ESPN AFC East Blog

ESPN's Mark Schlereth, Mike Golic and Matthew Berry preview Sunday's game between the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots in Gillette Stadium.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham

Boston Globe reporter Albert Breer caught up with Tom Brady on Friday, and the New England Patriots quarterback scoffed at the notion he gets special treatment from officials.

Miami Dolphins outside linebacker Joey Porter alleged Thursday that Brady gets courtesy calls because he's such a big star and suffered a season-ending knee injury last year.

"No, I don't think so," Brady told Breer. "You may get more calls [for roughing the passer this year than in the past]. I don't know. I don't think I've ever influenced a call. I think the ref calls what he sees. I don't think I've ever influenced a call.

"The refs we have are very good. If they make a call on that, great. If they don't, that's fine."

This year, the NFL is enforcing what has come to be known as the Brady Rule, which prevents defenders for lunging helmet- or shoulder-first at a quarterback's legs.

In a six-point victory over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 4, linebackers Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs wailed about one call in particular.

Brady gestured theatrically that he had been hit in the knee right before referee Ron Winter threw the flag on Suggs. Instead of third-and-10, the Patriots had a first down on what turned out to be a touchdown drive.

"I don't think about [the rules] very often," Brady said. "We're standing back there, trying to make the plays. You can't think about it. And we're not the only ones. Rules are in place that protect the quarterback, protect the kicker, protect defenseless receivers, defensive linemen on cut blocks. I just don't see it as a quarterback issue. We're just the ones holding the ball, so it's pretty visible when it happens.

"We're all kind of in the same boat there, especially if you run outside the pocket. They find ways to protect receivers, and they should. You can't just go and knock the crap out of the kicker. We all play by the rules. If you’re flagged, you deal with it, and find a way to not let it happen again."

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham

Yahoo! Sports columnist Jason Cole recently stopped by Gillette Stadium for a few minutes in New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick's office. Cole came away with a compelling Q&A interview with Belichick that was posted Friday.

Belichick discussed a lot of topics, from the Richard Seymour trade to the two most important quarterback traits to how he handles watching his kids play sports.

But the exchange I found most interesting was Belichick's response to a question about why there are so many substandard teams in the NFL these days. Here is that exchange, but I highly recommend you read the whole interview:

Cole: Why are there so many bad teams around the league this year?

Belichick: Here’s the only thing I’ll say: I think to have a really good team in this league, you have to make a lot, a lot of good decisions. You have to have a lot of good people, players, coaches, whatever. You need a lot of those Conversely, to not be competitive, you would have to have a lot of bad decisions. One bad decision is not going to do it, one bad player is not going to do it, one bad coach is not going to do it. You’re going to have to collectively, over a cumulative period of time, make a long series of bad decisions and accumulate a lot of players who are substandard for their position. There have to be a multitude of things that go wrong.

Cole: Because you can keep yourself average for a long time?

Belichick: That’s the system. If you don’t have good players, you have money to spend on players. If you have a bunch of good players, you eventually run out of money and you can’t keep them all and somebody else gets them. That’s the system, it keeps everybody average. We’ve seen teams be really good just on coaching. We’ve seen teams be competitive with just a few good players.

Cole: Jimmy Johnson once said, if you don’t take too many risks, you can win nine or 10 games a year.

Belichick: Jimmy probably said the same thing to you that he once said to me: “You’re really only competing with about 10 teams a year. If you just say out of the way, the other 20 teams will screw it up themselves. Whether it’s ownership or personnel or coaching or some combination of factors.” Ego, internal struggle, something will happen to two-thirds of the teams, that was Jimmy’s theory. That leaves you with about 10 teams that you’re going to have to really battle with. Those teams have it together. They’re going to make good decisions and if you play bad football, they’re going to take advantage of it. They’re going to find some undrafted guy or some middle-round pick or some veteran free agent who is going to spark their team.

