The AFC East is always a hot topic of conversation when it comes to preseason talks. And entering the 2012 season, it’s no different. The Patriots are right near the top of the list of Super Bowl favorites, the Jets acquired Tim Tebow for some reason, and the Miami Dolphins are the subject of the HBO series ‘Hardknocks’
No lack of discussion here.
Let’s start with New England, still reeling from the loss in the Super Bowl for a second time to Eli Manning and the New York Giants. After winning three Super Bowls in the 2000s, the Patriots have lost the last two Super Bowls in which they have played. This has certainly shown Tom Brady and Bill Belichick in a new light. No longer are they postseason immortals.
But the Patriots are atop the AFC betting odds to reach the Super Bowl in back-to-back seasons coming into 2012, with the expectations again sky high. A model for consistency, New England will have to significantly improve on the defensive side of the ball.
As for the Jets, if they stop fighting with each other in practice they might get some productive work in before the season starts. Especially since no one really knows what they are going to do with Tebow in their various packages. In a move that didn’t make much sense, New York has made it a point to prove that it will be a good for the team. And after watching Tebow in practice, it was confirmed that the move still doesn’t make much sense.
But you have to hand it to the Jets. They do know how to make a splash in the offseason. And when the other team in New York is racking up Super Bowl championships, you are kind of backed into a corner and need to do something to spotlight you. But perhaps the spotlight is exactly what they Jets don’t need. For starters, let’s see a Jets season with fewer headlines about who said what, and more about the results of the field. The whole ‘we are going to win the Super Bowl’ bit gets a little old when you don’t even make the playoffs.
Just wait until the first sign of trouble with Sanchez in the season. The boos will be followed shortly by chants of ‘Tebow’. And from there, your season will go up in flames. Betting on the Jets might be the worst idea of the NFL season. But who knows, it could work out. But if we know anything, it’s that a divided locker room does not do a team any good. And the last thing that New York needs is to have to answer questions about which quarterback they stand behind.
The Dolphins have already debuted on ‘Hardknocks’, thanks to roughly 25 of the other teams in the NFL passing on the show. Now we get the inside info on one of the teams that has made more poor personnel decisions in the last five seasons than maybe any other. Of course, I can’t hate on the show, since I haven’t watched it. Like I said, the Dolphins are on it.
A suspect quarterback situation is only part of the problems in Miami. But of course the main problem is that the Patriots are in the division at the end of the day, despite any success they have has against them. You have to beat the other teams on the schedule too.
The Buffalo Bills almost go under the radar every season in the AFC East. Probably because they go under .500 in the record department. And that’s pretty important. But running back Fred Jackson is definitely one of the top backs in the NFL, and will try to lead this team to challenge the Patriots. But the question with Buffalo is whether or not they can play well for an entire season, and not just two and three game stretches.