***Official AFC North Up/Down Poll*** (1 Viewer)

[Jayrod]

I'm just trying to get a pulse on what the general consensus is for each of the NFL teams.

Some things to consider when deciding:

-Schedule

-Draft

-Offseason trades, losses and acquisitions

-Retirements

-Coaching changes

-What the rest of the division is doing

Feel free to make a case in this thread or post your record predictions and cordially discuss them.

Link to each division's poll:

AFC West

AFC East

AFC South

NFC West

NFC East

NFC North

NFC South

 

[MAC_32]

Pittsburgh and Browns: hold steady - 9 wins may win the division given the schedule, Pittsburgh's OLine is a big concern, the Browns secondary and how the new additions assimilate will be key situations to follow...much more important than who's throwing the ball for the Browns

Bengals: decline - collapse, imminent

Ravens: hold steady - quality new regime but will be developing a new QB, defense will keep them competitive but the offense remains a liability. Interested to see the impact Cam has on McGahee and Heap though, a positive impact and this team may be hanging around in the division into December.

 

[jurb26]

Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6) Division winner

Cleveland Browns (10-6)

Cincinnati Bengals (7-9)

Baltimore Ravens (5-11)

Steelers: Decline. Even as a hard core Steeler fan its impossible to ignore that this teams Oline is simply not up to par. Still a boarder line playoff team, but I'm thinking 9-7 and a miss.

Browns: Kind of a tricky one. I don't see them improving on their record, but I think 10-6 wins the division this year and that alone is an improvement.

Bengals: Hold relatively steady, possibly worse. Who knows what could happen with this team. Johnson could become a large distraction and really derail this team.

Ravens: Improve. I think the offense is going to improve and provide a little relief for an aging defense. The defense though aging is still pretty good.

 

[Godsbrother]

Steelers: Decline. If they hold steady I'll be mighty happy as they have an absolute brutal schedule. They're still the team to beat in the divison though.

Browns: Decline. Last season they only beat one team with a winning record and that was an overtime game at home. The schedule is much tougher this season and Anderson regressed as the season went on.

Bengals: Decline. They just seem to be a team in disarray

Ravens: Hold steady (and that isn't a good thing).

Overall I think the schedule the AFC North plays this season is going to keep the number of wins down and only the division winner will make the playoffs. Inter-division games are going to be HUGE.

 

[Verbal Kint]

On the whole this division should take a slide. Specifically, I think Balt will be hurting and Cleve won't take anyone by surprise this year so I think they slide a bit. Everyone saying the Cinci is on the verge of collapse is buying into the media hype way too much. Chad has basically kept his mouth shut since the draft. I believe that he realizes a holdout won't benefit him. People also don't seem to realize how injury-riddled this team was all of last year. They lost so many LBs they were converting ends just to field a team. I'm not expecting a dramatic improvement, because they didn't do enough in the offseason to stop the run, but 8-8 is not unreasonable. I see them holding steady. Pitt will win the division if their O-line can keep it together.

 

[chris1969]

Steelers: Decline. If they hold steady I'll be mighty happy as they have an absolute brutal schedule. They're still the team to beat in the divison though.Browns: Decline. Last season they only beat one team with a winning record and that was an overtime game at home. The schedule is much tougher this season and Anderson regressed as the season went on.Bengals: Decline. They just seem to be a team in disarrayRavens: Hold steady (and that isn't a good thing).Overall I think the schedule the AFC North plays this season is going to keep the number of wins down and only the division winner will make the playoffs. Inter-division games are going to be HUGE.

Although there are too many Steeler fans in this poll, I think GB's take is pretty accurate. Because the Browns have Quinn, I'd give them an edge over Pittsburgh to hold steady, but it's close and I wouldn't be surprised if the opposite occurred. I'm a Brown's homer so take it with a grain of salt, but I believe the Browns improved their D-line more than the Steelers improved their O-line. There will be no wild cards from the AFC North and the team that stays healthy will probably have the edge. Either way, it should lead to a couple of really good Browns/Steelers games this year.