Looking Forward to the 2019 AFC North

Crazy Crextin’s Mad Musings...

Looking Forward to the 2019 AFC North

Bengals: Dead last in the division, new head coach. If AJ Green stays Healthy this team could surprise a lot of folks. Given the O-line woes of late likely a 4-12 record, 0-4-2 in the division. With Solid O-line play they could steal a few extra wins.

Ravens: I don’t see this team winning many shootouts. With a depleted front seven the defense and pass rush is not likely to be as formidable as last year. The secondary will be sorely tested all year long. I predict they finish 3rd in the division with an overall record of 8-7-1 and 3-2-1 in the division.

Steelers: Given all the off season drama with AB and Bell, this could be addition by subtraction. The success of the offense will be in the development of Washington and Switzer, can they command enough attention to take pressure off of Ju-Ju. Defensively they should improve in the middle. I predict they finish 2nd in the division with an overall record of 8-7-1 and 3-2-1 in the division.

Browns: Given all the off season hype, I could almost puke. It all looks good on paper folks, but let’s stay real. There hasn’t been a down played yet. It’s only training camp and there are a lots of things to work out yet. Sure some of us are excited to see what Baker Mayfield and the offense can do this year, with a new HC and OC will the offense gel enough in time and can they get past the injury bug. With a revamped WR corp of OBJ, Landry, Calloway, and Higgins; surely no one thinks that the passing game will ever open up with these guys. Let’s not get started on the stable of RB’s; Chubb, Johnson, and Hunt. Hunt is great talent yet suspended for half the season. Johnson (new agent) has indicated he wants out. Can Chubb handle a full load for a full season? Can you think that these guys will ever get rock’n and roll’n? Don’t even get me started on the revamped O-line. Offense scores points (sometimes); but Defense still wins championships.

Defensively not much is being said about this team. The addition of Richardson to the interior D-line is a big boon to the defense. Hopefully that will help shore up the interior of the line so that they aren’t giving up 130+ yards / game on the ground. Greedy Williams and Mack Wilson may turn into the bigger draft steals from this year. The secondary despite losing Peppers should be better. If they stay healthy this year’s defense has the makings of a top 10 unit this year. I look for Garrett to have a monster year and be in the hunt for DPOY/MVP.


I predict they finish 1st in the division with an overall record of 11-5-0 and a clean sweep in the division.

 

You guys... Dak Prescott is so bad.

And spoiler ahead: he's still a better QB than Carson Wentz.

That is all.

 

Too much for a QB that isn’t elite.

 

It's starting to feel like we're piling on Carson Wentz...

 

I think you'll honestly have a different opinion of Carson Wentz after this season....Don't be surprised if it winds up Browns vs. Eagles in the SB. Just a feeling...

 

Don't be surprised if it winds up Browns vs. Eagles in the SB. Just a feeling...


WOW.........that is quite the Predication Dawg......good luck.

 

Prescott was who I was talking about.

 

I know. Just being me.

 

I won't hold my breath on that, but I'll admit it if I'm wrong.

 

https://theathletic.com/1114617/201...eam-big-ben-obj-mixon-tucker-among-top-picks/

 

You know what is a pet peeve of mine?

Someone posts a link to an article, you start reading an article, you get interested in article, then you find out you have to be a subscriber to finish the article....

 

That's why I have nothing to do with the 'Athletic'... they want cash money, I don't play that. Peeve's me too.

 

Sorry didn't think about that...

Preseason All-AFC North team: Big Ben, OBJ, Mixon, Tucker among top picks
By Jay Morrison Aug 5, 2019 43

Because it’s August and the only things available to break up the grind of training camp are those crazy, electric preseason games, we decided to create some fun of our own.

Imagine an eight-team playoff format in which each squad is composed only of players from the same division.

Which division would be your pick to run the table and win it all?

Which division would be the biggest long shot if Vegas were to set odds?

What would the AFC North starting lineup look like?

You don’t actually have to answer that last one. We’ve done the work for you.

In the process of kicking off our NFL coverage for The Athletic, we tasked five of our AFC North writers — Jeff Zrebiec in Baltimore, Zac Jackson in Cleveland, Mark Kaboly in Pittsburgh and Paul Dehner Jr. and yours truly in Cincinnati — to come up with a preseason All-AFC North team for the 2019 season.

To account for different schemes and formations, we voted for one player at each offensive position with the exception of wide receiver, at which we selected two, giving us a starting group of 10. To account for the 11th man, we borrowed from the fantasy football realm to create a “flex” position to be filled with the running back, wide receiver or tight end who received the most votes among those not selected to the first team.

