2008 NFL Season Preview: AFC North

Offense: The surprise offense of 2007 will be back and better than ever in 2008. Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow Jr. form one of the best WR/TE combo’s in the NFL. Adding speedy Dontè Stallworth should only open up the field for Edwards and Winslow giving QB Derek Anderson options everywhere.

Teams have had a full off-season to study this offense, particularly Anderson. Defensive coordinators get paid to make adjustments on guys like him, but they tried on Tony Romo last season and it didn’t appear to work too well. The Browns have too many offensive weapons for his play to decline significantly. I kept hearing that Jamal Lewis had found the fountain of youth last season while he rushed for 1300+ yards and 9 scores. Lewis is actually only 28 going on 29 in August. A fresh start in Cleveland has certainly rejuvenated Lewis, but upgrades have turn a sub-par offensive line into one of the better groups in the AFC.

With defenses pinning their ears back to get to Anderson, linebackers chasing Kellen Winslow down the scheme, and Edwards/Stallworth running deep on corners and safeties, Lewis’ job will be to pound the b all early to set the tone, then salt the game away against a tired defense. It worked last season to the tune of 10 wins. With an even better offense this season, expect more of the same.

Defense: Cleveland was among the most active off-season movers acquiring the aforementioned Stallworth and trading for DT’s Corey Williams and Shaun Rogers. Corey Williams is ideal for the DE position in the 3-4 defense and has the potential to be an 8-10 sack player at that position. Rogers on the other hand remains an unknown. If he commits himself and plays hard every down, he can be a force at the nose against the run and pass. ILB’s Andra Davis and D’Qwell Jackson could both be 100 tackle players with Williams and Rogers eating up blockers in the middle.

The Brown’s defensive backfield will be filled with “could be’s” in 2008. Second-year corners Eric Wright and Brandon McDonald have tremendous potential and talent, but neither have started for a full-season. Veteran safeties might mask the inexperience on the outside, but Brodney Pool and Sean Jones have a combined three full seasons of experience at safety.

All you need to know about the Browns passing defense is watch the film of the 51-45 victory over the Bengals last season in which they gave up 401 yards and 6 touchdowns to Carson Palmer and that offense. To be fair, things did get better in Cleveland after the Cinci game the Browns gave up just two 300 yard passing games and kept their opponents under 200 yards passing in the final 3 weeks of the season.

Overall: Romeo Crennell’s bread and butters is defense. The 2008 off-season reflected that and fans in the Dog Pound hope it pays dividends. The Browns should score enough points to win every week, but with a young defense there will be hiccups along the way. The schedule is tough and many of the big games will be on the road for the Browns. Another 10-6 record could be on the way, this time earning the Browns a wild card birth, likely the 5 seed.

Ravens (2007 Record 5-11)

Offense: Optimism abounds with offensive specialist Cam Cameron on board in Baltimore giving the Ravens the kind of mind on offense they already have on defense in Rex Ryan. BUT who is going to run that offense? In five seasons with the Ravens former first-round pick Kyle Boller has a 56.9% completion percentage and a passer rating of 71.9. Troy Smith quarterbacked the Ravens all the way to the Dolphin’s first and only win of the season. Oh, and Joe Flacco has never taken a snap in the NFL. Cam Cameron may be one of the best offensive minds in football, but he’s no magician.

Derrick Mason was the lone bright spot for the Ravens passing attack last year catching 103 passes, but at 34 years old, there might not be much left in the tank. It doesn’t help that no one beyond him creates much of any threat to a defense.

Willis McGahee should get the bulk of the work for this offense in 2008. Coming off a 1207 yard season in 15 games, the former Miami Hurricane stand-out will have to shoulder the load while the quarterbacks figure out their lives. It won’t help losing sure Hall of Fame tackle Johnathan Ogden on the left side, or starting two second year players Marshall Yanda and Benn Grubbs on the right side.

Suffice it to say if Cam Cameron can get this offense to score points, he deserves another head coaching job as soon as possible.

Defense: The backbone of this Baltimore team has been it’s defense. It won them a Super Bowl and almost allowed them to steal a game from the Patriots last season. However, corners Chris McAllister and Samari Rolle are both on the wrong side of 30 and Rolle in particular appears to be slowing considerably. Beyond those two, pickings are slim at corner.

