updated AFC North predictions for 2010

• Non

  

  It's tough to predict the wins and losses any year but for the Steelers it's especially difficult right now given the QB situation.
  
  But heck, here goes nothing...
  
  
  Pittsburgh Steelers
  
  Atlanta - W 1-0
  ...The Falcons are a solid team with Ryan healthy and he figures to be in the opener. I'm assuming Leftwich is the starter for the Steelers when the regular season begins. Should be a very good game but I'll say the Steelers escape at home like 23-20.
  
  at Tennessee - L 1-1
  at Tampa Bay - W 2-1
  Baltimore - L 2-2
  Cleveland - L 2-3
  ...Ben returns with a rusty performance. Rough loss. Harsh couple of days after.
  
  at Miami - W 3-3
  at New Orleans - W 4-3
  ...Surprise win. After some tough losses, they go into New Orleans and win and the media thinks the Steelers are starting to get going.
  at Cincinnati - L 4-4
  ...But that proves to be short lived. Back to .500.
  New England - L 4-5
  ...Many count the Steelers out after this loss.
  
  Oakland - W 5-5
  at Buffalo - W 6-5
  at Baltimore - W 7-5
  ...Must win and they get it, continuing the late surge.
  Cincinnati - W 8-5
  N.Y. Jets - L 8-6
  ...Great game. Could boil over into a second meeting in the playoffs.
  Carolina - W 9-6
  at Cleveland - W 10-6
  
  
  Baltimore Ravens
  
  at N.Y. Jets - L 0-1
  at Cincinnati - W 1-1
  Cleveland - W 2-1
  at Pittsburgh - W 3-1
  Denver - W 4-1
  at New England - L 4-2
  Buffalo - W 5-2
  Miami - W 6-2
  
  at Atlanta - W 7-2
  at Carolina - L 7-3
  ...they go 1-1 here, maybe reversed
  
  Tampa Bay - W 8-3
  Pittsburgh - L 8-4
  at Houston - L 8-5
  New Orleans - W 9-5
  at Cleveland - W 10-5
  Cincinnati - W 11-5
  
  
  Cincinnati Bengals
  
  at New England - L 0-1
  Baltimore - L 0-2
  at Carolina - W 1-2
  at Cleveland - W 2-2
  Tampa Bay - W 3-2
  at Atlanta - L 3-3
  Miami - W 4-3
  Pittsburgh - W 5-3
  at Indianapolis - L 5-4
  Buffalo - W 6-4
  at N.Y. Jets - L 6-5
  New Orleans - L 6-6
  at Pittsburgh - L 6-7
  Cleveland - W 7-7
  San Diego - W 8-7
  at Baltimore - L 8-8
  ...I think the Bengals are a better team than 8-8 but remember they have the tough schedule having won the division last year. They'll have to beat more good teams than they usually do.
  
  
  Cleveland Browns
  
  at Tampa Bay - W 1-0
  Kansas City - W 2-0
  ...2-0!
  at Baltimore - L 2-1
  Cincinnati - L 2-2
  ...Probably one of those wild 48-41 games.
  Atlanta - W 3-2
  at Pittsburgh - W 4-2
  ...Ohio Chatter will be flooded with overconfident Browns fans after this game and the 4-2 mark.
  
  at New Orleans - L 4-3
  New England - L 4-4
  N.Y. Jets - L 4-5
  ...Ouch. Back down to earth.
  
  at Jacksonville - W 5-5
  Carolina - W 6-5
  at Miami - L 6-6
  at Buffalo - W 7-6
  ...Still alive with three weeks left.
  
  at Cincinnati - L 7-7
  Baltimore - L 7-8
  Pittsburgh - L 7-9
  ...Disappointing finish in typical Cleveland fashion. But a season to build on perhaps.
  
  
  Baltimore 11-5
  Pittsburgh 10-6
  Cincinnati 8-8
  Cleveland 7-9
• Azubuike24

  

  Not to be a homer, but the Bengals really should be the favorite in the North. Their defense is the best in the division. It's really not all that close. That's saying something when Baltimore and Pittsburgh, at 100%, are top 10 defenses.
  
