NFL Divisional Predictions: AFC North

Our latest installment of our TheSportsWatchers.com’s NFL Divisional Predictions brings us to the AFC North.

This has long been a division all about the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers, but that has changed with the emergence of the two teams from Ohio.

The Cincinnati Bengals have only made the playoffs once during their supposed “good run,” nevertheless, they still are a tough to team to beat because of their offensive firepower.

The Cleveland Browns finally came out of NFL extinction to claim their place in the division once again. They seized 10 wins last season, all propelled by a well balanced offensive attack with the surprising emergence of quarterback Derek Anderson and running back Jamal Lewis.

As for the Ravens and Steelers, one team fell off (the Ravens) and the other had yet another above average season (the Steelers).

So how will the AFC North pan out in 2008?

Here are our AFC North Division Predictions:

1. Pittsburgh Steelers (11-5) – Not everybody saw last year’s offensive explosion from Ben Roethlisberger coming—but I did! The new offensive system allowed Ben to take a lot more chances down the field and with his level of efficiency and carefulness with ball, there was no doubt in my mind that he would have a big season that included 32 touchdowns. Now that Big Ben is in his 2nd year with this offense, you can expect even better numbers in 2008, and figure in the addition of Rashard Mendenhall at running back, and Limas Sweed at wide receiver and you’re talking about a team with some real weapons coming out of the draft. And don’t sleep on Santonio Holmes either. He has really found his role on this team, and he is making like a lot easier for Hines Ward on the other side of the field. Because the offense is so deep, the only real issue this team this season is whether or not their defense can bounce back from a less than average season last year. The facts suggest that they will, especially with Mike Tomlin now in his 2nd year of running a 3-4 defense. They do however have a big question at the nose tackle position where Casey Hampton’s health is a big question mark going into the preseason. But assuming Chris Hoke can take his place and just hold the position down for 6-8 weeks, they should be fine.

2. Cleveland Browns (9-7) – The Browns got 10 wins last season, but with a tougher schedule and Anderson now on most team’s radars, this team will probably take one small step back—especially since its unlikely they can rack up another 10 wins with a defense as lackluster as the one they put on the field last year. That said, I do expect them to have more success than failure in 2008, and QB Anderson has a lot to do with that. He has the big arm that can stretch the field, and with the addition of WR Donte Stallworth, he is going to have a lot more options this season. But like I said, teams are going to try to make him beat them with the weakest parts of his game, and that’s probably going to result in several head-scratching throws throughout the year. Anderson need a lot of help from his backfield mate, RB Jamal Lewis, if they expect to get into the playoffs, because it’s unlikely they’ll be able to depend on the defense to keep games close.

3. Cincinnati Bengals (6-10) – If the Bengals don’t hurry up and spend some money on the defensive side of the ball, they are going to miss their window of opportunity. Heck, they were that close to losing Chad Johnson this season, and if they don’t pay him next off-season, I have a hard time believing that he’ll be back in 2009. That said, this team will continue to be a threat this season. They can put points on the board, and Carson Palmer and Chad Johnson are the main reasons why. But scoring points is not this team’s problem. They have major issues on defense that they haven’t addressed since Marvin Lewis has come over as coach, and defense is supposed to be his strong suit. Yet, this team has made very few, if any, moves that would suggest that they are interested in making their defense significantly better. Yeah, they drafted LB Keith Rivers out of USC this off-season, but they have far too many problems for him to come in and solve, even if he is Ray Lewis as a rookie. The lack of attention to defense is why this team will be lucky if it wins 6 games. They have a tough schedule, and they don’t have those 2 guaranteed wins against the Browns that they are used to having anymore.

4. Baltimore Ravens (3-13) – I know I said that this team would win 4 games on my radio show, but I have since changed my mind. There is absolutely know way this team wins that many games with the merry-go-round they are about to put on display at the quarterback position this season. They have Joe Flacco, Troy Smith and Kyle Boller on the roster at the QB position, and none of them has had any significant success in the NFL yet. They don’t know who the starter is right now, which ultimately means that they won’t know who it is for much of the season either. That lack of consistency at the quarterback position won’t only result in a lack of consistency on offense, but it will also give the defense very little motivation when they step on the field. Don’t believe that a defense led by Ray Lewis could walk on to a field unmotivated? Well, think about what they did all of last season when they were pretty much getting beat. The Ravens were giving up points left and right. But when they played the New England Patriots, and had something to play for, all of sudden they were shutting down the best offense in the history of the football. Believe me, without an offense that gives the team any hope of contending in the AFC North, this vaunted Ravens defense, which gets older and slower with each passing season, will have yet another down season, no matter how motivating my man Ray-Ray is.

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