Around the AFCN

[Wamu]

He's still serviceable but last year he looked pretty bad compared to previous years. He looked cooked down the stretch. If he's pressed into limited snaps then I think he could still be very useful.

This would be for a back up roll right? If it's a starting spot no thanks.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

This would be for a back up roll right? If it's a starting spot no thanks.

Yea I think so. Greedy is still a thing, right?

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

My way-too-early AFCN projections this year...

1. Cincinnati Bengals - #3 SOS - 12-5

It's not too farfetched to predict the Bengals stumble this year. They had a pretty easy slate last year & their defense played hero when it mattered most, BUT they proved to the world they can compete & win against some of the best the AFC has to offer. Now they face a tough schedule so we will get a better gauge of just what this team is. Goes without saying this is obviously the Bengals' division to lose this year. They are flush with talent and not much chance they stumble hard enough to miss the postseason. They have somewhat of a cakewalk up til the bye week (PIT, DAL, NYJ, MIA, BAL, NO, ATL, CLE, CAR) which I suspect they'll do no worse than 7-2. Then it will be an uphill battle the rest of the way (PIT, TEN, KC, CLE, TB, NE, BUF, BAL) where I think 4-4 is the floor, but they should get to 5-6 wins here. That young nucleus should be hitting stride this season so they will be an exciting team to watch.

2. Baltimore Ravens - #23 SOS - 11-5

10-11 wins is the floor here. We know they're due to rebound. The amount of injuries that have plagued them, coupled with constant COVID issues... If they can keep their starters on the field then they are an easy pick to contend for the 4-7 seeds. I'm hesitant with them though, simply because that offense doesn't look scary and the entire world knows they intend to run the ball with authority. However, they have had a ton of success with this formula and rarely have they failed with any consistency. They look like they will live & die by Jackson's big play ability, but they still have a solid D & an elite kicker which will keep them in any game. They fortified their OL & kept their stable of RB horses, but they will need their defense to play like an elite unit if they are to contend with the AFC landscape this year. They start the season with a tough slate before their bye (NYJ, MIA, NE, BUF, CIN, NYG, CLE, TB, NO), where I think only 4 games look like predictable Ws. If that's the floor, then I could easily see them squeaking out 5 wins because that's just how the Ravens operate in tightly contested schedules & the best kicker in the game. After the bye things lighten up (CAR, JAX, DEN, PIT, CLE, ATL, PIT, CIN). If I'm being honest, this looks at worst like 7-1 on paper. The Ravens tend to get hot as the weather gets colder through November & December, but again I'm not too high on them so I'll predict an upset here and go 6-2.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers - #12 SOS - 9-8

We can talk upside & get excited about the youth movement, the rebuild, blah blah blah... But simply put, we cannot buy into more than 9 wins right now without knowing what to expect from the offense. They look like a team that will live & die by their defense until the offense gains some steam. They invested $70m into their OL, but I don't think anyone feels like that amount of money is going to change things as drastically as we want it to. James Daniels is really the biggest upgrade here, and that's really it. Mason Cole is a questionable addition at best, rating pretty poorly in pass blocking. But the bar was set pretty damn low with Kendrick Green last year lol. So any sort of improvement with a different piece at C should be readily apparent. The offense will revolve around Najee Harris for the time being, and hopefully whichever QB starts will develop a good rapport with the exciting group of receivers they have, including Freiermuth that I think makes a name for himself this season. The jury is out on OC Matt Canada though, so we'll have to take a wait & see approach here. Still, with that defense I don't see them going sub-500 like the national media wants you to believe. Starting off the year before the bye (CIN, NE, CLE, NYJ, BUF, TB, MIA, PHI) I have them at 4 wins. Then after the bye (NO, CIN, IND, ATL, BAL, CAR, LV, BAL, CLE) I have maybe 5 wins, and that's being optimistic IMO. 5 out of 9 of those are home games, so that is favorable. Not to mention they won't be leaving their time zone this year, so the travel aspects of their season are pretty minimal. Favorable schedule for a team in rebuild, but again I just don't know how anyone can buy more than 8 or 9 wins right now.

