State of the Division from the outside looking in

Here we are 9 weeks in for some, 8 for one. Reviews, grades and outlooks have been written, but lets face it, all done by Patriots and Bills fans (God forbid Dolphin fans contribute anything). Time for the view from an innocent bystander, a hurt soul, yes, a Jets fan.

On vacation this week, but I cannot ignore the excitement of the division.

Jets

I can’t ignore my team, after all they have to still play the next 7 games and are still in the division. The Jets at this point are playing for respect, and hope to become the spoiler with 4 games left in the division. Clearly jobs are up for review, and the players better play hard. I am not one that will begin to wish for all losses so that we can have a “Suck for Luck” Like Campaign. Yes losing all the games gets us a high pick, probably Mariota, but forget that! Play these 7 games with pride.

Dolphins

The Dolphins have surprised me in a few games this far (Patriots, Chicago and San Diego), and are legitimately in the mix for the post season. Beating these three teams has to make you believe. This past week they didn’t just beat the hapless crappy never real Chargers, the Dolphins did it convincingly. I have never believed in Mr. Rivers, somehow he makes us all believers for a part of the season, only to let it slip away like the selfish player he is. Not taking anything away from these Fins, because frankly a beating is a beating, congrats Dolphins! My concern with this team is the difficulty of schedule is higher than both the Bills and Patriots. At this point anything less than 9-7 would be considered a total loss, but the chance to get to 10 wins is also very much alive. 9 maybe enough for the #6 seed in the WC.

Bills

The Bills continue to surprise, and the week off should have re-energized the organization. They have beaten teams nobody expected them to beat, and with a reasonably easy schedule, the Bills are on pace to do something that has not happened in the 21st century, make the playoffs. Orton has been real good and precise, but, I continue to wonder if things would really be different if EJ was still at QB? I guess we will never know. At this point I do not see the Bills winning the division, but a WC is attainable. 10 wins are very reachable, and anything less than 8-8 would be a disaster.

Patriots

This past summer, I wrote an article that said that the Pats had the chance to be a better than ever with Revis and Browner; damn it! I was only trying to make fans feel good, they didn’t have to believe me. This week I will more than likely rank them #2, only because the team I had ahead of them, the Cardinals also had a big victory, but right now I really think the Pats are the best team in football. The ease in which they destroyed Manning and company is frightening, you almost have hope that they are not peeking too soon.

These Pats are good, and Brady is playing as good as ever. They will win the division, and with this team anything less than an appearance in the SB should be considered a lost opportunity….after all Tom is getting old and declining …. fast!