AFC Review

[Cillmatic]

.

Edited August 21, 2015 by Cillmatic

[Sami84]

i disagree with colts wasting a pick on dorsett..you can never have too many good receivers regardless of style or similarities.

[Cillmatic]

i disagree with colts wasting a pick on dorsett..you can never have too many good receivers regardless of style or similarities.

Multiple additions to One value Position is a waste of roster spots. Look at last 3 super bowl winners. The Ravens, Seahawks and Patriots didn't have 1 really good value position, they were all spread out teams. If the Colts face a good secondary they are COMPLETELY screwed because they have a bad denfense and a below average rushing Game.

Edited June 1, 2015 by Cillmatic

[Sami84]

Also ryan clady was horrible last year..

[ludy51]

i disagree

I will try to contain my suprise

[Cillmatic]

Also ryan clady was horrible last year..

In the running game, not pass coverage.

[Purple_City39]

i disagree with colts wasting a pick on dorsett..you can never have too many good receivers regardless of style or similarities.

T.Y. Hilton and Andre Johnson were already set as the starters.  They also had a very good #3 in Donte Moncrief, who can still get better.  Then finally, they signed 6'5 Duron Carter.  

When these are your top 4 WRs, you don't waste, yes waste, a 1st round draft pick on another WR after watching your team lose a playoff game because a mediocre RB ran all over them.

[lgcs27288]

I think the Chargers are going to provide a challenge this year.

[ravensnick]

T.Y. Hilton and Andre Johnson were already set as the starters.  They also had a very good #3 in Donte Moncrief, who can still get better.  Then finally, they signed 6'5 Duron Carter.  

When these are your top 4 WRs, you don't waste, yes waste, a 1st round draft pick on another WR after watching your team lose a playoff game because a mediocre RB ran all over them.

They did sign Frank Gore and draft Josh Robinson, who I think is a little underrated. 

[Cillmatic]

They did sign Frank Gore and draft Josh Robinson, who I think is a little underrated.

Their O-line is bad and the colts run a pass first offense so any impact an old running back and a rookie will have will be minimal.

Edited June 1, 2015 by Cillmatic

[ravensnick]

What Indy really needs is interior OL. 

[FlackAttack]

I think the Chargers are going to provide a challenge this year.

I agree, Melvin Gordon will be a handful, and rivers always brings it.

[52N19]

i think the texans will finally give the imposters(aka stolen colts) a tough run this year. willfolk, watt and clowney will do damage. obrien is a very good coach. how they were in the playoff hunt last year with their qb situation was amazing.

Edited June 1, 2015 by 52N19

[darklight1216]

I think the Chargers are going to provide a challenge this year.

It seems like they are always challenging to the Ravens. (Though personally, after hey-diddle-diddle, I don't begrudge them that)

[balfan23]

I think the Chargers are going to provide a challenge this year.

I agree. They are tentatively my pick for that division. While I am not predicting the demise of Manning, I think last year's slide back from his other-worldly 2013 season is going to continue. 

[Cillmatic]

I agree. They are tentatively my pick for that division. While I am not predicting the demise of Manning, I think last year's slide back from his other-worldly 2013 season is going to continue.

Chiefs own that division.

[rpolla22]

What Indy really needs is interior OL. 

It's not good when you got good ol' A.Q. Shipley on your line

[Edgar]

Still need an answer for cincy. They play as if they expect to beat us.

[beasy2487]

Still need an answer for cincy. They play as if they expect to beat us.

 

The answers for Cincy are competent WR3 and CB3 play. You beat the cover 2 in the soft zones and you beat the WCO with the press. Last year we couldn't get either position to step up. This year we just need one...(I'm looking at you, Kyle.)

[ellicottraven]

Kansas City, Miami, Bills, Jets and the Chargers will all surprise this year. So, it is a little early to tell who is tops.

[Gordo52]

I view Indy as the biggest threats in the AFC... I predict the Ravens will beat em in the championship game but if we can't, my money is on Luck taking that next step and winning a championship....They gotta get past New England first, which hasn't been that easy for them so far. But once they get that monkey off their back, they're going to be a scary-confident team. I also love the vets they picked up this season.

Patriots, Steelers, Broncos round it out.....In that order. I'm gonna guess the other wildcard goes to Cincy or AFCE team... Gonna go with Bills.

We all already know about New England & Pittsburgh. They're going to be there and be tough to beat... Hopefully we'll play at least one of em at the bank.

