Strongest division foe?

[pigpen65]

Belichick's cheating means the Pats can never be counted out. 

[Slippery Rubber Mats]

The Pats destroyed the Jets last year. I'm not sure how you rank the Jets ahead of the Pats.

 

54-13 and 25-6

Edited May 18, 2022 by Tom Donahoe, GM

[billybrew1]

2 hours ago, Rc2catch said:

New England is always a threat still. They are almost always going to play tough and keep it close if they don’t turn the ball over. They are a high IQ football team and generally scheme against us quite well. They also now have like 5-6 running backs to pound us with and the short pass game will be there for them. 
 

Miami has enough talent to compete but first year head coach I don’t think it threatening us. 

I think the Jets are a year or two or ten from actually competing 

We absolutely killed them last year…. Two times in a row….

[DJB]

Would love nothing more than to see the Dolphins and the Patriots finish 3rd and 4th in the division 

[Rc2catch]

27 minutes ago, billybrew1 said:

We absolutely killed them last year…. Two times in a row….

We’ve crushed Miami awhile now too. Doesn’t change the matchups. The Pats are still the blueprint to beat Buffalo in the division. Their strengths are buffalos weaknesses. Bills defense purposely allows the short passes. Bills defense has struggled for years against dedicated run games. 
We killed them because when Josh Allen is playing at an elite level he’s kind of unstoppable. 
 

Pats are going to try to run, not commit turnovers, play solid defense and probably not have too many penalties. That alone puts them in the 6-8 win range. Mac Jones improvement or if a superstar running back emerges from the 10 they have on roster they can easily get in the 10+ win range. 

Edited May 18, 2022 by Rc2catch

[Richard Noggin]

3 hours ago, TBBills said:

Bills 

 

 

 

 

Dolphins

 

Jets

Pats

 

3 hours ago, Augie said:

Bills

 

 

 

Dolphins

 

Pats

 

 

 

 

Jets

 

Great use of white space, gents.

 

Sometimes it's the notes you don't play.

[wppete]

I think the Pats will be a mess without McDaniel making the calls of offense. 

[klos63]

Dolphins by a mile. 

[Richard Noggin]

1 hour ago, HappyDays said:

The Dolphins are all around the best team of the other 3, but the Pats probably match up better to us so I still consider them to be the more difficult opponent. The Jets are a complete wildcard. If Wilson takes a big step in his 2nd year and Carl Lawson comes back healthy it isn't outside the realm of possibility that they'll be #2 in the division. The Pats and Dolphins I pretty much know what to expect. 

 

If we look at the two games last season when weather WASN'T historically disruptive, do we see a Patriots team that matches up well against the Bills? 

 

I know we've trounced the Dolphins overall, but I've watched that Dolphins D give us fits for entire halves only to be letdown by their offense and ultimately outmatched by Josh Allen (and Tre White that one game). They feel like a team closer to truly competing with us IF they take large strides offensively. Which is a BIG if. 

 

And of course the Jets are drafting well, so they would project to improve considerably.

 

The Pats seem like an organization circling the drain, more than one poised to take a step forward. 

[Big Turk]

1 hour ago, Tom Donahoe, GM said:

The Pats destroyed the Jets last year. I'm not sure how you rank the Jets ahead of the Pats.

 

54-13 and 25-6

 

Maybe because we aren't talking about last year and the Pats did nothing to address an aging defense in addition to losing their best CB, had a suspect draft at best and are a dumpster fire at OC with multiple defensive coaches acting as defacto OC.

 

Jets drafted well, improved down the stretch last year and have a more physically talented QB, and likely more offensive upside.

[4merper4mer]

At the moment I view the standings the same as they finished last year

 

Bills 

Pats

Fish

Jets

 

I think one year from now it will be 

 

Bills

Jets

Pats

Fish

 

The Pats will never completely stink but I don’t see them as a thorough threat.  The Fish will fall apart.  I can honestly see the Jets becoming a real threat at some point.  They finally have a good front office, a good coach and they are adding talent.  They need their 14 year old QB to develop.

