Ranking each AFC East team by position: Offense | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Ranking each AFC East team by position: Offense

SCLSU Mud Dogs

SCLSU Mud Dogs

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Little background here: I've been a sports journalist for the last few years and have recently begun a transition out of the journalism world, but I'm still doing some writing for websites. I wrote this piece without realizing somebody else was doing a similar set of articles, so I wanted to post it here to promote conversation and give us something to talk about. (Also, I used to be known as JC)

Aside from the New England Patriots, every team in the AFC East improved offensively. The biggest moves were Brandon Marshall being traded from the Chicago Bears to the New York Jets, LeSean McCoy being traded from the Philadelphia Eagles to the Buffalo Bills and Devante Parker being selected in the first round by the Miami Dolphins.
The biggest question for the Bills and Jets remain at quarterback, while Miami is left wondering if the offensive line can provide enough protection for quarterback Ryan Tannehill and his new weapons.
With Tom Brady's four-game suspension (could be reduced by an appeal), the rest of the AFC East will have a chance to make up some ground on the Patriots early in the season.
Quarterback​
  1. Patriots
  2. Dolphins
  3. Bills
  4. Jets
Until Tom Brady retires, this is an easy and obvious choice. The NFL is also holding its breath wondering if Jimmy Garoppolo will take the same path Brady did – proving himself in limited playing time and unseating the heralded veteran.
Ryan Tannehill for the Dolphins just signed a large contract extension, showing that the 'Fins value their fourth-year signal caller. Tannehill had his best season in 2014 with 27 touchdowns and just 12 interceptions. But can Tannehill help Miami reach a long-awaited spot in the playoffs this coming year?
The Jets and Bills improved immensely during the offseason, but the question still remains: Will the quarterback hold the teams back from prominence?
Both have weapons for whoever is behind center, but there is a lot riding on players (Geno Smith, Kyle Orton, Matt Cassel) that haven't proven themselves.
Running Back​
  1. Bills
  2. Dolphins
  3. Jets
  4. Patriots
LeSean McCoy fell out of favor with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2014, but his arrival to Buffalo makes an already loaded Bills offense even more scary. The Bills replaced an often-injured CJ Spiller with McCoy and improved immensely at the position, while still hanging onto “old reliable” in Fred Jackson.
Lamar Miller has been very efficient behind a Dolphins offensive line that has struggled to say the least. Miami also landed Boise State standout Jay Ajayi in the fifth round, which should provide a nice change-of-pace option from Miller, who will still remain the team's featured back.
The Jets lost Chris Johnson during the offseason, but added Zac Stacy and Stevan Ridley with the efficient Chris Ivory. With their limitations at quarterback, the Jets will be relying on this trio to move the ball downfield and keep pressure off of the young quarterbacks.
The Patriots' only known commodity at running back is LeGarrette Blount, who is talented but also unpredictable. Cut from Pittsburgh late in the 2014 season, Blount signed with the Patriots in November and will now be relied on as the featured back, with Jonas Grey likely getting some work as well.
Receivers and Tight Ends​
  1. Bills
  2. Patriots
  3. Dolphins
  4. Jets
The Bills have the scariest offense in the division. Newly signed tight end Charles Clay will give the Bills a dynamic to their offense that has been absent for a while. Receivers Sammy Watkins, Robert Woods and Percy Harvin round out a dynamic and dangerous group of players.
Rob Gronkowski makes the Patriots the second-best team in the AFC East in terms of receiver and tight ends. He can't be covered – it's as simple as that. Julian Edelman is one of the most reliable chain-movers in the NFL, and the addition of Brandon Gibson should give the Patriots an extra weapon when needed. Brandon LaFell and Danny Amendola are also solid options in an always-prominent offense for New England.
Miami did a lot during the offseason to improve its skill positions, adding Jordan Cameron, Kenny Stills, Greg Jennings and Devante Parker. The only reason this group isn't ahead of New England is because it is still relatively unproven. The ceiling of this group is way higher than the Patriots group, though.
The Jets also added some solid players to its offense, acquiring Brandon Marshall in a trade from Chicago and drafting Devin Smith out of Ohio State. Smith was one of the most prolific deep threats in college football last year. The trio of Marshall, Smith and Eric Decker should give the Jets one of its best receiving groups in recent memory. Tight end Jace Amaro is also a player that should improve in his second year.
Offensive line​
Patriots 1
Dolphins 2
Jets 3
Bills 4
You could combine the best players on the offensive line for each AFC East team and the group still wouldn't be as good as the Dallas Cowboys' offensive line.
The Patriots have consistency at tackle with Nate Solder and Sebastian Vollmer, but the interior of the offensive line struggled last season. The worst-rated Patriots' lineman, Dan Connolly, is currently a free agent without a team. Center Bryan Stork and guard Ryan Wendell remain decent options on the interior.
If Branden Albert is healthy, Miami's offensive line is good enough to get by. When Albert was lost for the season in 2014, Miami's offensive line fell apart. The Dolphins just extended Mike Pouncey, who will need a nice bounce-back season to prove he's worth the big bucks. Ja'Wuan James will also need to play better to be worth his first-round selection in 2014. Both left and right guard remain a big question for the Dolphins. Second-year guard Billy Turner, who barely saw playing time last year, opened OTAs as the starting right guard, while often-struggling Dallas Thomas and rookie Jamil Douglas will battle it out for the other guard spot.
Outside of center Nick Mangold, the Jets' offensive line struggled with consistency. D'Brickashaw Ferguson had a pedestrian season at left tackle, as did Willie Colon at right guard. The addition of James Carpenter will leave the last guard spot up for grabs between Brian Winters, Oday Aboushi and Colon.
Apart from Cordy Glenn, the Bills' offensive line was a wreck. Newly drafted guard John Miller and free agent Richie Incognito should get an opportunity to compete for starting spots. Center Eric Wood has been decent for the Bills. Right tackle Seantrel Henderson will also need to immensely improve to keep his spot on the first team.
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Good piece. I've been wondering who you were before lol thanks for finally making it clear.... JC ;)

