AFC East now and in the future.

[nyjunc]

The way I see it every team in the AFC East has decent talent but not a dominant team. All 4 teams now have good defenses and offenses that are hit and miss.

The real difference makers are the QB's. Brady takes New England and turns it into the clear top team with arguably the worst receiving corps and best OL in the division.

Miami is the clear number 2 because Tannehill is significantly better than any of the other QB's. The major question marks along the entire OL (even Albert has injury questions) may frustrate The offense, but if we get even serviceable OL play we will make the playoffs.

The Bills OL is spotty but they have an exceptional stable of RB’s and lots of talent in their young receiving corps. But, Manuel is still very raw, and both he and the WR's are young. This slides them down on my list.

The Jets have a lot of talent at RB and Decker is a good receiver, but major questions at QB and the other WR's. Their TE is soft and raw. I'm a believer in Rex Ryan as a Defensive Coordinator ... but he has yet to recruit a good Offensive Coordinator and his offenses continue to underperform.

If I had to call it, I'd say:

1. New England
2. Miami
3. New York Jets
4. Buffalo

But, that's not a very surprising prediction.

to say Miami is the clear #2 b/c of tannehill is ridiculous especially when in his 2 biggest games he was outplayed by the supposed lesser QBs of the Jets and Bills.

I would rate Ryan #2 right now among the QBs after Brady but he is not a sure thing to vault Miami ahead. I think the bottom 3 you can put in a hat, I think we have the biggest edge in coaching.

I'm not sure any of the bottom 3 teams have their QBs of the future but I'd love to see all 3 of us hit w./ these guys so we can finally dethrone the Pats at some point.

 

[AphexPhin]

I can't wait for that dip**** Brady to retire. sick of him and the Pats always winning the AFC East.

 

[truedolfan57]

I would rather build a team that can beat the pats with brady. this way, when he does retire, it won't matter.

and possibly put him into retirement early.

 

[Oraclepz]

I agree Tannehill by far is better than Manuel and Geno right NOW.. Jets are building a great defense and like their last few drafts but Geno will be their down fall. He's the worst QB in the Division as of now. The reason the Bills Swept us and the jets won late last year was because our weakest Unit (OL) was going against their strongest Units (DL) thats why we had trouble closing out the season. Im pretty confident that our OL will not be anywhere near as bad as last year. So if i am correct and that is the case, not only do i think we are better than the Jets and Bills by far but we have a good shot of dethroning NE.

 

[nyjunc]

I would rather build a team that can beat the pats with brady. this way, when he does retire, it won't matter.

and possibly put him into retirement early.

we had one a few years ago, unfortunately it was expensive and getting older so we couldn't keep up. Hopefully the way Idzik has been building will give us long term success and we can beat the past in the next 2-3 years.

I agree Tannehill by far is better than Manuel and Geno right NOW.. Jets are building a great defense and like their last few drafts but Geno will be their down fall. He's the worst QB in the Division as of now. The reason the Bills Swept us and the jets won late last year was because our weakest Unit (OL) was going against their strongest Units (DL) thats why we had trouble closing out the season. Im pretty confident that our OL will not be anywhere near as bad as last year. So if i am correct and that is the case, not only do i think we are better than the Jets and Bills by far but we have a good shot of dethroning NE.

Your supposed weakest unit(which was pretty good the 2nd half of the year) DOMINTAED our strongest unit in the biggest game Miami has seen in 5 years. I am going to need a different excuse from you guys.

 

[normaniii]

The problem I have is that the Bills & Jets seem set up to defeat us. Both their D lines will give us problems while both their running games will do the same.

I dont think EJ Manuel is good enough, but the Jets do worry me. IMO if they get their running game going and Mike Vick can get a bit of form back they will be around 10-6

 

[Oraclepz]

Your supposed weakest unit(which was pretty good the 2nd half of the year) DOMINTAED our strongest unit in the biggest game Miami has seen in 5 years. I am going to need a different excuse from you guys.

