Things to Watch for in the AFC North
The American Football Conference’s North division is looking like it could be the most competitive and exciting division in the National Football League (NFL). The power struggle in the North was generally between the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Last year, Cincinnati re-emerged as a potential contender and looks to build on that. With three competitive teams and the Cleveland Browns in the midst of a potentially successful rebuilding, here are the things to watch for in the AFC North.
The Ravens’ New Receiver:
The Ravens have built most of their success on one of the NFL’s most feared defences. Now with Joe Flacco at the helm, they are looking to become just as strong on offence.
Their first step was signing Arizona Cardinals receiver Anquan Boldin. Boldin should compliment Derrick Mason well and will allow the Ravens to stretch the field like never before.
The Ravens have had just two wide receivers catch more than 60 passes in a single season, but for Boldin just 60 would be a failure. The only time he has failed to get 60 previously has been in an injury-ridden ten game season. In the past four of five years, he has caught no fewer than 83 balls. However, he did this in Arizona, where the offence was entirely pass based. The Ravens were a good scoring team already, and if Boldin clicks with Flacco, they may be unstoppable.
The Browns’ New Cornerback:
The Cleveland Browns have the unfortunate distinction of essentially being in the bottom five for every single statistic in the NFL. Their pass defence was particularly bad, and the Browns on average gave up 250 yards per game.
They are hoping to remedy this with the selection of cornerback Joe Haden from the University of Florida. In recent years, the AFC North has shifted from its traditional grinding running reputation to being extremely pass-oriented. Haden will be seeing a lot of balls thrown into his coverage and the Browns’ turnaround can only succeed if they can stop the passing of the Ravens’ Joe Flacco, the Bengals’ Carson Palmer, and the Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger.
Andre Smith:
The Bengals’ offensive tackle had a pretty legendary first year for all the wrong reasons. Although Smith still went sixth in the draft to the Bengals, he was clearly out of shape at the NFL Combine and the University of Alabama’s Pro Day. He then held out for contractual reasons, and ended up with only a single start.
Still, there is a reason that after all this Smith was picked so high; the man is a monster. In college, there was no better run-blocker than Smith, and Cincinnati is the most run-oriented team in the AFC. If Smith gets his act together, he can single-handedly alter the Bengals’ fortunes.
Mike Wallace:
The Steelers are not in great shape right now, unless you’re a Ravens fan. Roethlisberger will be missing a sizable chunk of the season due to behavioural issues stemming from a night club incident. Starting right tackle Willie Colon is now out for the year with an Achilles tendon tear. They also now lack a Super Bowl MVP receiver following Santonio Holmes’s departure.
Mike Wallace will be the man filling that vacant starting receiver slot. Wallace emerged as the Steelers’ go-to deep threat last year while at the No. 3 position and could perform even better when being a target more often. Wallace had the league’s highest yards per catch average at 19.3, and his speed and strength could help him ignite what looks like the worst non-Cleveland offence in the division.
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