The New England Patriots have won the AFC East six straight years and 11 of the last 12. In this age of parity, the salary cap and free agency, it’s almost hard to believe any team can dominate a division for that long.
But things might be on the verge of changing in a division that for almost the entirety of its existence has involved New England, and then everybody else.
I know, it’s a weird thing to say when the Patriots are coming off a Super Bowl victory. But it ain’t easy to recover from those things. Just ask the last nine Super Bowl winners, all of whom failed to repeat, only one of whom won a playoff game the following season, and four of whom missed the playoffs entirely.
The Pats will have a target on their back, and it’ll be larger than ever before. Throw in that quarterback Tom Brady will be 38 and that the salary cap-strapped front office is likely to lose All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis and there’s plenty of reason to believe the Pats may come a little closer to earth in 2015.
That alone might not be enough for the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins or New York Jets to sweep in and steal the division. New England finished three games up on Buffalo in 2014, four up on Miami and eight ahead of New York. However, those teams have more space and are making moves in attempts to put the pressure on Bill Belichick and Co.
The Bills have a stacked defense that should only get better. They’re bringing back a key cog in pass-rusher Jerry Hughes, they took a flier on Richie Incognito, they traded a player that didn’t fit their scheme for Pro Bowl running back LeSean McCoy and they at least bolstered the quarterback depth chart with the acquisition of Matt Cassel. They’re still in trouble at that position, but with Sammy Watkins emerging as a star at receiver, they could be good enough to make a playoff run regardless.
The Dolphins have less money to spend in free agency but fewer questions under center with the underrated Ryan Tannehill holding things down. On Tuesday, they’ll give the salary cap two middle fingers by officially signing the best free agent on the market, Ndamukong Suh. Suh’s a boom-or-bust signing that could backfire, but it’s a gamble that has a high ceiling, especially if Tannehill and youngsters Jarvis Landry and Ja’Wuan James continue to improve on the offensive side of the ball.
Both of those teams are playoff-caliber squads in most divisions, and they still have time to get better.
The Jets are still a mess, but at least the Rex Ryan era is over and they have Brandon Marshall coming to town to help the offense. We already know the defense is stacked up front, so some surprisingly steady play at the quarterback position and in the secondary could help them turn this thing around quickly. It helps that they hold the No. 6 overall pick in April’s draft and have more salary cap space than almost anyone else in football, some of which may be devoted to the return of Revis.
So yeah, the Pats should watch their backs. Right now.