AFC Este Soccer Preview 2005
In the AFC East I hope to see the Patriots fall a bit, but not much, the reason for the projected fall is mainly due to the fact that the Patriots will be without the services of offensive coordinator Charlie Weis and defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel. Both have moved into head coaching positions, Weis with Notre Dame and Crennel with the Cleveland Browns. Eric Mangini is the new defensive coordinator, while Bill Belichick will call the plays on offense himself.
The Patriots play seven games this season against 2004 playoff teams and four of those affairs will take place on the road, the Patriots also lost many talents such as WR David Patton, OG Joe Andruzzi and CB Ty Law through free agency. And it very well could be without their defensive leader LB Tedy Bruschi, whose status is uncertain after an offseason hit, then there’s the matter of the Patriots having won three of the last four Super Bowls, meaning the Patriots have played nine postseason games above and beyond. the normal sixteen-game regular season schedule for the past four years and I’ve had to deal with all the off-season commitments and fuss that comes with winning the big game, plus don’t forget that the team that wins the Super Bowl is bottom-best comes at draft time, which means the Patriots’ “Fresh Blood” talent pool has been depleted due to their success.
The saving grace for the Patriots in the AFC East comes from the fact that the Jets didn’t help each other much in the draft other than pulling Kicker Mike Nugent out of Ohio State with their top pick, as the Patriots lost, the Jets also lost. plenty of talent through free agency with the departure of starters WR Santana Moss, TE Anthony Becht, RT Kareem McKenzie and DT Jason Ferguson, however the Jets’ biggest loss to free agency may result in RB Lamont Jordan , who could I have intervened quite well if 32-year-old RB Cutis Martin is injured.
However, the Jets were smart enough to hire former Dolphin quarterback Jay Fiedler to back up starting quarterback Chad Pennington, who has been injury prone of late, Jet HC Herm Edwards replaced their offensive coordinator. Paul Hackett with former Titan offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger, who will make it interesting because Heimerdinger likes to throw the ball deep, meanwhile, Pennington has fresh shoulder surgery and is more suited to the West Coast style of short passing .
Buffalo finished the 2004 season strong down the stretch by winning 8 of 9 games before losing their last game of the season at home to the Steelers, however that season ending the loss to Pittsburgh was costly as it proved to score the difference when deciding who. went to the playoffs and whoever stayed at home, the Bills are indeed a rising team with very good defense and excellent special teams, however they probably took QB Drew Bledsoe out of town a year earlier and will begin years past. . Selection n. No. 1 in the draft JP Losman in his place, which of course spells some growing pains this season for the young QB.
Miami finished the 2004 season with a shoddy 4-12 record, but since Buffalo appears to be a rising team in the AFC East, I won’t be reckless enough to predict a playoff spot after a four-win season. But I see big improvement for the Dolphins this season and I think a seven or eight win season is not out of the question when you consider that the Dolphins now have Nick Saban at the helm as their new HC.
Unlike Steve Spurrier when he made his NFL debut with the Skins, Nick Saban was smart enough to go out and get seasoned NFL assistants, Saban brought in former Viking offensive coordinator Scott Linehan to lead the offense and the former Charger coach Hudson Houck to lead the defense. Saban also designed one of the best drafts of any team in the league, look to former Auburn running back Ronnie Brown for immediate impact.
In closing, the Patriots finished 2004 with an impressive 13-5-1 ATS record shortly after posting a 14-4-1 ATS mark in 2003, can New England once again dominate the spread wars in 2005? Probably so, but not to the extent of the last two seasons, as you see, my friend “Joe Public”, type bettors in all likelihood will see the Patriots as a “Go Against” team in 2005 due to the loss. by Weis and Crennel. however, Belichick is still the HC and Tom Brady is still the QB under center.
Having said that, I would recommend making a play with the Patriots every time they get points in a doggy role, it won’t be of much value this season with the Jets, meanwhile both Buffalo and Miami will be unpredictable for the first eight weeks of the season. Due to the fact that both teams will have new starting quarterbacks under center and both teams have weaknesses up front on the offensive line, in Miami’s case their players have to learn new schemes on both sides of the ball due to a brand new coach. personal.