Luckily the Ravens still have Ed Reed, Terrell Suggs, Ray Lewis, and Bart Scott. If you can find three linebackers and a safety who create more havoc in both the running and passing game let me know. Ed Reed is the best safety in football while Scott and Suggs represent an elite rush tandem. Plus, Ray Lewis, even at 33, is still Ray Lewis.

While this defense hasn’t gotten any better, it certainly shouldn’t get much worse. That will mean once again the defense must carry the Ravens if they expect to win.

Overall: The schedule is absolutely brutal for the Ravens with trips to Indy, the Giants, and Dallas as well as visits from Jacksonville, Philadelphia, Washington, and Tennessee. That does not even take into account two a piece against Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Cinci.

Sorry Baltimore fans, things may be more to your liking on the sidelines and in the press box with the coaching staff, but the team on the field is worse in 2008. Even a little Cameron miracle working will make this team a 4-12 team.

Steelers (2007 Record 10-6)

Offense: Big Ben’s bounce-back season turned the Steeler’s identity from a smash-mouth running team into somewhat of a finesse, pass-first offense. The guy was unbelievable with 32 touchdowns to just 11 interceptions and a passing rating of 104.1.

The quarterback was not the problem last season for Pittsburgh and does not appear to be an imminent concern this season either. The offensive line averages just under two years of starting experience per player with starters Darnell Stapleton and Chris Kemoeatu having exactly zero full seasons as starters. That does not bode well for a team who often struggled to protect Ben Roethlisberger on passing downs last seasons even with Pro Bowler Alan Faneca at guard. With Fanaca playing for the Jets.

A healthy Willie Parker and explosive rookie Rashard Mendenhall give the Steelers on of the best 1-2 punch backfields in football and hopefully relieve some of the pressure on the young offensive line. Developing offensive lineman tend to learn pass-blocking techniques slowly, so expect to see a little more Steelers smash-mouth from this offense as their line comes together.

Defense: Perhaps the biggest surprise for the Steelers in 2007 was the relatively poor play of the Pittsburgh defense. While a 9.2 point per game average hardly looks underwhelming, the fact of the matter is the Steelers gave up 20 or more points in each of their last four games and were absolutely obliterated by the Jags running game. Words like “soft” and “finesse” are not part of the vocabulary in Steelertown, but they were being whispered about this team late last year after the Patriots gave them an old-fashioned butt-kicking at Heinz Field.

The basic issue is the secondary. Ike Taylor and Deshea Townsend are physical corners who can jam receivers and support the run. Troy Polamalu plays safety like a linebacker, but no one will accuse him of being Ed Reed as a ball-hawking safety. The Steelers D relies on their outstanding pass-rush to force quarterbacks into bad decisions. Blitz linebackers, jam receivers, and stunt defensive line to throw off timing and rhythm and Peyton Manning is having nightmares already.

However, the Patriots showed that if you take your time, pass on running downs, run on passing downs and any other down you can, this defense is made to get after the quarterback, not stop the run or protect deep. Teams that can do both will continue to give the Steelers problems even with an outstanding draft class and talented players.

Overall: Young head coach Mike Tomlin didn’t make too many rookie mistakes last season as he lead the Steelers to the playoffs. However, the division has gotten better and the AFC remains extremely competitive. Another 10-6 season and division crown look like excellent possibilities.

I have the Steelers as the division winner and the Browns as the wild card with the same record by virtue of the Steelers superior projected record against like opponents. With a split of head to heads and the same record against the division, common game Win/Loss differential would be the tie-breaker.

NFL Season Preview: AFC West

Denver Broncos (7-9)

Offense: The 2007 Denver Broncos offense was not unlike any other Mike Shanahan teams; establish that potent zone running game, and work play action off of the that. The problem was for an offense ranking 9th in rushing and 13th in passing, Denver finished a disappointing 21st in points scored. To make matters worse in 2008, the Broncos big-play receiver Javon Walker will be wearing the silver and black. Brandon Marshall had a breakout season in 2007 and the Broncos put some quality back ups behind him with Keary Colbert, Darrell Jackson, and Sammie Parker filling out the receiving core with Brandon Stokely and one of my favorite receivers in the draft Eddie Royal. Rookie OT Ryan Clady could also help out right away protecting Cutler, as Clady was the premier pass-blocker in this year's draft class.