Defensively, we took a similar approach, although we combined a few positions into a grouping to account for the even greater variety of systems and sub-packages, combining defensive ends and outside linebackers for an edge-rusher group while picking a pair of inside linebackers who might or might not be traditional Mikes.

Along with two players at defensive tackle, cornerback and safety, we came up with a group of 10 first-teamers, which we rounded out with another “flex” player from the front seven group.

Special teams players are people, too, so we voted on a kicker, punter and return specialist.

Each writer ranked his top three players at each position/group, and we scored them with three points for first, two for second and one for third. The polling resulted in three unanimous choices on offense, one on defense and all three spots on special teams.

The Steelers led the way with eight of the 25 first-team picks, followed by the Ravens and Browns with six apiece and the Bengals with five.

Here is a look at how it all shook out:

QB — Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers
As impressive as Baker Mayfield’s rookie season was, and as bright as his future might be, Roethlisberger still has a grip on the top spot after posting career highs in passing yards (5,129) and touchdowns (34) last year. Mayfield had one first-place vote and four seconds to easily outdistance Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton and Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson.

Voting: Roethlisberger 14, Mayfield 11, Dalton 4, Jackson 1

RB — Joe Mixon, Bengals
Pittsburgh’s James Conner and Baltimore’s Mark Ingram showed up in the NFL Network’s Top 100 list, but Mixon was the clear-cut pick here, receiving all five first-place votes after leading the AFC in rushing in an otherwise dismal year for the Bengals. Conner had three of the second-place votes, while Cleveland’s Nick Chubb had the other two.

Voting: Mixon 15, Conner 7, Chubb 5, Ingram 3

WR — Odell Beckham Jr., Browns; A.J. Green, Bengals
The newest receiver in the division was the runaway winner, receiving all five first-place votes. That made for a tight contest for the other member of the first team, with Green barely edging out Pittsburgh’s JuJu Smith-Schuster. Three of the five ballots were turned in before Green suffered the ankle injury that will force him to miss multiple games, but of the two that came in after the fact, one still listed Green ahead of Smith-Schuster.

Voting: Beckham Jr. 15, Green 8, Smith-Schuster 6, Jarvis Landry (CLE) 1

TE — Vance McDonald, Steelers
This was the only position where three players received first-place votes. That only one point separated McDonald from Cleveland’s David Njoku is no surprise given the similarity of their stat lines from a year ago. Njoku, younger by six years, actually had the better numbers with 56 catches for 639 yards and four touchdowns, while McDonald tallied 50 receptions, 610 yards and four scores. Baltimore’s Mark Andrews, a rookie in 2018, had the other first-place vote.

Voting: McDonald 11, Njoku 10, Andrews 6, Tyler Eifert (CIN) 2, C.J. Uzomah (CIN) 1

LT — Alejandro Villanueva, Steelers
Villanueva, coming off his second consecutive Pro Bowl season, received four of the first-place votes, while Baltimore’s Ronnie Stanley was the consensus runner-up with four seconds and the other first.

Voting: Villanueva 14, Stanley 11, Cordy Glenn (CIN) 4, Greg Robinson (CLE) 1

LG — Joel Bitonio, Browns
Left guard saw the least variation in the voting of any position and is the only spot on the offensive line at which there was a unanimous first-team pick. Bitonio is coming off a decorated season in which he went to the Pro Bowl and was voted second-team All-Pro. Pittsburgh’s Ramon Foster got all five second-place votes.

Voting: Bitonio 15, Foster 10, Alex Lewis (BAL) 4, James Hurst (BAL) 1

C — Maurkice Pouncey, Steelers
J.C. Tretter has played for the Browns since coming over from Green Bay, but Pouncey remains the gold standard not only in the division but also in the entire AFC. Center, right guard and right tackle were the only offensive or defensive positions at which only three players earned votes.

Voting: Pouncey 14, Tretter 10, Billy Price (CIN) 6

RG — Marshal Yanda, Ravens
It came down to three first-place votes for Yanda to two for Pittsburgh’s David DeCastro. The thin margin is no surprise when you consider those two have combined for 11 Pro Bowls and four first-team All-Pro selections. Yanda is five years older, so it figures at some point DeCastro will surpass him, but the 34-year-old has the top spot heading into his 13th season.

Voting: Yanda 13, DeCastro 12, John Miller (CIN) 5

RT — Orlando Brown Jr., Ravens
The fact the first-teamer at right tackle has just one year and 10 starts under his belt tells you all you need to know about the state of the right tackle position not only in the division but also in the league overall. Brown received four of the first-place votes, while Cleveland’s Chris Hubbard got the other one. Opinion varied widely on Hubbard, who was one of two offensive linemen to receive at least one first-, second- and third-place vote (Tretter was the other).

