AFC: More or Less
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by Behbigben15
I took an idea from ESPN (I usually hate ESPN's ideas). The point of the article is to tell you whether or not I think each team will get more wins or less wins then last year. ESPN did each division on a seperate day, but I decided to just split it into two parts: the AFC and the NFC.
AFC
North
- Ravens (13 wins in '06)- Less: The Ravens have the number 1 defense in the NFL (sounds funny coming from a Steelers fan). Baltimore has a veteran QB in Steve McNair, who usually makes good decisions. They let go of RB Jamal Lewis for the good of the team, and picked up Willis McGahee. The Ravens will win the AFC North, they will not get 13 wins, but will get 11-12, just enough to win the Division title.
- Steelers (8 wins in '06)- More: The Steelers will win at least 10 games, and will be a Wild Card team. QB Ben Roethlisberger is healthy after a disastrous '06 season, and Parker keeps getting better and better. Pittsburgh's defense is still in the top ten for best defenses despite the loss of emotional leader, and team captain Joey Porter. This team is a 10-win team this year.
- Bengals (8 wins in '06)- More: The only weakness on this team is the defense, their offense is one of the best in the NFL (behind the Colts), you can have a winning season, and possibly make the playoffs with a weak defense, but you won't get very far in the playoffs. This team will win at least 9 games, maybe 10, but still be third place in the AFC North.
- Browns (4 wins in '06)- More: Last year this team was a horrendus 4-12 team, this year they will at least have a deffinite number one RB. Although they still have a QB problem. There is no way they can get any worse than 4 wins, they won't be much better, though. The most the Browns will get is 7, but I think they will be a 5-11 team this year.
East
- Patriots (12 wins in '06)- More: This offseason the Pats signed a few deep threats for their Pro Bowl QB, who has been successful with mediocre WR's, just think at how well he will do with a Pro Bowl WR, plus two speedy depp threats. They also added a great LB to their already strong linebacker position. Laurence Maroney will rush for at least 1300 yards this year, and the Pats will win at least 14 games this year, and win the Super Bowl.
- Jets (10 wins in '06)- Less: Chad Pennington is too injury prone, and I don't think the Jets should continue to depend on him, because I don't think he has proved that he can lead the Jets far in the playoffs, let alone the Super Bowl. Their defense is good, but not great, the Jets will need a much better defense in order for them to win anymore games than 10, they will be an 8-8 team this year.
- Buffalo Bills (7 Wins in '06)- More: QB JP Losman has a strong arm with a Pro Bowl wideout, and the Bills have a vet, and a rookie who looks as if he has a bright future ahead of him. Losman hasn't been consistent enough though, and the Bills have lost a few key players on defense this offseason, including their star CB, and their two playmaking LB's (although I think it was time for Spikes to go). But, the Bills have a bright future ahead of them. They have a couple young guys in the secondary, and this year they drafted a very talented LB, and RB, both of whom could have an immediate impact. This team wins 8-9 games, and will tie the Jets for second place.
- Dolphins (6 wins in '06)- less: There is no way that Veteran QB Trent Green can get these guys out of the whole they are in. Their front office decided to make an immediate impact on special teams instead of worrying about their future, like they should have done. Come on., why would you draft a Receiver who will probably only make an impact on special teams, instead of drafting a young QB for their future (although they did draft a young QB later in the draft, they should have gone for Quinn instead). Ginn, I don't think, will even make an impact on special teams. If you're gonna draft a receiver, then draft a guy like Dwayne Jarrett, Steve Smith, or another guy who will actually make an impact at the receiving position. This team will win 5 or less games, their defense is aging as well, LB Zack Thomas, and DE Jason Taylor may be going donwhill from here, and their secondary is weak, too.
South
- Colts (12 wins in '06)- Same: The Colts are consistent, and they win around 12 games every year, their defense hasn't gotten any better, in fact they have lost more than gained on defense this offseason. But, their number one offense in teh NFL makes up for it all. You can't say that the Colts will not win the AFC South next year, and they will go far in the playoffs just like every other year, they will be a 12-win team once again this year.
