Has any AFC team dramatically improved enough to make them the favorites?

The Patriots.

Ochocinco sucked playing next to a billion year old TO with Carson Palmer throwing him the ball. I don't think we can look at his production last year and say it will be the same or lesser because he's getting older. Welker didn't do anything like he is now in Miami. Moss didn't do anything like he did the past three years when he was in Oakland prior to NE. Brady can get him the ball and defenders won't know who to turn their attention to: Branch, the two TEs, Welker, someone out of the backfield or Ocho. I think their offense got infinitely better and it doesn't even matter what Ocho's numbers are at the end of the day.

And Haynesworth next to Wilfork could go either way. They could be dominant run stoppers or it could flop. I have a hard time thinking they won't be any better at all because of it though.

Let's get real, I fucking hate the Pats just as much as anyone on this site, but they ran through the AFC last year and if it weren't for the fact that we are the only team besides the Browns that knew how to beat them, they would have been in the Superbowl. I just can't see them being any worse than what they were last year, minus whatever "difficulty of schedule" brings their way.

 

Patriots. Their D was very young last year and they went 14-2. They added a beast in the middle, a talented WR, and they have that fuck brady. And that other fuck head coach.

 

I still don't think the Jets are done adding pieces yet. As things stand right now it would look like the Patriots but Ochocinco is no spring chicken either and Haynesworth has already sat out a practice or two for unspecified ailments.

 

The problem with this is that the "billion year old TO" completely outplayed ocho cinco last year. TO was far and away the more productive WR and the number 1 target on an anemic Bengals offense.

As for the Pats being better this year, I'm not so sure. For one thing, Brady put up a historically dominant season last. I'm not sure I see him surpassing or even replicating his 39TD, 4 Int season at age 34. The Pats also had an absurdly good turnover differential. This is another feat that is statistically hard to duplicate. Turnovers tend to vary dramatically from season to season. They are the great unknown quantity going into any game, or for a larger frame of reference, any season.

Also, Hayensworth is an enormous unknown and while I wouldn't be surprised to see him have a solid impact in their run defense, I also wouldn't be shocked to see him get cut.

As a final point of consideration, the Pats were 14-2 last year. How much better can they really get? And with that schedule? For some relevant NFL history, tell me how many teams have had 14+ wins one year and duplicated that the next year. I am honestly unaware of it ever happening. I'm sure they will win their typical 12+ games, I'm just not sure they are the lock everyone seems to think they are to dominate the league. We'll see.

 

And look at our two biggest additions:

One is no spring chicken an the other has already sat out two practices.

 

right but people seem to be pointing this out ad nauseam about the Jets additions but ignoring it with respect to the Pats additions.

Also, the media seems infatuated with the idea of how young the Pats are and how dominant they will be over the next 5 years. The fallacy in this line of thinking is that their most important player is 34 years old. How much longer is Tom Brady going to be the best (or second best) quarterback in the league? 2 years? 3 years? What happens when he starts to slip a little bit? I would argue that the Pats are as reliant on their quarterback's dominance as any team in the NFL with the exception of Indianapolis (and possibly San Diego).

An interesting little tidbit for you: There are only two quarterbacks in the history of the NFL to ever lead their teams to SB championships past the age of 33: John Elway and Brad Johnson.

Let's take Elway and the Broncos first: John Elway was way past his prime on a stacked Denver team, playing with the luxury of one of the more dominant running games in NFL history. That Denver team was a run-first team with a very solid defense. And while Elway was still a very god QB and an integral part of their success, the broncos were no where near as reliant on Elway dominating games as the Pats are on Brady dominating games. Just wait until Brady has his first mediocre season and see how many games the Pats win.

Now let's look at Brad Johnson. Brad Johnson was simply a game manager for a dominant defense. Any number of quarterbacks could have played on that Tampa team and led them to victory. Their defense was stacked and they forced a trillion turnovers. Again, this team wasn't anywhere near as reliant on their qb as the Patriots are reliant on Brady.

 

Our biggest additions may have been the people we drafted. We will know in a few weeks. Oh, and Tom Moore.

 

As Rex implied, so long as we're the only ones that can figure out how to beat the Patriots consistently (as in taking at least 1 out of 2 every year), it's going to be tough to knock them off that perch.

Their D is young and has grown a year older. The majority of them aren't special players, but within Shithead's system they are set up for success. Add Ocho and Haynesworth (a real wildcard) and I'll slightly give them the favor until the rest of the NFL proves they can beat them.

 

Jets moved UP, not lateral.

