By Mike Devarenne
Editor-in-chief
The AFC East during the New England Patriots’ stretch of
dominance has been somewhat of a joke, save for the New York Jets when they had
one or two competent seasons and gave the Pats some trouble a couple years ago. Apart from some
random games, New England almost always asserts their dominance against the
teams in the division, propelling us to punch our tickets to the playoffs
almost always earlier than any other teams in the league. However, this does give us an
excuse to not regard them as competitors, and since we will be seeing the
following three teams twice on the gridiron this season, let’s quickly break
down each team so we can know what we are dealing with at the start of the season.
BUFFALO BILLS (2012: 6-10, 4th place)
The Bills and Miami Dolphins are in a similar situation. First,
obviously quarterback play more than any other position has the most influence
in how a team does, and it’s the reason it’s tough to get a read on this team
because they most likely will be starting a rookie under center in Week 1
(against the Patriots). Then again, if the Bills decide to start Kevin Kolb,
this team is much easier to figure out: they’re going to suck.
For the other weapons on the offense, there are some people
you should keep your eye on. The obvious one is CJ Spiller, who is an extremely
dangerous running back now that the Bills are using him correctly. They also
have Stevie Johnson, a perfectly serviceable number one wideout. And finally
Scott Chandler; who isn’t an impressive tight end but seems to show up when he
plays the Patriots, so he warrants at least a mention. However, if the Bills
don’t have anyone to get these people the ball, then we needn’t worry people.
On the other side of the ball, this team is a little more
miserable. Mario Williams, who signed the most lucrative contract ever for a
defensive player, was an albatross for them last year in his first season with
the team. Apparently, he was battling wrist issues all season so hopefully he
doesn’t return to his normal havoc wreaking form that made the Bills want to
sign him in the first place. After that, there’s really no one else that needs
to be mentioned on their defense (besides Stephon Gilmore who had a nice rookie campaign at cornerback), so let’s go to the next team.
MIAMI DOLPHINS (2012: 7-9, 2nd place)
Like previously stated, the Miami Dolphins are in the same boat as the Bills: they
have a young and unproven quarterback. Their offense lost two key players and
only gained one. The losses were offensive lineman Jake Long and running back
Reggie Bush, the former being a top tier pass protector and the latter being a
dual threat playmaker. Their one addition was wideout Mike Wallace, a serious
deep threat that compliments Brian Hartline, the Dolphins other dangerous wide
receiver. Although I think Wallace is brutally overrated, he still needs to be accounted for when he is on the field.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Dolphins are even
less impressive. The Brent Grimes signing was nice, he is a nice addition to
their secondary. However, they let go of Sean Smith at cornerback so it is a wash. Also, their Dannell Ellerbe signing was good, albeit at a
pretty hefty price. Baltimore Ravens defensive products that sign are pretty
hit or miss, as the ghost of Adalius Thomas still haunts me and a huge number
of Patriots fans to this day. The only other noteworthy defender on this team
is Cameron Wake, a huge destructive force on the defensive line sure to give
New England’s offensive line trouble in years to come.
NEW YORK JETS (2012: 6-10, 3rd place)
Finally, last and definitely least. I’ll spare you the corny
Jets jokes, because those have certainly been beat into the ground. The Jets
quarterback situation is a mess, to put it mildly. They have two below average
quarterback fighting to be the main signal caller, only to be rewarded with
dreadful offensive weapons. Mark Sanchez’s favorite security blanket, Dustin
Keller, went to the Dolphins but unfortunately tore his ACL this past Saturday
and is out for the season. Santonio Holmes at this point of his career is at
best a second or third wide receiver, but is the team’s number one receiver.
The running backs aren’t anything to write home about either.
The once elite and stingy defense the Jets had in the recent
years has turned into an old, slow defense that’s spotted with bad contracts.
Darrelle Revis is gone, and whether or not you agree with the specifics of the trade,
it’s nice the Patriots don’t have to play him twice a year (though they do play
him in Week 3). Besides Antonto Cromartie who is a very respectable cornerback,
the only other player on this defense you should be worrying about is Muhammad
Wilkerson on the defensive line.
So there you have it, a quick recap on the AFC East division
teams. These teams are not especially talented, but in the game of football
anything can happen and they should not be taken lightly.
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