It's time for the 3rd annual installment of the AFC East Predictions sweepstakes, winner gets a Dolphins ballcap of their choice, sent to their door, free of charge! Whoever is closest to picking the final record of all AFC East teams will be the winner, in the event of a tie in total games W/L, exactitude of record will be looked at next, then divisional record so be sure to include division record. I'll start it off: 1. Miami -- 11-5 (4-2 div) 2. New England -- 11-5 (3-3 div) 3. Buffalo -- 9-7 (4-2 div) 4. New York -- 5-11 (1-5 div) Have at it! Edit: And just for giggles, here's what Bovada is showing for W/L in the division: Cheaters 10-6 Dolphins 9-7 Jills 8-8 Jets 7-9
Isn't that mathematically impossible? I mean the division wins/losses. Since for every division win there must be a division loss, the total number of division wins must equal the total number of division losses. You might want to change those division predictions before PhinFan1968 gets too upset, cuz we know what happens then!
AFC East 1.) Miami Dolphins: 11-5 (Division 4-2) 2.) Buffalo Bills: 10-6 (Division 4-2) 3.) New England Patriots: 9-7 (Division 3-3) 4.) New York Jets: 5-11 (Division 1-5)
New England 9-7 Miami 9-7 Buffalo 9-7 New York 4-12 very competitive division w/three way tie at the top.
Woah! Miami worse than Buffalo? That's a bold prediction jw. What makes you think Buffalo will end up better than us? Both teams are pretty good on paper, with the one exception being at the QB position for Buffalo. We have Tannehill and they have.. (um.. ??)
The Dolphins have a recent history of losing games to bad QB's. While I think the defense is obviously better with Suh in the middle, I still have concerns regarding the secondary and the LB's. Right now I give the edge to the Bills defense. On offense, the main advantage the Dolphins have at this time is a better QB. Yet I remember Ryan taking a Jets team with less talent than this Bills team and with Mark Sanchez at QB to two consecutive AFC championship games. I give the Dolphins offense a small advantage over the Bills offense, but I think Ryan is a better HC than Philbin. Also, the Bills did finish higher than the Dolphins last season in the division and they had a worse QB than Tannehill at that time. I can see the Dolphins finishing 10-6 and the Bills 9-7, but at this time I just feel the Bills are a little better than the Dolphins. Of course the Dolphins have 16 games to prove me wrong and I hope they do.
Thanks for the explanation. As with so many things, you can choose to focus on what could go wrong, or what could go right. My prediction: after this season, the Dolphins will force a change in your thinking and you'll start to focus on what could go right. We'll see!
It's not like I am picking them to have a losing season or be a terrible team. I think New England still remains the best team in the division and I think that view is fairly consistent with the view in Las Vegas and most of the individuals who are considered much more knowledgable than I am. I don't think I am dwelling on the bad. I just think I am being realistic in regards to the Dolphins. Heck, I predict they will have their first winning season since 2008 and I believe this is the most talented team they have had in at least a decade. I see a lot of positives in the makeup of this team. But I have felt all along that it was going to take Tannebaum and Hickey at least two drafts TOGETHER to upgrade this team to the level it needs to be before they can challenge the Patriots for the division. While the Dolphins improved since last season, I think the Bills improved also and if they get just average play from their QB, I still see them as being a little more talented than the Dolphins. If the Dolphins win one more game than I predict and end up making the playoffs, it certainly won't come as a huge shock to me. Because I already think they can win 9 games. I think 2016 is the year the Dolphins will be ready to be a legitimate threat in the AFC, but I certainly would love to see them become that threat this year.
What I meant by "focusing on what could go wrong" is stuff like "The Dolphins have a recent history of losing to bad QB's", suggesting somehow that this is a predictor of how we'll play bad QB's in the future. Realistically speaking, all teams will on average play better against bad QB's than against good ones. If you see some games where that isn't the case (like we had against Geno Smith or against the Bills in some cases), then it's best interpreted as an anomaly, not as a predictor. But yes, otherwise I think your assessment is fairly realistic, though Vegas does think the Dolphins will win more than the Bills.
New England 12-4 ( 5-1) Buffalo 10-6. ( 4-2) Miami 9-7. (2-4) Jets 4-12 (1-5) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
1. Miami 11-5 (4-2) 2. New England 10-6 (5-1) 3. Buffalo 7-9 (2-4) 4. Jets 5-11 (1-5) I see the division coming down to week 17, with the Fins and Pats tied. Winner takes the #4 seed in the AFC, loser stays home. Pats only division loss of the year, and we go to the playoffs. Buffalo has a brutal start to the season, with Indy, the Pats and then us. I see them starting 0-3, and 2-4. Too much of a hole to crawl out of.
Homer Pick of the week! Phins 16-0 (6-0) Patriots 4-12 (4-2) Bills 2-14 (2-4) Jets 0-16 (0-6) A guy can dream can't he?
Cheaters.....11-5.........4-2 Jills............10-6.........3-3 PHINS.........9-7..........3-3 planes........7-9...........2-4
I don't see why people think Buffalo is going to be so good. They have no QB, no Fred Jackson and an idiot for a head coach. 8-8
They have LeSean McCoy, and Rex Ryan is not an idiot of a coach.. he's pretty good, especially defensively.
Was only arguing with you about RB and coach. QB.. yeah they are where we were not long ago, and you better be real happy about that because if you give that team a decent QB, they are arguably top 5 talent-wise in the league and a SB contender. Agree with 8-8, or at best 9-7 btw.
That's the Jets bud. It's Tyrod Taylor.. don't sleep on Buffalo, they've owned us as of late with worse QBs.
Fitzpatrick played some solid QB last year...definitely a Tier 3 guy, but he didn't throw games away. He could be just enough for them to make noise, I just think there's too much "new" around that team.
I'd agree 100%. The big takeaway for me, about Sexy Rexy leaving the Stej and hitchin' his wagon to the Jills, is it's a net positive for us. Marrone had our number, as well as Rex. One is gone, the other just moved over a few miles. I don't worry about Stej games now NEAR as much as I did with Rex there, and I worry about Jills games about the same.