NFL Predictions for 2010 Season: Who Will Win AFC East?

4. Buffalo Bills (7-9)

The Bills have added another potential great running back to the mix when they drafted C.J. Spiller in the 1st round of the draft.  This was a great pick for the Bills and Spiller will be a great player in the NFL as his speed and power will fit perfectly in the transition.  However, I think that this draft pick in Spiller does not help the Bills chance in winning games.  They already had two great running backs with Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch and now they are just running back heavy and did not help any other positions on their roster.

Their quarterback is still shaky with Fitzpatrick and Edwards competing for the starting job.  Either way I think that this quarterback will not be good enough to take the Bills where they want to go but given Gailey's expertise in quarterbacks their is hopes for the starter here to be successful.  However, by getting rid of TO and Josh Reed the Bills haven't exactly done their quarterbacks any favors and it will be up to James Hardy, Steve Johnson or rookie Marcus Easley to compete for that #2 WR to counterpart Lee Evans.

The Bills defense should continue to grow with each other behind leader Paul Posluszny, who has topped 100 tackles in each of his past 2 years.  However, the loss of Aaron Schobel will hurt the Bills outside pass rush.  Along with Posluszny the Bills have a great young leader in safety with Jairus Byrd, who made the Pro Bowl as a rookie free safety last season and tied the NFL with 9 interceptions in 14 games.  These two seem to be the only two bright spots for the Bills on defense and I don't see the defense being too much better than last year. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Bills will no doubt be more fun to watch under offense-minded Gailey than they were under the conservative Dick Jauron.  However, out of those 6 games against the AFC East I see them losing at least 4 of them and having trouble winning any of them to be honest. 

3. Miami Dolphins (9-7)

I don't have to touch on the strength of the AFC East again but to see the Dolphins finishing third will give you a nice idea again.  A lot of places have the Dolphins finishing second in the AFC East in front of the Patriots, but I am not going to buy into all that.  Head Coach Tony Sparano has done a pretty good job along side Bill Parcells in turning this program around but I think people are buying into the Brandon Marshall hype a little too much.

The Dolphins quarterback is still Chad Henne! The only reason he is even serviceable in the NFL is because he has the best 1,2 punch at running back when they are healthy and they are the first people to try out that wildcat formation.  There are some major problems with both of those scenarios.  First off, Ronnie Brown can't seem to stay healthy for a whole season and I don't think will stay healthy this season after coming back from a knee injury 2 years ago and a fractured foot last season.  Second, that wildcat formation is becoming easier and easier for the defense to defend and you didn't hear half of as much as you did two years ago when it first came out.  The wildcat will be shut down even more this year by opposing defenses.

The defense is pretty shaky going into this season and I think will be the downfall to the season for the Dolphins. The DL is shaky and doesn't really have any pass rushers since losing Jason Taylor and a lot of the pressure instantly goes to their first round draft pick Jared Odrick from Penn State. Their run defense has gotten a little better since signing MLB Karlos Dansby to play along side Channing Crowder, however I don't think that helps their passing defense at all.  The Dolphins secondary is also a little shaky with Vontae Davis and Sean Smith starting at the corners.  Although Davis made some really nice plays and "TOP 10" plays on ESPN's Sportscenter, he could not make the routine plays which will leave the Dolphins in big trouble this year.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Dolphins will have troubles against passing offenses like the Patriots, Packers, Bengals and their schedule does not get much easier when they have to play the Jets, Vikings, Steelers, Ravens, and Titans.  This is a killer schedule and I don't think they have the experience or skills to put together a season good enough to win the AFC East in 2010.

2. New York Jets (10-6)

The only thing stopping this team from a 12-4 season is #24.  I don't think he is going to sign and I think he is prepared to hold out until he is made the highest paid cornerback in the NFL. This will make rookie CB from Boise State, Kyle Wilson, have to try and fill in his shoes.  Good luck rook.

Quarterback Mark Sanchez is a solid player who can manage a game but can't single handedly win a game like Tom Brady can.  Sanchez is going to make mistakes for the Jets this year and I am not sure if the defense can pick up those mistakes like they could last year.  The Jets will have to continue to pound the ball successfully like they did last year and the defense will have to be on top of their game all year long to pick up the mistakes of Sanchez. Last year's best running game in the NFL got rid of both their RBs and put all their faith into Shonn Greene.  Those are huge shoes that Greene will have to fill and although I think he will do alright, I don't think he will do as well as people think.  The Jets re-signed Edwards and got Holmes from the Steelers to upgrade their WR, but then again they still have a mediocre Sanchez throwing.  If Greene can indeed fill those shoes of Washington and Jones this year then Sanchez will be much more successful and the Jets will have a shot at winning the AFC East.  I don't see that happening and I see Sanchez having a sophomore struggle and making a lot of mistakes.

The defense of the Jets will be tough with Rex Ryan as their coach but if Revis doesn't come back it will make it a lot easier on opposing teams. The keys to the Jets success on defense this year is simple, health.  If DT Kris Jenkins and OLB Jason Taylor can stay healthy then this defense should be ok.  However, if these two people run into trouble and get injured along side with LB Calvin Pace and CB Darrelle Revis then this defense will be the downfall of this team. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

I think that in the end football has injuries more than it doesn't and the Jets feel the pain most this year and come in 2nd in the AFC East but make the playoffs as the Wild Card. I don't think they make too much noise in the playoffs as they did last year and they lose in the first or maybe second round in the playoffs.

1. New England Patriots (11-5)

For the first time in about a decade the Pats are flying under the radar in the NFL and loving it.  Everyone is thinking that the Jets will win this AFC East no problems and I think that makes the Pats even more dangerous.

The Pats have the best QB in the game in Tom Brady and I don't care what people say about Peyton Manning or Drew Brees.  Simply put, look at the numbers. Brady has 3 Super Bowl rings to himself while Manning and Brees have only 1 each.  After the second best statisically season last year Brady is feeling even better with another year under his belt since the ACL surgery.  Look for Brady to come back to his 2007 form this year and torch the league.

I won't spend a lot of time on the RBs of the Pats because lets be honest, they don't run the ball.  They got a pretty good core in Maroney, Taylor, Morris and Faulk that will carry the load and do whatever little role they need to do.  The WR core is where the Patriots are dangerous this year.  Along with Brady throwing the rock, the WR of the Pats are the best part of this team. Moss and Welker are going to do what they always do but keep an eye on the young guys on the team with Edleman and Tate.  These two guys are going to make Brady even more dangerous with the ablility to go 3 and 4 wide whenever he wants and just torture defenses. 

The defense is solid at al positions but not incredible at any position.  Vince Wilfork will shut down the run as always and Gerard Warren and Matt Wright will hold down the DE. The MLB position instantly got better on draft day when the Pats somehow stole Brandon Spikes in the 2nd round and he will be along side Jerod Mayo and will hold down the middle. Banta-Cain and Jermaine Cunningham will be on the outside rushing the passer and with Belichick calling the defense again look for them to confuse a lot of offenses. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

Belichick hasn't called the defense since the Super Bowl years and I think with him back to the puppet master for the defense that they will instantly be better and confuse a lot of quarterbacks.  Most importantly, they will confuse the young QB in New York and take both games against them.  Brady, Moss and Welker are all healthy again for the first time since the 2007 season when they tore up records and almost ran the table.  I am ready for the doubters who say that the Jets will win, to them all I have to say is we'll see.