The AFC East looks like being a two team race again in 2011 with the Patriots and the Jets both looking liklely to make a serious run into the post season. This is how we see the season panning out.
1 New England Patriots – The Patriots look the strongest team in the AFC going into the 2011 season having added veterans Ochocinco and Haynesworth to a reasonably strong draft. Given they have plenty of talent already on the roster and a lot of good young players coming through we cant rule out another 14-2 season and think the divisional title is a gimme. Their schedule looks ok again despite having the NFC East to play and the improving AFC West to face. With The Steelers and Colts both wining their divisions last season there are some nice games to look forward to as well. Their schedule looks a little tough for another 14-2 to us and a couple of slips are likely on their way. Our final prediction is a 13-3 season with their losses likely to came at the Steelers, Jets and Eagles. Overall we rank New England as clear best in the AFC and expect them to contest this years Superbowl.
2 New York Jets – The Jets made the AFC Championship game again last season, where they proceeded to self destruct against the Steelers, and a tilt at the Superbowl looks on the cards again in 2011. They were thwarted in their attempt to sign Nandi Asomugha who would have added a bit of extra height at Corner, however since they have kept Comartie their secondary looks solid and is possibly one of the best in the NFL. The Jets were solid enough defensively last season, and we were a little surprised that they didn’t put more effort into sorting out the offense which lacked ideas in 2010 in our opinion. Their red zone offense was poor and ranking 22nd in passing yards was no where near what was expected. The signing of veterans Dereck Mason and Plaxico Burress are short term measures at best and they will need to address this area in next years draft. With Santonio Holmes resigning they should do ok offensively and an improvement on their 202 yards a game average in 2010 is expected.
They were a bit short on draft picks in 2010 thanks to their recent spending spree, however picking up Jeremy kerley in round 5 might at least see them prove their punt return stats, and They did add some extra defensive prowess which will help with what should be a long season. Overall we expect the Jets to finish the same as last season on 11-5 and take the 5th seed. An AFC Championship match up against the Patriots is not out of the question.
3 Buffalo Bills – The Bills are getting better – not a lot better but they are definitely improving. Being stuck with the Pats and Jets makes things tough however we can see them improving on last seasons 4-12 fourth place and think a 6-10 season is possible. They drafted well on Defense and Darius will give them a nice boost, however being hard to score against is no good if you cant score yourselves. The Bills are still 2-3 years away from challenging for the division but finishing third in this division is no disgrace.
4 Miami Dolphins – The Dolphins nicked the division in 2008 tying the patriots at 11-5, however they failed to build on that momentum and have finished 7-9 both times since. Their schedule looks mighty tough and although we were impressed with their drafting of Mike Pouncey, there is no point having a great guard if the QB he is guarding can’t make use of the time. Unless they address this in the remaining free agency we expect it to be a long season for Dolphin fans. Still they could easily sort this next season as getting the no one draft pick is a strong possibility and Stanford’s Andrew Luck will be waiting for them. Who said there is no silver lining. We predict a 3-13 finish for the Dolphins
So Overall for us its:
1 New England Patriots
2 New York Jets
3 Buffalo Bills
4 Miami Dolphins
Some Other sites views
Vegas Sharps » Blog Archive 2011 NFL Predictions: AFC East Super …
Below is a closer look at the AFC East Super Bowl Betting Odds along with 2011 NFL predictions from our crew.
Publish Date: 07/23/2011 11:57
http://vegassharps.com/2011/07/2011-nfl-predictions-afc-super-bowl-betting-odds-2012/
2011 AFC EAST PREDICTIONS (LOCKOUT EDITION): BUFFALO BILLS, 4TH …
By Jaboner Jackson 9:30 pm | Last week, we rounded up the 2011 AFC West Predictions. Today we jump to the AFC East, where snow, rain, and the Tuck Rule reign supreme. While others may be reluctant to prognosticate with …
Publish Date: 07/06/2011 6:08
http://www.footballphds.com/2011/07/05/2011-afc-east-predictions-lockout-edition-buffalo-bills-4th-place/
