It's Monday morning, I still have a few days before my 4 day weekend, and there are still 7 more divisions left to tackle as we approach this final week of the preseason. Let's keep getting the East Coast out of the way by tackling the AFC East today.
AFC East
Common opponents on schedule: AFC South, NFC West
2011 Record: 13-3, lost Super Bowl XLVI
10 years ago if you had asked me who the best quarterback in the NFL was, after 12-year-old me told you Brett Favre was amazing, I would have gotten serious and probably told you Peyton Manning was tops, not really being aware of who Tom Brady was. Within the next couple years it seemed pretty obvious Brady had supplanted Manning despite his gaudier numbers just because Brady put up good numbers and his team won. Today Brady has considerable weapons at his disposal with Wes Welker grabbing just about everything thrown his way and that scary tight end combo (see how scary Gronk is?!) to throw hundreds of passes to. If last year is any indication, the Pats will give up a good chunk of yardage every week, but their offense should more than be able to make up for the points given up. I also figure (as my friend Nathaniel does in the link above) that Darth Hoodie's defense won't get quite as many takeaways as last year.
2011 Record: 6-10, missed playoffs
This is a tough division to pick after New England winning it and making it back to the playoffs. Buffalo showed a lot of promise at the start of last season before falling way back down to Earth. They did spend money this offseason to lure Mario Williams to help anchor the defensive line. I still feel that opponents can gain some yardage against this defense, the offense should be in pretty good shape with Ryan Fitzpatrick adjusting following his long-term deal and guys like Fred Jackson and Stevie Johnson (assuming he keeps his head on straight) helping him out. They won't make the playoffs I don't think, but they're continuing to move in the right direction.
2011 Record: 8-8, missed playoffs
This team's window is closed. While most teams will have some disagreements and maybe some scuffles during training camp, ESPN seemed fixated on multiple fights in practice amongst the Jets. They have some good skill players on offense like Shonn Greene and Santonio Holmes (assuming he can keep his head on straight), but Mark Sanchez is not a good quarterback. At best, he's an average one who can manage a game, and while I like Tim Tebow, he's can't make most of the throws an NFL quarterback needs to. This defense can still do some damage but they are a far cry from what they were 2 or 3 years ago.
2011 Record: 6-10, missed playoffs
The Dolphins might be taking a step in the right direction. Starting a rookie quarterback is a bit of a gamble, but they're prepared to send Ryan Tannehill out to battle the AFC East schedule. It's a fairly forgiving schedule for him without too many tough out-of-division opponents, but he doesn't have a lot of weapons on offense (though he'll have time to find them being protected by Jake Long and company). Defense raises huge question marks though, as I think teams can both run and pass on these guys. You're probably looking at an early draft pick, especially if the on-court antics of Dwayne Wade infect the locker room. Heck, it's already spread out to the West Coast among non-humans.
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| Click to enlarge. From California Highway Patrol Computer Aided Dispatch, 8/19/12 |
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