Preseason rankings: AFC

[Prosdo]

Preseason rankings: AFC
By Charles Robinson, Yahoo! Sports
July 22, 2005

In the NFL, hindsight is a bullwhip. And no fanny is safe from the sting of an absurd prediction.

Consider that only one year ago, some people looked at the AFC and thought the Broncos were headed for No. 1 ? and they weren't talking about the middle finger quarterback Jake Plummer used to salute fans during his season of frustration. Some thought Peyton Manning and the Colts we ready to solve the Patriots. And still others thought Roethlisberger was an entre served only at Vegan restaurants.

As usual, the season produced plenty of fools. And almost all of them were guilty of doubting New England at some point. With that in mind, this year's preseason AFC rankings don't feature a trendy pick at the top. Instead, the AFC hierarchy begins with the one team that has ended the last two seasons on the same championship stage. For those who would put another team at the top, the whip will be waiting for you in February.

AFC PRESEASON RANKINGS

1. New England Patriots ? New defensive coordinator Eric Mangini will be a fine replacement for Romeo Crennel. As for the offense, Bill Belichick can rely on a great core of veterans to get by without a coordinator. But someone is going to have to step in and replace the leadership of linebacker Tedy Bruschi.

2. Indianapolis Colts ? They've been too cap-strapped to go shopping for a stud linebacker or lockdown corner, but I think that defense has got enough developing talent to be respectable this season. The only thing threatening that offense is the contract status of running back Edgerrin James.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers ? Pittsburgh is a Super Bowl contender again, but those offseason losses in free agency are going to hurt when depth becomes an issue. Having a healthy Duce Staley would be a huge boost, but Antwaan Randle El must pick up the slack left by the departure of wideout Plaxico Burress.

4. San Diego Chargers ? If their pass rush is going to improve, they need to get linebacker Shawne Merriman into camp on time. Meanwhile, mark my words: The Drew Brees/Philip Rivers quandary will be a topic again before the November bye week.

5. Cincinnati Bengals ? If Carson Palmer picks up where he left off last season, and the Bengals get production out of their third receiver, Cincinnati's offense could be scary good. And I predict linebacker Odell Thurman will make a strong push for Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Rest of the article:http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slu...yhoo&type=lgns

[Go_Cats]

Awesome find Prosdo, finally rankings that actually make sense

[Livinginthe past]

here is my take on the AFC power battle.

1. Patriots - still the best til someone proves otherwise - will be one of the hottest offences in the league this year. Brady's tangibles have been growing every year. Blessed at WR, stud RB and competent O-Line.

2. Steelers - showed enough last season to show they are back with the big boys - even with the predicted slight drop off in efficiency of their sophomore QB - the Steelers will have gained confidence from their record breaking regular season. 2nd only to the Pats in beating the big teams. Dismantling the Pats and Eagles back to back was THE achievement of last years regular season.

3. Colts - Indianapolis is at 3 - because quite simply, in a head to head with Pittsburgh i'd take the Steelers 85 times out of 100. Inept in post season - and will continue to be until they face the fact that it is not their defence that is mis-firing in the playoffs.

4. Ravens - D wins the big games and not many teams do 'D' better than the Ratbirds (this nickname is copyrite co-owned by Bengals and Steelers fans) A simply fearsome unit with star names in just about every position. Boller needs to do just enough to keep opps from ganging up on the run. Thes are my official outside bet for the AFC (and by default probably the SB too)

5. Chiefs - finally made a few additions to their D to lift them out of 'embarrasingly bad'
This offence is still going to pile up points but wont like life outside the dome come the cold weather.

Good post BTW Prosdo.

ITS PIG-SKIN BABY!

NM

[Prosdo]

I agree with your 1-3. Big surprise there lol. I think the Ratbirds are around 5 or 6. As much as I hate Pennington the Jets may be my number 5. Good post Living.

[bigbensgirl7]

Yah...I'm suprised they have Cincy over the Ratbirds. But overall I would go with Livings, and I think Cinci would be around 7th.

[Go_Cats]

1. NE

No Comment needed

2. Kansas City Chiefs

They beat the Colts last season with the pourous defense, think how well they will do after handing out over 100 million dollars of contracts to the defense.

3. NY Jets

Face it Steeler fans they beat you last year, plain and simple, just a bad kick costed them a win and a first round exit to you. They drafted a kicker to solve that, plus they got even better with the acquisition of L. Coles.

4. Jacksonville Jaguars

A good young defense, coupled with an offense who has added Matt Jones and T. Henry, and you got a team that can compete for a superbowl

5. Cincinnati Bengals

The most deadly offense if the league, just got better with the adittions of C. Henry, and return of C. Perry to a full bill of health. The defense will also be better with M. Williams coming on strong, and new play makers O. Thurman and D. Pollack.

[BlitzburghRockCity]

I can agree w/ the majority of those picks for the most part, but I cant quite see putting the bengals up that high yet... sorry to our bengal friends here, but I'd have to put them near the middle of the pack for now atleast.

I also think the jags are overrated too.. leftwhich needs to show everyone that he can stay healthy and win the close games before they start being ranked higher than average.

[clevestinks]

Come on Plax isn`t that big of loss! Thats fine , I`d rather not be ranked 1 or 2. Gives us something to shoot for.

[BlitzburghRockCity]

Every time we used to lose free agents like crazy before Heinz field came around, people said the same thing all the time, and year after year, we found a way to be competitive.

[Livinginthe past]

Originally Posted by Go_Cats

1. NE

No Comment needed

2. Kansas City Chiefs

They beat the Colts last season with the pourous defense, think how well they will do after handing out over 100 million dollars of contracts to the defense.

3. NY Jets

Face it Steeler fans they beat you last year, plain and simple, just a bad kick costed them a win and a first round exit to you. They drafted a kicker to solve that, plus they got even better with the acquisition of L. Coles.

4. Jacksonville Jaguars

A good young defense, coupled with an offense who has added Matt Jones and T. Henry, and you got a team that can compete for a superbowl

5. Cincinnati Bengals

The most deadly offense if the league, just got better with the adittions of C. Henry, and return of C. Perry to a full bill of health. The defense will also be better with M. Williams coming on strong, and new play makers O. Thurman and D. Pollack.

I think the Jets will be worse this year than last year - their grinding, no risks offence spared their defence from spending too much time on the field - but when they were - they were vunerable.
Im not sure Jacksonville have done anything to justify such a high ranking - they are a fashionable pick for sure but Matt Jones is a total wild card at this stage and if the T.Henry you mentioned is Travis - then he signed for the Titans....not the Jags.

I suppose it was to be expected that the Bengals would find their way magically into this seasons top5 list - what with you being a fan and all.
I think your rookies WILL improve your D - mainly as it couldn't get alot worse - but it will still be a long way short of 'good'.
How do you define the 'most deadly offence in football'? Points scored? TD's scored? Likelyhood of shooting the oppositions D-coach?

Its all guess work at this stage of course - but pre-season is the best time for predctions.

By the way, the same magic that landed the Bengals at 5 somehow erased the Steelers ALTOGETHER from your top 5 - still...this is Harry Potter season

ITS PIG-SKIN BABY!

NM