Thursday, August 21, 2008

NFL Preview Part 2: AFC North

Title is pretty self-explanatory...
  1. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6): I'm picking the Steelers over the Browns for 2 reasons....#1 I'd rather have Ben Roethlisberger than Derek Anderson....and #2 I like this defense infinitely more than the Browns' counterparts.....When I went roster vs. roster...It just looks like the Steelers have the advantage pretty much everywhere except for the receiving corps....yes, Santonio Holmes isn't Braylon Edwards, but he's one heck of a player that could challenge for the pro bowl...and don't forget about the ageless Hines Ward doing the little things on the outside....The huge strength of the Pittsburgh team is the rushing offense....a solid offensive line and what I think is probably the best duo of RB's in the league after what I saw out of Mendenhall in college...All that together, and Pittsburgh gets the nod
  2. Cleveland Browns (9-7): More than anything, I think Cleveland will fall victim to their schedule....rated by many as the hardest in the entire NFL....I'm still not completely sold on Derek Anderson OR Jamal Lewis....they could both play well or both become busts for the year....I really don't know....Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow won't disappoint on the outside....but alot of the passing offense depends on Donte Stallworth being a reliable #2 on the outside to keep the doubles off Braylon....On paper, the defense looks improved with 2 D-line acquisitions in Shaun Rogers and Corey Williams....both come with question marks (especially Rogers' health and effort level).....Eric Wright and Sean Jones anchor the back end of the defense....Wright is only legitimate cover guy, so they'll need to be very good against the run (and they weren't last year).....I think this team is right there for the wild card but falls just short
  3. Cincinnati Bengals (6-10): Here we go again in Cincy...same old story...explosive passing offense....subpar running game...and huge questions on D....Even the huge strength of this team in its receiving corps has questions this year with both TJ and Chad Johnson having nagging injuries at the moment....The running game has issues...incumbent Rudi Johnson is honestly the third best running back on this team in my opinion behind Kenny Watson AND Chris Perry...Rudi became a 230 lb. dancer in the backfield last year and his ypc and production suffered from it....The defense, horrendous last year, lost its 3 most productive players in free agency (Justin Smith, Madieu Williams, and Landon Johnson)....so it could and likely will be a relative trainwreck on that side of the ball.....Marvin Lewis should be on job watch....like now....
  4. Baltimore Ravens (5-11): This team perplexed me in the offseason....a recognized star at the GM spot in Ozzie Newsome managed to bring back pretty much the exact same team that went 5-11 last year....and it's not like this was a young, developing roster....the defense is still pretty old....the Quarterback(s) are a question mark in Troy Smith, Kyle Boller, and rookie Joe Flacco....and their new upstart on offense (Ray Rice) plays the same position as their best offensive player (Willis McGahee).....This team is going nowhere fast....but at least they made the right call (it seems) at QB with Troy Smith....

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