By Jimmy King
The jury is out. The verdict will be determined in about ten months. And still the question hovers over our heads: who is the better team? Is it the haughty New England Patriots led by arguably the best head coach and quarterback of the 21st Century? Or is it the up and coming New York Jets, a defensive-minded club with Rex Ryan, the football sly guy, at the reigns?
Right now, I’d be willing to bet that New York has the better team on paper and by virtue of how each club ended their postseasons last year. However, the Patriots have proven time again that they are resilient under the guidance of The Hoodie and the NFL’s Golden Boy. But raw talent versus historical evidence seems to be the great divide and the source of argument between the two powerhouses of the AFC East.
When you compare the teams, this is what you get:
New York Jets – With the Jets, you get a defensive-minded coach who is still under the impression that great defenses win Super Bowls. However, the last team to win the Super Bowl because of their defense was the Baltimore Ravens in 2000 (you cannot make the argument that Pittsburgh’s defense won them two Super Bowls because it was clearly the brilliance of Ben Roethlisberger and his posse of play-making wide receivers). This was proven in last year’s AFC Championship against an Indianapolis Colts team that had its own defense exposed in the Super Bowl.
As for New York’s offense, we can safely say that it is unproven with the exception of the offensive line and the backup running back. Shonn Green will start at running back with Ladainien Tomlinson filling the third down role. Green is the epitome of unproven; the potential is there, but the statistics and star status is lacking. Braylon Edwards is the most proven wide receiver of the young bunch, but is prone to dropping passes. Mark Sanchez has a decent arm, but is awful under pressure. Again, the potential is there.
Besides their defense, one word sums up the Jets: unproven.
New England Patriots – With the Patriots, you know what you are getting: a future Hall of Fame quarterback who still threw 28 touchdowns (after missing an entire season due to injury), a running back by committee backfield, a future-but-aging Hall of Fame wide receiver, an above-average offensive line, and a defense that is spotty at best.
This paragraph is a fill-in in the interest of fairness. New York had three paragraphs. I don’t want people to think I’m not spending enough time on the Patriots…
[End Fill-in]
There you have it, the reavealing comparison between the Patriots and the Jets, the two top dogs of the AFC East. But lest we forget, it is only April 1! We still have four months of free agency, two months of training camp, and a month of preseason. Oh, and I almost forgot, the NFL Draft later this month.
This conference will be decided by what happens between now and then…and the season itself. If history is any indication, the Pats and Jets will split their series, New England will win more division games and go undefeated in cross-conference play while New York underachieves.
If “punditry” is any indication however, New England’s defense is about ready to keel over and die and Shonn Green will become the next Ladainien Tomlinson.
Folks, listen to me for a second. The Patriots still have Bill Belichick, the best head coach since Bill Walsch. If anybody knows how to win a game (or three Super Bowls for that matter) with a team that lacks a roster of superstars, it is him. Plus, New England has four picks in the first two rounds, more than any other team.
The Patriots are still the best team in the AFC. They will more than compensate for their holes – a 3-4 OLB, a running back, and a third wide receiver – in the first two rounds of this deep NFL Draft; it will come either by trading these picks (Randy Moss-style) or drafting starters.
Right now, New England’s first round exit is still fresh in my mind. However, the Jets getting pounced in the AFC Conference Finals is fresher and the Pats have a much more resilient organization than New York. So, for now (and until either BB or TB retire), New England is the eminent domain of the AFC East.
Hey, Mark Sanchez, chew on that hot dog of truth!
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Normally I'm all for the Pats, but I think this year for the AFC East it will be all about the Jets. If Cromartie comes back to his true form, the Jets secondary may be good enough to shut down whatever the Pats throw at them.
ReplyDeleteGreat point, but the Jets have little to no offense. If they plan on winning 13-10 games all year, then I would have given them the nodd.
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