The start of the season is under a month away when the Denver Broncos play the Atlanta Falcons in the hall of fame game August 2nd. It will be the first time football has been played in 6 months and will whip up excitement before yet another adrenalin fuelled season.
AFC East
The AFC east is one of the most straightforward divisions in the NFL. The Patriots will be their usual force, utilizing power-football with the bevy of backs. Sony Michel will be their lead back with rookie Damien Harris in for change of pace or in case of injury. James White will have his usual pass-catching role. However, it’s not their running game or Mr Brady that will be most impressive but instead, their defence led by Gilmore and Devin McCourty that will be shutting down opposing offenses. In division, however, it won’t have a lot to contend with.
The Bills are the Pats’ nearest rival. Josh Allen now has receivers in Cole Beasley and John Brown. Beasley and Smokey may not be world beaters but with a second year QB who was impressive in spurts last year, this unit could surprise people. The Bills defence has always been stingy. They won’t make the playoffs but I expect a few title contenders to fall.
Allen’s fellow second year QB has a new weapon. Le’veon Bell will be looking to be the catalyst for Darnold to spring into action. At the moment, Darnold is looking more Jared Goff (first year) than Patrick Mahomes’ first year of playing. For the 3rd overall pick, that is not a healthy return. I do believe that Bell will help but the difference is not going to be massive. The part of the team that could explode will be the defence. I expect Jets to be high on the lists of sacks. Brady, Allen and Fitzpatrick (and Rosen) to be lying on their back quite a few times this season. Gregg Williams was a great addition to this coaching staff and his aggressive style is just what they need. Jets games this year will either be low scoring or they will get blown out, don’t expect close games with both teams scoring 24+.
The bottom of the division is definitely the Dolphins. The only purpose to this season is their yearly win against the Patriots and to see if Rosen will ever be a star (don’t be surprised that if Rosen doesn’t improve, he gets cut but ends up with the Pats in a year or two. Belichick reportedly liked him coming out of UCLA). He was rated 49.1 by PFF which ranks 37th out of the qualifying QBs. I have always defended Rosen due to the turnstile of the o-line he played with last year. Sadly for Rosen, the Dolphin’s o-line was ranks last by PFF when calling deep set passing plays. However, if he beats out Fitzmagic and looks even slightly competent then he would certainly get my vote for a long-term starter. Especially as they will be picking top 5 in the draft this coming year. With it looking like a year of great QB,s with Herbert and Tua; the Dolphins could trade down and still get a top prospect, just like the Colts did in 2018 to land Quentin nelson.
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