Sunday, September 09, 2007
AFC East preview
The home of the Patriots will be more competitive than the experts are predicting, but New England will still rule the roost.
1st Place
The Patriots are the team to beat, they know it and so does everyone else. They have improved in many ways from a team that came up only just short of another Super Bowl trip last year. They have upgraded the wideouts so much that they could afford to cut last year’s leading receiver, Florida’s Reche Caldwell . Many think the Patriots biggest acquisition at wideout was Randy Moss. The Clarion believes it will turnout to be slot receiver and kick returner extraordinaire, Wes Welker . The Pats also added the none to shabby Dante Stallworth. Moss will catch his share of bombs, but be used more often than not by Brady and Belichek as a decoy. Both Stallworth and Welker will have more receptions. The Patriots juggernaut doesn’t stop there, the big defensive off-season signing was Adelius Thomas at linebacker. He has Pro Bowl potential and hurts another one of the other top AFC contenders, the Ravens by subtracting him from their roster. The Patriots are not only the AFC East favorite they are the Super Bowl favorite, too.
2nd Place
The New York Jets are catching the Patriots at the right time Week 1. The Patriots are missing two of their top defensive performers Richard Seymour and Rodney Harrison. Plus star cornerback, Asante Samuel, is disgruntled and hasn’t practiced much. The Jets had a chance at the Patriots early last year, coming within a late Pennington interception. If the Jets can land the first punch this year and beat the Patriots in week one it will really bode well for their season. Even if they can’t, despite a tougher schedule the Clarion figures the Jets are right at the edge of the AFC Wild Card mix, where they finished last year. They had an excellent off-season signing in the steady if not spectacular, Thomas Jones. Don’t forget last year the Jets did what they did with out even a halfway decent running back. The defense has had another year to ingest Coach Mangini’s schemes. Figure on a big bounce back season from linebacker Johnthan Vilma, of the U. Kerry Rhodes is an All-Pro defender, as well as a personality to watch. The Jets are part of a large group of teams that could win between seven and ten games. We didn’t even mention their strongest position for starters, all degree of difficulty spelling team members, wideouts Laveranues Coles and Jerricho Cotchery. Is their any other profession in the world where a Chad from West Virginia would work hand in hand with a Laveranues and Jerricho?
3rd Place
The teams right behind the Jets, are in they same mix of seven to ten wins. The Bills figure to be a little on the lower end of that grouping, if for no other reason than quarterback J.P. Losman. Think of how unfavorably he compares to Pennington and Brady, at this point in their respective careers. Coach Dick Jauron squeezes wins out of underacheiving teams, but even though Losman got seasoning last year, does he have the skills? He throws a good deep ball and Lee Evans can go get’em with anybody, but in the short and medium range game Losman’s accuracy is lacking. This will put a lot of pressure on rookie running back Marshon Lynch from Cal. Lynch is a high character guy who has moved his mother and brother to Buffalo. The Clarion is rooting for him to succeed. The defense has to slide a little. Marv Levy is a terrific personnel man at the top of the chain, but losing London Fletcher, who the Clarion has loved since he was a Ram, and Nate Clements is going to bite.
4th Place
At least the Bills have been integrating youth on the defensive side of the ball, ala Josh McCargo. The Miami Dolphins defensive stars are aging fast, too, and no replacements are in sight. Zach Thomas lost a step or two, a couple of years back. Jason Taylor has kept doing it. The Clarion would contend however, though he makes as many spectacular plays as he always has, down to down he gets beat more, too. The Dolphins defense has missed having a decent offense. They have spent way too much time on the field in recent years. Trent Green is serviceable, but past his prime. There are no wideouts of note on the Dolphins roster. They lost playmaker Wes Welker. They lost the underappreciated, tight end Randy McMichael. The Clarion doesn’t and hasn’t loved Ronnie Brown. This is the year Jason Campbell shows the world he carried Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Anderson, not vice versa. There is still enough aging talent around that the Dolphins might get seven or eight wins, this year. But new coach Cam Cameron is going to have to adjust on the fly, or it could get worse before it gets better. He has no Tomlinson, no Phillip Rivers, nobody on defense Shawn Merriman’s age. It could be a long turn around phase in South Florida.
1st Place
The Patriots are the team to beat, they know it and so does everyone else. They have improved in many ways from a team that came up only just short of another Super Bowl trip last year. They have upgraded the wideouts so much that they could afford to cut last year’s leading receiver, Florida’s Reche Caldwell . Many think the Patriots biggest acquisition at wideout was Randy Moss. The Clarion believes it will turnout to be slot receiver and kick returner extraordinaire, Wes Welker . The Pats also added the none to shabby Dante Stallworth. Moss will catch his share of bombs, but be used more often than not by Brady and Belichek as a decoy. Both Stallworth and Welker will have more receptions. The Patriots juggernaut doesn’t stop there, the big defensive off-season signing was Adelius Thomas at linebacker. He has Pro Bowl potential and hurts another one of the other top AFC contenders, the Ravens by subtracting him from their roster. The Patriots are not only the AFC East favorite they are the Super Bowl favorite, too.
