Looking Forward to the 2019 AFC North

9-7 will do it in this division.

 

not coming to troll but its far more likely the Pats lose in Baltimore than lose to Cleveland in Foxborough

 

Actually, it's far more likely the Pats win both games.

 

probably true but for this argument in projecting schedules..........just saying.

 

The Bills and the Giants gave New England all they could handle....It wouldn't be the craziest thing ever if Cleveland knocked them off. Pats are winning with defense right now, but they aren't invincible. Don't forget, Browns coming off 14 days to prepare, while Pats will be on a short week after MNF.

 

Both of these quotes seem to be assuming that the Browns, and Steelers, will beat the teams the Ravens have already beaten, while the Ravens also lose to the teams the Browns and Steelers have already lost to, WHILE ALSO assuming the Browns and Steelers do better than the Ravens in the common games left on the schedule.

Seems like a lot of assumptions while speaking of things as a certainty.

Admittedly, the Browns offense has room to improve considering how poorly Baker is playing, but there isn't really much to go off of in 2019 to say he will actually play better. The Ravens defense has been their achilles but they actually have room to improve with the addition of Peters and the eventual return of Smith, plus the fact the ILB position was, sadly, improved with the changes made last season. The Steelers definitely have clear room for improvement once Rudolph comes back though, and they haven't shown the ability to lose to inferior teams yet.

 

Congratulations! You've beaten the Dolphins (0-5), Cardinals (2-3-1), Steelers (2-4-0) and the Bengals (0-6-0).

• Pittsburgh has already beat the Bengals in their 1st meeting and I'm confident the Browns will beat them twice. They're pretty bad this year. Not quite Dolphins bad . . . but pretty bad.
• Speaking of the Dolphins - both the Browns and Steelers play them in at home. Would you care to put some money where your mouth is and take the Dolphins in either of those two games?
• Arizona - the Steelers and Browns both play them in Phoenix in week 14 and 15 respectively. By then, Rudolph will be even better than he has been and Kareem Hunt will have added a new wrinkle to the Browns rushing game. I like both our chances in both of those games.

• The Browns have lost to the Rams, 49ers and Seahawks.
• The Steelers have lost to the Patriots, Seahawks and 49ers.
• You play the Rams and Seahawks on the road and get the 49ers at home. The Ravens haven't seen a defense like the 49ers since the Ray Lewis era Ravens.
• FYI - I have both the Browns and the Ravens losing to the Patriots over the next three weeks.

That takes us to the uncommon opponents remaining on the schedule:

• The Browns have Denver in 3 weeks, the Steelers have the Colts in 3 weeks and the Ravens have the Texans in 5 weeks.
  • Did you watch the Broncos last night? It was pretty obvious why Lamar Jackson is now the Ravens' starting QB.
  • The Colts and the Texans are each formidable opponents.
• Of those three remaining uncommon opponents, the Browns drew the easiest of the three.

Nothing in the NFL is a certainty except for the games already played.

So, you're saying that its doubtful that the Browns offense will improve based on what you've seen and then go on to say the Ravens' defense "actually have room to improve"? Then, go over the top by saying it was improved with the changes made last season? I don't know how to tell you this, R_R_3, but the 2019 Ravens defense is a mere shell of what it used to be before you lost Mosely, Suggs, Smith and Weddle to free agency.

 

What money where my mouth is? I never said anything about any specific team (although the Dolphins have allowed less points per game in each game that they've played). In terms of Arizona, I don't like their chances against the Steelers, but I do against Cleveland. Baker has crumbled in the face of every pass rush he's faced. The two teams he's lead his team to a win against (Ravens and mighty Jets) are ranked 25th and 29th in sacks. The one team he had a decent chance to beat before he crumbled (Seahawks) are 26th. The Cardinals are 15th and host the Browns literally in the middle of 4 divisional games. So not only do I not trust Baker against that pass rush, but I don't trust Kitchens to keep that team focused and not overlooking Arizona while focusing on the 4 divisional games.

The Browns also lost to Titans who just benched their QB. That doesn't factor into this section, but it does factor into my lack of faith in them winning every game they theoretically should win.

I agree about the 49ers. I've already marked that one as a loss in my book. I agree with you about the Patriots as well. The Seahawks are an interesting matchup to me that I can't yet call. The Rams game is feeling like a Ravens win to me. LA's run defense is average in yards allowed and tied for 5th in TDs allowed. Their pass defense as a whole was average, and that was with a good CB and a great CB. They now only have a great CB. The key to beating the Ravens has been throwing on them. Do you honestly think Goff, with how he's been playing this year, is the QB to do that? Unfortunately, Gurley isn't playing well enough (under 4ypc in every game after the opener) to carry his QB to a win like Chubb did.

