Without further adieu, here are the reasons to love and hate every NFL team this 2013 season, AFC East edition:
Buffalo Bills
Love - Turning Over A[nother] New Leaf
Surely, somewhere in the annals of longitudinal football statistics, there has to be an increasing chance that the Bills will finally do something, anything positive this time. With so many coaching changes over the past ten years and nary a winning record or playoff spot to show for it, something's gotta give in Buffalo. The Bills' revolving door of coaches rivals that of the Hogwarts Dark Arts program, but maybe newbie Doug Marrone will surprise us all after rubbing elbows with Sean Payton a few years ago on the Saints' staff. Plus, the front office finally got around to reading my offseason advice and released Ryan "Filthy Rich Deadweight" Fitzpatrick.
Hate - A Long Way to the Top
God bless the poor Bills fan who still truly believes this season will be different. Buffalo is still in the middle of the longest active playoff drought in the NFL and two decades removed from the golden age of Jim Kelly and Marc Levy. Despite the many coaching and roster shakeups in the years since, the Lucy of sports fate continues to pull the ball away from the Bills' Charlie Brown, so they are guilty until proven innocent with the latest reconfiguration. Don't get me wrong, this team definitely has room to grow and maybe the front office knows something we don't about first round QB E.J. Manuel, but don't get your short term hopes up too much.
Miami Dolphins
Love - Big Free Agency Hauls
Given the bust that was the Eagles' most recent fantasy roster, there are plenty of fans out there eager to see if a similar free agency experiment in Miami could actually work this time. The Dolphins front office made an NFL supermarket sweep in the spring and came away with the likes of Mike Wallace, Dustin Keller, Dannell Ellerbe and Brent Grimes among others. And after the Jets' recent implosion, Kanye knows the rival Patriots need a much more worthy challenger in the division than they've had in a long while.
Hate - Miami Fans, the Worst Fans
I usually have a bit of a soft spot for underdogs that rise into contention, in no small part because it's great to see fans be rewarded after years of miserable loyalty. But the Miami faithful are hardly just that. The Dolphins and [somewhat understandably] the Marlins have struggled to reach even half capacity for home games for years. Heck, even the freaking league-best Heat experienced the stench of fair weather deserters during what could have been the Heat's last game of an awe-inspiring season and what ended up being one of the greatest basketball games in a decade when the chips were down. If there's a city of "fans" that could possibly deserve this kind of free agency class less, I can't think of it. But you know they'll be at max capacity in South Beach for at least the opener.
New York Jets
Love - Sanchez Riding the Pine
Le sigh. Initially I wrote that we should love the Jets for finally putting an end to the Tebow era in the NFL. "Take a deep breath, America," I said. "It only took an overwrought three years of media obsession to ouster Tim Tebow from a league he had little business being in in the first place." Now that Bill Belichick of all people has appropriated Tebow with no guaranteed money--presumably just to flaunt this terrible sunk cost at Rex Ryan every time these rivals face off--we'll have to put the pagan champagne on ice a bit longer. But for things the Jets DO have control over, we can delight in seeing other terrible sunk cost Mark Sanchez getting benched once Geno Smith takes center stage in the three-ring Meadowlands circus.
Hate - A Revis-Less Island
On a roster that could use all the help it can possibly get at nearly every position but corner, why on Earth would you let go of your one undeniable, surefire asset? The Jets may end up being just fine on defense this year anyway since they didn't lose too many steps with Revis out on IR last year, BUT they ended up spending multiple precious early draft picks on plugging a new hole in the dam instead of building talent in other key positions. Yuck.
New England Patriots
Love - An Intriguing Schedule
Last year, the Pats had quite a cupcake schedule beating up everyone in the AFC South and AFC East. This year, the Pats will have some great rematches against the Texans, Broncos and Ravens, and they'll also battle with the AFC North and NFC South, which have a lot of high-potential teams hoping to make a splash in 2013 including the Steelers, Bengals, Falcons, Saints and Buccaneers. With a few less superstars on offense, the Patriots may have to fight a little harder to stay at the top of the conference than usual.
Hate - The Tight End Question
What a difference a couple of weeks makes. In May, the only big concerns for New England were who would replace Wes Welker in the slot and how long it would take the rest of us to stop hating Bill Belichick/Josh McDaniels forever for signing Tim Tebow. Now the Pats find themselves in a real bind with two phenomenal tight ends that may not make it to opening day. All Pro Rob Gronkowski's summer has been filled with too many scalpels and not enough Jager Bombs. Meanwhile, TE #2 Aaron Hernandez appears to be picking up the Ray-Lewis-murder-connection baton right where the retired Raven left off. That's a lot of instability in the receiving corps that shouldn't be taken lightly, even with Belichick and Brady going into their 14th year together.
No comments:
Post a Comment