DIVISIONAL BREAKDOWNS...

DIVISIONAL BREAKDOWNS...

It is the most wonderful time of the year. The kids are back in school (almost), the weather is getting cooler (hopefully), and football is upon us. I know, this is the time of the year that we all look forward to. Kickoff for the college season is just 2 short weeks away, and on Thursday Night September 9th, the NFL will get under way. Before that happens, there is so much I need to tell you, so here are some thoughts for the upcoming NFL Season from every division...

AFC SOUTH...
I do not think there is one division in football where there is a clear cut favorite going into the season. As we look at the divisions, the closest thing to a lock is the AFC South where the Colts have dominated in recent memory (yes, I remember the '08 nonsense with Tennessee). However, I am really worried for Manning and co, because there are several questions that have yet to be answered. Is there a running game? Can Garcon & Collie play like top notch receivers once again? What will they get from Anthony Gonzalez? Is that defense going to come together to play like a tight nit unit? I truly believe that for Indy to be successful this upcoming season, they are going to have to find some type of running game. This division has been getting better for the last several years, and I think with no running game that defense is going to be in trouble. Houston has been improving for several years and 2009 was the 1st time in franchise history that they had a winning record. They had a good draft getting the cornerback they needed (Kareem Jackson) and a solid backup for Steve Slaton in Auburn RB Ben Tate. They already had a super star qb in Matt Schaub and one of the better TE in the game in Owen Daniels. I am not really sure what you will get from Vince Young in Tennessee, but he is a winner and if he puts it together, this will be a solid team. You know that Chris Johnson is a beast and if Young limits the mistakes, this team could regain the South and end the Colts dominance. Tennessee had a solid draft and picked up several guys who should be able to contribute immediately (Derrick Morgan - 1st round, Damion Williams, Rennie Curan, and Myron Rolle - who will turn into the next great safety in this league if he avoids going off and curing cancer). As for the Jaguars...well there's nothing really to say, this team will not contend for a playoff spot and therefore, there is no reason to even discuss them.

AFC WEST...
This division will be extremely interesting and I think this may be the most improved division in all of football this year.The Chargers have won the division 4 straight years, and 5 of the last 6, however there have been major changes in San Diego this off season. It started with LaDanian Tomlinson and Antonio Cromarte leaving to go East. There are also problems with Shawne Merriman (who is supposed to report to camp this weekend) and top wideout Vincent Jackson. When you factor in Jackson's hold out with te 4 game suspension he has to start the season with, and the fact that for the 1st time in almost 10 years the Chargers have no LT, you have to be worried about the boys in Powder Blue. Rivers is there and he is a top 7 qb in the league and all reports say rookie Ryan Matthews looks great, but who knows how the rookie will do over the course of the long season, and what will Rivers do now that there is no fear from opposing defenses of his running game? Year 2 of the Josh McDaniels experiment in Denver got off to a shocking start with the trade of Brandon Marshall to Miami (I do not know anyone who had Miami in the discussion). Then they had a draft that can not be graded. McDaniels in true Belichik fashion, he moved all over the draft board, finally drafting Demaryus Thomas (after passing on Dez Bryant) and Tim Tebow (while Jimmy Clausen - a guy who fits his system much better than Tebow, or so I thought). This team was 8 - 8 last year, and you would have to think they get a little better before they ever play a game, this is year 2 in McDaniels complicated system for Kyle Orton (who did not play terrible last year). The Chargers have lost several key pieces from last year. I would not be any more surprised to see the Broncos to go 10 - 6 and win the division, then I would if they went 6 - 10. The Chiefs are going to be much improved. The biggest addition to this team is not a player. I do like the Thomas Jones pick up, he will be a nice addition to Jamaal Charles. However, the biggest pick up in this off season was the addition of new offensive coordinator, Charlie Weiss. You can say what you want to about his head coaching ability, but the man was GREAT during his time in New England. He has a solid qb, a good running game, and let's be honest, N.E. was at its best when they had no name receivers who teams and Brady could not rely on just one guy to carry the bulk of the load. This team may be up to 6 wins or so this year and be on their way back to being respectable. This past off season, the team in the NFL that needed more work than any other was probably the Oakland Raiders. They had no qb, a history for messing things up in the draft and a terrible history for getting free agents. However this year, they did not look like the Raiders at all. They were able to trade for Jason Campbell (who can be a really good qb in this league), and they drafted surprisingly well. They drafted Rolando McClain (who may win Rookie of the Year this season), Lamarr Houston to help on the DL, Bruce Campbell (who some had as a 1st rounder), and Jacoby Ford to help the passing attack. The biggest thing they did was release Jamarcus Russell. Just go ahead and admit it, as good as this off season was, this was the Raiders and we all expected them to ruin it by starting Russell over Campbell. Like K.C. I see this team as a 5 or 6 win team and definitely appears to be headed in the right direction.

