NFL Preview: AFC East

I decided to do a preview for the upcoming NFL season, and you may ask why? Well basically I'm bored and it is too early for an NBA preview. So here I go I will start with the AFC East.

1. New England Patriots- You really can't argue that they aren't the best team in the AFC East. The Patriots have won three of the last four Super Bowls and bring back most of the core that got them there. Players like Tom Brady, Corey Dillon, and Deion Branch will lead the defending champ's offense. They have a new offensive coordinator since Charlie Weis bolted for Notre Dame, and it will be interesting to see what adjustments will need to be made. They also lost two important pieces on defense, defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel and more importantly Tedy Bruschi. Bruschi will be out for the year after suffering a stroke a couple weeks after the Super Bowl and his skills and especially his leadership will be missed. This team is still one of the top defenses in the league and should keep basically the same schemes as last year. The Patriots will make the playoffs, and we have all seen what happens when they do.

2. New York Jets- The Jets season relies on Pennington's shoulders, literally. After offseason surgery it will be interesting to see if he can throw downfield like they plan to this season. He did play with Randy Moss though so he can throw it over the top I just don't know if he has the arm strength to zip a 20 yard cross pattern through a seam. They got Coles from the Redskins who I feel is a better overall receiver than Santana "don't call me Randy" Moss, but they do lose speed with the trade. Curtis Martin probably won't repeat last year's performance, but will get 1,000 yards and 6 or 7 touchdowns. They will feel the loss of LaMont Jordan if Martin goes down or shows his age. Their defense was one of the top 5 in the league last year and they add Ty Law from the division rivals to the mix. His experience and skill will be an asset to a fairly mediocre secondary. John Abraham's holdout could affect a line who was fantastic against the run last year. If he comes back Shaun Ellis and Abraham could both have double digit sack seasons again.

3. Buffalo Bills-The team came back from a 1-5 start to win eight of nine and stay in the playoff race until they lost their last game. J.P. Losman takes over for the departed Drew Bledsoe. The Bills have high hopes for this kid and hopefully their first round pick will pay off and being injured for most of the year last year, he can move which will give the receivers more time to get open and add a little excitement. Past Losman the offense looks pretty much the same with Willis McGahee being the unquestioned feature back this year. He is a beast and really has rewarded the Bills for taking a chance with him in the draft, he is a top 5 back. Moulds, Evans, and Reed round out a solid, yet not spectacular receiving corps. Their defense is good with Sam Adams and Aaron Scrobel. Their linebackers are the core of the defense with Takeo Spikes and London Fletcher roaming the field. Nate Clemens led the team with six interceptions and Lawyer Milloy will still put a big hit on when needed.

4. Miami Dolphins- This team could be anything from 11-5 to 5-11. Their receivers (Booker, Boston, Chambers) have all had 1,000 yard seasons and still are capable of having more, but Boston and Booker are huge question marks. They have arguably the best rookie running back and a top 5 back from two years ago in Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. But they have no quarterback, literally. Maybe if this was 6 years ago Gus Frerotte would be servicable but its not and he is old, and their back up is A.J. Feeley whose best play ever was getting the Eagles a third round pick. The Defense is good with guys like Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor, but if the offense does not get first downs they will let up 22 points a game again. This team is better than last year because they couldn't be any worse, but there are too many question marks to make them a playoff threat.