1.Baltimore Ravens (10-6)
2.Cincinnati Bengals (10-6)
3.Pittsburgh Steelers (8-8)
4.Cleveland Browns (5-11)
Actual Standings:
1.Pittsburgh Steelers (11-5)
2.Cincinnati Bengals (10-5-1)
3.Baltimore Ravens (10-6)
4.Cleveland Browns (7-9)
Baltimore Ravens: The Baltimore Ravens returned to form in 2014 after a disappointing 2013 campaign that saw them missing the playoffs for the first time in the Joe Flacco/John Harbaugh era. The Ravens continued their recent trend of being an offense-first football team and arguably had the best offense they've had in franchise history in 2014. Their success on offense can largely be attributed to their revamped offensive line. The combination of having guys like Kelechi Osemele and Marshal Yanda return to lineup fully healthy and the introduction of new offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak's zone blocking schemes transformed this unit from one of the worst in the league in 2013 to one of the best in 2014. The O-line excelled in both pass protection and run blocking which allowed Flacco to have the best season of his career and journeyman running back Justin Forsett to have an unexpected breakout season in his seventh year in the league. The offense was also bolstered by the addition of veteran wide receiver Steve Smith. Smith continues to prove he's an ageless freak by leading the team in receptions (79) and receiving yards (1,065) at age 35. Smith's playmaking ability and leadership was a godsend to a Ravens team that desperately needed more offensive weapons. Really the only glaring weakness with the Ravens this year was their secondary. Their loaded front seven made their secondary looked passable at times, but when they couldn't get pressure on opposing quarterbacks, they got ruined. Aside from cornerback Jimmy Smith (who went down with a foot injury in early November) and safety Will Hill, there was no one in this secondary that played even passable football this season. Former first round pick Matt Elam continues to disappoint at strong safety and Lardarius Webb just isn't the same player he was before he tore his ACL in 2012. They're going to have to solve these secondary issues fast if want to they pick up another title because a lot of their impact players-especially on defense-only have a couple of great years left in them. 2014 could have been a tumultuous season in wake of the Ray Rice scandal, but their veteran leadership and excellent coaching was enough to overcome the off-field distractions and get this team back to the playoffs. If this offense can continue to play at a high level and they can fix the massive issues on the back end of their defense, the Ravens will rise back to the top of the AFC in 2015.
Cincinnati Bengals: Out of all the playoff teams in the NFL this season, no one was more erratic than the Cincinnati Bengals. In their 10 wins, they were mostly dominant and looked like a legitimate force of nature. In their 5 losses, they looked like a doormat (all of their losses were by at least 10 points) who was years away from making the playoffs, let alone contending for a Super Bowl. The Bengals' schizophrenic play as a team largely lies on the shoulders of quarterback Andy Dalton. Dalton has been in the league for four years and he still can't shake off any of the problems that have plagued him since his rookie year. For every game where he shows his stellar accuracy and shreds defenses for 300+ yards and multiple TD's, he has another where he throws multiple INT's and looks completely lost whenever he drops back to pass. In Dalton's defense, his top wideout A.J. Green wasn't healthy for approximately half of the season and reliable number three wideout Marvin Jones missed the entire season, which left him with extremely limited options in the passing game. Dalton is a serviceable quarterback who can consistently accumulate 10-11 wins in a season, but until he learns to step up under pressure and limit his turnovers, he won't be a true franchise quarterback. Things didn't go much better on the other side of the ball as the Bengals defense was pretty mediocre for much of the year. Defensive tackle Geno Atkins didn't bounce back well at all from the torn ACL that cut his 2013 season short, outside linebacker and run-stuffing specialist Vontaze Burfict missed 11 games with a variety of injuries, their secondary was passable but didn't scare anyone, and they struggled to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks, finishing with a league-low 20 sacks. While the middling play of Atkins and absence of Burfict for much of the year are certainly at the root of the problem, it was pretty clear all season long that they missed former defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, who is now the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings. Zimmer knew how to scheme well regardless of personnel and always had this defense in the top half of the league. New coordinator Paul Gunther just couldn't really make it work with the guys he had and it certainly held this team back when the offense wasn't clicking. The Bengals were dealt their fair share of bad luck this season, but one of the very few blessings they got this season was in the form of rookie running back Jeremy Hill. The drafting of Hill in the second round seemed a bit perplexing considering they just drafted Giovani Bernard a year ago, but Hill proved to be a great choice as he gave them a two-way power back they could lean on every week. The pairing of a bruising, durable runner in Hill with an elusive speed back who can shread defenses in the open field in Bernard gives the Bengals a good shot at having the single most lethal backfield in the league for years to come. The Bengals were once again the most polarizing good football team in the league and they're going to remain that way until they can stop falling into the same pitfalls that hold them back every single year.
