AFC East wide open? | Page 3 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

AFC East wide open?

The Dolphins have been trying to hit on a QB since Marino retired. So there is no way anyone can assume they will hit on a QB in this draft. Especially with the best QB likely to be drafted by the Bengals and Tua a huge question mark as to whether he will even enter the draft and if he does, will he ever be the same player he was before his hip injury.

The rest of the QB’s in the draft are all nothing but huge question marks and it likely none of them will be any better than Allen or Darnold.
Chad Henne and Jay Fiedler are not trying to hit on a Qb. This off season will be different.
 
Am I the only one who thinks if the Pats didn’t have to cut Antonio Brown after the sexual assault allegations, that this Pats season would have turned out differently?

The biggest issue I saw was the huge hole at outside receiver.

As usual, it’s premature to be declaring the end of the Pats dominance.
 
Chad Henne and Jay Fiedler are not trying to hit on a Qb. This off season will be different.
That’s hindsight. Chad Henne was most definitely trying to hit on a QB. Of course it didn’t work out so people now disregard the attempt. Yes, it was foolish especially given the fact that the Dolphins had the top pick and the right QB was sitting right there. But Parcells had to Parcells and get the lineman while relegating the QB pick till a later round. A huge mistake but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t an attempt.

And the poster’s comment still stands. It’s easy to say if we get a franchise QB we’ll be in the driver’s seat. Meanwhile, it’s incredibly hard to find that franchise QB.
 
Am I the only one who thinks if the Pats didn’t have to cut Antonio Brown after the sexual assault allegations, that this Pats season would have turned out differently?

The biggest issue I saw was the huge hole at outside receiver.

As usual, it’s premature to be declaring the end of the Pats dominance.

Nope
 
The Dolphins have been trying to hit on a QB since Marino retired. So there is no way anyone can assume they will hit on a QB in this draft. Especially with the best QB likely to be drafted by the Bengals and Tua a huge question mark as to whether he will even enter the draft and if he does, will he ever be the same player he was before his hip injury.

The rest of the QB’s in the draft are all nothing but huge question marks and it likely none of them will be any better than Allen or Darnold.

Of course it's easier said then done..

Josh Allen and Sam Darnold are bottom feeder quarterbacks. Getting better then them shouldn't be difficult. And hopefully Miami is more like Arizona if they don't and move on from the mistake.
 
Could be depends who we sign. Everyone’s talking about Buffalo and sure they are talented but after watching yesterday might have the worst coaching staff in the league, the play calling was bone headed and dumb.
 
The cracks are appearing but the dam hasn't burst yet with the Pats.
We don't know what moves they will make over the off season especially regards FA. God forbid if they get lucky and draft a QB like Love/Fromm late in the first and they take over successfully from TB.
The key to the Fins is hitting big with the draft picks and some FA, but also grooming a QB that will produce better results than Fitz this season, who had a better than expected season. The last point will still take some time. I live in hope that we will go back to dominating the AFC East in the near future.
 
With the Pats loss, is the division open for us to sneak in there next year, if we have a good offseason? If Brady doesn't return (he is a free agent) what do the Pats do at QB? The Jets are the Jets. Will the Bills continue their success or take a step back? If we get injured players back, draft well and pick up good free agents, do we have a small chance?

I think the division is a fairly even playing field with the changing of the guard we are watching with the Patriots. Don't let your emotions get in the way.

The Patriots are still a good team, just not as dominating as they have been in the past. there is a question as to whom will be their QB next year.The Bills are pretty good. They may have found their QB. Both of those teams made the playoffs this year.

The Jets stumbled in the beginning of the year but finished strong. They will be in better shape next year with their new GM calling the shots in this upcoming draft. Their QB is good. He should be fully recovered from his case of mono. Don't laugh, I watched Julius Peppers lose more then 1/2 a year and then get traded to Chicago where he went 1/2 of the next season before he regained his normal level of high performance. That means mono took him out for a year, either completely as in the season he got it and partially as in the next year when it took 1/2 a year for him to get back into form.

The Dolphins will be at least as competitive as the Jets, and considering the size of our next two drafts and our cap space and the current performance of our new coaching staff, we should become a truly dominant team in this division. We currently have a more then adequate QB, but his age means we should start developing a new one. That may be Rosen or it may be someone yet to be drafted.

I won't be making any bets on who wins our division next year.

With all the major changes we have seen this season and can expect to see next season with the Patriots, the Bills, the Jets and the Dolphins; I see this coming season as a real struggle for supremacy in our division with no way of knowing who will be on top until the season is over.
 
yes it is true they were 12-4 but context matters. They won 9 against teams 500 or below. 4 of them picking top 5. They lost 3/4 to the top seeds in the afc. Their soft schedule had more to do with their success than people realize. Just not where they once were


When people use those same metrics in concerns to 2008 and 2016, its unacceptable.
 
The Pats are still the Pats. They are Division Champs at 12-4 with a 5-1 divisional record. I think they lost a Wild Card game (they had to play only 4 wild card games in total over the last 20 years) once before and came right back to take the division with some ridiculous record of 15-1 or 14-2.
It is still their division until major changes internally or externally happen. While we have no influence over the internal stuff we have to focus on the external.
(Pats will have some 40 Mill in cap space with 46 players under contract)

The Bills had a decent season but they are where we were in 2016 and 2008 (11-5), the Jets were in 2015 (10-6 without playoffs), 2006 and the Bills themselves in 2017 (9-7 with playoffs).
They are in danger to look ahead and think "we got this" just to fall off the cliff like all the teams I just mentioned. For them it will be harder to improve. Remember our mediocre records - or better our records between 6-10 and 10-6 - in the last 20 years were not our downfall. It was our inability to improve upon those records. On your climb to the top you will end up between 6-10 and 10-6 eventually and only if you have an FO who is capable of adding talent to improve on that you will rise to the top. That's where the Jets, Bills and Dolphins have always failed. And those failures were also followed by restarts with the same cast and new FO and coaches trying to improve with players they had never chosen and then just adding crap to mediocre rosters. The Bills have the challenge to improve a decent roster to take the next step. While they have 90 Mill of salary cap space available they also have only 42 players locked up for next year.

