The 5 Players Who Will Determine the AFC East in 2010

In 2010 the AFC East will be a three team fight to the finish, sorry Buffalo Bills fans. The New York Jets, New England Patriots, and Miami Dolphins all have the talent to make some noise in their division and reach the playoffs. The following are the five players that will determine the outcome of this very intriguing division.

1. Wes Welker

Everyone in the NFL knows that New England Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker is a dangerous weapon. His quickness enables him to find a small hole in the defense and exploit it. Welker had surgery in early February after tearing both the medial collateral ligament and the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during the final regular season game of the 2009 season. He has appeared in preseason games and looked good. The question becomes will he still have the same explosiveness, that has allowed him to collect 100 receptions in each of the last three seasons.

2. Mark Sanchez

The New York Jets quarterback had a first season to remember leading his team to the AFC Championship game. His stats weren't great, 12 touchdowns with 20 interceptions, but he showed at times that he could be a good quarterback in the NFL. In his sophomore season does he just have a repeat of his first season, much like Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan did in their sophomore seasons, or does he take a step forward and grow. The Jets have a nasty defense and don't need Sanchez to light up the scoreboard. He will need cut down on the turnovers and pick up an important first down from time to time. Sanchez will have to manage the game as they say, the Jets quarterback job isn't the place for a gunslinger who tries to do it all.

3. Brandon Marshall

The Miami Dolphins were able to trade for talented wide receiver Brandon Marshall this offseason by giving up just two second round draft picks. Of course Marshall comes from the Denver Broncos with some baggage, including run ins with coaches, pouting about his contract, refusing to run routes in practice, and varying degrees of legal trouble. He is also one of the best receivers in the game with 100 receptions in the last three years. If he can put all the other stuff behind him, Marshall will be the deep threat that the Dolphins have been searching for.

4. Darrelle Revis

New York Jets corner back Darrelle Revis is one of the best corner backs in the NFL. The problem for the Jets is that he now wants to be paid like one. In 2007 Revis agreed to a rookie contract worth $30 million over six years, $11 million of which was guaranteed. So he still has three years left on that deal, but he wants a new contract now. The Jets and Revis appear to be quite far apart and Revis not taking the field at all in 2010 seems to be a possibility. It would be a big blow to the Jets defense if Revis isn't out there shutting down the other teams best receiver. A resolution to this situation probably depends on how well the Jets start the season. If they start off well they just might think who needs Revis, if they drop a couple of games they might just give in to his demands.

5. Tom Brady

New England Patriots fans are hoping that quarterback Tom Brady will return to his 2007 form when he threw for 50 touchdowns. Brady did not have a bad year in 2009, 28 touchdowns with 13 interceptions, but there were times that Brady didn't appear to have his usual confidence. Brady is nearly two years away from surgery on his left knee and should have more confidence in that knee than he did last season. With the Patriots running game a week by week guess at who might be hot, the team relies on Brady to take over the offense.

At the end of the season I fully expect that two of these three teams will make the playoffs. I'll take the Jets to win the division and the Patriots as a wild card.

Sources:
Stats form pro-football-reference.com

Steve Clarke, Why the Jets should avoid Brandon Marshall, bleacherreport.com

D S, Darrelle Revis only has one person to blame, bleacherreport.com