AFC East: 3 Burning Questions For Each Team Entering Training Camp
By Bryan Altman
CBS Local Sports
Believe it or not, training camps around the NFL have opened or will later this week and there's no shortage of juicy storylines for us to dive right into.
So, enough of the small talk. Let's get into three of the biggest burning questions surrounding each of the NFL's 32 teams as we get ready to get ready for another NFL season.
Today we're taking a dive into the AFC East, which is without a doubt one of the most interesting divisions league wide. Let's get started.
Buffalo Bills
Camp Begins: July 28 (Rookies), July 29 (Veterans) -- Pittsford, N.Y.
How will Rex Ryan and Rob Ryan work together and can their defense become an elite unit?
The big top in Orchard Park is growing as another Ryan brother has squeezed his way into the tent that houses the three-ring circus led by Rex Ryan.
It's been more than 20 years since the Ryan brothers have stalked the same sideline during an NFL game -- the last time was in 1995 when they were both members of their father's coaching staff in Arizona -- but now both Ryan boys are in Orchard Park.
We know they love each other, we know they both like to have a good time and we know they've both carved out their place in this league thanks to their defensive prowess, but the question is, how will they work together?
What happens if the defense falters and the Ryan brothers find themselves at odds? Both have had their fair share of tiffs with their subordinates and higher-ups at their various NFL stops and it stands to reason that it could well happen in Buffalo.
Would the wheels come off? Could we witness an infamous Ryan family blowup on the sidelines in the middle of a game?
One thing's for sure -- as it always is with Rex Ryan -- it'll be entertaining to watch unfold.
Right off the bat, the brothers have their work cut out for them. Last year, the Bills' defense was down across the board in almost every meaningful metric we use to measure a defense's aptitude when it comes to, well, defending.
That's a wrong the Ryan brothers would do well to fix immediately if they'd like to work together beyond 2016.
Can Tyrod Taylor replicate last year's success?
The hallmarks of a Rex Ryan-coached team of late have been stingy defenses and quarterback controversies, but that appears to have come to an end as we head into 2016.
Tyrod Taylor, of all people, has unexpectedly broken the mold and is poised to lead the Bills into the 2016 season barring any unforeseen setbacks (looking at you, IK Enemkpali).
While he didn't turn heads in the stats department and was 23rd in yards passing and last in the league among full-time starters in passing attempts per game, he made up for it with efficiency.
Taylor's TD-to-INT ratio was 20-to-6 and his quarterback rating (QBR) was tied for seventh best in the league alongside Cam Newton at 99.4.
Aiding Taylor's effort to repeat last year's performance is the fact that the Bills' entire offensive line from 2015 is back. Astonishingly, it's the first time the Bills will have the same starting five up front since the 1996 season.
That, combined with a (hopefully) healthy Sammy Watkins returning for training camp, could propel Taylor to a repeat performance of 2015, which could in turn help the Bills sneak into the playoffs for the first time since 1999.
Can key players stay healthy after offseason surgeries?
The NFL's offseason injury report is usually quite long. Think somewhere between the seventh Harry Potter book and your run of the mill encyclopedia long. Typically, the team that stays the furthest away from it usually fairs the best once the regular season gets underway.
The Bills are not off to a great start in that regard.
Populating the list of players with injuries heading into training camp are numerous Bills who went under the knife this offseason. Among them are Watkins, first-round draft pick Shaq Lawson and the Bills' projected starting right tackle, Seantrel Henderson.
Watkins is the most problematic name on this list after breaking a bone in his foot in April and having surgery. Though he'll be ready for the start of training camp, foot injuries and wide receivers go together about as well as Roger Goodell and James Harrison. That is, they don't.
On top of that, Lawson, reportedly could miss the entire season due to shoulder surgery.
Then there's the case of Henderson, who is still working his way back from a bout with Crohn's disease, which kept him out of the last five games of last season. It was unknown for a while whether Henderson would even return to the team, but he'll be back, once he regains all the weight he lost and gets stronger. Still, how effective he will be is anyone's guess.
Miami Dolphins
Camp Begins: July 28 -- Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
What will Ryan Tannehill do in a potential make-or-break year?
A major reason why the Dolphins hired quarterback guru/offensive-minded Adam Gase as their head coach this offseason was to get a complete and final meter reading on the mercurial Ryan Tannehill.
Tanehill has run the gamut from "franchise quarterback in the making," to "serviceable NFL quarterback," to "is he even the guy in Miami?" over the last four years and the time has come to make tough decisions.
Outside of his first year in the league, the Dolphins' offensive line has been in the Top 10 in sacks allowed, including a league-high 58 sacks allowed in 2013. Of course, a quarterback can be complicit in sacks as well, but it's still worth noting as somewhat of an indictment of the offensive line.
