AFC East: Will Anyone Beat Belichick in 2006?
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by user Dmoan2000
The New England Patriots have won this division three years in a row including back to back 14-2 seasons in 2003 and 2004. In 2005, New England slipped to 10-6 in an injury plagued year but still had the division wrapped up by Week 15. Miami finished a surprising second in the division with a 9-7 finish in Nick Saban’s first year as head coach and they have finally found a big name quarterback in Daunte Culpepper. Buffalo finished a dismal 5-11 with Willis McGahee being the one bright spot on a field of no namers. The “Other New York team” finished a dismal 4-12 and may have made the best move of any team this off-season by releasing Coach Herman Edwards. For the 2006 schedule, the AFC East will luck out and play the NFC North with three rebuilding programs in Minnesota, Green Bay, and Detroit and one possibly tough team in Chicago. With this schedule, New England should run away easily with the division in a season marked with brutal blowouts. Take heart Buffalo and Miami… at least you will get to see Favre in what should be his last season. For the New York Jets fan… Brady Quinn will be an excellent first draft pick.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS : I AM SPARTACUS!
New England finished their season one game short of an AFC Championship match up with Pittsburgh for what would have been the third time in five years. That game was on the road in Denver. New England hasn’t lost a playoff game at home since 1978, which was against the then Houston Oilers. Since then, they have won eight straight including playoff sweeps on their way to the Super Bowl in 1996 and 2003. What does all this mean? New England will play eight teams with losing records in 2005. Of the other eight only Denver, Pittsburgh, and Indianapolis have beaten New England since 2003. Odds are a trip to the Super Bowl will have to go through Foxboro.
New England’s defense ranked 26th overall last year after injuries and retirement decimated their secondary and linebacker corps. Young corners, Asante Samuel and Ellis Hobbs are returning with veteran experience and are talked about as two of the premier cornerbacks in 2007. With the return of Ty Law a very likely possibility, the Patriots will once again have the coverage market cornered… literally. At safety, the return of the imposing Rodney Harrison and former draft pick Tebucky Jones will add depth to a position that struggled last year. A healthy Tedy Bruschi will again command the defense including one of the most underrated linebacking corps in the NFL with Roosevelt Colvin and Mike Vrabel. Richard Seymour will anchor the line with Vince Wilfork as he looks for another Pro Bowl year.
On offense, the Patriots still have golden boy Tom Brady and the 7th best offense of 2005. The running game was plagued with injuries last year forcing Corey Dillon to play hurt for most of the season. In 2006, Dillon will be back to shoulder most of the load but 1st round pick, Laurence Maroney is an excellent back with power who will be able to help keep Dillon healthy. Tight end is again loaded with Daniel Graham and Ben Watson. The addition of speedy receiver Chad Jackson will help spread the field for Brady who will look to build upon his Pro Bowl season of last year including his first 4,000 yard season. The front five for New England are by no means dominant but they are intelligent and sound and most importantly, they get the job done.
The 2006 season will begin with four division games in six weeks including a season opener against Buffalo followed by New York. A Week 3 match up at home against Denver will be New England’s first real challenge and a possible playoff preview. Mark your calendar for Week 5 when Saban’s Miami team will come to Foxboro to prove they belong as a contender for the AFC East crown. It will be a make or break game for Miami. Chicago in Week 12 could have the top ranked New England offense going against the top ranked Chicago defense.
And of course mark your calendar for Sunday, November 5th and the Game of the Year when Manning and Adam Vinatieri come back to Foxboro.
MIAMI DOLPHINS: THE QUESTION MARK TEAM OF 2006
They finished the 2005 season with a six game winning streak including a victory over New England’s second string. Either way, the Miami Dolphins went 9-7 in Nick Saban’s first year and that was with head-butting Gus Frerotte at quarterback. He is gone and in his place, Saban has the athletic, improvising quarterback that he is used to in Daunte Culpepper. Culpepper’s recovery from off-season knee surgery is the first big question mark for Miami. Will his leg be healthy enough to make it through a season? If not they do have Joey Harrington. Let’s hope Culpepper’s healthy. If he is, Culpepper will have a Randy Moss like receiver in Chris Chambers who finished 2005 strong, averaging over six catches a game for more than a hundred yards during the winning streak. Chambers will have to bear the load in the catch department with just an average supporting cast behind him. This leads us to question mark number two: Who will emerge as Culpepper’s second target? Odds are that position will be reserved for running back Ronnie Brown out of the backfield. After a very strong rookie year where he shared carries with problem child Ricky Williams, Brown will get a chance make the Miami running game his own without any distractions. This leads us to question mark number 3: Will Brown have a breakout sophomore year? He may be the spark this Miami offense will need to alleviate pressure on Culpepper and open up the field.
On defense, Miami returns with some legendary names again including Jason Taylor, Zach Thomas, Vonnie Holiday, and Keith Traylor. From New Orleans, Sedrick Hodge joins an excellent linebacking corps and adds some much needed speed. The front seven for Miami is one of the most dangerous in the league when healthy but that will be a big if, with the aging Traylor, Taylor, and Thomas. Behind them is a secondary corps full of youth and athleticism according to Nick Saban including LSU alum Travis Daniels at corner. Veteran Will Allen sits opposite him and will draw the tough assignments. The big question mark will be on safeties Traveres Tillman and Deke Cooper. Their level of play will dictate this defense. With so many question marks, this season could go either way for Miami. A Week One match up at Super Champion Pittsburgh could be a big indicator on how the year will turn out. Mark the calendar for Sunday October 8th with Miami possibly going into New England with a 3-1 record and a shot for first place in the division. In the end, this season will come down to the last four games where Miami will play three division games before ending the season at Indianapolis.
