AFC East There for the Taking

The AFC East is once again there for the taking for the New England Patriots. The Patriots will return much of the same team to the field on Gillette Stadium that went undefeated in the regular season.

Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Wes Walker, and Laurence Maroney are all back to fuel the high powered offense. Bill Belichick is still calling the plays and demoralizing defensive coordinators. The secondary has been overhauled by free agency, but the team was able to trade for a draft pick and pick up Jerod Mayo to add some youth to an aging linebacker line.

The worries on the defense are not as bad as on other teams with the offense able to strike so quickly. Also the general weakness of the rest of the division does little to challenge the AFC Champion.

The New York Jets added some much needed talent on defense with the drafting of Vernon Gholston and the signing of Calvin Pace. Tight end Dustin Keller might help the offense in a few seasons, but will probably not make much of an impact this season.

The reality is that Pennington’s tenure as quarterback is probably coming to end after years of drifting in the middle of the pack on offense gave way to just abysmal point production last season. Whether or not he was healthy did not seem to matter much for the team. Faneca is a huge improvement on the line, but the team is still a far away from being competitive.

The Miami Dolphins are simply starting over on both offense and defense. The entire 2008 draft class may get a chance to start this season. The quarterback position is still up in the air and the lead receiver was a quarterback in college, never a good sign. Ronnie Brown is a good back on a bad team. He will not be able to get more than three yards a carry with the entire defense in the box.

The Buffalo Bills are just as confused as the rest of the division when it comes to quarterback. Trent Edwards appears to have replace J.P. Losman, but who knows by mid-season. Lee Evans and Josh Reed are examples of wasted potential and one of them will probably be replaced by rookie James Hardy during the season. Marshawn Lynch is a good back who can do little to change the Bills fate.

The AFC East will provide six easy wins for the Patriots and will help them get in position to play at Gillette Stadium all the way until the Super Bowl.