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Rethinking the AFC North (1 Viewer)

Pittsburgh United

Pittsburgh United

Footballguy
The Bengals seemed to be the consensus pick to win the AFC North around here. Now that Cleveland has put up 51 points on them, does this change the general opinion? These are the same Browns who were manhandled by the Steelers 34-7 last week in their home stadium. These same Bengals beat the Ravens last week 27-20.

I'm not necessarily going to argue that the order in the division (yes, I know it's only after week 2) looks to be:

Steelers

Browns

Bengals

Ravens

But a Brownie fan might have a good argument in that direction. Obviously the Steelers look like the clear favorites so far.

And before someone accuses me of :fishing: , don't bother. I'm looking for a serious discussion based on what we've seen these first two weeks.

 
Pittsburgh United said:
The Bengals seemed to be the consensus pick to win the AFC North around here. Now that Cleveland has put up 51 points on them, does this change the general opinion? These are the same Browns who were manhandled by the Steelers 34-7 last week in their home stadium. These same Bengals beat the Ravens last week 27-20. I'm not necessarily going to argue that the order in the division (yes, I know it's only after week 2) looks to be:SteelersBrownsBengalsRavensBut a Brownie fan might have a good argument in that direction. Obviously the Steelers look like the clear favorites so far.And before someone accuses me of :fishing: , don't bother. I'm looking for a serious discussion based on what we've seen these first two weeks.
Click to expand...
Maybe we should watch all of the week 2 AFC North teams first?
 
The Browns haven't put together back to back wins in several years now. I would wait another week to see what they're all about. I seriously doubt though that you can put them in the same sentence as BAL and CIN.

I do think the Steelers have a great shot to take the division.

 
nxmehta said:
The Browns haven't put together back to back wins in several years now. I would wait another week to see what they're all about. I seriously doubt though that you can put them in the same sentence as BAL and CIN.I do think the Steelers have a great shot to take the division.
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:lmao: A tad early to be jumping on the Brownies wagon..
 
Man, I thought it was typo when I seen the score, and the Browns had won, after I got up this morning and opened the net (I'm in China)

But this really does throw a monkey wrench into the division. However I agree it may be too early to place the rest of the division, but so far the Steelers have to be the clear favorite that much is for sure. 2 solid performances.

 
wow, talk about overreacting to a few weeks. The Ravens were 13-3 last year. Everything that could possibly go wrong in week 1 went wrong for them and they still barely lost(some would argue on a bad ref call) on the road. Its just silly to put them 4th in the division right now.

I'd say:

1A. Balt

1B. Pit

3. Cincy

4. Clev

 
I think it's way too early to tell anything yet.

Pit hasn't played a tough match-up yet. They've looked great, but let's wait till they play another good team to crown them.

Bal is without McNair and it's a little early to see if the Offense will step up, we know the defense will keep him in games. I'm a little pessimistic about their o-line.

Cin no doubt still has plenty of weapons on offense, but which defense is the real Cincy D? Last week or this week? I think it's somewhere in between.

Cleveland showed up on offense this week and the line looked solid, but for those of you that didn't notice, Anderson got lucky with a few passes that he shouldn't have thrown. Those probably should have been turnovers. It still remains to be seen if the pass defense is as good as I think it can be, The run defense seems to be good for 3 quarters and then those big guys tire out. Teams will start picking up on that as well.

 
I don't think there was a consenses that Cinci would win the division. I know I and several others picked them to finish third. I picked Baltimore to win the division but they definitely have a few chinks in their armor.

The Ravens and Steelers schedules are realtively easy early on so it is imperitive they both get off to good starts. The Bengals schedule is easier overall but they can't afford to lose too many games to teams like the Browns. The Browns schedule is the toughest of all. It was a nice win yesterday but they are going to have to seriously overachieve to make a run for the division.

I think the division is up for grabs...