BUFFALO BILLS: THE GRAND EXPERIMENT CONTINUES
Buffalo’s offense last year was a combination of Losman options and Willis McGahee. Unlike Miami, the quarterback situation is still a disaster. Their first round pick (8th overall) was spent on safety Donte Whitner for Ohio State which gives more potential to an underachieving defense and no help to a pathetic offense. Add in the loss of leading receiver Eric Moulds for the return of one time Bill, Peerless Price, and you better hope McGahee’s legs hold up for the season. Holcomb will most likely get the start at quarterback. He won’t win any games for you but he doesn’t lose very many either and at this point, that may be the best Buffalo can get. At receiver, Price will lead a corps of number two’s with Josh Reed and Lee Evans though someone will need to emerge as a go-to-gut for them to be successful. McGahee is back in training camp after a breakout year in 2005 where he was the Buffalo offense. This label will fall on him again for 2006 so look for defenses to stuff eight in the box and make Holcomb try to throw. New head coach, Dick Jauron has shuffled around a line that will be under heavy pressure all year as most teams will be blitzing to stop the run and pressure the jittery Holcomb.
On defense, Buffalo looks absolutely terrifying on paper but that is why they play the games. Buffalo ranked 29th overall in defense for 2005. Their first five draft picks were used on defense in the 2006 draft. Aaron Schobel led the team in sacks with 12 last year and will be joined by former Indianapolis defensive tackle Larry Tripplett. They will anchor a line while other veterans like Takeo Spikes, Jeff Posey, and London Fletcher wreak havoc from the linebacker position. The secondary is anchored around Philadelphia superstar Troy Vincent who will be back for a third year with Buffalo. Aggressive and athletic corners McGee and Clements will try to lock down the outside to allow Vincent, Matt Bowen, and first round pick Donte Whitner to clean up everything inside. Yes, they look great on paper. Let’s see if they can play to their potential. Buffalo will be tested early, opening the season at New England and then at Miami. A Week 3 match up with the New York Jets at home could be a big gut check game for both teams with their seasons potentially over after only three games.
NY JETS: BRINGING ME TO MY FINAL POINT KIDS, DON’T DO CRACK
New England Coach Bill Belichick warned then coordinator Eric Mangini not to take the head coaching job for New York. Everyone will admit that Belichick makes some unconventional moves at times but in the end, he has three Super Bowl rings. Most people would listen. Mangini didn’t and he is captain of the NFL’s version of the Titanic. Believe me, this thing is going down. The season had potential. New York had the fourth pick overall and there were some great quarterbacks available including USC’s two-time National Champion Matt Leinhart. Instead of him, however, New York drafted a tackle to protect the newly re-signed Chad Pennington who was coming off his second shoulder surgery in two years. Four quarterbacks are in New York’s mini camp competing for the starting job including Chad Pennington, Patrick Ramsay, Kellen Clemens, and 2005 leader Brooks Bollinger who took over after beating out Vinny Testeverde (way to go!). None of these four are starting quarterbacks but Pennington will probably earn the role until he gets hurt…again. At running back, Curtis Martin is coming off knee surgery and is three years past thirty. He will be the workhorse again. When he comes off to ice down his knees, Cedric Houston (2005’s 6th round pick from Tennessee) will try to improve upon his 3.7 yards per carry from a year ago. The receiving corps lost a Jets legend when Wayne Chrebet retired but Laveranues Coles and Justin McCareins are the two most talented athletes on the offensive side of the ball. If one of these four quarterbacks can get the ball near them, they will catch it. The line, which is traditionally strong, struggled last year resulting in season ending injuries to two of the quarterbacks. 4th pick overall in the 2006 draft, D’Brickashaw Ferguson will anchor the left side of what might be the most underrated line in the AFC.
On defense, linebacker Jonathan Vilma led the league in tackles last year and will be making plenty again this year after New York traded away all-pro defensive end Abraham for the 29th pick overall (which they used on another offensive lineman). New York also failed to resign cornerback Ty Law, who led the league in interceptions and provided the one spark outside of Vilma and Abraham on the defensive side of the ball.
Here is the situation: New York had the fifth best defense in the league and still lost 12 games. They lost their best pass rusher and best cover corner. There really is no game to mark your calendar for but here are some dates to tune into if you are really bored. Sunday, October 1st vs. Indianapolis. Manning throws for five touchdowns…before half. People start talking about implementing a mercy rule. Sunday, October 22nd vs. Detroit. The only other team that could be as screwed up as New York. The fight for Brady Quinn begins. Sunday December 3rd vs. Green Bay. Who doesn’t like to see Brett Favre?
RECAP The line between competitive and hopeless is clearly defined here. Miami will be the team to watch as they try to make the division competitive but look for Belichick to be all business as he pursues his fourth Super Bowl in six years.
Date
Wed 06/28/06, 1:00 am EST
