Houston Texans: The Texans are coming off the first ever division title and playoff appearance last season. Unless something radically awful happens, I can't imagine they don't repeat this year. The teams around them are all pretty weak (save for maybe Tennessee) and they have far too much offensive firepower to be contained within this division. I mean they won a playoff game with unproven rookie backup quarterback T.J Yates at the helm of their offense last year. Matt Schaub being back at quarterback is great news for Houston. He is one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the league and it looks like the season-ending foot injury isn't bothering him, so expect a productive year from him. Surrounding him Houston has the best 1-2 running back combo in the league with Arian Foster and Ben Tate and a top 5 wideout in Andre Johnson. The only reason for concern is the big loss of Mario Williams on defense. He was their number 1 pass rusher and someone is going to have step up to fill the void. They drafted Whitney Merclius out of Illinois in the first round to hopefully stop some of the holes created once Williams exited. Their defense has some question marks, but their elite offense should get them by no problem especially with weak competition in the rest of the division.
Indianapolis Colts: The Colts are going into their first season in 15 years with Peyton Manning on the roster. Last season was pure torture for them when Manning missed the whole season and this year officially marks the start of the Colts rebuilding process. The future does indeed looks bright for the Colts, but this season probably won't be. Andrew Luck, in my opinion, is the finest quarterback prospect since Aaron Rodgers. He is mobile, intelligent, has experience in a pro-style offense during his college career at Stanford, and he has an absolute cannon. His play should help the Colts improve from last year, but I think with the players around him, they won't achieve immediate success. Outside of all-pro wideout Reggie Wayne and promising rookie tight end Coby Fleener (who played with Luck at Stanford), They have no one that really can do any damage offensively. Donald Brown hasn't done much in his career so far at running back and Austin Collie and Donnie Avery are inconsistent and oft-injured receivers who are capable of decent number at times, but they frequently miss the mark. The Colts also have a shaky and unproven defense outside of veterans Dwight Freeney, Robert Mathis, and Antoine Bethea. The Colts have brighter days on the horizon, but they are going to have to make it through another couple years of suffering to get there.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Now here's a team that the exact opposite of the Colts. They never reached the heights the Colts did in the past decade and now they are pretty much instantly a basement-dwelling team after playing awful all of last season. The root of their problems is at quarterback. Blane Gabbert didn't really prove himself last season and if he repeats that play this season, They are screwed. They do have the incredibly average Chad Henne to backup Gabbert, but he probably won't improve the Jaguars too much if he is called upon to play. The even bigger problem that came out of the blue is the holdout of star running back Maurice Jones-Drew. If Jones-Drew holds out for the season, The Jaguars have a huge problem. He IS their offense and they have no one to take his place at the running back position. Losing the leading rusher in the NFL from a year ago and one of the most explosive players in the league for the entire season would be devastating for them. On the plus side, Jacksonville did make some solid pick-ups in the offseason. They drafted wide receiver Justin Blackmon in the first round of the draft. Blackmon is a huge target and has a ton of potential to be a difference maker at wide receiver. They also signed veteran wide receiver Laurent Robinson and defensive back Aaron Ross. Both players give them depth at their respective positions and add talented, veteran presences that will bolster Jacksonville's production on both sides of the ball. There are some bright spots and they shouldn't be too bad if Maurice Jones-Drew shows up and plays all season, but Jacksonville is still a pretty weak team that is going to need to overachieve immensely if they want to have a half-decent season.
Tennessee Titans: The Titans turned out a solid season last year and I expect more of the same this season. They are the only team besides Houston that I can see possibly winning this division. How Tennessee fairs is really going to depend on how their star players preform. Chris Johnson is coming off of a down year and they still went 9-7. If Johnson goes back to his peak years production this season then watch out. Same with top wideout Kenny Britt. Britt is currently injured and missed most of last season with a torn MCL. When Britt is healthy, he has played incredible and whenever he comes this back this year he could be a huge asset to their offense. The Titans do have an interesting battle at quarterback right now that might end up hurting them during the season. Second-year prospect Jake Locker has showed some promise, but veteran Matt Hasselbeck played well last year and looks to have a couple years left in the tank. Personally if I was the Titans, I would keep Hasselbeck in there and let Locker continue to develop before handing him the reigns. The Titans are a pretty good, but not great team that could contend for a playoff spot.
My predictions for the AFC South
1.Houston Texans (11-5)
2.Tennessee Titans (9-7)
3.Indianapolis Colts (5-11)
4.Jacksonville Jaguars (5-11)
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