Cleveland Browns: The Browns looked to be well on their way to their second winning season since their return to the league in 1999 this year. Brian Hoyer was a solid albeit unspectacular quarterback who protected the ball, they had a legitimate running game for the first time since Jamal Lewis left the team and their defense was doing a relatively solid job of keeping points off the board. Their remarkably solid play left them with a 6-3 record after Week 10 and very much alive in the playoff hunt going into the stretch run. Then late November and December happened. The team lost seven of their last eight games-often in the ugliest fashion possible- and reverted back to the sloppy, laughing stock Browns the football world has come to know all too well in recent years. Hoyer became a turnover machine, their running game faded away and the defense started getting blown up on the regular. Not even the return of star wideout Josh Gordon from suspension in Week 12 could fix their offensive woes. Even with the turbulent finish to their season, you have to give the Browns some credit. First year head coach Mike Pettine was dealt a less than ideal hand that only got worse as the year went along ,and he still managed to make this team competitive for most of the season. This was an offense that was missing its two cornerstone pieces (Gordon and tight end Jordan Cameron) from a year ago and were dealing with the offseason loss of numerous veteran difference makers on defense including inside linebackers Karlos Dansby and D'Qwell Jackson, and safety T.J. Ward. No one expected anything from them this season and while they still didn't fully deliver, Pettine and his staff can take pride in the fact that they picked up as many wins as they did with a team that was missing a number of its best players on both sides of the ball. Even with their overachieving for first half of the year, there's no denying the Browns do have some huge holes to fix if they want to keep this upward trend going. Their rush defense was dead-last in the league and was the only aspect of the team that wasn't affective at any point in 2014. Jackson and Dansby's help in the run game was desperately missed and their entire interior line was horrendous all year long. Finding some quality defensive tackles and inside linebackers should be at the top of their offseason priority list. And of course, you have the dilemma at quarterback. Hoyer is a free agent this season and even though he looked good at the start of the year, his collapse at the end of the season showed that he just doesn't have what it takes to start in this NFL. The problem for the Browns is that it looks like their 2014 first-round draft pick Johnny Manziel also lacks what it takes to be the starter. His two starts this season were absolutely painful to watch. He showed zero semblance of prowess or football IQ as he consistently made boneheaded throws into double/triple coverage on the run and looked painfully uncomfortable in any situation where he was forced to stay in the pocket and pass. Manziel's Tasmanian Devil, chicken running around with its head cut off style of play just doesn't translate well to the NFL. The Browns are pretty much forced to roll with him for at least a little bit moving forward since they spent a high draft pick on him, but unless he drastically changes who he is as a player and shows drastic growth in maturity off-the-field, he's going to have an incredibly hard time succeeding in this league. The Browns showed more signs of life in 2014, but the results were familiarly disappointing for the long-suffering fans in the Dog Pound.
Pittsburgh Steelers: The Steelers rose from the ashes and silenced their critics who said their days of greatness were behind them by finishing with their first winning record and playoff berth since 2011. The 2014 Steelers were defined by a massive resurgence on offense. Ben Roethlisberger led the charge with what was quite possibly the season of his career, throwing for nearly 5,000 yards and 32 TD's on the year. Roethlisberger had some struggles early in the year, but with the help of a much-improved offensive line and a suddenly formidable running game, he showed resilience and went onto help this team pick up 11 victories with his often dominant play. Helping Big Ben achieve his career year was the tandem of wide receiver Antonio Brown and running back Le'Veon Bell. Brown continued his rapid ascent to the top of the league's receiver ranks with another absurd 100+ catch season with a league-leading 1,698 yards and 13 TD's. If Brown still can get the respect he so rightfully deserves after this season, there's no justice in the football world. Meanwhile in the backfield, Bell had a breakout season in his second year in the league picking up an astonishing 2,215 all-purpose yards and 11 TD's on the year. As far as I'm concerned, Bell is the most complete running back to enter the league since Matt Forte. Offense may have ran the show for the Steelers this season, but head coach Mike Tomlin and defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau deserve a lot of credit for the way they put the defense together this season. The injury bug ran rampant through this team as starters Troy Polamalu, Ike Taylor, Cortez Allen, Brett Kiesel, Steve McLendon and rookie Ryan Shazier all missed significant time, which forced a lot of career backups and inexperienced young guys into the starting lineup. Outside of inside linebacker Lawrence Timmons, who had an All-Pro caliber season, they weren't an overly dominant unit, but they were pretty damn good (in fact, they were exceptionally good against the run) considering the revolving door of starters they had throughout the season. LeBeau's-who just resigned from the team last week- wizardry on defense is going to be sorely missed in the Steel City next season. The Steelers got back on track in 2014 and if they can stay healthy, they have a good shot of matching or possibly exceeding this productivity next year.
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