On top of that, Tannehill has had a questionable core of wide receivers around him for much of his career. but both of those issues seem to be resolving themselves.
By all accounts, Tannehill and Gase have gotten along famously so far and are on the same page, which could set the stage for a big year.
However, Gase didn't draft Tannehill and as a quarterback guy he'll be absolutely certain he's got his guy before he hitches his wagon to him. It sounds like Tannehill will have every opportunity to be Gase's guy, but a rocky performance this season won't just sink the Dolphins' hopes of ending a nearly 10-year playoff drought; it might signal the end of the Tannehill era in Miami.
How big of a steal will Laremy Tunsil end up being?
At the end of the day, the biggest benefactors of the now-infamous Laremy Tunsil "gas mask" video could well be the Dolphins. By all accounts, Tunsil was a sure-fire Top 5 pick in this year's draft before that video emerged and allowed him to drop to Miami at No. 13.
As we mentioned prior, the Dolphins have had issues protecting Tannehill over the last few years. Tunsil, who may or may not end up starting the season at left guard as he's expected to battle incumbent starter Dallas Thomas in camp, still provides the Dolphins depth at the position and could help stabilize the unit.
Outside of Tunsil, the Dolphins are poised to have all of their starters from 2015 back and could plug and place Tunsil on the line as needed as they groom him to take over the left guard slot permanently.
If Tunsil can thrive in Year 1, it'll go a long way toward helping Tannehill continue his development and answering many burning questions.
Who will replace Lamar Miller?
If there's one area of concern surrounding the Dolphins it has to be their running game.
The Dolphins averaged 4.3 yards per carry last season, but they ran the ball a league-low 344 times. And that was with an established running back in Lamar Miller.
Now that Miller has moved on to the Houston Texans, the Dolphins' running game will be spearheaded by Jay Ajayi and Kenyan Drake, who have a combined for 187 yards in the NFL.
While the decision to spurn a veteran in the hope that a young back can carry the load isn't a completely terrible idea -- and there is precedent for it (see: Atlanta Falcons/Tevin Coleman and Devonta Freeman) -- it could backfire, especially considering Miami's need for a reliable back in the huddle in a potential make-or-break year for Tannehill.
New England Patriots
Camp Begins: July 24 (Rookies), July 27 (Veterans) Foxboro, Mass.
How will Martellus Bennett change the Patriots offense?
Back in 2011, before we knew Aaron Hernandez had major problems off of the gridiron, he was the ying to Rob Gronkowski's yang. On the field, the two were as dynamic a one-two tight end punch as the NFL had ever seen and were poised to change the game forever.
Obviously, things didn't go as planned from there.
But now, the Patriots have the most talented No. 2 tight end they've had since Hernandez in Martellus Bennett.
In 2014, Bennett put together a 90-catch, 916-yard campaign for the Chicago Bears and made his first Pro Bowl in the process.
So assuming last year's swoon was a byproduct of the tight end's dissatisfaction with his contract and his balky quad and fractured ribs, the Patriots are getting a bona fide No. 1 tight end to pair alongside Gronk for the first time in years.
Malcontents that join the Patriots don't often stay that way, or they don't often stay, so that won't be a problem here.
If Bennett buys in, the Patriots could look an awful lot like the 2011 incarnation of the team that ran away with the AFC East and made it to the Super Bowl.
What will the Patriots get from Jimmy Garoppolo?
For a team that always seems to find a running back, the Patriots are not a running team. The Patriots' bread and butter is their vaunted passing attack and they have ranked at or near the bottom of the league in every rushing category routinely over the last several years.
That means that unless a major change of philosophy is to come down from Bill Belichick (unlikely, even with Tom Brady suspended for four games), the Patriots will be relying on Jimmy Garoppolo to lead their aerial attack for the first quarter of the season.
As mentioned above, Garoppolo will have a gluttony of weapons to choose from, be it Gronk, Bennett, Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola or even Chris Hogan (signed in free agency), but can he use them as effectively as Brady?
Let's not kid ourselves -- the answer is no. But Garoppolo will leave an indelible mark on this season one way or another and this will be the best chance for the Patriots to judge what they have waiting in the wings once Brady inevitably (we think) slows down.
Just how good will this defense be?
If Belichick's defense can live up to the hype it garnered during the offseason, Garoppolo might be able to sleepwalk this team to a 4-0 record. The Patriots could have a stellar defense, thanks to years of building through the draft, acquiring depth players and cultivating the free agent market for the best possible fits.
Losing Akiem Hicks in free agency and trading Chandler Jones to the Arizona Cardinals can't be overlooked, but the Patriots are loaded with depth on the line.