The Jets will be the Jets under Gase. As long as that "QB whisperer" is pulling the strings they will be in 7-9 (or worse) purgatory la-la land. I actually expected them to go 10-6 this year (much like Gase did with us) taking advantage of the roster he inherited before adding his own players and taking a tumble. He exceeded my expectations and the Jets will be aching for a 7-9 record next year.

The Pats won the division as expected. The Bills had a good season as expected. The Jets underperformed already (as hoped). The Dolphins overperformed. The good thing with the Jets though is that they have 51 players for next year under contract and an estimated 60 Mill in cap space available.

The Dolphins this year was the first team I can recall in modern football who did a complete reset since the 2000 Patriots which ironically ended in a 5-11 record as well. That team had a veteran QB (Bledsoe) and a bunch of young'ens and an unknown QB who saw action in 1 or 2 games that year. Sounds familiar?
The Dolphins in 2019 though went a step further: we literally got rid of any and all underperforming vets, distractions to the team culture (which was completely changed) and focused completely on the 2/3 of any NFL roster which are being used in fill-in roles, support roles and situational roles - the players who are usually playing in the shadow of the big guys - and we freed our cap space and added more draft picks at the same time. That was a rebuild which could not have been gone any better. The biggest asset we have found this year was coaching which is the foundation of any success.

The Dolphins will be much better next year. Not playoff bound just yet, maybe gently knocking on that door but much better. Depending on the off season acquisitions I could see a 4-game improvement before we take the final step in 2021. What is our cap space: We have 63 (!!!!!) players under contract for next year and an estimated 90 Mill in cap space.

How close the division race will be depends on the rest of the AFC East teams to take divisional games from the Patriots. A 4-2 division record is a bad year for them.

The one thing which was completely out of place for the Patriots this year and may spell doomsday:
In the past the prediction of the Cheaters Empire's fall was made usually early in the season when the Patriots did not look as solid as in other years. But they always seemed to turn it up a notch and with every team battling injuries as the season went on they pulled players out of their ass pockets which seemingly fit right into their scheme and they never lost a step. They got better and better. This year it was different. They went 8-0 in the first half of the season and then only 4-4 in the second half. That is highly unusual.
 
i love that the titans exploited the same loophole to run off clock that belichek did earlier this year, he was probably so pissed off

When the camera was on him during that he kept mouthing it was ****ing bullshit. He was definitely pissed.
 
When people use those same metrics in concerns to 2008 and 2016, its unacceptable.
It shouldn't be. Look at the Jags 2 years ago and where they ended up. Those metrics have been a decent prediction about how players and teams as a whole perform one year to the next.

Football Outsiders had us as a one win team and buffalo at about 7. Meanwhile New England was setting records in terms of defensive production. So the metric isn't concrete but it can be an indicator that success from one year does not translate.

For example the bears defense setting record numbers but Trubisky only being around 17 in DVOA. The bears performance dipped from the high level and so did his play leading to -4 in the win column.
 
With the Pats loss, is the division open for us to sneak in there next year, if we have a good offseason? If Brady doesn't return (he is a free agent) what do the Pats do at QB? The Jets are the Jets. Will the Bills continue their success or take a step back? If we get injured players back, draft well and pick up good free agents, do we have a small chance?
I'm not ready to write off New England as long as their coach is there. I do believe if our FO as an exceptional to average off-season we have a shot at a wildcard. Schedule is tough so we will see, but I expect progression.

They have a 43 year old QB (if he comes back), a 33 year old slot receiver, no tight ends, no 2nd round draft pick (will possibly lose other pick(s) to Spygate part II). They have approx 50M in cap space, which approx 20M will be spent if they bring back Brady. So, 30M in cap space with Thuney & Van Noy lined up for huge raises. Not enough picks or cap space to fill all of the holes.

They're going to lose long time OC Josh McDaniels & he's more than likely going to follow Flores in taking multiple coaches with him. This is clearly a team in decline. Cheating scandals aside, Belichick is a great coach, but to quote Tuna, he simply no longer has the groceries.
Still, I would not underestimate the Patriots ability to have an excellent off-season and replenish what they need. With the exception of tight end this draft is rich in what they need
 
Last edited:
They have a 43 year old QB (if he comes back), a 33 year old slot receiver, no tight ends, no 2nd round draft pick (will possibly lose other pick(s) to Spygate part II). They have approx 50M in cap space, which approx 20M will be spent if they bring back Brady. So, 30M in cap space with Thuney & Van Noy lined up for huge raises. Not enough picks or cap space to fill all of the holes.

They're going to lose long time OC Josh McDaniels & he's more than likely going to follow Flores in taking multiple coaches with him. This is clearly a team in decline. Cheating scandals aside, Belichick is a great coach, but to quote Tuna, he simply no longer has the groceries.
Still, I would not underestimate the picture its ability to have an excellent off-season and replenish what they need.
 
Back
Top Bottom