4. Cleveland Browns - #17 SOS - 7-10

The wild card of the division. Nobody knows what to expect, but we do have a pretty good idea that we'll see Jacoby Brissett for the first month, if not longer, of their 2022 season. Their defense is stout & they have a great rushing attack on offense so we cannot dismiss them. Starting off the season before the bye (CAR, NYJ, PIT, ATL, LAC, NE, BAL, CIN) I have them at 3 wins, mainly because I think they stumble early. This offseason has been one long distraction filled with controversy. Does Stefanski have the chops to overcome that? I think so but maybe not as effectively as they want to aspire to. After the bye (MIA, BUF, TB, HOU, CIN, BAL, NO, WAS, PIT) I think they can get 4 more wins putting them at 7 wins overall, but I admit that looks more like a ceiling right now.

 

[Bridgeburner]

1. Bengals. 10-11 wins.
2. Steelers 9-10 wins.
3. Ravens 8-9 wins.
4. Browns 6-7 wins.

 

[Wamu]

Yea I think so. Greedy is still a thing, right?

Not really sure. Since it's the off season haven't looked into anything yet.

 

[cincygrad]

My way-too-early AFCN projections this year...

1. Cincinnati Bengals - #3 SOS - 12-5

It's not too farfetched to predict the Bengals stumble this year. They had a pretty easy slate last year & their defense played hero when it mattered most, BUT they proved to the world they can compete & win against some of the best the AFC has to offer. Now they face a tough schedule so we will get a better gauge of just what this team is. Goes without saying this is obviously the Bengals' division to lose this year. They are flush with talent and not much chance they stumble hard enough to miss the postseason. They have somewhat of a cakewalk up til the bye week (PIT, DAL, NYJ, MIA, BAL, NO, ATL, CLE, CAR) which I suspect they'll do no worse than 7-2. Then it will be an uphill battle the rest of the way (PIT, TEN, KC, CLE, TB, NE, BUF, BAL) where I think 4-4 is the floor, but they should get to 5-6 wins here. That young nucleus should be hitting stride this season so they will be an exciting team to watch.

2. Baltimore Ravens - #23 SOS - 11-5

10-11 wins is the floor here. We know they're due to rebound. The amount of injuries that have plagued them, coupled with constant COVID issues... If they can keep their starters on the field then they are an easy pick to contend for the 4-7 seeds. I'm hesitant with them though, simply because that offense doesn't look scary and the entire world knows they intend to run the ball with authority. However, they have had a ton of success with this formula and rarely have they failed with any consistency. They look like they will live & die by Jackson's big play ability, but they still have a solid D & an elite kicker which will keep them in any game. They fortified their OL & kept their stable of RB horses, but they will need their defense to play like an elite unit if they are to contend with the AFC landscape this year. They start the season with a tough slate before their bye (NYJ, MIA, NE, BUF, CIN, NYG, CLE, TB, NO), where I think only 4 games look like predictable Ws. If that's the floor, then I could easily see them squeaking out 5 wins because that's just how the Ravens operate in tightly contested schedules & the best kicker in the game. After the bye things lighten up (CAR, JAX, DEN, PIT, CLE, ATL, PIT, CIN). If I'm being honest, this looks at worst like 7-1 on paper. The Ravens tend to get hot as the weather gets colder through November & December, but again I'm not too high on them so I'll predict an upset here and go 6-2.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers - #12 SOS - 9-8

