Brady will finally get the starting job that hedeserves after patiently waiting on
the sidelines. Show time!
Baltimore
The Ravens raised the bar last season as they went far beyond expectations. The season was cut one game short of what the city wanted come post season, and this year the team will aim even higher.
The offense has never really been a strong point for this "defense first" team, and they felt that much help was not needed as they only spent one of their top four draft picks on an offensive player. With their 23rd overall pick, the Ravens snagged a huge steal with offensive lineman Michael Oher from Ole Miss.
Joe will be the leader for the Ravens offense.
Can they finally pull off a strong offensive season
with the young second year quarterback?
Joe Flacco looks to be the guy that the team is going to trust with the starting quarterback job. The young man who saw plenty of time on the field as a starting quarterback during his rookie year will have more patience in the pocket as well as smarter decision making as he adjusts to the NFL format. With a year of experience, he has completely flushed himself of any jitters of being in the league and could be a standout quarterback this season. The only issue with the passing game will be the lack of talent in the receivers. Mark Clayton out of Oklahoma will have to step out of his role as a decent receiver and will need to play at the level he was at when he played for the Sooners. As for Derrick Mason, the veteran at 35 years just doesn't have the gas to support his quarterback and will not rack up the fantasy stats. With all due respect to Mason, expect him to perform at a minimal level. Flacco will need to take advantage of having a top tight end in his arsenal as Todd Heap will consume a huge portion of Flacco's pass attempts. If Todd can't catch his throws, then there will be a huge problem.
So the passing game might not be so great but the run package should be solid right? The name Willis McGahee might sound like a quality foundation for the Ravens ground game but these last few seasons have been somewhat of a bust for the former Hurricane. With a few incidents dealing with injuries, McGahee was bothered at times and was only able to record three games with 100+ rushing yards last season. He will need to stay healthy in order to be effective and will need to learn not to be selfish when it comes to sharing the carries. Ray Rice will have to be utilized right away as the second year running back has the potential to blossom into an elite running back very soon. Le'Ron McClain should not taken for granted as the young full back could be very essential to this offensive blocking game and short yardage game whether it's through the air or ground.
While a lot of the attention is on Willis McGaheeRay Rice will work in his part of the rotation
as he makes a name for himself. Fantasy
owners, take him while you can.
Matt Birk leads the offensive line as he will nurture Michael Oher into being a top linemen right away. The offensive line will have to work hard in the trenches in order to give the young quarterback time and to protect #7 from getting hit from the blind spot and from being inflicted with any serious injury. It always starts with the offensive line and with guys like Willie Anderson and Birk, their will be holes and opportunities. Don't count out Todd Heap when it comes to the blocking game either. The Ravens are far from being a good offense but they will have the weapons to produce an offensive game throughout the season.
The notorious Ravens defense will be at it again as Ray Lewis leads a group of warriors into the battlefield through 16 games. If the offense can't score, the defense will make it possible for the team to still win.
Ray Lewis doesn't let age catch up to him.
The national football icon continues to
rough up quarterbacks, running backs,
and receivers as he leads the best defense
through another season.
Trevor Pryce, Kelly Gregg, and Haloti Ngata bring a strong presence in the front line as they display one of the best defensive lines in the entire league. With a 3-4 base defense, the three of them will have to do a little more to keep the running game from crossing the line of scrimmage but they won't have too much trouble. Following right behind them will be Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs who are going to be accompanied by a younger group of linebackers but it will still be one of the best linebacker groups in the NFL. Speed and blitz packages will be all over the opposing offenses as this may arguably be the best front seven in the entire league.
Only to add onto the fear of this unappealing defense, Ed Reed will be the guy to watch out for in a secondary that has guys like Fabian Washington and Dawan Landry. Other than Ed Reed, the other guys in the secondary don't stand out like the rest of the Ravens defense, but overall this defense will serve up the full package as they bring pressure from every position. Man to man and zone will both be equally effective as this defense is neither undersized nor slow.
A key factor to look out for as the team's Achilles is the kicking game as Steven Hauschka will get the start as the place kicker. The second year man has only kicked two attempts in his first season and was 50%.
This team will make a strong argument in the AFC north as they will try to beat the Steelers to the division title. Defense wins football games and the Ravens have a hell of a good. Just, the Steelers have a pretty darn good one as well. A strong effort will get them coasting through this year's schedule. They are hungry and have a huge desire to drop the Steelers from the top. 12-4
Cincinnati
Let's just not relive the Bengals ugly season last year and look ahead to what's in store for Cincinnati fans to look forward to. Carson Palmer is coming off an injury to kept him on the sidelines throughout most of the '08-'09 season but a healthier Carson should be something that the Bengals are going to look forward to. The team captain isn't exactly 100 percent just yet but he should be good to go once the regular season begins.
So in celebration of the return of Carson, the Bengals management office decided to bring some help. With the departure of TJ WhosYourMomma, Laveraneus Coles was highly sought out and things worked out for the best on both sides of the negotiation and a contract was signed, giving the Bengals another strong passing game to look forward to. Cedric Benson struggled early on last season but things started heading towards the positive direction near the end of the regular season as Benson finished the last two games with a total of 282 yards on the ground and one touchdown. The only issue, he had a fumble in each of those performances.
Andre Smith is a beast and will be in instant impact on the Bengals offensive line as he will be of big help to Carson's pocket presence. The rookie linemen will also strengthen the offensive line in the running game as the line will be capable of busting open some more holes for Benson. The return game might not be too shabby with Andre Caldwell back there. We may see a few possible returns for big time yards. It's very realistic.
