AFC East training-camp preview

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Team on the Rise
MIAMI DOLPHINS


Nick Saban's Dolphins won their final six games of 2005 to finish 9-7 and serve notice that the AFC East is no longer the exclusive playground of the New England Patriots. From the outset of Saban's first season in Miami, it was clear he had a plan to transform the Fish into a tough, tenacious team capable of battling an opponent for the full 60 minutes. The next step in the Dolphins' return to playoff contention likely hinges on newly acquired quarterback Daunte Culpepper rebounding from last year's season-ending knee injury. Maybe the coup of the offseason for Miami was the hiring of two quality coordinators: former head coaches Dom Capers (defense) and Mike Mularkey (offense).

Team in transition
NEW ENGLAND

We believe reports of the Patriots' demise are greatly exaggerated, but the three-time Super Bowl winners suffered an undeniable talent drain in free agency this year. They lost such key components as kicker Adam Vinatieri, receiver David Givens and linebacker and locker-room leader Willie McGinest. With the Dolphins likely to be on New England's heels from opening day on, the Patriots can't afford to take the first half of the season to get their defensive act together, as they did in 2005. If veteran safety Rodney Harrison can return from a knee injury by October to solidify a pass defense that finished 31st last season, and new coordinator Dean Pees makes a smooth transition from linebackers coach, New England's defense still has enough playmakers to be the class of the East. The Patriots' defense of their division title will also be aided by not having a repeat of last year's killer schedule. (They play only five games against 2005 playoff teams, with three of those at home.)

Coach in the spotlight
ERIC MANGINI, NEW YORK JETS

New York's 35-year-old rookie head coach may be a clone of his mentor, Bill Belichick, but let's not lose sight of the fact that Belichick didn't win right away in either Cleveland or New England. The Jets got old in a hurry and bottomed out at 4-12 last year, making a mockery out of all that Super Bowl talk in the preseason. With uncertainty at quarterback and a tough early-season schedule (games against New England, Indianapolis, Jacksonville and Miami in the first six weeks), a quick turnaround appears to be out of the question. Patience will be required in a market not known for its willingness to wait.
Impact player in the making
RONNIE BROWN, MIAMI




With Ricky Williams playing in the CFL while he serves his one-year NFL suspension, there will be no more splitting carries for the Dolphins' second-year running back. Brown led all AFC rookie rushers with 907 yards last season, but that should be just a precursor to much bigger things to come as the club's every-down back. Brown has great explosion and should benefit from Miami's offseason efforts to improve its offensive line.

Story to watch unfold
The value of a clutch kicker in the NFL can be overstated at times. But if a team starts losing those two or three games it once won thanks to the dependable right or left foot on its roster, it would be hard to rationalize the chain of events that produced such a scenario. That's why watching how the Patriots fare without Adam Vinatieri this season should make for such interesting theater. If fourth-round rookie kicker Stephen Gostkowski capably fills Vinatieri's large shoes, New England's risky decision to not break the bank for Number 4 will look shrewd. If not, well, that's the stuff second-guesses are made of.

Biggest splash of the offseason
Miami could have landed Drew Brees, who was coming off shoulder surgery. Instead the Dolphins opted for upgrading their quarterback position by acquiring Culpepper, who is trying to return from shredding three knee ligaments last October. If Miami winds up getting the Culpepper of 2004, who was the MVP runner-up in Minnesota, it'll be the heist of the decade. But if Culpepper is the erratic, mistake-prone passer he was in the first half of last season, his quest to rehabilitate his reputation will prove tougher than returning his knee to full health.

Pay no attention to . . .
Chad Pennington's bravado. Of course the Jets veteran quarterback still feels this is his team and the starter's role is his to lose. But the reality is that with Pennington coming off surgery to his throwing shoulder in consecutive years, Jets management isn't counting on him and would much rather see either second-round pick Kellen Clemens or former Redskins starter Patrick Ramsey emerge to take the majority of the snaps in 2006. If Pennington's career does have a successful second act coming, chances are it won't feature him wearing green and white.

Potential land mine
Watch the Marv Levy experiment in Buffalo. You want to give the Bills' Hall of Fame former head coach the benefit of the doubt in his new role as the team's general manager, but so far he has inspired mostly doubts. His hiring of ex-Bears head coach Dick Jauron after Mike Mularkey's surprise resignation didn't get the honeymoon off to the fastest of starts, and critics said Buffalo reached for both safety Donte Whitner and defensive tackle John McCargo in the first round. Spending money to bring receiver Peerless Price -- a failure in both Atlanta and Dallas -- back to town also seemed foolish to many. Levy needs some early success from the Bills to build support for his program and to buy the organization a little time.