So now it's almost now the end of July and there are many things going on in the sports world ranging from Major League Baseball to the Olympics in Rio which start in August. But there's also something else big that's coming for the fall and that's football! Many teams are now approaching to their training camps as now coaches can now see what players will make their 53 active-man roster and other players who unfortunately will not make the cut. With mostly every team arriving at training camp, here are some notes to think about for the American Football Conference East before this year's National Football League season.
AFC East
New England Patriots- To all Patriots fans out there ( including myself) we can rejoice that this Deflategate stuff is over. Although we all didn't like the result we wanted, Tom Brady did the right thing and give up the first four games of the season. Brady will be eligible to come back week five when play in Cleveland against the Browns. I've seen Brady pissed off many times and when he's mad that's when he plays at his best. He might be as mad come week five then I might've seen him play at all period. Browns fans better watch out cause Brady will be coming to put a lot of points on your team. With the offseason acquisitions, Jimmy Garropolo should be able to be just fine in Brady's absence. I can see at best a record of 2-2 or 3-1. One reason being is three out of the four games that Jimmy will be playing in are at home so there's an advantage to him in being the best he can on the field. The defense including starts: Jamie Collins, Donta Hightower, and Malcom Butler will be one of the best defenses in the NFL. When Brady comes back, this offense will be very dominant as long as everyone stays healthy.
New York Jets- The Jets will a question mark coming into the season. They have a lot of good pieces in wide receivers Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker. On defense they have guys like cornerback Darrelle Revis and defensive tackles in Muhammed Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson. The big question though is who will be the quarterback come September 11th when they host the Cincinnati Bengals. It'll either Geno Smith or Ryan Fitzpatrick but that's if only he resigns with the team. I'm thinking if Fitzpatrick is not signed by the end of training camp, Smith will most likely taking the starting quarterback job.
Miami Dolphins- I think the team that might give the Pats trouble at least in Miami is this Dolphins team. The Patriots seems to be the Dolphins just fine at Gillette but usually when we play them in Miami, it's either one of the first games or the last games of the year and we always struggle their for some reason. This year's Dolphins team I see more of a dominating defensive team. They got rid of one of their best corners in Brent Grimes but their defensive front is arguably in the top five in the whole NFL. They still have nose tackle Ndamukong Suh and defensive end Cameron Wake. Now with the Dolphins with still Suh and Wake, they added defensive end Mario Williams who should help their defense be even better. I think the problem with the Dolphins this year will be the offense. They lost their best running back in Lamar Miller. Ryan Tannehill has proven to be great at times and not so great at times. In my mind, he's very inconsistent. Their best receiving core includes wide receiver Jarvis Landry and tight end Jordan Cameron but besides that they don't have much. I think with the lack of balance that the fins have will hurt them at times coming into this season.
Buffalo Bills- The Buffalo Bills I think will be an interesting teams this year. I think they won't be great but won't be bad either. Defensively they players like edge rushes Jerry Hughes and draft pick from Clemson Shaq Lawson. They also have a great nose tackle in Marcell Dareus. Besides that there defense has no one really that will scare you but don't take that for granted. Offensively, they have a quick quarterback in Tyrod Taylor and running back Lesean McCoy. Both of them use their quickness to an advantage as they make a lot of defenders miss. The key to stop Taylor is to keep inside the pocket. He's very dangerous once he starts to roll out.
To recap the AFC East, I still see the Patriots as the division winners despite Brady's suspension. I can still see the Jets and Miami making some noise but it won't be enough to stop this Patriots team.
