AFC North Preview

Baltimore Ravens

Last Season : 12 - 4



Drafted Players

1st Round - Jimmy Smith CB
2nd Round - Torrey Smith WR
3rd Round - Jah Reid OT
4th Round - Tandon Doss WR
5th Round - Chykie Brown DB
5th Round - Pernell McPhee DL
6th Round - Tyrod Taylor QB
7th Round - Anthony Allen RB

Players in

Vonte Leach FB
Bryant McKinnie T
Bernard Pollard S
Casey Rabach C
Ricky Williams RB
Lee Evans WR

Players out

Jared Gaither OT
Kelly Gregg DT
Todd Heap TE
Scott Kooistra OT
Dawan Landry S
Derrick Mason WR
Willis McGahee RB
Tony Moll T

The Ravens shocked everybody this season by allowing very experienced players (Heap, Gaither, Mason, McGahee) leave the team.  Their offence did then look less effective, but they have bought in FB Leach (from the Texans) who is a very effective blocker, and should make Ray Rice's job alot easier this year.  Ricky Williams came in from Miami, and I'm not sure how much he has left, but he will be good cover for Rice.  2nd round draft pick Torrey Smith and Lee Evans (in from Bills) should add a different dimension to the pass game opposite Anquan Boldin.  Boldin will be the possession receiver, and the Ravens hope that Evans and Smith will stretch the field for them.

The Ravens defence should be as good as ever this year.  Their 1st round draft pick CB Jimmy Smith will add some much needed cover in the secondary and their front 7, led by Ray Lewis, should still be dominant.  It will be interesting to see in week one if they can get a jump start over the Steelers, by beating them in Baltimore.

Cincinnati Bengals

Last Season : 4 - 12



Drafted Players

1st Round - A.J Green WR
2nd Round - Andy Dalton QB
3rd Round - Dontay Moch DL
4th Round - Clint Boling OL
5th Round - Robert Sanders S
6th Round - Ryan Whalen WR
7th Round - Korey Lindsey CB
7th Round - Jay Finley RB

Players in

Nate Clements CB
Bruce Gradkowski QB
Thomas Howard LB
Brian Iwuh LB
Max Jean-Gillis OG
Manny Lawson LB
Bo Scaife TE

Players out

Carson Palmer QB
Kirk Chambers OT
Johnathan Joseph CB
Reggie Kelly TE
Evan Mathis OG
Isaac Stowells OG
Clint Stitser K
Terrelle Owens WR
Roy Williams S

The Bengals didn't have a great year last year, but I think that this year, they may be even worse.  I believe this because of the shambles at the QB position.  Carson Palmer has left, leaving 2nd round pick Andy Daulton with the starting job.  I believe that Daulton will be a decent NFL QB in time, but I believe that a couple of years as a back up would have been very beneficial.  They have done a good job though surrounding Daulton with decent talent, most notably 1st round draft pick WR A.J Green.

Very talented CB Johnathan Joseph has left to join the Texans. This is a big blow to an already pretty poor defence.  They did bring in Nate Clements from the 49'ers to replace Joseph, lets hope for their case he is up to the job.  I believe that the Bengals are really going to struggle this year, and will probably be lucky to get up to last years win total of 4 games.

Cleveland Browns

Last Season : 5 : 11



Drafted Players

1st Round - Phil Taylor DT
2nd Round - Jabaal Sheard DL
2nd Round - Greg Little WR
4th Round - Jordan Cameron TE
4th Round - Owen Marecic RB
5th Round - Buster Skrine DB
5th Round - Jason Pinkston OL
7th Round - Eric Hagg DB

Players in

John Greco OG
Brandon Jackson RB
Brett Johnson DB
Richmond McGee P
Dimitri Patterson CB
Usama Young FS
Players out

Kenyon Coleman DE
Blake Costanzo LB
Tyson DeVree TE
Sabby Piscitelli S
Matt Roth LB
Chansi Stuckey WR
Jason Trusnik LB
Lawrence Vickers FB
Floyd Womack OG
Eric Wright CB

I've got to be completely honest, the Browns are a very difficult team for me to get my head around.  They are a team full of relatively unknown players, but the defiantly seem to be moving in the right direction.  QB Colt McCoy has been very impressive throughout the preseason so far, and with RB Peyton Hillis, they should have a very capable offence.