Voting: Brown 14, Hubbard, 10, Matt Feiler (PIT) 6

Offensive flex — James Conner, Steelers
It was a tough call deciding what to do with the 11th player on offense. Is a second running back or third receiver more valuable? A second tight end? We took opinion out of the equation and went with the highest vote-getter not already on the first team, and Conner barely edged receiver and Pittsburgh teammate Smith-Schuster and Baltimore tight end Andrews.

 

DT — Cameron Heyward, Steelers; Geno Atkins, Bengals
Heyward and Atkins dominated the voting the way they dominate offensive lines, accounting for all five first-place votes (Heyward three, Atkins two). It’s pretty remarkable that only two other players even garnered votes.

Voting: Heyward 13, Atkins 12, Stephon Tuitt (PIT) 3, Brandon Williams (BAL) 2


Edge — Myles Garrett, Browns; T.J. Watt, Steelers
Garrett, coming off of a 13.5-sack season, was the only defensive player to receive all five first-place votes, while Watt, with 13 sacks of his own, had four of the five second-place nods. The Browns adding Olivier Vernon to the division makes this as top-heavy as any other position.

Voting: Garrett 15, Watt 9, Vernon 4, Carlos Dunlap (CIN) 2

ILB — Joe Schobert, Browns; Devin Bush, Steelers
This position produced the strangest polling, with Schobert receiving four first-place votes while not appearing at all on the other ballot. And then you have Bush, a rookie first-round pick yet to play his first snap, locking down the other spot with three second-place votes to go along with a third and an omission. Meanwhile, Baltimore’s Matthew Judon had one first-place vote and was a no-show on three ballots. There wasn’t a single inside linebacker who appeared on all five ballots.

Voting: Schobert 12, Bush 7, Judon 4, Vince Williams (PIT) 2, Kenny Young (BAL) 2, Nick Vigil (CIN) 2, Patrick Onwuasor (BAL) 1

Defensive flex — Matthew Judon, Ravens
In following the formula on offense, we went with the front-seven player with the most votes among non-first-team guys, and that produced a tie between Judon and Vernon. But Judon’s single first-place vote was enough to give him the nod, along with the fact it would be schematically impossible to use three edge-rushers without one playing out of position.

CB — Denzel Ward, Browns; William Jackson III, Bengals
Ward was nearly a unanimous pick with four first-place votes and a second, while Jackson III was all over the board with a first, two seconds, a third and an omission. Baltimore’s Marlon Humphrey and Pittsburgh’s Joe Haden each received a second-place vote but lacked consistent support. Haden only appeared on two of the five ballots.

Voting: Ward 14, Jackson III 8, Humphrey 5, Haden 3

S — Tony Jefferson, Ravens; Earl Thomas, Ravens
The only tie in the polling features a pair of teammates, although technically Jefferson would get the edge with three first-place votes to Thomas’ two. Surprisingly, both players were completely omitted on different ballots. Cleveland’s Damarious Randall and Cincinnati’s Jessie Bates III also finished in a tie for third. Randall had two second-place votes while Bates III had one.

Voting: Jefferson 10, Thomas 10, Randall 5, Bates III 5


K — Justin Tucker, Ravens
Tucker was the biggest no-brainer unanimous selection of all as not only the best kicker in the division, but in the entire league. And arguably of all time. Cincinnati’s Randy Bullock secured four of the second-place votes, while Pittsburgh’s Chris Boswell, coming off the worst year of his career, had the other one.

Voting: Tucker 15, Bullock 9, Boswell 6

P — Sam Koch, Ravens
This was the only position where all five ballots were identical. Koch, at age 36 and in his 13th season, tied his career high in 2018 with a 47.4-yard average, while Cincinnati’s Kevin Huber posted one of the lowest numbers (43.9) of his 10-year career.

Voting: Koch 15, Huber 10, Britton Colquitt (CLE) 5

Returner — Alex Erickson, Bengals
Erickson was a unanimous choice after finishing fifth in the league with a 26.2-yard average on kick returns and second in total kick return yards. He also led the division and was ninth in the league in punt return average (10.6). Baltimore’s Chris Moore and Cleveland rookie Antonio Callaway tied for second in the voting.

Voting: Erickson 15, Moore 6, Callaway 6, Cyrus Jones (BAL) 2, Ryan Switzer (PIT) 1

 

AFC North, 2019:

Cleveland: 13-3 (#1 Seed)
Pittsburgh: 10-6 (Wild Card)
Baltimore: 7-9
Cincinnati: 4-12

 

AFC North, 2019:

Pittsburgh: 13-3
Baltimore: 10-6
Cleveland: 8-8
Cincinnati: 7-9

 

https://theathletic.com/1174524/201...nners-to-mvp-to-first-pick-in-the-2020-draft/

The Athletic NFL Staff’s season predictions: From division winners to MVP to first pick in the 2020 draft
What’s the start of the NFL season without a bunch of predictions that we can come back to later and hang our heads in shame? We gathered a panel of 44 local and national writers and editors to make a variety of predictions, from division winners to MVP to the most disappointing team and even the first pick in the 2020 draft. We’ll revisit these at the end of the season and take responsibility for how wrong (or maybe right! … but probably wrong) we end up being.

PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS
AFC EAST WINNER: NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
The Patriots, who have won the division every year since 2009, received 43 out of 44 votes. And while we won’t reveal his or her name, we’ll give a shoutout to the brave and slightly crazy Voter No. 41, who must truly believe in Josh Allen, because he or she cast a vote for the Buffalo Bills, who last won the AFC East in 1995. This is a judgment-free zone, but also, ????

AFC NORTH WINNER: PITTSBURGH STEELERS
The Steelers fended off the Browns’ hype … at least among our voters. In this loaded decision, Pittsburgh received a hefty 30 votes, Cleveland totaled a mere nine and Baltimore had five.

AFC SOUTH WINNER: HOUSTON TEXANS
This prediction would have looked different just a couple of short weeks ago. But Andrew Luck is retired, and so the now Jadeveon Clowney-less but Laremy Tunsil-fied Texans are the ones receiving the most votes, with 22 from our panel. The Colts still ended up with 10, the Jaguars with nine and even the Titans with three, making this the only division in both conferences to receive a vote for all four teams.

AFC WEST WINNER: KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
The Chiefs and their reigning MVP Patrick Mahomes came in with a whopping 40 votes, while the Chargers, who have had a bit of a tumultuous offseason with injuries to Derwin James and Melvin Gordon’s holdout, finished with just four.

NFC EAST WINNER: PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
Our staff is all in on Philly. The Eagles received 37 out of 44 votes to win the East. The only other team chosen was the Cowboys, receiving the remaining seven votes.

NFC NORTH WINNER: MINNESOTA VIKINGS
The Gary Kubiak (and Kevin Stefanski) effect! The Vikings received 26 votes out of 44. The defending NFC North champion Bears came in with 11, while our voters seem not so sure that the union between Aaron Rodgers and new head coach Matt LaFleur will be a smooth one … or at least not smooth enough to secure the division title, as the Packers received just seven votes.

NFC SOUTH WINNER: NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
The Saints received 33 votes out of 44, the lowest amount of the four teams that played in the conference title games last year, which speaks to the competitiveness of this division. The Falcons were in second with nine and the Panthers had two voters on their side.

NFC WEST WINNER: LOS ANGELES RAMS
The defending NFC champions received the most votes of the other NFC division winner predictions with 36. The Seahawks received eight.
AFC WILD CARD TEAMS: CHARGERS, RAVENS
No surprise that the top choices came from the AFC West and AFC North: the Chargers received 23 votes, the Ravens got 16. And the rest of the AFC North is well represented here as well, (except for you, Bengals.)

Other votes: Browns (12), Steelers (13), Broncos (6), Texans (5), Chiefs (4), Colts (3), Jets (3), Titans (1), Jaguars (1), Raiders (1).

NFC WILD CARD TEAMS: SEAHAWKS, PANTHERS
The Seahawks, who, as you might have heard, now have Clowney, came out on top here with 15 votes, but this one was close. The second wild-card spot went to the Panthers with 12 points, narrowly beating out the Packers (10) and Falcons (10).

Other votes: Saints (8), Cowboys (8), Vikings (6), 49ers (6), Bears (5), Eagles (4) and Rams (4).

AFC CHAMPION: KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
The result here was a lot more clear cut than in the NFC. Our voters believe in Kansas City. The Chiefs received 30 votes out of 44. The Patriots, who have been to the last three Super Bowls, came in with just 13 and the Steelers with one.

NFC CHAMPION: NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
The Saints came in with 16 here, but the Eagles were right behind with 15 votes. The Rams had seven votes, the Panthers two and the Packers, Cowboys, Falcons and Vikings all received one.

SUPER BOWL CHAMPION: KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
If the season reflects the way our panel voted for this, Kansas City is going to run away with the Lombardi Trophy. The Chiefs finished with 21 votes, nearly half of our panel.

 

I think what's harder for me to believe - than the Browns only improving by one win over a half-season of Hue Jackson - is Cincinnati finding seven wins on that schedule. I thought I was being *generous* with four.

 

Ok, IF we are going to do this...

Browns 11-5
Steelers 9-7 (wild card)
Ravens 8-8
Bengals 5-11

 

Somebody's been in my stash.