Pittsburgh is always going to be there. Indianapolis is always going to be there. They may not win it, but they’ll be there. You’re going to have to beat them. Philadelphia is going to be there. Yeah, [quarterback Donovan] McNabb might get hurt one year and they might go 7-9, but they’re going to be there. You’re still battling them on every front.

» NFC Final Word: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham

Five nuggets of knowledge about Week 9:

	AP Photo/Stephan Savoia
	Tom Brady and the Patriots have some wiggle room in the AFC East. The Dolphins do not.

Sunday will mean more to the Miami Dolphins than it will the New England Patriots. With a little separation in the AFC East standings, the Patriots can afford to drop a game in early November. Yes, it's a divisional game. Yes, the Patriots are entering a rugged five-game stretch. But they have some wiggle room. The Dolphins do not.

Postseason berths aren't based on how narrowly a team lost to the NFL's elite teams. Tough losses to the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints are losses, and another one this week will make them 3-5, tied with the Buffalo Bills for last place, and three games behind the Patriots.

The New York Jets' self-evaluation during the bye week should include an oral exam. The blogger in me doesn't want to the Jets to change a thing. I hope Rex Ryan, Bart Scott, Kerry Rhodes and the boys keep speaking their minds. It makes my job much more entertaining.

But the words are ringing hollow with one victory in their past five tries. The Jets' bombastic pregame rhetoric is starting to sound empty. The postgame comments sound like excuses. The act is wearing thin. The fans deserve results. Until they start winning, the Jets would be wise to hush until they generate some credibility in the standings. But I personally hope they don't.

The Dolphins need to unveil another Wildcat wrinkle to beat the Patriots. A lot of elements appear to be working against the Wildcat offense Sunday. The Dolphins sprung it on the Patriots with dramatic results in Week 3 last year, calling it six times for 119 yards and four touchdowns. But Patriots coach Bill Belichick knows how to adjust. When they met again in Week 12, the Patriots held Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams to 25 yards on eight Wildcat plays and beat the Dolphins 48-28.

Belichick has had two weeks to prepare for the Dolphins. The Patriots are coming off their bye week, and under Belichick they are 7-2 in their first game back. He also has had the benefit of watching two films on how to stop the Wildcat. In Week 7, New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams blitzed from the secondary every time Brown lined up for the shotgun snap, holding the Dolphins to 27 yards on 14 Wildcat tries. The Jets swarmed them, too. The Dolphins ran the Wildcat five times for 15 yards last week.

Ted Ginn cannot be evaluated simply as a player. As much as the Dolfans have hoped Ginn would become a complete performer when Miami drafted him ninth overall in 2007, it's evident that the returner and the receiver are two different people.

Ginn, under fire from the fans and in the coaching staff's doghouse over dropped passes, dazzlingly returned kickoffs 100 yards and 101 yards for touchdowns Sunday against the Jets. But he didn't vindicate himself as a receiver. He lost his starting job to rookie Brian Hartine and didn't catch a pass. Only one was thrown his way. Ginn reminded everyone he's a brilliant return man, but teams don't draft return specialists ninth overall.

Ryan Fitzpatrick went 2-1, but the Bills have to put Trent Edwards back in the lineup. Fitzpatrick had a chance to seize the starting job while Edwards was sidelined three games with a concussion. Fitzpatrick came off the bench in an overtime victory over the Jets and beat the Carolina Panthers in his first start. Another win or even a respectable performance against the Houston Texans would have cinched it, but he had 63 yards passing before the final drive.

Edwards isn't the answer to Buffalo's problems. In fact, he's a part of the problem. But the Bills have no choice but to reinstall him. Their wins over the Jets and Panthers were ugly. They have recorded single-digit first downs in Fitzpatrick's two stars. The Bills hadn't done that in consecutive games since they went 1-13 in 1971.

Herm Edwards talks about Joey Porter's comments that Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has his own set of special rules.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham

CBS Sports color commentator Dan Dierdorf doesn't seem to give the Miami Dolphins much of a shot Sunday against the New England Patriots in Gillette Stadium.

The Hall of Fame offensive lineman shared his thoughts on this week's only AFC East game. He said he sees Tom Brady getting more comfortable by the week and predicted Brady will exploit the Dolphins' young secondary.

