Of the seven worst ranked quarterback’s on ESPN’s QBR list through the first quarter of the season, four of them were starting quarterbacks for AFC East Teams: Tom Brady (No. 27, 46.5), Ryan Tannehill (No. 28, 42.3), Geno Smith (No. 31, 27.6), and E.J. Manuel (No. 32, 19.8). Manuel was benched on Monday for Kyle Orton, while Tannehill’s hold on the job was questioned last week before a very good performance against Oakland in London has quelled that thought for now.
Here is a look at how each team in the division is dealing with issues from the signal-caller position.
Buffalo Bills
Despite not getting any preseason action with the team, it appears coaches and players are confident the offense will run smoothly with Orton replacing Manuel at quarterback.
Sammy Watkins on Kyle Orton today in practice: “He reads it quicker, the ball is coming out faster."
Doug Marrone said Monday that he believes that the Bills are a playoff caliber team, so this move signals a belief that to win right now, the nine-year veteran Orton is the best way to go. The compliments from Watkins and Woods about Orton’s ability to quickly get the ball out to receivers could easily be inferred as slights to Manuel in terms of not being able to give them the ball with space to run before risk of getting hit.
The last time Orton had a young receiving core similar to what the Bills have in Watkins, Woods, Mike Williams, Chris Hogan and Marquise Goodwin was in Denver in 2009. After being acquired in a trade in which Jay Cutler was sent to Chicago, Orton had Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal, Jabar Gaffney, and Brandon Stokley to throw to, and produced 3,802 passing yards with a 21 touchdown to 12 interception ratio.
The Broncos started that year 6-0 before defensive issues and lack of a running game were too much for Orton to overcome, with the team finishing 8-8. But with Buffalo’s defense looking as good as any against the run, along with forcing eight turnovers, helping the Bills rank tied for second with the San Diego Chargers for turnover differential (+5).
After scoring an average of 26 points per game in the opening two games of the season, the offense has only averaged 13.5 in the past two losses against San Diego and Houston. Despite playing on the road against Detroit and home against the Patriots the next two weeks, Buffalo does not need Orton to be Peyton Manning; they just need him to be good enough for the offense to score around 24 points per game, which would have been enough the past two weeks to avoid either defeat.
Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins are currently on a bye week after going across the pond and beating the Oakland Raiders 38-14 on Sunday.
Ryan Tannehill was 23 of 31 for 278 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in a win. Both the quarterback and coach talked in depth about the victory on Tuesday (via The Miami Herald’s George Richards):
“I don’t think I felt any added pressure or anything like that,’’ said Tannehill, whose 109.3 quarterback rating was easily his best in four games this season and fourth-highest in 36 games with Miami.
“Regardless of what was going on on the outside world, I have a vision of myself of what player I want to be and how I want to play. Like I said on Sunday, I wasn’t playing up to those standards. I wanted to go out and play well, and make the plays.’’
Said Philbin: “He just threw the ball well. He threw the ball well in practice last week. … We talk all the time about the transfer from the practice field to the game field, and I thought he threw the ball well. He had good velocity. The location was good. I think he was just kind of clicking.’’
The performance of the third-year player out of Texas A&M will go underneath a further microscope now that the division appears as winnable as ever. It won’t be any easier, however, as injuries to running backs Knowshow Moreno and Damien Williams have forced a greater dependance on Lamar Miller, along with bringing back Daniel Thomas and signing former San Francisco 49er LaMichael James to the backfield.
None of those three have proven themselves as more than change-of-pace backs in the league, so none can carry the offense at any point. After the bye week, the first five weeks of the upcoming schedule are a tough road.
It begins with a home game against the Packers, then a visit to Chicago to face the Bears, followed by what appears to be a relatively easy game at Jacksonville versus the Jaguars. The Dolphins then return home to face the Chargers, and then go to Detroit to play the Lions, so Tannehill will have to keep playing the level he was at against Oakland for Miami to finish the first half of their season in a good spot.
New York Jets
Geno Smith is tied for the league lead among quarterbacks in turnovers with 7, and fans were chanting “We Want Vick” during the team’s loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday. The calls for him to be benched have extended into the week.
The situation is maybe more difficult for Smith than anyone else in the division, and maybe the league, as New York’s defense is not an elite unit. The Jets have allowed 24 points per game, which is tied for 17th in the league, mostly because of a cornerback situation that has been by injury and inconsistency, though No. 1 corner Dee Milliner will play on Sunday versus San Diego.
In terms of weapons, Smith’s No.1 option, Eric Welker has been severely limited (only 14 catches for 204 yards and two touchdowns) by a hamstring injury, and no one else has stepped to make big plays in the passing game. However, New York is second in the league in rushing, averaging just over 151 yards per game, so if Smith can avoid turning the ball over, there is a chance the Jets can get back on the winning track with the running game and improved defense.
However, the next three weeks could either keep them in contention or end their season, with a road game against the Chargers, a return home to face the Broncos, and then a trip to Foxboro to play the Patriots.
New England Patriots
Bill Belichick can not wait to get to Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals after a 41-14 blowout loss to Kansas City on Monday night, as his Wednesday press conference indicated.
Tom Brady was 13 of 16 on passes 10 yards or less down the field, but only 1 of 8 on ones that were longer, including two passes that were intercepted, one for a touchdown. It doesn’t get any easier for New England, as the Bengals defense has only allowed 11 points per game, tops in the league.
However, as much as the Patriot offense looks out of synch, the defense allowed the Chiefs 17 points in both the first and second half, and allowed Miami to score 23 in the second half in the opening day loss. In the five other halves of football, New England has only allowed a combined 26 points, so both situations could have been aberrations.
As has been said, the AFC East is as wide open as its been in the Belichick-Brady era, but that can still be seen as good news for the Patriots for one reason: No other team has proven good enough to dethrone an even below-average New England squad yet, and they all have quarterback issues. Plus, even Brady’s terrible play has been better than the rest of the starting quarterbacks in the division to this point, and he eventually overcame similar issues with the offensive line and receiving core last year to win 12 games and get to the AFC Championship.
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