Houston Texans: The 2013 Texans campaign was a shocking nightmare, as the team followed up two straight playoff berths with a 2-14 season that ended with 14 straight losses. While the Texans are almost a lock to do better in 2014, there isn't much of a reason to get really excited about the Texans this year. It's undeniable that the Achilles heel of the Texans last season was quarterback play. Matt Schaub was a turnover machine, Case Keenum looked good at times, but struggled to get the ball in the endzone and T.J. Yates was pretty much useless in his one start. For whatever reason, The Texans didn't really do much to address this problem in the offseason. They brought in journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick and drafted Tom Savage in the fourth round, but I don't see either of them being able to solve the problem. While Fitzpatrick isn't quite as bad he's made out to be, he's not a guy that you can really count on to consistently win games. At the very least, Fitzpatrick does have experience and won't completely flop with veteran playmakers like running back Arian Foster and wide receiver Andre Johnson around him, making him the reluctant best option for the starting job. Savage is a completely different story, as he's a rookie with a huge arm and a lot of potential to be productive at the pro level in the future. The problem with Savage is that's he's far too unpolished at the moment to see the field at all this season, let alone be the starting quarterback. Of course, you always have Keenum as a fallback option, but he probably won't get much done as this is mostly the same offense he failed to produce with last season. It's a shame too because the Texans are built like a playoff team outside of the quarterback position and only got stronger in the offseason with the addition of number one overall draft pick outside linebacker/defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, a potential sleeper tight end in third-round pick C.J. Fiedorowicz. and veteran safety Chris Clemons to their already talented units on both sides of the ball. The Texans are a squad with a lot of talent, but they won't return to the playoffs until they find a steady, productive quarterback.
Indianapolis Colts: In an extremely weak division, the Colts reigned supreme in 2013 going 11-5, which was a mere four games ahead of the second-place Tennessee Titans. In 2014, nothing has changed as the Colts are still head and shoulders above the rest of the teams in the division, and have only improved in the offseason. The Colts biggest additions were on the defensive front as they picked up defensive end Arthur Jones and inside linebacker D'Qwell Jackson to help turn around a rush defense that ranked 26th in the league in 2013. Jones and Jackson alongside the wildly underrated inside linebacker Jerrell Freeman and ageless pash-rushing demon Robert Mathis give the Colts a pretty lethal front seven that could really turn some heads this season. While the additions on defense certainly make the Colts a stronger team, the biggest reason the Colts should be even better in 2014 is quarterback Andrew Luck. Luck was sensational in 2013, cutting down his turnovers substantially and showing a lot more poise in and out of the pocket. Throw in the return of a healthy Reggie Wayne and Dwayne Allen, a potential comeback season for offseason pickup Hakeem Nicks and his ever-growing chemistry with T.Y Hilton, and Luck has all the tools he needs to have his best season to-date in 2014. Really the only giant question mark this team has is in the running game. Trent Richardson proved last year that he can not handle the duties of being a number one back in this league. Richardson's god awful vision and inability to break tackles isn't something that can be easily fixed, and I expect him once again struggle this season. The news doesn't fare much better in the Colts backfield behind Richardson as Vick Ballard is already out for the season with a torn achilles, leaving the injury-prone Ahmad Bradshaw as their backup and most reliable option in the running game. With basically no contingency plan in place if Richardson struggles yet again, the Colts could be forced into being a completely one-dimensional offense this season. The Broncos and Patriots clearly still run the AFC, but if there's any team that can emerge as a dark horse and unseat them from their throne, it's the Colts.
