While listening to a local sports radio station, one of the hosts made the following comment. “The Jets are the new Beast of the East. The Patriots are fading, while the Jets have a good young team, with most of the parts in place. We have to consider the Jets to be the team to beat in the AFC East next year.” There is some truth to what he said. The Jets do have a good young nucleus. Their defense it top notch. Sanchez now has a year under his belt, a year that saw them reach the conference finals, to complement their top ranked running game. And from what I have seen, they have a very good coaching staff. I will admit to only seeing a couple of Patriots games this season, but IMO, they did not look like the Pats of old. Their offensive line seemed a little more porous than in years past, and Brady does not seem to be the kind of QB that can withstand a consistent pounding. He is a bit more fragile than players like Favre or Roethlisberger. If Welker is not ready for the season opener next year, that could really hurt the Pats offense. I mean, look at what he did this season. They just seemed to be a bit worn out. So, (and I am hoping that we can keep this civil, although I will not hold my breath) what do the rest of you think? Are the Jets the team to beat? Are the Pats on the downward slope of their run, and if so, what do they need to do to stop the slide?

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