NFL: AFC East Breakdown

Welcome to the first part of the MikesPickz’ NFL Breakdown. There will be two breakdowns per day until the season starts this Thursday (9/9). They will follow the schedule:

9/6- AFC East
9/7, 7am- NFC East
9/7, 4pm- AFC North
9/7, 7pm- NFC North
9/8, 4pm- AFC South
9/8, 7pm- NFC South
9/9, 4pm- AFC West
9/9, 7pm- NFC West

Without further ado, here is the AFC East Breakdown:AFC East

2009 Standings:
New England Patriots – 10-6 *Playoffs
New York Jets – 9-7 *Playoffs
Miami Dolphins – 7-9
Buffalo Bills – 6-10

2010 Preseason:
Buffalo Bills – 2-2
Miami Dolphins – 2-2
New England Patriots – 2-2
New York Jets – 2-2

2010 Regular Season Predictions:
New England Patriots – 10-6
New York Jets – 9-7
Miami Dolphins – 9-7
Buffalo Bills – 4-12

Team Breakdowns:

New England Patriots:
The New England Patriots seem to be falling off the radar with the rise of the Jets in the playoffs last season. But let’s not forget that Tom Brady still plays in Foxboro. Brady is entering his second full season after knee surgery forced him to miss the 2008 season. In his first full year back from the surgery, he posted the second highest QB rating of his career (96.2). I expect him to match if not exceed last year’s numbers. Randy Moss, Wes Welker and Julian Edelman offer Brady a solid set of options at the WR position and the off-season addition of Alge Crumpler does nothing but improve the passing game.

The defense is still somewhat questionable, but I liked their draft. Their first round pick, Devin McCourty (CB), and one of their second round picks, Brandon Spikes (LB), will both seek to add immediate impacts after being named starters. The defense is definitely improving, but it can still be exploited by big play-makers.

New York Jets:
The New York Jets made a splash when it counted last season. This season they will look to improve, but they have had their share of off-the-field issues this preseason.

  • The Jets’ All-Pro Corner, Darelle Revis, was a hold-out during Training camp and the entire pre-season (until today when he signed a 4 year deal).
  • The reality show on HBO, Hard Knocks, showed the Jets’ Coach, Rex Ryan as the “Lord of the ‘F’ Bombs”
  • Then there is the impending 4 game suspension of Santonio Holmes, which resulted from a drug test while he was still with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In addition to the off-the-field problems, the Jets’ first team offense struggled in the pre-season. This will be Mark Sanchez’s second season in the NFL and all Jets fans are hoping to avoid the infamous Sophomore slump. On a positive note, LaDainian Tomlinson flashed some very good signs during the pre-season and I think he will be a great addition to the Jets- especially in Red Zone situations.

Miami Dolphins:
The Miami Dolphins will be getting Ronnie Brown back this season after he missed 7 games due to injury last season. In his absence, Ricky Williams did a tremendous job filling in and I expect Williams to get a good share of carries as they slowly bring Brown back. The off-season saw the Dolphins make two key additions. They added Brandon Marshall at Wide Receiver and Karlos Dansby at Linebacker. Both additions will prove to be great moves. Marshall will help Henne as he looks to take over for his first full season as Dolphins’ QB. Dansby is coming off back to back 100+ tackle seasons with the Cardinals and he will sure up the Linebacking core of the Dolphins.

Buffalo Bills:
The Buffalo Bills will be looking up from the basement once again in the AFC East. I am still not a fan of Trent Edwards at QB and outside of Lee Evans, they don’t really have any threats at Wide Receiver. The future does look promising, as Running Back CJ Spiller had a great debut in the preseason. With injuries to Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch, Spiller may get some opportunities to shine this season.

Photo Credit: Sportable.com

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