AFC Divisional Predictions

(No long, hundred-thousand word, well-constructed article this time around...just a quick glance at how I think the standings will play out this year in the AFC off the top of my head.)

AFC East

1. New England Patriots (14-2)
The Pats will be the best team in football this year. Too many offensive weapons and a monstrous defensive line. Their secondary is still below average, but they made impactful additions on both sides of the ball. The fact that they'll be looking for blood after being outed by the rival Jets in the playoffs makes them very dangerous. Scary team.

2. New York Jets (10-6, Wild Card)
The Jets took a big hit being unable to resign key players in order to get under the new salary cap. The typically top-notch offensive line is now questionable outside of Mangold and Ferguson, the defensive, although very good, is a little overrated. What's underrated is losing Edwards and his good rapport with Sanchez, along with their wild cat formation with Brad Smith. That will be a problem they'll have all year and will help contribute to their first-round playoff exit. (Author's note: The realistic Jets fan in me believes that other Jets fans will take the two AFC title game appearances for granted and expect them to, at the least, make it back there again and will be shocked as they get bounced in the first round or narrowly miss the playoffs and say, "hey, wait a minute...aren't we supposed to go to the title game?" Second author's note: The pessimistic Jets fan in me believes a heart-breaking loss to the Giants in week 16 will take the Jets out of playoff contention, while also doubling as the highlight of the season for the third place G-Men.) 

3. Miami Dolphins (5-11)
Not that Kyle Orton is the second coming of Dan Marino, but the Dolphins really should have pushed harder to acquire him from Denver in a trade. Now they'll be stuck with Chad Henne and Matt Moore all year. Their only hope is that Reggie Bush somehow learns to play in the pros after all these years, although, that's obviously highly unlikely.

4. Buffalo Bills (4-12)
I literally just sat here for the last five minutes trying to think of something, anything of interest to say about the Bills. Yeah, that about sums it up.

AFC North

1. Pittsburgh Steelers (13-3)
Ben Roethlisberger for all sixteen, a healthy Troy Polamalu, Mike Wallace ready to become an elite receiver, and the best defense in football. It's never cool or edgy to peg the Steelers for success, but the bottom line is, they're almost always there in the end. Safest pick each year to make.

2. Baltimore Ravens (10-6, Wild Card)
I went back and forth on 10-6 and 9-7 for the Ravens this season. Like Ray Lewis, the defense is older and may not be as good as advertised this year, but Joe Flacco will take the next step and Ray Rice will contend for the rushing title.

3. Cleveland Browns (8-8)
Trendy team that people are predicting will be good. I tossed that aside, saying, "meh, it's the Browns." Then I looked at their schedule. Looks like they've got something similar to the Cheifs' and Bucs' schedules last season; I don't have them playing a team with a winning record until week nine, and only two overall until five weeks remain. The only problem: four of their last five are against the Steelers and Ravens. Seriously, they close with Ravens, Steelers, Cardinals, Ravens, and Steelers, with three of those final four on the road. How does that happen? So I currently have them pegged to be 8-3 before gacking away the last five. I mean hey, it's the Browns.

4. Cincinnati Bengals (2-14)
This team should be all different types of stinky. Fourteen different types, to be exact.

AFC South

1. Houston Texans (10-6)
Ugh, I hate this pick. I'm a big fan of, "if you've always done something, prove otherwise until I pick it" (whether it's bad or good). And, let's face it, every year, everyone is big on the Texans, and then they let everyone down. I'm proud to say I never fall for this with them, but I mean, with Peyton Manning being out for way longer than we thought, and no other great competition in the division, it's now or never, right? The schedule isn't brutal, either. I think if they can't win this year, they should be forced to contract.

2. Tennessee Titans (7-9)
A big change of culture in Tennessee this year. Obviously, Matt Hasselbeck isn't part of the future, but he should be good enough to not keep them terrible, which had essentially been his career motto in Seattle.

3. Indianapolis Colts (5-11)
I generally pick the Colts the complete opposite of the Texans: prove you won't win all these games and the division, and then I'll pick against you. But with Manning's sudden neck surgery and an uncertainty on when he will return this year, if at all, yikes, they're in trouble. No team needs one player more than the Colts, and we're about to find out why. When the only hope is that an ancient Kerry Collins doesn't get hurt so we don't have to see Curtis Painter, that's trouble. The good news is, they might become so bad that they end up with a top-tier draft pick that they can use for years to come.

4. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-12)
Very odd decision to let David Garrard go right before the season starts, especially when Blaine Gabbert isn't going to be thrown right into the fire. Keeping Maurice Jones-Drew on the field will be their only chance of staying competitive. 

AFC West

1. San Diego Chargers (12-4)
I'm completely buying into the hype, which is strange, because as a fan, I usually don't do that sort of thing, but everything is in place. Barring significant injuries, this is going to be a really tough offense to contain. Philip Rivers has "passing title" written all over him considering the miracles he worked last year throwing to receivers named Seyi Ajirotutu and Legedu Naanee. Replace that with Vincent Jackson and Antonio Gates, and good luck. Plus, the Bolts had a historically bad special teams coverage unit last year, and with the kickoff rule change, added to the fact that no one could be that bad twice, and that adds two or three extra wins to their total. Lastly, put me on record as saying the streak of them starting slow ends this year. They'll win four of their first five and cruise with no true divisional competition. Buy the hype.

2. Kansas City Chiefs (7-9)
The Chiefs benefited from a cupcake schedule last season; this year's isn't so kind. It starts off somewhat innocent, then weeks 11-15 are at the Patriots, home for the Steelers, at the Bears, at the Jets, and home against the Packers. Parlay that with three of four losses against the Chargers and Raiders, plus another random one sprinkled in, and there's nine losses. 

3. Oakland Raiders (7-9)
The offense has a chance to be good, but they'll never be a playoff team again under Al Davis.

4. Denver Broncos (5-11)
Honestly, they're not going to contend anyway. They should have just traded Kyle Orton for a draft pick and let everyone see if Tim Tebow was still worth talking about. If he is, great, that'll sell some tickets and merchandise, and perhaps give them a game plan for the future. If not, then the hype ends and we can move on.