AFC NORTH...
This division comes down to offense. Who ever would have guessed that the division with the Steelers and Ravens would be about offense, but it is. Let's go ahead and get the Browns out of the way, they are a couple of years away. I do like the addition of Colt McCoy to that team, but he's a rookie and they will be led by Jake Delhomme...Cleveland fans go ahead and get ready for your top 5 draft pick next year (you may want to go ahead and send reps to Tuscaloosa to talk to Mark Ingram). This division is a 2 team race thanks to Big Ben. Polamolu is back, but Big Ben will miss the 1st 4 games of the season, and they will not be able to overcome his loss to make the playoffs. That leaves us with dueling WR's: Anquan Boldin v. Terrell Owens. This is not even close, Boldin is clearly better, however the Ravens just have to many questions going into the season. Ray Lewis is another year older and Ed Reed is going to start on the PUP list. I thought they did ok getting Sergio Kindle, but then he injured himself. Boldin is a nice addition, and Flacco matured last year and played well and should raise his game to another level with Boldin, but I do not know if that will be enough to jump the Bengals (this could change closer to the season). The Bengals took the biggest gamble of any team this off season, not only did they add 1 troubled WR, but they added 2 in TO and Antonio Bryant. I have read many people say that Owens will be a problem for this team, I do not think so. He is playing with his buddy Ochocinco, he is getting paid, and nobody wanted him, so he has something to prove. They added some nice pieces in the draft by getting TE Jermaine Gresham out of Oklahoma to stretch the middle of the field and Jordan Shipley from Texas (I think this guy will be very similar to what Wes Welker is to the Patriots, a hard worker, will return punts, very good route runner out of the slot, a true professional football player). Carson Palmer will throw for a lot of yards and this team will score plenty of points this year and that is real bad for a team with secondary questions (Pittsburgh) and an aging defense (Baltimore). I really think this may be the best chance that Cincinnati has to legitimately challenge for a Super Bowl in over 10 years. The defense looked great last year and there is no reason to think that will change.

AFC EAST...
The Patriots have won this division 7 of the last 9 years (also known as the time when that Brady guy took over).However, there are more questions surrounding this team than at any other point during this run. This team has always been led by the mindset of me second, team first, The players have bought into that starting at the top with Brady and going all the way down to the 53rd man on the roster. However, things have changed over the last few years, they let Asante Samuel walk away and never found a replacement. They traded away Richard Seymour as opposed to paying him and they never found a replacement. They have lost numerous coaches over the years and have not replaced them. Now, Logan Mankins, the man who protects Brady's back side has requested a trade because they will not pay him and is involved in a nasty dispute with management with no apparent hope in sight. Tom Brady meanwhile is entering his 2nd season after tearing up his leg and is in the final year of his deal. Brady has reworked his deal to help with the salary cap many times. On top of the, Brady is weekly hearing the Colts owner say the he will make Manning the highest paid qb in NFL history, and Manning is great, but what about Brady, he has more division titles, more playoff wins, better playoff winning %, and more Super Bowl rings (that's what the game is about). I know I am being told I am crazy, but if Brady plays this season without getting his deal, I truly believe it may be his last in New England. This is the problem with this division, all of this talk and it is all about off the field stuff, let me shift gears and get back on the field, there are 2 teams in this division who are going to be VERY GOOD, the Jets and the Dolphins. I still think the Bills have no chance of winning anything but the rights to draft 1st in next years draft (start thinking Christian Ponder). The Jets were very busy this year adding Santonio Holmes, Antonio Cromarte, LaDanian Tomlinson, Jason Taylor, and Kyle Wilson. This is a huge collection of names who are nearing the end of their careers, the big question is will they be able to stay healthy and make a solid contribution? One of the things this team will need to figure out is who will be the leaders for this team, Mark Sanchez has really taken a vocal role as a leader, but how will that play out if he has any kind of a "Sophomore Slump"? The team lost high character leaders in Thomas Jones and Alan Faneca. There is also the whole contract situation of Darrelle Revis, how long will this go on, for the rest of the division, hopefully for a long long time. The Miami Dolphins are coming off of a disappointing 2009 season that saw them go 7 - 9, but showed them they had finally found the qb to lead the franchise, something they had desperately lacked since Dan Marino retired. Chad Henne took over for Chad Pennington and the team never looked back. They added one of the best receivers in football in Brandon Marshall, added a quality line backer in Karlos Dansby, added a pass rusher in Charles Grant, and in typical Bill Parcells fashion, had a great draft adding several key pieces. There are not only 3 legitimate threats to win this division, but there are 3 legitimate threat to make the Super Bowl from this division.

That's it, there is my AFC divisional breakdowns. Tell me what you think. I know there is a lot of information, but how else are you going to get ready for the upcoming season. I will post the NFC tomorrow.

UNTIL NEXT TIME...