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AFC EastNew England (12-4) - The Patriots could win with any receivers, but grabbing Wes Welker, Donte Stallworth, Kelley Washington & Randy Moss (in that order) makes things a whole lot easier. Brady is not flawless, but darn close and he's primed for another huge year. Laurence Maroney must prove he can handle a much bigger workload and stay healthy. Richard Seymour will miss the early portion of the season, but that only means he's likely to be great for the 2nd half of the season and postseason run.
Buffalo (7-9) - The Bills are the best of a fairly lifeless bunch in this division, but just barely. JP Losman needs to show major improvement again this year. Good luck on that without workhorse RB Willis McGahee (now the starter in Baltimore). His replacement is rookie 1st rounder Marshawn Lynch and methinks it'll be at least half the season before he really starts to look even decent.
New York Jets (7-9) - Before the end of the season, this will be Kellen Clemens team. How the Jets could have put all their faith and money into a pop-gun arm like Chad Pennington is still shocking. Thomas Jones was a great signing but he already got hurt in training camp. I still like their defense and they might be able to slug a few out, but they really can't expect to win big with Pennington running the show.
Miami (5-11) - Hardly anyone has liked the way the Cam Cameron era has started. The draft day fiasco with the reach for Ted Ginn, Jr. The problem was their own players (Vonnie Holiday, Jason Taylor) were irate over the selection. Instead of Brady Quinn, they settled for 37-old Trent Green, who is one big hit from retirement. Their defense is still strong but they are getting older and their offense has not improved at all. Ronnie Brown has shown virtually no big play potential. Like the Jets, putting all their eggs into a crappy QB basket is foolish
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AFC NorthBaltimore (11-5) - Unlikely they'll duplicate their runaway division crown last year, but they still have the conference's best defense and adding McGahee should make their offense a lot more potent than the one we saw claim a meager 2 field goals at home in the playoffs against the Colts. At some point Steve McNair is not going to be able to win at this level, and it's going to be soon, but they still have enough to best the other teams in this division.
Pittsburgh (10-6) - I have a feeling their new offense under Bruce Arians will be fairly explosive but only if Santonio Holmes progresses as expected. Willie Parker might be a little less than desired, but they still have a physical intimidating defense that is full of playmakers Troy Polamalu, Larry Foote and James Farrior among others. Mike Tomlin has a lot to live up to considering he's only the 3rd coach they've had in 40 years and both before him have won the big one, but unlike Cameron in Miami, experts/fans/media all seem to appreciate the beginning of the Tomlin era.
Cincinnati (10-6) - Best set of skill players players not playing in Indianapolis with Carson Palmer, Rudi Johnson, Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh, although they did lose Eric Steinbach off their once stellar o-line. Their defense foreces their offense to constantly put points on the board and that shouldn't change this year. Could be a very rough start to the year as well, 1st 4 games are Baltimore, @ Cleveland, @ Seattle then home for New England.
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Cleveland (5-11) - Here's their opening month - Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, @ Oakland & Baltimore. That sounds like an 0-3 start in the division and maybe 0-4 overall. They get New England and Miami next, so they will be beaten up if not just simply beaten. The goood news is that those games will be quarterbacked by Charlie Frye, then the bye week comes and with it the Brady Quinn era. Their defense is actually going to keep them in a bunch of games. D'Qwell Jackson and Kam Wimbley are a couple of young studs and maybe Antwan Peek finally stays healthy and shines.
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AFC WestSan Diego Chargers (12-4) - They did clean house, but it was only the coaching staff. Philip Rivers was remarkable as a 1st year starter and should only get better. They've got the best RB (Tomlinson), the best TE (Gates) and the best LB (Merriman) so barring catastrophic injuries they'll dominate this division. I like Vincent Jackson to have a breakout season and while Merriman gets the headlines, their front four is sensational and they are really the reason the defense was so dominant last year and will be again this year. The players have something to prove because they flat out gave away their game last year vs. the Pats in the playoffs.
Denver Broncos (9-7) - Is it me or are the Broncos getting kind of stale. I like Jay Cutler, Javon Walker and the addition of Travis Henry was a great one, yet I still don't feel like this will be anything better than a slightly above average offense. It is still just year 2 for Cutler and he is prone to try to make throws he really can't make. Dre Bly, Champ Bailey, Nick Ferguson & John Lynch are now the strength of the defense, now that their linebackers are slowing a bit - no Al Wilson is not a good thing.
Kansas City Chiefs (6-10) - Can you say free fall?? Their pathetic performance in the playoffs should have made the alarm go off for the Chiefs. That was a disgusting display of offense. With Larry Johnson and Tony Gonzalez and - at the time - an above average offensive line should not have had the problems they did. Johnson can't possible carry the ball as much as he did last year and Damon Huard is not exactly young and spry (kinda reminds you of the dispatched Trent Green, except with a weaker arm). Their preseason offense might have set the league back a few years. The Texans should be embarrassed if they don't start the year by beating the Chiefs at Reliant Stadium.
Oakland Raiders (4-12) - Twice as many wins as last year sounds nice until you realize that means they'll still be the worst team in the league. Jamarcus Russell is still unsigned and that's the Raiders in a nutshell - clueless. Even if Russell is asking for too much money, it's still on the Raiders for not knowing that before they drafted him. The new coaching staff is an upgrade but still very green and they just don't have much to work with. Offensively they might not have but 1 or 2 players who would be starting elsewhere. The defense was good last year and will be good again this year, but they have to do everything. Warren Sapp is still pretty good, but not nearly as good as he thinks he is. They have truly done a fine job of adding young talent to the defense with LBs Thomas Howard & Kirk Morrison, and DBs Michael Huff and Nnamdi Asomugha.
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It doesn't look like Rockets GM Daryl Morey is going to have too many tough decisions to cut the roster down to 15. Surely you've heard Rafer Alston has had 2 significant assault charges in August and now Justin Reed got booked on misdemeanor marijuana possession charges in Jackson, Mississippi.
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Not a single player listed on the injury report for either the Texans or the Chiefs just 4 days from the opener. Herm Edwards is already saying that Larry Johnson is going to see the ball less and he is going to use Michael Bennett a bunch early this year. I'm sure. It's a 16 game season, what is he saving LJ for??? Exactly.
-------- WEX
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