With Aaron Hernandez dominating the NFL news for months now, the New England Patriots are happy to get back on the field. It’s something positive for the franchise that has stood atop the AFC for most of the last decade. This year could be a lot different for the three-time Super Bowl Champs.
Buffalo Bills- It seems like every season the Bills come in with a grab bag full of mediocre quarterbacks. And that’s being generous. Ryan Fitzpatrick is off in Tennessee battling Rusty Smith for the ever-so coveted spot behind Jake Locker, another QB I’m not sold on yet. This years’ version of play-calling competition is between rookie E.J. Manuel and veteran Kevin Kolb. Although Kolb is banged up, the job is reportedly his to lose. That doesn’t give the fans in Buffalo too much reassurance. Kolb has fumbled away every opportunity handed to him so far. My guess on a starter by midseason is as good as yours.
Buffalo probably wishes they didn’t trade Marshawn Lynch away but you could do a lot worse than Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller. It’s a nice duo in the backfield, when healthy. Stevie Johnson is an overrated wideout but has raw talent. Scott Chandler is a nice tight end too. Really, a quarterback wouldn’t be too upset with this crew. The problem is the crew will likely be upset with the quarterback play. The Bills face a watered down Patriots team, a Reggie Bush-less Miami Dolphins squad and the New York Mess (Jets) a total of six times. This could possibly be the worst division in all of football.
Miami Dolphins- Don’t tell that to the Dolphins. This is everyone and their brother’s favorite sleeper this year. Ryan Tannehill has the rookie year behind him (maybe the Bills could call Miami about Matt Moore). They stole Dustin Keller from the Jets to sandwich in between Mike Wallace and Brian Hartline, who’ll be a late round fantasy football steal this year. Even with that talent, the loss of Reggie Bush is huge. The last two years in the Sunshine State have been a breakout for him and it helped keep Tannehill in a nice check and balance system last season. Letting Jake Long walk was stupid. Injuries stink and no one likes them but you can’t let one of the best offensive tackles go just because of a few bumps and bruises. Dumb.
You don’t need a great defense in the AFC East this season. The Pats offense will be better than everyone is making it out to be right now. Still, the level of play is pathetic in this division. The Jets will be a joke, who knows where the Bills will be and Miami just might have the passing ability to sneak out enough wins to get the nod in the East. I want to see what kind of force Dannell Ellerbe can be in the middle without Ray Lewis lending a hand. He was a machine a year ago. Also, Cameron Wake had 15 sacks last year and has 37 in the last three. That’s pressure on Tom Brady.
New England Patriots- Aaron Hernandez is gone. Wes Welker out. Who knows when they’ll see Rob Gronkowski. But they have Tom Brady. I’ll never understand the ‘let Welker go for Danny Amendola’ idea. Don’t get me wrong, Amendola is just as fast and athletic, if not more so. He’s younger too. But Danny is hurt all of the time. Welker barely misses a beat. Peyton Manning says thank you very much.
But it’s Brady, Bill Belichick and the team that keeps winning despite all odds. There’s no way that the Dolphins, Bills or Jets can serve as the favorite in this division. Brady has some chemistry with Julian Edelman, who exudes that ‘Patriot way’ that Belichick demands. Steven Ridley had some nice games a year ago and Shane Vereen will play more than he did in 2012. It will be more crucial than ever that the o-line gives Brady, not only time, but protection. He can’t take hits in 2013.
The D is a little long in the tooth. Vince Wilfork, Adrian Wilson and Tommy Kelly are all a little weathered. I loved Dont’a Hightower at Alabama. Hopefully he improves this season. No matter what, the Pats should win the East.
New York Jets- They’re the team no one thinks can do it. It’s probably because they can’t. It’s been an offseason to forget for the Jets again in 2013. Rex Ryan is on a seat cushion made of burning coals. The only think he can do to save his job is to make it into the playoffs. The Chicago Bears fired Lovie Smith for his 10-6 record. Ryan finds himself in a much worse position than that. There is no way the Jets win ten games. It’s almost certain that they miss the playoffs. Ryan is gone sometime between now and week one of the postseason.
The quarterback competition, like in Buffalo, is lackluster. Is Greg McElroy still in the hunt? Phill Simms other son, Matt, is on this team too. Mark Sanchez will likely get the first few games, in which Santonio Holmes will be out with a foot injury. Oh, it couldn’t be going worse for Mark and Rex. A promising start to their careers appears to be dwindling. Then there’s Geno Smith. Red flags ‘a flappin’ in the wind. How do you choose this guy over Matt Barkley? Moreover, aren’t there a plethora of needs on this team besides a quarterback? They didn’t do Smith or Sanchez any favors by letting Dustin Keller go either. But just to be safe, they brought in problem child Kellen Winslow. Super. I’m told that Bilal Powell and Chris Ivory will be running the ball…Sure…OK…Fine…
Defense used to be what the Jets were all about. Now, it’s not. Dawan Landry and Antonio Cromartie are decent ballhawks. They let it leak that Darrelle Revis was trade bait, after that awful contract they gave him, and now he’s gone. I think Richard Sherman is the best corner in the game but most people will tell you it’s Revis. Way to let that guy go New York! The Jets run a 3-4 scheme but it’s unclear to me if they have personnel good enough to make it work. Who cares? It doesn’t matter. The Bills are better than this team anyway.
AFC East- The Patriots will win the division, although it might be with a less respectable record than we are accustomed to. Everyone is sold on Tannehill and his Dolphins. I see a 8-8-ish team here. Who’s running the ball? There’s 2,000 yards over the past two seasons missing, not counting the 600 yards receiving that Reggie Bush brought to the table. The Bills and Jets will both be bad, with New York certainly being worse. Three of these teams aren’t ready for winning. One of them, New England, might be on their last run.
