4. Cleveland Browns
2011 Record = 4-12, Last in AFC North
2012 Schedule = PHI, @ CIN, BUF, @ BAL, @ NYG, CIN, @
IND, SD, BAL, BYE, @ DAL, PIT, @ OAK, KC, WAS, @ DEN, @ PIT
Franchise Players = T Joe Thomas, CB Joe Haden
Key Free Agent Acquisitions = NonePotential Impact Rookies = RB Trent Richardson (Alabama) 1-3, QB Brandon Weeden (Oklahoma State) 1-22, T Mitchell Schwartz (California) 2-5
Outlook = If you’re wondering how the
Brandon Weeden era will work out in Cleveland, look up how the Carolina
Panthers did with Chris Weinke under center.
Ceiling = 5-11
Floor = 1-15No Credentials Prediction = 3-13
3. Baltimore Ravens
2011 Record = 12-4, First in AFC North, Lost in AFC
Championship Game
2012 Schedule = CIN, @ PHI, NE, CLE, @ KC, DAL, @ HOU,
BYE, @ CLE, OAK, @ PIT, @ SD, PIT, @ WAS, DEN, NYG, @ CIN
Franchise Players = QB Joe Flacco, RB Ray Rice, WR Torrey
Smith, T Michael Oher, C Matt Birk, DT Haloti Ngata, LB Terrell Suggs, LB Ray
Lewis, S Ed Reed
Key Free Agent Acquisitions = G Bobbie WilliamsPotential Impact Rookies = DE Courtney Upshaw (Alabama) 2-3
Outlook = The video above is the reason
I’m so down on the Ravens this year. I don’t see this team rebounding from such
a disappointing defeat. Sure there are still Hall of Famers on defense, but
they are aging (watch Ray Lewis move laterally. He’s not as graceful as he used
to be), and Joe Flacco doesn’t inspire much confidence at all. A breakout from
him in his fifth season seems unlikely. It’s much more probable that he is what
he has been the past two seasons, which is an average quarterback that can
manage a game but do very little to win one. This becomes a problem when the
Ravens decide to throw the ball 50 times in the game and forget to hand the
ball to Ray Rice (who you know, is only the best all-around runningback on
planet Earth right now). Throw in a brutal schedule (even though two of their
first three are at home, they won’t be cakewalks), and you have all the makings
for a disappointing year of football in Baltimore.
Ceiling = 12-4
Floor = 6-10No Credentials Prediction = 8-8
2. Cincinnati Bengals
2011 Record = 9-7, Third in AFC North, Lost in AFC Wildcard
Game
2012 Schedule = @ BAL, CLE, @ WAS, @ JAC, MIA, @ CLE,
PIT, BYE, DEN, NYG, @ KC, OAK, @ SD, DAL, @ PIT, @ PHI, BAL
Franchise Players = QB Andy Dalton, WR A.J. Green, T
Andre Smith, DE Carlos Dunlap, LB Rey Maualuga, LB Manny Lawson, CB Leon Hall,
S Reggie Nelson
Key Free Agent Acquisitions = RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis,
CB Jason Allen, CB Terrance NewmanPotential Impact Rookies = CB Dre Kirkpatrick (Alabama) 1-17, G Kevin Zeitler (Wisconsin) 1-27, DT Devon Still (Penn State) 2-21, DT Brandon Thompson (Clemson) 3-30
Outlook = Not a lot of teams had as
successful of a draft as the Bengals, which is hard to believe because they are
the Bengals. Their fleecing of Oakland
in the Carson Palmer enhanced an already talented young roster. A.J. Green
appears to be on the verge of becoming a top-5 wide receiver, and Andy Dalton
could go down as the best second round draft pick of the ‘10s. With their
patty-cake stretch from weeks 2 through 6 (two games against the Browns, trips
to Washington and Jacksonville, and a home date with Miami), and we could very
easily be talking about a 5-1 or 6-0 football team when they face Pittsburgh at
home in Week 7. That’s the cushion they will need to withstand a tougher second
half slate.
Ceiling = 12-4
Floor = 6-10No Credentials Prediction = 9-7
1. Pittsburgh Steelers
2011 Record = 12-4, Second in AFC North, Lost in AFC
Wildcard Game
2012 Schedule = @ DEN, NYJ, @ OAK, BYE, PHI, @ TEN, @
CIN, WAS, @ NYG, KC, BAL, @ CLE, @ BAL, SD, @ DAL, CIN, CLE
Franchise Players = QB Ben Roethlisberger, RB Rashard
Mendenhall, WR Mike Wallace, WR Antonio Brown, TE Heath Miller, C Maurkice
Pouncey, LB James Harrison, LB LaMarr Woodley, LB Lawrence Timmons, S Troy
Polamalu
Key Free Agent Acquisitions = NonePotential Impact Rookies = G David DeCastro (Stanford) 1-24, T Mike Adams (Ohio State) 2-24, DT Alameda Ta’amu (Washington) 4-14
Outlook = Pittsburgh’s draft haul may not
be as impressive as Cincinnati’s but David DeCastro and Mike Adams should go
along way in keeping Ben Roethlisberger upright. With added time in the pocket,
the dynamic duo of Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown (here’s your dark horse pick
for best receiving tandem in the NFL this year) will be even more lethal than
they were a year ago. Expect the Steelers to ensure that they won’t start the
playoffs on the road this January.
Ceiling = 13-3
Floor = 7-9No Credentials Prediction = 11-5