On the Dolphins:

After their 1-15 season and the recovery last year, everyone in the AFC East takes the Dolphins a little bit more seriously than they used to, especially the Patriots, who had problems with them last year. We only know what the Wildcat is because of how it broke out of the gates. And where did that happen? Against New England last year. That 38-13 loss at home, where Ronnie Brown went crazy, is still an irritant to New England.

On the Dolphins' Wildcat offense:

It is part of who Miami is. At times it has been a real asset. But then you take last week and Miami was basically inept on offense and yet somehow managed to win a football game.

On the Patriots:

The bad news for Miami is every week that goes by we have seen a more comfortable and efficient Tom Brady in the pocket for New England. Even Brady's biggest fans would have to admit he looked rusty at the beginning of the year. Of course, what would you expect coming back from a total knee reconstruction? What you look for are signs of progress and improvement, and he has shown those signs every single week. This is also a Patriots team that has won its last two games by a combined score of 94-7.

On Brady versus three rookies in secondary:

Miami won't start three rookies back there because they're trying to prove something. They're doing it out of necessity. It's their first-, second- and fifth-round picks if [Vontae] Davis, [Sean] Smith and [Chris] Clemons all start. I have a hard time imagining three rookies shutting down this New England passing attack. It could be not pretty. Randy Moss can take a lot of coverage with him by going deep and that will leave the underneath for [Benjamin] Watson and [Wes] Welker.

On the Patriots gaining separation the AFC East:

This is a chance for New England to deal Miami a pretty good blow. If Miami loses this game, it will really put them behind the eight ball in trying to catch up. A young quarterback and a young secondary is not what you would call the ideal formula for success playing against a Bill Belichick football team.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham

"Bruschi's Breakdown" is a must-read feature on ESPNBoston.com.

You might think I'm shilling for the company, but do yourself a favor and check it out. You'll see.

ESPN analyst and former New England Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi visits with ESPNBoston.com blogger Mike Reiss to talk inside football. Even if you aren't a Patriots fan, the dialogue is educational.

In this week's edition, Bruschi previews Sunday's game against the Miami Dolphins in Gillette Stadium, hashing out matchups on both sides of the ball.

Reiss also gets Bruschi going on his memories of former Patriots coach Bill Parcells and how he compares to Bill Belichick.

A quick excerpt from Bruschi:

"People that I've spoken to have given me a hard time for saying the Miami Dolphins are such a viable threat to the Patriots. But being a former player, and knowing how the players feel in the locker room, they respect that team and how they play. The Dolphins are now 3-0 in the AFC East, which is a big stat when it comes to tiebreakers later in the year. Since Belichick came to New England, he is 40-12 against the AFC East, and eight of those losses have come against Miami.

"That's why I always view the game against the Dolphins as one of the toughest of the year. They play smashmouth football offensively. They're looking to run the ball. Defensively, they always give the Patriots problems, and they do it by getting pressure on Tom Brady."

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham

If you're a Buffalo Bills fan who likes to wallow in your team's despair or just an NFL fan who can sympathize, have I found the place for you.

The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle and Buffalo's NBC affiliate, WGRZ, have teamed up to launch "Decade of Disappointment," a sharp and clever site that takes a hard look at the Bills' inability to make the playoffs since 1999.

As noted on the AFC East blog Thursday, AccuScore computes the Bills' chances of making the playoffs this year at 2 percent. Looks like a completely blank stretch since Y2K.

Prominent on the "Decade of Disappointment" home page is Mount Crushmore, with the visages of owner Ralph Wilson, head coach Dick Jauron, former general manager Tom Donahoe and former tackle Mike Williams, the fourth overall draft pick in 2002.

But there are several other rocks to overturn. Drag your mouse across the faces of 17 other culprits to hear an analyst explain another problem.

The site features several videos, including one from NBC Sports analysts Tony Dungy and Marvin Harrison, another from Hall of Fame running back Thurman Thomas and a roundtable with Democrat & Chronicle reporters Sal Maiorana and Leo Roth and the WGRZ staff.

