-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Good AFC East Article Patriots Beat by Tom E. Curran: Dolphins and Jets gained on Pats in the AFC East 01:00 AM EDT on Sunday, May 28, 2006 The only thing "off" about the NFL's offseason these days are the pads. The competitive vibe from the regular season and playoffs rolls right into the so-called downtime as teams labor from early March through the start of June to make moves that position them to either remain competitive or become that way. For the most part, the moves are over. Here's what four months of offseason work in the AFC East's front offices has yielded. THE PATRIOTS WHO'S IN: WR Reche Caldwell (free agent, Chargers), CB Eric Warfield (free agent, Chiefs), S Tebucky Jones (cut, Dolphins), LB Barry Gardner (cut, Jets), K Martin Gramatica (free agent, Colts), RB Laurence Maroney (first-rounder, Vikings), Chad Jackson (second-rounder, Florida), K Steve Gostkowski (fourth-rounder, Memphis), DC Dean Pees (elevated from LB coach) WHO'S OUT: K Adam Vinatieri (free agent, Colts), OLB Willie McGinest (Browns), WR David Givens (free agent, Titans), RT Tom Ashworth (free agent, Seahawks), WR Tim Dwight (free agent, Jets), LB Matt Chatham (free agent, Jets) TE Christian Fauria (free agent, Redskins), DC Eric Mangini (head coach, Jets) WHAT'S INTERESTING: The courtship of Ty Law continues with the Patriots, Chiefs, Titans and Seahawks in the running. New England would be happy to have him back at the right price. If Law returns -- and he'll likely make up his mind sometime next month -- he'll significantly upgrade the secondary. The Patriots have the second-most available cap space in the league (around $10 million) so they have a cushion available for him. The influx of offensive players from the draft and the rapid maturation of Benjamin Watson in the second half of 2005 bodes well for an offense that was a tad inconsistent last year. WHAT'S TROUBLING: Defensively, the Patriots are counting on step-up performances from their linebackers, particularly ILB Monty Beisel and OLB Tully Banta-Cain. If neither can rise to the occasion, the Pats may have to juggle schemes to cover up a dearth of depth at linebacker. Also, injuries to key players like LT Matt Light, SS Rodney Harrison, C Dan Koppen and RB Corey Dillon remain a source of concern until they're going full bore. Can the new kicker -- Gostkowski or Gramatica -- stop folks from lamenting the loss of Adam Vinatieri? And is Matt Cassel good enough to be a heartbeat from quarterbacking one of the league's best teams? THE UPSHOT: The Pats get cuffed around for not doing much this offseason but that ignores the guys they re-signed last year that would have hit free agency this offseason, namely Tom Brady and Mike Vrabel. Beyond that, they got Richard Seymour done -- no small feat given the tenor of those talks last summer. Still, the '06 free agent imports seem pedestrian, the exports were pretty good. Losing McGinest and Vinatieri could well have lasting impact. The Patriots have a lot of "ifs" hanging out there but even if those don't fall their way, they're still among the AFC elite. THE DOLPHINS WHO'S IN: QB Daunte Culpepper (trade, Vikings), QB Joey Harrington (trade, Lions), OT L.J. Shelton (Browns), WR Kelly Campbell (Vikings), CB Will Allen (Giants), CB Renaldo Hill (Raiders), CB Andre Goodman, (Lions), LB Sedrick Hodge (Saints), CB Jason Allen (first rounder, Tennessee), WR Derek Hagan (third-rounder, Arizona State), DC Dom Capers (head coach, Texans), OC Mike Mularkey (head coach, Buffalo) WHO'S OUT: CB Sam Madison (Giants), LB Junior Seau (not attached), S Tebucky Jones (Patriots), QB Gus Frerotte (Rams), CB Reggie Howard (Panthers), OT Stockar McDougle (Jaguars), QB Sage Rosenfels (Texans), CB Kiwaukee Thomas (Bills), RB Ricky Williams (suspended), OC Scott Linehan (head coach, Rams), DC Richard Smith (defensive coordinator, Texans) WHAT'S INTERESTING: The Miami offensive line under coach Hudson Houck was a strong suit in 2005 and the addition of Shelton at left tackle should make it even better. With Ricky Williams out of the way, the Dolphins can now get to figuring how to best deploy the outstanding Ronnie Brown, who should be a real weapon at running back. The addition of the blitz-happy Capers as defensive coordinator makes Miami that much more dangerous. WHAT'S TROUBLING: The on-the-rise Dolphins are turning their