Can you believe that the football season is just 3 days away? The first preseason game is on Sunday Aug 4 2013, and we will see the Dallas Cowboys vs Miami Dolphins. I think this will be a good exhibition game seeing as though we haven’t had football since February. The Hall of Fame induction is also this weekend, I will do another post on this class of Hall of Fame inductees. I think this is a really good class.
I have been doing blogs on the divisions around the National Football league. I also have being doing the blogs based on the way I rank of the divisions, I started with worst division up to best division. The first blog was about the AFC west and now we continue with the 6th rank division, the AFC east.
It’s hard to call this division weak when the New England Patriots have been the class of the NFL for the past 10-11 years. It is for that reason that the division is weak. The Pats own this division and no one has been able to challenge them for the top seed. At one point it looked as if the Jets would become a legit contender but Mark Sanchez turned out to be what we all thought he was.
New England Patriots 11-5
Some people think that the Patriots will have a down year, why? Would that be because Aaron Hernandez is not going to be playing? Maybe it’s because Gronk has had his third surgery on that same forearm, and nobody knows when he will play this year. My response to that is Tom Brady and Bill Belichick . Bill Belichick is the best coach in football; he is able to get the best out of all his players. Tom Brady is one of the best quarterbacks in football history, he isn’t concerned with who isn’t playing, and he is only concerned with who is.
The Patriots have had an eventful offseason. Rob Gronkowski will not be available for the Pats come week one. He recently had his third surgery on the forearm that he broke last season. Gronk is a difference maker for this team; they are a lot better with him on the field. He will be missed but I think the Pats will be able to still win games in his absence. The issues with Aaron Hernandez have made national headlines and he is no longer with the Pats. They also lost Wes Welker who was their best wide receiver.
The Pats also had some good things go their way. They signed Danny Amendola in free agency. I think he can be as good if not better that Welker, because he is younger. They had a really good draft that addressed some needs at linebacker and secondary. They also bought in a few talented young wide receivers, in Aaron Dobson and Josh Boyce. Their two rookie wide receivers weren’t big names coming out of school, but if anyone can get them ready its Brady and Belichick.
The defensive side of the ball is what really impresses me about the Patriots. It’s not often that anyone can say that about the Pats. This team has some very talented young players on defense. You have a really good defensive line with Vince Wilfolk, Chandler Jones, and Tommy Kelly. They also have some really athletic linebackers with Brandon Spikes, Jerod Mayo, and Donta Hightower. With the addition to the secondary via the draft to go along with Aqib Talib and Devin McCourty you have a really good defensive squad. Bill Belichick will be able to come up with some good schemes to stop teams while the offense gets on track. I will never bet against the Patriots as long as they have Belichick at coach and Brady at quarterback.
Miami Dolphins 9-7 (2nd)
Miami Dolphins will have a good year this year. This team won 7 games last season with a rookie quarterback. Ryan Tannehill had a really nice rookie season with the Dolphins. He played with poise and was very direct with his reads. The lack of talent at the wide receiver position really stunted his growth but that was fixed this offseason. I really think that Tannehill will be a good quarterback in the league, he may not reach elite status but you can win with Tannehill under center.
The offense for the Dolphins will be productive. The addition of Mike Wallace will add a deep threat to this offense. Brian Hartline was a good wide receiver last season, but I think he is better suited as a possession guy and not a playmaker. Wallace will help with making Hartlines role a lot easier and that will help the offense succeed. Lamar Miller was a good running back last season, even with Reggie bush there. Bush is now gone so Miller will be the feature back in this offense. The Dolphins have a very solid offensive line that can pass block well and open up holes in the run game.
The defense for the Dolphins is ok to me. Cameron Wake is a top notch pass rusher, but their linebackers need to show more. They added to their linebacker depth with Darnell Ellerbe and Phillpe Wheeler, no Wheeler isn’t a big name or a playmaker but he is a solid linebacker in this league. The addition of Deion Jordan will really help this defense because they will have Wake on one side and Jordan on the other. Jordan is a pass rush specialist, he is long and very quick. If he can have the same impact on the game that he had in college the Dolphins will have a very good pass rush. The pass rush will really help out this secondary, that isn’t too good. They lost a lot of game last year because they gave up big plays in the passing game. If they can get to the quarterback then I think they will be able to stop some teams enough to give that offense a chance to win games.
New York Jets 8-8 (3rd)
The New York Jets are one of those teams that you just don’t know about. They have some good players but they have some erratic plays during a game. I think the success of this team will depend on how long it is before Geno Smith takes over at quarterback. Mark Sanchez has had his time to stink it up. I can understand why they organization would want to keep giving him chances but enough is enough. His play has been terrible, and even when he has played good it was been average when compared to other quarterbacks in the league. The personnel on this offense can be good but it won’t be as long as Sanchez continues to make bad reads and put the players in bad situations. I will not sit here and say that Geno is the savor for this team I just think that he is a better passer, has a stronger arm, and has the mobility to buy time in the pocket that Sanchez just doesn’t have. Geno Smith can’t be any worse than Sanchez. The sooner the Jets put Geno on the field the better the record will be.
The Jets defense took a hit by losing Derrelle Revis, I know that he didn’t play much last season because of the ACL injury, but you don’t get better by losing a shutdown corner like Revis. I think the defense is still very stout. They have solid pass rushers and decent linebackers. Their secondary also lost Leron Landry, but he isn’t that great is coverage, he will be missed in run support. Rex ryan is an excellent defensive mind and he will put together a good defense. The Jets biggest concern should be how long Sanchez gets until he is taken out of the starting role.
Buffalo Bills 7-9 (4th)
The Bills had the shocker pick on the 2013 draft by selected quarterback EJ Manual. Most people thought that Geno Smith was the best quarterback in this year draft class. They would then put Matt Barkley at second best quarterback. I thought EJ Manuel was the best quarterback in this class because I thought he had the better arm of the quarterbacks and his ability to run separated him from the other quarterbacks.
This team’s success will depend on how good Manuel is. They have a good stable of wide receivers and really good backfield of running backs. I think with the addition of Manuel this team can use all the talent at the skill positions and be a really good offensive team. The offensive line is solid and will give Manuel time to scan the field but he will be using his feet to buy time and make plays down the field.
The team has a lot of solid players on the defensive side of the ball that can make plays for this team. This defense played the Patriots tight both times last season. The Bills can count on this defense to keep them in ball games, they just need the offense to go out and win the games for them.
Comments
Post a Comment