Home

NFL Divisional Breakdowns: AFC East
By Jake Bailey, TheSportsStand.com (7/4/07)

With the NFL season fast approaching, it's time to preview the upcoming season by breaking down each team. This article will be the first the eight part series brought to you by TheSportsStand.com. Article one will deal with the AFC East.

1. New England Patriots: This team is simply the best in the AFC East and possibly the NFL. Many have picked this team for a Super Bowl run, and rightfully so. Last year they finished first in the division, and this year will be no different. The team was very strong last year with a 12-4 record and got quite far. This was in part due to the stellar play of the defense, the great coaching of Bill Belichek, and the leadership and play of Tom Brady. The defense was the strong, focal point of the Patriots and was one of the main reasons they got so far. Now, the offense on the other hand, was a different story. Tom Brady was the reason that the offense actually was good and performed well. There was minimal talent for Brady to throw to, he only had Ben Watson. The other reason was the running of Laurence Maroney who should have another good year. This year, however, the Patriots went out to get Brady some help. In arguably the biggest move of the offseason, they got Randy Moss. Brady and Moss should be a great combination. They also got some more help for their defense in Adalius Thomas. With a combination of a great system already in place, and new talent acquired, the Patriots should win the division and make a strong run in the playoffs, and possibly a Super Bowl win.

2. New York Jets: The Jets made great strides last year with new coach Eric Mangini. In my opinion, I think they probably won't be much better, now that people have game film on them. They don't seem to have much firepower on either side of the ball. They, however, have a great coaching staff and I think that will be the reason they get anywhere this year. They also benefit from a relatively weak division besides the Patriots. They didn't really have that big of an offseason with no significant improvements via free agency and I do not think they had a strong draft. Pennington can only get them so far with his arm (no pun intended). Their success probably will ride on his weak arm. The key to their success on defense will be the play of Jonathan Vilma who is the most talented on their defense.

3. Miami Dolphins: The Dolphins have a new coach this year in Cam Cameron, but I think they will finish in third this year. They still remain a weak team however. They made a step in the right direction by acquiring Trent Green and bolstered an already strong defense by signing Joey Porter. They have the 2006 Defensive Player of the Year in Jason Taylor, who is a great playmaker. He, Zach Thomas, and Porter should be a force to be reckoned with next year. They have good defensive talent, but the offense is a completely different story. They won't go very far this year.

4. Buffalo Bills: They are a dismal team and don't expect them to do well this year. They lost many key players on their teams, and I have no idea why. Willis McGahee, a talented RB is gone. Nate Clements, a strong CB is also gone. An excellent linebacker in London Fletcher is also gone. They got rid of some really key players. The lone bright spots might be the rising young talent in Lee Evans and J.P. Losman. Doesn't look good for the Bills though.

Sound off on this topic on our Messageboard