We can talk upside & get excited about the youth movement, the rebuild, blah blah blah... But simply put, we cannot buy into more than 9 wins right now without knowing what to expect from the offense. They look like a team that will live & die by their defense until the offense gains some steam. They invested $70m into their OL, but I don't think anyone feels like that amount of money is going to change things as drastically as we want it to. James Daniels is really the biggest upgrade here, and that's really it. Mason Cole is a questionable addition at best, rating pretty poorly in pass blocking. But the bar was set pretty damn low with Kendrick Green last year lol. So any sort of improvement with a different piece at C should be readily apparent. The offense will revolve around Najee Harris for the time being, and hopefully whichever QB starts will develop a good rapport with the exciting group of receivers they have, including Freiermuth that I think makes a name for himself this season. The jury is out on OC Matt Canada though, so we'll have to take a wait & see approach here. Still, with that defense I don't see them going sub-500 like the national media wants you to believe. Starting off the year before the bye (CIN, NE, CLE, NYJ, BUF, TB, MIA, PHI) I have them at 4 wins. Then after the bye (NO, CIN, IND, ATL, BAL, CAR, LV, BAL, CLE) I have maybe 5 wins, and that's being optimistic IMO. 5 out of 9 of those are home games, so that is favorable. Not to mention they won't be leaving their time zone this year, so the travel aspects of their season are pretty minimal. Favorable schedule for a team in rebuild, but again I just don't know how anyone can buy more than 8 or 9 wins right now.

4. Cleveland Browns - #17 SOS - 7-10

The wild card of the division. Nobody knows what to expect, but we do have a pretty good idea that we'll see Jacoby Brissett for the first month, if not longer, of their 2022 season. Their defense is stout & they have a great rushing attack on offense so we cannot dismiss them. Starting off the season before the bye (CAR, NYJ, PIT, ATL, LAC, NE, BAL, CIN) I have them at 3 wins, mainly because I think they stumble early. This offseason has been one long distraction filled with controversy. Does Stefanski have the chops to overcome that? I think so but maybe not as effectively as they want to aspire to. After the bye (MIA, BUF, TB, HOU, CIN, BAL, NO, WAS, PIT) I think they can get 4 more wins putting them at 7 wins overall, but I admit that looks more like a ceiling right now.

I think this is a fair prediction. At this point, the list of 'quarterbacking situation I trust the most' seems like the best play for this division. Burrow is clearly the most trustworthy right now in the division with Jackson being second. I think there is a pretty big gap between the two of them, mostly because I wonder about Jackson's abilities to succeed given the WR shortage in Baltimore. Pittsburgh and Cleveland are unknowns at the position, but I have more faith in one of their guys stepping up more than I do in the instability caused by the Watson situation. All four teams have strengths on D, but all of them are susceptible to a big drop off if injuries occur. I trust Pittsburgh most on that side of the ball due to the proven playmakers and overall talent. The Bengals get no love for their D - More folks seem to write it off as a lucky season. It will be interesting to see if they can continue to be stingy again this year. I'm interested in seeing how Baltimore is different on D with a change at coordinator. It was smart for them to make the change as I think Wink's act was getting stale. I don't trust Cleveland's D-line at all.... I'm not conviced Clowney has anything left and they don't have any interior lineman. They do have some great players on D but they're asking a lot of some guys that have no past record of success.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

I think this is a fair prediction. At this point, the list of 'quarterbacking situation I trust the most' seems like the best play for this division. Burrow is clearly the most trustworthy right now in the division with Jackson being second. I think there is a pretty big gap between the two of them, mostly because I wonder about Jackson's abilities to succeed given the WR shortage in Baltimore. Pittsburgh and Cleveland are unknowns at the position, but I have more faith in one of their guys stepping up more than I do in the instability caused by the Watson situation. All four teams have strengths on D, but all of them are susceptible to a big drop off if injuries occur. I trust Pittsburgh most on that side of the ball due to the proven playmakers and overall talent. The Bengals get no love for their D - More folks seem to write it off as a lucky season. It will be interesting to see if they can continue to be stingy again this year. I'm interested in seeing how Baltimore is different on D with a change at coordinator. It was smart for them to make the change as I think Wink's act was getting stale. I don't trust Cleveland's D-line at all.... I'm not conviced Clowney has anything left and they don't have any interior lineman. They do have some great players on D but they're asking a lot of some guys that have no past record of success.