I think Denver is safe but SD & KC should be right behind them... That o-line scares me and who knows how Peyton will fare as the season goes on....Cincy ain't crap and I'll refuse to consider them actual super bowl contenders until Dalton/M. Lewis are gone. All they are is playoff contenders. 1 & dones.... Just a pain on our side in the regular season but a disgrace to the division when playing in the postseason. They got the talent but man do I hate their bluffing/choking ways.

It's still way early so obviously things will change. Hopefully no major injuries/player arrests this season.

Edited June 2, 2015 by Gordo52

[Gordo52]

I'm expecting Luck to surge this year....Drop them INT's down and play Rodgers-like...

That whole offense will be better with their youth getting another year better...Andre + Gore are upgrades that will be playing inspired. Dorsett will ease himself in and probably have a John Brown like season.

I believe in Pagano also.... Don't sleep on em

[balfan23]

Chiefs own that division.

Since the Broncos have won the division for the past 4 years, I'd say they are the ones that can lay that claim. I do think they will relinquish it this year, but I'm not feeling it for the Chiefs.

 

Yes, they added deep threat Maclin ... but I guess we'll find out if Bowe disappeared from the face of the earth because of Bowe or because his QB didn't want to throw the ball more than 15 yards in the air. If Maclin disappears, I think we'll know why. 

[Adreme]

I'm expecting Luck to surge this year....Drop them INT's down and play Rodgers-like...

That whole offense will be better with their youth getting another year better...Andre + Gore are upgrades that will be playing inspired. Dorsett will ease himself in and probably have a John Brown like season.

I believe in Pagano also.... Don't sleep on em

 

There offense will be amazing but playoff games typically are not shootouts and there defense is mediocre at best and will likely mean they lose a game 45-30 in the playoffs because most playoff teams have decent defenses.

 

As for the Broncos I would not sleep on them just because Manning was hurt last year and didnt play as well.  I will believe Manning is on the decline when he does not play well when healthy but I dont question Hall of Fame QBs until they start playing bad when healthy.

 

The Patriots are a team that on offense will be the Patriots and on defense I have no idea what they are planning.  I know they will certainly get pressure on the QB but you cant get pressure every single down and they dont have there top 3 corners from last year but then again they released the 3rd willingly so they must have some confidence in there depth at that position.

 

In the AFC North I am fairly confident that the Bengals are taking a step back but I dont really know what to expect of the Steelers (or Ravens).  The Steelers have the potential to be way better but they also have a lot of the same problems that got them knocked out of the playoffs in the first place so they could be 12-4 or 9-7 and neither one would surprise me all that much.  As I said earlier I am hesitant to pick against HoF QBs and Ben is on his way to becoming one of those.  

 

Lastly for the Ravens they have a lot of potential questions that if they hold up how the front office hopes they will they will be great but there are about 5 key things the Ravens need to have go there way.

1.  They need Perriman to be able to fill Torrie's role fairly quickly otherwise they will be fairly thin at reciever with a ton of number 3 recievers but no real 1 or 2 outside of an aging Steve Smith whos snaps they want to limit to keep him at full force come playoff time.

2.  Will Pitta return and if not Can Maxx Williams fill that void otherwise you have the same problem as the one at WR?

3.  Can Timmy fill Ngata's role over the course of an entire season?  Unlike the first 2 questions he has played in the NFL but being a starter is way different then being a situational player.

4.  Who will fill McPhee's role as the 3rd great pass rusher for the defense?  A lot of the options for this are again players who have either limited or no NFL experience so projecting is not a sure thing by any stretch  I am less worried if they are unable to fill this role but in the NFL you want to have 2 great outside pass rushers and someone from the inside to make the same mess if you want to have an elite pass rushing unit

5.  Can the Ravens top 2 corners who now both have an injury history stay healthy for the entire season but after Arrington the depth is still rather shaky and in many cases it has its own injury history.

 

Honestly if the Ravens can answer yes to 2 of those questions I think they win the division and if they answer yes to 4 of them I think they are the favorites to win the AFC because I think most of the top teams took either a step back or didnt address the right areas in the offseason.

[Ravenslifer]

I said this earlier, but I can't get behind the Colts because their poor run defense was exposed by the Patriots and they did basically nothing in the offseason to really shore that up.  Unless they play all their playoff games in the dome at Indy, I have a hard time seeing them win January football games built like they are.

[DomMcRaven]

I said this earlier, but I can't get behind the Colts because their poor run defense was exposed by the Patriots and they did basically nothing in the offseason to really shore that up.  Unless they play all their playoff games in the dome at Indy, I have a hard time seeing them win January football games built like they are.

What about their run game? Sure they got Gore, but I'm not so sure about their offensive line either. As legitimate Super Bowl contenders, I stand by the Colts being overrated.

