They Are Who We Thought They Were: AFC East Week 11

New England Patriots (6-3, 1st)
Last week: Lost to Indianapolis 35-34 on the road
We thought: On the verge of exploding. They seemed to be peaking and had them beating the Colts in Indy.
They are: Loved the decision to go for it. Easy to forget now how well they played throughout much of the game. The whole "Belichick disrespected his defense" argument is a bunch of crap. Why does having complete confidence in your Hall-of-Fame QB and Ultra-Clutch Kevin Faulk to gain 3 yards need to be perceived as a slight to the D?

Miami Dolphins (4-5, 2nd)
Last week: Def. Tampa Bay 25-23 at home
We thought: Susceptible to a bit of a letdown but confident enough to make them a survivor pool pick against the Bucs.
They are: Whew. Chad Henne's interception to set up Tampa's go-ahead score was one of the ugliest passes you'll ever see, but credit to him for rebounding and leading the winning drive. And even more credit to Ricky Williams, whose huge 27-yard run all but clinched the game. Now, with Ronnie Brown most likely out, Williams might even be a top-10 fantasy option this week.

New York Jets (4-5, 3rd)
Last week: Lost to Jacksonville 24-23 at home
We thought: Coming off a bye week, the defense was sure to come out firing and stifle the Jags in their own building.
They are: Same Old Jets: Maurice Jones-Drew gashes them; David Garrard picks them apart; they waste a timeout with a 1st and Goal from the 1; Braylon Edwards makes a fantastic leaping catch on a clutch 3rd down but then can't squeeze the 2-pt conversion; under instructions to let MJD score a touchdown, they tackle him on the first try (Rex Ryan: "We couldn't even get that right."), then watch in dismay (along with fantasy owners) as he takes a knee at the 1 on the following play. Next up, a pissed-off Pats team looking to make up for a crushing loss to the Colts and to exact some revenge on the mouthy Jets from Week 2. Searching for a reason to believe in an upset. Not finding one.



Buffalo Bills (3-6, 4th)
Last week: Lost to Tennessee 41-17 on the road
We thought: Not good, but better than people were giving them credit for.
They are: It was actually nice for these past few weeks when we didn't have so much T.O. in our lives.