Bengals D... I was higher on them last year than what the national media thought... Still, I believe they were 17th in points given up last year against the 6th easiest SOS. Couple of rough games come to mind... Browns & Chargers putting up 40+ pts. Also the Jets put up 35ish on them with backup QB Mike White dropping 400+ yds. I know its cherry picking as they were largely a top 5-8 unit last year. Looking ahead to '22 they should dominate through to the end of November when their schedule gets tougher. So long as they stay healthy they should be just fine.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[cincygrad]

It will be interesting to see if Bates really sits out. I don't think the Brown family will budge - If he wants to sit out, they'll just pocket the money and move it to next year. I'd be shocked if they trade him.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Same foot he injured in the bowl game if I'm not mistaken

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Let's hope he can have a healthier career than Green

 

[cincygrad]

Let's hope he can have a healthier career than Green

AJ was fairly durable at the beginning of his career. He only missed 4 games in his first 5 seasons. AJ was one of the most gifted receivers I have ever seen. I don't think he was as physically or mentally tough as the best receivers of his era, but from a raw-talent perspective, he was almost unmatched. It didn't help him that he played with Dalton for the entire prime of his career..... Would've been interesting to see what he would have done with a gunslinger type.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

AJ was fairly durable at the beginning of his career. He only missed 4 games in his first 5 seasons. AJ was one of the most gifted receivers I have ever seen. I don't think he was as physically or mentally tough as the best receivers of his era, but from a raw-talent perspective, he was almost unmatched. It didn't help him that he played with Dalton for the entire prime of his career..... Would've been interesting to see what he would have done with a gunslinger type.

Wholeheartedly agree. Having watched him in this division through most of his career I used to sing his praises when he was suddenly forgotten about amongst the best WRs in the league. He was freakishly good. I commended him for being as loyal as he was during the Marvin Lewis years , but you could see by the end of his Cincy days that he was tired of it. Like the game wasn't as fun for him anymore.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[cincygrad]

Totally worth it. If Shooter keeps it up for the Bengals, they need to give him some coin. Having that kind of weapon in the postseason is the difference between winning and losing one-score games.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Totally worth it. If Shooter keeps it up for the Bengals, they need to give him some coin. Having that kind of weapon in the postseason is the difference between winning and losing one-score games.

TBH it gave me some PTSD when Boz got his new contract last week. Gave me memories of the year after he inked his prior deal when he suffered from the shanks. Honestly surprised they kept faith in him.

But I agree. Trustworthy Kickers are essential.

 

[cincygrad]

TBH it gave me some PTSD when Boz got his new contract last week. Gave me memories of the year after he inked his prior deal when he suffered from the shanks. Honestly surprised they kept faith in him.

But I agree. Trustworthy Kickers are essential.

Bosworth has missed 1 field goal in his career against us.... It's annoying! I think all kickers will go through a spell where they have some troubles. Tucker is weird in that he hasn't really had that in his career. They're like golfers - Even the best ones have some rocky times. But overall, you feel much better than heading into a tough game with Fat Randy Bullock handling the duties.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Bosworth has missed 1 field goal in his career against us.... It's annoying! I think all kickers will go through a spell where they have some troubles. Tucker is weird in that he hasn't really had that in his career. They're like golfers - Even the best ones have some rocky times. But overall, you feel much better than heading into a tough game with Fat Randy Bullock handling the duties.

Definitely. Kickers are finicky. A change of scenery could be all it takes to excel. The best ones are the guys that can kick in open air stadiums with consistency. Because if they can kick into the wind in open stadiums then domes should be a walk in the park. Heinz Field is notorious for being difficult place to kick or punt in. Pretty damn rare to see anything over 50yds.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]