In the AFC East there has been a battle going on behind the scenes.  For the last couple of years there has been a struggle between the the Jets and the Dolphins head coaches.  Not only to topple the long dominant New England Patriots from the top spot but also seemingly how much pie they can hide away before and after their touchline tangles.

Both coaches have bought a new way of thinking and playing to their respective teams, but both left fans feeling that they didn’t want to see their coaches in too much stress, because, well, the stress looked like it might kill them.

Fear not Jets and Phins fans, this years off-season has not only been a training ground for new talent, but also for the emergence of a couple of familiar but slightly healthier looking top men.  Rex T-Rex Ryan opted for (or maybe was told to have) a band fitted to help end his obesity and has lost over 40lbs.  Sparano on the other hand took the natural path, and though I am not sure how much he has lost, I would estimate the same amount after seeing him at recent press conferences.  Impressive weight loss figures for both of the big men

So, it seems like there is a new physiological war between two great coaches this year.  Yards on the field and inches around the waist.  By the end of this season we may see less of the blood red faces on the touchline.  Good for them I say, a geat example for the rest of us.  Lets just hope none of their power is hidden within their ample guts and it is not a case of  you need a big hammer to drive a long nail (as my Dad used to say )

Aside from the weight loss, this is going to be one of the more interesting battles to watch this season.  Both the Dolphins and the Jets are growing fast, even if their coaches are heading in the opposite direction.  If I were a Pats fan I would be worried, the AFC East is becoming a hard fought property and there is plenty of skill in every team both on and off the (reinforced) bench.

I am looking for reports of Bill Belichick shopping for Mens Health mag and Slimfast, but nothing has come up yet.  If he wants to keep up with his counterparts than he is going to have to start embracing the salad bar sooner rather than later!

Nate Burleson to the Lions. This is either a stroke of genius or a real stretch, but Stafford needs receiving options. They’ve also added Kyle Vanden Bosch to their defensive line.

Karlos Dansby is now a Dolphin. Miami have made several changes already on the defensive side but Dansby would be a good addition in any case. They’ve also signed Chad Pennington for another year who is a good option as a backup.

In New York, the Jets and Giants have both improved their secondaries with Antrel Rolle joining the Giants and Antonio Cromartie heading to the Jets. Rolle becomes the highest paid safety in NFL history in the process.

The Ravens have signed Anquan Boldin, adding much needed depth to their passing game.

But Off-Season Champions so far (the ‘Skins haven’t got going yet ) are the Bears, who are making waves like they did last year. As well as snagging Julius Peppers to a monster contract, they’ve picked up Chester Taylor and Brandon Manumaleuna.

A number of teams have resigned players and made tenders, and we’ll be watching what happens with a lot of those. A good number have also been released and we’ll be talking about them seperately later on.

Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys finally got to enjoy a win in their new stadium, and while it has only been a week it must have felt like a long one.  A crowd of 90,588 watched them take a 21 – 7 win over the Panthers.

Miami Dolphins
More bad news for the Dolphins today as Chad Pennington may be out for the rest of the season with a dislocated shoulder.

The other Chad – Chad Henne will likely start on Sunday and has to step right in with the pressure of a much needed win on him.

Joey Porter may also miss Sunday’s game after leaving the field with a hamstring problem.

New York Jets
T-Rex Ryan is showing his players who is boss after benching wide receiver David Clowney for tweeting about his performance after the New England game.

I can’t say that I blame him it must be frustrating for a coach when information is made public without your consent.

San Francisco 49ers
Frank Gore will be out for up to three weeks with an ankle injury.

Picture credit:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/philipsphotos/

These are based on what we’ve been watching, what we’ve been following, some blind faith and our guts. These are are our predictions for the 12 post-season teams of the 2009 season.

This topic and tables will be locked and not edited once it is published. It will then be used for mocking, gloating, fighting (and probably crying) throughout the course of the season. We’ll come back to this every few weeks to carry out at least one of the above acts.

Andrew’s Predictions

NFC
If you’ve been following my First and Second look articles, then there shouldn’t be any surprises here.

In the NFC, I have the Giants topping the east. I’m hoping that the Redskins can surprise me here and edge a playoff spot, but I don’t really see it. In the west, I’m calling Seattle after a lot of deliberation. I’m also giving a wildcard spot to the Arizona Cardinals, in one of the divisions I’ve struggled with the most. The North is just as bad, I’m going with Green Bay. I’d really have liked longer to make a call on the Vikings’ prospects but here we are…

Finally from one of the hardest to one of the easiest: The Panthers to win in the south.