Terrance Knighton anchoring the center of the Pats' defensive line alongside or alternating with 2015 first-round pick Malcolm Brown makes them stout against the run and the addition of Chris Long gives them a veteran pass rusher to work alongside Jabaal Sheard, as he tries to solidify his claim to Jones' vacant edge rusher spot.
The area of least depth for the Patriots is at linebacker, but young studs Jamie Collins and Dont'a Hightower have emerged as two of the best in the business and should be able to carry that unit if they can stay healthy.
In the secondary, Malcolm Butler, Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung headline an underrated unit that should only get better playing behind what appears to be an improved front seven.
Matt Patricia has done a great job in each of his four years running the defense and this year should be no different as he and Belichick have extra pieces to play around with to find the right fits.
The Patriots were ninth in the league in yards per game allowed in 2015 (339.4), 10th in points allowed and second with 49 sacks. That's pretty good, but if they play their cards right, they could be better in 2016.
New York Jets
Camp Begins: July 27 -- Florham Park, N.J.
How does the Fitz-drama shake out?
After leading his team to a 10-6 record and setting a single-season franchise record for passing TDs (31), Ryan Fitzpatrick's reward thus far has been unemployment and contract drama. As we all know by now, Fitzpatrick, coming off a career year, wants more money than what the Jets are offering.
The Jets, however, have been content to play hardball knowing that Fitzpatrick's only real chance to start Week 1 in the NFL is with them. They're clearly reluctant to overpay -- or even adequately pay based on the current QB market -- based on a one-year performance. (Personally, I agree with the Jets here, but that's neither here nor there.)
Regardless, the question is how does this whole thing shake out? Does Fitzpatrick blink first, or do the Jets and GM Mike Maccagnan? Do the Jets actually have the confidence to start Geno Smith Week 1? Is this just another prime example of "same old Jets" doing their thing?
We'll find out soon enough.
Can they survive their first six games?
The Jets should be worried about Fitzpatrick's contract situation because of the distraction that it is and will continue to become should it drag on through camp. But what I'm more worried about, is the Jets' schedule in the early part of the regular season. Whether it's Fitzpatrick or Smith under center, it might not really matter when you look at the Jets' first six opponents.
Here's that part of their schedule, along with their opponents' 2015 record:
Week 1 -- Jets vs. Bengals (12-4)
Week 2 -- Jets @ Bills (8-8)
Week 3 -- Jets @ Chiefs (11-5)
Week 4 -- Jets vs. Seahawks (10-6)
Week 5 -- Jets @ Steelers (10-6)
Week 6 -- Jets @ Cardinals (13-3)
Those teams had a combined record last year of 64-32 and the one "weak" opponent of the bunch, the Bills, beat the Jets twice, the latter of the two losses coming in Week 17 to keep Gang Green out of the playoffs.
This is what we like to call a nightmare of a schedule, especially when you take into account the fact that the Patriots, who have failed to win the AFC East just once since 2003, are without Brady for the first four games and those four weeks should be the Jets' best chance to get a jump on the perennial division winner. But thanks to the schedule makers (we're sure Belichick has no say in scheduling, right?), it'll be a Herculean struggle for New York.
We'll see if the Jets can make it out of this section of the schedule intact. A .500 record through six games would likely be an admirable feat for this team and be enough reason for optimism.
Can Brandon Marshall continue defying Father Time?
There are certain things that we can nearly guarantee about the 2016 Jets. For one, their defense will be among the best in the league. Their core from last year is back outside of Damon "Snacks" Harrison, but the Jets should be able to compensate for his departure with the trio of Leonard Williams, Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson (after he returns from his one-game suspension).
But on the other side of the ball, outside of the obvious question at quarterback, there are some major questions that need to be answered.
Brandon Marshall put together arguably the greatest season by a wide receiver in franchise history in 2015 and the Jets will need a repeat performance from the 32-year-old if the offense is going to roll like it did last year.
Marshall hauled in 109 balls for 1,502 yards and 15 touchdowns and was Fitzpatrick's fail safe option when plays went awry all year long.
There's no reason to think that if Marshall stays healthy he can't come close to last year's numbers, provided the Jets' QB situation doesn't completely implode. Still, the Jets are going to be awfully reliant on an aging wideout to produce elite numbers for their offense to be competitive.
Can Marshall make it happen once more? The Jets sure hope so.
Bryan Altman is, for some reason, an unabashed fan of the Rangers, Jets and Mets. If he absolutely had to pick a basketball team it would be the Knicks, but he'd gladly trade them for just one championship for any of his other three teams.
Questions or comments? Feel free to follow Bryan on Twitter or send him an email.
