AFC East 2007 Previews and Projections

Eastern Division:

1) New England: We correctly picked the Pats to capture the crown in the very weak AFC East last year, heck, one even bettered our projected regular-season finish last year by going 12-4 and with some breaks. he ended up making it to the AFC Championship game only to be ejected by eventual SB winner Peyton Manning and company.

The Patriots needed to improve their WR corps and they did so by adding Randy Moss, Donte ‘Stallworth and Wes Welker to their roster via free agency, which should bolster what was a really weak area last year, however. , with Corey Dillon like new. England need to find a backup RB for Laurence Maroney, who enters this season fresh from shoulder surgery.

Defensively, the Pats added Pro Bowl linebacker Adalius Thomas to their roster, which should help a defensive defense that allowed an average of 114.3 yards per game last season, however, the stamina threat of CB Asante Samuel and the DB Chad Scott’s injury to an already suspect defensive secondary could well prove to be the Pats’ Achilles’ heel. Projected record: 11-5

** Look to play AGAINST the Patriots on October 1st when they visit Cincy for an MNF meeting, one look in the old history book reveals the Ben Gals have gone 7-1-1 ATS against the Pats the last 9 times they have met and that includes covering 5 of their last 6 at home against the visiting Patriots, and by the way, this is payback for the Ben Gals who lost at home last year to New England in the embarrassing Finals. 13-38 score as 6-point home favorites, Cincy has a bye after this matter and must be extremely focused.

2) NY Jets: HC Eric Mangini did wonders for the flyboys last year somehow, managing to win 10 games despite having a 25th-ranked offense and 20th-ranked defense in the league, the main reason for the success. it was because of his team being able to stay relatively healthy and that includes having injury-prone QB Chad Pennington on the field all season.

Longtime and future Hall of Famer Curtis Martin decided to hang up his shoes for good, prompting the Jets to fill the vacancy with Thomas Jones. HC Mangini knows well that his team was very lucky to win 10 games last year and chose to bolster the defense this offseason with the additions of David Bowens, Kenyon Coleman, Michael Haynes and Andre Wadsworth. All four have the ability to play defensive end or outside linebacker, which means Mangini could be planning to attack opposing quarterbacks more often this season by installing more blitz packages. keep in mind during the preseason. Projected record: 8-8

** Look to play AGAINST the Jets in their season opener at home against the visiting Patriots, a review in time reveals the Jets have failed to cover their last 8 straight home games against New England, in fact the host in this divisional rivalry has failed to cap the 14th spot of the last 16 ATS times against the road!

3) Miami: These phins are apparently in complete chaos, HC Nick Saban was hired to right the ship, but after posting a combined 15-17 mark during his two-year stint, he returned to the collegiate ranks to coach the Crimson. Tide. Alabama Assuming the helm will be Cam Cameron, who was the offensive coordinator in San Diego.

Cameron has more than his fair share of issues entering this season. At the top of the list is an aging Trent Green under center who will turn the ball over to Ronnie Brown, which poses a problem because both players have been injury-prone the past two seasons and must rely on a makeshift offensive line. that will be a work in progress.

Miami’s defense has some star power with the likes of Jason Taylor, Zach Thomas, Joey Porter, Keith Traylor and Vonnie Holliday, but in truth, each of these players is on the downside of their careers and believes they will bounce back as they go. As the season progresses because the offense won’t be able to give them any reprieve. Projected record: 6-10

**Look to play ON the Dolphins in their home opener against Dallas on 9/16/07, the phins will likely settle in as a local pup or little favorite and that suits us because there is so much talent and pride in this phin team will play well in their home opener and Dallas will be coming to town in possible “disappointed” mode after playing their season opener at home against division rival G-men and having an on-deck date against the Bears who were the NFC Super Bowl representative last year, can you say “sandwich game”?

4) Buffalo: The Bills are now in full rebuild mode and especially on the defensive side of the ball after losing LB Takeo Spikes (Eagles), London Fletcher (Redskins) and CB Nate Clements (49ers) and now have to rely of youngsters like rookie linebacker Paul Posluszny (Penn State), second-year safeties Donte Whitner and Ko Simpson, and LBs Angelo Crowell and Keith Ellison.

On offense, Buffalo will look to first-round draft pick Marshawn Lynch (Cal) to fill the vacancy left by Willis McGahee at running back, who now wears Raven purple. The Bills’ offensive line needs a lot of work and will try to find consistency with the additions of guard Derrick Dockery (Redskins) and tackle Langston Walker (Raiders). Quarterback JP Losman has shown flashes of brilliance, but if Buffalo wants him to improve his (four-year) career quarterback rating of 77.4 with a 27-to-23 TD-to-INT ratio, they’ll need to find him a wide enough receiver. good to line it up. opposite Lee Evans and reshape a line that allowed 47 sacks last year. Projected record: 4-12

**Look to play IN Buffalo on September 16 when the Bills travel to Pittsburgh, with the public in mind we should get exceptional line value on this one because the Steelers will just tear Cleveland apart in their season opener and Denver will probably have did the same with Buffalo. The Bills performed well as a pup last year by covering 7 of 10 ATS in this role and that includes covering New England and Miami last year to start the season receiving +9.5 and +6.5 respectively, it’s also good to know that according to According to the old history book, Buffalo has covered an incredible 14 of its last 16 ATS games during week 2 of a new season.

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