NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS Reason for Pessimism: When you lose two of the best tight ends in football, you are not going to replace them in one year. Cavaliers Jerseys 2020 . How can New England lead the league again in points (34 per game) and yards (427.9 per game) and improve the secondary (29th in pass defence)? Its not going to happen. There are high expectations for Danny Amendola, but he has only played 12 games in the last two years so durability is an issue. Do they really expect Aaron Dobson (2nd round) and Josh Boyce (4th round) to have instant success as receivers? Tom Brady has said he wants to play well into his 40s and that is great, but first you have to get through the natural regression of being in your mid-30s. Reason for Optimism: In the last five years, the Patriots have won 11, 10, 14, 13 and 12 regular season games. They are masters at overcoming adversity. Tom Brady has thrown a touchdown pass in 48 straight regular season games -- only six behind the record set by Drew Brees. He will make the receivers look good -- even the rookies. Also, 15 of 16 games for New England are on the East Coast. Thats a good travel schedule. Reality: In an odd way, this may be a rejuvenation year for New England and specifically Brady and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. It is a new challenge to develop new talent that will rise to the surface as the season progresses. Nobody ran more plays than the Patriots did last year. They can do it again this year. Prediction: First in the AFC East. MIAMI DOLPHINS Reason for Pessimism: I have a theory about football. I think that it is easier and more effective to build a winner by collecting a group of good football players as opposed to trying to overspend on major talent at key positions. My theory is to be tested in Miami, as nobody spent money on free agency like the Dolphins did last year. On paper this is an outstanding team, but will they play well together and surpass the Patriots for dominance in the division? We saw this story last year with the Buffalo Bills as they opened the bank to improve the defensive line and finished the 2012 season 31st against the run. Still, the additions of Mike Wallace, Darnell Ellerbe, and Brent Grimes are impressive, but how it all meshes is still to be proven. And not having Jake Long at left tackle is a void and young Jonathon Martin is a project as a replacement. Reason for optimism: Ryan Tannehill is for real. The Dolphins have been searching for the next Dan Marino since the day he retired, and Tannehill is the best possibility in many years. Also, the Dolphins have not had a better 3rd down pass rush since the days of the "Killer Bees" of the ‘80s. Cam Wake is proven and may be the most explosive athlete as a defensive end in football. And Dion Jordan has the athletic gifts to be a taller version of Cam Wake. Third down is the most critical down in football and success depends on the quarterback and the pass rush -- the Dolphins have both. Reality: Miami has closed the gap of talent between themselves and New England, but until a Joe Philbin team can beat a Bill Belichick team twice in one year, you have to favour the Pats. I still look at Miami as a playoff team, but not necessarily a division winner. Prediction: 2nd in the AFC East. BUFFALO BILLS Reason for Pessimism: It has been 13 seasons since the Buffalo Bills have made the playoffs -- 13. That is a longer absence that any other team, and only Oakland and Cleveland are close with 10. Thats a stark reality. Last year they were 31st against the run and 30th on third down defence. It is unrealistic to think that will improve so dramatically as to become a top 10 defence in one season. Yes, the do have a new coordinator in Mike Pettine -- formally of the Jets -- but he has them switching to a 3-4 defence. Do they have the type of talent play that scheme? Year 14 without playoff is a real possibility. Reason for Optimism: E.J. Manuel has all the physical skills to be a very good quarterback. Coming from Florida State, he knows how to handle pressure and good competition. C.J. Spiller could be the next Thurman Thomas . He averaged 6.0 yards per carry and is a complete back. And finally, Doug Marrone seems like a good fit. Yes, he coming to the pros from Syracuse University, but from 2006 to 2008 he was with the Saints and Sean Payton. He is a pro coach that tried college, not a college coach trying the pro game. Reality: This is a 3rd place team. Theres too much change in one year and no guarantee that an expensive defensive line will play like the