[RocCityRoller]

Bills

Dolphins

Jets

Pats

 

Dolphins: People keep saying Tua can't hit Hill deep. True more often than not, but that is not how Hill did a lot of his damage. Tua is accurate and timely on 10-15 yard strikes. Hit Hill 10-15 yards, Hill has to make the first guy miss, then it's off to the races. They got a WR in Hill who can make a 20+ or even 40+ play out of a 10 yard pattern on any play. Explosive plays by YAC. in 2020 and 2021 Hill has 2515 yards receiving, 878 (35%) of that is YAC. Also doubling Hill means Waddle is left 1:1.... Go to a zone and Geisicki can do damage in the holes in the zone. Add in Cedric Wilson who will probably compete for the slot. They also added two excellent pass blockers to the OL (LT Armstead, OG Connor Williams) to help make Tua more comfortable in the pocket. If Tua falters/ misses time they have Bridgewater who should score points with the fire power on offense. The Defense did not improve much, but was solid last year. It comes down to Tua and coaching for the Dolphins. Does the defense regress losing Flores?

 

Jets: Still team building but did well in FA and the draft. In FA they did add two very good S in Whithead and Reid (lost Mayes). Got Wilson a big target in CJ Uzomah. Improved OL with OG Lake Tomlinson. DL they get Carl Lawson back from injury. The draft was aggressive and could be a cornerstone of that franchise in the coming seasons. RB Breece Hall will help Wilson immediately. 2 first round picks on Def to help Saleh build the defense he likes to run. They may be a year away from seriously competing, but they are going to be a tough out. Wilson probably has the most upside of any QB not named Josh Allen in the division, and it's foolish to count out a QB after a rookie year. It would not surprise me if the Jets are #2 and competing with Buffalo late in the season for the East in 2023.

 

It would not surprise me to see Baker Mayfield in a Jet or Dolphin uniform in 2023 if Tua or Wilson do not improve this season.

 

Pats: created holes on the OL (Karras / Mason), let their best CB (JC Jackson) walk away to bring back Malcolm Butler. Tried to improve WR with Ty Montgomery and DeVante Parker. Added Peppers (S), Mack Wilson (LB) and T Mitchell (CB). A lot of shuffling, but not much improvement on OL, and not much more speed added to a defense that looked old and slow at the end of the season. Draft - reached to draft an OG because they traded/let walk their two OG. Since it is the Pats he will probably be good. WR Thornton is tall and fast. Between Montgomery/ Parker and Thornton they are trying to give Mac better weapons. Backfilled the CB position with a couple of Jones's. (could have 3x Jones in the DB position, outdoing our Williams's of the past!) Overall I think they did the least to net improve their roster.

 

On paper the Bills/ Dolphins and Jets have some good deep rosters. New England is a tick away IMO. It will come down to QB play and coaching which is why the Pats are still dangerous.

 

I think this is going to be a much tighter division than people think. JA is the difference and only real edge Buffalo has at the moment IMO.

Edited May 18, 2022 by RocCityRoller

[PrimeTime101]

Guys do not look past the Phins this year... Yea their QB has a noodle arm BUT... they have massive speed that can make 5 yard throws turn into 20 yard plays.

This is a QB driven league but when you don't have the best of QB's you do what Miami did and hope for the best. If it does not work out this year they will have a team and player value to move up in the draft and get their QB next year with still a decent team in front of them.

 

Miami is by far our biggest competition in AFCE. buuuuuuuuuuut... we will still win by 10 or more against them..

[machine gun kelly]

6 hours ago, LeviF said:

I can’t believe all the love the dolphins are getting. Can’t wait until tyreek is bitching about tua in week 6. 
 

Final standings:

Bills 13-4

Pats 9-8

Jets 7-10

Phins 6-11

Levi,

 

I liked how you added records so well done as I slightly differ on the results.  Thank you for sharing though.

 

Bills 12-5, upside 13-4

 

Phins 9-8, upside 10-7

Pats 9-8, no upside

 

Jests 6-11, upside 7-10

 

I’m not as down on the Fish as you, but they don’t worry me either.  Tua seems he has the capacity to throw accurately underneath, but doesn’t have a chance at the deep ball so the Hill acquisition was not a good resource to add as it will be wasted.

 

They added up talent with Ingram and others.  The bottom line is unless these teams suddenly acquire Mahomes or Herbert maybe (which will never happen) the Bills will reign supreme with Josh Super Allen!  He really is a unicorn.

 

I never thought in my life we’d have a guy like this as our QB.  I’m in my early 50’s and there will be a day where we think of him ahead of Kelly as the greatest Bills QB in the history of our team.  My only hesitance is simply the SB.  Once he starts getting us there, he has surpassed my favorite Bill of all time (see my handle).

[Ethan in Cleveland]

Dolphins have the best roster of the other three but might have the worst QB. 

Jets are still a year away from winning 8 games.