[harfordravenfan]

There offense will be amazing but playoff games typically are not shootouts and there defense is mediocre at best and will likely mean they lose a game 45-30 in the playoffs because most playoff teams have decent defenses.

 

As for the Broncos I would not sleep on them just because Manning was hurt last year and didnt play as well.  I will believe Manning is on the decline when he does not play well when healthy but I dont question Hall of Fame QBs until they start playing bad when healthy.

 

The Patriots are a team that on offense will be the Patriots and on defense I have no idea what they are planning.  I know they will certainly get pressure on the QB but you cant get pressure every single down and they dont have there top 3 corners from last year but then again they released the 3rd willingly so they must have some confidence in there depth at that position.

 

In the AFC North I am fairly confident that the Bengals are taking a step back but I dont really know what to expect of the Steelers (or Ravens).  The Steelers have the potential to be way better but they also have a lot of the same problems that got them knocked out of the playoffs in the first place so they could be 12-4 or 9-7 and neither one would surprise me all that much.  As I said earlier I am hesitant to pick against HoF QBs and Ben is on his way to becoming one of those.  

 

Lastly for the Ravens they have a lot of potential questions that if they hold up how the front office hopes they will they will be great but there are about 5 key things the Ravens need to have go there way.

1.  They need Perriman to be able to fill Torrie's role fairly quickly otherwise they will be fairly thin at reciever with a ton of number 3 recievers but no real 1 or 2 outside of an aging Steve Smith whos snaps they want to limit to keep him at full force come playoff time.

2.  Will Pitta return and if not Can Maxx Williams fill that void otherwise you have the same problem as the one at WR?

3.  Can Timmy fill Ngata's role over the course of an entire season?  Unlike the first 2 questions he has played in the NFL but being a starter is way different then being a situational player.

4.  Who will fill McPhee's role as the 3rd great pass rusher for the defense?  A lot of the options for this are again players who have either limited or no NFL experience so projecting is not a sure thing by any stretch  I am less worried if they are unable to fill this role but in the NFL you want to have 2 great outside pass rushers and someone from the inside to make the same mess if you want to have an elite pass rushing unit

5.  Can the Ravens top 2 corners who now both have an injury history stay healthy for the entire season but after Arrington the depth is still rather shaky and in many cases it has its own injury history.

 

Honestly if the Ravens can answer yes to 2 of those questions I think they win the division and if they answer yes to 4 of them I think they are the favorites to win the AFC because I think most of the top teams took either a step back or didnt address the right areas in the offseason.

 

1- Have a hard time believing that one or two of our young wr's don't show up considering the talent the group has (not vets but all hungry). I think we got wr covered personally

2- I think Pitta will play but even if he doesn't we have a lot of talent in our receiving group (TE's included). I think #2 is covered also

3- Jerrigan isn't Ngata but he's a handful and when you add the others in our D-line unit... I'm not at all worried about them

4- I see a few players getting pressure besides our olber's (Jerrigan, Smith, Davis, maybe even my boy Williams)

5- Can't see both of them go down again but wouldn't say someone couldn't get injured... ya never know but I don't expect 5 CB's to go down this year

 

So, I do see us getting into the playoffs and then some... time will tell I guess

[Adreme]

I typically put low stock on saying multiple people who never played a single down in the NFL are safe bets to be productive starters.  The situation at WR is basically that Perriman is likely going to start and play a lot because none of the other WR who have played in the NFL have shown to be anything more then a number 3 WR and the situation at TE is Pitta, Williams or no real receiving TE.  The others will be great blockers but not so much about the receptions and they were not drafted to be that.

 

When talking about that 3rd pass rusher with the system they use, it basically requires it to be one of the linebackers. Someone on the dline can be a threat like how Ngata was a threat and how historically we have had other people on the dline be a threat but having 3 linebackers who can rush the passer is huge and I know there are 2 possibles for the spot and if one can step up that will be a success.

[ALSKAN RAVEN FAN]

It is going to be a fun year. All I know is whoever steps on the field with our Ravens better buckle-up their chin straps. We will get to witness young careers take off this season on both sides of the ball. It is going to be interesting to see how each of our young players respond.

[ravensnick]

I'm expecting Luck to surge this year....Drop them INT's down and play Rodgers-like...

That whole offense will be better with their youth getting another year better...Andre + Gore are upgrades that will be playing inspired. Dorsett will ease himself in and probably have a John Brown like season.

I believe in Pagano also.... Don't sleep on em

Luck's INT come from sheer volume. Indy passed so much, it was hard for him to not have that many INTs. If they can get a semblance of a run game with Gore, his number will drop.