Edward's Predictions

First off, I apologize for the confusing format, but I guess Blake and I will be trading off our views of divisions up until this all important first week. Not sure if I can commit to that, seeing as this little thing called college might get in my way, but I'll do my best.

AFC North -
I'll start by saying that I do not like the Pittsburgh Steelers to repeat as champions this year. In fact, I'd be surprised if they make it past the divisional round of the playoffs. There are too many good teams in the AFC (San Diego, New England, Indianapolis, Baltimore, and Tennessee) for there to be continuity in the Champions. Besides that, the Steelers have a ridiculous amount of flaws for a defending champion. Most importantly, their offensive line cannot run block. Despite "Fast Willie's" best efforts, he hasn't had a crack, let alone a hole to run through over the past two seasons. This is best shown by their league worst 3rd or 4th and 1 conversion percentage, 52%. Without a running game, that means Big Ben will be dropping back for between 30-45 passes a game. With his incredible ability (disability?) to hold on to the ball for an unbelievably long time, he is bound to be sacked a lot. In fact, he was sacked 130+ times in the past 3 seasons. Regardless of how durable he is, he will get hurt this season. Without Ben, I don't see much to fear from this offense. Yes, Santonio Holmes is emerging as a legitimate top wide receiver, but I do not have confidence in Charlie Batch to "manage" Pitt's way to many victories. Also, I doubt that the defense can maintain such a high level back-to-back seasons, as all the injuries that they avoided last year will hurt them this year. Thus, I see an 11-5 season out of the defending champs, a wild card spot, and an early playoff exit in the wild card round.

Baltimore Ravens - I like them to win the division. One factor that Blake fails to count is the easier schedule that a team gets from being 2nd in the division relative to first. Instead of San Diego, Baltimore gets Denver. The difference in a game like that will make all the difference. I expect Joe Flacco to make substantial improvements this year, especially as he has his trusty #1, Derrick Mason back for another season. The three-headed fantasy owner monster of RBs that we saw last year will likely not continue. All the preseason hype has gone into Ray Rice, but I have my doubts about his ability to hold up to a season of hits. My money is on Le'Ron McClain to assert himself as a bonafide touchdown vulture and all-around wrecking ball. If Ed Reed and the rest of the defense plays anywhere near the level they played during last year's playoffs, many teams will have serious difficulty scoring. My main concern about the Ravens is their defense's age, especially as Ray Lewis is 34 years old this year. Not many LBs can continue at such a high level for long. I expect a 13-3 record out of Baltimore this year and a divisional round exit.

After those two powers, I see a rather substantial drop-off in the division. I see no way that either Cincinnati or Cleveland can compete with many teams in the NFL, let alone their division's powerhouses. I think that Cincy will finish with a 4-12 record. Although they have a healthy Carson Palmer, a refocused Chad "Eight-Five", and a motivated Chris Henry, they have little else on their team. Their offensive line last year was abysmal and probably responsible for Palmer's frequent injuries, and I don't see any moves to improve that unit. They lost 1st round pick Andre "Man Boobs" Smith to holdout/fractured foot, without protection, I think a repeat of last year's injury is likely. Cedric Benson sucks and shouldn't have a job in the NFL. The defense is worse and anchored by "stars" like Tank Johnson and Leon Hall. Not exactly Baltimore or Pittsburgh quality. I do however expect Rey Maualuga and Keith Rivers to have very good seasons.

Cleveland will finish 3-13 and switch QBs approximately 45 times. This is likely because Braylon Edwards will single-handedly drive them crazy. Perhaps "single-handedly" is the wrong phrase, but I'll leave it for irony's sake. Jamal Lewis is aging faster than the Vikings fans who realize that they have killed their Super Bowl hopes by hiring a QB who will maybe last 10 games. No RB behind Lewis has serious potential and the offensive line has looked lackluster. The defense is nothing special and will likely be on the field for substantial periods of time as the offense has no resemblance of a unit capable of maintaining possession. In the end, the Dawg Pound is just going to pounded worse than Tila Nguyen (I refuse to call a person Tequila) and Rihanna, combined. That's right, I just went there.