The final NFC wildcard is very tricky. It’s between the Falcons and the Eagles and as much as I hate to go against the Falcons, I can’t see the NFC East not sending at least two teams. So I’m going with the Eagles.

AFC
Things are easier in the AFC. A little bit, anyway – I see all four divisions as two-horse races

The Pats to take win the AFC East. I’m taking a gamble here (of a sort) that Brady is back to something like his best, but I’m confident with it. I see the Titans edging out the Colts in the south, though I’m putting the Colts in the wildcard mix and they can never be counted out.

The north will see the Ravens as winners, beating the Steelers into second – this will be a close division though. Finally the west will crown the Chargers, because… well, because there’s really no-one else there who can mount a serious challenge.

The wildcard spot is a three-way battle (sorry Denver) between the Steelers, Dolphins and Colts. Like last year, I see a valiant AFC East team being left out – the Steelers and the Colts going into the post-season. I’m sorry Graham, I don’t see the Dolphins there… but at least the ‘Skins won’t be there either!
I wish there was room for the Texans, but I don’t see it this year.

Graham on Andrew’s Predictions…
Not much to disagree with here (other than the Dolphins not making the play offs). I have gone with some different choices, but it is difficult to predict at this early stage.  It will be interesting to see what our readers think, I am sure there are a few who could beat us hands down.

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Graham’s Predictions

NFC
In the East I can see the Dallas Cowboys being bouyed by their new home and looking for a good season to overcome the tragic events at their practice facility. Can they beat the NY Giants in the NFC East? Well I don’t think so, but I do see them taking one of the wildcard spots.

Heading to the North I am going with the Green Bay Packers.  I also think the arrival of Jay Cutler at the Bears will bring some improvement, but not enough for a wildcard.

In the south I have to agree with Andrew on the Panthers.  I am hoping for a good season from Tampa Bay though as I am hoping for a great game at Wembley Stadium this year.  It is a Bucs’ home game so – sorry Pats fans – I will be supporting them.

Finally to the NFC West.  I am going with Arizona.  I am looking for some 49ers improvement this season and was tempted to pick them as my second wildcard, but I think it will be out of reach this time.

With the above in mind, my second wildcard pick goes to the Atlanta Falcons.

AFC
Starting in the East, I am going to upset Pats fans again here.  I would agree that Tom Brady is the best, but he is not Superman.  A year off will leave him hungry but maybe a bit rusty.  Miami will be looking to build on last years amazing improvement and now have a team strong enough to do even more damage.  Yes they have a tough schedule, but I still see them taking the AFC East again with the Pats in a wildcard spot.

In the North I am also going with the Ravens. I also think the South will be as Andrew predicted with the Titans winning and the Colts taking the second wildcard.

In the West the Raiders should storm it… only joking. Sadly I can see the Raiders taking the Lions’ place as also-rans this season, things seem far from settled in Oakland.  The Chargers should wrap the West up without too much trouble.

Andrew on Graham’s Predictions…
I think you’re letting your heart rule your head re: Miami and I think the Steelers won’t make the mistakes of a few years ago and will be in the post-season in some way.

I’m glad you’ve picked Atlanta though. I only just left them out

I have Dallas battling the Washington for 3rd place in the NFC East too, so I’m not sure about that. Otherwise it’s hard to argue with your picks. Like you said: I bet there are readers who could beat us. They should be writing these articles!

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Continuing with our Favourite Four series, we move back to the defence to take a look at the linebackers

We reiterate that these are some of our favourite players. We can’t vouch that these will be the best players in absolute terms, have the biggest fantasy football upside or even be any good (though they might be)… but they’re players that we like to watch.

Joey Porter of the Miami Dolphins is the first on our list.

It is very doubtful that Joey Porter would have made the list before the beginning of last season, but his amazing turnaround is the reason why he makes it on to my list for 2009.

A Super Bowl winner and four time Pro Bowl selection Porter is now coming to the twilight of his career.  He was a third round draft pick for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1999 staying with them until 2007 when he joined the Miami Dolphins.

I have been thinking of ways to describe him, but I will simply say he was an animal last year!  Miami’s turnaround required every player to give their best, and Porter certainly gave it everything he had turning 2007′s 5.5 sacks into an incredible 17.5 in 2008. A season like that is hard to top, but he has proved to everyone that he can do it and will take that forward this year.

I am really looking forward to seeing him play again this season.  More of the animal please Joey, but on the field only.