Mark Sanchez: Never underestimate the importance of a QB who started in his rookie season making it through his sophomore slump year. While QB's like Brady and Manning plateaued years ago and will actually start getting hurt more and losing a step, Sanchez is on his way UP, only getting better and better every game.

Add a full year of Holmes, sure handed Mason, and 6'5" Burress in the redzone, and look for Mark's completion percentage to approach %60. This alone will be good for +5 minuets TOP, +50 yards passing, and +7 pts per game.

Shonn Greene: The running game is finally HIS, and he knows it and owns it. The era of true ground and pound is finally here. Look for the Terminator (who now 'owns' the FB position) leading the way to the NFL's top running attack especially since Greene will be running into an empty box with both safties playing back against Holmes/Plax/Mason. Plus with LT reduced to a 3rd down threat, he will start the season fresh and finish the season even fresher and more dangerous.

Leonard/Pool: Our safety play last season killed us. Pool sucked at the start of the season, and Leonard was injured during the most important part of the season. Now Pool 'gets it' and will play at a high level from the opening gun, and of course Leonard is back directing the defense. Plus Revis is back 100% and he and Cro have a year playing together. We should see FAR LESS miss-communications this year.

Kill the QB: Our D-lin struggled mightily last season and this year we will start out slow but continue to improve as our new Rooks get on board and Pace tests out his healed foot. By mid season on our D-line can be in the top half of the league. And if Ellis and/or Wilkerson catches lightning in a bottle, we could even break the top 10.

 

The two most improved teams are the Patriots and Jets, so the winner of the division will be the top seed in the AFC. They have split the games the last two years and this year probably won't be much different.

I feel the pressure will be on our two top new draft picks, they will need to become starting caliber quick and give our D-line the pressure we have been missing.

Next, the pressure is on Mark to get familier with his receivers. Both additions are long time veterans who should pick up the offense quickly, but the timing with Mark will need to be fine tuned.

Everything else is a wash... we have upgraded slightly at receive in talent, but the experience in this offense is huge and we lost that at three positions.

At LB and DB we stayed the same, just like O-Line and RB.

Jets will have to rely on our O-line and RB the first few games to carry the workload, which is nothing new to this team. By week four we should be in full stride and an offense to be feared on the ground and through the air.

 

I agree with you very much. Consistency and familiarity with the system will make our QB that much better and Wilson et al will also improve due to experience. I see BURRESS and MASON as two former Pro- Bowlers with experience as positive influences to our whole team. I think NE did OK and Miami is still unproven. Their run game might sputter at first. their Ol is strong but have not played together too long. Buffalo it all comes down to their QB . I think he is serviceable but their defense took a hit when it lost the POZA. Nick Barnett has a lot to prove. The secondary is weak. Overall I like our improvements but NE has done nearly as well. Fat Albert is the big question( no pun) mark for them.

 

I agree with what you're saying, but I'm still baffled that Jets fans don't know how to spell SHONN! Sorry, pet peeve, either way I'm not doubting that we got better but we can't give reason x y and z that the Pats won't be better and not apply it to our own team.

 

agreed, we can't argue that they acquired old players with questions and then say that our guys are golden.

Its nearly a wash...

Mason and 85 are pretty similar in the questions department. Both were stellar in their primes and have still have the ability to be the best receiver on the field on occasion. But the last few years have seen slow declines as they aged. So now the question is do they still have what it takes to be great? even if its just in certain spots?

Plax and Haynesworth are similar as well. Albert has been a disasterous nuisance for over 2 years in washington. He took their money and shut the hell down. He has routinely failed conditioning tests, and frankly might as well have not played last year. Plax, did not play last year, or the year before, because he was in fucking jail. He wasn't even having a great year before he shot himself (I assume no permanent damage from that btw?) and is now 2 years older (34) and is a gigantic injury risk. He may not have the attitude issues, but he certainly can bring plenty of other problems to the table. In the end, the biggest question both come with, is what will they play like on the field? Will they each look like their 07-08 versions? Or will they look more like Al's 2010?

 

If the Patriots get the Haynesworth that got himself that 100 mil contract then they're the favorite (altho they already were)

 

Filed to ESPN: Former Jets DE Shaun Ellis & Patriots reached agreement on a one-year deal, pending physical.

 

With regards to Haynesworth, can someone tell me how Belichick is going to magically turn him around like Washington never could?

 

Keep in mind that Denver was over the salary cap when Elway won it all.

 

They could play him at a position in which he is dominant, and treat him like he is older than 12 years old.

It is hard to handle a situation worse than Shanahan handled that one.