Bills: by Brian Abate
Bills Mafia has endured plenty of misery against Tom Brady and even the Buffalo mayor Byron Brown celebrated Brady’s departure from New England. The Bills went 3-32 against the Patriots when Brady started but after 20 years, his reign of terror with the Pats has come to an end. It comes at the perfect time for Buffalo. Last season they won 10 games for the first time since 1999. The Bills rode a stingy defense and Josh Allen’s clutch play all the way to the postseason before falling to the Houston Texans in heartbreaking fashion. Still, it was a very encouraging season and Allen led the NFL in fourth quarter comebacks and game-winning drives.
The Bills lost their top two pass rushers, Jordan Phillips and Shaq Lawson in free agency but signed Mario Addison, who had 9.5 sacks last season with the Panthers to a three-year deal. They can also look to add a pass rusher in the draft despite not having their first round pick. That pick went to Minnesota in the blockbuster trade that landed Buffalo Stefon Diggs. Diggs had a career-high 1130 receiving yards last season. Last season the Bills relied on John Brown and Cole Beasley but lacked a true number one receiver. Now they have one. The Bills also made a splash in free agency by signing cornerback Josh Norman. He’s 32 but it’s only a one- year deal so it isn’t a risky move.
Over/Under Prediction: The Bills O/U is set at 9 this season. They had 10 wins last season and kept their offensive line together. Adding Diggs will help Allen, and there’s no reason he can’t continue to improve after his impressive season. The division is wide open and the Bills will win it if they build off of last season. While Jets and Dolphins will liley improve, the Patriots lost several key players, including Brady. Head coach Sean McDermott has created a winner culture and I think that will pay off this season.
Prediction: Over
Jets: by Chris DiGeronimo
The 2019 season will definitely go down as one the most infamous seasons in New York Jets history. The Jets finished 7-9, which is not that bad given all the ineptitude that went on throughout the season. Most of the problems the Jets faced were self-inflicted, and it seemed as if they couldn’t get out of their own way. The hope for a successful season quickly diminished during week one as they blew a 16- point lead to the Buffalo Bills. They also found out they would be without starting quarterback Sam Darnold and newly acquired linebacker C.J. Mosley for an extended period of time due to a case of mono and a strained groin respectively. The Jets were able to bounce back later in the season, but the dysfunction was written on the wall.
Jet fans hope that 2020 will be a bounce back year for the team as expectations will be high once again. The Jets biggest need this offseason is addressing the offensive line. New GM Joe Douglas has been busy essentially rebuilding the offensive line through free agency. So far he has signed G Josh Andrews, T George Fant, C Connor McGovern, OL Greg Van Roten, while also re-signing G Alex Lewis. This improved offensive line should give Darnold a lot more time to make decisions and Le’veon Bell more room to run. The line will not improve Adam Gases’ ability to call competent plays, but fans will take what they can get. Another aspect of the offense that has to improve is the receiving core. The Jets recently lost Robbie Anderson, but replaced him with Breshad Perriman. Jameson Crowder, Perriman, Chris Herndon, and Ryan Griffin are solid offensive weapons, but the Jets are in dire need of a true number one receiver. The offensive line signings give them the ability to think long and hard about selecting a number one receiver with the 11th pick in a receiver heavy draft.
The Jets defense was one of their strengths last season, but their biggest needs have come from the cornerback and pass rusher positions. The Jets have not had elite cornerbacks and pass rushers since the days of Darrell Revis, Antonio Cromartie, and Calvin Pace. They will not be adding that type of talent in 2020 but Douglas has done a good job of adding what is available on the open market. So far Douglas has re-signed LB Jordan Jenkins and CB Brian Poole, while also adding CB Pierre Desir and LB Patrick Onwuasor. The duo of Poole and Desir should make Jamal Adams' job a lot easier in the secondary.
Over/Under Prediction: The Jets over/under is set at 6.5. I am an optimist but I have also been fooled many times before. The AFC East got a lot easier with the departure of Tom Brady, but it also features an improved Bills and Dolphin team that could cause a lot of problems. With Bill Belichick still at the helm, the Patriots aren’t just going to give up their reign of terror that easily. The Jets will also be playing a tough out of division schedule featuring notable opponents such as the Chiefs, 49er’s, and Seahawks. With that being said, I believe if the Jets continue to improve the roster and add offensive weapons to go along with the improved offensive line they will be a much better team. Another factor is if Darnold can take the next step and Bell can return to his Pittsburgh form, they are going to be that much more dangerous. I believe they will get at least seven wins which will put them at the over.
