1. New England Patriots
2008 Record: 11-5, 2nd place in AFC East
Coach: Bill Belichick (10th season New England, 153-90 career)
Schedule: http://www.patriots.com/schedule/
Key Additions: RB Fred Taylor, WR Joey Galloway, WR Greg Lewis, TE Chris Baker, TE Alex Smith, OLB Derrick Burgess, OLB Tully Banta-Cain, CB Leigh Bodden, CB Shawn Springs
Key Losses: QB Matt Cassell, RB LaMont Jordan, FB Heath Evans, WR Jabar Gaffney, OL Russ Hochstein, LB Larry Izzo, LB Mike Vrabel, LB Teddy Bruschi, LB Rosevelt Colvin, LB Junior Seau, CB Ellis Hobbs, CB Deltha O'Neal, SS Rodney Harrison
2009 Outlook: The New England Patriots 2008 season appeared to end before it finished a single half. Coming off a historic 2007 season, the Patriots lost QB Tom Brady to a torn ACL and MCL in Week 1, leaving career college and NFL backup QB Matt Cassel to lead the team. Not surprisingly, the team circled the wagons. By mid-season, Cassel was a competent QB, and the running game was as efficient as it was in past years. In fact, it was the defense that failed that Patriots in 2008. The pass rush was non-existent, and New England was extremely weak over the middle, against both the run and the pass. 2009 sees the return of Brady, but more importantly it will see a re-tooled defense. CB Leigh Bodden, CB Shawn Springs, and rookie Patrick Chung all look to help a secondary that was exposed last year. The Patriots hope that OLB Derrick Burgess can help with improving the pass rush. Burgess is a two-time Pro Bowler, but comes off a disappointing 2008 season with the Raiders. The Patriots will most likely move to a 4-3 based defensive front this year. It makes sense, as most of the pass-rushers they have are better with a hand on the ground. If the defense improves slightly, it will be a scary proposition for the rest of the NFL. Even with Cassel at QB last year, the Patriots were amongh the best offensive teams in the league. Now, with a healthy Brady, all-world WR Randy Moss, and a head coach that spends his summers with Urban Meyer, the Patriots may be even more dominant offensively than in 2007. If that is true, look for the Patriots to make another Super Bowl run.
Prediction: 13-3
2. Miami Dolphins
2008 Record: 11-5, AFC East champs
Coach: Tony Sparano (2nd year Miami, 11-6 career)
Schedule: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/orl-dolphins-schedule-2009,0,612949.htmlstory
Key Additions: OLB Jason Taylor, C Jake Grove, FS Gibril Wilson, DB Vontae Davis, QB Pat White
Key Losses: DE Vonnie Holliday, S Renaldo Hill, CB Andre Goodman
2009 Outlook: The Dolphins made one of the greatest single-season turnarounds in 2008. Winning only one game in 2007, the organization brought in Bill Parcells to handle football operations. As he did in his coaching career, Parcells brough instant success. With Jeff Ireland as General Manager, and Tony Sparano as head coach, the Dolphins took the AFC East crown in 2008. The Dolphins received a lot of attention for their Wildcat formation, but the offense was run through QB Chad Pennington. Pennington, runner up for MVP in 2008, brought leadership to a team that desperately needed it offensively. The biggest improvement on the offensive side is the interior line. Starting guards Justin Smiley and Donald Thomas both missed the majjority of 2008 with injuries. Newcomer C Jake Grove replaces Samson Satele, and the Dolphins return one of the better tackle duos in the NFL, Pro Bowler Jake Long and Vernon Carey. Defensively, the Dolphins hope OLB Jason Taylor can provide another passrusher to work opposite OLB Joey Porter. The Dolphins also brought in FS Gibril Wilson, another in the box safety that will team up with Yermiah Bell. The Wilson signing indicates that the Dolphins will go to a quarters base-coverage scheme. This will be a notable move, as "quarters" is gaining popularity at the high school and NCAA levels as a way to defend the spread offense, which New England employs. If rookie CBs Vontae Davis and Sean Smith can play well, and second year DEs Kendall Langford and Philip Merling can pick up where they left off, this defense can be among the best in the league. Couple that with an offense that is quietly efficient, and the Dolphins have a shot at winning the divisioin again.
