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Paintrain · 08-22-2005, 10:58 AM

I'm going to have to go against the grain here...

1. Baltimore: 11-5, Their defense has the potential to be one of the best in the last 20 years with a lights out secondary, Terrell Suggs coming off the edge and a still dangerous Ray Lewis in the middle. Offensively Jamal Lewis has something to prove and an improved WR corps and a healthy Todd Heap make for a situation that Kyle Boller will have to really work hard to screw up.

2. Cincinnati: 10-6, Offensively they can be one of the top 5 scoring teams in the league. Rudi Johnson is a stud at RB and with one of the deeper WR groups in the league Carson Palmer starts to show why he was a #1 overall pick in 2003. They may need all of those points to make up for their sometimes pourous defense, but young playmakers David Pollack and Odell Thruman are poised to make an immediate impact.

3. Pittsburgh: 8-8, While their defense remains to be one of the toughest units in the league the offense will take a big step backwards.. Jerome Bettis, who had 8 toes out the door to retirement until his teammates convinced him to reconsider at the Pro Bowl is a year older and won't be able to hold up for a full 16 game slate. Duce Staley is already injured and may not be at full strength until week 5 or 6. They lose Plaxico Burress and replace him with Cedrick Wilson? Big Ben will have a much harder time being successful this year.

4. Cleveland: 6-10, perhaps the worst organization in football made a good step in bringing in Romeo Crennell and Trent Dilfer to stabilize the ship and a solid draft is a good framework for future success, but they are at least 2-3 years away from respectability.

08-22-2005, 10:58 AM	#6
Paintrain Pro Bowl Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Ft. Lauderdale, FL Age: 54 Posts: 5,006	Re: Around the NFL: AFC North I'm going to have to go against the grain here... 1. Baltimore: 11-5, Their defense has the potential to be one of the best in the last 20 years with a lights out secondary, Terrell Suggs coming off the edge and a still dangerous Ray Lewis in the middle. Offensively Jamal Lewis has something to prove and an improved WR corps and a healthy Todd Heap make for a situation that Kyle Boller will have to really work hard to screw up. 2. Cincinnati: 10-6, Offensively they can be one of the top 5 scoring teams in the league. Rudi Johnson is a stud at RB and with one of the deeper WR groups in the league Carson Palmer starts to show why he was a #1 overall pick in 2003. They may need all of those points to make up for their sometimes pourous defense, but young playmakers David Pollack and Odell Thruman are poised to make an immediate impact. 3. Pittsburgh: 8-8, While their defense remains to be one of the toughest units in the league the offense will take a big step backwards.. Jerome Bettis, who had 8 toes out the door to retirement until his teammates convinced him to reconsider at the Pro Bowl is a year older and won't be able to hold up for a full 16 game slate. Duce Staley is already injured and may not be at full strength until week 5 or 6. They lose Plaxico Burress and replace him with Cedrick Wilson? Big Ben will have a much harder time being successful this year. 4. Cleveland: 6-10, perhaps the worst organization in football made a good step in bringing in Romeo Crennell and Trent Dilfer to stabilize the ship and a solid draft is a good framework for future success, but they are at least 2-3 years away from respectability.