AFC East
This division has become one of the easiest things to predict in all of sports since the dawn of the new millennium. The Patriots were always at the top and everyone else lagged far behind. Last year, the Patriots were at the top, the Dolphins surprised many of us and also made the playoffs, but New England still won the Super Bowl. So looking ahead to the 2017 season, let's start here. The schedules this year will be tough for these four teams, as they draw two strong divisions in the NFC South and the AFC West. In the end though, the conclusion this year is pretty much identical to what it has been here for almost two decades. All signs point to the New England Patriots winning the AFC East. Again.
New England Patriots
Ever since Bill Belichick and Tom Brady took this team over, it has been the same story year in and year out. And now that Brady is 40 years old, it still doesn't matter. The Patriots seem to be the clear favorites to win this division once again in 2017. The offense added Brandin Cooks, Mike Gillislee, Dwayne Allen, and a few other pieces, and with Brady at the helm, you know the Patriots are going to put a lot of points up on the scoreboard. One thing I do want to say about this offense is that I think we are nearing a point where Rob Gronkowski is getting very close to becoming overrated. The guy is entertaining and he is a great player when he is on the field, but he just gets injured too much. He hasn't played all 16 games since 2011, and he missed eight games last year. The Patriots have proven that they can win without him, so this isn't really a shot at their team, but I do think that anyone out there calling him easily the best tight end in the game and a future Hall of Famer need to take a step back for the time being.
On the defensive side of the ball, I like what New England has in place. Adding Stephon Gilmore and Kony Ealy will help a lot, and while guys like Trey Flowers and Malcolm Brown might not be household names right now, they should be solid pieces on this defensive front. Dont'a Hightower is a very good linebacker, and the secondary is really good as well.
There is no question that this team should be focused on winning the Super Bowl again this year, and as of today, I think the Patriots are certainly the favorites to win it all. In reality, maybe they don't repeat as champions, but at the very least, this is still one of the best teams in the entire NFL.
Miami Dolphins
*Ryan Tannehill went down in practice this morning, and we are still waiting for the results of tests on his knee that he injured last year but did not have surgically repaired. Any 2017 forecasts of the Miami Dolphins hinge largely on his health*
Miami finished a surprising 10-6 last year and made the playoffs, although they did lose their first game to the Steelers once they got there. However, I do like some of the pieces that this team has in place and they could actually have the building blocks in place for a nice little run of sustained success.
With Ryan Tannehill, Jay Ajayi, Kenny Stills, Jarvis Landry, and DeVante Parker, I think this Miami offense has the potential to be pretty good. Thanks to one of the weirdest draft day scenarios ever in any sport, Miami was able to grab Laremy Tunsil lower than expected, and he seems like he could be an anchor at left tackle, but I do still have some concerns about this offensive line as a whole.
They addressed the defense in free agency and the draft, and I think that mix of youth and experience should be pretty good this year.
The schedules in the AFC East look tough on paper this year, and with Tannehill going down this morning, it is really tough to predict what is going to happen with the Dolphins right now. They are just not as good as the Patriots, and I find it hard to believe that two teams from this division will make the playoffs this year, so technically that means Miami will regress in 2017. However, they do have a lot of very young talent at key positions, so this still will most likely be an average to above-average team this season, and the fans should have an optimistic view going forward.
Buffalo Bills
The Bills went from 9-7 three years ago, to 8-8 two years ago, and 7-9 last year. Could the trend continue in 2017 and Buffalo end up at 6-10? Honestly, it is certainly possible. They brought in a new head coach in Sean McDermott and also made a ton of moves in free agency as well, but their quarterback is still Tyrod Taylor, and that is the problem. I will admit that I probably have underrated him based on numbers alone. He is a capable NFL quarterback, but I still refuse to be sold on the fact that he is an NFL quarterback capable of winning anything significant.
Buffalo is similar to Miami in that they do have some very young and talented players on their roster, but I think that Miami has more talented players at more important positions than Buffalo. Could Buffalo be an 8-8 team in 2017? It's possible, but if I had to bet on it, I would take the under there. I would expect another mediocre season from the Bills again.
New York Jets
In all likelihood, this is going to be a tough year for the Jets. Their Ryan Fitzpatrick quarterback experience last year did not turn out well, and the bar is going to be set even lower this year with Josh McCown currently penciled in as the Week 1 starter. I have said this for a while now, but I don't understand how or why the team seems to have already given up on Christian Hackenberg at the QB position. Bryce Petty got some playing time last season and wasn't too great, but it was almost as if the team was afraid to even put Hackenberg on the field. Maybe he was that bad in practice, I'm not sure. However, they did spend a second round draft pick on him so I think this year the Jets need to at least see what they have with him no matter what he looks like during the week.
On the defensive side of the ball, I thought going into this draft that Jamal Adams was the best player on the board, and he fell to the Jets and should start right away. Darron Lee could also potentially be a breakout candidate in his second season. The bright spots are few and far between here though.
Until the Jets get any sort of order at their quarterback position, this team is going nowhere. The offensive line is only about average and the skill positions are below-average, so with all of that surrounding a totally unproven QB position, the Jets are looking at a rough season. The defense has a few nice, young bright spots, but they are not nearly bright enough to outshine the dark holes at so many other spots on the field. This is probably a last place team in 2017.
