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After they dumped quarterback Trent Edwards and traded running back Marshawn Lynch in consecutive weeks, a lone member of the Buffalo Bills' 2007 draft class remained on the roster.

Just three years later, one keeper is a lousy return.

But consider how the rest of AFC East drafted in 2007.

Only six of 30 AFC East draftees from 2007 still are with the team that drafted them: two New York Jets, two Miami Dolphins, one New England Patriot and one Bill. (See chart below.)

The Jets were most effective. They drafted just four players. Their first two have been stars, and the last pick helped them acquire a standout receiver. They traded up to select star cornerback Darrelle Revis 14th overall and top inside linebacker David Harris 47th. Seventh-round pick Chansi Stuckey was sent to the Cleveland Browns in the trade that landed receiver Braylon Edwards.

The Patriots were the least efficient on nine picks, but they had only two selections inside the first four rounds. Their lone keeper was Pro Bowl safety Brandon Meriweather in the first round.

The Dolphins made 10 selections in what was the final draft class for general manager Randy Mueller and the only one for rookie head coach Cam Cameron. They famously misfired on ninth overall pick Ted Ginn, who was traded for a fifth-round pick this offseason, and second-round quarterback John Beck. Still around are defensive tackle Paul Soliai and punter Brandon Fields.

The last man standing from Buffalo's seven-man 2007 draft class is second-round linebacker Paul Posluszny.

So that's a 20 percent retention rate for the AFC East on all draftees and a 40 percent rate for those selected in the top three rounds.

With help from ESPN researcher Keith Hawkins and the Elias Sports Bureau, I wanted to find out how those percentages compared leaguewide.

Poorly, it turns out.

Of the 225 players chosen in other divisions that year, 100 have remained with the teams that drafted them. That's 44.4 percent overall, more than twice the AFC East rate.

When narrowing the field to players taken within the first three rounds, 89 prospects were absorbed into other divisions, and 54 have stuck, a success rate of 60.7 percent.

A few notes turned up by the research:

• The Dolphins are the only team that has gotten rid of their top four picks.
• Twenty-six teams have parted ways with at least one of their picks from the first three rounds.
• Of the 19 teams that had at least one pick in each of the first three rounds, only the Pittsburgh Steelers retained all of them (Lawrence Timmons, LaMarr Woodley, Matt Spaeth).

ProFootballFocus.com has assembled a 2009 All-AFC East team.

Rather than swipe the whole roster and post it here, let's take a look just at the selections that differed from the "official" All-AFC East squad you selected before the Super Bowl.

PFF went with a hybrid defense that included two defensive tackles, whereas the diagram I presented was a straight 3-4.

Running back: You picked former Jet Thomas Jones. PFF picked Fred Jackson of the Bills.

Receiver: You picked Patriots star Randy Moss. PFF chose Jets wideout Jerricho Cotchery.

Tight end: You chose Dustin Keller of the Jets. But PFF thought Anthony Fasano of the Dolphins was better.

Left guard: You selected perennial Pro Bowler Alan Faneca of the Jets. PFF went with Logan Mankins of the Patriots.

Right guard: You liked the Jets' Brandon Moore. PFF picked the Patriots' Stephen Neal.

Right tackle: You voted for Vernon Carey of the Dolphins. PFF chose Damien Woody of the Jets.

Defensive end: You went with the Jets' Shaun Ellis. PFF chose the Dolphins' Randy Starks.

Third defensive linemen: You picked Bills defensive end Aaron Schobel. PFF went with Jets defensive tackle Sione Pouha.

Strong safety: You picked the Patriots' Brandon Meriweather. PFF preferred the Bills' George Wilson.

Free Safety: You selected Bills rookie Jairus Byrd. PFF took Jets outcast Kerry Rhodes.

Kicker: You selected the Dolphins' Dan Carpenter. PFF liked the Patriots' Stephen Gostkowski.

Special teams: You surprisingly chose Bills castoff John Wendling. PFF liked Jets safety Eric Smith.

The Buffalo Bills released a member of the 2009 All-AFC East squad that you, the readers of this blog, selected two weeks ago.

The Bills cut seven players Tuesday. Among them was All-AFC East special-teamer John Wendling, who led the Bills with 26 coverage tackles.