  Offensively, the Bengals proved they can beat both of those teams without a passing game and on both of the lines. If anything, the Bengals should be stronger in that area next year, especially the passing game if they can continue to develop the numerous offensive line combos and get more help at WR (Bryant is an upgrade over Coles and it appears that Matt Jones is already making some impact). Adding Jordan Shipley and Dez Briscoe to the group which, which already includes Ochocinco, you have a core with a lot more impact. And yes, bringing in Jermaine Gresham could really change the way the offense is run.
  
  You can call me a homer, but everything, IMO, is set for the Bengals to make a deep playoff run. If it was ever going to happen, it's next year, where the AFC is wide open, and for once, Cincinnati can match up to everyone else on defense.
• Automatik

  

  Early line for wins for Pittsburgh is 8 1/2.
• Trueblue23

  

  All of the teams in this division will suck this year.
• Non

  

  I'd put Baltimore and Cincinnati about even, co-favorites.
  
  Pittsburgh No. 3
  
  Cleveland No. 4.
  
  Baltimore's defense has slipped some but the offense is picking up the slack with Flacco evolving, along with Rice and now Boldin and the two tight ends they drafted. I think they're going to get about 11-12 wins this year.
  
  I'm banking on the Steelers defense returning to a top level. Not having Polamalu and Aaron Smith for the majority of games was a major setback last year. Plus they brought back McFadden and Foote, who are veterans of their system, along with all of the young linebackers they drafted. They have some second year guys like Keenan Lewis and Ziggy Hood and Sunny Harris who could take a step forward and add depth. If this doesn't happen, if I'm wrong and the defense is shaky then they're probably in for a bad year.
• Heretic

  

  Pittsburgh: 16-0 (average margin: 186-2).
  
  The other three: 0-12-4.
  
  If I'm wrong about EVEN ONE DAMN aspect of this prediction, I sincerely vow to change my avatar to something else of my choosing.
• I Wear Pants

  Azubuike24 wrote: Not to be a homer, but the Bengals really should be the favorite in the North. Their defense is the best in the division. It's really not all that close. That's saying something when Baltimore and Pittsburgh, at 100%, are top 10 defenses.
  
  Offensively, the Bengals proved they can beat both of those teams without a passing game and on both of the lines. If anything, the Bengals should be stronger in that area next year, especially the passing game if they can continue to develop the numerous offensive line combos and get more help at WR (Bryant is an upgrade over Coles and it appears that Matt Jones is already making some impact). Adding Jordan Shipley and Dez Briscoe to the group which, which already includes Ochocinco, you have a core with a lot more impact. And yes, bringing in Jermaine Gresham could really change the way the offense is run.
  
  You can call me a homer, but everything, IMO, is set for the Bengals to make a deep playoff run. If it was ever going to happen, it's next year, where the AFC is wide open, and for once, Cincinnati can match up to everyone else on defense.

  I think you might be overlooking Pittsburgh's defense a bit.
• Pick6

  

  1. Baltimore.
  2. Cinci
  3. Pitt
  4. Browns
• Firad

  

  1. Nati
  2. Ravens
  3. Steelers
  4. Browns
• I Wear Pants

  1. Steelers
  2. Bengals
  3. Ravens
  4. Browns.
  
  I think Pittsburgh will have a better year than expected assuming they can keep healthy.
  
  Bengals will do well again.
  
  Ravens will do okay. Defense might not be what it has been but Flacco will start doing well.
  
  Browns will struggle again but this might be a legitimate "rebuilding" year.
  
  All speculation of course.
• SportsAndLady

  

  1) Baltimore...12-4
  2) Bengals...9-7
  3) Steelers 9-7
  4) Browns 6-10
• Azubuike24

  

  Pittsburgh still has a top 10 defense, but I think last year clearly showed it was not what it was a few years ago. Sure, Polamalu was a huge loss and he was gone pretty much the entire time it mattered, but you can't rely on one single player like that and still be a great defense.
  