With Jay Cutler's continued emergence as a quarterback, the biggest issue facing the Broncos is at the running back position. We know Shanahan has a history of just putting anybody back there and finding a 1,000 yard rusher but Selvin Young and Michael Pittman aren't exactly Terrell Davis and Mike Anderson. Rookie Ryan Torian from Arizona State has impressed so far, but it will take some serious Shanahan running back magic to improve the scoring totals of this offense.

Defense: The ineptitude of the Broncos rush defense last season cannot be understated. Denver finished 30th in rush defense and despite the having one of the best corner tandems in the league, finished 28th in points allowed. Subtract starting safety Nick Ferguson and linebacker Ian Gold and the Broncos were in trouble. The Broncos added three safeties in the off-season to supplement their outstanding corner duo, including former charger starter Marlon McCree and the freakishly athletic rookie Josh Barrett from Arizona State.

Otherwise, this defense has not improved significantly upfront after failing to acquire Shuan Rogers or Corey Williams in the off-season. The Broncos did trade for former top 5 pick DeWayne Robertson from the Jets, but he has never proven to be anything but an average tackle inside. Former Lion Boss Bailey was brought in presumably to fill in for Ian Gold, but Bailey is a career underachiever as well. Jim Bates and Bob Slowick are both excellent defensive coaches, but this defense possesses little to no toughness inside and outside of Bailey and Bly on the outside, the defensive backfield has question marks

Outlook: The schedule includes playoff teams 4 of the first 7 weeks plus a visit from the Saints in week three. Things get much easier in the second half, but an 8-8 season looks most likely for the Broncos in a vicious AFC.

San Diego Chargers (11-5)

Offense: Even though Phillip Rivers appeared to have regressed in 2007, LaDanian Tomlinson was the best player in the NFL and took the Chargers all the way to the AFC Championship game. Unfortunately for San Diego, they lost FB Lorenzo Neal and back up RB Michael Turner this offseason from a rushing attack that ranked 7th in the league this past season. Adding H-Back Jacob Hester and UTEP running back Marcus Thomas in the draft fill the spots of the departed Turner and Neal, but as rookies, who knows how productive they can be on a team reaady to compete right now?

For a passing game that ranked a paultry 26th in the NFL last-season, a full season of Chris Chambers and a healthy Antonio Gates should certainly help. Vincent Jackson also came on strong late in the year showing the potential to be an excellent possession compliment to Chambers. With Gates occupying the middle of the field and the seam, expect Jackson to be even more productive this season. Ultimately though, the offense is predicated on Phillip Rivers taking care of the ball. In his first season at the helm, Rivers helped people forget Drew Brees was having an MVP type season in New Orleans. Last year, people wondered if the Chargers had made the right choice. The former N.C. State QB has all the skills, and now has two AFC Championship games under his belt. Luckily for Rivers, he still has the best offensive weapon in football behind him in the backfield.

Defense: Corner Antonio Cromartie has rewarded the Chargers for taking a risk on him when they drafted him in 2006 coming off major knee surgery. That is an understatement. Cromartie lead the league in picks last year and has quickly become one of the elite talents at the corner position with outstanding hands to go with a long frame and quick feet. Cromartie along with Quinten Jammer create a corner tandem that be matched in the AFC only by their rivals in Denver. Gone are CB Drayton Florence and S Marlon McCree as well as DE Shane Olivea. However, Eric Weddle played well late in the year making McCree expendable and when you have Shawne Merriman and Shaun Phillips rushing the passer, you don't need to have as much depth on the outside. Antoine Cason was drafted in the first round out of Arizona to replace Florence and will give the Chargers another big, physical corner who will fit perfectly into that aggressive, dominating Charger D. With all the young quarterback in the AFC West, expect the Charger defense to continue their streak of terrorizing quarterbacks.

Outlook: NFL Fans will be happy to know both New England and Indianapolis are on the schedule against the Chargers. San Diego fans will be happy to know both games in Qualcom Stadium. If Phillip Rivers plays closer to the 2006 version, the Chargers will be at least 13-3.

Kansas City Chiefs (4-12)

Offense: Questions about Larry Johnson's ability to recover from the pounding he took in 2006 were answered. He can't do it. Head Coach Herm Edwards overworked Johnson and as a result, the running game was not as effective in 2007. With an off-season of recovery, and the talented rookie Jamaal Charles to spell LJ, the Chiefs backfield looks solidifed. Add rookie G/T Brandon Albert and Kansas City looks prepared to once against play the kind of rugged running game that has been then M.O. seemingly forever.