2nd Place
The New York Jets are catching the Patriots at the right time Week 1. The Patriots are missing two of their top defensive performers Richard Seymour and Rodney Harrison. Plus star cornerback, Asante Samuel, is disgruntled and hasn’t practiced much. The Jets had a chance at the Patriots early last year, coming within a late Pennington interception. If the Jets can land the first punch this year and beat the Patriots in week one it will really bode well for their season. Even if they can’t, despite a tougher schedule the Clarion figures the Jets are right at the edge of the AFC Wild Card mix, where they finished last year. They had an excellent off-season signing in the steady if not spectacular, Thomas Jones. Don’t forget last year the Jets did what they did with out even a halfway decent running back. The defense has had another year to ingest Coach Mangini’s schemes. Figure on a big bounce back season from linebacker Johnthan Vilma, of the U. Kerry Rhodes is an All-Pro defender, as well as a personality to watch. The Jets are part of a large group of teams that could win between seven and ten games. We didn’t even mention their strongest position for starters, all degree of difficulty spelling team members, wideouts Laveranues Coles and Jerricho Cotchery. Is their any other profession in the world where a Chad from West Virginia would work hand in hand with a Laveranues and Jerricho?
3rd Place
The teams right behind the Jets, are in they same mix of seven to ten wins. The Bills figure to be a little on the lower end of that grouping, if for no other reason than quarterback J.P. Losman. Think of how unfavorably he compares to Pennington and Brady, at this point in their respective careers. Coach Dick Jauron squeezes wins out of underacheiving teams, but even though Losman got seasoning last year, does he have the skills? He throws a good deep ball and Lee Evans can go get’em with anybody, but in the short and medium range game Losman’s accuracy is lacking. This will put a lot of pressure on rookie running back Marshon Lynch from Cal. Lynch is a high character guy who has moved his mother and brother to Buffalo. The Clarion is rooting for him to succeed. The defense has to slide a little. Marv Levy is a terrific personnel man at the top of the chain, but losing London Fletcher, who the Clarion has loved since he was a Ram, and Nate Clements is going to bite.
4th Place
At least the Bills have been integrating youth on the defensive side of the ball, ala Josh McCargo. The Miami Dolphins defensive stars are aging fast, too, and no replacements are in sight. Zach Thomas lost a step or two, a couple of years back. Jason Taylor has kept doing it. The Clarion would contend however, though he makes as many spectacular plays as he always has, down to down he gets beat more, too. The Dolphins defense has missed having a decent offense. They have spent way too much time on the field in recent years. Trent Green is serviceable, but past his prime. There are no wideouts of note on the Dolphins roster. They lost playmaker Wes Welker. They lost the underappreciated, tight end Randy McMichael. The Clarion doesn’t and hasn’t loved Ronnie Brown. This is the year Jason Campbell shows the world he carried Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Anderson, not vice versa. There is still enough aging talent around that the Dolphins might get seven or eight wins, this year. But new coach Cam Cameron is going to have to adjust on the fly, or it could get worse before it gets better. He has no Tomlinson, no Phillip Rivers, nobody on defense Shawn Merriman’s age. It could be a long turn around phase in South Florida.
Labels: NFL, Predictions, sports
Comments:
Jason Campbell's buddy at Auburn was Carnell "Cadillac" Williams, not anybody named Anderson, Aaron.
And despite Losman's shaky accuracy at times, I'd still rather have him helming my team than Chad Pennington. Pennington's injury this weekend isn't his first and won't be his last. A guy who can't stay on the field isn't helping his team. The Bills wil most certainly have more wins than the J-E-T-S this year.
And despite Losman's shaky accuracy at times, I'd still rather have him helming my team than Chad Pennington. Pennington's injury this weekend isn't his first and won't be his last. A guy who can't stay on the field isn't helping his team. The Bills wil most certainly have more wins than the J-E-T-S this year.
Mr. Rock-
Thanks for the heads up. Gotta wonder about that one since, Anderson and Williams are not exactly close.
However, the Caddy in question was the one and the same from Auburn's undefeated run. Appreciate the correction.
As for Losman you are dead wrong, he was a system QB in college who will never make the grade in the pros. He is too inaccurate. And Chad Pennington played every game last year. He has led the Jets to the playoffs three times, and within a missed field goal in Heinz Field of the AFC Championship game. He is the real deal.
Why the Jets eviscerated the heart of a young O-line by jettisoning veteran leader Pete Kendall I don't know. Maybe the line looked worse last week 'cause the Pats were stealing their play calls. Regardless, if Pennington doesn't get more blocking he may not make it through the season.
Post a Comment
Thanks for the heads up. Gotta wonder about that one since, Anderson and Williams are not exactly close.
However, the Caddy in question was the one and the same from Auburn's undefeated run. Appreciate the correction.
As for Losman you are dead wrong, he was a system QB in college who will never make the grade in the pros. He is too inaccurate. And Chad Pennington played every game last year. He has led the Jets to the playoffs three times, and within a missed field goal in Heinz Field of the AFC Championship game. He is the real deal.
Why the Jets eviscerated the heart of a young O-line by jettisoning veteran leader Pete Kendall I don't know. Maybe the line looked worse last week 'cause the Pats were stealing their play calls. Regardless, if Pennington doesn't get more blocking he may not make it through the season.
