Around the AFCN

[ATL96Steeler]

BAL... has the division in a stranglehold that I doubt they ever let up. Very manageable schedule moving forward so they control their fate.

PIT... The LAR game should be a fun measuring stick for this team, but not a necessity by any means. But every week should be viewed as a must win as they trail 2 teams in the wild card race. Weeks 11 through 13 looms very large for this team too. 3 AFCN bouts in a row and they need every single one to be a win. The current formula for success isn't reliable so it will be interesting to see how they develop, if at all. Offensive struggles are the theme every week & time is running out.

CLE... No cohesion, and frustrations are boiling over. I predicted this in the offseason that things were likely to snowball. A lot of polarizing personalities with zero leadership. Not a good makeup for success. They bet on Baker by giving him the HC he wanted, and this is the result. Not a wise decision letting a rookie QB call that shot on an unqualified candidate, even if they had the success to base it on. They can still pull it all together, but its awful gloomy over there by Lake Erie.

CIN... Zac Taylor is essentially beginning his auditions for 2020. The Andy Dalton era is over. If Finley shows promise then do they still draft Tua? Or Chase Young & rebuild the defense? They stand a terrific chance of landing a QB prospect with promise at the top of the 2nd Rd. But Zac Taylor may not be able to pass on Tua. Finley would have to enter the league MVP race to force that decision to be made. In any event, I hope the Bungles do us a surprising solid by finding a way to shock the world this week and beat the Ravens.

BAL...they have now beaten SEA and NE back to back with a bye in between. What I'm more impressed with is the DEF the last two games...16 @ SEA and 20 to NE. Jackson...he took a couple of unnecessary hits last night, but for the most part he's avoiding the big collisions. Much like Vick was, he's a chain mover...and a better passer certainly at this stage.

PIT...yeah, it'll be fun to see these players experience making the playoffs without Ben. It should build confidence in themselves. But...that's a long ways off. BUF is sitting pretty now, but needs to be careful here...I think LAC, OAK, IND will hang around and TN never seems to fall out completely. Chargers and Raiders have the best QB play of the WC chasers.

CLE...slipping away and Kitchens is not Tomlin when it comes to circling the wagons....that's not something he's ever had to do as a HC. Mayfield is having some soph slump issues too. I said 8-8 to 9-7...if they don't beat BUF this week, the season is a wrap...they will change HC next year.

CIN...now AJ Green is saying trade me or extend me...after the trade deadline!

 

[ATL96Steeler]

CIN... Zac Taylor is essentially beginning his auditions for 2020. The Andy Dalton era is over. If Finley shows promise then do they still draft Tua? Or Chase Young & rebuild the defense? They stand a terrific chance of landing a QB prospect with promise at the top of the 2nd Rd. But Zac Taylor may not be able to pass on Tua. Finley would have to enter the league MVP race to force that decision to be made. In any event, I hope the Bungles do us a surprising solid by finding a way to shock the world this week and beat the Ravens.

Yes it is over. I think Dalton could still get a shot as a starter, (TN comes to mind), but most likely he'll continue his run as a backup. If CIN ends up with the #1 overall, they will take Tua unless he bombs out or gets another injury. If they end up top 3 or so...I still think they will take a QB. The Zac Taylor era has started, but it really starts when he has the QB he wants in place.

 

[cincygrad]

It's funny because Browns fans really celebrated the Hue Jackson firing..... He was the guy that was preventing them from being good. One could make the argument that they downgraded when they went from Hue to Kitchens..... Hell, maybe they should have stuck with Gregg Williams.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

It's funny because Browns fans really celebrated the Hue Jackson firing..... He was the guy that was preventing them from being good. One could make the argument that they downgraded when they went from Hue to Kitchens..... Hell, maybe they should have stuck with Gregg Williams.

G. Williams...idk, that Jets D is under performing.

People got a little over excited with CLE beating some bottom feeders last yr....couple that with the big names they signed and many of those same people had CLE in the playoffs this season. The guy they should've hired was Bruce Arians...he wanted the job too from what I've read.