 
Cincinnati's defense is too porous for them to win the division. Their offense is lethal, but their defense is terrible. It has been for years, but they're opportunistic, so they can sometimes win the turnover battle and look better statistically than they should. They can't stop anyone, though. I'm sticking to what I predicted before the season :

Baltimore

Pittsburgh (wildcard)

Cincinnati

Cleveland

However, if Boller plays any extended period of time, move Pittsburgh up and Baltimore down. I just can't rate the Steelers ahead of the Ravens after the two horrible beatdowns Baltimore threw on the Steelers last year until I see more.

 
Steelers will win the afc north and the superbowl. I have seen enough from them playing the powerhouses that are the browns and the bills to annoint them.

 
This is how the AFC North works:

Cinci beats Baltimore 4 out of 5 times

Baltimore beats Pittsburgh 4 out of 5 times

Pittsburgh beat Cinci 4 out of 5 times

Cleveland randomly beats the other three

 
Evilgrin 72 said:
Cincinnati's defense is too porous for them to win the division. Their offense is lethal, but their defense is terrible. It has been for years, but they're opportunistic, so they can sometimes win the turnover battle and look better statistically than they should. They can't stop anyone, though. I'm sticking to what I predicted before the season :BaltimorePittsburgh (wildcard)CincinnatiClevelandHowever, if Boller plays any extended period of time, move Pittsburgh up and Baltimore down. I just can't rate the Steelers ahead of the Ravens after the two horrible beatdowns Baltimore threw on the Steelers last year until I see more.
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Those "beatdowns" are definitely fueling confidence here in Baltimore but there is no doubt in my mind that the disparities between the two teams have either significantly diminshed or vanished altogether. Surely, not everything that went wrong for the Stillers last year will go wrong again nor will everything come up roses for the Ratbirds like it did last year either.
 
Pittsburgh United said:
The Bengals seemed to be the consensus pick to win the AFC North around here. Now that Cleveland has put up 51 points on them, does this change the general opinion? These are the same Browns who were manhandled by the Steelers 34-7 last week in their home stadium. These same Bengals beat the Ravens last week 27-20. I'm not necessarily going to argue that the order in the division (yes, I know it's only after week 2) looks to be:SteelersBrownsBengalsRavensBut a Brownie fan might have a good argument in that direction. Obviously the Steelers look like the clear favorites so far.And before someone accuses me of :shrug: , don't bother. I'm looking for a serious discussion based on what we've seen these first two weeks.
Click to expand...
Browns should finish 7-9. No one could have forseen the sudden emergence of Derek Anderson or the score of yesterday's game. That does change dynamics but only on offensive expectations for the Browns. Last week OLG Eric Stienbeck was coming off a knee injury, OLT Joe Thomas was/is a rookie making his very first NFL start. Yesterday, the long runs for Jamal Lewis were to the left. ORT fill-in Kevin Shafer was coming off of a concussion last week. Arronn Smith ate him up. Shafer isn't real big and he matched up well with Justin Smith. Once Ryan Tucker comes back this line has real potential to be very good. Still a work in progess but the progress has been sped up substantially. If Anderson/Quinn can push the safety back the left side of the Browns line can open up holes and get Lewis to the second level. Lewis pulled away from the safety yesterday. The reports of regaining his speed after dropping ten lbs. appear true.Trading Charlie Frye was a great move. Frye, 9 quarters against Steelers, Derek Anderson 7 quarters. Frye 18 sacks in 9 quarters, Anderson 1 sack in 7 against Pitt. DA one of the better releases in the NFL, slow feet, hasn't shown durability if he takes a hard shot, smooth/crisp overhand throwing motion, big time arm, better than avg. prototypical ht. The line is begining to gel and DA has apparently stepped up.With Anderson seemingly taking a stride forward, defenses can't cheat against the run or he'll destroy them deep. They have to play off the box which opens things up for Lewis. Then with the emergence of Joe Thomas at OLT it frees up TE KWII to run deeper patterns and bust up cover two seems. Braylon Edwards, third year WR, sensational in preseason but with Frye at QB he stood no chance. The defensive line is the Achilles heel. Old, old, old. Still having issues stopping the run, can't rush the passer at all from the line. The secondary has sprung a leak. A rookie starting CB in Eric Wright and a FS who has been exposed in Brodney Pool coupled with little to no pressure up front account for 10 TDs given up thru the air in the first two games. No depth at either position. Browns only had soo many draft picks/free agent dollars to spend. Going into the draft the team made it clear they couldn't address every issue but they've made huge strides. Cleveland has had a positive talent influx over the last few years with, Kamerion Wimbley/D'Qwell Jackson/Leon Williams/Kellen Winslow/Sean Jones/Lee Bodden/Joe Thomas/Braylon Edwards/Jamal Lewis/Eric Stienbeck. That talent wasn't producing two years. It is still early but pencil in Derek Anderson/Brady Quinn to get picture of how improved the team is but their are still issues on defense so I've stuck by my 7-9 prediction. Looks like the Steelers will take the division unless they get bit by the injury bug but its still too early to tell. Jes my humble-O.
 