The defence should be tougher to run on this year, thanks to their 1st and 2nd round draft picks, Taylor and Sheard.  They also tried to improve their secondary in free agency, bringing in 2 CB's (Johnson and Patterson) and a S (Usama Young).  I believe that the defence will improve as the year goes on.  The Browns may well be slightly better than last year, but in my eyes, they still have a long way to go to catch the Steelers and Ravens.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Last Season : 12 - 4



Drafted Players

1st Round : Cam Heywood DT
2nd Round : Marcus Gilbert OL
3rd Round : Curtis Brown DB
4th Round : Cortez Allen DB
5th Round : Chris Carter DL
6th Round : Keith Williams OL
7th Round : Baron Batch RB

Players in

Jerricho Cotchery WR
John Gilmore TE
Kenny Moore WR

Players out

Nick Eason DE
Keyaron Fox LB
Matt Spaeth TE

The Steelers, Superbowl runners up, should be all set for another assault on the championship.  You know exactly what your going to get with Pittsburgh, tough D, good running game, and QB 'Big Ben' who can make a play out of the blue.  The really impressive thing for me this preseason is the talent they seem to have at the WR positions this year.  Hines Ward, Mike Wallace, Jerricho Cotchery, Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders are all very capable WR's, and don't be surprised if the Steelers throw them all on the field at the same time.  This offence could be very explosive.

On the other side of the ball, the Steelers will be their usual self's.  Hard hitting, quick to the ball, with S Troy Polamalu flying around.  They should once again be one of the top D's in the league.  I think the Steelers will win this division, but the week 1 matchup in Baltimore, could upset their season.

Pre Season Week 2 : Friday Nights Games

Here are the highlights from all the games on Friday night:

Redskins 16 Colts 3



Chiefs 13 Ravens 31



Lions 30 Browns 28



Panthers 10 Dolphins 20



Cardinals 20 Packers 28




Falcons 13 Jaguars 15

Is the kickoff return a thing of the past??

The first week of pre season is complete, all teams have been out on the field once, so what have we learned?  There are QB, and other position, battles going on all over the NFL.  But the biggest story for me from week 1, was to do with a rule change.

Over the offseason, the NFL have being coming up with ways to make the game more 'safe'.  Now don't get me wrong, I'm all in favour of player safety, and I hate to see players getting hurt.  But the change of the kickoff position, from the 30 yard line, to the 35 yard line, will dramatically change the face of the game, in many ways.  A kickoff return, in my view, is one of the most exciting plays in football.  To see Devin Hester or Josh Cribbs catch the ball and go the length of the field, at lightening speed, weaving their way through 11 would be tacklers, is an amazing sight.  This rule change may have just taken that play out of the game. 

The first reason for this is that these NFL kickers have huge legs.  They were able to kick the ball through the endzone with the ball on the 30, so most of them will be able to from the 35.  We did see this as a trend this past week, with kickoff after kickoff going through the endzone for a touchback.  Even if for whatever reason, the kicker doesn't quite manage to clear the endzone, the returner will be receiving the ball 5 - 7 yards deep in the endzone, a position that they would not have dreamed of trying a return from in previous years.  Another factor here is that the coverage teams have also got a 5 yard advantage.  They are going to be on top of the returner alot sooner than before.   So the fact that he is deeper in the endzone, and the fact that the coverage unit is on top of him sooner, make it highly likely, that the returner will take a knee, and accept the touchback.  This is a trend that we saw play out, in most of the games over the weekend.

