Scouts, Inc. AFC East Coaches Rank

[SoonerPatriot]

Typical lazy, thoughtless analysis.

Miami closed out 2005 with 6 wins. Sounds great, until you look at who they beat:
Oakland (4-12)
Buffalo (5-11)
San Diego (9-7)
New York Jets (4-12)
Tennessee (4-12)
and New England.

Miami lost to:
Cleveland (6-10)
Atlanta (8-8)

The Dolphins had quality wins against Carolina and Denver and maybe San Diego, though the Chargers "Marty'd" that one away. I remember watching it. I don't include their win over us in Week 17 because it was a game we more or less conceded before kickoff. It was a glorified scrimmage.

So this optimism is based on
1-The 6 game win streak which is dubious at best.
2-The signing of Culpepper who I feel will probably have a good year, but is less than a year removed from a catastrophic knee injury and a 6 TD 12 INT injury shortened season. For those that don't remember, Culpepper was ABYSMAL before he got hurt.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

3 or 4 key plays going the other way and the Pats could have 0 SB championships.

Just to play Devil's advocate--reverse ONE "key" play (the one that knocked Rodney out for the season), and it's just as plausible that the Pats are gunning for their fifth set of rings in six years.

 

[Oswlek]

I really hate to interupt all the belly aching and self pitty thats consuming this thread, but who cares what one person thinks?? It's an opinion. Every defense of BB I've read so far is based on what happened in the past. This article has to do with the upcoming season and who will be the best this coming year. BB has had an unbeliveable run the last 4 seasons, he's a great coach, but before 2001 what did he do that was so great?? Nothing, you people also forget how much luck has gone int the Pats winning so much. 3 or 4 key plays going the other way and the Pats could have 0 SB championships.

Remember the dominance doesn't last forever, and sooner or later the reporters will get it right. You people can hang on to your dreams as long as you wish, but there are no guarantees. One injury and you could be the worst team i the division. You also have to understand that teams start to figure you out and when they do, it's over!! Look at Indy last year, oh they are going undefeated, they will win the SB. Then came SD and they started a trend that would end Indys chances of even winning a Playoff game much less a conference championship or SB. The more you win the more people want to beat you. Teams don't prepare for NE the same way they prepare for Arizona, they get more fired up, hit a little harder, run a little faster. The Pats are at the end of a long run, there is no way they can maintain the dominance, it's too hard.

1) The one injury you are refering to is Brady's, I presume. I would agree that if Brady is lost that NE's season just went south in a hurry. However, you forget that NE won in Miami last year without:

#1, #2, #3 RBs
#2 WR
#2-#5 CBs
#1-#3 SS
#1 LT, C and RT

Add in the fact that Vrabel was playing a relatively new position, Bruschi had just returned 2 games ago and this was Seymour's first game back. So, I guess your point is that if you remove 7 of 22 NE starters and a handful of their direct backups, that Miami and NE are pretty close, huh?

2) Only time will tell if NE is nearing the end. This is not your usual dominant period in that NE has quietly been restacking the deck as the years go by. This team is not even close to the same one that pulled off a miracle win in 2001. Even since 2003 there has been a lot of turnover.

 

[Amnorix]

Wow. Just wow. Nothing more to say.

BB is a HOF coach. Saban is going into his 2nd year.

And that "one game from winning the AFC East" is amazing to me. Everyone ignores that we played them close with very few of our starters, and none of our stars, playing.

I have no doubt Miami will get to 8+ wins this year, but that's mostly because they're a solid club playing a VERY WEAK schedule. For similar reasons, I have no doubt the Pats will be at 11+ wins this year.

 

[Oswlek]

Typical lazy, thoughtless analysis.

Miami closed out 2005 with 6 wins. Sounds great, until you look at who they beat:
Oakland (4-12)
Buffalo (5-11)
San Diego (9-7)
New York Jets (4-12)
Tennessee (4-12)
and New England.

Miami lost to:
Cleveland (6-10)
Atlanta (8-8)

The Dolphins had quality wins against Carolina and Denver and maybe San Diego, though the Chargers "Marty'd" that one away. I remember watching it. I don't include their win over us in Week 17 because it was a game we more or less conceded before kickoff. It was a glorified scrimmage.

So this optimism is based on
1-The 6 game win streak which is dubious at best.
2-The signing of Culpepper who I feel will probably have a good year, but is less than a year removed from a catastrophic knee injury and a 6 TD 12 INT injury shortened season. For those that don't remember, Culpepper was ABYSMAL before he got hurt.

It goes beyond that. It isn't just the teams, it's the way that they one. For instance:

* Does anyone believe that Miami would have beaten Denver at any other point than the first game of the season, when the heat is overwhelming and game tape is nonexisting?

* They faced Carolina the week after they beat NE. I made money on Miami because I thought it was clear as day that they would have a let-down.

