So now that Denver went the way of all the others, who's our next AFC rival?

[Ivan]

Gonna be fun watching Brady and Luck go head to head the next fifteen years,......................

 

[edkk323]

.[/QUOTE]

The other team we need to watch out for, and I'm sure many will disagree, is the Buffalo Bills. Rex Ryan is a perfect fit for them. If they surround him with a competent player personnel staff and OC, the Bills will rise. Yes they need a QB but if they have any luck in that department…Watch out. The defensive personnel is already in place for him to construct a "BEAST" of a defense. Whatever your feelings are for Rex, he is a heck of a defensive coach and his players play hard for him. Throughout his tenure in New York, the Jets always overachieved. Even this year…despite a 4-12 record they were surprisingly completive in most of their games and almost knocked us off twice. That was a 1-15 or 2-14 type of roster he had this year. The Jets were foolish to give up on him….The issue in NY was the GM.

The Jets meanwhile are headed toward some Rich Kotite like years. They will become the perennial doormat of the division.

I agree with that the Bills' D is one of the best. But the O is just horrible besides the rookie S Watkins. They also have a key FA Jerry Hughes and without the first round pick. Cinci, Houston before Bills

 

[Fencer]

Ravens' schedule looks tough for next year, at least. They have to play both West divisions, and Miami on the road as well. Only easy opp are Jags and Raiders (maybe Manziel's Browns too).

Hardly matters. It could be an argument that they need to win their division, as a wild-card berth would be hard, but so what? If they're an answer to the OP's question, they'll be more than a wild-card anyway.

 

[italian pat patriot]

could be IND, BAL, HOU and BUF

but this league is so competitive that really you never know...this is why i love the NFL

 

[PATS16N0]

Baltimore Ravens:

Overcap 5.9 MIL

Free Agents:
Justin Forsett

Torrey Smith

Owen Daniels

 

[PatsBoy12]

Can't discuss that until he finishes it.

Touche. Nonetheless, he has played it masterfully to this point. But you're right, let's see how it plays out.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Gonna be fun watching Brady and Luck go head to head the next fifteen years,......................

I'm not quite ready to predict that Brady will still be the QB in 2030.

 

[hambone1818]

Depends completely on who does what during the offseason.

Maybe the Bills stumble upon a competent QB, with Watkins/Woods and Jackson/Spiller they have some solid skill players, just need the all-important QB. The defense will be very good.

Maybe the Broncos decide to retool for another run, and Manning's able to rebound from his late-season issues. They've been good before, and they've beaten the Pats before.

Maybe the Colts solidify their OL and front seven, time will tell whether they can play with the Pats this week but they don't need a lot of changes to become a mighty scary team. A little more punch-you-in-the-face types on the lines and they'd be a complete team.

Maybe Pittsburg spends all their resources on the secondary; their front seven is generally solid, their offense has home run hitters across the board, they just need an upgraded secondary to become serious threats.

Maybe the Ravens retain their current talent while getting healthy and/or solidifying their secondary in the draft. It's already a scary matchup, if Melvin wasn't exposed on Saturday we'd be talking about what the Pat's need to do to contend, not the other way around.

Maybe Miami can find some more help in the secondary and Tannehill takes another step forward. They beat the Pats once this season, their front 7 are legit and they have a solid mix of skill players on offense. They're not far off, imo.

The Texans need to fall into a QB, same as Buffalo. Their defense is fine, solid skill players on offense, they're a QB away from being a major threat.

Any or all of these things could happen, with varying degrees of probability, and I'd consider that team to be a threat to the Pats over the next 2-3 years. Most likely are Ravens/Colts/Steelers, imo, with Miami and Denver not far behind. The teams that need a QB...good luck! I don't see any of them becoming Seattle-esque juggernauts, thankfully, but I fully expect 3-4 teams to emerge as legit Super Bowl contenders from the AFC.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

What constitutes a rival?
First you gotta really hate the team or their players and/or their coach.
It helps if they're good.

#1 Has to be Ravens. Remember like us in 2013,half their team was on IR while ours was healthy. Scary.
#2 Has to be Colts. Not so much hated any more but a good rival team. QB Luck is the up & coming caveman about to evolve into a full Cro-Magnon as he develops.

 

[patfanken]

Right now the there is only one team I root for to lose, even when they aren't playing us and its the Ravens...BY FAR. Despicable ownership that covered up both the Suggs and Rice beatings. Loud mouth dirty bullies on the field. A whinny, but unfortunately competent, HC, all added to a team that's truly a competitive team.

Now I think our team is going to be even better next year for a lot reasons that would take a new thread to get into, but the Ravens are also going to be better as well. In finding 2 fine rookie starters, they are a year ahead of us in the OL rebuild game. They are going to go a long way to fix their secondary simply by getting back a ton of guys from injury.. I look for them to try and add more weapons for Flacco this off season So the best offense in Ravens history should be more dangerous next year. BTW- Gary Kubiak might not have been able to rise above mediocrity as a HC, but as a OC, he's pretty good....and will be back.

For the next few years at least, the Ravens are going to be our major challenger to the AFC title. I'm sure the Colts will be as well, but the Ravens are so much more detestible

 

[VrabelJr]

What constitutes a rival?
First you gotta really hate the team or their players and/or their coach.
It helps if they're good.

#1 Has to be Ravens. Remember like us in 2013,half their team was on IR while ours was healthy. Scary.
#2 Has to be Colts. Not so much hated any more but a good rival team. QB Luck is the up & coming caveman about to evolve into a full Cro-Magnon as he develops.

We didn't have Mayo, Wilfork, Kelly, Gronk or Vollmer when we played the Ravens last year.

 

[patfanken]

Just a thought. If there is someone here to calls into Felger, or emails him, I'd like them to remind him that the two teams e touted so strongly for their team building strategy (Jets and Denver) have now BOTH crumbled into the ashes of that flawed strategy. Time for him to man up and admit that the "cap ISN'T crap" and big names don't often mean big results

 

[GaryfromTO]

every other team is our rival

 

[patchick]

I would also throw the bills in the mix of if they get a QB will be a 11 win playoff team next year

I agree, but it's a pretty huge "if." I don't see any savior-type QBs on the market.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

 

[OhExaulted1]

Thank YOU my man Froob!!!



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[chasa]

about a year late on this. Paypay wasn'y anywhere close to a title this year.

 

[tasmlab]

If the Ravens could sign Revis in the offseason it would probably be enough (guessing). It would make Pats weaker and Ravens stronger. If that were the case last week, a four point swing wouldn't be hard to imagine.