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2034 AFC North Season Preview

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  • 2034 AFC North Season Preview

    1. Pittsburgh Steelers– They won the division the last 4 years and they remain the team to beat. QB Cam Newton is coming off his best season as a pro throwing for over 4000 yards and 30 touchdowns. After Newton trying to do everything last season management went out and got him some help in the form of RB Nathan Hoover. He was the leagues offensive player of the year last season. This should open the door for TE Darrell Gill who will bein his 1st season as the primary TE. WR Josh Hamilton has a monster season last year catching over 90 balls for more then 1200 yards and 14 touchdowns. Expect those numbers to go down with the addition of Hoover. On defense they have a nice looking front four. No game changers, but a good group. Melvin Ingram seems to keep getting better. Walter Bryant is a nice run stopper. The key to this defense now and over the next 5 plus years will be the play of their Linebackers. This is the youngest and one of the most talented groups in the league. MLB Russell Harvey is a Pro Bowler waiting to happen. With Guthrie’s pass rushing ability and MLB Richmond sitting on the bench I wouldnt be surprised if they switch to a 3-4 at some point. CB Kent Wheelers is one of the best corners in the league. Look for Pittsburgh to make a serious run for the AFC crown this season.
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    2. Cincinnati Bengals– This team has all the tools to push Pittsburgh to the limit this year. They have a tough decision. Go with the popular choice with the 1st rd pick rookie QB Johnny Marsh,or go with the unproven veteran. Regardless who they go with they are going to have a really good RB to lean on in Claude Doyle. TE Robbie Rayburn will be a nice target in the middle of the field. The WR’s are not great but Vince Taft is a pretty darn good. They have a nice looking offensive line that should allow time for the QB’s to get rid of the football and open some holes for the running game. Defensively they have some real super stars. DT Nick Fairley, MLB Kenyon Kennedy, OLB Kris Odgood, and SS Vinny Powell. With an injury cutting Powell’s season short last year no one knows just how good this guy can be. DE KC Singsbee has been a real disappointment. He had a solid rookie season collecting 5 sacks, but last season he was sackless. Cb’s are not the teams strength by any means, but Shawn Garcia has a chance to be pretty good. I don’t think Cincy is ready to win this division just yet, but in two to three years they might be controlling it.
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    3. Baltimore Ravens– The Sam Bradford experience is officially over. Raven fans should be happy. The team has not had a winning season under his belt. Heck they have not had a winning season since 2015. This teams success will be based on what 3rd year pro Terry Carter can do. He does have some guys helping him with the passing game in TE Coby Leener and WR Brent Marker. The running came is average at best and that’s being nice. Ross Kestner will prove that last season season was a just a taste of what he will be in this league. Not very good. I did not research this, but I am pretty sure that at 3.65 he had the lowest rushing average with at least 6 starts in the league. The offensive line is going to have its problems. Losing OT’s Sherrod and Blanchard for the year are going to hurt real bad. The good news is rookie center Mathew Maclver appears to be the real deal Holyfield. One thing I don’t understand is why they are going with Mitch Swaine as a punter.He is by far the worst in the league. There are 12 punters on the market right now that are much better then he is. Don’t say its youth, because 3 of the 12 guys are rookies. The defense looks real bright. With the first 2 selection they pretty much set up the secondary for the next 8-10 years in SS Andre Flannery(1.6) and CB Ralph Drickman. MLB Michael Wheeler is the general of the defense. He is one of the most underrated players in the league. On paper the DL looks great. DE’s Graham and Poston need to do a better job getting to the QB. 8.5 sacks between them is not going to do it. DT’s Cox and Brandon are a formidable pair. If this team gets a good running game and some WR’s I see them being a force in the division.
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    4. Cleveland Browns – This is going to be a very long season. They went out and paid a ton of money (over 13 mil per) for a older Sam Bradford who has never had a winning season. His 63 and 103 record is proof of that. Now he is out for half the season, so they are stuck starting with Vernon Coles. His 15/26 ratio is the reason they went out and got Bradford. A lot of pressure will be put on RB Marty Anderson. He has yet to live up to expectations when he was drafted 1.14 in 2028. Don’t look for help at the WR position. They don’t have a true number 1. Graham is not a bad player, just not viewed as a number 1. TE Zwilliger is very solid, but you cant expect him to catch 80 balls. C Flannery is going to be a great one. RT Corey Edward is another very good player on the O-line. Just not much depth there. The defense is lead by one of the best MLB in Luke Keuckly. Aldon Smith a few years ago was unstoppable. He has dipped the last three years. Still should get around 8 sacks. Rookie DT Tyrone Malone looks to be a good one. Have we touched on the fact that they have Luke Keuckly. There is not too much to talk about on the defensive side of the ball. The secondary is one of the worst in the league. There are guys on the street that can play better then some of these guys. Hey…..wait a minute……I think I know why Cleveland signed Bradford. Over the last 8 games he played against Cleveland (4 years) were pretty successful. On average he was 20 for 28 202 yards and a TD. So basically instead of getting Bradford perhaps they could have spent that money on their secondary.



    Last edited by Red Zone; 11-02-2013, 04:35 PM.
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