As training camp has sprung up creating a vast array of emotions of both hope for rookies and redundant routines for veterans, it’s never too early to start the wild speculation surrounding the topic of what teams will look like in the ranking at the end of the season. Through my knowledge of the sport and the teams, as well as careful analysis of recent off-season acquisitions and losses, I have come up with a forecast of how I expect each team to finish in their respective division. Continuing with the AFC, this update will focus on the possibly surprising AFC East.

Arriving as potentially the newest dynasty in the NFL, the Patriots have lost much of the team’s great depth and character in recent years. With losses this year to Adam Vinatieri, David Givens and Willie McGinest, the situation in New England may not look so bright for another Super Bowl victory. However, the Patriots still have an excellent offensive core led by Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. With these two warriors at the helm, I still have faith in this team, regardless of who else plays alongside them. With a possible resistance from Deon Branch, there is some concern regarding the passing threat, but again with all the intangibles the Patriots provide, until the team can surprise me, I won’t stop believing in that system.

The Miami Dolphins seem to be everyone’s favorite this year. Miami added a star in Daunte Culpepper, won the last six games of the regular season and has a competent coach in Nick Saban. Coupled with excellent defense, you must think I’m crazy to think Miami will finish under 500 this season. While at the end of the season such conviction may be the case, I think a lot has to go right with this team to achieve a winning record. As for Daunte Culpepper, I think he only achieved such respected status thanks to Randy Moss. If you look at last season, during the games he played, he had almost twice as many interceptions for touchdowns and a lousy passer rating. You can argue that the Vikings’ receiving core was terrible, but why didn’t Brad Johnson have too much of a problem when he led the team to a record 500? Coupled with such a serious injury and a receiving core only slightly better than Minnesota’s, I actually think Culpepper will have a worse season passing wisely compared to the Dolphins quarterback last season. Ronnie Brown will also feel the pressure without Ricky Williams to back him up, and again, while the defense and Saban are strong, I don’t think this team will make the playoffs.

The Buffalo Bills are your average substitute for the team you see in the bottom half of the league each season. Sure the team will occasionally surprise some viewers, like two seasons ago, but when I look particularly at what this season holds for Buffalo, I don’t see much promise. While Kelly Holcomb is a decent quarterback, I like him more as a backup than a starter, and with the loss of Eric Moulds, I don’t think he’s going to have a better season with just Lee Evans as a valuable threat. The Bills have Willis McGahee as a good running back, but like a lot of Buffalo’s defensive players, he’s an injury suspect, and I think he’ll be on Injury Reserve at the end of the season. Since I really want to give Buffalo fans some optimism, I would suggest looking at the Sabers next season, as this team will be the only winner in Western New York this winter.

The last team to offer some competition for this division would be the New York Jets. I bet you’re probably laughing now to read that I wrote competition in relation to the Jets, but to be honest, I think this team has the potential to be even better than the Dolphins. Before you close your browser window and ignore everything I’ve said, know that I think the Jets have fundamentally one of the worst teams in terms of players in the NFL. For some reason, though, I have some faith that this team will be the luckiest team this season. With a new coaching staff proving to be vigilant in terms of hard physical training, and the return of an “egg” quarterback, I think the Jets will be the surprise team in the NFL by relying on luck and intangibles. Remember, just two years ago, the Jets were one kick away from reaching the AFC Championship Game.

Final AFC East Season Standings (*shows how to get to the playoffs):

1.*New England Patriots: 12-4

2. New York Jets: 7-9

3. Miami Dolphins: 7-9

4. Buffalo bills: 1-15