 

[cincygrad]

G. Williams...idk, that Jets D is under performing.

People got a little over excited with CLE beating some bottom feeders last yr....couple that with the big names they signed and many of those same people had CLE in the playoffs this season. The guy they should've hired was Bruce Arians...he wanted the job too from what I've read.

Absolutely. Couldn't agree more. When you watch them play, it's clear that they have some talent and at times they are easily the better team on the field. But they are awful at situational football and they probably leave at least 10 points on the field each and every game.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Wk 10 AFCN Recap.

BAL...7-2...W, 49-13 @ CIN...I didn't watch much of this game...by the time I saw the 1st score of the game it was already 21-3...Marcus Peters added another pick 6 to make it 28-3 and the rout was full on. Lamar Jackson is having an MVP season...only needed 17 passes to beat the Bengals...completed 15 of them, 3 going for TDs.

Next week...HOU

PIT...5-4...W, 17-12 vs LAR...The Steelers were a 3 or 4 pt home dog in this game. The narrative for this one is the Steeler D dominated. The DEF scored a TD on a recovered fumble, picked off 3 passes, and sacked the QB 4 times, and held the Rams to 1-14 on 3rd down. This 4 game win streak has put the Steelers back into the post game conversations.

Next week...@ CLE

CLE...3-6...W, 19-16 vs BUF...The Browns stopped the skid at 4 games with this win over the Bills. Excellent 1st drive by the Browns. Mayfield looked good on this drive resulting in a TD. Landry talked so much trash after catching the TD, he was hit with an unsportsmanlike...turned a 35 yd extra pt into a 48 yd attempt. Browns really dominated the entire 1st Q, but only had 6 pts to show for it after going for it on 4th and 1 and getting stuffed. That allowed the Bills to gather themselves and they eventually took the lead 16-12. From there credit to Mayfield and the Browns OFC, they hammered out a long drive to take the lead inside 2 minutes. BUF did get off a game tying 53 yd FG that missed.

Next week...vs PIT

CIN...0-9...L, 13-49 vs BAL...The NFL debut for QB Ryan Finley. It was not a good one...in fact about the only positive thing I would say is CIN owned the clock with Joe Mixon going over 100 on the ground. The Bengals officially have the worst record in the league now.

Next week...@ OAK

 

[cincygrad]

Steelers -- Tomlin deserves a lot of credit for his team's response to a slow start and the tough blow of losing Big Ben. They find new ways to win every week and they are getting better as the season goes on. They will be favored in 5 of their last 7 games. The postseason is within their reach.

Ravens -- Wow! This team is rounding into form. I think Lamar Jackson needs some serious MVP consideration. Greg Roman has done an incredible job with a rushing offense and a passing game built around tight ends. I'm becoming more of a believer.

Browns -- They leave too many damn points on the field. I think they'll win games in the back half of the season, but ultimately I think when the season ends they'll be left asking "what if?" If I were a fan, I'd be rooting for them to dump the coach.

Bengals -- With the Dolphins, Falcons, and Jets all winning, the Bengals are now firmly in control of the first pick in the draft. This is a miserable team. According to the advanced stats, the offensive line is the worst in the league and the receivers can't get open..... And they have a coach that for most of the reason decided he'd like to pass anyway. The D is once again the worst in the league. The roster is a mess. I lived through the 90s Bengals, and this looks like one of those situations.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Bengals cut LB Brown after $16.5M deal in March

Really?

They just signed this guy...I need a Bengal fan to chime in to offer some explanation if there is one.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Steelers -- Tomlin deserves a lot of credit for his team's response to a slow start and the tough blow of losing Big Ben. They find new ways to win every week and they are getting better as the season goes on. They will be favored in 5 of their last 7 games. The postseason is within their reach.

Ravens -- Wow! This team is rounding into form. I think Lamar Jackson needs some serious MVP consideration. Greg Roman has done an incredible job with a rushing offense and a passing game built around tight ends. I'm becoming more of a believer.

