Sunday, April 8, 2018

Patriots superiority in the AFC East starts with Tom Brady


Image Courtesy of Bing


The England Patriots have been the premier team in the NFL for years, in large part because they've had the premier quarterback in the game in Tom Brady. In the meantime, the Bills, Dolphins and Jets have had their problems at the position, with no immediate upgrade in sight. Every team in the AFC East figures to be looking for a quarterback in this year's draft, but even if they hit pay dirt, it will likely take a while for that to translate into wins. Here's a quick look at each team in the division's quarterback situation.

One more time


While Tom Brady will be 41 during the 2018 season, he's still easily the class of this division. Brady could experience a fairly steep drop and the Patriots will still have superior quarterback play. The Patriots may try to find a young quarterback in this year's draft, but look for the Pats to go for one more hurrah with Brady at the quarterback helm.

The Bills are past due for a good quarterback


The Buffalo Bills traded last year's starter, Tyrod Taylor to the Cleveland Browns. That leaves Nathan Peterman as the current number one guy. If you remember Peterman's disastrous first start against the Chargers last season, you can see why the Bills are in no hurry to go with Peterman in 2018. Currently, Peterman is the Urban Sombrero of NFL quarterbacks. Bonus points if you get the Jerry Seinfeld reference.

The Bill definitely figure to be in the hunt for a quarterback in this draft. The Bills are currently sitting at number 12 in this year's draft. Fansided reports they are trying to trade up to number two in the draft. The Bills have a respectable team, but need a quarterback. I can't think of any team in the NFL that needs a quarterback more than the Bills.

Things went bad, real bad


The Miami Dolphins tried the Jay Cutler experiment, and in the words of Bodhi of Point Break (Patrick Swayze), “Yeah, it went bad, real bad.” Ryan Tannehill figures to be the Dolphins starter in 2018, he of the 86.3 career passer rating. Basically, Tannehill can be mediocre and that's about it. The Dolphins also aren't in good position to move up to draft a quarterback.

Dolphins head coach, Adam Gase, was praised as an exciting new coach after his rookie season in 2016. His 2017 campaign is making people take a second look at that.

Jets quarterback situation looks tailor made for Baker


Jets quarterback, Josh McCown, is a perfect NFL backup. Unfortunately for the Jets, he's been a starter for them. Josh actually had a nice 2017 season, compiling a passer rating of 94.5. That stands in contrast with his career mark of 80.8. The Jets are poised to draft a quarterback after trading up to the third overall pick in this season's draft.

Baker Mayfield seems like a logical pick for the Jets. If that's the case, being mentored by Josh McCown may make for an improving quarterback situation for the team. It's worth a shot.



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