Day 3 of the Wilber's Way NFL Preview celebration finds us with a preview of the AFC East. The Dolphins capped the biggest turnaround in NFL history last year with an 11-5 season and the AFC title. That was all paved, though by a Tom Brady injury seven minutes into the season. We'll see how the 2009 season goes. Let's break it down.
AFC East
Buffalo Bills
One of the best receivers in NFL history comes to Buffalo this year and that seems to have raised the expectations. As much as I love his show on VH1, I'm not sold on how much he'll pay off for the Bills. They do have Wisconsin alum Lee Evans on the other side which should create for both of them, but how much does that help the rest of the team?
There are questions at QB and at RB and the defense is middle of the road, especially against the talent in this division.
Most important player: Not just one player here, this one goes to the running back duo of Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson. If these guys can have big years, they take pressure off Trent Edwards and the defense to come through with huge plays on the regular.
Miami Dolphins
Bill Parcells turned this team around in just one year and that's amazing. No one gave Chad Pennington a chance and he turned out to be very servicable with the 'Phins. They created the "Wildcat" defense which led to a division title and has been copied by every team in the league.
The defense should be solid again with the return of Jason Taylor to what was a great squad last year.
Most important player: Another running back duo and for this team it makes all the sense. With Ted Ginn, Jr. and newcomer Davone Bess on the outside, Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams in the Wildcat and in the conventional running game decide what this offense does. If teams figure out like Baltimore did to just "Blitz the formation," things could get messy again.
New England Patriots
As I said in the open, Tom Brady is back and the Patriots (and almost every NFL pundit) is banking on him to return them to the promised land. Now I'm not saying it won't be good for them to have him back, but I'm not sure Super Bowl is in the future of this team.
The defense is aging and there will be about five different guys sharing carries in the backfield. Not sure how that will pan out.
Most important player: No doubt it is Brady. I mean that last full season he had, he and Randy Moss set passing records not seen before. He's healthy for the entire season (he's already banged up again) and the sky is the limit for this team.
New York Jets
The J-E-T-S don't seem to have a C-L-U-E about what they are doing with their team. They have given the keys to the offense to rookie Mark Sanchez and are letting Leon Washington hold out for more cash. I'll keep it to Sanchez here. It might be what has to be done, but Rex Ryan is banking on him being another Joe Flacco like he saw in Baltimore. I'm not saying it will be a complete failure, but playoffs likely won't be in their future.
Most important player: Washington is a no-brainer here. Thomas Jones is getting older and Washington is just more explosive. Dude can do it all with the ball in his hands and they don't see it enough to get it to him.
OK, prediction time folks:
New England Patriots 12-4 -- Brady gets their division title back, but not a bye in the playoffs
Miami Dolphins 8-8 -- Not that they got worse, I just think everyone around them got better
New York Jets 7-9 -- Sanchez and Washington getting that many wins is an accomplishment
Buffalo Bills 6-10 -- Not sure T.O will be happy, but he's got no help around him other than Evans
This is Day 3. Here's the full preview schedule with links to past previews.
Sept. 1: AFC South
Sept 2: AFC West
Sept. 3: AFC East (Today)
Friday, Sept. 4: AFC North
Monday, Sept. 7: NFC South
Tuesday, Sept. 8: NFC West
Wednesday, Sept. 9: NFC East
Thursday, Sept. 10: NFC North
Friday, Sept. 11: Playoffs and Super Bowl XLIV picks
While I'm still on football, I found this today on a great blog I found, Jay Cutler Superstar. I couldn't watch the whole thing, because this guy is an idot, but give it a look.
Now for some baseball. And the Brewers have just been awful of late. The bright spot in it all has been the one and only Casey "Tits" McGehee. The kid has been carrying the team lately and is beoming the most valuable player not named Ryan or Prince.
The man has just been on a tear of late and today added another 3 RBI game to his resume. The stats are going in his favor over his last 11 games where he has two hits in five of them.
OK, now on to the Nussie Hunter. Seems like an obvious choice that since Mr. Brady was at the top of today's post, his better half, Giselle is on the bottom (cue Beavis). Yep. For no other reason than her looks is she in today's post. Enjoy!
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