I think only one of these teams will make the playoffs and the Steelers look good as they have it together on both sides of the ball.

Cincy is (obviously) weak on defense and prone to letdown games like this week. The Ravens are solid on defense, but their offense can be anemic and shut down. I think the Steelers will only lose one game in the division (probably to Baltimore) and cruise into the playoffs with 13 wins.....where they will promptly be beat down by the Colts or Pats.

 
AFC Championship 2007:

Pittsburg at Foxboro

Excellent opportunity for the Steelers to lose their 2001, etc. angst as they are now a complete team.

 
I think the announcer of the CLE-CIN game said it best:

"Cincinnati has a 12-4 offense and a 4-12 defense. That's why the always go 8-8."

One game on short rest verse a division opponent. Tough spot for Cincy.

 
Pittsburgh United said:
The Bengals seemed to be the consensus pick to win the AFC North around here. Now that Cleveland has put up 51 points on them, does this change the general opinion? These are the same Browns who were manhandled by the Steelers 34-7 last week in their home stadium. These same Bengals beat the Ravens last week 27-20. I'm not necessarily going to argue that the order in the division (yes, I know it's only after week 2) looks to be:SteelersBrownsBengalsRavensBut a Brownie fan might have a good argument in that direction. Obviously the Steelers look like the clear favorites so far.And before someone accuses me of :thumbup: , don't bother. I'm looking for a serious discussion based on what we've seen these first two weeks.
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I think it's easy to say Pittsburgh is at the top at this point in the year.Underneath them, it's pretty close but I'd still put the Benalgas second, the Ravens 3rd and the Browns last.Just because Cleveland pulled off the upset at home doesn't make them a better football team. Now, that also doesn't mean I'm right but it's my opinion that they need to prove that this inspired play in this rivalry game can be extended into further performances.I'd gladly change my rankings but I think those other teams deserve to be ranked higher:PittsburghCincinnatiBaltimoreCleveland
 
I'll be honest. The Bengals had me fooled. I really thought their defense had made some strides after seeing them dismantle the Ravens last week, but yesterday was a debacle. Like has been said, that division is too tough for a team with a bad defense to win it. Given the Ravens problems and the Steelers easy schedule, Pittsburgh is my pick right now to win the division.

 
Steeler said:
Browns Rule! said:
Cleveland 15-1Pittsburgh 10-6Cincinnati 8-8Baltimore 7-9
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Good unbiases non-homer analysis :thumbup:
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Thank you! In all seriousness, as a Browns fan, you are just irritated constantly seeing everyone rate you last when you know your team has talent. Last week was a good example of the team not being able to use their talent, on either side of the ball (D on field to much) because of terrible QB play. Yesterday, the QB play wasn't much better starting out. Anderson started out 0-5, but when the receivers started pulling some of those bad passes in on great catches, Anderson started gaining confidence and actually was making some nice throws at the end of the game. Receivers were still having to carry him a bit, but that is what the talent of Edwards and Winslow can do at times.
 
I'm a life long Browns fan but it's a little early to get too excited.

Pittsburgh to me is still the class of the division. they just have too much balance.

Baltimore is going to be in a world of hurt if McNair is out for an extended period of time.

