The Good
It's hard not give the #1-spot in the AFC East to the New England Patriots. They went 16-0 during the regular 2007 season and managed to keep 90% of their team in place for the 2008 season. The secondary, which was the weakest link on the field, lost both Randall Gay and Asante Samuel to free agency. This means nothing to the Patriots, whose organization reminds me of Phil Jackson's triangle offense. You plug another player in the scheme and the wheel keeps on rolling. Tom Brady is focused and so are Randy Moss and RB Laurence Maroney. This terrific trio = points, points and more points! They've also added RB Lamont Jordan to the roster who'll run the screen play nicely.
The success of the Buffalo Bills will begin and end with Trent Edwards and Marshawn Lynch. Edwards must continue to improve on his performance from last year and pull some games out with his arm. Lynch must be feeling mighty lucky to be on the field vs. the court room. He will need to improve one aspect of his game and become a dual threat out of the back field. To start, he needs to study Thurman Thomas' old tapes. It works, baby; it works.
The only sign of life down in Miami was the naming of Bill Parcells as the Executive Vice President of Football Operations and Tony Sparano as the head coach for the Dolphins. Bill Parcells still possesses the passion for the game and understands what it takes to build a Super Bowl contender and Tony Sparano believes in Bill Parcells.
The NY Jets have acquired the rights to future Hall-of- Fame QB Brett Favre for a conditional fourth round draft pick, enough said!!!
The Bad
The Buffalo Bills lost two, hard fought games in the 2007 regular season by 1-point. This had a lot to due with the immaturity of its players. They're still young, but having a successful season under their belt should increase their confidence.
*Side Note:* Brett Favre was traded to the NY Jets after I finished my article.
The NY Jets need a quarterback. Yes, both Kellen Clemons and Chad Pennington are on the roster, but neither is playoff ready. The WRs are speedy and the Jets need a quarterback that can get the ball down the field to Laveranues Coles. Adding Pro Bowlers Alan Faneca (G) and Tony Richardson (FB) should increase the possibilities. They can help with increasing Thomas Jones' yardage as well. Jones has yet to show that he can hold the #1 spot. On the defensive side of the ball, Captain Jonathan Vilma is now a Saint, but LB Calvin Pace should fit in nicely. He's ready to put his nightmare years in AZ behind him.
The NY Jets have acquired Brett Favre. If they don't make the playoffs, expect for hell to freeze over!
The New England Patriots offensive line was beat up and exposed during the Super Bowl. The NY Giants showed the rest of the league how to get it done against this high powered offense. With offensive lineman Nicholas Kaczur being popped in April for having 202 Oxycontin pills in his possession, will he be punished? Isn't that a violation of the leagues' substance abuse policy and illegal?
The Ugly
The Miami Dolphins are going to suck this year. Regardless of the fact that Bill Parcell's is the Executive V.P. of Football Operations. He can only put the personnel in place; he can't help them perform on the field. I'm a football fan first and foremost, but after scanning the roster of the Dolphins there were only 4 names that I recognized: Ricky Williams, Ronnie Brown, Ernest Wilford and Josh McCown. Noticeably absent? A notable defensive player. With 40 new players added to the Miami Dolphins roster, maybe they'll 5 games?
The Buffalo Bills will travel to Canada to play eight games -- five regular-season contests and three exhibition games -- in Toronto over the next five years. I was born and raised in Buffalo, and until the Sabers got hot, the Bills were all we had. The NFL's decision to allow these games to be played in Canada is testing the market. It's no secret that owner Ralph Wilson wants to sell the team. Seeing how 50% of the stadium is filled with folks from the North...it's only a matter of time before the team moves there too.