On to the AFC South, which I think is going to be one of the most exciting divisional races in years. I see this as a three horse race with all having an equal chance of prevailing. The results of divisional games will likely decide the ultimate winner. I'll start off with the defending divisional champions, the Tennessee Titans. The Titans will have a slight drop off after last year's dominating performance. The loss of an impact defensive player like Albert Haynesworth will likely cost at least 2 wins. Despite Big Albert's departure, Tennessee's defense remains one of the league's top units. They have impact players at every level and will wreak havoc against all but the best offenses. Another reason I am down on the Titans, is I doubt that Kerry Collins has another exceptional season in him. We often see with elderly quarterbacks that either injuries or just all-around fatigue catch up to them eventually. Fortunately, to counter that expected drop off, electric running back Chris Johnson will take a larger load this year. His mind-numbing speed and beautiful moves will make him a top-5 running back this year and will keep Tennessee in many games, often giving them oppurtunities against teams that they wouldn't expect to beat. All in all, I see Tennessee finishing the season 10-6 and missing the playoffs on a tiebreaker for the wildcard.

Last season's #2, the Indianapolis Colts, come in with more questions than they have had in years. With the loss of wiry veteran Coach Dungy and the release of an all-time great wide-receiver, Marvin Harrison, the Colts have several large holes. That's not to say that they aren't capable of filling them. Jim Caldwell is an extremely experienced coordinator and will be a more than adequate replacement for Dungy, but the big help that he has is Assistant Coach/Quarterback Peyton Manning. Manning's incredible intelligence will hold the offense to its expected high standard. My only concern with the offense is a lack of a solid number three wide receiver. Peyton has always had capable third option, reaching back to the days of Brandon Stokely, to last year with Anthony Gonzalez. With Gonzalez moving to a starting position, that role will be left to unproven talents Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie. The player who will elevate Indy from playoff quality to Super Bowl contenders is Bob Sanders. When he is on the field, the run defense is top notch, however; without him, they are near incompetent. Sanders' frequent injuries have hamstrung the Colts chances. He will decide their fate in the postseason. All in all, Manning will hold the team together and lead them to a hard-fought 12-4 record and a divisional championship. They will lose in the divisional round again this year against an all too familiar opponent (if you catch my drift).

The Houston Texans are poised for their breakout season. After years of mediocrity, the critical mass of high first round picks will finally cause them to sneak into the playoffs. First off, they have what I consider to be the best offense in the league. Matt Schaub, Steve Slaton, Owen Daniels and Andre Johnson are all top-10 at their position. Kevin Walter is a more than servicable third option. The offense's only concern is durability. Schaub's history has been riddled with freak injuries, most of which were late cheap shots that were later fined. This preseason Schaub rolled his ankle, but all reports suggest that he will be fine. Slaton is a small back, but has put on more weight to be able to handle a year-long workload. Expect the Texans to turn over some of Slaton's duties to capable backup Chris Brown, who unfortunately is not an amazing singer. Their defense is loaded with talent as Brian Cushing is added to a dominant front seven that includes Mario Williams, DeMeco Ryans, and my breakout player of the year, Amobi Okoye. The only question mark that I see on the defense is the secondary. When you are relying on Dunta Robinson, Fred Bennet, Dominique Barber, and Eugene Wilson as your starting four, you are going to give up a lot of passing yards. If the front seven can get pressure on the quarterback, the Texans will be able to mask that lone flaw and emerge as a contender in the conference. Houston will finish with a 10-6 record and make it to the playoffs for the first time in their brief history. Unfortunately, their inexperience will lead them to a wild-card round exit.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are falling apart. Last season was downright brutal as the former anchors of the defense, Marcus Stroud and John Henderson were separated in one of the most idiotic trades of the decade (really only beaten by any trade involving a team from the Bay Area and the Patriots (scary thing is I'm referring to two teams, both the Raider's Randy Moss fiasco and the 49ers swap of the 30th pick for a soon to be top 10 pick and Jerod Mayo) Imagine Jerod Mayo and Patrick Willis on the same team .. don't worry I'll pause while you consider the immense ramifications of this .. ok we're good). Anyways, the Jaguars quit on Head Coach Jack Del Rio last season and I am amazed that Del Rio has been given a second chance. Unfortunately for him, I don't see anything changing and this team will fall apart in a highly competitive division. Maurice Jones-Drew will be the only reason to watch this team. David Garrard is competent, but not much more and an old Torry Holt will help, but not enough. Jacksonville is on the fast track to a top-10 pick again with a 5-11 record.

As a quick little side note, I think that I set the record for the longest side note ever in that last paragraph. Thanks, I appreciate the support. I also promise that I won't make any more Chris Brown jokes next time, I apologize. Oh and I'm gonna go ahead and make another bold prediction, Duke 28, Army 27.