I've Been Waiting Forever For 2002 To Recur - Is This Finally The Year?

[nyashfan]

The Patriots were the defending Superbowl champions. Brady was not yet Brady. The Jets, Patriots and Dolphins all finished 9-7 with the Bills finishing 8-8. The Jets won the division tiebreaker while the Patriots and Dolphins missed the playoffs.

Fast forward to 2016. Brady is 39 years old and suspended for 4 games. Is this the year that a 9-7 or 10-6 record is sufficient to win the AFC East? Is this a year in which a mediocre, improving team can emerge and win the division, similarly to how the Redskins took advantage of Romo's absence and came from nowhere to win a mediocre NFC East with a 9-7 record last year?

While I am not predicting that the Dolphins will be the team to necessarily emerge and win the AFC East this year, I do have a feeling that not much separates the talent of all 4 teams, and that this will finally be the year in which a modest winning record will be sufficient to win the AFC East.

I'd be curious to hear other people's opinions.

 

[oasis]

As long as Belichick and Brady are together, that team will continue to rule the AFCE easily, despite Brady's age. They could do it for another 5 years.

Something has to take either one out for most of the season (and no, I don't wish ill upon anyone).

 

[nyjunc]

sign me up for a div title like 2002:D

 

[Sons Of Shula]

Nope. NE will win 11-12 games easily. Belichick just might be the best HC ever.

 

[maralieus]

Wasn't that the worst year to be a dolphins fan ever? Like worse than 1-15?? Yeah I'll pass on the late season collapse and season finale debacle against our arch nemesis, then watching our mist hated other rival win and knock us out of the playoffs. We got knocked out by the pats, then the jets officially....after we were number 1 seed with 2 weeks left. And that week 17 4th quarter! God no. Never ever again.

---------- Post added at 08:31 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:29 AM ----------

Nope. NE will win 11-12 games easily. Belichick just might be the best HC ever.

Go away with that crap. There's many better coaches in history. Dont be a defeatist to the pats.

 

[nyashfan]

As long as Belichick and Brady are together, that team will continue to rule the AFCE easily, despite Brady's age. They could do it for another 5 years.

Something has to take either one out for most of the season (and no, I don't wish ill upon anyone).

Keep in mind that the Patriots will have to play with regulation footballs this year...

I sense vulnerability with the Patriots this year. Trading a premium pass rusher in Chandler Jones for Jonathan Cooper reeks of desperation to shore up their OL. I see a drop off in talent with the Patriots this year. Outside of Brady, Edelman and Gronk, just how much premium talent do they really have?

I just can't see the Patriots winning 11+ games this year, especially if their OL is weakened.

 

[hoops]

I think the patriots are gonna miss not having their right tackle all year

 

[TheJetsBlow]

I hope not... 2002 is my most painful disappointment as a Dolphins fan. The end to that season made me want to swallow a cianide pill. Wannstedt and Norv Turner can both get ****ed.


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[Eesti]

I don't think the Jets will be as good as last year. I think the Bills will be worse. I keep waiting for the Pats to fall and it never happens.

The Jets are going to miss their stud NT big time and will drop in rankings just a bit. They are also painfully thin on the o-line. If Clady gets hurt again they will be in trouble.

The Bills have had a terrible off-season (unless you ask Rex) with injuries, suspensions, etc. They don't have an edge rusher outside of Hughes and I'm not sure he is as good when he is "the guy". They will also be without their stud NT, Dareus for 4 games.

I could see a 3 way tie for first with 9-7 records with the Bills being in the cellar with 7 wins.

My division winners....

AFC East: no clue
AFC South: Jax
AFC West: KC
AFC North: Cincy

NFC East: Was
NFC South: Bucs
NFC West: AZ
NFC North: GB

 

[oasis]

Keep in mind that the Patriots will have to play with regulation footballs this year...

I sense vulnerability with the Patriots this year. Trading a premium pass rusher in Chandler Jones for Jonathan Cooper reeks of desperation to shore up their OL. I see a drop off in talent with the Patriots this year. Outside of Brady, Edelman and Drink, just how much premium talent do they really have?

I just can't see the Patriots winning 11+ games this year, especially if their OL is weakened.

Yes, but they will find new ways to beat the rules. They always do. And the league takes a soft enough stance with them that they get away with a lot of it. But cheating or not, you simply cannot compete with a HC/QB relationship that spans that length of time with two pretty clever people.

And regarding the loss of their OT, the Pats have always been very able to plug in nobodies and get good to great performance out of them. It won't impact them on the scoreboard. What it may do is increase the chance ever so slightly of Tommy getting injured.

 

[Sons Of Shula]

Every year there is someone somewhere hoping and thinking that the Patriots will tumble. Until Belichick leaves that will never happen as they have won at least 10 games for 13 straight years and have won at least 12 games for the past 6 straight (doubters should read those last facts a few times and let it sink in).

You can go back more than a decade and fabricate an argument that the Patriots lost this guy and that guy and they wont be the same, and although Chandler Jones may have departed, NE has brought in a slew of hybrid players to assemble possibly the best defense in Belichick's tenure. That's some scary ****.

 

[Phishpunk@WCU]

NFC South: Bucs

 

[nyjunc]

Every year there is someone somewhere hoping and thinking that the Patriots will tumble. Until Belichick leaves that will never happen as they have won at least 10 games for 13 straight years and have won at least 12 games for the past 6 straight.

You can go back a decade and fabricate an argument that the Patriots lost this guy and that guy and they wont be the same, and although Chandler Jones may have departed, NE has brought in a slew of hybrid players to assemble possibly the best defense in Belichick's tenure. That's some scary ****.

until Brady retires they will dominate the division. I assume BB is smart enough to retire at the same time.

 

[nyashfan]

Wasn't that the worst year to be a dolphins fan ever? Like worse than 1-15?? Yeah I'll pass on the late season collapse and season finale debacle against our arch nemesis, then watching our mist hated other rival win and knock us out of the playoffs. We got knocked out by the pats, then the jets officially....after we were number 1 seed with 2 weeks left. And that week 17 4th quarter! God no. Never ever again.

---------- Post added at 08:31 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:29 AM ----------



Go away with that crap. There's many better coaches in history. Dont be a defeatist to the pats.

2002 was brutal!

That was the year in which the Dolphins were up 10 points with 4 minutes to go playing at the Patriots in Week 17. Then Wannstedt choked and played not to lose. Aided by a phantom PI penalty (Jamar Fletcher, I believe), the Patriots tied the game with a late TD and won in overtime.

The Jets played the 12-3 Packers in the late game and absolutely demolished them (41-0 comes to mind), thus eliminating both the Patriots and Dolphins from the playoffs.

Absolutely devastating, all courtesy of Wannstedt's atrocious coaching and the refs.


Edit -The Jets beat the Packers 42-17 to win the division and then crushed Peyton Manning's Colts 41-0 in the Wildcard playoff game.

 

[hoops]

I'm with him on tampa

that offense is as vertical as it gets and the oline play looks quality...Winston throws the ball down the darn field...if nothing else they will be an exciting watch...I just wonder do they have enough on d