Training camps are in full swing, so here’s some bits from each team in the promising AFC East.
New England Patriots: Brandon Tate seems to be separating himself early after a 2009 riddled with injuries. He’s making circus catches, wowing fans, and seems to have his sights set on the WR spot opposite Randy Moss. Wes Welker has been practicing and rehabbing, and is being back into the thick of things. At this point, I won’t be surprised at all if he’s suited up for Week 1, although he may not see a full complement of snaps. Stemming from this, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Torry Holt cut, as he’s clearly lost a step and has had some uncharacteristic drops. Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez are also looking very solid, and many accounts I’ve seen have Hernandez as the “star” of training camp thus far, although it’s still very early. There have been several injuries; some notables include Nick Kaczur (who started TC at Logan Mankins’ LG spot), Ty Warren, Gary Guyton, and more. Although still early, Ron Brace hasn’t participated in TC as of yet, and he may be shaping up to be the only blemish of an otherwise solid 2009 draft class. Pat Chung is set to take more snaps at Safety and has seemingly improved his coverage; he’s also taking over the all important protector/gunner position on special teams, a role which Sam Aiken used to occupy. When Gary Guyton went out with an injury, it’s also worth noting for IDP folks that Brandon Spikes came in over Tyrone Mckenzie, and played with some serious intensity, which he was known for at Florida. Derrick Burgess has also likely retired, and David Patten announced his retirement as well. This means Jermaine Cunningham may see plenty of snaps at OLB opposite Tully Banta-Cain, and it also means the Pats desperately need more help at OLB, a position that was lacking notably throughout all of 2009. I’m selfishly hoping Aaron Schobel finds his way over here on the cheap. One potential sleeper to look out for is Kyle Love, an undrafted defensive lineman, who has shown up well in TC thus far.
Buffalo Bills: A few things to note as of now. CJ Spiller is one of three unsigned draft picks along with Russel Okung for Seattle and Sergio Kindle for Baltimore (who had that scary incident a week ago). This could mean more looks for Fred Jackson in the early going, although the RB learning period tends to be less in TC than other positions. The popular Ed Wang is also scheduled to have surgery, but details are fairly murky as of now. James Hardy is still looking lackluster at the WR position, while rookie David Nelson is making waves in camp. For fantasy purposes, it’s an ugly situation, but as of now, my money is on Steve Johnson at WR2 and Roscoe Parrish at slot. Trent Edwards also looks like he’ll be the starting QB, which most people expected. Aaron Maybin, the 1st rounder from 2009, still isn’t running with the 1st team, which will be a concern if this keeps up. As of now, Reggie Torbor is running opposite Chris Kelsay. At CB, Leodis Mckelvin and Drayton Florence are likely battling for the CB2 spot opposite Terrence McGee. Most of you already likely know about the Aaron Schobel situation, but as of now, he’s either retired or doesn’t want to play for the Bills (who knows which?) He’s been a solid player year-in year-out, and this hurts a Bills defense transitioning to the 3-4, although he had played 4-3 DE all his life.
Miami Dolphins: The Dolphins lost Phillip Merling and Jason Ferguson, which means they need to rely on new pick Jared Odrick to learn quickly. DE Marques Douglas was signed, but he probably shouldn’t be a starter unless it’s an obvious running situation. Randy Starks is being installed as a penetrating NT (similar to Jay Ratliff) as opposed to a stuffer like Wilfork. Pat White has been MIA and dealing with personal issues, and is almost assuredly a bust. The backup job is going to be a competition between Chad Pennington and Tyler Thigpen. The WR situation, though potentially fluid, seems like it will be as follows: Marshall obviously locked in at WR1, Brian Hartline at WR2, Davone Bess in the slot. Where Greg Camarillo fits in remains to be seen, but he’ll make the team. The RB situation will be the same as it has been the past couple years. Koa Misi and Cam Wake could be the OLB starters, and could be serious sleepers to wreak havoc in backfields. 4th round rookie AJ Edds tore his ACL, which obviously ends his season. He was looking like a potential sub player at ILB.
New York Jets: The biggest story right now is Darrelle Revis. He’s still holding out at time of writing, and he wants to be paid some serious cash. I’ll be surprised if he isn’t there by the time the season starts though. The Jets signed Mark Brunell to be Mark Sanchez’s backup, which doesn’t say much for Kellen Clemens or Kevin O’Connell at all. O’Connell should be out of the league relatively soon, while Clemens may latch on somewhere as a QB3/body QB. The Jets also signed Laveranues Coles, who presumably may see snaps at WR3 while Santonio Holmes is out. He offers little in the way of fantasy value, and shouldn’t be taken even in the deepest of leagues. Joe Mcknight has also made headlines by failing his conditioning test and showing up to TC clearly out of shape, which needless to say, is absolutely embarrassing and pretty awful for someone playing running back of all positions. He passed it on a later try, but he’d better get his butt in gear if he wants to see meaningful snaps. Ladainian Tomlinson has also seemed fairly lackluster in camp and has even shown so-so hands, and the Jets were probably hoping to rely on his hands since Shonn Greene’s aren’t the greatest. It’s not a huge worry though, since Shonn Greene looks primed to break out. His main concern is durability. Oh, and for those who haven’t seen, do yourself a favor and check out Braylon Edwards’ beard. Wow.
© 2025 PFF - all rights reserved.