Prediction: Over
Patriots: by Gianluca Colageo Milea
Tom Brady is gone.
Prediction: Under
As a fan of any other team besides the Patriots, it is difficult to hide the overwhelming sense of joy felt when the news broke of Tom Brady taking his talents to The Big Guava. Brady is leaving his roots at age 42, leaving a place he won 6 Super Bowls, for a 7-9 team. While I do not want this to become a Tom Brady story, it is tough to not mention him in the same breath as the Patriots franchise. Brady leaves behind one of the best defenses in football, a unit that forced 36 turnovers during the regular season. Not much will be changing on the defensive side of the football, with Devin McCourty resigning on a 2yr/$23 mil contract after much speculation of him seeking a fresh start. Although the losses of Kyle Van Noy, Duron Harmon, and Jamie Collins will definitely hurt, the Patriots still have some time and there are definitely still talented players within the free agency portal.
Bill Belicheck has his work cut out for him. Many people are using this separation as a test to see who the real mastermind behind the Pats’ dynasty was for all these years. However, Brady leaves New England with a below average offensive attack. The team tried to make a splash with the Antonio Brown signing and we all saw how that worked out. They then made a mid season trade for Mohamed Sanu who finished his 8 games in New England with 26 receptions for 207 yards. The team will need 2nd year wide receiver N’Keal Harry to step up this coming season if they want to have a respectable passing attack. There are also some nice receiver options still on the market including Paul Richardson and Rashard Higgins.
If the season ended today the QB moving forward would probably be Brian Hoyer. Once again, there have been rumors flying of a potential free agent signing, whether that be Jameis Winston or Andy Dalton. Obviously none of these play callers will lead the offense quite like number 12 did for so many years, but I wouldn’t count out a team that has won the division since 2009, especially with Bill Belicheck still running the show.
Over/Under Prediction: The Patriots O/U is set at 9.5 this season. I want to take the under especially with the departure of Tom Brady, but I have a hard time believing that Belicheck will let this team slip that much. Although the 2008 season resulted in a second place finish for the Patriots, a Matt Cassel led squad was able to finish 11-5. I would look for the Pats to sign either Dalton or Winston and finish right around the 10 win mark this season.
Prediction: Over
Dolphins: by Brian Abate
Early in the season, it seemed like Miami was going all-in for the number one pick in the 2020 NFL draft, which at the time was expected to Tua Tagovailoa out of Alabama. Josh Rosen struggled early in the season and the Dolphins turned to veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. Miami traded away star safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. After an 0-7 start, and whispers of a winless season, Ryan Fitzpatrick, nicknamed “Fitzmagic” willed the Dolphins to victories with the help of first-year coach Brian Flores. The Phins won five of their final nine games and finished the season 5-11.
The strong finish to the season has led the Dolphins to believe they can compete this season and they made some big splashes in free agency. Miami signed former Cowboys cornerback to a massive five-year $82 million contract. He played well with Dallas last season and is expected to shut down opponents’ go-to receiver. Jones only has two interceptions in 79 career games but that’s partially because he rarely allows receivers to get open.
The Dolphins most glaring weakness last season was their inability to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks and record sacks. Sam Eguavoen led the team with 3.5 sacks. They signed Emmanuel Ogbah, who had 5.5 sacks in 10 games last season and Shaq Lawson, who had 6.5 sacks in 15 games last season. They also signed linebacker Kyle Van Noy, who had a career-high 6.5 sacks last season and was an essential part of New England’s last two Super Bowl victories. These signings should lead to a dramatic improvement for Miami’s defense.
Miami also signed some free agents to help their offense. They signed running back Jordan Howard to a two-year deal. He is only 25 and has rushed for more than 1,000 yards in two of his first four seasons. They added Ted Karras to a one-year deal. He did a nice job last year as he moved from a backup to a starter. They also signed Ereck Flowers to a three-year deal. Flowers was spectacularly bad in his time with the Giants and is considered one of the team’s biggest draft busts. He had a better season last year after moving from tackle to guard with the Redskins. I’m surprised that this is a three-year deal but if Flowers excels as a guard it could pay off. Still, attitude issues would give me pause.
The Dolphins have five picks in the first two rounds of the draft and 14 overall. Due to the rise of Joe Burrow and an injury to Tagovailoa, they may still be able to draft him. The Dolphins will also likely use some of those picks to improve their offensive and defensive lines. I think they’ll be a significantly better team than last season and while that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll have a winning record or make the playoffs, I do think they will have at least seven wins.
Prediction: Over
Comments