Bills 12-5

Dolphins 9-8

Pats 8-9

Jets 7-10

[Greg S]

The Dolphins have the best roster but no QB. The Pats have the best coach but no QB. The Jets on paper built their roster up nicely but its unproven. Also they have no QB. I do think Wilson has the potential to be the 2nd best QB in the division. I am not sold on Tua or Jones. Bottom line the AFCE looks like this.

 

Bills

Moe

Larry

Curly

[Buffalo Junction]

9 hours ago, Rc2catch said:

We’ve crushed Miami awhile now too. Doesn’t change the matchups. The Pats are still the blueprint to beat Buffalo in the division. Their strengths are buffalos weaknesses. Bills defense purposely allows the short passes. Bills defense has struggled for years against dedicated run games. 
We killed them because when Josh Allen is playing at an elite level he’s kind of unstoppable. 
 

Pats are going to try to run, not commit turnovers, play solid defense and probably not have too many penalties. That alone puts them in the 6-8 win range. Mac Jones improvement or if a superstar running back emerges from the 10 they have on roster they can easily get in the 10+ win range. 

Beane made a serious effort to address that this off-season. We now have two outside corners who can play press man and a top ten slot corner. DaQuan Jones (unlike Star) is a durable 1T. Settle and Oliver can both take on 1T duties if need be. Shaq and Rousseau are both excellent at setting the edge. Von Miller is, well he’s Von Miller. Beane also drafted a Milano clone which should help in case of injury.
 

An underrated aspect of this off-season is regaining the energy and attitude that Lawson and Phillips brought to the defense when they were last here. That extra attitude coupled with Miller mentoring the younger pass rushers should be a big benefit. They now have the players to exploit matchups and set the tone. If those weaknesses don’t improve Edmunds and/ Frazier may not be here next season. 
 

As for OP…..

 

Bills: Best collection of talent and coaching coupled with a top 3 QB. 
 

Fins: Second best talent in the division. Their speed at the skill positions should allow Tua to perform well with a horizontal passing attack and their Shanahan based running scheme should allow for play action. On defense…. Daniels retained Boyer, so scheme and playcalling will be similar. 
 

Pats: Belichick, but lacking in talent. Big concern for them is who is calling the offense? The defense? Is Belichick gonna do one? Both? That could be disastrous, especially when coupled with a lack of team speed. 
 

Jets: 0-6 in the AFCE last year. They added a bunch of talent, but Saleh hasn’t proven he can do anything with it to date, and he hasn’t  proven he can develop players. Wilson has talent, but he’s still a question mark. 

[No_Matter_What]

I am surprised by the credit given to Patriots in this thread.

 

I think last year they were running over EV (much like we were running under EV) and they got even weaker this year. Roster-wise they are 6-11 team. Maybe Belichick can make 8-9 out of them but that is their ceiling.

 

If Wilson takes a step this year Pats will finish last in the division.

 

Bills 12-5 to 13-4

Dolphins 9-8 to 12-5

Jets 6-11 to 9-8

Pats 5-12 to 8-9

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

11 hours ago, Rc2catch said:

Any team that can run the ball and play good defense has the ability to hang in games.

the Pats*** ran the ball. And passed 3 times on a “Blustery Day”

 

Twas a fluke more or less. And dumb for Frazier to allow that to happen 

 

the other 2 games w/o gale force winds 

the Putz*** got B-Slapped 

 

[corta765]

I would rank it like this:

 

Phins- On paper the roster is very solid and the offense COULD be incredibly dynamic. It all comes down to Tua on that side of the ball and whether he can take a big step or not. I truthfully see him like Tyrod where he can do some things but he is limited which means MIA can be a playoff team but nothing more. They have had a very very loud offseason which historically does not translate into the most wins and is something I always look at.

 

Pats: By the end of last season you could easily see the Pats were hiding Jones because of his limitations. If it wasn't for this team being coached by BB I would have them 4th in the division because after Matt Judon and Devin McCourty this team has nothing in terms of blue chip talent. But with BB he manages to typically push them closer in games. I think they go 6-11 but like 2020 they are in the vast majority of games and eventually fade away.

 

Jets: The Jets are a year away from being a playoff chaser and they are the Jets...BUT long term they make me the most nervous of any team in our division. They added in my eyes potentially three blue chip talents to a roster that needed it badly. They will probably win 5-7 games, but unlike last year I think their defense tightens up to keep them in more games and the offense shows some signs of a pulse. Wilson has the talent in a way Tua doesn't, but even if he takes some big steps that may make him a league average QB which is progress but not enough to compete fully. 2023 with another draft of talent and roster building I see them as a far larger threat.

Edited May 18, 2022 by corta765