Pretty good the second half of the year?? um no.. Tannehill got sacked a total of 11 times in the last 3 games.. yes a big part of losing to you guys was just Tanny having a horrible game. O line won't be that bad this year that I'm pretty sure of. My one concern this year is the LB experiment. If that performs at a good level and the OL is just avg. I believe we will make the playoffs.

 

[nyjunc]

Your supposed weakest unit(which was pretty good the 2nd half of the year) DOMINTAED our strongest unit in the biggest game Miami has seen in 5 years. I am going to need a different excuse from you guys.

Pretty good the second half of the year?? um no.. Tannehill got sacked a total of 11 times in the last 3 games.. yes a big part of losing to you guys was just Tanny having a horrible game. O line won't be that bad this year that I'm pretty sure of. My one concern this year is the LB experiment. If that performs at a good level and the OL is just avg. I believe we will make the playoffs.

most of those 11 sacks came in the Buf game. we didn't sack him once that week 17 game. Outside of that Buf game your Ol was good the 2nd half of the year.

You will make the playoffs IF Ryan Tannehill steps up and plays as well as his #s looked last year.

I would expect your OL to be better, you have the wespons in the pas game, you have the backs to have an adequate run game, you have a D that almost willed you to the playoffs last year so you need the QB to step up.

One other thing, putting talent aside Miami needs to put the collapse aside from a mental standpoint. can they do it? I have said many times this offseason Miami reminds me of the early 90s Jets. Very talented but couldn't quite put it together and folded whenever things went bad. Let's see if they can overcome.

 

[Vaark]

Beyond the reality that most every analytic methodology came up with comparable OL ratings, coupled with no effective blocking to like Fasano, and piss poor blocking from a schizoid running game not keeping the defenses honest, it's a wonder that Tannehill did as well as he did and was able to grow especially after losing Gibson his safety valve. He can only continue to improve with a non-dinosaur OC, an OL that can't be as awful, a blocking tight end in Lynch and at least one rb who can block in Moreno.

 

[roy_miami]

The Jets blow, Rex Ryan could look like a good coach with the right QB but he's on like his 6th or 7th QB? He won't survive this latest batch of QBs unless that kid they took in the 7th is a beast.

I like Manuel, he has a great demeanor and is cool under pressure. He was protected a lot and the Bills were very conservative so its hard to say how good he can be however. Marrone is a little suspect but their GM had a great year. The Bills are exactly where we were a year ago -- trending up but still with some big question marks.

The Dolphins will live or die by Tannehill at this point.

I predict the Patriots have one more great year in them then the decent from greatness will begin.

 

[Fin Thirteen]

The Bills have a had a couple of really nice drafts. I like their d-line, LBs and their RBs a lot. Those are close to elite units. Their OL is patchy but passable and is a big, slow power blocking line, which the AFCE d-lines match up well against IMO. The WR corps should be awesome in a couple of years, but Watkins is very raw route-wise and Williams (who I am a fan of) needs to prove he wasn't a flash in the pan. They have no TEs of note, the secondary is capable without being scary and Manuel has a lot to prove yet. I have a good feeling about that kid. I know his accuracy is terrible so far, but that's probably a product of the game still being too fast for him. We'll see.

The Jets swapped $anchez for a $anchez-clone, IMO. Geno has great touch with the football, like $anchez did, but he is (and I suspect always will be) streaky and flaky. If Vick plays and is competent, the Jets could do something. Great in the trenches, they had a nice draft. Safety looks really good now, though the CBs aren't stellar they do look like they could gel nicely, ESP if Patterson recovers to start. The LB corps is underrated.

Amaro should be a QBs friend and Decker helps. The RB situation looks intriguing in a good way. But the whole offensive side of the ball looks piecemeal, particularly when you factor in the QB situation. It's like there's no overarching plan there, which is possible given Rex continually sucks at offense. The offensive roster looks sort of randomly assembled. There's enough quality in there that it could just click and do some damage, but it equally could misfire and fall apart.

