AFC East: 2000's Vs 2010's

Over this past decade, the AFC east, and, quite frankly, the entire NFL, has been controlled to the point of near absurdity by the New England Patriots. With 7 divisional titles, 112 total wins, only one losing season and four super bowl appearances (winning three), the 2000's patriots have earned their place not only in AFC east lore but in NFL history.

Their dominance in this division has only been extrapolated by the sheer mediocrity of their competitors. New York and Miami had only two current or former players on the NFL.com all-decade team.

Compare that to the Patriots, whose former and current squads boasted the likes of Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Richard Seymour, Ty Law, and Adam Vinatieri.

Bill Belichick's tenure in New England has earned him the honor of coach of the decade, while New York has gone through three head coaches (Al Groh, Herm Edwards, and Eric Mangini) and Miami is on its 5th this decade. 

The Jets (71-73 for the decade) had lost 13 of 15 against the Patriots before a 34-31 OT win on November 13, 2008.

The Dolphins (72-72) have had only one playoff win in three appearances and one of the worst seasons in NFL history this decade. The Bills have, well, been the Bills. 

But the tides are changing. The Jets (yes, the Jets), have posted back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in years, and don't look to be going anywhere.

The Dolphins have had two straight successful campaigns since their horrid 1-15 season, and with Bill Parcells in the front office, they can only get better.

Both teams have franchise quarterbacks (hopefully), elite running back tandems, solid offensive lines, emerging stars in the secondary and linebacking corps, and amazing cheerleaders.

Case in point: they will both be forces to be reckoned with for a long time. Meanwhile, the Patriots have gone from elite status to simple AFC contender following an embarrassing showing in these past playoffs.

Fans have already begun jumping off the bandwagon, booing as the Ravens completed their rout. As for the future, they have a good number of respectable youngsters, but not a strong enough foundation for another run at it.

Welker may never recover his former success, Moss has made it clear he doesn't care, Brady's only getting older, and they have no running game to speak of.

On the defensive side, Brandon Meriweather, Pat Chung and Jerod Mayo have shown a great deal of talent, but looming contract negotiations with Ty Warren, Adalius Thomas, and Vince Wilfork could prove devastating to a team already gutted of most veteran leadership.

What does this mean for the future?

Time will only tell whether Belichick's movement to drastically go younger will pay dividends or destroy the teams' fabric. Meanwhile, Tony Sparano and Rex Ryan have their teams bloodthirsty and ready for a new decade out of the shadow of the New England Patriots.

Expect many more games like the one we saw on Monday Night week 5.