I like to think of this division as the black and
blue division of the NFL. Well, two of
the four teams represent that, and those are the only two teams that I can see
doing anything this year.
AFC
North-
4. Cleveland
Browns:
Has Eric Mangini gone off of
the deep end or is he showing his true colors of being a Bill Belichick
disciple? I am not sure, but what I do
know is that the Browns season is going to be an interesting one. Some Browns fans are already chirping about
how Mangini is running the team. There
is some talent on offense, but the defense, well they are another story
altogether.
Who
to Watch For- ? No, that is a joke, sort of.
The man to watch this year is the quarterback; unfortunately we just do
not know which person it will be. Brady
Quinn will probably start game one against the Minnesota Vikings, but that
doesn’t mean he will get all the snaps for the season. In fact, unless Quinn gets off to a hot
start, Anderson will probably get some playing time and sooner than most Quinn fans
would want.
Final Outlook and Analysis-
The Browns are such a weird
team to me. They have players on
offense, but the quarterback position seems to be one of the biggest questions,
if not the biggest question on the offense.
I am excited to see what the running back situation ends up looking
like, as I like both Jerome Harrison and James Davis behind Jamal Lewis. The defense needs to find a way to get to the
quarterback, as I don’t see where the pass rush is going to come from. One thing you can count on from an Eric
Mangini coached team is, there will be no shortage of drama throughout the
year.
3. Cincinnati
Bengals:
The Bengals have already had a
rough start to the season. Between the
injuries to Carson Palmer, the holdout of first round pick Andre Smith, and
then the subsequent injury to Smith, the season has not gotten off to the best
start. On the bright side, all reports
out of Bengals camp is Chad Ochocinco is going to have a stellar comeback year
and the defense has steadily improved.
Can they get back into contention and make a push for the playoffs? Can they save Marvin Lewis’ job?
Who
to Watch For- Carson Palmer was emerging as one of the better quarterbacks in
the NFL, until injury and ineffectiveness set in. Now he needs to get back to that level for
the Bengals to have any chance of getting back to the playoffs again. With a motivated Ochocinco and a running game
that showed some life last year, the offense has the weapons to get the job
done, but they will only go as far as Palmer takes them.
Final Outlook and Analysis-
Bengals
fans still have to pulling their hair out of what could have been. The Bengals seemed primed to make a move and
stay at or near the top of the AFC North, until that fateful day against the
Steelers. Now, they seem to be
regressing instead of progressing.
Marvin Lewis has the defense playing better, but can he get enough out
of them to keep his job? I like the
roster, I just don’t know with the schedule and in the division they play in if
they can get into the playoffs.
2. Baltimore
Ravens:
Few expected Joe Flacco to be
the steadying force on offense that the Ravens had lacked since the Trent
Dilfer era. With Flacco at the helm and
Le’Ron McClain running the ball well, the Ravens made it deep into the
playoffs. The defense, well they are
always good, and while they may be slowing down a little bit; there are maybe
only two or three other defenses as good as theirs. The question really is, can Flacco stay
consistent, or will he suffer a sophomore slump?
Who
to Watch For- Willis McGahee and Ray Rice have to step up this year. With McClain going back to fullback and not
being identified as a primary ball carrier that means that McGahee and Rice
will get the bulk of the carries. They
both have the ability to form a nice 1-2 punch in the running game, and with
the ball control style offense the coach Harbaugh wants to run, these two have
to be able to get chunks of yards at a time on first down and set up the
offense for Joe Flacco. If they can do
that, they will have another successful season, because their defense will keep
them in most games. If the running game
struggles, well it could be a long season.
Final Outlook and Analysis-
The
defense is so good, that they will be in games all year long. That means the offense needs to produce just
enough to keep Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and company on the sidelines to get some
rest, and put up around 17 points a game.
Ball control is the name of the game for Baltimore, and if they win the
battle for ball control, well most weeks that will mean they win the game. Baltimore is headed in the right direction
and with a couple more moves on the offensive side of the ball; they could be
contender in the AFC for years to come.
1. Pittsburgh Steelers:
More than
anything, I think the Steelers want to prove that they can be a competitive
team again after they win the Super Bowl, because I have to believe 2006 was
one of the worst seasons in Bill Cowher’s career, just from the standpoint of
missing the playoffs. Now, it is Mike Tomlin’s
turn to prepare his troops for the upcoming season as the reigning champs. I see no reason, if for pride reasons only,
that the Steelers don’t come out and win the AFC North and make another run in
the playoffs. Is a Super Bowl in their
future? Well we are not there yet, but I
will let you know soon enough.
Who
to Watch For- Ben Roethlisberger has had another interesting offseason, to say
the least. From an outsiders view, Big
Ben seems to be one of those guys that gets on the field and puts his personal
life out of sight and out of mind for 4 hours a week. Can he improve on his pedestrian regular season
numbers from last year? Does it
matter? Ben seems to rise to the
occasion, and already has a career worth of post season wins to prove that all
of those mediocre regular season numbers mean nothing. But, can he make the jump and get the respect
of the casual fan, and not just hardcore football fans and Steelers fan? Again, does it really matter?
Final Outlook and Analysis-
The
Madden Curse is the only thing I see stopping the Steelers from repeating as
AFC North Champs and making another nice playoff run. They have a nice balance on offense, and
still have the best defense in the NFL.
This season is about nothing more than pride for the Steelers, as they
do not want another let down after a Super Bowl win. With Troy Polamalu, James Harrison and the
rest of the Steelers defense back and healthy they are in for another nice
season, at least.