  I just think the Bengals really have the best D in the division. Their D-line rotation is really good, and looking at what guys like Rucker, Fanene and Sims did last year, along with Peko, Geathers, Odom and Tank, it's tough to stop and is actually able to sustain an injury or two. Add in Michael Johnson in his 2nd year, Carlos Dunlap and Geno Adkins also to the mix, that's the strength of the team. The linebackers, although we haven't seen the entire group healthy except for a handful of games, is solid. Brandon Johnson really stepped up last year, and although depth may be a bit of a question, Jeanty is a solid backup and Muckelroy, I think was a solid choice. The biggest worry to me is the secondary. I like Ndukewe, I really like Roy Williams in certain situations, and Chris Crocker is a solid player. They did add Gibril Wilson and Pacman, which were good signings, and could improve depth. My biggest concern is at cornerback. The Bengals are able to do a lot more when Joseph and Hall are healthy, because they are one of the top 2 or 3 CB tandems in the NFL. With that said, if one/both of them were to go down, it could devastate this defense. Ghee, the pick out of Wake Forest looks like he should be solid eventually, and they did add Keiwan Ratliff along with Morgan Trent and possibly Pacman for depth, but CB is a major concern and if one of the starters were to go down.
  
  With that said, I still think is maybe the strongest Bengals' defense I've seen in a LONG time. For much of the year last year, before some critical injuries (Roy Williams, Antwaan Odom, Rey Maualuga for the year, Peko missed 5, Rivers missed 3, Crocker missed 3, Rucker miss 4, Tank missed 2 and Geathers missed 2) the D was ranked the best in the league.
• SportsAndLady

  

  azu, i think the issue people may have with your post wasn't that Cincy will have the best D, but rather that it won't be that close. When you have Pittsburgh and Baltimore in your division, it's hard to say your defense will be THAT MUCH better.
• Azubuike24

  

  It will be close, but I also think 3 of the top 10 defenses in the NFL reside in the AFC North. I just happen to think the Bengals finally have the best of the 3, but in the NFL, year to year, anything could happen.
  
  Last year, in-terms of YPG, the Ravens finished 3rd, the Bengals 4th and the Steelers 5th. So literally the division may come down to who wins those match-ups between the 3. Obviously going 6-0 against the AFCN made the Bengals the division champs quite handily. That will be nearly impossible to duplicate.
• Footwedge

  Cleveland 13-3
  Ravens 9-7
  Bengals 7-9
  Steelers 2-14
  
  Reference: 1980 49ers 6-10....1981 49ers 13-3 and won the Super Bowl.
• DeyDurkie5

  

  Browns
  Bengals
  Ravens
  Steelers
• Non

  

  keep in mind that two years ago the Steelers had one of the best defenses, statistically, of all time
  
  (No. 1 in points, No. 1 in yards, No. 2 in run defense, No. 1 in pass defense, No. 2 in sacks)
  
  last year they were without two of their best players, Polamalu and Smith, for much of the year and they also were without McFadden and Foote, who were both steady players that went to other teams
  
  with good health, the Steelers may have the same group of two years ago
  
  do I think they'll play as well? no because clearly some of the guys are older but they did add some young players through the draft the past couple years so that depth could make up the difference
• BR1986FB

  Baltimore 12-4
  Cincinnati 9-7
  Pittsburgh 8-8
  Cleveland 7-9
• contra

  Maryland's Taint
  Hamilton County Penal League All-Stars
  City with bad famous local beer (2&3 could be interchangeable)
  FML since '64
• Automatik

  

  I'm going with
  
  Baltimore
  Pittsburgh
  Cincinnati
  Cleveland
• thavoice

  HOPE:
  
  1. Stelelrs 16-0.
  2. Bengals 4-12
  3. Ratbirds. 2-14
  4. Browns. 0-16
  
  Thnk.
  1 Ratbirds
  2 bengals.
  3 steelers
  4 bowns.
• gut

  I think PIT will go 10-6, assuming they get 2-2 to start the year. If one of those 2 is against BAL, then PIT could win the division. Otherwise I think BAL takes the division.
  
  1. BAL 11-5
  2. PIT 10-6
  3. CIN 8-8
  4. CLE 3-13
• cbus4life

  I'm taking the Bengals over the Steelers...