Cinci has all the offense anyone could want. Too bad they can't have a mediocre defense that can keep them in games. It doesn't have to be a great D, but decent.

Cleveland has the talent pool, but they need to believe they can win and put a good stretch together. Yesterday was a nice step in the right direction, but there is still a long way to go for us.

I would swap Cinci and Baltimore if McNair is out for a while.

I stick by my initial 7-9 for the season. But we'll have to have a few breaks.

 
As a Baltimore homer, it absolutely would not surprise me to see the Ratbirds lose in Cleveland. Even in their best years, they throw up a clunker or two and Charlie Freakin' Frye gave them fits last year. A competent QB can certainly do them in.

 
Browns have played on each extreme so far. I'd like to think, as a fan, that they are closer to this past weekend as the first weekend. No way are they going to have output like that every week, let alone again this year, but I also don't think it will get as dismal as week 1.

I've been saying it for a while now, there is alot of talent in Cleveland, way more than when Romeo took over. Once they develop that "team" attitude and overall consistancy, they are not going to be an easy "W" on teams schedules. Heck, they might not even be now.

So, really at this point from what I've seen from the division, I can see the Browns finishing anywhere from 2-4. I think Pitt is the favorite right now the way they've played, but they really have not been tested, maybe a sign of a 12-4 year or a tight division race till the end.

Still.....

Pittsburgh

Cincinnati

Baltimore

Cleveland

 
Yesterday was a great win for the Browns, and they do have some talented offensive players, but their defense is giving up nearly 40 points per game :(

 
Steeler said:
Yesterday was a great win for the Browns, and they do have some talented offensive players, but their defense is giving up nearly 40 points per game :)
Click to expand...
I wasn't too worried about the D coming into the year. I've heard Pool is not catching on and the loss of Russell is greater than anyone thinks (or even knows about). It's really the secondary that's been getting torched. And I've noticed some bad plays with the LB's in coverage. As far as against the run, I'd say they held Parker in check for the most part (27-109 w/ a long of 25 yards) and Najeh ate up some big yards when the game was out of reach. Rudi was consistently getting 5 yards it seemed like. Definitely needs to improve.
 
The Steeler's are blowing people out like they are New England. Granted, they're not facing the same competition, but still. Two weeks in a row they are giving up nothing but taking everything.

 
Xenopax said:
This is how the AFC North works:

Cinci beats Baltimore 4 out of 5 times

Baltimore beats Pittsburgh 4 out of 5 times

Pittsburgh beat Cinci 4 out of 5 times

Cleveland randomly beats the other three
Click to expand...
;) Year after year, the former AFC Central is always an elite great exciting elite uh... interesting division to watch. I do miss Tennessee, however.

 
I am a huge Browns fan as I live in northeast Ohio, but I want to see consistency from that offense before I get too excited.

Yes, I am very happy with the win over the Bengals...but for all I know they could lay a goose egg next week in Oakland.

Steelers win this division hands down.

 
I'd say the Bengals shelacking drags them down to Cleveland, not the other way around. IOW, that win doens't place the Browns on par with the Steelers and ravens.

Ravens on the bottom?

The division looks to be Steelers then Ravens and then a LOOOOOOONG drop to the other two teams.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Well, I think the Bengals are easily the worst team in the AFC North. In fact if it weren't for Miami, they may be the worst team in the whole AFC. I think you have to point the finger at their overrated, over-hyped coach. How do you consistently perform so poorly with the offensive weapons this team has? You Bengal fans need to stop giving this guy a pass and start calling for his head. This is the first time you've had talented players in decades and your coach is blowing it for you.

 
Bobcat10 said:
SteelersBrownsRavensBengals
Click to expand...
:lol: The Browns are a completely different team since week 1. I'm not saying the Browns will beat the Steelers, but it will be a completely different game than the season opener when they play again. Looking at the 10 games the Browns have left....they could win 7 of them.STLSEAPITBALHOUARINYJBUFCINSF
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Pittsburgh United said:
Well, I think the Bengals are easily the worst team in the AFC North. In fact if it weren't for Miami, they may be the worst team in the whole AFC. I think you have to point the finger at their overrated, over-hyped coach. How do you consistently perform so poorly with the offensive weapons this team has? You Bengal fans need to stop giving this guy a pass and start calling for his head. This is the first time you've had talented players in decades and your coach is blowing it for you.
Click to expand...
I think Marvin did a nice job turning the Begals franchise around but I don't think he was the guy that could take them to the next level. Unfortunately it looks like the team is beginning to slide back down. The next four weeks are critical because they include games with Baltimore and Pittsburgh. If they can go 4-0 they might be able to climb back in the race. If not they are done.
 