* Buffalo was up 23-3 in the 3rd quarter.

* the NY Jets were only down 4 points and they were on the 15 yard line with about a minute to go. Miami's D allowed nearly 400 total yards to this team the week after NE held them to 150.

* SD for whatever reason didn't change their line calls, even though Miami had a plant.

* We all know about NE and the backups.

* In fairness to Miami, they could have easily beaten Atlanta with a break here or there.

Miami was mirage last year.

 

[Amnorix]

2) Only time will tell if NE is nearing the end. This is not your usual dominant period in that NE has quietly been restacking the deck as the years go by. This team is not even close to the same one that pulled off a miracle win in 2001. Even since 2003 there has been a lot of turnover.

Yeah, we're alot better now. Seriously, every time I look at the '01 Roster I'm more and more amazed that we won it all that year.

Doesn't mean we'll take home the prize this year. Just a comment on the two roster's relative strengths.

 

[BelichickFan]

The Pats are at the end of a long run, there is no way they can maintain the dominance, it's too hard.

Typically it is too hard but that's largely because 1) The team is unwilling to let go of the past and 2) Drafting last in every round is too much of a penalty.

Somehow Belioli is able to get past these obstacles. They'll let a McGinest, Milloy, Law, whoever, go - maybe a year too early but that's better than a year too late. They're drafting fabulously despite being last every round.

It's far from over, buddy, as long as the talent keeps coming in to supplement the best HC and best QB in the league then they will continue to be good. While the Dolphins get Ronnie Brown at #3, we get Maroney at #21 and to me it's a tossup right now who I'd prefer. The talent just keeps coming in. Sorry.

 

[BLITZKRIEG]

I really can't wait to see Miami this year. I am so convinced that Daunte Culpepper is going to be a subtraction rather than an addition.

Frerotte > Culpepper / Yeah, that makes perfect sense....

How could anyone in their right mind make such a ridiculous statement?? Culpepper is a huge upgrade for Miami at the QB position no matter how you slice / spin it. He's going to make Miami's offesne much more dangerous as well. Culpepper a subtraction???.....LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!

It makes you wish (based on how the season ended anyway) that BB had played the starters in the last game so that we would have won, finished 11-5 and Miami would have been at 9-7. Then we would not have had to hear all this crapola about how Miami finished so strong last year, they are now the team to beat, blah, blah blah.

Would you like some cheese with your whine???....

EDIT - Sorry I should have said Miami would be at 8-8, which is what they really are.

Just keep telling yourself that. That's the way we like it in Miami.....

 

[scout]

For the record, Blitzkreik, are you saying Miami will win the division? Should Saban be tied with BB for greatness in coaching. Just so when this plays out, we have something to go on.

 

[BLITZKRIEG]

Typical lazy, thoughtless analysis.

Miami closed out 2005 with 6 wins. Sounds great, until you look at who they beat:
Oakland (4-12)
Buffalo (5-11)
San Diego (9-7)
New York Jets (4-12)
Tennessee (4-12)
and New England.

Miami lost to:
Cleveland (6-10)
Atlanta (8-8)

Our six game win streak in Miami, is what it is. Stop downplaying it like it never happened. We don't make the schedules you know, we play the games given to us just like you guys do. It's not our fault the league decided to give us those teams to close out the season. Get over it already....

The Dolphins had quality wins against Carolina and Denver and maybe San Diego, though the Chargers "Marty'd" that one away. I remember watching it. I don't include their win over us in Week 17 because it was a game we more or less conceded before kickoff. It was a glorified scrimmage.

"Glorified scrimmage" or not, New England lost the game. Move on, nothing to see here. Our season was over, and yours wasn't, why cry out it??...

So this optimism is based on
1-The 6 game win streak which is dubious at best.
2-The signing of Culpepper who I feel will probably have a good year, but is less than a year removed from a catastrophic knee injury and a 6 TD 12 INT injury shortened season.

You forgot to mention some added players, and coaches that should have a significant impact in helping us in 2006. Our schedule is pretty soft this year as well compared to last. Miami has always been one of the best / strongest teams in the division, and we're eating up the Pats rear view mirror under Saban....

You guys have been losing players / coaches left and right over the last few seasons, and sooner or later the Pats run is going to come to an end as a result. Miami will be the team taking over the divisional throne, and it will happen soon....

For those that don't remember, Culpepper was ABYSMAL before he got hurt.

How about the year before, when he threw for 39 TD's???....

 

[BLITZKRIEG]

For the record, Blitzkreik, are you saying Miami will win the division?

I think Miami has a very good chance to win the division in 2006. So yes, I think Miami will win the AFC East this year. Even if we don't, it should be a very close race between the two of us....

Should Saban be tied with BB for greatness in coaching.

