The Bengals are absolutely stacked this year. Yet another
exceptional draft provided them with two huge new playmakers in Tyler
Eifert and Giovani Bernard while also bringing several solid
contributors into the fold. Mohamed Sanu looks poised for a breakout
year while A.J. Green draws double and triple coverage, and key resigns
on the offensive line will ensure that Andy Dalton stays upright. This
week’s extension of Geno Atkins was huge, and the Bengals don’t appear
to have a weak spot on the defensive side
of the ball. Even ex-Jag Reggie Nelson looks amazing out there. This
is a solid team, but they’re a year away from being a super bowl
contender – their team is still very green.
Prediction: 11-5, AFC North Champions, 3rd seed
Ready for my craziest pick of the year? It’s the Cleveland Browns
finishing ahead of Baltimore and Pittsburgh. This team has been built
patiently through solid drafting, especially in trading down with the
Falcons on Julio Jones in 2011 to bring in several
high-performing contributors. The most underrated move of the Browns
brass may have been using a second round selection on Josh Gordon in the
supplement draft – this guy can play, and looked electric with Brandon
Weeden in the preseason. The Browns may be
slow out of the gate, but look for them to pick it up once Gordon
finishes serving his suspension. The defense looks stout with Joe
Haden, who is a top-3 corner in the league, and the addition of Paul
Kruger, who I preached was the most instrumental player
in the Ravens’ championship run last year. This team will take everyone
by surprise, and could make a run in a weak AFC. Prediction: 9-7, wildcard berth, 6th seed
No team has ever had “Super Bowl Slump” stamped on their forehead
more than these 2013 Baltimore Ravens. Everyone’s talking about the
loss of Ray Lewis, but he was on his last legs anyway – the big losses
are Paul Kruger (see above) and Anquan Boldin,
who bailed out Joe Flacco big time in the Super Bowl. But, Flacco got a
ridiculous extension and the other two walked. The only addition I
like to this Ravens team is Daryl Smith, the Jaguars’ all-time tackling
leader and one of the most underrated linebackers
in league history. He’s coming off a serious injury, but has a few good
years left and will provide some presence defensively. The return of
Ladarius Webb will help, and I believe Jimmy Smith can step up more, but
on the whole I see a long season of close
losses for the Ravens. Prediction: 8-8.
It’s tough to put the Steelers in the cellar of the division as
that logo on the side of their helmet seems to magically double their
win total year after year. However, age and a lack of offensive weapons
outside of Big Ben will catch up with them.
I mean, Antonio Brown is good, but is he a legitimate #1 option? They
don’t have a running back until Bell is healthy, and I thought Dwyer
would be at least serviceable until they cut him. The defense gets
older and older with few pieces coming in to replace
it….this will be a tough year at the intersection of the three rivers,
although they will still squeak out a fair amount of wins given their
roster. Prediction: 7-9.
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