AFC North preview...

Pittsburgh Steelers: The Steelers are the defending Super Bowl champs and they return 20 of 22 starters. Ben Roethlisberger has made a name for himself over the last few years as the new comeback king, which was highlighted by his game winning TD throw with a few minutes left in the Super Bowl to put the Steelers ahead for good. Willie Parker has rededicated himself to staying healthy after an injury plagued 2008 season. Also the Steelers should get a huge boost in the running game from last years first round pick Rashard Mendenhall who should be a nice change of pace back for the Steelers to run out the clock. The Steelers have 2 Super Bowl MVPs on their team in Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes but the big question at the wide receiver spot is who is going to replace Nate Washington as the teams deep threat. Pittsburgh brought in Shaun McDonald and they drafted speedy wideout Mike Wallace to help fill the void but Wallace is inexperienced and McDonald isn't really that good. Heath Miller is in the last year of his contract and he is hoping to put up big numbers to convince the Steelers to re-sign him. The o-line returns everybody from the Super Bowl run and these guys took a lot of flack last year but the majority of them had not played much up to that point and they lacked the familiarity with each other, which should improve with a full offseason to get used to one another. The defense is once again locked and loaded with the only new comer being Lawrence Timmons who will be replacing Larry Foote. Timmons brings unbelievable speed which combined with Dick Lebeau's creative schemes the sky's the limit for him. Deshea Townsend and William Gay will try to fill the void of Bryant McFadden leaving for Arizona. The problems the Steelers had last year should be fixed with players getting healthy and with the addition of players in the draft. Key Games: Home match ups with the Titans to open the season, the Chargers in Week 4, the Vikings in Week 7, and the Packers in Week 15. They travel for road games at Chicago in Week 2 and Miami at the end of the season. 2009 overall record: 13-3, Division winner, #1 seed



Baltimore Ravens: The Ravens made it the AFC Championship with a rookie head coach and a rookie QB, so you would assume they would get better, only they got bad news yesterday with Derrick Mason announcing his retirement. Joe Flacco's progression could be slowed by Mason's departure because he leaves a huge void for the Ravens at the wideout position, but Tom Brady never had a true #1 until he got Randy Moss so you never know. Flacco will get a lot of help from his running game with Willis McGahee and Ray Rice still touting the rock behind a big physical offensive line. Matt Birk solidifies their center position bringing a tough run first mentality with him from Minnesota plus with the addition of rookie Michael Oher the line should only get better. the Ravens also brought in tight end L.J. Smith to help keep Todd Heap but it seems like a lateral move since neither can stay healthy for very long. On the defensive side of the ball the Ravens lost their DC Rex Ryan, starting linebacker Bart Scott, and safety Jim Leonhard, all of them left and went to the Jets. Not all is bad for the Ravens though they still have all-world Ray Lewis, all-world Ed Reed, and Haloti Ngata. Terrell Suggs is expected to sign an extension which would help solidify the linebackers but aside for him and Lewis they are pretty thin in depth and experience. Derek Landry and Tom Zbikowski will have to fill the void left by Leonhard's departure. The secondary for Baltimore is deep and talented with the addition of Dominique Foxworth and Chris Carr to go opposite of Fabian Washington and Samari Rolle. The Ravens will be better than last year unless Flacco hits the proverbial sophomore slump. Key Games: Home games with the Colts in Week 11 and the Bears in Week 15. The Ravens travel to face San Diego in Week 2, New England in Week 4, Minnesota in Week 6, and Green Bay in Week 13. 2009 overall record: 13-3, Wild card, #5 seed