AFC
East-
I don’t have many days left before the kick off of
the Titans-Steelers matchup, so I am going to continue our trek through the AFC
and give you my thoughts on the Patriots division, I mean AFC East, as well as
my playoff predictions, AFC MVP, AFC Defensive Player of the Year, AFC Rookie
of the Year and AFC Coach of the Year.
4. Buffalo Bills:
A
tough season in a tough division is not what Dick Jauron needed. The Bills coach has seemingly been on the hot
seat, for what seems like forever. They
made the bold move of adding Terrell Owens to a offense that is pretty good in
the first place. The main concern, as we will see in a little bit has to be the
offensive line and the defense seems to always have injury issues that hamper
what should be a top 12 unit in the league.
Who
to Watch For- The offensive line has to come together for the Bills to have any
chance this season. They are starting
rookies at both guard positions, and traded away their Pro Bowl left tackle,
even though he has struggled in the preseason for the Eagles. They will be without their best running back
for their first four games of the season, and their back up Fred Jackson is
banged up. The offensive line must find
some cohesiveness and fast, or this could be a long and painful season for the
Bills backfield.
Final Outlook and Analysis-
I
had some slight hope for the Bills when they brought in another weapon for
Trent Edwards in the off season, but the struggles of the offensive line in the
preseason now outweighs any good feelings I had for this team. I really like what they have on the defensive
side of the ball, I just don’t know if they will get enough rest in order to
stay healthy and productive through the season.
I am marking it down right now, Dick Jauron is the first coach fired in
the 2009 NFL season.
3. New York Jets
Call
me crazy, but I love the Jets this season for some unfathomable reason. I really had to talk myself into putting them
at three in the AFC East, since I can confidently say I see them getting to
10-6 and making a run at the playoffs this year. All of that said, I went with my head instead
of my gut, since I have no rooting interest for the Jets and put them as the
third place team in the East. The only
reason why is because I want to see Rex Ryan coach a game or two before I put
them in the playoffs.
Who
to Watch For- I hope Mark Sanchez has Eli Manning’s phone number and can give
Eli a call and ask about the pressure’s of playing in a rabid city like New
York. Sanchez is the key piece to the
Jets playoff hopes, as we saw last year with this team, they were a quarterback
away from getting into the playoffs. Now,
they think believe they have a quarterback who can not only get them into the
playoffs, but can be the face of the franchise for years to come. Pretty heavy stuff for a kid who started one
year in college football, and has had injury concerns throughout his playing career. But, for some reason, I believe in him and
think he will be a good one for years to come.
Final Outlook and Analysis-
As
I said earlier, I went with my head and put this team third in the division,
but I would not be shocked to see them finish in second and push for a Wild
Card berth. Of course I am having this
faith without their quarterback or head coach having done anything yet in the
NFL. I guess it is the fact that between
their offensive line, running backs, including Shonne Greene, and potentially
dominant defense I just like the makeup of their team. We will see, but I would not be shocked if
they went 10-6 or 6-10, that is the kind of year Jets fans have to look forward
too.
2. Miami
Dolphins:
Last
years out of nowhere team is getting a lot of love this season and I even am
buying in a little bit. I love the way
that Bill Parcells has constructed this team, and Chad Pennington has proven to
be a winner in his career. Add in one of
the better 1-2 punches in the league at running back and I could see this team
again making a run to the playoffs.
Who
to Watch For- The wide receivers for the Miami Dolphins flat out scare me. You have a return specialist trying to find
out how to be a receiver in the NFL in Ted Ginn Jr. and an undrafted free agent
who is somehow not only on a roster, but will be starting for a playoff
contender. I love the offensive line and
running back situation in Miami, but those guys at wide receiver scare me, but
hey it worked out ok last year.
Final Outlook and Analysis-
This
is a team that overachieves, but does so because their coach and General
Manager know how to play to their strengths and hide their weaknesses. The defense is solid and the offense has the
ability to move the ball up and down the field effectively. Do they have enough at wide receiver to open
up the running lanes for Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams? Does Chad Pennington have another solid year
left in him? I think so, and I expect
this team to battle for a playoff spot till the end of the year.
1. New
England Patriots
Not much needs to be said. Quite simply they are one of, if not the best
teams in the league. They have their franchise
quarterback healthy and ready to go.
They have added a little more to the running game as well as another
good receiver in Joey Galloway. The
season seems to be a formality if everyone stays healthy and I see no reason
other than another major injury, that they will not win this division and make
the playoffs.
Who
to Watch For- While everyone wants to
see if Tom Brady is back and healthy, I really could care less. I want to see if this defense can stop anyone
from scoring. If they can’t here is a
friendly tip, always bet the over in the Patriots games this year. The trading of Richard Seymour makes these
concerns even more magnified to me, but I don’t see it being a problem in the
regular season.
Final Outlook and Analysis-
This
team is stacked on offense, and while I don’t see record setting numbers like
they had two years ago, I see no reason that this team does not roll through
the regular season and into the playoffs with one of the top seeds in the AFC.
AFC
Playoff Predictions:
Division
Winners
1. New
England Patriots
2. San
Diego Chargers
3. Pittsburgh
Steelers
4. Indianapolis
Colts
Wild
Cards
Tennessee Titans
Baltimore Ravens
Playoffs
Week 1 Games:
Pittsburgh over
Tennessee
Indy over Baltimore
2nd
Round
New England over
Indianapolis
Pittsburgh over San
Diego
AFC
Championship Game
New England over
Pittsburgh
AFC MVP- Tom Brady
AFC Defensive Player of
the Year- Mario Williams
AFC Rookie of the Year-
Mark Sanchez
AFC Coach of the Year- John
Harbaugh