There is no question the AFC East has gotten much stronger as a division this offseason, at least on paper. The Bills, Jets and Dolphins have all added at least one Pro Bowler either via trade or free agency. The defending Super Bowl champs, however, have lot several key pieces.
Leave it to Rex Ryan to point that out. During a recent interview with SportsNet 590 in Toronto, the new Bills coach basically said the Patriots have lost in free agency thus far.
“I feel pretty good about what we’ve added,” Ryan said, as transcribed by Mike Rodak of ESPN.com. “So we’ll see. … I think the conference really got stronger. If anything, it currently doesn’t look — if you can say winners and losers in free agency — obviously New England had to cut quite a few players.
“So obviously they don’t look as strong as they did. I certainly hope they’re not. They just got through winning the Super Bowl. But I believe the rest of the division really has got stronger. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. I truly believe that we got stronger.”
Ryan was simply making an observation, though some would argue that he was trying to ruffle the feathers of Patriots Nation. Losing Darrelle Revis will be huge for New England, as the All-Pro corner changed the face of Bill Belichick’s defense last year en route to another Super Bowl ring.
That said, March is a month that is filled with overreaction across the NFL. Spending $114 million on Ndamukong Suh doesn’t make the Dolphins the team to beat in the AFC, just like bringing back Revis and Antonio Cromartie won’t make the Jets the favorites. As long as the Patriots have Belichick and Tom Brady, they will remain the team to beat.
H/T Eye on Football
