You know it and I know it: The New England Patriots are winning the AFC East this year.
Fire up the Freezing Cold Takes Twitter account. We’ve got a prediction seven months before the 2016 National Football League regular season comes to an end.
The New England Patriots are winning the AFC East this year. Despite the Twitter account that was previously referenced, this is not a “hot take,” nor is it all that big of a leap of faith. It is a safe bet that the Patriots will be heavy favorites to win the division in season previews that will see the light of day during the summer months.
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This prediction does come with a catch. If disaster strikes the Patriots and quarterback Tom Brady tears an ACL or suffers some other calamity that causes him to miss a majority or all of the 2016 National Football League season, all bets are off. Maybe Bill Belichick will shockingly resign out of nowhere. That would certainly change things.
Outside of those or similar events, though, the Patriots are winning the AFC East. Bank on it.
Let’s take a quick spin around the rest of the division, shall we? The New York Jets and quarterback QB Ryan Fitzpatrick continue to be involved in a strange public slap-fight over millions of dollars when every reasonable football mind out there realizes that the Jets and Fitzpatrick need each other this year. Whatever it is the Jets are trying to prove or think they’re trying to prove, they are quickly losing control of the situation and the hearts and minds of players such as Eric Decker and Brandon Marshall.
Oh yeah. The Jets are also, as things stand today, preparing on having Geno Smith start heading into training camp.
Hence, 2016 will likely be another year when fans and journalists debate on whether or not Ryan Tannehill can be a franchise QB for the Miami Dolphins. James Walker of ESPN.com recently wrote the following about Tannehill:
"There are no more excuses for the Dolphins’ starting quarterback. He is entering Year 5 and is no longer considered a young player. Miami has given him offensive line help with first-round pick Laremy Tunsil and has surrounded him with plenty of weapons, led by Jarvis Landry and 2015 first-round pick DeVante Parker. It’s now or never for Tannehill to prove that his $96 million contract extension was the right decision."
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Meanwhile, 2016 is not necessarily a make-or-break year for Tannehill per the terms of his contract that are detailed on Spotrac. With that said, the dead money value of that deal decreases by around $12 million next year, and that value will be only half of Tannehill’s cap hit for 2017. The Dolphins should theoretically have a good on idea on if Tannehill is, in fact, the guy by the time next March rolls around.
No pressure, Mr. Tannehill.
The Buffalo Bills, meanwhile, are apparently concerned about what reporters may be Tweeting regarding practice sessions that the team is running in May. Don’t report that a wide receiver dropped a pass or that “x” lineup up at QB, because that is now a no-no for those covering the Bills.
But wait. There’s more. Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News reported last January that head coach Rex Ryan has one year to turn the Bills from a .500 club to one that makes the playoffs. This is the same Rex Ryan who has not posted a winning record as a head coach since 2010.
The same Rex Ryan who has gone 34-46 since his last winning season.
What about the Patriots, you ask? Tom Brady may miss some playing time this fall if he ends up having to serve a suspension regarding the Deflategate matter that refuses to die because apparently we all did something terribly wrong in a previous life. Whether or not Brady is banned for four games is irrelevant.
The NFL has already poked the bear in going after Brady. The four-time Super Bowl champion showed in 2015 that he enjoys poking back.
That’s right, kids. It’s another year of the “Tom Brady Revenge Tour,” and every team on the New England schedule from Week 5 up through Week 17 and the postseason is on the list. The Patriots will be away to the lowly Cleveland Browns for Week 5 when Brady’s suspension, if it actually occurs, will be lifted.
New England may win that game by 100 points. Seriously. 100 points.
Holding out hope that the supposed “Madden Curse” will affect tight end Rob Gronkowski? Being on the cover of Madden 15 didn’t keep New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. from having another tremendous campaign. Gronkowski is the top TE in the business, and you can be sure that Gronk is not concerned about any hex.
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There will be plenty of interesting NFL storylines to follow beginning in August. Will Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers return to the Super Bowl? What will the Denver Broncos and the NFL be like without Peyton Manning? Will the Detroit Lions consider moving on from Matthew Stafford? Is Kirk Cousins for real, or was his 2015 season a one-off?
Just don’t look to the AFC East for much fun, especially if the Jets really do choose to move on from Fitzpatrick.
Brady and the Patriots don’t need the extra motivation, nor do they require the rest of the AFC East to be anything short of stellar. New England is already the class of the division. Every twist and turn that the “NFL versus Tom Brady and the Patriots” takes ultimately ends with the Patriots winning another division title and qualifying for the postseason.
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It’s inevitable, like a Donald Trump presidency, the Ghostbusters remake tanking and Eli Manning being made fun of at some point during a NFL season.
But keep that Freezing Cold Takes account in mind just in case.