The New England Patriots have returned with Tom Brady and a less than stellar defense in 2009 and gotten off to a 2-1 start after losing to division rivals, the 3-0 New York Jets. The rest of the AFC East falls behind New England with the Buffalo Bills at 1-2 and the returning AFC East champion Miami Dolphins winless at 0-3.
At the beginning of the 2009 NFL season, we asked you who will win the AFC East and we got the results. Thanks to everyone who voted and participated. Here are the final tally's for the poll:
Who Will Win The AFC East This Season
- New England Patriots (52%, 33 Votes)
- New York Jets (25%, 16 Votes)
- Miami Dolphins (14%, 9 Votes)
- Buffalo Bills (9%, 6 Votes)
Total Voters: 64
New England Patriots
Tom Brady hasn't really shown that he is completely comfortable in the pocket after overthrowing open receivers in weeks 2 and 3, but Brady has shown that he is beginning to work his way toward that 2007 form that we're all looking for. The Patriots running game didn't show up until week 3 when Belichick finally decided to put my boy, Fred Taylor behind the fullback and start putting his shoulder down. Now if he would only stop in and hear this one: Dear Bill, trade Laurence Maroney for the 3rd/4th round draft pick that he's worth. The New England Patriots defense was stunned after the news of middle linebacker Jerod Mayo being out for 6-8 weeks, but Gary Guyton has filled in well as a defensive play caller and our defensive backs have done enough to keep the other team out of the end zone.
New York Jets
Mark Sanchez has shown that he has the ability to lead his team and play more than well enough at the NFL level. The Jets defense has been amazing under the coaching of former Ravens defensive coordinator, Rex Ryan. New York has jumped out to the early 3-0 lead and also beat New England in the Meadowlands, but I agree with all of the fans that voted for the Patriots to win the division this season.
Buffalo Bills
After the Bills lost to New England in week 1 by 1 point after giving up a double digit lead with 5 minutes left on the clock, the Bills have begun to come apart at the seams. Terrell Owens had no catches in week 3 but was able to present himself well in front of the media after the game to not become a distraction to his team or insult his quarterback. Although it's still too early in the season for Owens to speak out, I'm chomping at the bits for TO to get disgruntled. Marshawn Lynch is going to return to the team within the next two weeks and help Fred Jackson control the ground game. I still expect a mediocre 8-8 season out of the Bills, but we'll see how it plays out.
Miami Dolphins
From first to worst, the Dolphins just get one thing wrong after another. The Dolphins were the talk of the NFL last year with the Wildcat, but much like I said about it, teams are all going to run the Wildcat this year, teams are going to learn how to defend the Wildcat and it will no longer be as effective. Not only are the Dolphins struggling on offense, but starting quarterback, Chad Pennington is out for the season without a suitable replacement for the time being. I'd love to see them go winless, but we all know it's unlikely.
Thanks to wilbanks for the picture of Gillette Stadium.
Less than stellar defense? If anything the defense has been stellar while the offense has been fumbling about.
The Pats defense is ranked #6 right now in total yards given up, and we just shut down the Falcons high scoring offense.
They might not be flashy or scary, but the Pats defense has quietly and solidly kept this team in games. Even during week 1 where they gave up a ton of points, the defense (special teams) got the ball back and gave Brady and company the chance to win the game.
You’re right, the defense has kept us in games. But compared to the defenses of past, which is always the case, they are playing under par.
Even though we got the win, when you allow the Bills to score 24 points and just eek out a win, there are definitely question marks surrounding your defense. I’m sure that the defense will find it’s niche and make their way forward, but for right now, there are no solid answers for that question.
That’s like saying, compared to the 1985 Chicago Bears defense, the 2009 Patriots defense is less than stellar.
Who cares about how we compare to the past, it’s all about how we compare to other 2009 defenses, and in that comparison I think we stack up fairly well.
For the Bills, I’m chalking that up to week 1 jitters until we see otherwise.
Oh, and the Pats offense isn’t doing too bad either, ranked #5 in the league right now. Once Brady stops overthrowing his receivers, watch out!
Also referring back to the Tom Brady led, 2007, 16-0 Patriots, do you honestly think our offense is going to lead the league in anything when we have yet to name Fred Taylor, ultimately, the starting running back to give defenses a reason to bring seven guys into the box and defend the run to open up the pass game for Brady. Overthrowing or not, when a team has 5-6 defensive backs on the field, your opportunities to throw the ball deep begin to decline. We need to solidify a running game before I can honestly say that we’re going to run away with the division and not lose it to the Jets.
Yes, compared to one of the greatest offenses of all time, we’re not good. Comparing to past teams is pointless. It’s all about how we compare to other 2009 NFL teams. Right now, I’d say we’re not a #5 offense. We get tons of yards, but we need to score more touchdowns.
Still, I loved that we went for it on 4th and 1, it’s reminiscent of the grit of some of those old Pats teams, and something that no other NFL team would attempt. I’ve been a huge advocate of going for it on 4th and short no matter where it is, it’s how I play Madden and people get pissed off saying “play it real”. Now I can point to Bellichick’s winning strategy and say I am!
Oh, and for the record, I picked the Pats in this poll but wrote a post about Patriots predictions where I picked the Jets to win the division, but the Pats to beat them in the playoffs.
Guys, I agree with parts of both of your comments. First, the defense has been playing pretty solid, but keep in mind that the Falcons offense only had the ball for 6 minutes in the whole second half of that game Sunday due to a great running attack the Pats put on display with Taylor chewing up clock. If Ryan had more time, they would’ve moved the ball and scored more. That being said, you can not ask for more than you’ve gotten from this defense, considering the loss of Mayo. Their job is to play solid. Not great but solid. The offense is supposed to be great on this team and when it gets there, look out! This team is going to peak at just the right time.
I hope you’re right about that last part Chuck. I think that Mayo’s injury is a factor, but I don’t think that Mayo alone would make our defense so much better that we wouldn’t have allowed 24 to the Bills and lost to the Jets. I think his presence will make the defenders play harder, but you can’t coach athletic ability and talent.
The fact that you mentioned the running game with Fred Taylor and it’s effectiveness makes me swoon. I can’t wait for Taylor to officially get the nod. I’m going to fight day and night until we get rid of Maroney.
is this a prediction or wishful thinking?
This is based on our monthly polls that people vote on. I think we’ll win the division if we start giving Fred Taylor the ball more, but I also think the Jets have a good shot at competing for it as well.
First, nice update to the site. I like the new look…
Now, all I can say is J E T S Jets, Jets, Jets.
They are looking great..
Way to steal our cheers Jim, doesn’t that sound familiar to you?
P-A-T-S, Pats Pats Pats!
c’mon, don’t be so unoriginal Jim.
Hey, that’s all I heard at the Jet’s game… I thought it was ironic..
Thanks Jim re: new look. There’s still some things we want to tweak and a few IE bugs to squash, but it’s on the backburner temporarily.
Did you say IE? What is that?
Honestly, I don’t know. I think it’s the next twitfacewave.net or something, I just didn’t want people to know my ignorance so I played along.
I have to post below the “Jets” comment…sigh….Brady is coming along – but I am a bit concerned about him in the long run. He hasn’t look totally comfortable yet. I hope that Welker will be back soon – I think he will be key to the long term success this season.
I agree with everything you said Julia. Speaking of Welker, I’d love to see us go four wide when he returns and have both Wes and Edelman in both slots, I think it would be awesome and unstoppable for linebackers to cover them. Thus, forcing defenses to play the dime package, opening up a running game for Fred Taylor….I’m a damn football genious! If it were played on paper.