Every year the winner of The AFC North earns the division crown. This
division is home to hard-hitting, paint swapping, brutal football. With
teams such as The Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers calling this
division home, you need an ice bath just from looking at some of these
fierce competitors. This division is always highly contested and 2012
will not be any different from the other seasons.
Baltimore Ravens (12-4)
The
Baltimore Ravens were within an eyelash of making The Super Bowl last
season until the wheels fell of in the final minutes of The AFC
Championship Game against The New England Patriots. Former Ravens wide
receiver Lee Evans dropped the potential game-winning touchdown while
former kicker Billy Cundiff missed the potential game-tying field goal a
few moments later. Evans and Cundiff are no longer members of The
Ravens, but this team is once again focused on winning The Super Bowl.
The ageless one in Pro Bowl middle linebacker Ray Lewis once again leads
one of the stingiest defenses in the league. Take your pick of what
Raven defensive player that you want to double team. Safety Ed Reed has a
nose for the football while defensive tackle Haloti Ngata requires a
triple team. The offense is a work in progress in B-more as quarterback
Joe Flacco finally has help around him on offense. Second-year wide
receiver Torrey Smith is starting to figure it out as he had seven
touchdowns in his first year in The NFL. Pro Bowl running back Ray Rice
has some help in the backfield as The Ravens drafted former Temple Owls
running back Bernard Pierce in the third round of April’s NFL Draft.
Pierce had 3,570 rushing yards during his collegiate career and he will
take some pressure off of Rice as in the new NFL it is imperative to
have two quality running backs. This team had made The AFC Championship
Game and they have won The AFC North, now it is time for them to cement
their legacy by winning The Super Bowl.
Pittsburgh Steelers (11-5)
The
calendar may have turned to another year, but The Pittsburgh Steelers
are once again a legitimate candidate to represent The AFC in The Super
Bowl. After making The Super Bowl in 2010, The Steelers were upset by
The Denver Broncos in last year’s AFC Wild Card Round. Age is starting
to catch up with this veteran ball club. Longtime wide receiver Hines
Ward retired while nose tackle Casey Hampton in 35-years old. Defensive
lineman Brett Keisel is 33-years old and outside linebacker James
Harrison is 34-years of age. Pro Bowl safety Troy Polamalu appeared in
all 16 regular season games last season for the first time since 2008
which resulted in Pittsburgh having the top-ranked defense in The NFL
last season.
Offensively, longtime offensive coordinator Bruce
Arians is gone in favor of former Kansas City Chiefs head coach Todd
Haley. Haley will have to develop a repoire with Steelers Pro Bowl
quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in the same form that Arians had. Pro
Bowl wide receiver Mike Wallace finally signed his one-year fracnshie
tender, but The Steelers bread and butter is still the running game.
Running back Rashard Mendenhall suffered a torn ACL in Week 17 of the
2011 season and it will be interesting to see how effective he can be in
2012.
This is a still hard-nosed team led by head coach Mike
Tomlin. This team may start out of the gates a little slow, but come
January, The Steelers will still be around.
Cincinnati Bengals (10-6)
If
you asked even the hardcore Cincinnati Bengals fans if they expected
this team to be a playoff team in 2011 they would have balked at the
notion. Without the luxury of OTA’s and with a rookie quarterback, this
team qualified for the playoffs with 10 wins. The Bengals went 10-2
while going 0-4 against The Steelers and Ravens. For Cincy to take the
next step they must find a way to defeat Pittsburgh and Baltimore.
Quarterback Andy Dalton’s rookie season got lost in all of the hoopla
over Carolina Panthers rookie quarterback Cam Newton, but Dalton threw
for over 3,300 yards while replacing the frustrated Carson Palmer.
Bengals
head coach Marvin Lewis was able to hang his hat on the fact that his
defense was the seventh best unit in The NFL last year. The unit doesn’t
have any stars, but they play as a cohesive unit which allows them not
to miss their assignments.
The Bengals were able to sneak up on
people last season and for them to take the next step in The AFC, they
must now do it when everyone is expecting it.
Cleveland Browns (2-14)
The
Cleveland Browns 2.0 are The Bad News Bears of The NFL; if they are
able to lineup properly for The Star Spangled Banner I would be
impressed. This rudderless ship lacks talent on this team. Browns
president Mike Holmgren made the mistake of taking Alabama running back
Trent Richardson with the third overall pick in April’s NFL Draft as he
is injury prone. Holmgren spent his second first-round pick on Oklahoma
State quarterback Brandon Weeden who at 28-years of age is ready for a
pension plan. This team cannot hang with the big boys of The AFC North
and you wonder why Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown looks angry all
the time. Not to worry Browns fans, NFL commissioner will be calling The
Browns first-round pick early extremely early at The 2013 NFL Draft.
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