Baltimore Ravens: The 2013 Ravens were
the latest victims of the post Super Bowl-hangover, as they went 8-8
and failed to reach the playoffs for the first time since John
Harbaugh became the head coach in 2008. Given the amount of talent
the Ravens still have on the roster and just how great of a coach
Harbaugh is, I don't expect the Ravens to disappoint again in 2014. A
vast majority of the problems for the 2013 Ravens lied on the
offensive side of the ball as the team struggled to find much success in
either the passing or rushing game due to an an injury-plagued
offensive line and general lack of weapons for quarterback Joe Flacco
to utilize. The Ravens are in much better shape this season as the
team made some great offseason moves on and off-the-field and more importantly, are coming into the regular season with a healthy roster. General manager
Ozzie Newsome smartly went and re-signed tackle Eugene Monroe and
acquired veteran center Jeremy Zuttah in a trade with the Buccaneers
to give the team a solid, experienced nucleus that they sorely lacked on the offensive line last season. Monroe and Zuttah combined with the return of a healthy
Marshal Yanda gives the Ravens a much stronger offensive front
going into this year that should give Flacco more time to get the ball out and open up holes for a rushing attack that was practically non-existent last season. While the offensive line health and additions
are a big plus for the team, the flashiest moves the Ravens made in
the offseason were in the passing game as they signed veteran wideout
Steve Smith and tight end Owen Daniels. Smith can still produce
pretty good numbers at age 35 and his skills in the short-to-intermediate
pass game are a nice contrast to deep-threats Torrey Smith and Jacoby
Jones; while Daniels gives the Ravens another gifted
pass-catching tight end to put alongside Dennis Pitta. With his
former head coach Gary Kubiak calling the shots on offense, Daniels is a
near-lock to put up solid numbers in 2014. The number one reason I believe the Ravens will be back to form in 2014 is having Pitta, their X-factor on offense, healthy to start the season. Having him
back in the fold for (hopefully) the entire season should be a huge
boost to Flacco's confidence and the overall flow of this offense.
Pitta is Flacco's safety net and when he wasn't on-the-field for the
12 games last season, there was a huge void in this offense that no
one on the team could fill. Pitta's return should really open things
up for this whole unit and get them out of the bottom half of the
league this season. If the offense can get squared away and
re-establish themselves as one of the premier units in the league in
both facets of the game and the defense can have another productive year, the Ravens will without a
doubt be back in the playoffs in 2014.
Cincinnati Bengals: From an on-field
standpoint, the 2014 Bengals are not much different from last season
as defensive end Michael Johnson, outside linebacker James Harrison
and wide receiver Andrew Hawkins are the only starters not returning
from the 2013 team. Where the 2014 Bengals will differ is on the
sideline as longtime coordinators Jay Gruden and Mike Zimmer left the
team for head coaching gigs with the Redskins and Vikings
respectively. The team's ability to adjust to the new schemes of offensive coordinator Hue
Jackson and defensive coordinator Paul Guenther after playing and thriving in Gruden and
Zimmer's schemes for so long is going to be deciding the factor of whether or not the Bengals will succeed this season.
Jackson is an experienced coordinator in the NFL as he previously
held down gigs with the Falcons and Raiders and he's never had a more
talented offense to work with than the one he inherited in
Cincinnati. Jackson is a sharp offensive mind, but his rush-heavy
philosophy is a huge contrast from the pass-heavy offense Gruden ran
in his three years with the team. The team will definitely do more
running than usual this year with the addition of bruising rookie
Jeremy Hill to an already-gifted running back platoon that features
speedster Giovani Bernard and sneakily productive veteran BenJarvus
Green-Ellis, but Jackson is too intelligent to not break his
rush-first ways when his team's most talented player (A.J. Green) is
a wide receiver. While Jackson's status as a proven offensive
coordinator should ease the minds of worried Bengals fans, the same can
not be said of Guenther- who has never held a coordinator job on the
pro level until this season. Guenther has the damn near impossible
task of replacing Zimmer, who is easily one of the sharpest defensive
minds currently coaching in the NFL. Guenther's transition to
successful defensive coordinator is far from guaranteed, but he will
undoubtedly benefit from being turned over the keys to one of the
most gifted defenses in the NFL and coaching under Zimmer for six
years. If quarterback Andy Dalton can overcome his playoff woes and
the transition to new offensive and defensive schemes goes smoothly,
a deep playoff run could be in the cards for the Bengals in 2014.
Cleveland Browns: No one in the AFC
went through a more drastic change this offseason than the Cleveland
Browns. After another horrible season in 2013, owner Jimmy Haslam
nuked the core of the franchise, firing head coach Rod Chudzinki and
general manager Michael Lombardi after only one season. Armed with a
new head coach in Mike Pettine- who served as a longtime assistant
under Rex Ryan with the Ravens and Jets - and a new GM in Ray Farmer,
the Browns made a huge splash in free agency and the draft to try and
finally turn the tide for a team that has been almost completely
devoid of winning since their return to the league in 1999. The
Browns splurged in free agency bringing in high-profile free agents
including safety Donte Whitner, inside linebacker Karlos Dansby and
running back Ben Tate to change the dynamics of this football team. The Browns' aggressive offseason push carried over to the draft, where the team ended up having five picks in the first 100, including two first-rounders (cornerback Justin Gilbert and quarterback Johnny Manziel). While
the Browns made plenty of offseason moves, I still don't think it will be even close
to enough for them to make the playoffs this season. First of all,
the Browns do not have a proven starting quarterback on the roster.
