2007 NFL Division Ranking: #4 - AFC East
This is another division that has been pretty much dominated by a single team in recent history. The other teams have had seasons in which they have been good and even challenged for the division title at times. But no team in this division nor the entire NFL has rivaled the recent success of the Patriots.
This season doesn’t appear to be any different in the AFC East. At the top of the pecking order here (and the entire league), the New England Patriots remain firmly entrenched as the top dog. New England immediately became the Superbowl pick de jour upon acquiring Randy Moss. I don’t think it is quite that simple. New England was a good team before the acquisition and they are just as good a team after the acquisition. In my mind, nothing has changed; the Patriots will be serious contenders at the end of the season.
The Patriots had a very atypical off-season compared to their past off-seasons. Belichick may have felt the window closing as the core of this championship team ages and decided to deviate from the norm for this team. Besides Moss, they also picked up Donte Stallworth and Wes Welker for a complete make over on their receivers. On defense, they added Adelius Thomas and Torry James among others. Bottom line, this was a monster off-season for the Patriots in the form of acquisitions. I am always worried about chemistry and system with new players. I definitely don’t think they have hurt their status as a top team in this league and quite possibly, they just got that much better.
Not very many people predicted that that Jets would have a 10-6 season last year, least of all me. Eric Mangini took a team that wasn’t supposed to be competitive in the slightest and landed them in the playoffs. Unfortunately, they met up with their division rival in the Patriots and could not rise to the challenge. So the question becomes, was this a fluke year or are the Jets here to compete? I truly hope that they will remain competitive. The tension and issues between Master and Protege add fuel to an already explosive rivalry. These coaches will seemingly stop at no length to beat the other and the end of game hand shakes are priceless.
While the Jets have been busy in the off-season, their acquisitions do not have the same star power that the Patriots do. However, they made one of the best signings in this division by picking up Thomas Jones from the Bears. There are still some question marks on this team. The inconsistency and frailty of Chad Pennington has got to be a concern. The distraction of Pete Kendall claiming he does not want to play as a Jet is also disruptive. This team still has some ways to go, but if they can be patient and build this team properly, I could see this team dethroning the Patriots in a year or two.
Dick Jauron enters his second season at the helm of the Buffalo Bills. This is a team that has been out of the national eye since the early 90’s when they were the annual sacrificial lamb in the superbowl for the AFC. Since that time, they have been a mediocre team from a small market that you rarely hear about… or see on prime time TV. In recent years, this has been a team that has struggled to find an identity. Mike Mularkey came to this team to give it an offensive spark and they also acquired Drew Bledsoe to aid in this progression. The offense didn’t seem to improve much and the defense quickly became ordinary.
Now Jauron’s job is to rebuild this defense into the dominant force they once were. Unfortunately, the personnel that he has to work with is rather ordinary. They have some exciting and potentially outstanding rookies in Paul Posluszny and late round steal (in my opinion) John Wendling. On offense, J.P. Losman may not be so secure with Trent Edwards from Stanford being selected in the third round of the draft. The competition for running back should be quite interesting in camp with first round draft pick Marshawn Lynch trying to unseat Anthony Thomas.
Ultimately, this is a sub-.500 club this year. I am confident that Jauron will field an above average defense that will play over its potential. But, I think the offense will still continue to struggle. If the Bills can be patient and Jauron can keep building this team consistently, this team can be back to prominence.
The entire city of Miami should feel fleeced by Nick Saban. I really feel that coaching consistency is crucial to a successful program and through no choice of their own, the Dolphins are breaking in yet another new head coach. The Dolphins have been uninspiring on offense at best and downright dreadful at worst. This season brings more changes with Trent Green’s arrival. Trent Green is a decent quarterback, but is aging and didn’t come back too strong from last seasons concussion. The best that can be hoped is that he can groom John Beck to take over next year. Ronnie Brown is a decent running back, but doesn’t seem to get a lot of help on this team. They let Wes Welker go to a division rival and then seemed desperate in the draft and grabbed the injured Ted Ginn with the ninth overall pick.
The Miami defense has been very tough for several years. However, this defense is aging and they haven’t done much to replenish. They picked up Joey Porter from the Steelers, but this move is probably more damaging to the Steelers than helpful to the Dolphins. Beyond this pick-up, a few late round draft choices and some non-descript signings, the Dolphins are prepared to enter the season defensively about the same as last year. This defense will still be above par and keep the Dolphins in games, but it won’t be good enough to keep the Dolphins from inheriting the cellar of this division.
In summary, this division fields a solid super bowl favorite, a strong contender, a team that is rebuilding but improving and a team in disarray.
