Jan 20, 2013; Foxboro, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) hands the ball to running back Stevan Ridley (22) during the first quarter of the AFC championship game against the Baltimore Ravens at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Some fans feel that the running back position is less important in the modern NFL. While that may be true, it is still necessary to have a strong stable of running backs. A strong running game can open up play-action, run time off the clock, grind out first downs, create personnel mismatches and change the defense’s expectations. With the completion of minicamps, I have seen enough to start ranking the AFC East, this time regarding the RBs.

1. New England Patriots: The Patriots have, by far, the deepest roster in the East when it comes to RBs. Stevan Ridley is coming off a break out season in which he rushed for over 1,200 yards and 12 TDs. Shane Vereen will be Danny Woodhead’s “replacement” as the change of pace/third down back. I can confidently say to look for Vereen to have a big impact on the passing game; that is one area where he is surely better than Woodhead. Behind them is Brandon Bolden, who makes the most of his opportunities. He may not get the guaranteed carries every week, but he is one of the better third string RBs in the league. LeGarrette Blount will be competing for a spot on the roster this season. He has potential to be a strong situational back if he makes the team.

2. Buffalo Bills: The Bills were a very close second to the Patriots, and lost out on first because of depth issues. There is no doubt that the Bills running game is more important to their offense. When C.J. Spiller has the ball in his hands, he has the tendency to make big plays. However, the Bills are clearly devoted to improving their passing game. Three of Buffalo’s first four picks were QB, and two WRs. You don’t invest that much into the passing game just to hand the ball off 30+ times per game. After C.J. Spiller, there is Fred Jackson who seems to be losing a step. Beyond that is Tashard Choice, who is merely an average back that was signed for injury insurance. Spiller is likely to be a running highlight reel for the near future, but I’d bet on the Bills to continue to shift into a strong passing offense. That’s all depending on how E.J. Manuel transitions to the NFL.

3. New York Jets: The Jets made a big move with their signing of Chris Ivory from New Orleans. Ivory fits the Jets much better than the Saints, and I think most Jets fans were happy when they heard the news. With Shonn Greene dressed in a Titans uniform, the bulk of the carries this season will go to Ivory. The rest of the depth chart is filled in with Mike Goodson and Bilal Powell, who will likely compete for the number two spot. I don’t believe either of these players can successfully take over as the starter in the event of Ivory being injured. If Ivory can stay healthy, I’m expecting a big year from him. If he does go down with an injury, then the Jets will be forced to rely on their passing game (which is not what the fans want to see).

4. Miami Dolphins: It’s tough for me to put the Dolphins in last, but their players are still so unproven. Lamar Miller has the chance to be a dangerous back in the NFL, but has yet to serve a season as the starter for Miami. Daniel Thomas is decent at best, and could be competing with Mike Gillislee for the backup gig. I think Dolphins fans could live without seeing Thomas getting carries this season. Gillislee is a player who shows good potential. It’ll be interesting to see if he can develop for the Dolphins into an impact player. I wouldn’t expect him to have a great season statistically, but he could be a player to watch.

September 23, 2012; Baltimore, MD, USA; New England Patriots tight end Kellen Winslow (82) prior to the game against the Baltimore Ravens at M

When healthy, Winslow is an effective tight end, and he and Jeff Cumberland could be a solid duo for the New York Jets next season. However, an opposing executive told ESPN New York’s Rich Cimini that Winslow could be the next David Garrard situation for the Jets, ”I think it’s a lot like [David] Garrard. He’ll be fine in a workout, moving and running, but taking a hit, the grind of training camp and a full, 16-game season will be the litmus tests. … I’d watch him closely to see if they manage his reps and practice time.”

That definitely is something to watch, and it is a great nugget that Cimini provides for us. Winslow is a productive player when healthy, but he is rarely healthy. Also, look at how quickly he left the Patriots and the fact that he wanted to leave. Will the grind in Jets training camp be too much for Winslow? Does he still want it? We shall see, and that is one of the pressing questions for the Jets regarding the Winslow situation. The other is, obviously, health.

New York Jets linebacker David Harris believes that the Jets will blitz more often next season, and this is probably something they should do anyway. Rex Ryan will have more control over the defense again, and we all know how blitz happy he is. The Jets blitzed far less often in 2012 than they usually do, and I would expect that to change in 2013.

Harris said to Cimini, ”We’re going to do a lot of blitzing and getting after people. There should be a different brand of football than you were used to seeing the last couple of years.”

It sounds like Harris wants the Jets to blitz more, and this is something that would benefit the Jets.

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New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

1. A quick shout out to one of the most important people in the history of the New England Patriots, owner Robert Kraft.  Kraft was awarded the Carnegie Hall’s Medal of Excellence the other day. The Medal of Excellence is awarded for outstanding leadership in business and philanthropy.  This is on the heels of him being the first NFL owner to ever receive the George Halas Award from the Pro Football Writers of America for overcoming adversity to succeed.

Without Bob Kraft stepping up and purchasing first Foxboro Stadium and then the Patriots, it is likely this franchise would have been gone by the early 1990s (likely to have landed in St. Louis).  Instead, Kraft stepped up and with the passion of a season ticket holder (which he was for many years prior) he set about making the team a competitor and no longer the laughing stock of the NFL.