Also jettisoned were receiver Justin Jenkins, tight end Derek Fine, center Marvin Philip, defensive ends Jermain McGhee and Marcus Smith and linebacker Ashlee Palmer.

The moves come a week after new head coach Chan Gailey and his finalized coaching staff convened at One Bills Drive to begin roster evaluations.

Fine was the most notable player aside from Wendling. He started six games last year and made nine catches for 64 yards. Fine was a fourth-round draft choice in 2008. Jenkins played 36 games over three seasons with Buffalo but didn't register a reception.

Palmer started a pair games at linebacker for the injury-plagued Bills.

Philip, Smith and McGhee spent the entire season on injured reserve.

A week ago, I solicited your help to select the AFC East's best players at every position for 2009.

Your votes have been counted and your comments read at ESPN.com and on my Facebook page. I believe we've come up with a rock-solid All-AFC East team.

In almost every case, the player who received the most votes made the squad. So consider this the team you selected. The only time I had to make a call was to break a tie or for a position that generated scant attention.

I also exercised my right as AFC East blog czar to revoke a ballot for stupidity and only considered the votes of people who made an honest effort to field an entire ballot -- not just throw out a name or two of a player from their team. Anybody who submitted an idiotic selection -- Buffalo Bills rookie Andy Levitre at left guard over two Pro Bowlers? -- got their entire ballot killed on account of credibility.

The biggest debate involved fullbacks Tony Richardson and Lousaka Polite, for whom passionate Dolfans made a convincing case. The vote was close enough that my influence would have allowed me to pick Richardson for the All-AFC East team, but you Polite zealots wore me down.

The biggest surprises from my perspective:

• Dolphins running backs Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown received a combined four votes and finished third and fourth behind Thomas Jones and Fred Jackson. Based on the crush of support for Polite, you would think Williams and Brown would receive more votes through mere homerism. That's a credit to Dolfans and actually played a factor in my being won over on Polite. You voted with your heads.
• Response for Bills inside linebacker Paul Posluszny. New York Jets leading tackler David Harris had one of the spots locked up. I thought New England Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo, the NFL's top defensive rookie in 2008, would be the other. But Posluszny received almost twice as many votes as Mayo.

Close votes where I made the final call:

• New England strong safety Brandon Meriweather over Miami's Yeremiah Bell in a tie vote.
• New England's Wes Welker, the only player to make the team at two positions, at punt returner over Jackson in a vote that had three players within two votes.
• Buffalo special-teamer John Wendling in a three-way tie with Miami's Jason Allen and New York's Larry Izzo.

	Andrew Mills/US Presswire
	Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez blames himself for the team’s loss to the Bills.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Mark Sanchez climbed the steps up to the podium and stopped for a moment to gather himself. He peeled a scribble of black athletic tape off the bottom of his shower sandal, buying himself a couple extra seconds. Then he drew a deep breath and emphatically exhaled before assuming his position behind the lectern.

Sanchez, the New York Jets rookie quarterback, was going to try to answer questions about Sunday's deplorable performance at the Meadowlands.

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He threw five interceptions to facilitate a 16-13 Buffalo Bills overtime victory, the Jets' third straight defeat after opening the season 3-0.

"Just an embarrassing day," were the first words Sanchez spoke into the microphone. "I just gave that team the win. Credit to them for catching all those passes."

None of the outside factors mattered, not the opposition, a missing go-to receiver or the unlucky bounces.

The weather wasn't the reason either. His arm was warm enough, the ball dry enough.

Sanchez simply wasn't good enough.

"It was just a poor day accuracy-wise, a couple misreads," Sanchez said. "I really let this team down. There's no excuse for that."

Interceptions weren't his only problems. Sanchez fumbled with nobody around him 38 seconds before halftime. He fell on it at the Buffalo 32-yard line, but the Jets had to call their final timeout and, two plays later, had to hurry Jay Feely off the sideline for a 44-yard attempt that sailed too far left.

Sanchez also took a bad sack in the fourth quarter, turning a second-and-8 into a third-and-24 with about 4:30 remaining in regulation.

Sanchez was so wretched, head coach Rex Ryan considered yanking the player who looked so smooth through the Jets' first three games, his teammates started calling him the Sanchise.