If I was a fan of the Browns or the Bears, for example, I would be very annoyed at this new rule.  We all know that Hester and Cribbs can turn a game on its head with one of their great returns.  We all remember Hesters opening kickoff return in the Superbowl against the Colts.  But, lets be honest for a second, the Browns in particular, don't have the best offence in the world.  In some games Josh Cribbs on punt and kickoff returns, is their best offensive weapon.  Now the NFL is taking this weapon away from them, as well as de-valuing the player.  Alot of the players that return, are not talented enough to play at other positions on the field.  They are very explosive, but cannot play WR or CB to a high standard.  These players may in time be forced out of the league.  This, in my opinion, is a travesty.

As I said earlier, I know what the NFL are trying to do, and I agree that if the game can be made safer for the players, then it should be.  This rule change though, is a step to far for me.  Let me know what you think on this matter, email - nflgbview@googlemail.com or twitter - http://tinyurl.com/4426k9g or leave a comment.

Also take a look at the fantasy and predictions tabs, to see how you can compete against me this year in both nflgbview's championship fantasy football or nflgbview pick em - predicting each match.

The Keys to Training Camp - AFC North

Baltimore Ravens

 The Baltimore Ravens finished last year with a 9 - 7 record, which gave them the runners up spot in the division, but was enough to give them a playoff berth as a wildcard team.  They won their wildcard game against the Patriots, in New England, before getting eliminated by the Colts in Indianapolis.  What do the Ravens need to do, to take this team to a Superbowl?

How good is the secondary, without Ed Reed?

 A major talking point this off season has been whether or not S Ed Reed (pictured) will return.  Reed is without doubt one of the most influential players (along with Ray Lewis of course) on that defence.  Reed underwent a hip operation over the summer and it is not clear if he will return for the season.  At the moment Reed is on the PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) list, and if his name is still on it come the start of the season, he will not be able to play for the first 6 games.  Couple this operation, with the operations on 2 CB's (Fabian Washington and Lardarius Webb) knees, and you have a huge problem in the secondary.  The Ravens struggled against the deep ball at times last year, but without Reed, they could be in huge trouble.

 What is the philosophy of the offence?

 Last year it was very clear what the Ravens strength was offensively - RB Ray Rice (pictured).  Rice helped them become the 5th best rushing attack in the NFL.  Also Rice was the leading receiver on the team (out of the backfield) with 78 catches.  This solid play from Rice has helped young QB Joe Flacco, grow into his leadership role.  Everyone has said for a long time, how good would the Ravens be with a star WR?  Well, this year, we will find out.  During the off season the Ravens bought in WR's Anquan Boldin and Donte Stallworth.  These players will give the Ravens a legitimate passing attack, to balance with Rice and the running game.  It will be interesting to see in camp, just how much the Ravens will push the ball through the air, and just how much they will go to their bread and butter - Rice.

Where will the pass rush come from?

 Last year the Ravens really struggled at times to get to the QB.  Terrell Suggs (pictured) had signed a HUGE deal, but then really struggled to excel during the season.  It is not up for debate that the Ravens have a great defence.  To run against this unit is almost impossible.  That will not be a concern.  The concern is that with the worries in the secondary, the Ravens have to rush the QB, and get the ball out of his hands quickly.  If they don't do this, opposing QB's will have loads of time to sit in the pocket, and pick this team apart.  The Ravens have addressed this issue in the draft, taking LB Sergio Kindle in the 2nd round.  He is a fantastic pass rusher and will surely put the pressure on Suggs for that job.  Suggs needs to step it up, and earn those huge dollars that the Ravens are paying him.


Cincinnati Bengals

Last season, for the first time in their history, the Bengals went undefeated in the division, 10 - 6 overall, and won the division  for the first time since 2005.  They transformed themselves into a very strong, smash mouth, run first team, and became very good at it.  They did though disappoint in the playoffs, losing their wildcard game to the Jets.  So what do we need to look at, when it comes to training camp?


 What happens if Cedric Benson gets suspended?

