12 Jun 2019
The New England Patriots have dominated this division since the arrival of Bill Belichick, with 15 AFC East titles, 12 appearances in the AFC Championship game and eight Super Bowl appearances in 18 years, including last season.
The Miami Dolphins are the only team other than the Patriots to have won the Division in the last 10 years. We take a look at the four teams ahead of the new season.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
Time is the biggest factor facing the Patriots. Quarterback Tom Brady turned 41 on August 3 and that is ancient in NFL terms. His contract expires in 2019 and this will likely be his last shot at gaining a sixth Super Bowl ring, although he has vowed to play until his is 45.
Bill Belichick reluctantly traded his back-up Jimmy Garoppolo in mid-season to the San Francisco 49ers and failed to find a replacement in the draft. Instead, he has stockpiled draft picks for 2019 to make a run at one, raising speculation that the Brady era is almost finished.
The Genting Casino NFL odds of 1/9 to win the AFC East are restrictive, yet Brady shows no signs of stopping and he is coming off another scintillating season. He led the league in pass attempts and had a 32-to-8 touchdown-to-interception ratio, yet his 18-year relationship with Belichick is strained and his receiving corps looks lightweight following the departure of Danny Amendola to division rival Miami.
The return of receiver Julian Edelman from an ACL tear in August 2017 will be crucial, especially since running-back Dion Lewis and receiver Brandon Cooks have also gone. No1 draft pick, offensive tackle Isiah Wynn, has also been ruled out for the season with a torn Achilles.
And to cap the frustration, Edelman is suspended for the first four games after a violating the NFL substance abuse policy.
Malcolm Butler was benched before the Super Bowl without Belichick giving a reason and the cornerback has also departed. The winds of discontent continued to swirl over the summer with tight-end Rob Gronkowski hinting at retirement and Brady complaining that he felt underappreciated.
The biggest loss, however, came at the left tackle position, with Nate Solder departing for the New York Giants.
The glaring weakness is at the receiver position, because the trio of Chris Hogan, Phillip Dorsett and Cordarrelle Patterson are not an elite group.
Expect the running backs to pick up the slack. They have former Bengal Jeremy Hill, reliable Rex Burkhead and No1 pick Sony Michel, who is an explosive playmaker from Georgia, while bruising fullback James Develin will open the holes for them.
When all is said and done, the Patriots are still the best team in a sorry division, even with a suspect secondary - the defense ranked fifth in scoring but 29th in yards allowed last season and the Eagles exposed their flaws in the Super Bowl.
MIAMI DOLPHINS
The Dolphins regressed from a 10-6 playoff team to 6-10 also-rans last season under second-year head coach Adam Gase. This may simply a symptom of losing quarterback Ryan Tannehill in training camp with the recurrence of a left knee injury.
He was having his best season in 2016 before his original injury, but the fact remains that the passer has a career record of 37-40 in five seasons as a starter and this will be a make-or-break year for him and Gase. If Tannehill goes down, Brock Osweiler will take the reins and that should not fill Miami fans or backers with much confidence.
What the Dolphins gain at the QB position they lose in other areas. Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, wide receiver Jarvis Landry and centre Mike Pouncey have departed, and that was a talented trio who added leadership.
Notable additions include defensive end Robert Quinn from the LA Rams - who should provide a decent pass rush alongside evergreen Cameron Wake and Charles Harris - receiver Albert Wilson from Kansas City, and the drafting of tight-end Mike Gesicki should provide a threat so often missing in the red zone.
The run defense still looks very shaky, which is why their Genting Casino odds are 12/1 to win the division and no-one really knows if the Gase-inspired offense will work. If it fails, we can expect the Dolphins to move on from Tannehill.
They have a brutal December schedule with five games against teams who all made the playoffs last season and they will need to make a fast start, but unless New England implodes, the Dolphins are very much second-best in the division.
BUFFALO BILLS
The Bills ended their 17-year playoff drought under first-year head coach Sean McDermott before a 10-3 wild-card loss to Jacksonville.
Now the Bills, whose Genting Casino odds are 12/1 to win the division, need to find a way of building upon their 9-7 regular season finish.
Building through the draft is a good start. They traded away key pieces such as QB Tyrod Taylor, receiver Sammy Watkins, defensive tackle Marcel Dareus and tackle Cody Glenn in an effort to accumulate enough draft assets to add players such as first-round QB Josh Allen.
While Allen is patently not ready to start on opening day at Baltimore, acquiring former Bengals back-up AJ McCarron in free-agency looks a smart piece of business.
The Bills sustained two major blows with the surprise retirements of centre Eric Wood and left guard Richie Incognito, so there are big question marks over the offensive line as well, but the glaring weakness is at the receiver position with injury-prone Kelvin Benjamin and Zay Jones their top options.
The pass rush has become stronger with the additions of free-agent tackle Star Lotulelei and Trent Murphy, plus third-round tackle Harrison Phillips, while the secondary remains a strength.
Yet the big concern is whether the Bills can generate enough offense to keep them in games. Doubts remain.
NEW YORK JETS
The QB carousel continued on Wednesday with Teddy Bridgewater, who had looked so good in pre-season, apparently hauled off the team bus after being traded to the New Orleans Saints to become Drew Brees’ back-up.
This was not a huge surprise, given his trade value. The Jets already have veteran Josh McCown and No3 overall draft pick, USC passer Sam Darnold, competing for the starting role. McCown, who is 39, is an ideal mentor for raw 21-year-old passer who will grow with this young, mistake-ridden team.
The Jets, whose current Genting Casino odds are 14/1 to win the AFC East, have a favourable schedule, what appears to be the makings of a top-10 defense (if second-year safeties Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye can clean up their pass coverage), and the potential to boast an above-average offense. That will be spearheaded by a strong running attack now that Isaiah Crowell arrives from the Cleveland Browns to work in tandem with Bilal Powell.
The Jets do need more of a pass rush from their front five, but this is a solid, improving and well-coached team that may surprise a few - but they were 1-7 on the road last year and trips outside the division this year include Detroit, Jacksonville, Chicago and Tennessee, which are not going to be easy.
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