AFC EAST PROJECTED ORDER OF FINISH:
 
1. NEW ENGLAND
2. NY JETS
3. BUFFALO
4. MIAMI 

NEW ENGLAND
COACH: BILL BELICHICK 9th yr (105-40)
LAST YEAR: 16-0
GAMES DECIDED BY 3 OR LESS: 3-0
KEY ADDITION: JARRED MAYO LB
KEY LOSS: ASANTE SAMUEL CB

DIRECTION: GOING DOWN
OUTLOOK: The Patriots had the best regular season of any team in history, but they weren’t perfect in the end. What will be remembered is the disappointment of losing the Super Bowl as the Giants took the ball 83 yards in the closing 2.5 minutes to seal the deal. So what happens now? The first half of last season represented the best football ever played by any team in any era, as the Pats won all eight games by 17 or more. But they won just three after that by that margin. and four were decided by 4 points or less. The signs of wear and tear were evident during the second half, where a team that was invincible for half the season, looked a lot more vulnerable in the end. We look for that to continue in ‘08. The team is aging at linebacker and in the secondary and a repeat of perfection is very unlikely. This is still a potent team with one of the best QBs and coaches ever, but don’t expect to see a repeat performance of ‘07.
 
PROJECTED FINISH:  12-4

NY JETS (updated since Favre trade)
COACH: ERIC MANGINI 3rd yr. (14-19)
LAST YEAR:  4-12
GAMES DECIDED BY 3 OR LESS: 3-2
KEY ADDITION: ALAN FANECA OG
KEY LOSS: JONATHON VILMA  LB

DIRECTION: GOING UP
OUTLOOK: The Jets appeared to be headed in the right direction under Eric Mangini in 2006, but a 10-win team in his first year became a 4-win team last year. The Jets may have won three more games than the Dolphins in ‘07, but other than a 27-point blowout win vs. that hapless Dolphin team, the Jets won their other three games by just 3 points each with two coming in overtime and the other against the 1-15 Dolphins again. They have brought in a lot of new players with the late addition of Brett Favre being the biggest. He’s an upgrade for sure but he may not have a cakewalk here as the Jets offensive line allowed 53 sacks last season, or 3.3 per game. That pales in contrast to the 1.1 allowed by Green Bay. When protected well, Favre can eat up defenses. He has proven, however, that when pressured he is very capable of making poor decisions. Learning a new offense, and faced with a downgrade in offensive line, he may be faced with lots of those situations here. The Jets have addressed the line issues on both sides o f the ball, but the NFL is about lines that have played together for years, and that won’t be the case at least this year. This team should certainly improve, but don’t expect to see them in the playoffs.
 
PROJECTED FINISH:   8-8

BUFFALO BILLS
 
COACH: DICK JUARON 3rd yr. (14-18)
LAST YEAR:  7-9
GAMES DECIDED BY 3 OR LESS: 3-2
BIGGEST ADDITION: MARCUS STROUD DT
BIGGEST LOSS: MICHAEL GAINES TE

DIRECTION: GOING NOWHERE
OUTLOOK: The Bills didn’t make much progress last year as they matched the previous year total of seven wins. They have now gone eight years without making the playoffs - a franchise high. They have brought in some pieces to shore up a defense that ranked 31st in the NFL last season. But, this team probably wasn’t as good as the 7 wins indicated last season. They ware going to need to improve just to hit that mark again. A lot of what happens in ‘08 will be determined by two things. How will all the defensive pieces fit together? And, will Trent Edwards, who showed lots of promise, develop into a better QB? The Bills will again have a tough go of it in 2008 as they simply didn’t improve enough in the offseason. 
 
PROJECTED FINISH:   7-9

MIAMI DOLPHINS
COACH:  TONY SPARANO  1st yr.
LAST YEAR:  1-15
GAMES DECIDED BY 3 OR LESS:  0-6
BIGGEST ADDITION: JAKE LONG OT
BIGGEST LOSS: ZACH THOMAS LB

DIRECTION: GOING UP
OUTLOOK: The Dolphins suffered through about as bad a season a team could have, generating just one lonely win. They made some needed coaching changes, bringing in a Bill Parcells’ disciple in Sparano. The addition of these two guys should immediately alter the attitude of this team. Parcells also brought in Dan Henning to be the offensive coordinator, and if you stop and think, Henning is best known for taking a similar 1-15 Carolina team to the Superbowl just two years later. This team will be better, and certainly improve upon last year’s numbers. They were competitive in quite a few games last season, but just couldn’t win the close games as they went a league worst 0-6 in games decided by 3 points or less. Their record in these close contests should improve and this team will have a much better ‘08 campaign.
 
PROJECTED FINISH: 6-10