The Beast of the AFC East

The New England Patriots are kings of the NFL world right now.  All of the remaining teams are mere peasants fighting for any scrap of land to claim as their own.  This is the glory that comes with two Super Bowl trophies in three years and a current sixteen game winning streak.  Who can topple the mighty Pats?  I don’t believe anyone in the AFC East is capable, so once again I see New England winning their division.  That may be only the first of their many conquests in 2004.  Take a look below to see how I think the AFC East will take shape in the new NFL year.New England Patriots – The defending NFL Champions keep both offensive and defensive coordinators, Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel, in the fold.  They also pick up a Pro Bowl running back in Corey Dillon and get back from injury a nice pass rushing linebacker in Rosevelt Colvin.  How can anyone not pick them to at least win their division?  

Yes to the dismay of the entire NFL, the Patriots look even better than they did last year when they went 14-2 and walked away with another Super Bowl.  Of course that is just on paper and as ESPN’s Chris Berman likes to point out after any big upset, “That is why they play the games.”

I just think the Patriots may have the best chance to repeat as Super Bowl champs since the Denver Elways pulled off the trick back in 1998.  First of all, most of the players have been in this situation before.  They didn’t exactly succeed after their first title in 2001, failing to make the playoffs in 2002 with a 9-7 record, but the experience is there.  Besides Tom Brady was dating Tara Reid in 2002 and now has moved on to Bridget Moynahan.  There has to be some kind of karmic benefit from that nice upgrade, am I right?

This Patriot team simply does not have any major weaknesses that can be exploited.  The passing game is in the superb hands of Brady and his gifted receivers; Troy Brown, Deion Branch, and David Givens.  The running game gets an upgrade with Dillon, as long as his Bengal stripes don’t resurface with his propensity to gripe about his role.  The offensive line is back and they just happen to have the Mr.Clutch, my apologies to Jerry West, of kickers in Adam Vinatieri.  

Then you have one of the leagues top defensive units that is schemed by the best defensive mind in the biz, head Coach Bill Belichick.  As long as Belichick is prowling the sideline in his stylish hooded sweatshirt, the Pats will play smart defense.  If veteran Keith Traylor and rookie Vince Wilfork can somewhat replace the mammoth Ted Washington at nose tackle, this unit will be as strong as last year.  

The Pats should win the division and will be the early season Super Bowl favorite.  No team can lean on their accomplishments from last year, which is a proven NFL fact, but I expect this veteran New England team to be fighting for a title in January.  If Brady starts dating Halle Berry at any point during the year I’m throwing all my money on the Pats in Vegas.

New York Jets – I expect the Jets to be fighting for an AFC Wild Card birth since I can’t see them leaping over New England.  With a healthy Chad Pennington this year, the Jets should give New York fans plenty to brag about.  Well the New Yorkers would boast about their beloved Jets anyway, but at least it may be well founded this time.  

The offense should be solid with Pennington dropping back behind a stout offensive line or handing the rock to either Curtis Martin or LaMont Jordan.  People say Martin is losing a step, but he still cranked out over 1,300 yards at four yards a carry.  With those solid numbers and his experience, I’ll go to war with Curtis any Sunday.  

The receiving core gets an upgrade with Justin McCareins coming over from Tennessee to team with speedster Santana Moss.  That leaves the little “mascot” Wayne Chrebet to work between the hash marks where he excels.  Mix in tight ends Anthony Becht and Mikhael Ricks and Pennington has plenty of options at his disposal.

Defense is where it’s at in the AFC East and New York’s defensive line might be the best in the division.  Putting the fear in opposing quarterbacks are ends Shaun Ellis and John Abraham.  Ellis stepped up with 12.5 QB kills last year and Abraham has been a sack machine since he entered the league in 2000.  Second year man Dewayne Robertson has the potential to turn this line into a dominant one.

Head Coach Herman Edwards loves defensive speed and he seems to finally have a team that fits that mold.  If they live up to expectations, expect a Wild Card birth for the Jets.  If anything they should be the best team playing in the Meadowlands this year.  Don’t worry Eli; the G-men are still better than the Chargers.

Buffalo Bills – The Bills have some weapons and a very good defense.  They also have a sieve like offensive line with an immobile statue for a quarterback.  This is not a good combination.  I don’t want to bag on Drew Bledsoe too much since he has been a quality signal caller in this league, but he seemed to have lost that precious something last year.  Drew started every game of the 2003 season and managed a scant eleven touchdown passes and didn’t even crack the three thousand yard mark.  It didn’t help that he was also sacked fifty-one times.  At least he probably doesn’t recall much of last years woes with all those smack downs.

This is the major problem I see with the Bills being major players in the playoff race.  Points aren’t easy to produce when your QB is on his back most of the time.  Both the Bills offensive pass protection must improve along with a much quicker release of the football by Bledsoe.  New head coach Mike Mularky could solve the problem with his new offense, but that will also take time.  Look for the Bills to lean on the running game of Travis Henry and second year man Willis McGahee to move the football.

The Bills had the second ranked defense last year and I expect that to continue.  Players such as Sam Adams, Pat Williams, Takeo Spikes and Nate Clements will keep the Bills in most football games, but I don’t think it will be enough.  Look for the Bills to improve a bit on last years 6-10 record, but I believe they will still fall short of the playoffs.

Miami Dolphins – Could their off-season get any worse?  Ricky “I love the Sticky” Williams decides to quit the team to seek the truth.  Dolphin legend Dan Marino quits his GM gig after a few minutes and new acquisition David Boston blows out his knee and is lost for the season.  Did I mention the Fish traded a second round pick for QB A.J. Feeley who is having major problems unseating the mighty Jay Fiedler?  The bad news for the fans in South Beach is the season might be worse.

The Dolphins offense has never been a dominant crew, but one that tried to eat the clock with a workhorse running back and hit the defense with play action passes.  With the workhorse now horsing around with Lenny Kravitz, where does the offense go?  I just can’t see the passing game picking up the slack with the loss of Williams.  The offense will struggle, and that’s being nice, and the team will have to rely on defense.

The Miami defense has always been the strength of the team, but cracks have been showing the past few seasons.  Late in games, and in the season, the defense always seems to buckle under the pressure.  The pressure will only be greater with the offense in shambles.  If Miami can make it to 6-10 this season it will be an accomplishment.