Cincinnati Bengals. I thought the Bills drafted well, especially getting 2nd round pick Robert Woods of USC to compliment Stevie Johnson. But unless Manuel becomes the next Colin Kaepernick, this is a rebuilding year again in Buffalo. Prediction: 3rd in AFC East. NEW YORK JETS Reason for Pessimism: Drama, drama and more drama. The New York Jets have evolved into a walking, talking soap opera more than a well-run, efficient football team. Mark Sanchez does not look confident and expecting rookie Geno Smith to be the next RG3 or Andrew Luck is unrealistic. Also Dee Milliner has to be the next Derrell Revis, but he wont be. In the month of October, the Jets play at Atlanta , Pittsburgh, New England, at Cincinnati and New Orleans. By then we will know who the quarterback is for 2013, but that is an insurmountable challenge. With limited wide receiver depth and talent, this season depends on "ground and pound" but every defence in the NFL knows it. Six players left in free agency -- their top running back and two safeties are no longer Jets. It is a re-building time in New York. Reason for Optimism: Rex Ryan is in the last year of his contract. If Geno Smith beats out Mark Sanchez, then the Jets have a salary cap problem. With Ryan and Sanchez having a sense of urgency to stay in the NFL with this organization, you would think they should produce results. In some ways it is a fresh start with Marty Mornhinweg as the new offensive coordinator and Dennis Thurman on defense. If Chris Ivory has a great year at running back, so do the Jets. They must master a running attack like they did in 2009 and 2010 when they went to the AFC championship game. Ivory seems capable. Reality: Eleven players, all starters or significant contributors, left the Jets for various reasons. One may be that they did not believe the team would turn the corner in any tangible way. That was probably good thinking. The window of opportunity has closed for the Jets, Jets, Jets. Prediction: 4th in the AFC East. Custom Cleveland Cavaliers Jerseys .C. -- Glenn Howard needed an extra end to move into the Masters Grand Slam of Curling final. Cleveland Cavaliers Shirts .Y. -- That hangover from the Big East tournament is gone for Villanova. https://www.cheapcavaliers.com/ . - Chris Davis hit a two-run double, scoring Nelson Cruz in his Orioles debut in Baltimores 9-7 win over to the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday.Notes on Phil Kessel, Nazek Kadri, Nathan MacKinnon, Thomas Vanek, Raphael Diaz and more in Scott Cullens latest blog. 1. While the Toronto Maple Leafs were on on a nice run, 9-1-1 in their previous 11 games, prior to Tuesdays 4-1 loss in Florida and a couple of their most skilled forwards have been at the forefront of the Maple Leafs charge. In the past 13 games, during which he has recorded points in 11, Kessel has 10 goals and 13 assists. He ranks second in the league with 30 goals and fifth with 61 points. The thing about Kessels hot streak is that hes not even generating as many shots as he typically does -- 3.39 per game over the past dozen, 3.79 per game for the season -- so hes on a pretty good run with percentages, and currently has the second-best shooting percentage (13.6%) of his career. While those percentages may be higher than normal, its hardly unusual for Kessel to score goals. Since the start of the 2008-2009 season, he ranks fifth in the NHL in goals, behind Alex Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos, Corey Perry and Patrick Marleau. Also, not surprisingly, Kessel isnt the only Leafs forward on fire. Nazem Kadri has tallied four goals and 11 assists in the past 10 games, doing good work primarily with Joffrey Lupul and Nikolai Kulemin on the Leafs second line. This run has left Kadri with 41 points in 54 games, which is, incidentally, right around the pace of the points projection I had for him in the preseason, when I forecasted 58 points in 76 games. It also turns out that, on a team with disastrous puck possession numbers, Kessel and Kadri have been two of the best at driving play towards the offensive zone. This is relative, of course, but it turns out that the Leafs skilled forwards are the ones leading the way. 2. Predators D Shea Weber has gone on a scoring binge, putting up eight goals and 17 assists in the past 26 games. Percentages are working in Webers favour, as he is scoring on a career-high 11.3% of his shots, while his 2.46 shots per game is his lowest rate since 2006-2007, but Weber leads defencemen with 15 goals and is tied for fifth among blueliners with 38 points. Webers 0.70 points per game is a career-best. Considering that Weber does this while facing the oppositions best lines, night after night, hes forcing his way into Norris Trophy consideration again. 