Jacksonville Jaguars: A sense of optimism may be around the corner in Jacksonville. The team used their first pick in the draft this year on quarterback Blake Bortles, who they believe is their quarterback of the future. Based on his college game tape and pre-draft workouts, I believe Bortles possesses the talent to eventually turn this down on their luck franchise around when he gets the chance to start in the coming years. However, that feeling of hope will be not be present this year as 2014 is shaping up to be yet another year of misery for the Jaguars. Of all the teams in the NFL, I don't think there is a team with less talent on their roster than the Jaguars. They did have a decent draft this year and added some solid enough veterans in free agency, but they still have giant gaps on both sides of the ball that weren't remedied in the offseason. First off, their offense is still an absolute disaster with middling journeyman quarterback Chad Henne leading the charge. Henne hasn't done much of anything in his two seasons with the Jaguars thus far yet he remains the starting quarterback. Henne's subpar production isn't entirely on him, as his offensive line has been terrible and his best wide receivers are often injured or suspended . Going into this season, Henne faces the same problems as the offensive line is still weak (even with the addition of ex-Bronco guard Zane Beadles) and number one wideout Justin Blackmon is suspended indefinitely. The Jaguars only hope on offense is running back Toby Gerhart. Gerhart has been touted as the next bellcow running back that's going to take the league by storm by many analysts and Jaguars coaches this season. Gerhart certainly has the size to be a dominant back (6'0, 231 lbs), but you don't know if he can handle that workload since he's never been a starter nor do you know how good he really is since he only got a small number of carries each year backing up Adrian Peterson with the Vikings. For the Jaguars sake, they better hope Gerhart pans out. They've got basically an entire offense riding on him at the moment. Things aren't much brighter on the defensive side of the ball. The team did invest heavily in a new, veteran-led defensive line, but I don't think guys like Red Bryant, Chris Clemons and Ziggy Hood are going to do much of anything to turn this team around. Seahawks castoffs Bryant and Clemons are going to be asked to do a lot more with considerably less talent around them and I really don't think they can live up to the challenge. Hood has a similar problem as Bryant and Clemons as he's also coming from a talented defense that thrived with or without his contributions. Hood struggled mightily last year for the Steelers and I doubt his elevated role with the Jaguars will do anything to help matters. Outside of these new guys, this is basically the same defense that finished in the bottom five in total defense a year ago. I expect this unit to be just as bad, if not worse in 2014. Gus Bradley is a good, motivated coach who is respected by his players and is able to get the most out of them. The problem is that no matter how good the coaching is, there just isn't enough talent on this squad to make a splash anytime in the near future.
Tennessee Titans: The Tennessee Titans are a team that is pretty easy to forget about. They aren't offensively bad, they certainly aren't great, they're kind of just there and I don't expect that to change in the slightest in 2014. Aside from the departure of longtime running back Chris Johnson and budding star cornerback Alterraun Verner, it's pretty much business as usual with the Titans. Just about the only intriguing storyline for the Titans this season is how quarterback Jake Locker will fare in a make-or-break season after the Titans declined the fifth-year option on his rookie deal due to his inability to stay healthy for a full season. How Locker plays this year will not only decide his future with the Titans, but as a starter in the NFL in general. Locker looked better than ever in his five starts last season and if he can beat the odds and stay healthy, I believe he will string together a solid season and become the Titans long-term starting quarterback. The other intriguing storyline involves the impact of rookie running back Bishop Sankey could have on this offense. Sankey was one of the most heralded running back prospects in this year's draft thanks to his elusiveness, ability to catch passes out of the backfield and pass-block. With Johnson gone and an offense that is hurting for additional weapons next to wideout Kendall Wright, Sankey has the potential to be an integral part of this offense this year. The Titans are a bit better off on defense with 2013 All-Pro defensive tackle Jurrell Casey and linebacker Zach Brown anchoring a surprisingly stout front seven, but suffered a huge loss on the back end with Verner departing in free agency. Verner was a dominant presence in this secondary that was excellent in coverage and created a lot of turnovers. This secondary has instantly become more vulnerable without Verner and whoever gets the starting job (either Coty Sensabaugh or Blidi Wreh-Wilson) next to Jason McCourty is more than likely going to have endure some serious growing pains. The Titans might a new coach in Ken Wisenhunt, (potential) new franchise running back in Sankey and a handful of other new faces on offense and defense, but this is still the same old mediocre Tennessee Titans.
Projected Standings for the AFC South:
1.Indianpolis Colts (11-5)
2.Houston Texans (7-9)
3.Tennessee Titans (6-10)
4.Jacksonville Jaguars (3-13)
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