Who Will Win The AFC North?

They're finally back (sorry about that) as simply as always pick who you think will Win The division this coming season.

It's a tricky call as ever this year.

The Steelers are re-tooling offensively and their defence is getting older, while still being very good. The Ravens have a fair bit of turnover on their roster and their MVP QB is scratching around for targets a little bit. The Browns are getting better but will still live and die by QB play which has to get better, althogh a healthy Richardson would alleviate some of that pressure.

I'll go with the Bengals to take the division though. They are a strong all round unit, with maybe a slight doubt that Dalton can improve enough to take them to the next level.

anyone but the Browns i reckon...

think the bengals have a great chance off breaking the steeler/raven duopoly this season

Bengals. I reckon they will have the number 1 or 2 seed in the AFC. The offense has greatly improved with the additions of Eifert and Bernard's talent and flexibility. AJ Green will continue to dominate and I like second year receivers Mo Sanu and Marvin Jones. Their DL is phenomenal and will get a lot of sacks as the opposing team has to throw the ball to keep up.

I also like the Browns. They have everything but the QB.

1 Bengals
2 Ravens
3 Browns
4 Steelers

The vote seems decisive. The Bengals are a growing, young, hungry team whereas the Ravens and Steelers are both aging. No doubt the Ravens will be competitive. The Steelers seem to be better prepared for the future that Baltimore though. Not ruling the Browns out either. They weren't as bad as people think they were last year and ran a few teams closer than their overall record suggests.

I didn't look at any comments and said to myself "lets be decisive... this is the year for Cincy"... and everyone agrees so far!
I like Dalton as a game manager plus a little bit... AJ Green can dominate games and they get on well. I think Gresham will improve, Eifert I guess will complement him though remains unknown to me.
I like Giovanni Bernard and Margus Hunt as their other early draft picks and their DLine in general is very strong.

I think Baltimore has lost too much since last year and I still don't believe Flacco can pull them through despite his "franchise" status - Boldin will be a big miss, as will Pitta.
Still a playoff team, but taking maybe the 6th seed.

Pittsburgh is just a little too old. I know I said this last year and their D was number 1 in terms of yardage, but its +1 again and it will hit them. I don't think their run game can sustain them which is what they really need to make their team work.
I think they might struggle to get over .500

Cleveland will improve this year due to the defence mainly, but I can't see them getting more than say 7 wins so the division is out of reach. I like the coordinators that they have brought in - Norv suits O-Coordinater better than HC and Ray Horton always did neat things in Arizona.
Josh Gordon is not helping himself with his attitude, but I still think Greg Little can do job for them.

I've gone Bengals too although had to talk myself out of going for Baltimore first. You have to respect the defending champions but in the end i just had too many doubts about the huge roster turnover and the loss the effect of losing the emotional heart of their team in Ray Lewis.

Went for the Bengals cos they're a good team who have a lot of continuity and should be better this year than last. Still not 100% sold on Dalton though.

I reckon the Ravens will hold strong

I've gone Bengals
Against two great franchises but
Ravens depleted .Steelers rebuilding
Bengals on the way up ,might go a long way in the play offs as well

I'm backing Cincy.

Let's not forget the Ravens weren't that great last season. They sneaked the division title after a freakish play from Ray Rice on 4th and 29 took them to 9-2. After that, they lost 4 of their last 5. They got to the play offs, Flacco caught fire and the rest is history.

Their roster is unquestionably weaker than last year and they have lost Reed and Lewis. Torrey Smith needs to develop into a more well rounded receiver and not just a deep threat. The defense has lost key players but also have the severely underrated Ladarius Webb back. I think they'll miss out on the play offs.

I was between the Ravens and Bengals. Rice and Pierce should keep the Ravens in contention but I would love the Bengals to go far this year.

Looking forward to seeing how Mohamed Sanu goes this year for the Bengals. He had some good performances for them towards the end of last season before getting injured.

I've also gone for Cincy, love their defence, and in the regular season Dalton is good enough to lead them to the division win.

Don't think Flacco is elite, and I can see Baltimore struggling offensively this year through the air (Ray Rice is still a beast)

I've gone for the Bengals, but wouldn't surprise me if the Ravens hold strong. Flacco will surely be on a high after last season, and Newsome might unearth a gem at WR to complement Torrey Smith.

Bengals have all the pieces to win, even if Dalton is merely a game manager. If he can push on, with the offence around him and the strong D, they should be competing for the top 2 seeds for the playoffs

sodhat wrote:It's a tricky call as ever this year.

Seems pretty conclusive...  

As much as I would love to say Cleveland will be in for the running I know realistically we're not, also see Pittsburgh being out of the running this year.

Leaves it down to Baltimore and Cincinnati, seems fairly hard to call which of those wins it but I think ultimately I don't see Baltimore being able to recover from their losses this offseason not only that they've lost some great players and legends of the game and franchise but what they bring outside of their playing ability. Don't think Dalton is a great quarterback but Green is a great receiver, hoping to see more from Sanu and Hawkins to complement him then they've got Gresham, Eifert and Charles at TE and with Green-Ellis and Bernard at RB this offense should be (annoyingly) exciting.

Damn, Orson Charles. I loved him coming out of college.

TM Moot wrote:anyone but the Browns i reckon...

i don't know what muppet said this...