2012 AFC East Preview: Can Anyone Contend with the Pats?

The answer to the question above seems to be "Who cares? When will Tim Tebow start for the Jets?

The most talked about team during the preseason and training camp has been the New York Jets and it's not because they are contenders for the Super Bowl. It's Tim Tebow drawing the attention in and everyone trying to figure out when he will be starting for the team. The official party line is that Mark Sanchez is still QB for the Jets and while he will be in week 1 it's a forgone conclusion that at some point Tim Tebow will take the job away. This Jets offense has stunk in the preseason and while the games don't matter, they still look atrocious. This whole season might be a wash no matter who is behind center (or in shotgun). Your seat looks hot, Rex.

As for the other teams, the Bills have a chance. They showed last year that they can play ball and even though they went through a really rough patch, they still looked good at times. Getting Mario Williams will help that defense and could get them over the .500 mark. The Dolphins will have a wash this season in which they will be concerned with Ryan Tannehill and his development.

The favorite is clearly the Patriots and this is one of those picks that seems like a guarantee. Securing up the TE positions for years to come with Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez makes Tom Brady happy and having Brandon Lloyd is not bad either. That defense, however, has been sub par and they never really dominated on that side of the ball since their Super Bowl winning years. It could change this year considering that their draft last spring was basically a defensive theme but I just don't have a good vibe for that defense.

Of course the Pats have to be considered for more than just a division. Finishing with a bye week in the postseason is a possibility and going to the Super Bowl is another.

P.S. Week 6 is when Tim Tebow takes over as the starter. Those first five weeks are basically killers and week 6 vs. the Colts might be the best time to make a QB change.

Russell Wilson Named Seahawks Starter

Right now Matt Flynn is saying WTF somewhere and drinking himself into a stupor.

The Third Preseason game for the Seahawks had Russell Wilson starting as they wanted to see what this kid could do. After going 13/19 throwing for 189 yards and 2 TDs, the Seahawks have now named him the starter for the regular season. This after the fact that they traded for Matt Flynn who had a couple great outings as a backup QB for the Packers. This news from the Seahawks makes Wilson the 5th starting rookie QB named across the league joining Robert Griffin III, Andrew Luck, Brandon Wheedon, and Ryan Tannehill.

What is going on the NFL? A few teams see how well Cam Newton and Andy Dalton do their first year and they now just want to throw their own rookie QB's into the fire? Maybe it's the way the league is going. Or perhaps its just one year of teams looking for a bunch of new QB's. Or it's an very impressive rookie class.

Whatever it is, I hope that Wilson can see over the line he will be working with. Hasn't affected him so far.