- Titans (8 wins in '06)- More: The Titans made a good move drfating Young in last year's draft, and he will lead this other-wise-bad offense to a 9, maybe 10 win season. I think Lendale White will do a pretty good job, and earn himself the number one RB job. Young may have to make alot of plays with his feet, due to a lack of WR's (they lost their best WR this year in Drew Bennett). The secondary will certainly not be the same without "Pacman" Jones, who was suspended for the entire '07 season. Keith Bulluck is going to have to stay out of trouble and be an emotional leader, and lead this Titans defense. 10-win season for Tennessee, and they will beat out the Jags for second-place in the South. THis may be the begining of the Vince Young era if he can avoid teh Madden curse.
- Jaguars (8 wins in '06)- Less: This year will be the first year that David Garrard will play the entire season (if he stays healthy). This is the end of the Leftwich era, it was a good decision by Del Rio to let go of Leftwich, it was just not working out. The biggest question is obviously: Can Garrard lead the Jags? Regardless of whether he does or not, the Jags are now "his team". Del Rio hopes that Maurice Jones-Drew lives up to all the hype behind him (so do I), if he does, then Garrard will perform a whole lot better. This is possibly the end of the Fred Taylor era, as well (at least it should be anyway), the Jags defense is still great, and they won't be the problem when (or if) the Jags struggle.
- Texans (6 wins in '06)- Less: Many believed that the reason for the Texans struggles was their QB Carr, and that they will do much better with Schaub at QB. Well, that isn't true, it has been their O-line the whole time, and who said that Schaub is a great starting QB anyway? Just because Carr is out, and they have Pro Bowl RB Ahman Green, doesn't mean they can compete with any team. First off, Green isn't worth the money anymore, he is old, and injury prone. Although, I will say that their D is much better, they have some young, talented defenders, and this defense will keep on improving each year. But, this year, they will be a 5-win team.
West
- Chargers (14 in '06)- Less: You may be surprised to see that I say they will win less games this year, but by less I mean 12-13 games, which is still an automatic Division title (in most divisions, and at least an automatic playoff spot). The Chargers are a fantastic offensive, and defensive team, and other than the Pats, will be the team to beat. You can't stop L.T. and Rivers is a consistent QB with a big, Pro Bowl TE in Antonio Gates. The D is great at stopping the run, and are in the top ten in overall defense. This team will easily win the West as expected.
- Cheifs (9 wins in '06)- Less: If they end up winning 8 games, the credit should go to RB Larry Johnson, the new starter is inexperienced Damon Huard (he is 34, but has only started 14 games in his 10-year career). Plus, Huard has no targets, besides aging TE Tony Gonzalez. The defense isn't as great as it once was, the only big move they have made this offseason was signing LB Donnie Edwards. This team will be lucky if they win 8 games.
- Broncos (9 wins in '06)- More: If Second-year QB Jay Cutler can avoid the Sophmore jinx, then he may end up taking his team to the playoffs, he has a great RB in Travis Henry (every Bronco RB ends up doing great), although the offensive line is aging, it should hold up, and protect Cutler long enough to get the ball to receivers Javon Walker, Brandon Marshall, and Brandon Stokley as well as RB Travis Henry who is good out of the back-field. The defense just added DE Simeon Rice, yesterday. Which will certainly help their pass rush, if he can put pressure on the QB, and force the QB to make a bad pass, then the strong secondary, anchored by shut-down CB Champ Bailey. Lynch, and Rice are now back together again, they worked well together in Tampa, and Denver hopes that they will in Denver as well.
- Raiders (2 wins in '06)- More: Well, the Raiders obviously can't get much worse than 2-14, so with the addition of QB Daunte Culpepper, who looked like the Culpepper of old during the preseason, will help them win maybe 5-6 games. I also like the addition of RB Dominic Rhodes, who, after he serves his 4-game suspension, help LaMont Jordan with the load. I also like the way the Raiders secondary looks with some young guys who look like they could have a good career. This team will win 5, possibly six games this year, which is a big improvement from last year's horrific 2-14 season.
