenter plays with a bit of a nastiness that some offensive lineman lack. You can tell on plays he's looking for someone to hit, even when he's out of the play. When he knocks someone down, he looks to keep them down. It's a nice trait to have with with a guard. 

The Bad

• Through the games watched, Carpenter wasn't asked much to get out and pull with Seattle a season ago. He was mostly tasked with guarding someone in front of him, or working his way to the second level off the center. It's not that he can't pull, just that he wasn't asked to do it much. 
• While Carpenter is very, very good against big-bodied linemen, he struggles against smaller, shifter players. When Carpenter found himself on a linebacker, outside linebacker or pass-rushing defensive end, he was lost, a lot, on the first move. The quick, shiftiness gave him issues as he was caught off balance. This happened on stunts, when he was beat to the outside and even with pressure up the middle from the occasional blitzing inside linebacker. These are situations primarily brought up by 3-4 fronts. 
• There are some concerns with Carpenter's ability once he gets to the second level. It's not that he can't get there, it's what he does once he's there that causes some red flags. Carpenter seems to struggle reading and reacting to whom he is actually supposed to block. His reaction time is sometimes too slow that, by the time he realizes who his guy is, that player has already made the tackle. Going with his struggles against shiftier defenders, there were several situations where Carpenter made the right call at the second level, but just whiffed. This led to that player he missed making the tackle. 

Video Clips

• Whiff on block on second level 
• Second level awareness to sense incoming pressure
• Beat for sack up middle
• Allows pressure off inside move
• Handles big-bodied defensive tackle 
• Handles big-bodied defensive tackle (2)
• Perfect seal block 
• Perfect seal block (2)
• Misses block on second level
• Pancake block and nastiness 
• Struggles holding onto block

Fan Q & A

Q: Do you consider (Carpenter) an upgrade to Oday Aboushi, Brian Winters, Willie Colon?  
From: @rpchudgar

Hughes: To Colon and Winters? Yes. Not to Aboushi. I watched a solid amount of film on Aboushi last year and was impressed with what I saw. The two (Carpenter, Aboushi) are comparable with what they're able to do, and not separated by much in terms of ability, but I would give the slight edge to Aboushi.

Q: Do you think Oday Aboushi has a guard spot locked down?
From: @Sahal_Abdi

Hughes: Nothing is locked down on the Jets roster right now. The one thing you can assure yourself is that coach Todd Bowles will look to create competition everywhere. Aboushi, Brian Winters, Willie Colon, James Brewer and James Carpenter will all be thrown into competition for one spot. In my opinion, off of what I saw from Aboushi last year in his first year playing, one of those spots will belong to him. The other? It's anyone's guess. Carpenter is, by no means, a lock to start Week 1.

Q: Do you think Carpenter will be able to handle guys like Suh, as well as the Bills D-Line?
From: @JudeTruth

Hughes: The strengths in his game certainly match up well against them. Kyle Williams and Suh are certainly 'big-bodied players.' With that being said, I don't know many All-Pro guards that can handle either of those two. It'll be fun to watch those matchups to see how he fairs against them. 

Q: Would you say he is better fit in a man blocking scheme?
From: @elvisjets85

Hughes: Yes. He seemed to do the best when he knew exactly who he was supposed to block before the ball was snapped. Things didn't go as well when he had to read-and-react to smaller linebackers, or, at times, safeties.

Connor Hughes is the New York Jets beat writer for About.com Sports and The Journal Inquirer. He can be reached on twitter: @Connor_J_Hughes, or via email: Connor_J_Hughes@yahoo.com