My opinions
Quarterbacks
1.) New England
2.) Jets
3.) Miami
4.) Buffalo
Can Chad Pennington stay healthy and return to form? Buffalo is starting a rookie at QB, which warrants the last spot in my opinion, Miami isn't too far ahead either.
Runningbacks
1.) Jets
2.) New England
3.) Buffalo
4.) Miami
You can't argue with a leading rusher. #2 and #3 don't have much of a gap between them, as Corey Dillon has been stellar. McGahee played outstanding this year but I want to see him start a season before I move him and the Bills up the list. The Dolphins are dealing with a rookie tailback that split time at Auburn and possibly Ricky Williams, who probably isn't anywhere near to game shape at this point.
Wide Recievers
1.) Miami
2.) Buffalo
3.) New England
4.) Jets
Chambers, Marty Booker, and the possibility of a much improved Derrius Thompson and contributions from David Boston. This lineup is pretty good. Buffalo sits in 2nd because of Lee Evans and Eric Moulds, but Moulds is on his way down. New England can put anyone at the WR position and have them succeed, but a product of the system as always. The Jets have McCareins, Laverneus Coles, and Wayne Chrebet. The gap amongst these four teams is small.
Tight Ends
1.) New England
2.) Miami
3.) Jets
4.) buffalo
Who can argue with the effectiveness of the duo of Daniel Graham and Christian Fauria. Throw in a healthy Ben Watson and you have the deep TE spot. Randy McMichael is probably the most talented TE in the AFC East, but until he can catch passes consistently, he doesn't deserve to have his team at #1. The Jets have added Doug Jolley, who can make a few good plays per game at the TE spot which puts them at #3.
OL
1.) Patriots
2.) Jets
3.) Buffalo
4.) Miami
Patriots are not too shabby when they pick what they felt would be the best lineman for their system in Logan Mankins. They still have Ashworth, Light, and Neal coming back. They didn't seem to miss a step after they let go of Damien Woody last year. Kevin Mawae always seems to field a great O-line for the Jets year in and year out.
DL
1.) New England
2.) Miami
3.) NYJ
4.) Buffalo
Even though the Patriots let go to Keith Traylor, they have a young Vince Wilfork who will probably be a stellar DT for years to come. Miami takes in Traylor, who will be great on 1st and 2nd downs. He will join the likes of Jason Taylor. David Bowens played well last year in the opposite DE spot and he will be trying to keep his spot from Matt Roth, who has a ton of upside. The dolphins arent too far ahead of Abraham and the Jets, and Sam Adams and the bills.
LB's
1.) New England
2.) Miami
3.) Buffalo
4.) Jets
This one is a no brainer. No one can seem to stop the LBs of the Patriots. Even without Bruschi I don't expect the pats to miss a beat on this. The Dolphins and Bills both have great LBing corps, with Seau and Thomas leading the way for Miami and Takeo Spikes and London Fletcher for the Bills. It's almost a toss-up there. Look for Jonathan Vilma to make even more noise on the JEts this year as he improves that LBing corp coming off his rookie year.
DB's
1.) Buffalo
2.) Pats
3.) Miami
4.) Jets
Clements, Milloy, and McGee lead the way for the Bills, and the Patriots now will probably start former Golden Knight Asante Samuel at a CBthis year. Rodney Harrison will anchor the secondary. The Dolphins have Sam Madison and after that, there's not much else. They are really hurting at the safety position.
ST
1.) New England
2.) Miami
3.) Buffalo
4.) Jets
New England has Adam Vinatieri, who is the best kicker in the league (I'm including clutch situations). They bolstered their special teams with the addition of Chad Morton. Miami has a good kicker and a great punter, and Wes Welker got better after every game. The Jets got Mike Nugent, who is an outstanding kicker out of Ohio State. (as a side note, Xavier Beittia is also on the team right now out of FSU...that's pretty funny). IT's almost a toss-up between buffalo and the jets
Coaching
1.) New England
2.) Jets
3.) Buffalo
4.) Miami
Let's face it, Miami has a rookie former college coach. I don't care what his accolades are, college coaches have struggled in recent times. Look for coaching to play a key in New England not having as good of a year as they did last year with the loss of Weis and Crennel, but Belichick still puts them ahead of anyone else in the league. Mike Mularkey coached Buffalo to a 9-7 year and the team caught on fire late, let's see how he does with JP Losman at the helm.
The final avg #'s
1.) New England
2.) Buffalo
3.) New York Jets
4.) Miami
(not much difference between the Jets and the Dolphins, the worst team in the division will probably be no worse then 6-10 or 7-9.)
Sorry I HAD to go there.