NO WAY. Saban's not on that level yet. He's making his way up the charts, but Belichick is clearly superior. I may be a Phinz fan, but I'm not a homer, and I'm not stupid...

Just so when this plays out, we have something to go on.

My predictions for the division are as follows....

Miami Dolphins - 11-5
New England Patriots - 9-7
Buffalo Bills - 6-10
New York Jets - 5-11

:rocker:

 

[Ichiro]

How about the year before, when he threw for 39 TD's???....

He was playing with Randy Moss in 04' perhaps the best deep threat in the NFL. If you watch closely, any team playing the Vikings had to use a "bracket coverage" on Moss using a corner beneath and a safety over the top. Teams were scared to death of Moss, because Culpepper has a great deep ball. The other WR's and TE's were free to run all over the field with single coverage. When Moss was gone, the windows became smaller (safeties moved up) for Culpepper, he did not adjust his game, and threw INT's at an alarming rate. Also he played in a division that has some of the worst coaching and defenses in the NFL.

I'm not saying he won't be good, but 05 was a telling year for Culpepper where everything fell apart. The Love Boat incident, the injuries, the INT's all lead to people questioning his ability to be a top flight signal caller in the league. I also quesiton why the Vikings gave up on him so easily, its so hard to get a quality QB. He has a lot of questions to answer before I annoit him the Dolphins savior.

 

[BLITZKRIEG]

He was playing with Randy Moss in 04' perhaps the best deep threat in the NFL. If you watch closely, any team playing the Vikings had to use a "bracket coverage" on Moss using a corner beneath and a safety over the top. Teams were scared to death of Moss, because Culpepper has a great deep ball. The other WR's and TE's were free to run all over the field with single coverage. When Moss was gone, the windows became smaller (safeties moved up) for Culpepper, he did not adjust his game, and threw INT's at an alarming rate. Also he played in a division that has some of the worst coaching and defenses in the NFL.

I love it when fans use the "Randy Moss Theory". Basically what these fans are saying is that with Moss, Culpepper is worthless. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.........

So Miami doesn't have Moss, we DO HAVE WR. C. Chambers. Don't forget that Chambers has been hampered by mediocre QB play since being drafted, and even so he's still been able to post very solid numbers on a yearly basis....

With a QB like Culpepper???....Chambers could silence all of those "No Moss" critics very quickly in my opinion....

I'm not saying he won't be good, but 05 was a telling year for Culpepper where everything fell apart. The Love Boat incident, the injuries, the INT's all lead to people questioning his ability to be a top flight signal caller in the league.

Maybe instead of using Culpepper's "one bad season" as a telling tool, you should use all of his years in the NFL to make a more accurate assumption. That's a much more logical way of looking at things in regards to Culpepper, and what kind of impact he'll have on the Phinz offense....

 

[Oswlek]

I love it when fans use the "Randy Moss Theory". Basically what these fans are saying is that with Moss, Culpepper is worthless. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.........

So Miami doesn't have Moss, we DO HAVE WR. C. Chambers. Don't forget that Chambers has been hampered by mediocre QB play since being drafted, and even so he's still been able to post very solid numbers on a yearly basis....

With a QB like Culpepper???....Chambers could silence all of those "No Moss" critics very quickly in my opinion....



Maybe instead of using Culpepper's "one bad season" as a telling tool, you should use all of his years in the NFL to make a more accurate assumption. That's a much more logical way of looking at things in regards to Culpepper, and what kind of impact he'll have on the Phinz offense....

Actually, I agree with you on this one. Culpepper was fine in 2004 even when Moss never touched the field. The bigger problem with Culpepper's play last year was the loss of Matt Birk, Minny's center. The replacement center was pushed into the backfield on nearly every play.

As long as Miami's OL holds up, Culpepper will be an improvement to the QB position. My contention is that Miami was really a 6-10 team last year, so they will move up two games to 8-8.

 

[Ichiro]

I love it when fans use the "Randy Moss Theory". Basically what these fans are saying is that with Moss, Culpepper is worthless. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.........

So Miami doesn't have Moss, we DO HAVE WR. C. Chambers. Don't forget that Chambers has been hampered by mediocre QB play since being drafted, and even so he's still been able to post very solid numbers on a yearly basis....

With a QB like Culpepper???....Chambers could silence all of those "No Moss" critics very quickly in my opinion....



Maybe instead of using Culpepper's "one bad season" as a telling tool, you should use all of his years in the NFL to make a more accurate assumption. That's a much more logical way of looking at things in regards to Culpepper, and what kind of impact he'll have on the Phinz offense....

Chambers is a good WR but doesn't get the separtion that Moss does.

I think that Culpepper was a good QB for those years in Minn but never won big games, and what last year proved is that he could not ADJUST when things changed or got bad. The Vikings offense with Moss was geared towards Culpeppers strength: the deep ball. When the offense changed, he was horrible. I mean he looked lost and he's a veteran QB. The Moss argument holds water if you watch closely and analyze why he struggled. Did you watch any Vikings games last year?