I think just about any prediction for the Jets is justifiable.

The Pats solidified their team in a big way, with the exception of WR, which I think is still flaky. Last season was the chance to take them down and we all screwed up in the AFCE. They look much stronger this year, I fear. Brady is older and does see ghosts in the pocket if you bring the heat, but he's still elite, end of.

We've upgraded all our weak spots in the offseason, except LB ( though Jenkins could be a secret weapon). But this team is an impressive collection of very good players, with only 5 great players out of 53 and only 2 elite players, one of whom is a punter. It's hard to see greatness in our future till we have more great players, a trick we find hard to master when acquiring talent.

 

[AL R]

We've upgraded all our weak spots in the offseason, except LB ( though Jenkins could be a secret weapon). But this team is an impressive collection of very good players, with only 5 great players out of 53 and only 2 elite players, one of whom is a punter. It's hard to see greatness in our future till we have more great players, a trick we find hard to master when acquiring talent.

Agreed, and If we want to keep up with the rest of the division it would sure help to get some good play (players) out of this draft and the next couple as opposed to what we have seen lately. You can't keep losing on draft board and try to fix it all through free agency. Of course QB play is vitality important as well.

 

[Bob512]

Honestly, I'm not sure what to expect from any of these teams. If either Miami, NYJ or Buffalo put up a nice 9-7 or 10-6 season, I wouldn't be surprised.

Miami - I think has improved this offseason. New offensive coaching should help a lot and how can the o-line be worse. I'm expecting our young CB's to step up and earn their money this year. D-line is solid, I like our receivers and running backs.

Jets - I also think improved this off season. Chris Johnson could have a huge positive impact on them, for a team that likes to run the ball and play good "D". Their O-line is not great but their D-line is. They may struggle a bit at CB, but I don't think opposing QB's will have much time with that front 3 or 4.

Buffalo - Defensive line is awesome. Running back is solid and a strong o-line. Questionable QB's and their new rookie receiver is going to have to play big right away. If they get good QB play....watch out for these guys.

Anyone can come out of this pile and have a good year.

 

[roy_miami]

FWIW betting lines to win the AFCE:
NE: 1.36
Mia: 5.5
NYJ: 9.0
Buff: 12.0

The Patriots are second only to the Broncos as favorites to win their division.

 

[spiketex]

I like how the Jets are being underestimated, slowly but surely we are building a real threat in the AFC. The huge question mark is at QB, if I knew Geno was the answer I'd be incredibly confident but that is TBD as are the QB situations around the division outside of NE.

The big difference for the Jets is Idzak as GM. They have gone from Tannenbaum, a GM who spent money like a drunken sailor eg Revis and Buttfumble, to Idzak, a GM tightwad who is extremely cautious about every player purchased and drafted. Effectively going from one extreme to the other. In 2013 Idzak inherited a salary cap mess and he did a good job of addressing some needs by being a value shopper. However, I strongly doubt that Geno Smith is the solution at QB and unless they get lucky they still don't have a QB. It will be interesting if Vick is given the opportunity. At best, he's just an interim solution to a major problem.
After many years of observing the Dolphins try to get by without a really decent QB. Tannehill is our best chance in 14 years - (Chad Pennington was like an Indian Summer that lasted too briefly to enjoy), my conclusion is that the Jets will continue to have average years until they get the right QB for the long term. The danger of drafting the likes of a Mark S'anchez or Chad Henne is that they will continue to give you some false hope for years and time will be wasted. The Jets need to know very quickly if Geno Smith is a potential savior or a total failure. He was blessed to have college teammates like Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey at West Virginia that helped to make him look decent. Austin was electric in college but may be just too small to make it in the NFL against really good Defenses. Geno has an enormous ego but seems as dumb as a rock. There aren't too many really dumb QBs who ultimately make it in the NFL. The Jets will be just mediocre until they get a QB who they can build on. In Geno and Vick they have the pieces for Dumb and Dumber 2.