2009 Afc North Forecast: Partly Cloudy, With A Chance Of (Purple) Reign

flynismo
By flynismo in Ravens Talk,
Okay, since Peter King's predictions are all jacked up, I thought I'd be the "ying" to his (flawed) "yang".

Without further ado, I present to my purple brethren "The First Annual Fly AFC North Prediction Thread ( aka T.F.A.F.A.N.P.T.)"
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1. Baltimore Ravens (13-3)[/b]

With the return of several key players from season ending injuries, and the infusion of new talent via free agency and the draft, this unit gets a fresh start on the road to Miami. The maturation of Flacco and Rice playing behind the league's best offensive line takes the Ravens to the next level.
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2. Pittsburgh Steelers (11-5)[/b]

Fast Willie Parker is looking more and more like Pretty Quick Willie Parker with each passing season. Rashard Mendenhall provides talented, albeit inexperienced, depth should Parker go down, and will likely serve as the short yardage back. Last year's #1 defense will find it tough to repeat their gritty and under-appreciated performance of a year ago, putting more pressure on the offense than it can handle (Ben's fourth quarter heroics will need to work it's magic again for Pittsburgh).
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3. Cincinnati Bengals (6-10)[/b]

The Bungles are considered by many to be 2009's surprise team. This Fly guy isn't on that train. Carson Palmer showed signs of decline before last year's disaster, and one of his favorite targets is now in Seattle (replaced by the explosive but very inconsistent Lavearneous Coles). A solid draft and the progression of several of their young defenders result in a couple upset victories this year, but little else.
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4. Cleveland Browns (4-12)[/b]

Seriously, it's the Browns. They suck.
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