The Impact Players: AFC East

With NFL training camps just over two months away, let’s look at some players who will be counted on to provide an impact for their teams in ’09. Today, I begin a new series and check out four players from each division, starting with the AFC East.

The Impact Players: AFC East

Buffalo: DE Aaron Schobel

The Bills are a Tampa 2 defensive football team. Sure, they run their share of Cover 1 and employ multiple zone blitz schemes, but their core coverage is still the Tampa 2 — and without a healthy Schobel coming off the edge, this team is in trouble.

Schobel played only five games because of injuries last season and has seen his sack total go down since he had 14 in 2006. Considering that fellow DE Chris Kelsay can’t get to the quarterback and Aaron Maybin is a rookie (and someone we can’t count on just yet), it’s essential that Schobel avoid injuries and find a way to get to the quarterback like he did in’06.

I was with the Bills and Schobel in ’06, and when he’s healthy, he’s one of the best coming off the edge, using a combination of speed and athletic ability to beat offensive tackles in one-on-one match-ups. But without a solid pass rush, the Tampa 2 is vulnerable, and the Bills will find themselves bringing pressure via the blitz — something this defense doesn’t want to rely on to produce sacks.

Miami: FS Gibril Wilson

The Dolphins won the AFC East in ’08 because of their pressure defense and their ability to give quarterback Chad Pennington and the offense a short field to work with — and easy scoring opportunities.

Yes, the front seven of this defense garnered all the attention in the national media — and it was well deserved — but the back end is just as important when discussing the defense as an entire unit. Wilson, who was cut by the Raiders, comes to South Florida with big expectations and a big contract, but is he the right player for the job?

He struggled tackling in the open field in Oakland, and for him to fit in this defense, he needs to make plays on the football — getting from the middle of the field to the sidelines — and limit any type of explosive plays by the offense in the run game. I love the way Miami’s defense attacks the ball, and Wilson is going to be expected to make plays — because without a reliable safety, any defense is average.

NY Jets: TE Dustin Keller

Keller was QB Brett Favre’s go-to guy in the intermediate passing game in ’08, and I believe he has to be even better in his second pro season with rookie Mark Sanchez under center.

Whenever you play a rookie QB, you need to provide him with an outlet in manageable down-and-distance situations, and nothing can do that more than a reliable TE who can catch the football and pick up positive yardage after the catch. Keller is that type of football player, and the Jets have to lean on him to be a target for Sanchez out in the field and in the red zone.

Sure, this team has questions on the outside at wide receiver, but they’ll be able to move the ball with the running game and if Sanchez and Keller can build an on-the-filed relationship in the passing game. There are growing pains any time you play a rookie, but Keller is the type of player (someone I compare to Washington’s Chris Cooley) who can help ease Sanchez’s transition to the pro game.

New England: WR Joey Galloway

The Patriots are loaded on offense, but with the addition of Galloway, they could be even better. Quarterback Tom Brady has to stay healthy, but by signing Galloway, the Pats’ offense now has the ability to use his speed and his deep-ball ability to stretch the field even more than last year and provide WRs Wes Welker and Randy Moss with even more favorable match-ups.

During my career, the two players who were feared the most in terms of the deep ball were Moss and Galloway — and from what I can see, neither of them has lost a step getting down the field. Now that they’re on the same team, the Pats can go to the three-wide formations and force teams to respect not only Moss, but Galloway as well when it comes to the deep ball, which will put Welker on the inside on a nickel corner or a safety — something that I would take every day.

Adding weapons doesn’t always lead to wins, but if Galloway can still produce at his age (37), he will not only see his share of passes from Brady, he will also open up the field and allow Moss and Welker to see a lot of one-on-one match-ups. Remember, speed still wins at this level on the outside.

Next: Impact Players in the NFC East

Comments

Add a Comment