The AFC East is, finally, there for the taking due to events that transpired today. The Patriots looked like Deontay Wilder did throughout the entire fight against Fury. They looked like a team that kept getting weaker and hurt with each player they lost to free agency. Then the knockout blow came this morning:
LOVE YOU PATS NATION pic.twitter.com/lxSQZmnjPL
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) March 17, 2020
This in turn led to this happening to Bill Belichick and the Patriots dynasty:
Which led to everyone who isn’t a Patriots fan doing this:
This isn’t to say that the Patriots dynasty didn’t happen. It did. It happened for 20 years and nothing can ever change that.
That being said, it’s a new day in the AFC East. It’s a day where for the first time in two decades we don’t know who is going to win the AFC East (ignoring the year Brady got hurt in week 1). Every year has been the same. We knew New England was going to win the AFC East and get a bye and that meant that maybe Miami, the Jets or the Bills would get in as a five or six seed. With TB12 heading elsewhere, the door is open for someone else to represent the AFC East in the playoffs.
The Patriots have lost Kyle Van Noy, Jamie Collins, and Tom Brady. Ted Karras and Danny Shelton also have the potential to move on. They kept both the McCourty brothers, but haven’t added any other players. No tight ends or receivers were signed (you know, the people a normal quarterback throws the ball to). They still have a solid defense, but we all know that they weren’t as good as their rating and stats ended up being. They beat up on weak opponents in the early part of their schedule. Then, when the offenses got better, they did worse. Imagine that?
So, where does this leave the Patriots? It leaves them with a very pedestrian team, especially on offense. They don’t have a quarterback besides Jarret Stidham. So, you’d have to think that they will bring in a veteran such as Andy Dalton. That, or they go tank-style so that they can get the #1 overall pick in next year’s draft, which will be Trevor Lawerence. Actually, though I’m a Miami fan, it would be hilarious seeing the Patriots have the #1 pick so that we would have Belichick having to give interviews talking about how they don’t know who they’re going to take and that every player is an option if they think they can help. I can picture those interviews now.
Why the Dolphins Can Win the AFC East
The Dolphins have positioned themselves very nicely to being the ones to take over the throne. The Jets are the Jets and it doesn’t appear anyone wants to go there while Adam Gase is running things. I can’t say I blame them. The Bills made the playoffs last year, have a young, up and coming signal-caller, added Stefon Diggs and have a solid defense. But, they’re the Bills and Josh Allen can easily put up a stinker of a season. He’s not going to improve his accuracy any time soon, so him having an average or worse year next year is very possible.
The Dolphins, with a disgusting roster that was designed to fail miserably, still managed to end up winning five games last year. Now, they’ve added Flowers, Lawson, Van Noy, Ogbah, Byron Jones and they still have all their picks in the upcoming draft. I realize that relying on Fitzpatrick to do what he did last year again might not be a safe assumption, but he has a very good surrounding cast. This division can belong to the Dolphins if they continue on the path that they’ve constructed. Who knew that through all this darkness and uncertainty a little bit of light would appear?
By the way- It’s going to really suck when the Patriots end up winning 11-12 games again next year, because why the fuck not?