Image Credit: paul.mcrae@rogers.com

In the QB battles…

Matthew Stafford struggled against Cleveland, being out-performed by Daunte Culpepper and also by Drew Stanton. On the other side of the field, Derek Anderson was given more attempts and moved the ball well but threw an interception. Brady Quinn only had a handful of attempts, so it’s hard to judge him.

So Culpepper moves in front in Detroit, but probably still too early to call in Cleveland yet.

The Indianapolis Colts did well against an under-strength Eagles. The question of how they’d adjust to the coaching changes seems to be being answered with “Just fine, thanks.”

Matt Cassel looked like a starter again against the Vikings, but most people were watching for another new QB: Brett Favre didn’t play much, but just seeing him in purple was strange. Tarvaris Jackson had a great game, and with rumours circulating that he could be released he reminded everyone out there that sometimes, he’s a decent option.

Elsewhere…

Miami looked good all around against the Carolina Panthers too. Our favourites Ronnie Brown and DeAngelo Williams both did well.

San Diego looked very good against the Cardinals, besting them on both sides of the ball. Of course it’s hard to read too much into these games, but our predictions looked true from this game. The same could apply to the Seahawks who also looked very nice against the Broncos. Kyle Orton looked better – a lot better – than he did last week. So did Jay Cutler in his Soldier Field debut.

The Redskins looked better, but still not great. The 17-13 win over the Steelers papers over the cracks a bit but still… no panic yet.

Chad Ochocinco is the star this week. The frankly bonkers receiver performed some kicking duties this week against the Patriots. He converted a PAT, and also kick-off that went at least a par distance. Watch it at nfl.com.

It’s great to see him enjoying himself.

Refresh your memory with our First Look, and consider: Is there enough information to affect our predictions though?

The most obvious issue here is how is Tom Brady‘s knee. He says it’s good to go, but we’ll wonder about his mobility until we’ve seen proof it’s fine. There’s no reason to assume that mentally he won’t be ready, or that he’ll be rusty. This guy’s a pro, and he’ll bring it come camp and then gameday.
The Pats look to continue with running the ball by commitee, with a good variety of running styles ready to use. Whilst I’d like to see a ‘lead’ back, you have to expect that the coaches will use these guys wisely to get the best out of them.

Defensively, they’ll miss Mike Vrabel (now in Kansas) at Linebacker. And who can beleive that Teddy Bruschi is still playing? He surely hasn’t got 16 games in him. Shawn Springs comes in from Washington, and I’ve talked about him more here. As ever though, the Pats have drafted wisely and are slowly supplementing the squad with younger players to replace those who retire or move on.

Dolphins' quaterback Chad Pennington

They’re still the team to beat in the East, and arguably in the entire AFC.

The Dolphins aren’t doing much, but have made a few key acquisitions which should see them right. Jason Taylor is back at linebacker, and will backup an already strong unit that features everyone’s favourite wind-up merchants Joey Porter and Channing Crowder. Mactalksnfl favourite Will Allen will lead the corners, which includes two intriguing draft picks in Vontae Davis and Sean Smith (neither of whom have signed yet).

Chad Pennington will be looking to build on last year’s terrific performance and it’s really good to see him doing well after he was pretty shoddily treated by the Jets. The ‘Fins could use more depth at receiver, but Pennington will make the best of what he’s got.

This team has a tough schedule, and I can’t see them taking the division again. They’ll be a respectable second though.

The T.O camp is in town! The Bills’ training camp opened this weekend, but I’m not yet up to date with anything coming out of Rochester. Most people will be watching to see how Terrell Owens can contribute and how he’ll affect the team and players around him. On the other side, Lee Evans had a great year last year, and was a major deep threat – he must be pleased that there’s another real threat the opponent has to cater for.

The Bills were 0-6 in division last year, and that alone cost them a playoff place as they tumbled from 5-1 to 7-9. Getting results in the AFC East must be a priority for them this time: improving defensive output will be a factor towards that. Though a solid unit last year, they didn’t produce turnovers.

The Jets will have grumpy running backs Thomas Jones and Leon Washington in camp. They’ll either be motivated to earn the contracts that they want, or unhappy at the whole affair and therefore not productive.
There’s open competition at quarterback between Mark Sanchez and Kellen Clemens, and I’d have to fancy Sanchez to get the nod at this time, but the chances are we won’t know until the pre-season. Whoever it is, they’re going to need the backup receivers to step up to play with Cotchery.

I can’t put my finger on it, but I don’t fancy this team for much this year. It’s not as simple as the fallout from the Brett Favre experiment, but like I say… I can’t pin it down.