Browns -- They leave too many damn points on the field. I think they'll win games in the back half of the season, but ultimately I think when the season ends they'll be left asking "what if?" If I were a fan, I'd be rooting for them to dump the coach.

Bengals -- With the Dolphins, Falcons, and Jets all winning, the Bengals are now firmly in control of the first pick in the draft. This is a miserable team. According to the advanced stats, the offensive line is the worst in the league and the receivers can't get open..... And they have a coach that for most of the reason decided he'd like to pass anyway. The D is once again the worst in the league. The roster is a mess. I lived through the 90s Bengals, and this looks like one of those situations.

CIN...for most of last year I felt the DEF was just tuning out a lame duck HC. I just couldn’t wrap my head around a team with Akins, Dunlap, Hubbard upfront, and a pretty solid backend being the worst D in the league. LBs I felt was the weak link and they signed a nice FA.

I was wrong...it’s really looking as if the talent is not what I thought. There are multiple problems with this team. Really makes wonder why they opted to keep AJ.

 

[cincygrad]

Bengals cut LB Brown after $16.5M deal in March

Really?

They just signed this guy...I need a Bengal fan to chime in to offer some explanation if there is one.

It really doesn't make much sense..... The beat writer mentioned that the d coordinator was hired very late in the process. Keep in mind, several big name d coordinators turned us down. He speculated that this left a lot of the scouting/planning to the personnel and scouting department without much input from the new defensive staff. The linebackers have been an absolute disaster since Paul Guenther left the team. He was Zimmer's linebackers coach and then the d-coordinator. Anyway, the Bengals were gambling on the idea that Brown was better than he showed last season and he just needed to be healthy. It obviously didn't work out and the team wanted to move on. The timing of it is weird though..... Why not just cut him in the offseason?

To address your other post..... It is strange that a D with some proven talent on the line and in the secondary would be historically bad. Makes me wonder if this unit would struggle as much if they simply signed some mid-level free agents to play linebacker.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

It really doesn't make much sense..... The beat writer mentioned that the d coordinator was hired very late in the process. Keep in mind, several big name d coordinators turned us down. He speculated that this left a lot of the scouting/planning to the personnel and scouting department without much input from the new defensive staff. The linebackers have been an absolute disaster since Paul Guenther left the team. He was Zimmer's linebackers coach and then the d-coordinator. Anyway, the Bengals were gambling on the idea that Brown was better than he showed last season and he just needed to be healthy. It obviously didn't work out and the team wanted to move on. The timing of it is weird though..... Why not just cut him in the offseason?

To address your other post..... It is strange that a D with some proven talent on the line and in the secondary would be historically bad. Makes me wonder if this unit would struggle as much if they simply signed some mid-level free agents to play linebacker.

Okay...it makes a little more sense now...the timing of the deal with the new staff....Maybe the new staff saw Pratt as the MLB moving forward.

Still was he a bad locker room guy or something? Midseason just seems a bit weird.

 

[cincygrad]

Okay...it makes a little more sense now...the timing of the deal with the new staff....Maybe the new staff saw Pratt as the MLB moving forward.

Still was he a bad locker room guy or something? Midseason just seems a bit weird.

That's the part that's odd to me..... I don't think the guy has ever had any character issues with Buffalo or Cincinnati..... I suppose it's possible that his agent asked for a release when they decided he would be benched, but I'm not sure we'll ever know.

 

[cincygrad]

The Ravens look like the class of the AFC. I wouldn't bet against Brady and it's still early, but this Ravens team is really coming together. You look at what they did vs. two of the AFC's best (Hou and NE) and it definitely makes you take notice.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

The Ravens look like the class of the AFC. I wouldn't bet against Brady and it's still early, but this Ravens team is really coming together. You look at what they did vs. two of the AFC's best (Hou and NE) and it definitely makes you take notice.

