Looking Forward to the 2019 AFC North

Much like the boxer who came on late in a fight only to lose the decision . . . "I didn't lose the fight. I ran out of rounds." This what this season reminds me of. For only the second time in the past twenty years or so, I really don't want this season to end. But, in two weeks it probably will.

That said, I truly believe the AFCN title in 2019 is up for grabs. Moreso now than it has been for quite a while. It all starts with the Quarterbacks so lets begin there:

• Ben Roethlesberger. He's surrounded by dynamic wide receivers and a punishing running game no matter who lines up in the backfield with him. But the fact is Father Time may be catching up to him. His decision making, as of late, has been questionable. Perhaps the term "diminishing skills" is starting to come into focus?
• Andy Dalton. Dalton reminds me of an unmanned CNC lathe. As long as the incoming raw material is good and the cutting tools are sharp, he will produce a good part. But as soon as either of those things aren't right - he produces scrap.
• Joe Flacco/Lamar Jackson. It certainly appears the Flacco years are over in the AFCN. Lamar Jackson reminds me a lot of his current backup, RGIII. There is no question he's a tremendous athlete but I have to wonder if he can withstand the pounding over the course of an entire season.
• Baker Mayfield. To say he has done well in his rookie year would be an understatement. And he's only going to get better. The Browns scored the cream of the crop in the 2018 quarterback class.

 

So you got

1 Steelers
2 Bengals
3 Ravens
4 Browns

I got

1 Steelers
2 Browns
3 Ravens
4 Bengals

For 2019

 

The order I listed the quarterbacks had nothing to do with the 2019 order of finish in the division. It was simply the order my thoughts came to me regarding the quarterbacks.

Besides . . . I was brought up thinking "Ladies First" !

 

Well done Lym!! I couldn't agree more on all aspects.

Baker Mayfield has given the Browns exactly what the Steelers have enjoyed for the past 15 years, a QB that will keep his team in contention EVERY SINGLE YEAR. He damn near pulled it off as a rookie. Baker may turn into a player that will perennially go into the season as an odds on favorite to vie for the League MVP. He is a far cry from that right now...but he is already being talked in the circles of top 15 QB in the league...and he is a rookie. There is no reason to believe he will not improve. It is rare that a QB has his best season in his first year and just never improves upon that over his career. This kid should be top 10 next year and the sky is the limit after that.

The AFC North goes through Cleveland starting....NOW... It might come down to the final game of the year, and we might send the Ravens into a 3rd place finish if we can win these last two games, while they lose to the Chargers and us... Week one is really pounding the back of my head right now...the what if scenarios just keep dancing, even though there is absolutely nothing we can do about it. That first week, if we just pull that off, we are looking at a current tie between Baltimore and the Steelers, and us one game back with tie breakers in our pocket. We beat the Bengals and Ravens we end the year 5-1 in the division, while the Steelers end at best 4-2. Obviously they would still have to lose to either New Orleans or the Bengals, but we would be right in the thick of it still....

Man, this has still been such a fun year!!

 

You are comparing the Steelers to women? Why? Because they always win and have the last word.

 

AND, I GOT....

1 Browns
2 Steelers
3 Bengals
4 Ravens

 

No. Because they squat to piss and bellyache at everything.

Now . . . How about we drop the homer bullshit and discuss the topic ???

 

Next season

Steelers. 13-3
Browns. 11-5
Ravens. 7-9
Bengals. 1-15 Hue Jackson is rumored to be taking over as HC.

 

I think that this division will be decided by how the Steelers handle their QB transition, for the coming year. Ben should've retired prior to this year. I think he should probably retire prior to the next. If he doesn't, the team needs to decide whether they'll play him and just hope the roster is good enough to make up for his lack of decision-making at times, or whether they're going to start to transition to one of their young QB's in waiting. If it's the latter, then the timing will be extremely important, as it will determine how many losses will be necessary to bench Ben, and how many may be needed to get a kid up to speed.

I don't believe in Jackson, with Baltimore. He didn't progress enough as a passer despite being given plenty of time and opportunity at the college level. We haven't seen him be a reliable passer in his short starting time so far. Does this mean he can't do it? Of course not. But I don't think he's going to, both from his personal / playing history (he's a South Florida boy - plenty of my colleagues taught / worked with him), as well as from his currently established skillset and the difficulty of adjusting to the passing game in the NFL. He can run, sure. But I don't think that will be enough to get this team to the next level, and maintain success. I hope he succeeds and proves me wrong, but until we see it, I won't expect it.

I don't think you're wrong with your assessment of Dalton or Mayfield, right now.

The division is entirely up for grabs. Should be a lot of fun to watch, going forward.

 

Thanks for your input/thoughts. That's precisely what I was looking for. A division title goes way beyond the quarterback, but I had to start somewhere. Hopefully we can take on those other areas once we've flogged the QB issues to death.

 

Agreed. Although, I do think it's the most important place to start - not just because of what the league has turned into, but because of the specific cases in this division.

 

I think that's fair if all teams have an equally solid offseason. But that's the rub... what if Ben retires? What if Cincinnati blows it up, or worse, turns to Hue Jackson? Dorsey has already proven to be one of the best drafting GMs over the past couple seasons (I noted in another thread he's drafted a Pro Bowler as a rookie every year since 2015).

I expect the Browns to have the best offseason of the lot - followed by Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati in that order. As such, my way too early prediction would look something like...

Browns
Ravens
Steelers
Bengals

 

^^^^^
And also the Bengals go 0-16.

 

Careful...don't forget Ozzie is gone in January...We don't know what to expect from Eric DeCosta... Otherwise, I'd agree with you. One thing is certain, the Bengals are trending down, but I think the Ravens are right there with them.

The Steelers go where Roethlisberger takes them.. thus, I don'y believe they are going to be gaining ground on this season, which will be at best 10-5-1.. not sure where you are getting a 2.5 game gain next year...I think the Browns are the team that gets a 2.5 game gain. We will see what that means at year end, but I see it more like

Browns 11-5
Steelers 9-7
Bengals 6-10
Ravens 6-10

 

I think we're getting a little ahead of ourselves by predicting W/L records without knowing any personnel moves made by any of these teams during the off season. My intent (and I should have stated it) was knowing what we do know and seeing what we have seen, how do you all think the AFCN shakes out next year?

I was kinda hoping to discuss individual areas or position groups as they come up.

 

Aren't we ahead of ourselves in all of this talk?

 

How about you give us what you consider to be the Browns biggest strength (other than QB) and where that stacks up against the rest of the division?

This is a conversation I can get interested in very easily.

 

Easy . . . Running Back.

Unfortunately, that happens to be one of the strengths of the impending AFCN Champion Steelers. However, I'm not that sure that they excell at running the ball due to their running backs or due to their O-line. The Steelers, Ravens and Browns each have some studs on their respective O-lines. It just appears that the Steelers' O-line functions better, as a unit, than do the rest of us.

It should noted that I've only watched the Bengals one time so far this year. So I would prefer to withhold comment on their O-line until next week.

 

Probably. But we can discuss what we do know about these teams now and then base our draft discussions on that. At least, that was my intent.

 

That's not as easy for me to agree with as it is for you to post.

Joe Mixon may be able to lay claim to that not only this season but for the foreseeable future. He's a legitmate three down threat trapped behind an offensive line that needs work (not ignoring you mentioning little exposure to Cincy football this season), and he's still putting up solid numbers in his second season despite all of Cincinnati's offensive struggles.