Summary
I still can’t look past the Pats here. But that’s with the assumption that Brady is fully fit and ready to go. If he’s not, or is injured again, then the Dolphins would look to capitalise.
The Bills are intriguing to say the least, but I’m waiting to see how things shape up out of their camp and early pre-season.

So as with so many other divisions… no change at this time.
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We can’t vouch that these will be the best players in absolute terms, have the biggest fantasy upside or even be any good (though they might be)… but they’re players that we like to watch.

We start in Miami, with cornerback Will Allen.

Will Allen after intercepting Tom Brady, week 14 2006

Allen was a first round pick by the New York Giants in 2001. Starting 13 games that season, he played well with 4 interceptions in an impressive rookie season. Though more or less a constant fixture in the Giant’s backfield for the next four, he was unable to reproduce that form in interceptions, and was signed in 2006 by the Miami Dolphins.

As we all know, the Dolphins were selected as the ‘home’ team for the first game outside of North America. Graham and I were able to get tickets for it (just!) They didn’t leave us much to remember when they played at Wembley Stadium back in 2007, but one thing that jumped out at me was how good Will Allen was. Whenever there was a play in the backfield, it seemed like #25 was there either tackling, batting a ball down or at least looking like he was giving it his all.

Whenever I’ve seen ‘Fin games since, I always look out for him. He’s not going to intercept a lot, or lead the team in tackles. By most stats, he’s decidely mid-table, but there’s something about the way he plays that makes me want to watch him.

With a contract extension in place, and plenty of guaranteed money, he’ll be looking to make strides this year as the Dolphins face the uphill task of defending their AFC East title.

Rex Ryan the 46 year old new Head Coach of the NY Jets was only diagnosed a couple of years ago, but it goes to show that disability needn’t hold anyone back.

I can’t help feeling that the Jets will do well with Ryan. He doesn’t seem bothered with what people think of him, or what they throw at him. He is a strong character that is already liked as a Head Coach.

Check out the AFC East Prediction article on this site and see if you agree. I might have to change my mind and put the Jets above the Bills if his season is as good as his off-season. What’s that you say? Above the Dolphins? Never!

February 5, 2009. That was the day the Patriots told us that Brady would be back and ready to go for the start of the 2009 season, as they tagged Matt Cassel. He was traded later that month after a flurry of deals were offered.
The Pats were seriously unlucky to miss out on the post-season last year, missing tie-breakers twice by one game (Dolphins and Ravens). This year, you can expect Belicheck to put his marker down early and hard. This is a team that wants, even needs, the post-season. If Brady is healthy, then he’ll be hungry too.
They’ve made the usual steady free-agent and draft signings. Shawn Springs, in particular, will get two more games to keep Terrell Owens in his pocket… something he had considerable success with when they were both in the NFC East. (Caution, Redskins’ bias evident)

The Dolphins had a fantastic year last year. Not just with the Wild Cat, but their overall improvements all across the park. Pennington came to town with a lot to prove, and just all over the place they improved their game from the dismal 1-15 season before. This season, despite Pennington’s good showing last, it looks like the other Chad (Henne) will be starting behind centre. Henne has a good college record, but apparently scored just 21 on the Wonderlic. I don’t know much else about him, but will have to find out.
As division winners they have a tough schedule this year, and I can’t see them going into the post-season this season. One advantage is closing the season at home with what might be two of the easier games this season: The Texans and the Steelers in week 17.
(Graham is free to respond to this as he sees fit, of course!)

The Bills had a great start, but tailed off quite horribly. It’s a shame as they played some great football at times. Their big signing this year is T.O. Lining up with Lee Evans, they are going to be a real threat. They have let JP Losman go, which doesn’t seem like a great loss at this time but he did have some moments where he connected well with Lee Evans. I think most of us would agree that Trent Edwards, when fit, is a better player.
The Bills close the season playing the Pats, the Falcons and the Colts… 0-3 there will put an end to any post-season hopes they’ve got. Seriously though, who’d call anything other than 7-9 for the Bills again this year?

The Jets‘ gamble with Brett Favre didn’t pay off in the end as he, and they, simply ran out of steam last season. This year sees a new coach who has already boosted some players from the Ravens. Lito Shepperd has also come in, in an expensive move. Coles has left, and I think it was time for him to go (incidentally, Santana Moss for Coles a few years back looks like a great deal for the Redskins today).
QB for the Jets will be between Kellen Clemens and Mark Sanchez. Sanchez sure has style and charisma, but as with all rookies it’s an unknown how quickly he’ll become an NFL-calibre player. That same question could be put to Clemens too, as his 3-5 records is currently unremarkable though he’s shown promise in key situations. Still… too much of an unknown at this point.

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