The competition between Brian Hoyer and Manziel has about as much intrigue as the Blaine Gabbert/Chad Henne “competition” in
Jacksonville last season. Hoyer is a journeyman quarterback with only four career starts under his belt while Manziel is the most overhyped player I've
seen in my 22 years on this planet, and is way too raw to make much of
an impact if he hits the field in 2014. Even if Hoyer or Manziel end up surprising as the starter, the Browns passing game is in a state of impending doom
due to the pending year-long suspension of star wide receiver Josh
Gordon. Gordon led the league in receiving last year and was without
question, the primary reason the Browns were able to put any points
on the board. Gordon's production level is something you can't
replace, and unless a miracle happens and Gordon's suspension is
appealed or one of the Browns newly-acquired, over-the-hill wideouts (Andrew Hawkins,
Miles Austin, Nate Burleson) steps up in Gordon's absence, this
offense is pretty much a lock to be amongst the worst in the NFL yet
again. With their offense currently a borderline disaster, the Browns
can at least take solace in the fact that they have a really talented defense.
They already had a top-level defense prior to this season and should
only get better with their offseason pickups on-the-field and in the coaching staff.
Pettine proved last year as the coordinator in Buffalo that he knows
how to run a defense every bit as good as his mentor does and his
intelligence and schemes should do wonders for young guys like
Gilbert and second-year outside linebacker Barkevious Mingo. Throw in
top-tier talents like Whitner and Dansby next to incumbents like star
cornerback Joe Haden and defensive end Desmond Bryant, and you have a
defense that is capable of being one of the most intimidating units
in all of the NFL. The Browns may have a bit more talent this year
than they usually do, but they're are still the Browns and it would
be shocking if they were able to fight their way out of the league's
basement anytime soon.
Pittsburgh Steelers: The Steelers have
been uncharacteristically mediocre of late and their well-established
veteran corps finally started to show serious signs of age in 2013. The
Steelers must have noticed this issue because they either released or
didn't re-sign numerous veteran players including outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley, safety
Ryan Clark and inside linebacker Larry Foote. The 2014 Steelers marks
the beginning of a youth movement for the squad as they'll be relying
on a lot of young guys to make big contributions this year. The
Steelers are expecting especially big things out of second-year guys running
back Le'Veon Bell and wide receiver Markus Wheaton. Bell looked
pretty solid last year in both rushing and pass-catching out of the backfield, and should only get better in his second year in the starting lineup. Wheaton, on the other hand, is a much riskier proposition. He didn't get much playing time in his rookie season and didn't make too many plays (6 receptions, 64 yards in 12 games) when he was on the field. With subpar receivers like Lance
Moore and Darius Heyward-Bey behind him on the depth
chart, Wheaton is going to need to breakout so the Steelers can have
another threat in the passing game outside of 2013 All-Pro Antonio
Brown. On the defensive side of the ball, rookies Ryan Shaizer (inside linebacker) and Stephon
Tuitt (defensive end) are expected to come in start right away and take over the
starting spots that were held by Woodley and Brett Keisel/Ziggy Hood
respectively. Jarvis Jones struggled immensely as a rookie in Dick
LeBeau's system last season, but I feel Shaizer and Tuitt are better
suited for the intensity and sophistication of LeBeau's defense. The
Steelers still have a strong veteran core with proven leaders on
both sides of the ball and a great coaching staff, so these young
guys are coming into a better situation than most of the other
non-playoff teams in the league. Amidst all the uncertainly with the younger players and frustration with missing the playoffs in two consecutive seasons, The Steelers have the
benefit of having an excellent quarterback in Ben Roethlisberger that
can handle adversity better than just about any another quarterback
in the league. Roethlisberger should be even better this year, now
that he has a healthy offensive line in front of him. Roethlisberger
still managed a 4,000+ yard season in 2013 with an offensive line that was in
complete disarray all year long after three-time All-Pro center Maurkice Pouncey
went down with an injury in the season opener against the Titans.
With Pouncey back calling the shots on the offensive line, Roethlisberger should easily be
able to exceed his 2013 performance. The Steelers are definitely not a lock to make the playoffs due to their recent history, but with
Roethlisberger under center and a coaching staff that knows how to
get the most out of everyone on the roster, you certainly can't rule
them out as a dark horse.
Projected Standings for the AFC North:
1.Baltimore Ravens (10-6)
2.Cincinnati Bengals (10-6)
3.Pittsburgh Steelers (8-8)
4.Cleveland Browns (5-11)
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