The Patriots have an old offensive line and no proven running back. On defense they have a suspect secondary and a limited pass rush. But this is still the toast of the division. They have one game against a top 13 quarterback (10/7 vs. Denver and Peyton Manning) and that’s it. Brady will have an MVP season as he has no one to hand off to and tons of top-level receiving talent. I don’t know how things will work out once playoff time comes, but the Patriots will be on their way to home field advantage.
The Bills have made some big improvements on defense solidifying their pass rush (Mario Williams and Mark Anderson to go with 2011 #3 pick Marcell Dareus) and are returning practically the entire offense from last year, a group that busted out of the gate in 2011 and scored at least 30 points five times. Ryan Fitzpatrick struggled after picking up some cracked ribs and an injured sternum midway through the year but I like the Bills quarterback. Their biggest problem is receivers; Stevie Johnson tends to have butter fingers, and no one has even heard of any of the others (except Donald Jones’ mom). Fred Jackson was a beast for most of the year and CJ Spiller is a nice weapon. Bills ought to contend for a Wild Card spot.
What hasn’t been said about the Jets? They showed us nothing in the preseason; nothing. (To be fair, the Bills looked awful, too.) Mark Sanchez may be a quality quarterback in this league but he has the deck stacked against him, with a terrible offensive line, bad receivers, marginal rushing game, and the most charismatic backup quarterback the league has ever seen. There is a chance that Tim Tebow will be implemented in such a way that the league has never seen and the Jets score some points. But after Week 1 who will be taken off guard by that? The defense is improved from twelve months ago, but they may be on the field an awful lot. For the Jets to make the playoffs the defense will have to be something special and create their own points.
The rebuilding Dolphins are going with a rookie quarterback who has not impressed in the preseason and has only #3 receivers to throw to. They traded cornerback Vontae Davis to the Colts for future draft picks. Rookie head coach Joe Philbin has his work cut out for him.
Miller’s Fearless Forecast:
Patriots 13-3
Bills 10-6
Jets 7-9
Dolphins 4-12
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So...which three teams will the Patriots lose to? I say Stevan Ridley breaks out, Brandon Lloyd has a Moss-like season, and they go 16-0.
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