News and Notes

Balance of Power Shifts in AFC

09/09/2008
Michael J. Kotts

One play, that's all it took. One play ended the hopes and dreams of all the New England Patriot fans, who had hoped the Patriots would regroup go undefeated again and win the Superbowl this year to prove 2007 was no fluke. Well, it was not to be. As if it ever actually was. But I digress. Tom Brady sat out all pre season with a mysterious foot injury in which no one was ever given any details about. It's Typical Bill Belichick to try to leave everyone in the dark about what really happens with the Patriots. Despite the fact Brady had to hobble of the field Belichick tried to downplay the significance of the injury, by releasing few, if any, details of the seriousness of the injury.

Come Monday morning, there was little Belichick could to hide the fact Tom Brady was going to have to undergo surgery on his knee forcing him to miss the 2008 season. Despite that, Belichick still found a way to leave people guessing what their next move will be. Without Brady, that leaves the Patriots with back up Matt Cassel. While a suitable back up, I doubt that the Patriots feel he has the ability to get them back to the Superbowl. Nonetheless speculations were flying. The Patriots could bring in Chris Simms, Tim Rattay, xxx xxxx or even make an offer to Vinnie Testeverde, although the odds are against that. Just when you thought the Bill Belichick couldn't possibly make things more mysterious, he does. Both Chris Simms and Tim Rattay arrived in New England, only to have the Patriots change their mind and tell them that their services would not be needed. So does that mean the Patriots are going to stick with Matt Cassle, or is there a trade in the works? Or is it Just the Bill Belichick acting weird like people are accustomed to him acting now these days. Making it seem like anything the Patriots do is some national security detail which can not be released to the public. Frankly, expect the unexpected in this situation.

Regardless, short of trading for Ben Roethlisberger, it is doubtful that whoever takes over the controls in New England, will lead the Patriots deep into the playoffs. It is just not going to happen. Sorry New England fans, you better get used to that fact real quick. So who does that leave in that leave in the drivers seat in the AFC. There are the teams who can be thrown out of contention immediately Miami, Houston and Oakland. They have not improved significantly from last year. Then you have the borderline playoff teams Buffalo, Kansas City, Cleveland, Cincinatti, Tennessee, Baltimore, Denver, and New York. Then you have the teams who should be in the playoff contenders Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Pittsburgh, and San Diego. Now many experts, with the departure of Tom Brady, feel that San Diego will be the AFC representative in the Superbowl this year. Granted they have Ladanian Tomlinson, and a good Quarterback, and a decent passing game. Sure they will make another run at it. But I have never been sold on a team coached by Norv Turner. So I would not put my money on them.

I know, everyone is going to say this is biased, but with no New England in contention, the team to beat is the Pittsburgh Steelers. Face it, the team is still virtually the same from last year. The biggest loss was Alan Fanaca. Other than that, they kept most of the offensive weapons, and tne necessary defensive ones as well. Frankly, the only real area they needed to improve was on the offensive line, which after week one, it appears that problem has been taken care of. The only other area of concern from last year was the Defensive backfield, which gave up a lot of passing yardage when they could least afford to. Only time will tell if they have improved there as well. Houston was not a team that was going to truly test the Pittsburgh secondary. Of course the season is still young, and future injuries could continue to change the landscape of the AFC. The real sleeper this year could be the New York Jets. With Bret Faver as the new Jets field general, look for them to be much more competitive. As a mater of fact I will call it now Jets win the AFC East. Think I am crazy, lets talk in January!

Also I would not count out a run by either the Browns or Bengals or Ravens and perhaps Denver. Of course those teams only make the playoffs as a wild card. Certainly what once seemed as destiny that the Patriots repeat as champions of the AFC East, now has left the AFC in a slight state of chaos. Now we must wait to see how it all plays out.

<< back to News & Notes