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.