With Brady's Injury, is the AFC East wide open?

[redclamcrowder]

I did post this in another thread as a response, but I was hoping for some other Dolfans 2 cents on the issue. After all the negativity on the board, I thought it might be good to try and be objective AND stay positive at the same time, so here goes...

I like to think of myself as a realist, and looking at this season, I really initially felt that 6-10 or 7-9 would not only be a possibility but a realistic chance for this team (factoring in that with superior teams like Patriots, Chargers, Colts in the head of the AFC, with NE in our division, there would be little chance at a winning record). While it is only week 1, there are a lot of indications that the AFC may not be a 3 team race anymore, as all three mentioned above lost (and/or had some sort of major setback) and teams like Buffalo and Pittsburgh showed they just might be major contenders come playoff time. Looking back at Tony Sparano's debut, despite the loss, I really do see a lot of positive signs in this team.

People can crucify Pennington all they want, but I thought he played like a warrior today, and actually did pretty good with the cast around him. Lets face it, we made Chad a 40+ pass quarterback today (a major step outside his comfort/skill zone), with an ineffective running game and inexperience at his other skill positions, and he actually did pretty good all things considered. I really feel comfortable with him behind center, especially when considering the line of ineffective signal callers we've had since Marino called it quits. Speaking of the line, while Jake Long struggled a bit today, I'm telling the nay-sayers, this kid IS the real deal. While only time will tell, Long has all the tools, now he just needs some polishing. Long may have been the #1 pick, but lets not forget he is STILL A ROOKIE and will need some time to grow (and just because Joe Thomas did it doesn't mean every high tackle picked will be instantly hawaii bound). With some impressive individual efforts on defense from Langford, Roth, and Porter, our pass rush looks to be improved, though I'll admit it would be better with a guy like Jason Taylor (but that chapter in Miami's history is closed, so time to move on). Crowder looks good out there leading our linebacking core. Will Allen was as consistent as always from what I could see today. We have the right stuff to win folks, now we just have to put it together.

For all the miscues of todays game, take away the crappy calls from the zebras and that miracle lob from Favre on 4th down and this game looked very winable. Obviously close doesn't cut it, but the Jets really arn't that much better than us, and likely, we stand to improve the most over the course of a season with such a young team that just needs a little experience. With Brady likely done for the year in NE, I could see the AFC East being a free for all teams involved. I don't know if anyone caught the game, but even Buffalo looked good, totally dismantling the Seahawks with a swarming defense, reliable special teams, and a balanced offense spearheaded by M. Lynch. Brady's injury really could allow even current basement dwellers like Miami the window it needs to grab the division by the throat. I'm not saying that I'd bet money on it, or even promise anyone that Miami will win the division, but I think with less calls going against us (and more discipline on the team's part) and a few lucky bounces going OUR way for once, this team very well COULD find themselves in the thick of the AFC playoff race. Whether you all agree or not, I just have one thing left to say: Even if we don't see immediate results this season, Miami is headed in the right direction and bound for success, this I know. GO PHINZ!!

 

[dlockz]

the east is more open for Buffalo and possibly New York. We are not a playoff team this year. No team can win with the receivers and db's we have.

 

[DolfanAdam]

well I'll say this...Brady going down certainly didn't hurt our chances. For a first outing under a new regime I think we were solid. There is a ton of work to be done on all sides of the ball, but with a game as close as today I could easily see us going over NYJ next time. Hypothetically we split our wins with the Pats and Bills too and that puts us at 4-4, our 8 other games vary from what appear to be winnable (Arizona) extremely winnable (St. Louis) and nearly impossible (San Diego) so if we finished out at 9-7 or with some really big time luck at 10-6 we could really find ourselves in the thick of things.

The sad reality though, is that the stars would have to align for us to make that far (even as a wildcard) and if we were able to make it, we likely couldn't make it through the playoffs. I will remain very optimistic for the time being though, because really for a team everyone expected to dominate today, NE was not all that impressive minus Brady. I think we should start studying last years Super Bowl right now and come week 3 we might surprise everyone.

 

[phinphan4life]

I think it makes the division more wide open for the jets and the bills. I honestly believe we're at least one more year from being truly competitive. We just have too many holes to fill yet.

 

[redclamcrowder]

I think it makes the division more wide open for the jets and the bills. I honestly believe we're at least one more year from being truly competitive. We just have too many holes to fill yet.

While I agree that it is more open for the Bills, I still say we're not that much worse than the Jets and they really arn't that much better than us. I think Buffalo, barring an injury to Lynch, won't have much trouble fighting through most injuries, but as NE saw today, a team like the Jets could really be destroyed by injuries just as easily as we could be. Yes, to make some noise in the division we would need to be better in a number of areas, but luck also eventually falls both ways, so just as the Pats have had years of Brady avoiding injury now they see the pain. NY is one Favre injury away from being an afterthought (and yeah, he may be Ironman, but Brett is getting older, and all it takes is teh right hit to loosen a few things up). I do agree Buffalo has the most to gain in the AFC East, but I think this means Miami even has a better chance. Notice I did say CHANCE, and in football there are many times it all comes down to chance. Pittsburgh and the Gmen both won Superbowls as wildcard teams I believe, beating out a number of teams along the way nobody gave them the slightest chance in hell to accomplish. As Yeremiah Bell said, why not us? If nothing else, the losing mentality has to change in South Florida. This team NEEDS to believe itself to be a winner, and playoffs or not, if they can win 6 or better games this year after the catastrophe that was last season, that will go a long way in establishing a winning culture.

 

[kingjust30]

i think we should put henne in there but i know its not gonna happen.i hate pennington now and i hated him my whole life.

 

[phinphan4life]

While I agree that it is more open for the Bills, I still say we're not that much worse than the Jets and they really arn't that much better than us. I think Buffalo, barring an injury to Lynch, won't have much trouble fighting through most injuries, but as NE saw today, a team like the Jets could really be destroyed by injuries just as easily as we could be. Yes, to make some noise in the division we would need to be better in a number of areas, but luck also eventually falls both ways, so just as the Pats have had years of Brady avoiding injury now they see the pain. NY is one Favre injury away from being an afterthought (and yeah, he may be Ironman, but Brett is getting older, and all it takes is teh right hit to loosen a few things up). I do agree Buffalo has the most to gain in the AFC East, but I think this means Miami even has a better chance. Notice I did say CHANCE, and in football there are many times it all comes down to chance. Pittsburgh and the Gmen both won Superbowls as wildcard teams I believe, beating out a number of teams along the way nobody gave them the slightest chance in hell to accomplish. As Yeremiah Bell said, why not us? If nothing else, the losing mentality has to change in South Florida. This team NEEDS to believe itself to be a winner, and playoffs or not, if they can win 6 or better games this year after the catastrophe that was last season, that will go a long way in establishing a winning culture.

Amen brother.

 

[JT-forpresident]

we won't be that bad this year, but like many said it is the year of buffalo and possibly new york... even though i don't envision either one going deep into the playoffs, they have a legitimate shot at the division title and they may both end up at the top, depending on how much the pats suk