ESPN's Mark Schlereth and Tedy Bruschi give their picks for Sunday's game between the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots in Gillette Stadium.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham

A few days ago, I asked readers to submit their votes for the most absurd AFC East outcome through the first half of 2009.

	AP Photo/Mike Groll
	The ugly Buffalo-Cleveland game in Week 5 was a tough loss for Bills fans to endure.

While the comments section beneath that blog quickly turned into a trash-talking session between New York Jets and Miami Dolphins fans, a few readers actually attempted to make cases for the game they felt was supremely ridiculous.

The most compelling cases were made for the Week 5 disaster between the Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills in Ralph Wilson Stadium.

That catastrophe deserved to end in a tie, but the Browns won 6-3 thanks to a muffed punt deep in Bills territory in the final minutes. Browns quarterback Derek Anderson completed 2 of 17 passes for 23 yards. His 11.8 percent completion percentage was the second-worst for a winning quarterback since the NFL-AFL merger.

Coming in second was the Indianapolis Colts' 27-23 victory over the Dolphins in Week 2. The Colts became the first team since time of possession became an official stat in 1970 to win while holding the ball for less than 15 minutes. The Colts ran only 35 plays.

Here are some of the better submissions on the subject:

Jesse in Omaha wrote into the AFC East mailbag that the Browns-Bills game "was the lowest point I've had as a fan in a long time. Even if I were a Jets fan during the loss to the lowly Bills, at least I could stand by the fact that the opposing team tried to win the game. I'm not convinced Cleveland wanted to beat Buffalo that day."

In the comments section, glui8 declared the Browns-Bills was, "hands down, the most absurd result. Not only was it the worst football game I've ever seen played, whether it be Pop Warner, high school, college or pro, but the losing team (and this is the reason I'm picking it as the most absurd) got beat by a quarterback that completed two, yes, two passes for a whopping total of 23 yards. THAT IS ABSURD and, in my opinion, is way worse than any of the other games nominated."

DolflyerpacerV316 added: "Gotta be the Browns-Bills game. Seriously, they lost to the Browns? Who does that? How they only scored three on the Browns is the first mystery, but losing to them? That just defines absurd!"

Also in the comments section, mrf042579 weighed in: "I'm going to have to vote for the Colts-Dolphins game. As a Bills fan, I am tempted to vote for any of their games, but in all honesty, how do you lose a game when your opponent runs 35 plays and has the ball less than 15 minutes?"

There was no doubt in stevejdolphin's mind: "It was easily the Dolphins-Colts game. I watched that game, and the way the Dolphins completely controlled the pace of the game while their offense was on the field was incredible. This also needs to be put in perspective with all the coaching changes the Colts had in the off-season. This was the second week of the season, and the Colts had struggled the week before against the Jaguars. They didn't have their second-best receiver in Anthony Gonzalez. For Peyton Manning to pull out a win with everything stacked against him is impossible. It happened and it was without a doubt the most absurd AFC East result."

SportsFan1236 made the case for another game, going with the Dolphins frittering a 21-point first-half lead against the Saints: "They went from dominant to dominated. Sorry, but that was the most pathetic loss of the year. To lose a game in a final minutes is bad, but to lose your momentum and such a huge lead right before half is horrible. Could have beat one of the best teams, if not the best team, in the league and choked it away."

To refresh your memories, here are the thumbnails from the other runners-up:

Week 1: Patriots 25, Bills 24. The Bills don't trail for almost 59 minutes, but Leodis McKelvin fumbles a kickoff inside the final two minutes, setting up Tom Brady with a short field. Brady throws his second touchdown in a span of 1:16 to escape with a dramatic victory.

Week 4: Saints 24, Jets 10. The Jets' offense gives up more points than it scores and more points than its defense allows. The Saints score touchdowns on two of Mark Sanchez's four turnovers.