Fallerjw said:
Bobcat10 said:
Steelers

Browns

Ravens

Bengals
Click to expand...
:lmao: The Browns are a completely different team since week 1. I'm not saying the Browns will beat the Steelers, but it will be a completely different game than the season opener when they play again.

Looking at the 10 games the Browns have left....they could win 7 of them.

STL

SEA

PIT

BAL

HOU

ARI

NYJ

BUF

CIN

SF
Click to expand...
They could win 9 of those. All of those teams, aside from Pitt, are very beatable.
 
AhrnCityPahnder said:
Completely agree. If you're a Cincy fan and you're not calling for Marvin Lewis' head at this point...well...sheesh.
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In my opinion, it is more than just Marvin. For years, many of us Bengal fans have been calling for changes at the coordinator positions. I firmly believe that we have the worst offensive and defensive coordinators in the league (Bratkowski and Bresnehan). If those 2 are still around after this year, it is going to be hard to expect anything different. You can see every game how teams go in at halftime and make the necessary adjustments based on the first half, the Bengals never do this. I don't know if it is their ego that says if they keep doing the same things it wiil work or if they are just not smart enough to make changes on the fly.Because of the fact that they are still around, Marvin is now going to start hearing it from the fans and he should. Personally, I like Marvin, I appreciate the good things he has done for the franchise, and I would like to see him stay. Not to mention, I see no way that Mike Brown fires him. Anyone that knows how Mike Brown operates, he is not going to fire Marvin.
 
Sam Quentin said:
Fallerjw said:
Bobcat10 said:
Steelers

Browns

Ravens

Bengals
Click to expand...
:shrug: The Browns are a completely different team since week 1. I'm not saying the Browns will beat the Steelers, but it will be a completely different game than the season opener when they play again.

Looking at the 10 games the Browns have left....they could win 7 of them.

STL

SEA

PIT

BAL

HOU

ARI

NYJ

BUF

CIN

SF
Click to expand...
They could win 9 of those. All of those teams, aside from Pitt, are very beatable.
Click to expand...
Trying not to get my hopes up....but '07 karma seems to be with the Browns too. We're seeing quite a run from Cleveland sports franchises in this great year of 2007. In my lifetime (30yrs) there has never been anything like it. It's been so much fun. :Sorry for the mini hijak:
 
Sam Quentin said:
Fallerjw said:
Bobcat10 said:
Steelers

Browns

Ravens

Bengals
Click to expand...
:thumbup: The Browns are a completely different team since week 1. I'm not saying the Browns will beat the Steelers, but it will be a completely different game than the season opener when they play again.

Looking at the 10 games the Browns have left....they could win 7 of them.

STL

SEA

PIT

BAL

HOU

ARI

NYJ

BUF

CIN

SF
Click to expand...
They could win 9 of those. All of those teams, aside from Pitt, are very beatable.
Click to expand...
Have to agree with this. I doubt that Cleveland will win 9 of 10, but it wouldn't shock me. That's a pretty easy schedule they are looking at.
 
Steeler said:
Fallerjw said:
I'm not saying the Browns will beat the Steelers, but it will be a completely different game than the season opener when they play again.
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Absolutely; the Browns are playing very good football right now.
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Not really. Keep in mind that two of the three wins are against teams that are a combined 1-10, with the one win being a gift from Baltimore and the refs in week one.That having been said, with games left vs. Buffalo (1-4), @NYJ (1-5), @Cincy (1-4) and four more against the entire NFC West (8-15 combined), that should get them to eight wins at least.
 
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