If the Patriots are to fall to second place in the AFC East, most experts believe the Dolphins will be the team to knock them out. But few actually believe the Patriots will lose the division. ESPN The Magazine is one of the few.
ESPN picked the Dolphins as division winners at 10-6. They have Miami defeating the Chiefs 20-13 in the wild card round and then falling to the Broncos in a 41-28 shootout in the divisional round. New England was picked to go 9-7 and miss the playoffs.

Sports Illustrated’s Peter King completely disagrees. SI has the Patriots at 12-4 and defeating the Seahawks in the Super Bowl. The Dolphins were picked third in the AFC East at 6-10, behind the Patriots and Bills (7-9). The Jets were picked at 3-13.
Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill received some buzz in NFL.com’s Quarterback Index. Tannehill was ranked as the No. 18 quarterback in NFL. At first glance that might not sound great, but in a league loaded with talented quarterbacks Tannehill was picked ahead of guys like Philip Rivers and Andy Dalton.

Tannehill received a mention, with editor Gregg Rosenthal writing: “Tannehill was the forgotten man in last year’s rookie class, but he showed every quarterback trait you look for. He should improve dramatically this season.”

Peter King thinks pats win SuperBowl? They may still be really good, but they didn't improve the team, if anything they got worse. Still good, but not SB caliber.

EJ Manuel is starting week 1.

Manuel is going to be a bad QB his whole career. I can't wait to see him play as a rookie after missing most of the Pre Season hurt.

Peter King thinks pats win SuperBowl? They may still be really good, but they didn't improve the team, if anything they got worse. Still good, but not SB caliber.

EJ Manuel is starting week 1.

Manuel is going to be a bad QB his whole career. I can't wait to see him play as a rookie after missing most of the Pre Season hurt.

They'll go to CJ Spiller a lot.

Glad he is on most of my fantasy teams.

I watched him in one preseason game and he pretty much tore it up. I was impressed with his decisions as much as his ability. Preseason isn't a real test but I think he has ability to run and throw and makes good decisions with the ball. That's a good start.

Peter King thinks pats win SuperBowl? They may still be really good, but they didn't improve the team, if anything they got worse. Still good, but not SB caliber.

Even without improving the team and the whole Hernandez mess, I think you still have to put them in the SB contenders category. The AFC is down right now. Other than the Denver Broncos, who scares you in this conference? The way I see it, it's Denver, then everyone else.

On the surface I would agree, but Houston has a tendency to disappoint.

Our team has not been expected to be a contender. If we got to the second round, we'd all be thrilled. For the Texans, expectations have been higher, and they've yet to meet them

All I can say is I hope we are "disappointing" in a couple of years. I'd love to be losing close games in the divisional round rather than talking draft as soon as the regular season ends.

So losing to well-established, elite teams that have played in or won Superbowls recently is a sign of a team that disappoints?

That's an interesting perspective...

If they had lost to the Bengals in round 1, that'd be a disappointment.

Playing competitive games against the Pats or Ravens in round 2 is a sign of progress...

An even more interesting perspective is calling a 41-28 rout a competitive game.

Houston has been an all around disappointment in the playoffs the past two seasons. All they've shown to do is get across an inexperienced year 2 Bengals team. That impresses you? Their defense has given up huge numbers the past two post seasons. Far from impressive, and underachieving.

Yes, I am impressed with that. That is a very good turnaround.

I suppose if the Dolphins went from a perpetual 6-10 or 7-9 team to a 12-4 team making it to the 2nd round of the playoffs two years in a row, you would yawn and fall asleep.

Talk about a lack of perspective...

If your perspective was true, their head coach Gary Kubiak wouldn't be on the "hot seat". They have blown in the playoffs, they have been regular season warriors. Again, I ask you. If they were so impressive, why would their head coach be under the amount of pressure Kubiak is?

But based on your position, I am guessing you would not be impressed if the Dolphins are 12-4 and in the second round of the playoffs one year from now...

Again, lack of perspective.

You know that is not the situation with us whatsoever.

Uh.... two seasons ago they have NEVER even made the playoffs.

Still lacking that perspective thing... keep looking though.

the problem with the Texans is that they took forever to get over the hump even when people kept predicting playoffs for them, that by the time they got there........they became old. They let Andre Johnson get old, Owen Daniels too, even Shaub is now past his prime.

Now Foster is breaking down after so many carries, They have an elite defense that for some reason does not play elite in big games. I believe it was the Packer and Patriot games where they just got rocked.
The Minnesota blowout was a headscratcher too. Shaub just isn't in the same class with Brady, Rodgers, Ryan, Luck, Brees, etc. and that holds them back. I hope one day we can mention Tannehill in that class.

AFC EAST
1. Patriots (12–4)
2. Bills (7–9)
3. Dolphins (6–10)
4. Jets (3–13)

Peter King has the Patriots at 12-4 and defeating the Seahawks in the Super Bowl. The Dolphins were picked third in the AFC East at 6-10, behind the Patriots and Bills (7-9). The Jets were picked at 3-13.

4. The Big Money Bowl: The Miami Dolphins invested $146 million in contracts during the unrestricted free-agency period. The Indianapolis Colts wagered $132 million. Sunday's meeting will determine which team made the best investments. Free agency can be a blessing and a curse. The blessing is spending money to fix roster problems. The curse is what it can do in the locker room, and the Dolphins are showing cracks of potential problems. Defensive tackle Paul Soliai isn't happy that the team has him only on a one-year contract. Franchise franchise-tag player Randy Starks is unhappy that the coaching staff has him as the No. 3 defensive tackle. Wide receiver Mike Wallace -- the Dolphins' $12 million-a-year deep threat -- wasn't happy getting only one catch for 15 yards in the opener. If things don't calm down, the Dolphins could be reliving the Dream Team problems of the 2011 Philadelphia Eagles. Low-priced veteran starters felt as though they weren't getting their fair share when outsiders came in with big contracts. The Eagles faded. The only way to make this work is to win. That's where the Colts have the better feel. There doesn't appear to be similar jealousies. And they went to the playoffs last year. It's vital that the Dolphins win this game. They have Atlanta, New Orleans and Baltimore coming up in their next three games. If the team starts 2-3 or 1-4, the Dolphins and their locker room could be in trouble.