We’ll see. December & January football is an entirely different animal. But they have the division locked up and could easily get the divisional round on lock as well. Harbs is a great coach so long as he doesn’t outsmart himself. They could easily push for the AFCCG.

Glad at least someone in the AFCN is representing though!

 

[Superbelt]

 

[ATL96Steeler]

AFCN Wk 11 Recap

BAL…8-2, W vs HOU 41-7…In a game billed as a great matchup of two top mobile QBs, Desean Watson and Lamar Jackson. the Ravens made quick work of the Texans. Watson faced a stiff front seven most of the game. He was sacked 6 times and hit nearly a dozen other times, add in two takeaways, the Ravens DEF was relentless. Meanwhile, with no Watt, and no Clowney, Mercilus proved he’s just another guy in this game…HOU got almost no pressure on Lamar Jackson and that was the theme of the game.

Next week…@ LAR

PIT…5-5, L…@ CLE 7-21…***TNF***, the Steelers 3 game win streak was stopped in CLE. PIT got terrible QB play from Rudolph with 4 INTs. A fired up Browns team was the aggressor most of the night, some wicked hits, and won the battle of the trenches to finally get off of a long losing streak to the Steelers. The game was marred nonetheless when a fight broke out late with the outcome already decided. DE, Garrett slammed Rudolph to the ground unnecessarily. Rudolph took offense to it and some pushing and grabbing ensued to which Garrett took it several steps further yanking Rudolph’s helmet off and hitting him in the head with it….Garrett suspended indefinitely, Pouncey 3 games, Ogunjobi 1 game.

Next week…vs CIN

CLE…4-6, W, vs PIT 21-7…***TNF***, the Browns broke a 5 yr losing streak to the Steelers behind a fired up DEF that rattled Mason Rudolph with 4 sacks forcing 4 INTs. Hard hits took out both the WR1 and WR2 for the Steelers. Nick Chubb was a steady influence, and Mayfield struggled himself going 17-30, 193yds, but two of those went for 6 and that was enough. The long awaited win was bittersweet though as DE Myles Garrett lost his temper, and clubbed Mason Rudolph in the head with his helmet after the QB objected to being tackled to the ground hard late in the game with the outcome decided. His act was handled swiftly, the following day Garrett was handed an indefinite suspend and will not likely play anymore this season.

Next week…vs MIA

CIN…0-10, L @ OAK 10-17…The Bengals lost for the 12th consecutive time dating back to last season and maintain their grip on the 1st overall pick in the ’20 draft. What was different this week, the CIN DEF showed up and finally played a solid game holding OAK to 17 points. They got after the QB, bagging 3 sacks in this game but got next to nothing in offensive support from the passing game. Mixon, Bernard and the running game was the only thing the Bengals had going for them. Ryan Finley only completed 13 of 31 passes for 115 yd gross!....no pardoning the pun…that was gross!

Next week…@ PIT

 

[ATL96Steeler]

I saw this play...the NFL is starting to look silly...even playing this back in realtime, you see the jersey being pulled.

 

[Superbelt]

I saw this play...the NFL is starting to look silly...even playing this back in realtime, you see the jersey being pulled.

They way they do challenges is fucking stupid.

The official who reviews it should not know the ruling on the field, and is instead asked to make a blind ruling watching the play. Maybe have two or three officials do that and go with the majority.

As it is, they are just supporting the refs club that they belong to.

I know the standard is 'incontrovertible evidence for overturn.' But that standard should change for a new way.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

They way they do challenges is fucking stupid.

The official who reviews it should not know the ruling on the field, and is instead asked to make a blind ruling watching the play. Maybe have two or three officials do that and go with the majority.

As it is, they are just supporting the refs club that they belong to.

I know the standard is 'incontrovertible evidence for overturn.' But that standard should change for a new way.

Bingo!

 

[cincygrad]

Some of the Bengals vets played like they had a pulse yesterday. Geno Atkins and Carlos Dunlap were causing some troubles. Mixon had another nice game. Finley is failing his opportunity to turn heads, which should ensure that the Bengals take a qb with their top pick.