3. Januarys Rookie of the Month was Tampa Bay Lightning LW Ondrej Palat, who scored 16 points (5 G, 11 A) in 15 games in January. Palat was a seventh-round pick in 2011, after scoring 96 points in 61 games with Drummondville of the QMJHL as a 19-year-old. Its pretty serious draft value to secure a player who can play top-six forward minutes two seasons later. Following his impressive January, Palat played a career-high 23:00 against Montreal on February 1. Palat and fellow rookie C Tyler Johnson have been thriving on a line with veteran RW Martin St. Louis, a situation that figures to change soon when Steven Stamkos returns to the lineup, and Palat has been benefitting from strong percentages at both ends of the rink, but even if his role changes, Palat has established that he can be a contributing part of the Tampa Bay attack. 4. Palat may have been the rookie of the month, but the current frontrunner for Rookie of the Year sure appears to be Avalanche C Nathan MacKinnon, the first overall pick in last summers draft. MacKinnon was eased into the NHL, playing 14:33 per game in October, scoring a goal and seven points in 11 games, but hes been up over 17 minutes per game since, tallying 19 goals and 16 assists in 45 games since the beginning of November. MacKinnons possession numbers still have room to improve, but hes 18-year-old and already emerging as an offensive force. 5. The top scorer for the past two seasons with the Florida Panthers, LW Tomas Fleischmann has fallen on hard time this year. Hes gone 20 games without a goal, registering just five assists since he last lit the lamp on December 17. Fleischmann has been shuffled around the lineup, playing at times with C Nick Bjugstad and one of Jonathan Huberdeau and Scottie Upshall on the wing, though Fleischmann has most recently found himself skating with Marcel Goc and Tomas Kopecky, not exactly recipe to get his offensive game back. At 29-years-old and under contract throught next season, at $4.5-million, Fleischmann might be better in a new location, but its not easy to get a team to take on that salary for a player with five goals in 54 games, even when hes scoring on a career-low 3.8% of his shots. 6. Canadiens C Lars Eller got off to a strong start this season, scoring nine points in the first dozen games, putting to rest any fears of lingering effects after suffering a concussion in last years playoffs, but hes been crashing since. Eller has 12 points (5 G, 7 A) in 45 games since and his ice time has steadily decreased. Ellers assist against Calgary Tuesday ended a 15-game scoreless drought, and he played 12:04, his second-lowest ice time of the season. 7. The Los Angeles Kings are having an incredibly difficult time scoring goals, yet made the decision to demote winger Tyler Toffoli to the AHL, even though he was the teams top point producer per minute of play at even strength. But, necessity being the mother of invention, Toffoli has since been recalled and has found his way to the top line with Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter. Toffoli had two points against Chicago Monday, and Saturday he had a season-high six shots on goal while playing 18:42, his most since opening night. Its one thing for a contender to want a young player to round out his game or play more soundly, but Toffoli has strong possession stats, strong enough that the Kings need to see whether he can be part of the solution to their goal-scoring woes. 8. Lasst season, Blues RW Chris Stewart was his teams leading scorer, with 36 points in 48 games. Fake Cavaliers Jerseys. This year, hes playing 14:37 per game, his lowest since his rookie season, and finding his name in trade rumours. The Blues have terrific depth and the emergence of younger scorers Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko could make it easier to part with a player who, even with relatively poor possession stats this season, ranks 35th with 104 goals scored since 2009-2010. 