Rey Maualuga will be part of the future plans
for the Bengals in an effort to develop a solid defense.
The defense? I don't want to bother wasting my time talking about a defense that gave up 20+ points in ten different occasions. Did I mention they gave up 30+ points in five of those outings? What did they do to fix this weakness? Apart from drafting Rey Maualuga and Michael Johnson, nothing really. Shouldn't be much different this season.for the Bengals in an effort to develop a solid defense.
Michael Johnson will join Rey
in an effort to help the Bengals
defense. The future is looking bright.
Hope these guys aren't convicts.
The Bengals didn't do much by bringing in Coles. I will go as far as saying that this team could be a 30+ offensive team but the defensive won't give them much room for error. If these guys are lucky, they may get seven wins. I'll say three. Don't agree? Too bad. This team just going to be terrible. Maybe I'm being harsh? Moving on.
Cleveland
The big question for Cleveland fans. Will Brady finally get the green light at quarterback? Looks like he's finally going to be a full time starter and there may be hope for this offense. Or maybe there's a reason Brady wasn't starting. I personally am looking forward to seeing this young man start. He is a monster at the position and will have some help to work with.
Off the field, the Browns had some personal problems as the Donte' Stallworth issue was being settled. Luckily for the Browns, Donte' isn't the thug that some thought he was and they will get to see him in the second half of the season. You can bet that Brady will be looking forward to the edition of the lanky explosive receiver to add on to the already talented Braylon Edwards. For now, Brady will have to do with what he has at the moment. That means Braylon will get his fair share of double teams and Jamal Lewis will need to pop out for short screen plays as well as mini in routes and a few cross routes here and there. Mike Furrey isn't too bad of a receiver either and the speedy guy will make the defender work for every stop. If this offense doesn't do well, it will either be due to injuries or the lack of production from Mr. Quinn.
The newest Brown, Eric Barton will have a lotof responsibilities on his hands this season
as he works with a struggling defense.
To survive in this division, you need a good defense if not a top defense. The Browns are far from being a top defense in the league but they are close to being considered a solid defense. With the arrival of Eric Barton and the development of Kamerion Wimbley, they could form a solid base with the two linebackers. They have a group of veteran linemen including Shaun Rogers that isn't one of the strongest lines but a line that will hardly have any case of miscommunication. They won't give in so easily to strong offenses just because they aren't as talented. The Browns have one of the youngest secondaries but one that know how to force turnovers. This group of guys is a good sign for the Browns future but there will be plenty of lessons that will be learned the hard way this season.
Wins won't be easy to come by for this team, especially in their situation as an AFC North team. Brady will have his share of struggles and the defense will have to continue to grow together. If the defense can find a strong foundation early on and Brady can keep his composure as a leader, this team could see nine or ten wins. But then again, if I was six inches taller and 40 pounds stronger, I could be a top prospect for the NBA. Cleveland will struggle and endure some painful losses but they will gain from it. I was tempted to say two wins but realistically I'm going to say that they improve from last season's record and win six.
Pittsburgh
The team to beat opens up with a tough schedule as they face a non divisional opponent that handed them one of their four losses last season. (The ugliest loss of the four) They bring back their entire starting offense and most of their powerhouse defense and the team is ready to make a return to the Super Bowl. A win in week one would be big and will be a huge statement for the AFC running as the top team. Of course, the Steelers are on top as of now, but teams like Tennessee, Baltimore, and Indianapolis aren't too far behind.
Ben Roethlisberger is looking better than ever and is even doing pretty well in the acting business with commercials such as Dick's Sporting Goods ads and whatnot. The big #7 will be ready to work as soon as the first kickoff sets sail in week one. He will stand behind a powerful offensive line and have one of the best running backs by his side. Might I add that they have Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes (Two Super Bowl MVP receivers) including role playing receivers such as Shaun McDonald and Linas Sweed. The only thing that this team may lack on offense is big receivers but it hasn't stopped them from winning before.
Willie Colon will work with one of themost potent offensive lines in an effort
to defend their Super Bowl title.
The Steelers are strong on defense and will bring a variety of defensive tactics using the versatile abilities of top defenders led by Troy Polamalu. The returning corps of defenders includes James Farrior, James Harrison, Troy Polamalu, DeShea Townsend, and Casey Hampton + more. There's no point of describing how good this defense is. They may not be all around as good as the Ravens defense but they are a close second.
The newest cover boy for Madden will be all overthe field as he continues to do work alongside
some of the best defenders in the league.
Pittsburgh is looking like they're going to have 12-14 wins this season and nothing short of it. The division is far from guaranteed but the Steelers will be looking hot as they get ready for another shot at taking down the Titans.
The Ravens are ready to throw
down with the Steelers as these
division rivals will put on a
show you won't want to miss.
Ravens 12-4
Steelers 12-4
Browns 6-10
Bengals 3-13
The Steelers will have to do more than what they
did last year in order to stop the Ravens.
The Steelers are favored to win the division and have the best shot at coming close to 16 wins in the regular season. With the Ravens chasing them from right behind we could see a tie breaker finish in the regular season records. I like the Ravens in a tie breaker but if one team is to win the division by default of both wins, it's going to be the Steelers. Obvious? Not really. Maybe a little.
Am I not showing the Browns and the Bengals enough love? Their faults..
-Jason C
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