What 05 showed is that when things got tough, Culpepper just faded away. Not good leadership qualities. This year he has a new offense, new offensive line (heh, Dolphins OL) and great expectations. The last time things changed for Culpepper (last year) he could not keep up.

 

[pats1]

Miami Dolphins - 11-5
New England Patriots - 10-6
Buffalo Bills - 6-10
New York Jets - 5-11

The Pats with the same record as last year?

Are you on something?

You know, the 2005 Patriots with a tattered offensive line and non-existent running game? The 2005 Patriots with more secondary injuries than the Dolphins have seen in 5 years combined? The 2005 Patriots who still were a few very strange occurances in Denver away from going to the AFC Championship?

And you expect THOSE Patriots to be no worse than the 2006 Patriots? The Patriots with Laurence f'in Maroney? Rodney f'in Harrison? A second-team OL rivaling that of the Dolphins' starters (and that's not even that much of a stretch?)

Please tell me - what have the Dolphins done to their defense, a defense that was almost beaten by Matt Cassel, Patrick Pass, Bam Childress, Gene Mruczkowski, Billy Yates, Christian Fauria? Traylor, Zgonina, Carter, Holliday, are a year older, all getting close to AARP memebership.

 

[BLITZKRIEG]

The Pats with the same record as last year?

Are you on something?

You're correct, that's alittle too generous. I'll change it.....

 

[feelthepain]

1) The one injury you are refering to is Brady's, I presume. I would agree that if Brady is lost that NE's season just went south in a hurry. However, you forget that NE won in Miami last year without:

#1, #2, #3 RBs
#2 WR
#2-#5 CBs
#1-#3 SS
#1 LT, C and RT

Add in the fact that Vrabel was playing a relatively new position, Bruschi had just returned 2 games ago and this was Seymour's first game back. So, I guess your point is that if you remove 7 of 22 NE starters and a handful of their direct backups, that Miami and NE are pretty close, huh?

2) Only time will tell if NE is nearing the end. This is not your usual dominant period in that NE has quietly been restacking the deck as the years go by. This team is not even close to the same one that pulled off a miracle win in 2001. Even since 2003 there has been a lot of turnover.

And you forget that NE was coming off a SB season and playing a Dolphin team that was coming off a 4-12 season. The game you are talking about we were a team without a starting caliber QB, a rookie HC and a whole new system on both sides of the ball. For Miami to have a winning season in 05 was far tougher then you winning in Miami, give me a break. Plus you forget that during that 4-12 season when Miami was headed to a 4-12 record, NE was headed to their 3rd SB win Miami beat NE in Miami it was only one of 4 wins. You know what division games mean...even when teams are injured???They mean nothing, it doesn't matter who's better and who's worse a division games. It's is by no means a guaranteed win to either side. What frikin sport do you watch?? You don't seem to grasp how division games work, and what their outcomes mean.

 

[pats1]

And you forget that NE was coming off a SB season and playing a Dolphin team that was coming off a 4-12 season. The game you are talking about we were a team without a starting caliber QB, a rookie HC and a whole new system on both sides of the ball. For Miami to have a winning season in 05 was far tougher then you winning in Miami, give me a break. Plus you forget that during that 4-12 season when Miami was headed to a 4-12 record, NE was headed to their 3rd SB win Miami beat NE in Miami it was only one of 4 wins. You know what division games mean...even when teams are injured???They mean nothing, it doesn't matter who's better and who's worse a division games. It's is by no means a guaranteed win to either side. What frikin sport do you watch?? You don't seem to grasp how division games work, and what their outcomes mean.

We could care less about your feel-good story of 2005. OK, got it? We don't want to listen to it. We don't want to hear about the Dolphins' incompetancy for the last few years that lead them to having Frerotte at QB. We don't want to hear about how Saban is the second coming of Belichick.

Why? Because what the Dolphins are doing now that has the media slobbering over them, and their fans' egos exploding occurs EVERY DAY, EVERY YEAR with Beioli's Patriots. They have, and still are, building a team that CONSISTENTLY COMPETES FOR CHAMPIONSHIPS. They let the bottom-feeding NFL teams who think they've discovered the Holy Grail rise and fall in their own igorance.

 

[feelthepain]

Actually, I agree with you on this one. Culpepper was fine in 2004 even when Moss never touched the field. The bigger problem with Culpepper's play last year was the loss of Matt Birk, Minny's center. The replacement center was pushed into the backfield on nearly every play.

As long as Miami's OL holds up, Culpepper will be an improvement to the QB position. My contention is that Miami was really a 6-10 team last year, so they will move up two games to 8-8.

9-7 with Gus and Sage, 8-8 With Daunte and Joey??? Sure!