Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2016 21:01:31 GMT
1. Cincinatti Bengals
Just when everybody thought Andy Dalton had arrived, he got hurt and lost the opportunity to try and take the Bengals to their first playoff victory since 1991. If Andy Dalton can match the play of his 2015 campaign, it's very reasonable for Cincinatti fans to expect a deep playoff run from this team. A sound defense retains it's key pieces, but WR depth may prove to be a struggle for a team that lost two starters in free-agency in Jones and Sanu. The division still seems to be Cincinatti's for the taking.
2. Pittsburgh Steelers
In a scene out of a movie, injured Big Ben Roethlisberger hobbled out onto the field in the fourth quarter in the divisional round of the playoffs and led a game winning FG drive against rival Bengals (assist to Pacman Jones). Albeit a happy moment, that game, along with the 2015 campaign as a whole, illustrated that the Steelers are frankly a bad team without Roeth. Addressing the secondary and defensive line is a must during the remainder of the off-season and in the draft. Heath Miller's departure definitely leaves room for an offensive player to step up and be a leader behind Ben. The Steelers (and Bengals for that matter) have the added benefit of a very bad two teams in their division.
3. Baltimore Ravens
Since their SB win over San Francisco in 2013, Baltimore's answer to addressing position issues seems to be "give Joe Flacco more money". Since then, the Ravens have gone 21-21 while Joe Flacco has put up a QB rating of only 81. Eric Weddle will surely help beef up the secondary, and the tandem of Mike Wallace and Benjamin Watson should give Flacco some more legitimate weapons to utilize. But, I don't see the Ravens making the step fully back up to being a play-off contender as their are too many questions on both the offensive and defensive line. And getting a running back that you can rely on would help too.
4. Cleveland Browns
Same ol' Browns? Same ol' Browns. The Browns haven't sniffed a winning record in 9 years. 9 years. 9 years ago, Ladanian Tomlinson led the league in rushing. 9 years ago, Randy Moss, Chad Johnson, and Terrell Owens were top 5 receivers. 9 years ago, the Cleveland Browns were the Cleveland Browns. There really isn't much to say about this team. Every time it seems like they start to move forwards, their star qb draft pick checks into rehab. Or their star receiver gets suspended for the year for smoking pot. Best of luck RG3. You're going to need it.
- Last year record: 12-4
- Key Acquisitions: Re-sign CB Pac-man Jones, WR Brandeon LaFell, LB Karlos Dansby
- Key Losses: WR Marvin Jones, WR Mohamed Sanu
- Projected 16/17 record: 11-5
Just when everybody thought Andy Dalton had arrived, he got hurt and lost the opportunity to try and take the Bengals to their first playoff victory since 1991. If Andy Dalton can match the play of his 2015 campaign, it's very reasonable for Cincinatti fans to expect a deep playoff run from this team. A sound defense retains it's key pieces, but WR depth may prove to be a struggle for a team that lost two starters in free-agency in Jones and Sanu. The division still seems to be Cincinatti's for the taking.
2. Pittsburgh Steelers
- Last year record: 10-6
- Key acquisitions: TE Ladarius Green, LT Ryan Harris
- Key Losses: TE Heath Miller, DT Steve McLendon
- Projected 16/17 record: 10-6
In a scene out of a movie, injured Big Ben Roethlisberger hobbled out onto the field in the fourth quarter in the divisional round of the playoffs and led a game winning FG drive against rival Bengals (assist to Pacman Jones). Albeit a happy moment, that game, along with the 2015 campaign as a whole, illustrated that the Steelers are frankly a bad team without Roeth. Addressing the secondary and defensive line is a must during the remainder of the off-season and in the draft. Heath Miller's departure definitely leaves room for an offensive player to step up and be a leader behind Ben. The Steelers (and Bengals for that matter) have the added benefit of a very bad two teams in their division.
3. Baltimore Ravens
- Last year record: 5-11
- Key acquisitions: S Eric Weddle, WR Mike Wallace, TE Benjamin Watson, QB Shareece Wright
- Key Losses: LB Daryl Smith, LB Courtney Upshaw
- Projected 16/17 record: 6-10
Since their SB win over San Francisco in 2013, Baltimore's answer to addressing position issues seems to be "give Joe Flacco more money". Since then, the Ravens have gone 21-21 while Joe Flacco has put up a QB rating of only 81. Eric Weddle will surely help beef up the secondary, and the tandem of Mike Wallace and Benjamin Watson should give Flacco some more legitimate weapons to utilize. But, I don't see the Ravens making the step fully back up to being a play-off contender as their are too many questions on both the offensive and defensive line. And getting a running back that you can rely on would help too.
4. Cleveland Browns
- Last year record: 4-12
- Key Acquisitions: QB RGIII, LB Demaro Davis, G Alvin Bailey, S Rahim Moore
- Key Losses: C Alex Mack, S Tashaun Gipson, QB Johnny Manziel (really a positive more than a loss)
- Projected 16/17 record: 4-12
Same ol' Browns? Same ol' Browns. The Browns haven't sniffed a winning record in 9 years. 9 years. 9 years ago, Ladanian Tomlinson led the league in rushing. 9 years ago, Randy Moss, Chad Johnson, and Terrell Owens were top 5 receivers. 9 years ago, the Cleveland Browns were the Cleveland Browns. There really isn't much to say about this team. Every time it seems like they start to move forwards, their star qb draft pick checks into rehab. Or their star receiver gets suspended for the year for smoking pot. Best of luck RG3. You're going to need it.