We promise this is our last anti-ESPN's love affair with the Patriots post for awhile, but the story - or analysis, if you will - we saw on their site this morning was just too easy. In the latest installment of their "Ultimate" series, ESPN attacks the depth of each division. Up first? Why the AFC East. We figured they try and throw everyone off by going with one of those obscure divisions like the AFC North, since it's, ya know, the most competitive division in the game.
But this is Theismann, who thinks the AFC South - won four straight years by the reigning Super Bowl Champions - is the best division in football, so let's start with the AFC East. The questions are as follows:
Who has the best offense in the AFC East?
Without question, this category goes to New England. The Pats have the best quarterback in football, and now Tom Brady has one of the most dynamic receiving corps in football. Add that to a good, young running back and a solid, veteran offensive line and you have a great offense. There might not be an offense in the league that will be as exciting and efficient as this one.
Oh, Theismann. We think the Colts, Saints, and Bengals might beg to differ. And that Super Bowl MVP guy might be a little pissed, too.
Who has the best defense in the AFC East?
The Patriots get the nod here, too. They were very good before the addition of linebacker Adalius Thomas, but now they are devastatingly good. They have Pro Bowl-caliber players at every level of the defense and have the ability to switch seamlessly from a 3-4 to a 4-3 and back. Bill Belichick is at his best when he has the option to switch formations like that without any drop-off in performance.
Adalius Thomas is a great player, don't get us wrong, but his addition alone isn't going to change the fact it was this aging defense that allowed 32 second-half points to the Colts in last year's AFC Championship Game.
Who is the best team in the AFC East?
The Patriots have won three of the last six Super Bowls and still attacked this off-season as though they were trying to end a Cubs-like title drought. This is not only the best team in the division but the best team in football.
Theismann, how do you remain so objective? Look, we're not trying to run this issue into the ground - too much - but we feel that ESPN is unintentionally setting the Pats up for a fall this season. We're talking Yankee-style breakdown here, folks. And yes, the dissolution will be televised.
The Ultimate Depth Chart [ESPN]
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