AFC East Champions: New England Patriots, 10-6
Who says Tom Brady and the Patriots' dynasty is over? New England has completely dominated the AFC East in the past decade. Brady's knee is fully recovered from what happened in week one of 2008. Wes Welker seems like he is going to be ready to play after getting injured in the final week before postseason. The Patriots also have Randy Moss and Julian Edelman at wide receiver. The team also added Alge Crumpler for help at the tight end position. So, New England will have no trouble on the offensive side of the ball, but their defense remains in question. I would not say the Patriots are a sure bid for the AFC East crown. The New York Jets have a really good, well-rounded team. The Jets' defense is perhaps best in the league with or without Darelle Revis (his holdout is a whole different story). They also have weapons on offense. I really like the addition of Santanio Holmes to give second-year quarterback Mark Sanchez an extra target on the field. I give head coach Rex Ryan a lot of respect for the way he has resurrected the New York Jets organization. Do not sleep much on the Miami Dolphins, a team that added wide receiver Brandon Marshall and also received some defensive help as well.
AFC South Champions: Houston Texans, 12-4
I believe this year a team other than the Indianapolis Colts is going to win the AFC East division. So, the team that has the best chance of derailing the Colts is the Houston Texans. Houston almost beat the Colts last year. The Texans are an explosive, offensive team because they have probably one of the best wide receivers in Andre Johnson. Johnson has a very high value in fantasy leagues. He is a first-rounder without a doubt. On the field, he is a perfect target for QB Matt Schaub. Houston still has a developing, young defense. I think if Houston wants to outlast Indianapolis, the Texans are going to have to beat the Colts in Texas in the first game of the regular season. Houston must make a statement early. The Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars are easy to forget about. If those teams want to crawl out of the basement of their division, each team has to heavily rely on their star players. For Jacksonville, Maurice Jones-Drew and David Garrard are going to have to really step up. It is the same situation for Chris Johnson and Vince Young for Tennessee.
AFC West Champions: San Diego Chargers, 13-3
Like the NFC West, the AFC West is the weakest division in the AFC Conference, perhaps in all of football. However, this division said good bye to some old faces and said hello to some new ones. Jason Campbell came to the Oakland Raiders after the team dropped QB JaMarcus Russell. Wide Receiver Brandon Marshall left the Denver Broncos and took his talents to Miami. However, the Broncos added the cultural icon, Tim Tebow, and Brady Quinn at the quarterback positions, but I would expect Kyle Orton to get the starting job when week one rolls around. Kansas City Chiefs went shopping for a running back and got the services of Thomas Jones who is coming off a pretty good season with the Jets. After all the reshuffling of players in the AFC West, the San Diego Chargers still remain the favorites to win the division despite losing future hall of famer LaDanian Tomlinson. However, the Chargers still have a championship caliber football team with players like Philip Rivers, Antonio Gates, and Vincent Jackson.
AFC North Champions: Cincinnati Bengals, 11-5
I had the Bengals winning this tough division ever since Terrell Owens teamed up with Chad Ochocinco in the off season. Before Ben Roethlisberger received his six game suspension and Santonio Holmes left for the Jets, I thought for sure the Steelers would be the team to beat. Jake Delhomme is a huge improvement in Cleveland, but the Browns will be at the bottom for quite awhile. The Baltimore Ravens will be the Bengals' toughest competitor in the AFC North. Joe Flacco is a rising young, star. Baltimore also added former Cardinal Anquan Boldin as well. The defense has been the Ravens' biggest strength. Ray Lewis and the defensive players have been at the top of the league consistently year after year. However, Cincinnati has the more complete team, and hence, the Bengals takes the division by the slightest of margins.
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