The only division in the NFL that goes international is the AFC East. You may be trying to think about what I'm talking about, but the Buffalo Bills will play the Chicago Bears on November 7th.
As for the rest of the division, it should be a dog fight. You have the loudmouth in Rex Ryan, who promised that the Jets would become Super Bowl champions. Then, you have the more quiet and disciplined approach in the Miami Dolphins. And then the sometimes, what the hell approach of the New England Patriots.
The division has plenty of newcomers, most of them belonging to the Jets, but new faces make this a very intriguing division.
1. New England Patriots (2009 Record: 10-6 1st AFC East; 2010 Projection: 13-3)
The Patriots will sorely miss Ty Warren, and their secondary still leaves something to be desired even with the addition of CB Devin McCourty. However, I don't think the Patriots will be tied to the defensive side of the ball this year.
The offense will be much improved than it was last year. QB Tom Brady will be two years removed from his opening day ACL, and with most surgeries like that, it's the second year in which you start to feel like yourself again. And speaking of torn ACL's, WR Wes Welker will come back sooner than everybody thought, but nobody knows if his knee continues to bother him. Common sense say it will take a little bit away, but it's not like he'll turn into Troy Williamson when he gets back to 100%.
Mix in a mediocre running game, and you might think I've lost my mind giving the Patriots such a high record. So why will the Patriots win 13 games.
Randy Moss is in a contract year. I'll repeat. Randy Moss, Mr. I'll Play When I Want To Play, is in a contract year. There is no doubt that Moss is playing for a new contract with another team. He's already said that this is his last year in New England, and if 2007 was any indication, and that was the one where the Patriots went undefeated...until the Super Bowl that is, and Moss racked up 98 catches, 1,493 yards, and 23 touchdowns. That's a game changer folks, and if that's any indication, Mr. Moss will be a rich man come next March...that is if there's football, MR. GOODELL!!!
2. Miami Dolphins (2009 Record: 8-8 3rd AFC East; 2010 Prediction: 9-7)
If you couldn't tell, I love receivers. What Randy Moss will be to the Patriots this year, I think that Brandon Marshall will have a monster year for the Miami Dolphins.
Marshall is now in a situation better than he was in Denver. I would be bold enough to say that QB Chad Henne is better than Kyle Orton. I would also say that the Miami running game would open up the field better than the one that's in Denver right now. And it's not like he's the only receiver there. WR Devone Bess and WR Brian Hartline should worry defenses enough that Marshall will get the ball enough to keep him happy and keep the Dolphins winning.
The Dolphins defense is a bit odd and may struggle at times this season with the loss of LB Joey Porter, but I also think that LB Karlos Dansby was an excellent replacement for him and makes the defense younger. There are some problems in the secondary however, and while that will hurt the Dolphins a bit, they will be competing for a playoff spot throughout the season.
3. New York Jets (2009 Record: 9-7, 2nd AFC East; 2010 Prediction: 9-7)
The loudest team in the NFL will put some wins on the board, but Super Bowl talk is overblown. I talked about it a lot when I said I hate the Jets, but I don't think they have enough to go on this magical run that everyone thinks they'll go on.
They have a quarterback who's only in his second year. If we were talking about Joe Flacco or Matt Ryan, guys who have actual throwing ability, this would be different. But why are we getting jacked about a guy who threw 12 TDs and 18 INT last season.
Oh his playoff run...so he beat a team with no offense (Bengals), a choke artist (Chargers/Norv Turner), and then lost to a better team. I gotcha.
The addition of Santonio Holmes was their best move of the year, but after that, it's like they hired the 2002 Pro Bowl team. RB LaDanian Tomlinson should play well in a reserve role, but not well enough to light the world on fire. DE/LB Jason Taylor is more concerned about Dancing With The Stars and the Rick Fox-like acting roles he'll get when he retires to make a legitimate impact, and again, Mark Sanchez reminds me of Rick Mirer.
Oh yeah, about that. Mirer had a pretty successful season his first year in the league too. As a matter of fact, the 2nd overall pick in the 1992 draft had 11 touchdowns and 7 interceptions in his second year in the league...then teams made him throw to his left. That's what I've seen from Sanchez. He can't throw to the left side. If Sanchez can play well enough for teams to back off, then I'll be wrong about this team, but as of now, Sanchez is not an impact player and not one to place a bunch of veterans around just yet.
4. Buffalo Bills (2009 Record: 6-10 4th AFC East; 2010 Prediction: 3-13)
The Bills wanted to make a huge splash last season after they fired Dick Jauron halfway through the season. They interviewed Mike Shanahan, but he went to Washington. They went after Bill Cowher, but he wanted to remain retired for one more season. The result? Chan Gailey. Really? Chain Gailey who has failed twice as a head coach, and once got fired before he coordinated his first game in Kansas City? Yup, so with that...
They have no offensive line, their quarterback is captain checkdown, their two best players on the defensive side of the ball last year will not be there next year (DE Aaron Schobel retired and S Jarius Byrd had his third surgery on his groin in the past 9 months in August), and their best option at running back is buried behind two mediocre players on the depth chart. Oh and they play a game in Canada. Is that good enough reason to predict they finish at the bottom of this divi...the entire league next year?
No comments:
Post a Comment