The biggest question mark remains are quarterback. Last year it we saw both Damon Huard and Brodie Croyle and neither looked particularly good. There was some speculation that the Chiefs highly coveted Matt Ryan, but the Falcons ended any thoughts of that when they took him two spots earlier. Whoever is behind center will have a star in the making with Dwane Bowe, plus an underrated rookie, Missouri's William Frankling who has outstanding speed. Tony Gonzalez is still Tony Gonzalez and this offense should be back on track if they can make a decision on a QB.

Defense: Defensively, the Chiefs are probably the most improved team in the division. That is good news after finishing 28th against the run last season. Enter Glenn Dorsey, arguably the top prospect in the draft, but certainly the best defensive prospect if healthy. He is an immediate impact player along the defensive interior in the Warren Sapp mold. Virginia Tech CB Brandon Flowers could be asked to fill Ty Law's corner spot, and Flowers should be more than capable against a relatively weak crop of receivers in the West. K.C. also brought in Atlanta's LB DeMarrio Williams to inject some youth and athleticism in their linebacking group. The Chiefs defense was highly underrated last season, particuarly against the pass finishing 5th in passing yards. Flowers and rookie S DaJuan Morgan should add toughness to a poor tackling defensive backfield. Losing Jared Allen is a major blow, but the Chiefs are building around their young talent, and with Hali and Dorsey upfront, the defensive line will be solid this season.

Outlook: Despite being one of the winners from the draft, too many questions remain at QB. Limited options are receiver only compound that issue. A poor tackling defense has gotten better, but it will certainly not be enough to compete for the division or the playoffs. Add in an unbelievably tough schedule and the Chiefs will be lucky to escape 2008 with 5-11 record.

Oakland Raiders (4-12)

Offense: This is JeMarcus Russell's team now, but if you look at the Raider's stable of running backs, you may get the feeling Lane Kiffin and Al Davis aren't sold Russell is quite ready to carry this offense. Adding Arkansas rookie Darren McFadden was a flashy pick, and perhaps a genius one. If McFadden is anything close to what he was in the SEC, the Raiders will have made the right choice. Anything less, and the Raiders will have screwed it up again. The Raiders offensive line remains spotty despite the addition of Kwame Harris. Where will the carries go? Justin Fargas was paid like "the guy" but McFadden, LaMont Jordan, and Michael Bush are all fully capable. The Raiders have a gazillion backs, all of whom will want the ball. That is a situation worth keeping an eye, to see if Lane Kiffin can keep all his rushers happy.

Adding Javon Walker and Drew Carter on the outside to help Russell was key. Javon Walker can spread a defense assuming his knees are ok and he stays away from Vegas whenever possible. Russell has a huge arm and will love throwing deep to Curry and Walker, particularly off play-action with those aforementioned running backs. Raider fans will tell you that Russell and McFadden make this team extremely dangerous in a weak AFC West. They may be right eventually, but it is doubtful this offense will be significantly better in 2008.

Defense: The key for the Raiders defense this off-season was keeping their best corner Nnamdi Asomugha. Behind him, the Raiders defensive backfield is very young and potentially vulnerable. That is part of the reason they brought in Giants safety Gibril Wilson to play next to Michael Huff, an improving former Texas DB with tremendous talent. Bringing in healthy Fabian Washington and speedy rookie Tyvon Branch will help supplement Asomugha and give the Raiders a solid defensive backfield. Losing DT Tyler Brayton and DE Chris Clemons to free agency hurts up front, but they brought in Kalimba Edwards to replace Clemons as a pass rusher. The offseason saw plenty of spending, but no impact player on defense from a unit that finished 31st against the run and 26th in points. Barring an unforeseen improvement by the personnel already in Oakland, there are simply too many solid rushing teams in the division for the Raiders to have a realistic chance at a playoff birth.

Outlook: I keep hearing that suddenly the Raiders are a playoff team. Not only is that ridiculous but barring a slew of injuries in the division, a .500 record seems out of reach with a defense that can't stop the run, and an offense without cohesion or identity. The schedule is tough once again with trips to New Orleans, Buffalo, and Tampa, plus the division games. Unless JeMarcus Russell becomes a solid QB from week 1, the Raiders could be headed to another 4-12 season. (I fully expect to hear about this from all you excited members of Raider Nation)