Of course, the big story out of the ceremony is Kraft telling the full story of how Russian President Vladimir Putin ended up with Kraft’s personally engraved Super Bowl ring at a 2005 meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia. Per Kraft, Putin literally took it and walked out when Kraft showed it to him. Kraft also relayed how the Bush Administration leaned on him to indicate it was a gift to Putin in the best interests of US-Soviet relations. What a story!

The important note is that before Belichick, before the Super Bowls, before all the glory, there was one man who put his money on the line and believed in New England.  He built the team (not without some missteps, but far more correct moves than wrong) into the model NFL franchise, if not model sports franchise. Congratulations to Patriots owner Robert Kraft for a well-deserved accolade and recognition.

2. Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola is in a tough situation: the slightest injury will set-off the fanbase and media about his durability, and lack of success on the field has Patriots Nation crying for recently departed Wes Welker, and any success he has will be greeted with skepticism and brushed off as “following what Wes Welker did” and “a product of the system”.  Despite that, all eyes were on the newest wide receiver plucked from the scrap heap.  Multiple media reports from the practice field (remember, no one is in pads and this is going through the motions) seem to express surprise at the rapport of quarterback Tom Brady and his newest weapon. With tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez sidelined, it is a great time for Amendola to catch his quarterback’s eye and put in the work that can translate onto the field in September (when it finally counts).

New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

3. Speaking of the Patriots tight ends, ESPN is reporting that Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski will have back surgery on Tuesday.  The big question with the surgery is the timetable for return.  A report at ESPN stated that 12 weeks is the expected recovery time which would be week two of the NFL season.  Of course, until Doctor Robert Watkins actually performs the surgery (termed “preventative maintenance” by Gronkowski’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus) and determines and fixes the cause of the back pain Gronkowski had last season, there is no concrete ways to determine what steps the team needs to make regarding his roster spot.

The Patriots have the option to put Gronkowski on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list which would sideline him for the first six games of the season before he can return.  With the forearm and back possibly ready by the season kick-off or first few weeks, the team has to determine if they go with an aggressive recovery to maximize one of the best tight ends in football during the season or take a long-term approach and be conservative and put him on the PUP and risk having him healthy and unable to contribute.  After Tuesday, the team will have a better idea on when their dynamic tight end will be able to return to the field. .

4. The Wall Street Journal checked in with the Patriots this week (Did you guess why? Correct: Tim Tebow.) in the guise of the long-defunct “Border Wars” between the New England Patriots and the New York Jets from the late 1990s. The article notes that since 2000 (Belichick to the Patriots) that the Patriots have acquired 21 former Jets to the Jets 10 former Patriots.  While Tim Tebow is unlikely to replicate the success of former Jets running back Danny Woodhead (now in San Diego), it is entirely unknown since Bill Belichick is (predictably) not releasing any details of Tebow’s role.  Is he simply a third quarterback? Is he going to play H-back or tight end? Is he a special teams player? Back-up linebacker? Wild-cat package quarterback? No one know right now.

tight end Kellen Winslow (82)

5. Former Patriots depth tight end Kellen Winslow signed a deal with the New York Jets. While hardly the “Border War” that claimed coach Bill Parcells and running back Curtis Martin, the signing of Winslow helps fill a gaping opening in New York.  With tight end Dustin Keller fleeing  the sinking ship of New Jersey and taking his talents to South Beach (on a one year deal), the Jets needed a warm body to fill the position with only unproven, injury-prone Jeff Cumberland and…well, flotsam and jetsam. Winslow is at least a name who fans may recognize.

Winslow, of course, was expected to be a depth tight end on the roster, and fill in for the injured Aaron Hernandez early last season. Instead, he inexplicably quit after nine days in New England and one game.  While the Patriots were mum about the release, reports afterwards (profootballtalk.com) indicated that Winslow wanted no part of the “Patriot Way” and was upset (after one game) that he did not get the ball thrown his way enough. That certainly makes his mutual release that much more understandable.  Of course, not producing and whining about not enough passes being thrown his way seemingly makes Winslow a perfect fit for the Rex Ryan New York Jets.

6. The Miami Dolphins have officially replaced the 2012 Buffalo Bills and 2011 Philadelphia Eagles as the media darlings of the off-season as they have been crowned AFC East champions and dethroners of the Patriot Reign a month before training camp kicks off.  While the Dolphins have accumulated a number of free agents on both sides of the ball, the team still has a long way to go before printing Super Bowl tickets.

The Dolphins left a terrible taste in their fans mouths last year by not showing up in Foxboro, MA during week 17 of the 2012 season on December 30th and getting rolled by the Patriots 28-0.  With a chance to finish the season at .500 and notch a win against their division rival the Dolphins fell behind 21-0 and mailed in another disappointing season. Sure, some pieces were changed out, but this this is still the same front office, same coach, same quarterback, and many of the same pieces that are beating their chests now and being pumped up as Super Bowl contenders without putting on their pads yet.

The Dolphins should be better, if only because they should be 4-0 against the Jets and Bills. The Bills are rebuilding behind a young quarterback and will need a lot of improvement in a hurry to think about the playoffs. The Jets are likely to finish with a top-five draft pick and clear out the big windbag, Rex Ryan. The Dolphins then just need to go 4-8 against the rest of the league and break their four year run of finishing below .500.

Miami should be improved, but their second year quarterback Ryan Tannehill has a lot of pressure on him to continue to take strides forward quickly. With his best offensive player from last season (Reggie Bush) and best offensive lineman (Jake Long) departed in free agency, the team has to get a lot of diverse parts working together this season.  Improved, yes. Knocking off the Patriots? Not likely.