Don't have much of an issue with the rankings but our receivers/tight ends have a hell of a lot of potential. If it were t for Gronk we'd be above the pats imo and man I hope things go south in buffalo... Harvin needs to never be a playmaker again (atleast in buf), Clay
could easily decline not having a good qb. Sammy will be a headache for us for awhile no doubt... McCoy possibly be on the decline. A lot of potential there but also a lot of if's.. The Jets also could be scary with a good qb... Marshall needs to go into cancer mode as quick as possible.

Oline wise- are we really better than those 2 teams? I dunno
 
I genuinely believe our receiving weapons are being underestimated and undervalued.

Greg Jennings is nOT getting enough respect . Hes a 2-time Pro-Bowler, superbowl winning receiver. His stats for last season, with a rookie Qb (who I rate very highly) were excellent. Hes up there on career TDs per games played. People are sleeping on him.

Jarvis Landry was probably the best rookie slot receiver in the past 3 or 4 years, maybe more. He wont post huge yardage numbers because of his position and skilkset, but the kid is money.

Jordan Cameron is a Pro-Bowl receiving tight end and a redzone monster. Hes in the top 5 TEs in the league imo and not far behind Gronk.

With those three alone, we have a better receiving corps than anyone in the AFCE. That is demonstrably better a lineup than Woods, Watkins and Clay. It just is.

Then you add a proven deep receiver with great hands in Stills and rookie Parker. Contrast that to 7-11 and Harvin and I really feel there's no comparison.

Buffalos RB stable is well ahead of ours now. Well ahead. But I really dont buy that our receiver corps is outmatched by anyone and certainly is proven enough outside of Parker.
 
I wouldn't trade our receivers/TE straight up with the Pats.
The phins are better and it's not even close.
 
If Cameron stays healthy, even with Gronk, I don't see NE's receiving corp as being as good as ours.

OTOH, while in terms of "potential" our unproven and injury prone OL might well turn out to be the second best in the division, but going in, I question whether in the here and now, we presently should be considered as such.

