As the football preseason is upon us, we will be doing season previews for each division, similar to our draft preview. Today, we look at the AFC East.
The Patriots were a favorite to win the AFC and were one game away from fulfilling that goal, eventually losing to the Super Bowl Champion Broncos in the AFC Championship game. Now, the team must deal with not having their legendary quarterback, Tom Brady, for the first four games. We can debate the issues of suspending a Hall of Famer retroactively, but no matter, Tom Brady will miss the first four games, and Jimmy Garoppolo will be given the chance to show his worth. Garoppolo was a star at Eastern Illinois and could parlay these four games into a starting role with another team. Brady’s backups always get a chance to start somewhere else (See Mallett, Hoyer, Cassell) and Garoppolo should be no different. He will be throwing the ball to Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman, both who give hope to white guys everywhere. At Tight End, Gronk is still there, but has some added depth with Martellus Bennett being traded to New England. LeGarrette Blount owns the starting job at RB, and will continue to be consistent. If he does not, there are at least three running backs on the Patriots roster, like Brandon Bolden, Dion Lewis or Donald Brown. Nate Solder protects the QB’s blindside and recently acquired guard, Jonathan Cooper hopes to redeem himself, after spending a couple seasons under achieving in Arizona. Cooper was traded for Defensive End Chandler Jones, who is being replaced by free agents Chris Long and Jabaal Sheard. Long came over from the Rams while Sheard used to be a Brown. In between those two, is Malcom Brown, star defensive tackle. Those three along can create a dominant pass rush, but the Pat’s depth is ridiculous. Terrance Knighton was signed in the offseason after a decent season in Washington, and he is currently the second string tackle, behind Brown and journeyman Alan Branch. At linebacker, Dont’a Hightower and Jamie Collins are both good starting quality linebackers, and will continue to establish their legacy in Foxboro. In the secondary, the Patriots have Devin McCourty, Patrick Chung and Super Bowl XLIX hero Malcolm Butler. All three of these players are veterans and starting caliber defensive backs, with McCourty and Butler having the potential to be perennial pro bowlers. There are only three guarantees in this world….death, taxes and the Patriots being damn good.
The New York Jets were a decent team last year, winning ten games, but failing to make the playoffs. The offseason was strenuous for the Jets, with uncertainty surrounding the quarterback position. Career journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick, wanted to be paid his market worth, while the Jets did not want to pay a 33 year old quarterback. The two were at arms all offseason until Fitz signed a one year, 12 million dollar deal, that allows him to prove his worth once again. Even the wide receivers on the team, specifically, Eric Decker and Brandon Marshall, were very vocal about wanting Fitzpatrick. Last year, both receivers caught over 80 balls and totaled over 1000 yards receiving each. Behind Fitzpatrick, is former Chicago Bear Matt Forte. Forte struggled last year, due to injuries and splitting time with Jeremy Langford , but he hopes to bounce back with the Jets this year. Blocking for him is Ryan Clady, who built his name in Denver, as well as Nick Mangold, who has spent 10 years in New York, and established himself as one of the best Centers in the NFL. Defensively, the Jets have a solid pass rush, with Leonard Williams and Sheldon Richardson both looking like stars on the DLine. At linebacker the Jets have David Harris, who was spent all of his 9 year career with the Jets. At secondary, the Jets have one of the best individual cornerbacks of our time, in Darrelle Revis. Behind Revis is Calvin Pryor, who was drafted in the first round two years ago, but hasn’t made the type of impact one would hope for from a top 20 pick. If the Jets want to make the playoffs, they need their offense gel. If they can work well together, they might be able to post back to back 10 win seasons.
The Dolphins are a team that lost quite a bit of talent in the offseason. Olivier Vernon signed with the Giants, Lamar Miller with the Texans, while the team released Brent Grimes. Losing three starting caliber players is rough for any team, but that doesn’t mean that Miami doesn’t have talent. QB Ryan Tannehill is poised to step out of obscurity, and into the ranks of franchise quarterbacks. Similarly, his wide receivers are also ready to step closer to superstardom. DeVante Parker and Jarvis Landry are young, talented players. Likewise, recently signed Kenny Stills has a lot of potential as a pass catcher, and if these three receivers and Tannehill are on the same page, the Miami offense could be deadly. On the ground, the Dolphins signed Arian Foster to replace Miller at halfback. Foster has struggled with injuries in the past few seasons, but if he can recapture the magic that made him a household name in Houston, the Phins should be fine. Mike Pouncey holds down the line as dominant center while Braden Alberts is a Pro Bowl tackle who can protect Tannehill’s blindside. Defensively, the Dolphins have a solid pass rush, with Ndamukong Suh and Cameron Wake being staples of the Miami defense. To replace Vernon, the team signed Mario Williams from Buffalo. The only issue with the d-line would be their age. Suh, Wake and Williams are all over 29, and aren’t going to get any younger. Behind the line, Jelani Jenkins and Kiko Alonso run the linebacker corps. Jenkins is only 24 and could become one of the better middle linebackers. Alonso came over from Philadelphia, after the front office scrambled to get rid of players associated with Chip Kelly, and is an athletic speedy middle linebacker. The secondary is the biggest issue on the Miami team. Byron Maxwell, just like Alonso, came over from Philly, but he wasn’t playing well for the Eagles, and he doesn’t look like a number 1 cornerback. Across from him is Tony Lippett, who didn’t play much his rookie year, but hopes to become a defensive stalwart for the Dolphins. If the secondary can hold together, and the offense blossom like it should, the Dolphins could be playing for a playoff spot come December.
The last team in the AFC East is the Buffalo Bills. They just gave their unproven Quarterback a 90million dollar deal. Tyrod Taylor is simply not worth the contract. Not that he’s not good, but he’s not THAT good. Beside, who is going to throw to? Sammy Watkins has all the potential in the world, but he’s also not there yet. Robert Woods also has a chance to be a good pass catcher, but currently he’s unproven. The best offensive weapon on the Bills currently is running back LeSean McCoy. Shady’s still one of the best backs in the NFL, and he proved it last year in Buffalo. On the line, the Bills have the NFL’s resident bully in Richie Incognito at guard. Incognito isn’t a bad player or a bad person, just had issues in Miami, which haven’t translated to the Bills. At Center, Eric Woods is a very good offensive player, and controls the line of scrimmage. The biggest problem for Buffalo is the defense. Kyle Williams is a loyal member of the Bills Mafia, but besides him there are a lot of question marks. Corbin Bryant’s career has been full of being cut and resigned by the Steelers, and hopefully he can find a starting role in Buffalo. Preston Brown isn’t yet a starting caliber middle linebacker, and while Lorenzo Alexander is a great player, he’s better suited to be a special teams player than a starting linebacker. The secondary is full of potential. Stephon Gilmore and Ronald Darby could be pro bowlers, but that all depends on their play this season. Otherwise, they were just high draft picks that didn’t pan out. For Buffalo, they need to get better on defense, and hope that their new 90 million dollar man doesn’t get hurt or suck at football.
Asinine Predictions That Will Probably Be Wrong:
AFC East Champions: New England Patriots
- New England Patriots: 12-4
- Miami Dolphins: 9-7
- New York Jets: 7-9
- Buffalo Bills: 4-12
