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Rest of AFC East has usually been mediocre over the years once the Patriots got really established with their 2nd Super Bowl win. Best way of perhaps looking at it is look at those teams records outside of their two games a regular season against the Patriots. (Probably something like a .485% winning percentage) Conclusion really is no great teams during the entire run BUT not that many truly terrible/pathetic teams compared to most divisions.
With the way the NFL scheduling works, a mediocre AFC east hasn't resulted in the Patriots getting a soft schedule.
What it really has resulted in many years is an easier path to the playoffs as division winner but the Patriots did miss the post season one year when Brady went down with 11 wins. Most years, the #1 or #2 seeds were earned....
And the other item of note, Miami especially in September really does seem like a tough place to play. New England has warm summers but if you aren't used to the heat in Miami and its hard to get used to it in a few days, tough not to be completely gassed playing against them when its hot/humid.
Baltimore and a few other teams have proven teams can win titles without a great QB as well so the lack of a "great QB" outside of Brady in the AFC East isn't the only reason their hasn't been another great team in that division.
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