The New England Patriots have won the AFC East for each of the last 5 years. This year, they aim to move one step closer to the LA Rams' record of 7 straight division titles, which they accomplished from 1973-1979. There's no reason to believe they'll fall short this year, with arguably the easiest schedule in the NFL, and in arguably the weakest conference in the NFL last year.

4th: Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins went a pitiful 1-15 last year. Although they hired the legendary Bill Parcells as "Executive Vice President of Football Operations", the Dolphins didn't do all that much to improve on the field. One key addition was QB Chad Pennington. While he's not exactly elite, he's certainly an upgrade over what they had last year in Cleo Lemon and John Beck. But they also lost future HOF defensive end Jason Taylor via trade. He was their lone bright spot on defense, and will be sorely missed.

Any success that the Dolphins have this year will hinge on the health of Ronnie Brown, the development of Ted Ginn as a legitimate receiving threat, and the ability of #1 overall draft pick OL Jake Long's ability to improve the protection for the quarterback. If all of those things go well for the Dolphins, they might be able to pick up 6 wins. Maybe. If not, Dolphins fans are in for another VERY long season.
Prediction: 4-12

3rd: Buffalo Bills
The Bills showed some signs of life last year, finishing 7-9, good for 2nd in the division. Marshawn Lynch looks like he's the present AND future of their backfield, but their QB situation is shaky, at best. The Bills will need to heavily rely on their defense to step up if they're going to even match last year's win total.

Fortunately for the Bills (and the rest of the AFC East), they play the NFC West and AFC West this year. Each division is full of bad teams. The 49ers, Cardinals, Rams, Raiders and Chiefs were all terrible last year, and have glaring weaknesses. If the Bills can beat up on those teams, and at least split their division games (2-0 against Miami, 1-1 against the Jets, 0-2 against the Patriots), then they have an outside chance at making the playoffs. But everything would need to go right for them for that to happen, and the chances are slim.
Prediction: 6-10

2nd: New York Jets
The Jets made some huge veteran acquisitions this offseason, picking up Alan Faneca, Kris Jenkins and some QB from Green Bay. Brett Favre is a huge upgrade at QB, which was one of their main problems last year. Chad Pennington was certainly not the answer, and the Jets don't think Kellen Clemens is ready to take over yet. So the trade for Favre made a lot of sense.

With the moves that they've made this season, the Jets appear to be in "win-now" mode. This is puzzling for a team that went 4-12 last year, because it appears as though they are still a few more pieces away from completing the playoff puzzle. But Eric Mangini believes that he can lead this team to the postseason. They probably can't win the division, but they certainly have a shot to make some noise in the AFC, especially if Favre plays at the level that he did last year.
Prediction: 9-7

1st: New England Patriots
The Patriots are ready to seek redemption after last year's disappointing Super Bowl loss. Although they lost Asante Samuel, one of the better cover corners in the league, and Donte Stallworth, a speedy 2nd WR, they have retained most of their 16-0 team from last year, and are ready to once again dominate the NFL.

With the assistance of the easiest schedule in the NFL (they only have 4 games against playoff teams from last year), the Patriots have a very legitimate chance to go 16-0 again. The only games that look to be especially challenging are @Indianapolis and @San Diego. The rest of the schedule is full of very winnable games.

The Patriots' most glaring weakness is in their secondary. Samuel is gone, Rodney Harrison is aging, and barely capable anymore, and the Patriots lack depth at CB. But the rest of the defense is as good as any other team in the league, and rookie Jerod Mayo looks to be a huge asset to their linebacking corps. The offense lost an underrated component in Stallworth, but if Chad Jackson and Lamont Jordan can step up, this year's offense can be more balanced, and possibly even better than last year, even if the statistics aren't quite so ridiculous. The Patriots will probably  lose one of the 2 games against the Colts or Chargers, and a lesser team will sneak up on them at some point as well.
Prediction: 14-2

Get ready for one more year of Patriots domination in this division, as the rest of the AFC East struggles to catch up.

What are your predictions for the AFC East this year?