Week 6: Bills 16, Jets 13 (OT). The Bills allow 318 rushing yards, second-most in Jets history. Thomas Jones runs for the most yards of his career, setting a Jets record. His 210 yards are the fifth most in a defeat since the merger. But the Jets throw six interceptions, five of them by Sanchez.

Week 7: Saints 46, Dolphins 34. The Dolphins hold a 21-point lead for the first 29 minutes of the game but collapse the rest of the way, giving up 24 points in the fourth quarter to become the first team in 22 years to blow a 21-point lead and lose by at least a dozen.

Week 8: Dolphins 30, Jets 25. A sublime Jets defense holds the Dolphins to 104 total yards (third fewest in franchise history) and 1.9 yards per pass attempt. The Dolphins score one offensive touchdown, but two Ted Ginn kickoff returns and a Jason Taylor fumble return -- all in the third quarter -- make the difference.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham

We have a trade to propose.

J.P. Losman and Jim Fassel for Trent Edwards and Dick Jauron. Straight up.

What do you think, Buffalo Bills fans?

The proposal was raised Thursday during my weekly spot on Brad Riter's radio show on WECK in Buffalo, and I loved the idea so much I informed Riter on the spot I was stealing it for the AFC East blog.

Bills fans have been fed up with Jauron's coaching and would consider relinquishing their claim to the chicken wing for his ouster. They've had it with Edwards as their quarterback, too.

But would they take back local pariah Losman if it meant they could have Fassel instead of Jauron?

The trade isn't going to happen. I don't think the NFL will be swinging any deals with the United Football League any time soon, and that's where Fassel and Losman are working.

Fassel is head coach of the Las Vegas Locomotives. Losman is his quarterback.

Fassel, the former New York Giants coach, has a 58-53-1 career NFL record and went to the Super Bowl in 2000.

Losman became one of the more detested players in recent Bills history because he was promoted as a future star yet couldn't get the Bills to the playoffs and played a reckless style.

But I have a feeling Bills fans have mellowed on Losman in light of Edwards' ineffectiveness, lack of development and timidity.

For the record, and not that Losman's stats with Las Vegas are any indication of what kind of season he would be having in the NFL, he has completed 64.2 percent of his passes for 994 yards (7.4 yards per attempt) and eight touchdowns with two interceptions.

So what do you think, Bills fans?

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham

Miami Dolphins outside linebacker Joey Porter hinted -- strongly -- at his distaste for the New England Patriots during a Wednesday conference call with Boston-area reporters.

Porter didn't get specific or start dropping napalm on the Patriots. He just mentioned a "natural hate" and referenced the comments he made after the Spygate scandal. Porter, a former Pittsburgh Steeler, has accused the Patriots of cheating him out of chances to go to more Super Bowls. He went on the record long ago, so he left it at that.

On Thursday, however, he didn't restrain himself. Porter appeared on NFL Network and spoke with host Rich Eisen, who pressed him to elaborate on Wednesday's comments. You can check out the video here.

"Never really too much cared for New England," Porter said. "Still don't care for New England. The hate's been there for a while, especially after all the cheating they did back in the day. I can honestly say I don't agree with it, but it happened, and it's over with now.

"They can sweep it under the rug if they want to, but just like anybody else that do something that gets caught by cheating, you put an asterisk by it. But nobody puts an asterisk by those championships they won."

Porter also declared Patriots quarterback Tom Brady gets to play by his own set of favorable rules.

"No question," Porter said. "When a guy can tell a ref when to throw a flag and he gets it and stuff like that, he got his own rules. They made the whole [rule that you] don't go at the legs because of Tom. So when he feels that someone is coming at his legs, he just points at the ref and he gets a flag. So you've got to honestly say that he got his own rules."

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham

The New York Jets' chances of winning the AFC East are four times as good as the Buffalo Bills'.

Does that sound good?

It isn't.

With the Jets off this week, AccuScore took a look at their chances to win the division and to make the playoffs. The computer spat out some unfavorable numbers.

The numbers, of course, will fluctuate. But based on 10,000 simulations of how the season will unfold after Week 8, AccuScore determined the Jets have a 4 percent chance to take the division and a 13 percent shot to reach the postseason.

The Jets' projected record was 8-8.

AccuScore gave the Bills' a 1 percent chance of winning the AFC East and a 2 percent chance of getting into the playoffs.

The New England Patriots have an 88 percent shot of claiming another division crown.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick has been asked about the Wildcat offense all week.

	Ed Mulholland-US Presswire
	Ricky Williams is the key player in Miami's Wildcat formation.

At his news conference Thursday, he gave one of the most insightful breakdowns I've heard about the Wildcat -- not the Miami Dolphins' fascinating offensive formation, but the player who handles the position the Wildcat is named after.

Ricky Williams is the Wildcat.

Many believe Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown is the Wildcat because he starts every play by taking the direct snap, but it's actually the man who sprints in motion and crosses in front of Brown right after the ball is hiked.

Belichick gave his take on what Williams' speedy motion means for defenses.

"They run their regular sweep blocking," Belichick said. "It hits a little bit quicker. If you're not wide enough, then Ricky gets out there on that flat, and if you get out there wide, then it opens up the inside runs for Ronnie after he fakes it.

"They kind of complement those two plays and make them look the same. ... When you are defending one it's kind of hard to defend the other, or you're a little lighter in one or the other. If you try to play them both equally, I'm not sure if you’re good enough at either spot."

Belichick explained how you can tell that Brown isn't making a read on whether to give a full-speed Williams the ball or keep it himself, that the run must be predetermined based on the blocking schemes that unfold.

Brown "has other plays where he reads it, but I don’t think he reads it on that play," Belichick said. "I don’t think they read that because the blocking’s different. In other words, when they hand it to Ricky, then everybody’s running out there to try stretch and get the edge.

"When they fake it to him, then they all block down, block back or run the counter. So the blocking is totally different. So the action is the same, but it's two different plays."

Belichick also discussed the speed at which Williams takes the ball while sprinting in front of Brown. The play isn't always destined for the outside because Williams has the ability to go against the grain and bounce off a would-be tackler or two.

"It doesn't always go way outside to the sideline," Belichick said. "If the guy runs up the field, he will dip it inside and still run back out there. It's got two entry points really. If they hook the edge, then he just runs around the edge. If the guy on the edge runs up field, then he cuts in. But then he tries to dip back out away from the inside linebackers and stuff like that.

"Like a lot of running plays, there is kind of more than one option. Most plays hit at a certain point and then they cut back. You want to have a couple entry points on the play, or it's all or nothing."

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham

One of my favorite NFL stats is yards after the catch.

	Doug Pensinger/Getty Images
	Wes Welker is the NFL's YAC leader among receivers.

YAC is an unofficial stat, but teams certainly track their numbers. And it's fun to say.

The ESPN's Stats & Information folks are known YAC trackers, so let's tap into their resources to see how the AFC East fares in this frequently overlooked offensive element.

As you would expect, the New England Patriots lead the AFC East and rank fourth in the league with 945 yards after the catch. That's 45.3 percent of their total receiving yardage.

Wes Welker is New England's lead YAC monger. He leads all NFL receivers and ranks sixth when you include running backs and tight ends. He has 266 YAC, an average of 5.8 per reception.

The Bills rank 23rd with 610 YAC (44.7 percent of their receiving yards), the Jets 25th with 576 YAC (39.9 percent) and the Dolphins 29th with 553 YAC (45.9 percent).

Almost a third of Miami's output belongs to Ricky Williams.

He has 155 YAC. His 10.3 YAC per reception ranks fourth among all running backs behind San Diego's Darren Sproles (14.1), Houston's Steve Slaton (11.1) and Seattle's Julius Jones (10.9).

Fred Jackson of Buffalo ranks 29th overall with 171 YAC. Factor in his 20 receptions and he ranks 10th among running backs with an 8.7-yard average.

Jets receiver Jerricho Cotchery is the only other AFC East receiver among the top 50 YACkers. He ranks 31st with 165 yards, an average of 6.1 per catch.