Cincinnati Bengals: Carson Palmer is healthy and ready to go. The Bengals picked up Laverneous Coles to make up for the loss of T.J. Houshmandzedah. The Bengals actually upgraded with the pickup of Coles because he does the things that T.J. or Chad Ochocinco wouldn't do, like blow the top off of the defense, he will be the perfect compliment to Ochocinco. Chris Henry has rededicated himself after a few self destructing years and he is blowing away management with how focused he appears to be. I'm not sure why the Bengals are putting so much stock in Cedric Benson but he will be the downfall for the offense this year. The offensive line has a lot question marks with the departure of veterans Levi Jones, Stacey Andrews, Kirk Barton, and Eric Ghiacuic all of whom were starters. Andrew Whitworth is the hold over from last year but the others will be replaced by inexperienced guys, like rookie Andre Smith, who will have their hands full with the likes of Casey Hampton, Sean Rodgers, and Haloti Ngata. The Bengals defense will get a big upgrade with a healthy Keith Rivers and the steal of the draft in Ray Maualuga to go with the veteran Dhani Jones. Maualuga needs to get on the field for this defense to succeed, he brings a different dynamic to the team that they have not seen in quite some time. The d-line is probably their weakest link on the defense but they also got another steal in the draft at defensive end when Michael Johnson was still available in the third round. Leon Hall and Johnathan Joseph are young but talented players at the cornerback spots and combined with the big play capabilities of Chinedum Ndukwe, the secondary should be tough to go against. The Bengals went and picked up Roy Williams the free safety but he is not very good at coverage and he has lost a step when it comes to making the big game changing hits that he has done in the past. The Cincinnati Bengals have improved just with Palmer being healthy but you win and lose games in the trenches and the Bengals are severely lacking up front on both sides of the ball which will be their downfall. Key Games: The Bengals have home match ups with the Broncos in Week 1 and the Bears in Week 7. Road games at Green Bay in Week 2, Minnesota in Week 14, and San Diego in Week 15. 2009 overall record: 7-9

Cleveland Browns: Last season the Cleveland Browns buckled under the pressure of their first winning season in a few years and went 4-12. The mess has continued so far this offseason as they fired their head coach and GM, they traded their best offensive weapon in Kellen Winslow, and they already have a QB controversy. The Browns hired Eric Mangini to replace Romeo Crennel, which is an upgrade but I'm not sure by how much. Cleveland just needs to get it over with and make Brady Quinn their starter, Derek Anderson has not done anything to prove he deserves the job, and they drafted and paid Quinn to be their franchise QB, so get it over with already. Jamal Lewis is back but how effective can he be at his age plus the Browns don't have anyone to back him up so they will be screwed if he gets hurt. Braylon Edwards, who aways has a case of the dropsies, leads a wide receiving group that consists of rookies Brian Robiskie and Mohamed Massaquoi, but neither were that great in college so the question is who is going to step up opposite Edwards. The Browns acquired David Patten to hopefully fill that role but at his age they shouldn't expect that much from him. Cleveland has no legitimate replacement for Winslow, don't get me wrong Steve Heiden is a solid tight end but he can't stretch the field or make game changing plays like Winslow. The o-line returns everyone from last year plus the addition of rookie center Alex Mack who will probably take the starting job away from Hank Fraley before season's end. The defense has a lot of good young players but they haven't lived up to their hype yet and they have underperformed. Shaun Rodgers and Corey Williams anchor the d-line but after those two the unit is pretty thin. Eric Barton, who came over in a trade with the Jets, will upgrade the linebackers immediately and he should be a good mentor to the underachieving D'Qwell Jackson and Kamerion Wimbley. The weak link of the defense is the secondary with third year player Eric Wright being the most talented on the team and given a few more years he could be really dangerous. Brodney Pool is joined by Abram Elam, who also came over in the Jets trade, but neither is really that scary to an offense. The Browns will continue to struggle this year but they could surprise people if the o-line stays healthy and Quinn emerges as the QB many people think he can be. Key Games: The Browns have home contests with the Vikings in Week 1, the Packers in Week 7, the Chargers in Week 13, and the Jaguars to wrap up the regular season. Their road games consist of traveling to Denver in Week 2, Buffalo in Week 5, Chicago in Week 8, and Detroit in Week 11. 2009 overall record: 3-13