Tony: So the New England Patriots have won the AFC East for the last 37 years straight or something like that, afc_eastother than the year that Tom Brady folded his knee in half. His replacement was Matt Cassel, who managed to salvage an 11-5 season, but it wasn’t good enough to beat the also 11-5 Miami Dolphins. This year, Cassel is back in the AFC East, although once again riding the pine—and has to be somewhat frustrated…it’s one thing backing up Brady, it’s another backing up Tyrod Taylor. Still, the Bills defense is pretty strong, they added RB Shady McCoy, TE Charles Clay and headcase/headache Percy Harvin to go with second-year WR Sammy Watkins. In fact, Taylor might be the difference between whether it’s the Bills challenging the Patriots, or the…

Andy: Dolphins? Is that what you were about to say? Yeah, I like what the Bills have done this offseason too, for the most part. But without a QB, it’s going to be hard to beat New England, even if they do miss Brady for one-fourth of the season.

Ryan Tannehill isn’t a superstar, but he’s turned into a pretty solid QB. They went out and got a deep threat in Kenny Stills – though it’s questionable as to whether Tannehill is capable of utilizing the deep downfield passing game — and a short- and medium-range weapon in TE Jordan Cameron. The addition of Ndamukong Suh on defense won’t hurt either – I know you think he’s overrated, but teamed with DE Cameron Wake, that should be a heckuva tandem.

Tony: You know who probably isn’t challenging the Patriots this year? The New York Jets. Although IK Enemkpali did his best to make the Jets relevant, and may still win the team MVP award despite being waived and picked up by the Bills, it would seem unlikely that Ryan Fitzpatrick finally overcomes the shortcomings that led to him falling short with the Texans. And Titans. And Bills. And Bengals. And Rams. But hey, he’s still got that Harvard education and one of the best beards in the league, right?

But hey, at least Geno Smith getting socked in the face drew attention away from the fact that one of their best defensive players will miss the first four games for violating the league substance abuse policy, and was then arrested for fleeing from the cops at 143 miles per hour…with a loaded handgun in the car…and a 12-year old…and reeking of marijuana. So they have that going for them.

Andy: Uggh. The Jets. What a weirdly fascinating train-wreck of an organization. If it weren’t for Cleveland, they’d be the most TMZ-y team in the league. Except for maybe the Deflatriots … Every time you want to write this team off, they keep finding ways to stay on top. As improved as Buffalo and Miami might be, I have a hard time seeing myself betting against New England until someone actually takes them out. Bill Belichick is well on his way to becoming the best and most reviled person to be elected to the Hall of Fame.

Tony: He’ll be an interesting case study for the HOF…given his bristly attitude, and penchant for pushing the envelope regarding his interpretation of rules (read: cheating), could see him struggling to get the votes to make it. Especially based on the information that came out this week in the ESPN story about Spygate.

Still, with Brady back in the fold for the full slate (barring injury), it is difficult to pick against them, even though we don’t know from week to week who will be running the ball or catching it, outside of Gronk. The Dolphins probably do have the best shot—but if they get out of the gate slow, it will be interesting to see how the team reacts—especially with many already believing that their window may be short, thanks to the bloated contract they gave Suh.

Andy: Yeah, the Dolphins have the best shot. With Suh the defense goes from good to potentially great. The Patriots did lost Darrelle Revis and Vince Wilfork off the defense and Shane Vereen and Stevan Ridley off the offense, too, so I suppose they come back to the pack a small notch.

The one I can’t figure out is Buffalo. There is a ton of talent on that team. The defense should be good. They traded for McCoy. And they go with a combo of Tyrod Taylor, EJ Manuel and Matt Cassel at QB? That’s the best they can do?

That’s a possible division winner if they’ve got even a Ryan Fitzpatrick calling signals. Instead, the bearded one is in New York, again heading up the chances for a futile team. Strange.

Predictions:

Tony Patriots Andy Patriots Maggio Patriots Vomhof Patriots
Dolphins Dolphins Dolphins Dolphins
Bills Bills Jets Bills
Jets Jets Bills Jets