AFC East could be best in conference

There was a time when the AFC East was the best division in all of football. Then they were the best division in the AFC. Those days have long since gone with the domination of the New England Patriots and the failure of the Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, and Buffalo Bills to pressure for a division win.

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Since 2001 only the Miami Dolphins, in 2008, and the New York Jets in 2002 have won the division over the Patriots. The Buffalo Bills haven’t won the division since 1995. For the last decade it’s been all New England but the gap between teams is starting to shrink. This off-season the New York Jets have gotten better and the Buffalo Bills have improved as well. The Dolphins are expecting to make a strong run at the division title as well.

Long ago the East was the dominant division but that has over the years stepped aside for the AFC West.

This year the AFC East has made a lot of changes that on paper look as though they could restore the East to the best division in the conference. Each team with the exception of the Patriots have made major changes to their teams and the Patriots are reigning Super Bowl champions thanks to a bad Seattle decision at the one yard line late in the game. These changes could very well make each of the the AFC East teams formidable opponents for years to come. If they all work out the way each team hopes they will.

New York Jets

The biggest change for the Jets is the hiring of Todd Bowles to be their head coach. Bowles is a very respected coach who doesn’t get the most out of his players by being brash but instead by instilling a solid work ethic. Bowles has the potential to be a long term solution for the Jets in that position. Bowles doesn’t have a full season of head coaching experience however. He served as the interim head coach for the Dolphins following the firing of Tony Sparano by the Dolphins in 2007. That short season should help Bowles as he assumes the duties of the position full time.

The Jets boast one of the best tandems at cornerback. They brought back Antonio Cromartie and Darrell Revis this off-season and bolstered their defensive line as well. They were not done there. Prior to the start of free agency they worked a deal with Chicago to bring Brandon Marshall to New York to pair with Eric Decker and then added former Patriots running back Stevan Ridley to go with Zac Stacy.

The Jets did well this off-season and managed to keep linebacker David Harris. While their linebacking corp is getting a little older, it was far too appealing to pass on the consensus number one overall pick this past NFL Draft. Leonard Williams could be the staple for years at defensive tackle and improves a unit that is already pretty stout. For all the moves they made however, quarterback is still a big concern.

Geno Smith will likely enter training camp as the starter but the Jets made a move for Ryan Fitzpatrick as well. Smith and Fitzpatrick will battle for the starting job and it’s anyones guess who might win. Regardless both players are not franchise quarterbacks and the Jets could struggle with either one of them at the helm. For the Jets it’s going to be all about defense and the defense will keep them in a lot of games.

Todd Bowles is still the key here. A very likable coach, Bowles should find no problems with getting the Jets into a different mindset after the departure of Rex Ryan.