With the NFL division breakdown series in full swing, the next division in focus is the AFC East. This division has been dominated the last ten years by the New England Patriots, but they face serious contenders this year with improving teams throughout the season.
The Patriots went 10-6 last season and really improved this offseason, especially on the defensive side. The 8-8 Miami Dolphins did not do much in the offseason, with a less than impressive draft and only one big free agency signing in LT Branden Albert. The 8-8 New York Jets had the best offseason, potentially, by signing quarterback Michael Vick, wide receiver Eric Decker, and running back Chris Johnson. Everyone knows that the Jets will be a great defense, but in 2014 they may finally score some points. Finally, the 6-10 Buffalo Bills might be the only team in this division to get worse this offseason. They did get Sammy Watkins, but losing Jairus Byrd to free agency and Kiko Alonso to a torn ACL has left Bills fans with a lot more question marks than answers this offseason.
Here is a defensive position-by-position breakdown of the AFC East, with the “best” at each position followed by “the rest” in descending order.
AFC East Breakdown
Defensive Line
The Best: BUF The Rest: MIA, NYJ, NE
This was a really tough choice because all four of these teams have very solid defensive lines. The Bills hold the edge in the division because of their depth, but the Dolphins are right on their tail. Cam Wake and Randy Starks are as good as they get, but Marcell Dareus, Mario Williams, Kyle Williams, and Jerry Hughes are just a little better.
The Jets may have the best duo, in Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson, but they just do not have the depth to be any higher on this list. The Patriots, with Rob Ninkovich and Chandler Jones, have solid players and any team would love to have them, but in this division they are at the bottom. Like I said in the beginning, all four teams have very good defensive lines, but they had to be ranked in some order and this is it.
Linebackers
The Best: NE The Rest: BUF, NYJ, MIA
A few weeks ago the Bills had the best linebackers in the AFC East, but the loss of Kiko Alonso really hurts them. With that loss the Patriots feature the best group of linebackers in the AFC East. Getting Jarod Mayo back is huge for this defense and linebacker will be a strong point for this team. Buffalo is still second even without Alonso because of the Brandon Spikes pickup. Spikes can still get it done and will be a fun player to watch in Buffalo.
The Jets throw out three average linebackers and are nothing special. They get their jobs done, but they don’t do anything great. The worst group of linebackers in the division is also the worst in the NFL. The Dolphins had problems all last season with their linebackers and did nothing to get better this offseason, which makes no sense, but maybe they know something the rest of the NFL does not.
Cornerback
The Best: NE The Rest: MIA, NYJ, BUF
The Darrelle Revis addition to the Patriots may be the biggest offseason addition for any team this season. Losing Talib was big, but they will be just fine now that they have the best cornerback in the league. Revis and Alfonzo Dennard will be a nice duo this season and Brandon Browner will provide a big boost when he returns from his suspension in Week 5. The Miami Dolphins have Brent Grimes, who is one of the better corners in the league and is coming off of a great season. The addition of Cortland Finnegan should help as well.
If Dee Milliner can improve for the Jets and Dimitri Patterson can stay healthy those two will be a hard duo to throw at this season. The Bills do not have the best corners in the world, but they are still serviceable. Stephon Gilmore and Leodis McKelvin can show flashes of brilliance, but lack the consistency needed to be elite corners in this league.
Safety
The Best: NE The Rest: BUF, MIA, NYJ
The Patriots have the best safety tandem in the division and it’s not even close. Devin McCourty and Duron Harmon are both solid safeties. The loss of Jairus Byrd will really hurt the Bills, but Aaron Williams is an up-and-coming player in this league, while Da’Norris Searcy will look to be more consistent in 2014.
The Dolphins are the team that can improve the most this season at the safety position, but for now they are ranked third in the division. Reshad Jones can only get better this season after a rough 2014 season and a healthy Louis Delmas instantly makes them better at the position. The Jets have Dawan Landry, who is nothing special, and 2014 first-round draft pick Calvin Pryor. Pryor has potential, but for now, the Jets have the worst safeties in the AFC East.
Special Teams
The Best: NYJ The Rest: MIA NE, BUF
No team in this division has a great special teams unit, so it was very hard to rank them. The Jets have the best kick returner, in Jeremy Kerley, and a solid kicker and punter, so they have to be the best unit in the AFC East. Miami has one of the better punters in the league, in Brandon Fields, a young kicker, and a pretty solid kick returner, in Marcus Thigpen. They get the nod for the second-best unit.
Both the Patriots and Bills struggle with the special teams aspect of the game. The Patriots have a very solid kicker in Stephen Gostkowski and big-legged punter in Ryan Allen, but they have no returner, so they get third on the list. The Bills have a decent kicker in Dan Carpenter and Marquise Goodwin is an average returner. In a division with very weak special teams units, the Bills hold down last place.
Coaching
The Best: NE The Rest: NYJ, MIA, BUF
This is a no-brainer, as Bill Belichick is by far the best coach in this division and no coach really deserves to be in the same sentence as him. Rex Ryan is the second-best coach in this division and has done the most with the talent that he has had. The Jets have one of the best defenses year in and year out and that has a lot to do with Rex.
Joe Philbin gets the nod at third because of the Bills head coach, but Philbin still has a lot to prove. He did a great job going 8-8 last season with all of the locker room turmoil, but his team did lose the last two games of the season that cost them a playoff appearance. Doug Marrone was a little bit of a head-scratcher when he was hired in 2013 and the 6-10 record really showed some weaknesses. The Bills did deal with a lot injuries last season, so it will be interesting to see what Marrone can do with a healthy lineup. He has to learn how to adjust better.
Prediction
The Best: NE The Rest: NYJ, MIA, BUF
This should be a fun division to watch this season. Until a team shows that they are ready to compete with the Patriots, it will be their division to win every year and I see no difference in 2014. The Jets will prove to be stiff competition and will probably get a Wild Card berth in the playoffs. The offensive additions will really help the Jets and they always have a great defense.
I see Miami finishing around the same record as last season, give or take a win, but they will fall short of the second Wild Card seed. Plenty of pressure will be on the shoulders of Ryan Tannehill and if he can take that next step, the Dolphins could be dangerous. The Bills only got worse during the offseason and I see them really struggling this season. The additions of Sammy Watkins and a healthy quarterback should help the Bills, but they will not be able to overcome the losses of Jairus Byrd and Kiko Alonso.
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