AFC East
There is only one thing you need to know about the AFC East, Tom Brady hasn’t retired and he’s still better than any quarterback in this division.
New England Patriots
Tom Brady is still under center. It’s business as usual. Expect them to make the playoffs… again. I mean seriously what more can you say about a team that has this down to a science. Even with Rob Gronkowski’s retirement, it’s entirely possible this team does not miss a step.
The team received some good news that receiver Josh Gordon has been reinstated by the League. Julian Edelman is currently sidelined with a thumb injury. Demaryius Thomas who is recovering from an Achilles injury has started sprinting in practice and hopefully he can get back on the field soon.
New York Jets
Now it’s still the Jets, but this should be an exciting season for fans. The team has their young franchise quarterback Sam Darnold entering his second year and added running back Le’Veon Bell. Bell who sat out all of last season is one of the top offensive weapons in the league and will definitely add a lot of fire power to this Jets team. Bell has not played in either of the team’s preseason games, but Darnold and the starters have been able to get in the end zone in both games.
On the other side of the ball, the Jets are dangerously thin in the secondary. The team lost starting cornerback Trumaine Johnson in training camp after suffering a hamstring injury. His backup Kyron Brown also went down with a hamstring injury so there’s a wide open competition for that spot. The defense does appear able to get to the quarterback which could help mask some of those vulnerabilities in the secondary. We saw some different blitzes in the team’s game against Atlanta.
Buffalo Bills
The Bills have a lot of running backs including Frank Gore, LeSean McCoy, TJ Yeldon and rookie Devin Singletary. All are worthy of the starting position, but it’s unclear who it will be given to. McCoy said he was told “he’s the guy“, but that almost seems hard to believe. He is coming off the worst season of his career and he is in the final year of his contract, due $6 million.
Buffalo has to be excited about their top draft pick, Ed Oliver. Despite the record, the Bills finished with a top-ten defense last season and adding Oliver should truly make opposing teams nervous. In his first game as an NFL player, the Colts were already double teaming him.
Miami Dolphins
FitzMagic in Miami? That’s certainly what the team is hoping for by signing the 37-year-old quarterback. It doesn’t seem plausible to rely on Ryan Fitzpatrick maybe being good enough for a season which is why the team also acquired Josh Rosen from the Cardinals. Unfortunately the team doesn’t view him as the solution either and are reportedly unhappy with his progress in camp. The team is already looking at quarterbacks who might be draft eligible after this season.
Also unfortunate for this team, they might be without running back Kenyan Drake. Drake went down in practice with a right foot injury and is expected to miss the rest of the preseason. The injury could also force him to miss time during the regular season, leaving Kalen Ballage as the starter.
