AFC Preview
Added on Aug 23, 2009 by sbworld in
No Comments
AFC East:
New England Patriots (14-2)
Star quarterback Tom Brady is back after missing nearly all of the 2008 season with a severe injury and that means that the Patriots are once again the team to beat. This squad won 11 games without Brady and should be able to surpass that number fairly easily with their leader back on the playing field and should be the favorite to capture another Super Bowl. The team that almost pulled off the undefeated season in 2007 is back and ready to give another shot at perfection.
Buffalo Bills (8-8)
Getting Terrell Owens teamed up with Lee Evans at wide receiver should improve the Buffalo passing game but the Bills also suffered some huge losses on their offensive line that should negate the improved passing game by lessoning the holes Marshawn Lynch has to run through. Buffalo is a solid team but they are nothing special on defense and a .500 record should be about as good as it gets.
New York Jets (6-10)
The Jets are working in a new quarterback and we still are not sure if it’s going to be rookie Mark Sanchez or part-time former starter Kellen Clemens. Regardless of who plays, the Jets have new schemes on both offense and defense thanks to the coaching shakeup and to ask a quarterback of this caliber to lead this team to a winning record is simply asking too much at this stage.
Miami Dolphins (6-10)
Most have the Dolphins as the 2nd best team in this division with some going as far as putting Miami in the talk for Super Bowl contenders but reality should set in for this Cinderella story. The Dolphins came out of nowhere last year to win the division with an 11-5 record but they won quite a few games thanks to their gimmicky “Wildcat” formation when opposing teams were unable to defend it but with a year of planning I expect the Miami opponents to do a much better job. The fact of the matter is that Miami is not very talented and will drop back quite a bit this season without the ability to catch teams off guard.
Best Football Bonus 100% up to $200 at BetPhoenix
AFC North:
Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4)
It’s never easy to repeat as Super Bowl champions in this league but the Steelers look primed for another run at the top prize. They have lost almost no one in the offseason and this team really does not have a single weakness. The defense is stellar, the running game is always quality, and Santonio Holmes emerged in the playoffs last season to give Pittsburgh two elite wide receivers. Rashard Mendenhall will be able to give Willie Parker some needed rest and this is probably the only AFC team that can compete with the Patriots come playoff time.
Baltimore Ravens (8-8)
Baltimore won 11 games last season and there will be plenty of people out there who question the prediction for a .500 record but you have to understand that Baltimore is going through some changes. They lost their defensive coordinator Rex Ryan when Rex left to become the Jets’ head coach. Ryan took star linebacker Bart Scott with him and many considered Scott the best defensive player on that team not named Ed Reed so the Ravens are going to have a new defensive coordinator calling the plays and are less talented than last year. The offense was nothing special and this team relies on that defense to win games so look for them to struggle with a poor offense and a defense that is down a notch.
Cincinnati Bengals (7-9)
Cincinnati should be the NFL team that improves the most this year and a winning record is not out of the question. The Bengals had nothing but bad breaks last season and the loss of Carson Palmer really killed any chance for this team having a chance in the 2008 season. Palmer is back and healthy and wide receiver Chris Henry looks ready to become the talent that many predicted he’d be before all his troubles in the past few years. Defense still figures to be a problem but the Bengals have many talented young faces that should start to emerge as this club gets closer to being a playoff contender.
Cleveland Browns (5-11)
I just can’t see this team being successful this year but hopefully they at least make the right move and put Brady Quinn in at quarterback for the 2009 season. I never understood the resigning of Derek Anderson when you had Quinn waiting in the wings and Anderson showed last year that he was nowhere close to being deserving of his big contract. Quinn should win the starting spot but the offense will be down a notch without Kellen Winslow at tight end and they are learning new schemes on both sides of the ball with the offseason coaching moves. This squad just doesn’t have much of a chance of competing this year.
