AFC East Season Preview
Finally! If you are big football fan that is what you were saying Thursday of last week when the NFL Hall of fame game aired on NBC. This means that training camps are well under way, some folks are already fantasy drafting, and all of us are prepping for the first week of pre-season football or in other words holding our breaths that any big names on our teams escape these 4 weeks without any major injuries (Sorry Dolphins fans). Speaking of the Dolphins, I am going to cover the AFC East today as part of my 2017 season preview with the help of my buddy Chris.
Chris why Don't you start and I will put my predictions under yours in bold.
In the midst of what many call the most boring time of the year in sports, the dog days of summer, it’s time to start talking football, and we might as well start with the most predictable (historically at least) division in football. Having won the division every year since 2003, besides 2008 when Brady went down, I see no reason why the Pats won’t be taking this division in a cakewalk. Let’s get to it
New England (14-2): Normally when a team wins a championship, players go elsewhere looking for money since they already have a ring. Instead, year after year it seems players flock to the Patriots with their sights set on another ring, whether it’s a pro bowl level corner in Stephen Gilmore, a speedster in Brandin Cooks via Trade, or my player to watch in the division in Mike Gillislee. A Super bowl rematch in Week 7 on Sunday night will be their first challenge of the year. They might drop a couple games at the end of the year resting players, but this team should cruise to the playoffs and home field advantage.
New England (15-1): This team is stacked. Brady is coming back looking for ring number 6 plus they added more weapons in the pass game to go alongside of Gronk. The Defense looks better although the sudden retirement of Rob Ninkovich hurts the depth along the d-line. This division will be a cakewalk for the Patriots, and by the time they play their toughest stretch of the season weeks 13-15 at Buffalo, At Miami, and at Pittsburgh they should be 12-0 or 11-1 and have a playoff spot all but locked up.
Buffalo Bills (9-7): In a normal division, I wouldn’t put the Bills with a record this good. However, they get to play turnover machine Jay Cutler, and the newfound kings of trash in the New York Jets. They should go 4-0 against these two teams, and somehow always seem to steal a game vs the Patriots. If this offense can stay healthy, look for the trio of Taylor, McCoy, and Watkins to do enough damage to get this team on the verge of a wild card berth.
Buffalo Bills (7-9): Originally I had the Dolphins in the second spot competing for a playoff spot, things happen and injuries happen and then Jay Cutler happens. Miami’s misery is Buffalo’s gain. But is it really a gain though to finish below .500 and miss the playoffs again? Any step up is the right step and the Bills made some significant upgrades to the front office by hiring Sean Mcdermott and Brandon Beane from Carolina. The tough schedule is what is going to hold the Bills back this year, but expect to see a better more consistent product on the field.
Miami Dolphins (6-10): Just when the Dolphins think they have a team that might do something, Tannehill goes down for the year, your top receiver in Landry is under investigation for Battery, and you sign a quarterback that has made opposing defenses happy for longer than I can remember in Jay Cutler. A tough schedule with a mix of an oversea trip, some cold weather games, and uncertainty across the board on offense could lead to a long year for the fish. A big factor in their season is going to be Jay Ajayi. Are we going to see something like the guy who threw up 200 yards in 3 separate games last year, or the runner who had 11 games under 80 yards, with 3.56 yards per rush?
Miami Dolphins (5-11): Man, Just when Tannehill gets going his knee happens. Does any Miami fan have any faith in Jay Cutler? I know my uncle doesn’t…. The only reason I gave them 5 wins is because of that receiving core and I have faith in Adam Gase as a head coach and that defense. That schedule though is daunting with trips to London, Baltimore on a short week, and Buffalo and KC in December. Expect big receiving numbers from Landry and Co. but that won’t translate to wins.
New York Jets (2-14) : J-E-T-S JETS….. I stopped at 2; because that’s all the wins I see them getting this year. I don’t remember a team actively holding open tryouts for quarterback, but you might see it this year. Josh McCown, Bryce Petty, Christian Hackenberg. They say when you have 2 quarterbacks, you have 0. This is the case here. Before I read Landon’s preview for them, I immediately thought of the 76ers. Can they manage to tank like an NBA team? I don’t think so, and see many more years of pain coming to this long suffering franchise.
NY Jets (2-14): This will be the worst team in football. The Jets are tanking without admitting they are tanking. They have no QB, they released their best two receivers, Quincy Enunwa just went on IR and they cut their best LB all before training camp. Talk out of camp is that their QB's are having a hard enough time breaking huddles correctly.. So you see where this is going... This will be a young inexperienced team that will remind fans of the Philadelphia 76ers over the last couple of years.
Division MVP : Tom Brady – New England
Division MVP: Tom Brady N.E.
Defensive Rookie of the year: Jamal Adams – New York Jets
Defensive Rookie of the year: Raekwon McMillian- MIA
Offensive Rookie of the year: Zay Jones - Buffalo
Offensive Rookie of the year: Zay Jones - Buffalo
OPOY: Tom Brady – New England
OPOY: Tom Brady – New England
DPOY: Leonard Williams – New York Jets
DPOY: Gerald Hodges -Buffalo