9. Islanders LW Thomas Vanek has made it clear that he intends to test the free agent market on July 1, which assures that he will be traded before the deadline, potentially even before the Olympic Break if the right deal comes along. Any team could use a scoring winger with Vaneks credentials, but his salary could complicate matters somewhat for teams that are pushing up against the salary cap. Dealing for Vanek is complicated because he intends to test the free agent market July 1, which is entirely fine, but there has long been suspicion that his preferred destination could be Minnesota, which could make him nothing more than a rental (which is also fine) for whichever team acquires him this season. While the Islanders might want a lot, having surrendered Matt Moulson a first and second-round pick to get Vanek, it may be a lot to expect three assets of similar value for the last quarter of the season plus playoffs. Here are some teams that might be able to provide a package that will suit the Islanders as they attempt to replenish the franchises talent base. Pittsburgh - With all due respect to Brian Gibbons or, potentially, a healthy Beau Bennett, the Penguins could use a top-tier winger to play with Sidney Crosby. The Penguins have some prospect depth on the blueline, with D Simon Despres, D Derrick Pouliot, RW Jayson Megna some potentially moveable parts. The bigger challenge for Pittsburgh could be finding a way to fit Vanek under the salary cap. Los Angeles - If any team needs scoring help, the Kings would fit and putting Vanek on the wing with Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter would be interesting. Presuming that the Kings wouldnt be inclined to move Toffoli for a rental, then prospects like Linden Vey, Tanner Pearson and Derek Forbort could be part of the package. Anaheim - The Ducks have had plenty of success as is, but Vanek would be an upgrade to the left wing spot on the number one line with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, a spot that has seen Dustin Penner, Patrick Maroon, Kyle Palmieri, Matt Beleskey and Jakob Silfverberg rotate through this season. The Ducks have plenty of prospects, including some of the aforementioned young forwards along wiht C Rickard Rakell, RW Emerson Etem and LW Devante Smith-Pelly, a couple of which could form the nucleus for a Vanek deal. Minnesota - There is some presumption that the Wild would be Vaneks eventual landing spot, the question is whether or not the Wild would be prepared to offer prospects to acquire Vanek now when they might have the inside track to get him on July 1. It would also be easier to make that move once winger Dany Heatleys $7.5-million comes off the cap. Montreal - Goal-scoring, and general puck possession, has been an issue for the Canadiens and there would certainly be room to include Vanek on Montreals top line. Some combination of picks and prospects including forwards Sven Andrighetto, Tim Bozon, Mike McCarron, Louis LeBlanc and Christian Thomas could get discussions started. Ottawa - There has been plenty of talk of the Senators adding scoring help for Jason Spezza, and while they dont appear to be inclined to add salary, maybe taking a rental like Vanek (or Matt Moulson or Mike Cammalleri) would be feasible. The Senators have all sorts of options, from relatively inexperienced NHLers like Colin Greening and Patrick Wiercioch, to wing prospects Shane Prince, Matt Puempel and Andre Petersson. 10. The Montreal Canadiens and Vancouver Canucks made a deal this week, with the Canadiens sending D Raphael Diaz to the Canucks for fourth-line LW Dale Wiese. While Diaz isnt a dominant defender, hes a capable puck-mover who has averaged nearly 20 minutes per game in 129 career NHL games (he played 25:26 in his Canucks debut at Boston). With the Canucks missing Kevin Bieksa, Chris Tanev and Dan Hamhuis due to injuries, Diaz fills an immediate hole but, long-term, can be a useful third-pair defenceman who can play the power play. Hell be an unrestricted free agent at seasons end. Weise is a fourth-line winger who will be a restricted free agent in the summer. He has 26 points and 185 penalty minutes in 163 career games and has been consistently beaten in terms of puck possession. Basically, hes a fourth-line forward who is as replaceable as most other fourth line forwards. FIRST NHL GAMES Greg McKegg, C, Toronto - A third-round pick in 2010, McKegg had started to pick up offensively, scoring 16 points in 15 games prior to his call-up, but he only saw 4:$3 in his NHL debut before getting returned to the AHL. Simon Moser, C, Nashville - 24-year-old Swiss forward had 25 points in 40 AHL games and played more than 10 minutes, alongside Colin Wilson and Taylor Beck, in his NHL debut. Colton Sissons, C, Nashville - A second-round pick in 2012, Sissons had 16 goals and 28 points in 42 AHL games to earn his promotion, and has spent most of his first three games skating with Paul Gaustad and Rich Clune, contributing one assist while playing under nine minutes a game. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '