While on a lunch run Friday afternoon I caught a bit of Colin Cowherd's ESPN Radio show, during which he went down the list of quarterbacks the New York Jets would face this year.
Cowherd was making a point that regardless of how much coach Rex Ryan ramps up the Jets' defense, they'll probably find themselves in more shootouts than 16-14 games. On those grounds, Cowherd made the case the Jets should use the more experienced Kellen Clemens instead of glamour rookie Mark Sanchez.
That inspired me to put together a rundown of all the quarterbacks each AFC East team will face this year.
On paper, it looks like the Miami Dolphins and Jets will face the scariest lineups. The New England Patriots catch a break because, well, they don't have to face Tom Brady twice like the rest of the division does.
Here's the rundown, alphabetized by AFC East team and in rough order of who'll they face as the season goes on:
- Tom Brady, Patriots (twice)
- Chad Pennington, Dolphins (twice)
- Mark Sanchez or Kellen Clemens (twice)
- Luke McCown or Byron Leftwich, Buccaneers
- Drew Brees, Saints
- Derek Anderson or Brady Quinn, Browns
- Jake Delhomme, Panthers
- Matt Schaub, Texans
- Kerry Collins, Titans
- David Garrard, Jaguars
- Matt Cassel, Chiefs
- Matt Ryan, Falcons
- Peyton Manning, Colts
Miami Dolphins
- Tom Brady, Patriots (twice)
- Trent Edwards, Bills (twice)
- Mark Sanchez or Kellen Clemens (twice)
- Matt Ryan, Falcons
- Peyton Manning, Colts
- Philip Rivers, Chargers
- Drew Brees, Saints
- Luke McCown or Byron Leftwich, Buccaneers
- Jake Delhomme, Panthers
- David Garrard, Jaguars
- Kerry Collins, Titans
- Matt Schaub, Texans
- Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers
New England Patriots
- Trent Edwards, Bills (twice)
- Mark Sanchez or Kellen Clemens (twice)
- Chad Pennington, Dolphins (twice)
- Matt Ryan, Falcons
- Joe Flacco, Ravens
- Kyle Orton, Broncos
- Kerry Collins, Titans
- Luke McCown or Byron Leftwich, Buccaneers
- Peyton Manning, Colts
- Drew Brees, Saints
- Jake Delhomme, Panthers
- David Garrard, Jaguars
- Matt Schaub, Texans
New York Jets
- Tom Brady, Patriots (twice)
- Chad Pennington, Dolphins (twice)
- Trent Edwards, Bills (twice)
- Matt Schaub, Texans
- Kerry Collins, Titans
- Drew Brees, Saints
- JaMarcus Russell, Raiders
- David Garrard, Jaguars
- Jake Delhomme, Panthers
- Luke McCown or Byron Leftwich, Buccaneers
- Matt Ryan, Falcons
- Peyton Manning, Colts
- Carson Palmer, Bengals
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Tim Graham
Graham joined ESPN.com in 2008 after covering the Miami Dolphins for the Palm Beach Post. He previously spent eight years at the Buffalo News, where he was an award-winning NHL and boxing writer. The Baldwin-Wallace College grad also has worked for the Las Vegas Sun and Boston Herald.