Prediction: 11-5
3. New York Jets
2008 Record: 9-7, 3rd place in AFC East
Coach: Rex Ryan (1st year New York, 0-0 career)
Schedule: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/teams/schedule?team=nyj
Key Additions: QB Mark Sanchez, DE Marques Douglas, LB Bart Scott, LB Larry Izzo, CB Lito Sheppard, SS Jim Leonhard
Key Losses: QB Brett Favre, WR Laveraneus Coles, TE Chris Baker, TE Bubba Franks, DE Kenyon Coleman
2009 Outlook: The 2008 Jets come off an awkward and disappointing season. At times, the Jets appeared to be a contender, at others they looked uninspired. A promising start to the season was eventually overshadowed by the Jets losing four of fives games to close the season, causing them to miss the playoffs. Something had to change, and that something was coach Eric Mangini. The Brett Favre experiment is over, and new head coach Rex Ryan hopes to bring a new attitude to the Jets. Ryan takes over a team with plenty of talent. The defense features Kerry Rhodes, Darrell Revis, Kris Jenkins, Calvin Pace, as well as Jim Leonhard, and Bart Scott. Leonhard and Scott defected from Baltimore to the Jets with Ryan. The personnel is there, as the Jets tout a number of players that will be worthy of Pro Bowl consideration. The offense features a talented offesnive line and run game, but will be relying on a rookie QB in Mark Sanchez. Calling Sanchez a rookie may even be an understatement. At USC, he started just 16 games. The Jets WRs won't offer Sanchez much assistance. WR Jerricho Cotchery leads the group, which also features Chansi Stuckey and Brad Smith. Look for TE Dustin Keller to be Sanchez's safety valve. Keller was impressive as a rookie, and has the ability to flex out wide. The Jets will try to get the ball in the hands of RBs Thomas Jones and Leon Washington. If they can manage to run the ball effectively, it will allow them to protect Sanchez. Even then, the Jets my be lacking the play makers to provide the defense much help. Controlling the clock, limiting turnovers, and allowing the defense to carry the team are the blueprint for the Jets to have success in 2009.
Prediction: 7-9
4. Buffalo Bills
2008 Record: 7-9, last place in NFC East
Coach: Dick Jauron (4th year Buffalo, 57-77 career)
Schedule: http://www.buffalobills.com/schedules/game-schedule.html
Key Additions: WR Terrell Owens, DE Aaron Maybin, C Eric Wood, CB Drayton Florence, QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, RB Dominic Rhodes
Key Losses: OG Derrick Dockery, QB J.P. Losman, TE Robert Royal, LT Jason Peters
2009 Outlook: The Bills continued their run of mediocrity in 2008, finishing 7-9 for the third consecutive season. The team has gone nowhere under Dick Jauron, and most likely will finish 2009 in last place in the AFC East. The Bills strength is at the skill positions. Free agent acquisitiion WR Terrell Owens joins fellow wide receivers Lee Evans, Josh Reed, and Roscoe Parrish. To go along with a strong group of receivers are RBs Marshawn Lynch, Fred Jackson, and free agent pickup Dominic Rhodes. Trent Edwards is the quarterback, and while has not been terrible, he has been nothing more than average. The biggest change over the offseason was the offensive line. The starting lineup features 5 new starters, two of which are rookies. The Bills think that the best way to maximize their talent offesnively is by running a no-huddle offense. With an offensive line that will be struggle protecting Edwards, this may end in disaster. The other side of the ball isn't much more promising. There are some good young players such as Donte Whitner, Keith Ellison, and Paul Posluszny, but they didn't do anything to improve the defense in the off-season. In order for the Bills to get on the right side of .500, Jaruon will have to do a great job maximizing the talent he has, which is a skill that as of yet, he has not displayed.
Prediction: 2-14
Chris' AFC East Predictions
1. New England Patriots, 14-2
2. Miami Dolphins, 7-9
3. Buffalo Bills, 7-9
4. New York Jets, 5-11
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