Is there a why to the Patriots taking a step back or are we just adjusting those green glasses? Last year all I heard on here is that the Patriots will be lucky to win 8 games after losing both coordinators in the offseason. Don't hear about that one anymore. The Dolphins couldn't beat the Patriots in Miami with the Patriots having only two starters available on offense (laughably Heath Evans, who Miami cut, outrushed Brown and Williams COMBINED). Miami came up to NE for the final regular season game which everyone knows Belichick really didn't want to win (better playoff position if they lost). With immortals like Cassell at qb, Evans at running back and Bam Childress at wideout playing Miami's first string, the Patriots nearly took the game into overtime even with Belichick screwing around with Flutie's dropkick. The Jets have Mangini. The Dolphins have Saban. The Patriots have the guy who taught football to Mangini and Saban. And then there's Brady, who'll be playing behind the best line that the Patriots have put together in his time on the Patriots. Is there a quarterback in the AFC East who is even in the same stratosphere? Nope. Brady, Peyton and Palmer are all by themselves with the rest trailing the field and if you look where their respective teams are listed in the poll, that's a very big deal. Are the Patriots invincible? Nope. Never have been and no one in the NFL is. Another linebacker is needed and the receivers will need time to jell. Would I put my money on them, though? Already did when I saw an early posting of 10-1 to make it to the Super Bowl. In Belichick we trust.
No, I wasn't joking about the Dolphins. They didn't rebuild last year as much as patch a few holes. They still have a ton of older players (Jason Taylor, Kevin Carter, Keith Traylor, Junior Seau, Zach Thomas) playing key roles on the defensive side and they have a QB with a horribly torn up knee as their new savior. I make them 50/50 to go 7-9 or worse this season.
I don't see what the problem is with these rankings in regards to the Jets. We finished with the 3rd worst record in the league last year (and simply stating that alone is selling it way short as to how awful we were), brought in a new rookie head coach with a very young coaching staff, made minimal signings this offseason, have a shaky QB situation... I could go on. Right now the team is in major rebuilding mode. How could they possibly rank us any higher?