offense (and, in large part, their chances) to Daunte Culpepper, who is coming off a major knee injury and a precarious slip from very good (64 TDs, 22 picks in 03-04) to awful (6 TDs, 12 picks in 7 games in '05). Culpepper is going to have to show how good he can be without Randy Moss. In a division with defensive-minded coaches salivating at the prospect of defending him, Culpepper is going to have a very hard time doing that. Meanwhile, the Dolphins turned their nose up to Drew Brees, a guy who plays extremely well against Miami's chief rival, New England. THE UPSHOT: This team won its last six games in 2005 and is following the classic arc of a team headed in the right direction under new leadership. Nick Saban certainly has his team's attention in South Florida. The best additions this offseason are the two coaches and defensive back Jason Allen in the draft. But the quality of this offseason rides on Culpepper proving he's not this decade's Drew Bledsoe. THE BILLS WHO'S IN: GM Marv Levy (retirement), HC Dick Jauron (head coach Bears), LB Larry Triplett (Colts), RB Anthony Thomas (Saints), OL Aaron Gibson (Bears), WR Andre Davis (Patriots), WR Peerless Price (Cowboys), OG Tutan Reyes (Panthers), S Matt Bowen (Redskins), S Donte Whitner (first-rounder Ohio State), CB Ashton Youboty (third-rounder, Ohio State), FS Ko Simpson (fourth-rounder, South Carolina). WHO'S OUT: OT Mike Williams (Jaguars), WR Eric Moulds (Texans), S Lawyer Milloy (Falcons), DT Sam Adams (Bengals), TE Mark Campbell (Saints), HC Mike Mularkey (offensive coordinator, Miami) WHAT'S INTERESTING: LB Takeo Spikes is making his way back from the knee injury that ended his 2005 season almost before it started and the addition of Triplett makes the Buffalo linebackers corps pretty good. Most felt that taking Whitner with the eighth overall pick was a severe reach, but between he, Youboty and Simpson, the Bills had a strong draft in the secondary. WHAT'S TROUBLING: How is this offense going to score? J.P. Losman was alarmingly ineffective in 2005 and Kelly Holcomb, a pretty good quarterback, is a concussion waiting to happen. Now Moulds is gone and the Bills threw a ton of money at Price who's been a flop the past two seasons since leaving the Bills. THE UPSHOT: This franchise was turned upside down, held by the ankles and shaken in the offseason. Falling loose were several very good players, most prominently Milloy, Moulds and Adams. The venerable Levy, now 80 years old, has made some head-scratching decisions and this franchise could be very, very bad in 2006 thanks to their weird offseason in which too much talent went out the door and not enough came back in. THE JETS WHO'S IN: HC Eric Mangini (defensive coordinator, Patriots), OT Trey Teague (Bills), CB Andre Dyson (Seahawks), QB Patrick Ramsey (Redskins), DE Kimo von Oelhoffen (Steelers), LB Matt Chatham (Patriots), WR Tim Dwight (Patriots), LT D'Brickashaw Ferguson (first-rounder Virginia Tech), C Nick Mangold (first-rounder, Ohio State), QB Kellen Clemens (second-rounder, Oregon), ILB Anthony Schlegel (third-rounder, Ohio State), WR Brad Smith (fourth-rounder, Missouri), RB Leon Washington (fourth-rounder, Florida State) WHO'S OUT: DE John Abraham (traded to Falcons), C Kevin Mawae (Titans), CB Ty Law (unattached), QB Jay Fiedler (unattached), OT Jason Fabini (Cowboys), FB Jerald Sowell (Buccaneers) WHAT'S INTERESTING: The Jets could have rookies at the two most important offensive line positions but left tackle Ferguson and center Mangold were regarded by some as the two best linemen in the draft. WHAT'S TROUBLING: The Jets offensive skill positions are in disarray. Curtis Martin is slowing down, Chad Pennington keeps breaking down and, while Laveranues Coles and Justin McCareins are decent receivers, they need someone to get them the ball. It could be a real struggle for the Jets offense to put points on the board. The loss of the disruptive Abraham leaves the Jets without a premier edge rusher. THE UPSHOT: For all the skepticism that seemed to greet Eric Mangini and Mike Tannenbaum when they took over as the Jets new 1-2 punch at head coach and GM, they've appeared to do very well in restocking the Jets, especially during the draft. They could well struggle but if this offseason was entered into with an eye to the future, the Jets seem to have put things in place for success down the road. __________________
