AFC North power shift

I agree with you - the Bengals are a team to be very wary of this year. Dalton's learing curve was worringly impressive last year. That team just needs an identity. It also needs a new HC, but that's another topic.

I tend to agree with you that the Ravens haven't been excellent drafters the last few years, but perhaps your assessment is a little unfair. Flacco, for example, may not be top tier, but he can certainly win. Cody and Webb were both good picks. Their young receiving corps were also surprisingly good against us (which is what we're really concerned with). You're right about Oher - I suppose coming into the league while there's a film out about how great you are does set the bar a little high though. I think where the Ravens fall down in the next few years is the LB and S positions.

 

Funny though, how year after year - the "rivals" might change, but the class of the AFCN remains the same. Next up - the Clowns will be on the rise and who will they be challenging for the division title year after year? You guessed it - the Steelers!

Thanks Mr. Rooney - and Kevin Colbert for making it so!

 

On that note, I can't quite figure out why the Clowns haven't been on the rise of late. All that early picking should have assembled them a better squad by now. I'm not sure it's so much their drafting than how they try and develop players afterwards.

 

Three words

Holmgren, Heckert, and Shurmur

'Nuff said.

 

Yup, all that crap about him in GB and Seattle. He got lucky with QB's and RB's

 

with weeden added to the mix, dalton and flacco, we will face 3 good qb's 6 times a year in our division. these guys are not bad qb's as much as we get on these teams. good qbacking makes up for alot of evils. the brownies will make some noise. we had a tough time with them anyway for some reason, now they will have an even better offense. no slouches in the afc north anymore. bring your big boy pads.

 

Actually, the Clowns failure starts at the top. Randy Lerner is NOT a football guy - at least not AMERICAN football.

So, what does he do? He goes for name recognition. Someone tells him that Holmgren is a genius, and he's a well-recognized name. So, Lerner goes and gets him. Lerner doesn't know if Holmgren is a good fit or not for his American Football team. He just knows that the man can talk a good game and has had some success in other cities. So, Holmgren arrives with his own agenda and fat wallet and begins to hire his own cronies to run the organization. Hmmmmm oh look! It isn't working!!

In the end, Lerner will realize in a few years that Holmgren didn't work out. He'll hire someone else and the whole thing will begin all over again. I guess that's what happens when you give rednecks a little money.

 

I'm a fan and not a GM so I tend to take things year to year. Right now I'm more worried about the Ravens than I am the Bungles. True, they had a good draft and have a good defence and an improving offence, but they aren't there yet. The Ravens took the division title away from us last year and I want it back.

Ravens fans look at our team and think we're old. Fact is, both teams have some young players and some old players and both teams traditionally draft well and develop well. They are transitioning from an older defence to a younger one the same as we are. They are going to continue to be a very strong team, same as every year.

Cinci is drafting well right now, but can they keep it up long term like the Steelers and Ravens do every single year? We'll see. For now, the Ravens are my biggest concern.

 

O.K. I'll give you that Weeden has a lot of name recognition and he was an intriguing choice since he happened to be the oldest first rounder ever. I'm just not certain that it's for sure that he won't be a "slouch". The Clowns STILL didn't give him any weapons and he's certainly not used to the NFL game. He played in a no-huddle with a spread offense in college. It was even noted in the Cleveland media that he's never called a play in a huddle or had to break a huddle and read a changing defense.

So - it's still too early to say that the AFC North has really good quarterbacks. Heck - what have Flacco and Dalton won? I realize that Dalton's only in his 2nd year, but Flacco certainly hasn't proven anything yet. Truth be told - there's only ONE quarterback in the AFC North who has won a ring - actually two - and we know what team HE plays for.

 

Don't be too quick to count the Browns out. If Weeden pans out, they could make some noise. They have a legit RB in Richardson, a good WR prospect in Little, a good defence that will just continue to get better. They need to add some more pieces, but they aren't as bad as they used to be. They have a lot of good, young players and I suspect they will get it together in the near future. As with all teams, they need a QB. Colt McCoy didn't pan out, but Weeden very well could. Weeden is a very good pocket passer, but his problem is he's got a bit of Blaine Gabbertism in that once the pocket gets a little crowded, he forgets how to play football.

If they were to get a QB or if Weeden or McCoy eventually pan out, they will need to be taken seriously.

 

Are you a Cleveland resident like me drinking the Cleveland media koolaid??

The IF in "IF Weeden pans out..." is the biggest IF in the draft. The "prospect" in Little is just that - a prospect - and Richardson hasn't had to run through the Raven and Steelers defenses twice a year yet either.

 

Nope, I don't even live in the US. Of course the Browns aren't there yet, I'm not saying they are, but there's no denying they have added a lot of good pieces and that's where building a good team starts. Eventually those good pieces either form a good football team or they don't, but without good pieces there's no building a good football team. The Browns are doing some good things. Even if Weeden doesn't pan out, which wouldn't surprise me, they still have some really good pieces on that team and with a good QB could make some serious noise in the division. They already have a good defence, they just need to build up the offence. Little is a good prospect and Richardson is a phenomenal RB.

The Browns aren't anywhere near the Steelers or Ravens, but I won't completely overlook them anymore. They're quietly building a team over there and with a few more pieces, they could be a contender in this division in a couple years.

The thing with them is the same with the Bungles, can they do what we've been doing for a very long time, and that's remain competitive every single year. I know we will have the odd down year where we miss the playoffs, but most years we are a Super Bowl contender.

 

Funnily enough, this sounds familiar to what's happened at Aston Villa. The results have been roughly the same, as well.

 

weeden being able to see over his linemen will help them. i think he's a better qb then mccoy is and don't forget they play us close and tough. now give them a little more offense and these games will get that much closer. they are still our biggest rivals and remember they have been first pickin the O-line for several years now. if they can keep weeden up and throwing, and richardson running we better bring it against them. weeden and dalton have been on the bigtime stage in college football and have done well, they are not wide eyed kids to this stage, they can play football in the bright lights. receivers will look alot better with a better QB at the helm for these teams.

 

Yes it all looks good on paper but its what happens on the field between the lines that matters and the Steelers always manage to get the job done.

The thing with Cleveland is there always seems to be a significant injury to a Steeler player during a game that really means nothing to them.

 

Exactly...a lot of us think the Bengals draft looks good now...but who knows...the players could turn out waaay below what they were hyped to be. But as of now...it LOOKS good, haha.

 

The good thing about it is that we don't play them until Nov. 25. They'll be good and beat up by then - and there will be plenty of film on Weeden and Richardson.

 

They've drafted okay but they're the Bungles. The culture will eventually overcome the talent.

 

As I stated in another post awhile back, everybody talks about the Rams holding the
Redskins hostage, well the Bengals made a better deal when they unloaded
the piece of crap Carson Palmer. The Bengals with this draft, have cemented their rise
to the top of the division, we can not call them a joke no more. The red head is a winner,
just like Big Ben, its scares me that they have a possible talent like #7.

 

You ARE kidding right? You're putting Dalton in the same category as Big Ben?

You are right that the Bengals got an excellent deal from the Raiders - and they MAY have gotten better and MAY challenge - but they're an up and down team. Last I checked, 2011-2012 was a playoff year for them. They are due to be a big disappointment for their fans. Big Red will come back to earth, or something will happen that will derail their season.

 

Cincy or the clowns organization arent very good.cincy has a better chance but I want to see the play of dalton this season. I thought colt mccoy was gonna be a monster but his second year proved to be the opposite.