AFC South:
Indianapolis Colts (13-3)
The Colts were one of the most injured teams in the league last season and they still managed to win 12 games and make the playoffs so you should expect big things this year. Star quarterback Peyton Manning had to play behind an offensive line that included mostly backups for a good portion of the season so with everyone healthy to begin the 2009 campaign you should expect massive improvements. Bob Sanders is already dinged up on defense but at least the line looks healthy which is something the Colts lacked last year. I still don’t think this team can get by a squad like the Patriots or the Steelers in the postseason but the Colts might be the best regular season team in the game today.
Tennessee Titans (9-7)
This team was close to perfect last season and I just can’t see them getting the same amount of breaks. Kerry Collins is a quality veteran but he’s still somewhat mistake prone and was just too perfect last year to make me think he puts up that same type of performance. The Titans are still very one dimensional on offense with their run, run, run approach and the defense lost their star with bulky defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth leaving via free agency to join the Washington Redskins. Tennessee is still a quality team but won’t be the same dominant squad that went 13-3 last year.
Jacksonville Jaguars (8-8)
I feel bad putting Jacksonville and Houston so low in the win/loss department because they are good football teams but the fact of the matter is that they play in a touch division and neither of them has an easy schedule. The Jaguars lost longtime running back stalwart Fred Taylor this offseason so it will be the Maurice Jones-Drew show this year. Jones-Drew has never had to carry the full load so it will be interesting to see how he holds up. At least he’ll get some stretching the defense with the addition of longtime St. Louis Ram Tory Holt at wide receiver. This is a good team but probably not a playoff caliber team.
Houston Texans (6-10)
I really want the Texans to finally breakout and the young players are in place but the fact of the matter remains they are just a tick behind the other talented teams in their rough division. Many are calling on this season to be the one that Houston finally takes the next step and they’ll need quarterback Matt Schaub to finally avoid the injury bug for that to happen. Reliable veteran Sage Rosenfels is no longer around to pick up the pieces if Schaub goes down like he does every season.
AFC West:
San Diego Chargers (9-7)
The Chargers are the class of the NFL’s worst division and should be able to easily capture another title after lucking into one last year when the Broncos collapsed down the stretch. Ladanian Tomlinson, Darren Sproles, and Philip Rivers are back to once again wreck havoc on opposing AFC West defenses. Ron Rivera improved the defense noticeably after taking over as coordinator during last season and the Chargers are a complete team that could pull a playoff upset if they don’t get his with injuries.
Oakland Raiders (6-8)
It’s sad that the Raiders are the likely 2nd best team in this division because Oakland is simply not that good. Their offense can run the ball but the passing game needs some help and JaMarcus Russell once again showed up out of shape at the start of training camp. Veteran Jeff Garcia will make the Raiders a .500 ballclub but it remains to be seen whether owner Al Davis is willing to sacrifice Russell’s playing time and future to have a squad that is borderline competitive. At least head man Tom Cable hasn’t punched an assistant coach in the last week.
Denver Broncos (4-12)
Josh McDaniels started off just about as poorly as possible since he took over head duties from Mike Shanahan was let go after last season’s collapse. This was a borderline playoff team with a ton of young talent but McDaniels badly mishandled a trade involving his starting quarterback and the two parted ways when the wounds were not able to be healed. Now McDaniels has angered star wide receiver Brandon Marshall, who may also be on his way out of town thanks to the front office and coaching staff not knowing how to treat their stars. This is a team that will need a couple of years to regroup.
Kansas City Chiefs (4-12)
Kansas City got Matt Cassell at quarterback but the spendy new quarterback has not looked good at all in the preseason and some are already calling for Brodie Croyle to lead the offense. The Chiefs don’t have much on either side of the ball and really need to upgrade their lines if they want to compete in the next few seasons. Cassell will likely play because he’s the big money free agent but he’ll really have to up his game and prove he can be an effective passer without Randy Moss and Wes Welker getting open at will.