Yeah, the Broncos suck. I agree with this whole section

You sure? Your last post seemed awfully certain the Ravens had no chance at winning the division.

Huh? I'm pretty sure I said the Browns offense DOES have room to improve, mainly because the QB has been trash. That said, I did include doubt that Baker will improve. Let's be honest, whether he's faced a good pass defense or a bad one, he's yet to throw more than 1 TD in a game and he has thrown at least 1 INT in every single game. He has the best offensive weapons in the division, and likely top 5 in the league. I did forget the eventual addition of Kareem Hunt, but I honestly wouldn't be a fan of taking the ball out of Chubbs hands unnecessarily for a guy that hasn't played since week 11 of last season and won't be in good football shape until likely week 11 of this year.

I also said why I think the Ravens have room to improve on defense and I made zero mention of last season. Wait, I see my error. I meant to say the ILB was improved with the changes they made last week......didn't mean last season . Baltimore benched both of their ILBs (well, 1 got hurt) and as sad as it is, got better play from two guys that were watching the games with us fans. They aren't world beaters, but a slight improvement is an improvement. Then adding Marcus Peters should improve the defense (just added this week). People can think he's overrated and not as good as he was in KC, but you'd have a hard time arguing that he's worse than Maurice Canaday and Anthony Averitt have been. I also said the defense should improve when Jimmy Smith returns. He got injured week 1 and the last few years have shown that the defense is just on a different level with him as opposed to without..

Finally, I did agree with you that the Steelers have a very decent shot at the division

 

Bump.

 

Just casually glancing the schedule and taking into account teams' temperatures today...

Baltimore: @SEA, NWE, @CIN, HOU, @LAR, SFO, @BUF, NYJ, @CLE, PIT

I see 4-5 wins, depending on how Pittsburgh goes the rest of the season.

Pittsburgh: MIA, IND, LAR, @CLE, @CIN, CLE, @ARI, BUF, NYJ, BAL

I see 5-6 wins, again, depending on how they continue to develop and match up with Baltimore in that Week 17 game.

Cincinnati: JAX, @LAR, BAL, @OAK, PIT, NYJ, @CLE, NWE, @MIA, CLE

Best case scenario is they beat Miami in Miami and finish 1-15.

Cleveland: @NWE, @DEN, BUF, PIT, MIA, @PIT, CIN, @ARI, BAL, @CIN

10 straight wins, ngl...

 

Marcus Mariota had little to do with that loss. Derrick Henry had almost as much to do with it as Freddie Kitchens sending the Browns out unprepared and undisciplined. To set a franchise record for number of penalties and penalty yards in a home -and- season opener is inexcusable.

That said, you're slipping, R_R_3. The one point you SHOULD have brought up that favors the Ravens is . . . coaching.

 

cakewalk.

 

Damn. I hate it when I have to Google Snapchat-ese just to figure out what you're saying.

 

Whereas I believe coaching can cost you a game due to situational things, I don't like projecting wins or losses with coaches in mind. Belichick is the best coach in the game, and I've seen him go for it on 4th down, on his side of the field, and have that lead to a loss. I've seen him bench his best QB in a superbowl and lose a close one

I will admit I forgot about the penalties in that Titans game

 

I also have no idea what that meant

 

I still don’t know. Good for me - I don’t care that much.

 

the Pats beat the Giants by 3 TDs. ugly sloppy game but 3TDs nonetheless

 

I think the Browns are going through the crucible of learning how to be consistent winners. For the most part they have the talent to pile up a winning season. I do have serious questions about their oline, and that could be their Achilles Heal.

Otherwise, they’ve lost to the very tough NFCW, and to Tennessee in the opener. I think the Titans have been a bigger disappointment and I do not overweight the importance of game-one performance.

The division is very weak, by AFCN standards. Some of that is injury induced, and some is due to creeping suckitude. Regardless, the division is up for grabs, IMO, between Baltimore & Cleveland and will likely go to the team that wants it most. Baltimore has team history on their side (and I believe that matters). But others have done a good job of highlighting the softness year-to-date in their schedule. I’m not ready to proclaim them the favorites.

Of course I’m biased, but I like the Bills chances against both. I wish the Battle of Lake Erie was on the eastern end of that lake.

If the Browns can gain offensive stability (probably due to better line play than any other factor), and if they can regain their confidence with a few wins, then I think they’ll prevail. Baltimore has a nice club, but they’re not scaring any team come playoff time.

 

What hasn't been mentioned about the Steelers is that their defense is still got a lot of room for improvement. Bush hasn't come close to his best play yet, Fitzpatrick is still getting acclimated. When our defense gets better acclimated to what they're doing they will be a top five unit. Rudolph hasn't been unleashed yet in the passing game. The Steelers definitely have the most ability to improve.