On Sunday, the offense was disenSanchised by his interceptions, which have become commonplace.

In a 14-point loss to the New Orleans Saints two weeks ago, Sanchez chucked three interceptions -- Darren Sharper took one back 99 yards -- and lost a fumble in the end zone for another touchdown. Sanchez bounced back with a decent game last Monday night, but the Miami Dolphins still beat the Jets.

"In six games, we have three losses, and I feel like two of those losses you can blame on No. 6," Sanchez said, referring to his jersey number. "It's not a good feeling. I've got to turn this thing around."

Over his past three games, Sanchez has completed 36 of 80 passes for 429 yards and one touchdown with eight interceptions. He has a 26.5 passer rating for those games. He also was sacked seven times.

"Mark is going through a learning curve," Jets right tackle Damien Woody said. "We just have to ride it out. We are going to have a tough stretch, but he is still our quarterback."

Jets fans frequently booed him Sunday. If his struggles resume, fans will begin to wonder if Kellen Clemens would provide an offensive spark.

The Jets' defense is playing well enough to win. The Jets' running game is holding its own, especially Sunday. Thomas Jones ripped off runs of 64 and 71 yards on his way to a 210-yard day, the best of his career. The Jets amassed 318 rushing yards, second-most in franchise history.

But their blue-chip quarterback has been throwing it away. The Jets became only the seventh team in NFL history to have a 200-yard rusher and lose the game. What's worse, the Bills won their first AFC East game since 2007, and they pulled it off with their backup quarterback.

"You're not going to win too many games throwing five picks," Ryan said. "I thought about pulling him, but I still believe in him.

"He gives us the best chance to win, and he will remain our quarterback."

Those weren't acrobatic interceptions by the Bills (2-4), who picked off six passes total. Sanchez hung passes up for grabs or sent them right into their receptacles. Rookie safety Jairus Byrd came down with two interceptions. Linebacker Paul Posluszny absorbed one with his torso. Reserve defensive backs Reggie Corner, George Wilson and John Wendling had one apiece. In fairness, Sanchez did not throw the pass Wendling intercepted: Punter Steve Weatherford, who bobbled a snap on Jay Feeley's 50-yard field-goal attempt early in overtime, tossed a prayer that Wendling snatched.

"We had their quarterback under stress all day long," Posluszny said. "Our defensive line really put a lot of pressure on Mark Sanchez, forcing him to move around a lot and make him uncomfortable. Any time you can do that to a quarterback, it usually works out for your back seven."

The golden boy from Southern California never had bestowed five interceptions in a game at any level. He threw four his entire senior season at Mission Viejo High, five his entire sophomore season at USC. He tossed 10 as a junior at USC, but three was the most he ever threw in a game, a 28-0 laugher over Arizona State.

Sunday was Sanchez's first game in the type of weather a New York quarterback has to cope with on a regular basis. The wind was gusty, the air frigid, the sky gray.

"I don’t think it affected me at all," Sanchez said. "To be totally honest, I don't know if I could have played any worse. The ball wasn't slipping out of my hands. The weather isn't a factor when you're making all the wrong reads. The weather isn't a factor when you're missing Dustin [Keller] wide open over the middle.

"There's no way I can blame it on the weather. The wind didn't blow the ball to the defenders."

True enough. Sanchez went into Sunday with five interceptions. Three of them were thrown in the Superdome, another in Reliant Stadium with the retractable roof closed.

The dazzling first impression Sanchez made in his NFL debut against the Houston Texans has been nullified. He threw for 272 yards and a touchdown, becoming just the fourth rookie to win his NFL debut on the road on opening day.

Despite being composed in managing the Jets to a 3-0 start, Sanchez hasn't eclipsed 175 yards passing since his debut. He has fumbled at least once in four of his six games.

After the game, Sanchez's teammates gave him encouraging nods, slapped him on the pads, offered words of support.

As he stood behind the podium at his news conference, Sanchez was self-deprecatingly confused.

"I don't know how they do it," Sanchez said. "It says a lot about how they feel about me and the kind of faith they have in me. So I have to perform.

"It's the first time something like this has happened to me, and hopefully it's the last."