The last
couple of years I’ve noticed a few things in the AFC. Last year the Miami
Dolphins start the season 1-4 and then go on a run to make the playoffs. This
year the San Diego Chargers start 0-4 and are out of the playoffs because of
tie breakers and the Buffalo Bills get in with the help of the Dolphins tanking
in the season finale and Baltimore Ravens defense collapsing. I’ve come to
realize the AFC isn’t a very good conference overall. How else can you explain
this?
This year the AFC had 3 new teams
in the playoffs the Bills, Tennessee Titans, and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Are
those teams really all that much better than the Dolphins? I don’t think so. Sure,
the New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Kansas City Chiefs made it
back, but what do all of those teams have in common that the rest of the
conference has? They all have consistent quarterback play. Now Alex Smith can
only get the Chiefs to the playoffs and crash once they get there. Ben
Roethlisberger has won 2 Super Bowl and has been to another one. Tom Brady well
we all know about him. The Facts are the Chiefs are trading Smith, and Big Ben
and Brady are at the back end of their careers so who is going to step up?
All the other teams have
quarterback issues and if you don’t have one you won’t go far. The Jaguars got
to the playoffs with the strength of their defense and quarterback Blake
Bortles doing just enough. He did play better down the stretch, but is that
going to continue? The Titans fired their coach despite making the playoffs and
Marcus Mariota really took a step back. The Bills they benched their
quarterback mid-way through the season so obviously they don’t want him despite
leading the franchise to the playoffs for the first time in 17 years so be
careful what you wish for. The San Diego Chargers have Philip Rivers, but like
Brady and Roethlisberger he’s on the down side of his career. The Ravens Joe
Flacco has been so frustrating to watch at times since winning the Super Bowl.
The Indianapolis Colts Andrew Luck missed all of this season with a throwing
shoulder injury wonder if he makes it back to form. The Cincinnati Bengals Andy
Daulton has gotten them to the playoffs, but never won a game and now coming
off back to back seasons in which they have missed the playoffs. The Oakland
Raiders, Denver Broncos, New York Jets, Houston Texans, and Cleveland Browns all
have quarterback questions and frankly at times don’t know what they are doing
at the position. The Dolphins Ryan Tannehill is coming off ACL surgery so who
knows what to expect and they need to have a backup plan in case he doesn’t
come back. Before the injury, Tannehill looked like he was turning the corner
under Adam Gase and was starting to become the leader of this offense. If he
makes it back to that form the Dolphins will have a chance.
Who Knows what will happen to the
Patriots and Steelers once their Hall of Fame quarterbacks leave. What will
their plan be? The Dolphins didn’t have a plan Dan Marino retired and it has
hurt the team big time not finding a quarterback, but if they can find one they
can contend in the AFC and take the torch from the Patriots however it’s a tall
order.