The QB ranking is a no-brainer though.. with Tannehill being closer to Brady than to any of the NYJ or Buffalo possibilities.
 
The Bills in no way have the scariest offense in the division. As long as Brady is QB, it will always be the Pats.
 
This is fair. Although im not sure how we have the second best OL in the AFCE
 
steveo style said:
The Bills in no way have the scariest offense in the division. As long as Brady is QB, it will always be the Pats.
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Clay was a pretty big loss for us and a huge addition for them. They also have arguably a top ten receiving corp coupled with lesean mccoy and a good OL. Give them a good QB and they easily have one of the scariest offenses not only in the AFCE but in the league. With that being said they dont have a QB so their offense isnt that scary - right now.
 
Fin Thirteen said:
I genuinely believe our receiving weapons are being underestimated and undervalued.

Greg Jennings is nOT getting enough respect . Hes a 2-time Pro-Bowler, superbowl winning receiver. His stats for last season, with a rookie Qb (who I rate very highly) were excellent. Hes up there on career TDs per games played. People are sleeping on him.

Jarvis Landry was probably the best rookie slot receiver in the past 3 or 4 years, maybe more. He wont post huge yardage numbers because of his position and skilkset, but the kid is money.

Jordan Cameron is a Pro-Bowl receiving tight end and a redzone monster. Hes in the top 5 TEs in the league imo and not far behind Gronk.

With those three alone, we have a better receiving corps than anyone in the AFCE. That is demonstrably better a lineup than Woods, Watkins and Clay. It just is.

Then you add a proven deep receiver with great hands in Stills and rookie Parker. Contrast that to 7-11 and Harvin and I really feel there's no comparison.

Buffalos RB stable is well ahead of ours now. Well ahead. But I really dont buy that our receiver corps is outmatched by anyone and certainly is proven enough outside of Parker.
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I love our current WR/TE set up, but I don't think they are being underrated at all. Gronk is one of the most dangerous weapons in the NFL on either side of the ball. His ability alone warrants the ranking. If anything, I'd probably swap the bills and pats just because he is a 100% proven commodity, whereas the we and the jills are relying mostly on potential (very high potential). Either way, I think the gap between all four teams is very small when it comes to WR/TE.
 
I think Travaris Cadet is worth mentioning for the Patriots. He might not be quite the natural hands catcher Shane Vereen is, but he caught near 40 balls last year with New Orleans and could have an even more expanded role with New England. So, not a great talent, but contrary to what was stated, I do think he is a 'known commodity'.

Nice work, though.
 
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Gonzo said:
I love our current WR/TE set up, but I don't think they are being underrated at all. Gronk is one of the most dangerous weapons in the NFL on either side of the ball. His ability alone warrants the ranking. If anything, I'd probably swap the bills and pats just because he is a 100% proven commodity, whereas the we and the jills are relying mostly on potential (very high potential). Either way, I think the gap between all four teams is very small when it comes to WR/TE.
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Gronk is special, when hes healthy. I firmly believe Belichick and Brady would be more successfulnwith our weapons than with theirs. After Gronk and Edelman, the other receiving options are flattered by the Qb and coaching.

I think we've the best group in the division, the Qb and coach need to maximise it now.
 
The division is definitely going to be tough. It's going to be hella interesting to see how it all shakes out.
 
dolpns13 said:
Clay was a pretty big loss for us and a huge addition for them. They also have arguably a top ten receiving corp coupled with lesean mccoy and a good OL. Give them a good QB and they easily have one of the scariest offenses not only in the AFCE but in the league. With that being said they dont have a QB so their offense isnt that scary - right now.
Click to expand...

I understand all of that. In no way shape or form should the Bills or Jets offense ever be considered scary when you have no one throwing the ball.
 
I don't see how the Bills are better then us at WR and TE. Watkins is only somewhat proven i see him on even ground with Parker. Landry stills and Jennings are better then anyone else in their WR core. And clay vs Cameron? I think we all know Cameron when heathly is better
 
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