Quick Thoughts – Patriots Awesomeness 1/23/12
The Patriots are currently on another dominant run in the AFC East. Since 2009 and including the postseason, the Pats have won 39 games and lost just 13. The rest of the division has lost 80 games including the Jets two losses in ’09 and ’10 AFC Championships. It might have appeared the Jets were dominating their division because they appeared in consecutive title games, but the won 7 less games and lost 9 more over the same time-span. Buffalo and Miami aren’t even worthy to talk about considering they lost a combined 20 games this season. And in 2010, the Bills lost 12. There’s a stark difference in how some NFL franchises are ran compared to others. The Patriots might be the best run organization in all of sports, not just the NFL. And their winning percentage since 2001 is proof. New England has not had a season where they finished below .500 since 2000. It’s one of the most impressive runs in the history of sports. And if they win Super Bowl XLVI, they will have won 4 of 5 Super Bowls in 10 years.
There’s only a handful of other comparable organizations in the NFL. Indianoplis and Pittsburgh have been on great runs. The Packers and Saints could go on great runs, but Indy, New Orleans and Green Bay all have the same amount of championships New England does put together, three. It begs the question to be asked: What truly makes a great franchise great? The coach, quarterback or combination of both or star players? You want to say ‘star-power,’ but after Tom Brady there isn’t another marketable star on the Patriots (Ochocinco is toast). Maybe greatness is all about the front-office by making strong personnel moves through drafts and free-agency. That’s something the Patriots do well. They have guys like you never heard of with names you can’t pronounce making plays. It’s actually quite refreshing. It makes you wish your team was just as good.
AFC East 2011 Predictions
New England Patriots – 14-2 in 2010 only to get booted from their #1 playoff seed by arch-rival Jets. Their early playoff exit has now happened two years in a row. So what does Bill Belichick and the Patriots do to fix, load up offensively in the draft and acquire one Chad Ochocinco in the off-season despite their 25th ranked defense from a year ago. Oh but wait they picked up Albert Haynesworth…Nevermind!
If Brady stays healthy this team is still going to be very tough to beat. Bellichick is the best coach in the league for a number of reasons but most importantly, he always puts a confident and prepared team on the field. After New England has been slapped in the face two years in a row losing home playoff games, they’re more hungry than ever. New England is an organization built on success in terms of championships, not regular season accolades. Pats win AFC East again despite the surging Jets.
New England Patriots 12-4
New York Jets – Rex Ryan likes to brag about his team making it to the NFL’s version of the “Final Four” in the previous two seasons despite falling short of a Super Bowl appearance. We all know the Jets have the talent at the key positions, but there’s still a large amount of uncertainty surrounding QB Mark Sanchez. Many still see Sanchez as a guy who will never be able to take that “next step,” however he has a strong receiving corps to rely on. And don’t rest on off-season pickup Plaxico Burress who obviously hasn’t competed in anything meaningful except jailhouse activities, was a gamer back in the day and someone on the other side is going to have to cover him.
We all know all the great things about the Jets defense especially what might be the strongest backfield in the league. But the rest of the league started to figure out Ryan’s intricate blitz packages and the Jets got burned more in 2010 than 2009 when blitzing heavy on third downs. The Jets have another good season but still finish second fiddle to the Patriots.
New York Jets 10-6
Buffalo Bills – The Bills didn’t really do a whole lot in 2010 except show up and play football games, that just so happened to all be scheduled at the 1:00 slot on Direct TV. The NFL didn’t put a lot of stock into the Bills and rightfully so, they finished 4-12. Now it’s time for the Bills to turn the corner and that basically means try to finish third in a division that NY Jets and New England will always beat them.
Let’s not solely focus on the negative because there are a few bright spots. Ryan Fitzpatrick, from Harvard and has a solid beard, fits well under HC Chan Gailey’s system and could be a 4,000 yard per year guy. The group of receivers has slightly diminished with the release of Lee Evans, but Stevie Johnson was the #1 guy anyway. In 2010, Johnson caught had 82 receptions for over 1,000 yards. And Fred Jackson has solidified himself as a formidable guy who will be splitting carries with C.J. Spiller. Buffalo is going to continue to struggle, but will show vast improvements from their 2010 4 win campaign.
Bufallo Bills 7-9
Miami Dolphins – Tony Sparano is on the “hot seat,” Bill Parcels is now just a memory and the Phins still don’t have a legitimate QB. But they do have Reggie Bush and that should count for something, right? QB Chad Henne is probably down to his last chance at convincing people he’s an NFL QB, and then there’s Matt Moore who has proven that he can’t do it with Carolina.
However, it’s not all bad news for Miami fans. They did pick up versatile center Mike Pouncey from Florida in the draft which should strengthen the left side of the O-line as they’ve moved Richie Incognito to LG and obviously Jake Long is a stud at LT. But the question remains can Reggie Bush run through the tackles, or his offensive production going to remain limited to catching the ball in space? Miami doesn’t have the best year in 2011 and look for a new coach in 2012.
Miami Dolphins 5-11