 Cedric Benson had a breakout year in 2009.  Released by the Bears after never rushing for over 700 yards, he managed to rush for 1,251 yards and 6 TD's.  He carried this team forward, and in tough situations, the Bengals knew he could run out the clock for them.  This year the Bengals will be looking for more of the same.  He has however got into a spot of bother over the off season.  He has allegedly punched a bar worker in the face after a fall out in that bar.  This is the 3rd time during his career that Benson has been in trouble with the law.  NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell does not have a  high tolerance of persistent trouble makers, and has already met with Benson.  The result of this meeting is not known at time of  press, but be assured nflgbview will keep you informed.

What will the offensive philosophy be?

 This is a very similar situation to the one in Baltimore.  The Bengals got through last season bring a run first team.  They did though have the amazing talents of the colourful Chad Ochocinco (pictured) at WR, but now they have added another couple of talented guys, to catch the ball.  WR Antonio Bryant has been bought in from the Buccaneers, and TE Jermaine Gresham was selected in the 1st round of the draft.  With these 3 very talented players looking to make plays, and a very talented QB in Carson Palmer, will the Bengals become a pass first team again?  And turn their back on what served them so well last year?  In all honesty, this change may be enforced on them, should Benson have to serve a suspension.


Can the defence improve?

The Bengals defence was fantastic last year, ranking in the top 7 in all defensive categories.  The 2 CB's are fantastic, they stop the run extremely well, but the only question is about their pressure on the QB.  Last year Antwan Odem (pictured) managed to get 8 sacks in the first 6 games, before getting injured.  His return should help the Bengals in this area.  The Bengals have also added DE Carlos Dunlap from Florida to the mix, so I can see this problem going away fast this year.  If this is the case, look out AFC North, the Bengals defence may just be the best in the division. 


Cleveland Browns

O dear, where to start!  The Browns actually finished last year on a 4 game winning streak, taking their overall record to 5 - 11.  This, unsurprisingly, saw them at the bottom of the division.  The Browns must try and use the confidence gained from this winning streak and take it into the new year, because they will need it!!!


 How long will they stick with QB Jake Delhomme?

The QB saga in Cleveland is a joke.  Mike Holmgren, is now at the top of this organisation and there is no doubt the QB position was at the top of his list.  He shipped out Derek Anderson (good move) and Brady Quinn (not so sure) and bought in one of his own Senaca Wallace and Jake Delhomme.  I completely understand the Senaca Wallace signing.  Wallace is a solid, dependable QB, who has spent alot of time in Holmgren's system in Seattle.  The confusing signing for me is Delhomme.  DELHOMME - your kidding right Mike??  We have been informed that the interception machine that is Jake Delhomme will be the starter for the Browns.  How long till the very ferocious 'dog pound' is shouting for him to be benched.  This is where Wallace may come in, or it may be 3rd round draft pick Colt McCoy.  I fear that McCoy may end up being thrown into this horrid situation way to early, and we may have another Brady Quinn situation on the horizon.   

 Can the defence improve?

Last year the Browns defence was, well.... shocking!  They ranked 29th against the pass, and 28th against the run.  You cannot be this bad in both these categories, and expect to do anything in this league.  To the Browns credit they drafted CB Joe Haden (pictured) and S T.J Ward with their first 2 picks in the draft.  They also got S Larry Asante in the 5th round.  This shows that the Browns understand they have to stop the chunks of yards given away that they had last year.  This though is not as simple as just selecting talent in the draft.  These players have to be bought on and gel together.  I'm sorry Cleveland, but this may be a long and painful process.

Where will the points come from?

  As well as struggling defensively in 2009, the Browns were a mess offensively.  They where so bad in fact that they ranked dead last in the total yards per game and passing yards per game categories.  This really highlights the problem of bringing in Delhomme.  Now not only have you got a receiving corp that can't make plays, you have added a QB that has thrown 30 INT's in the last 2 seasons (compared to just 23 TD's).  The rush attack was actually quite good (ranking 8th) and they have bought in another RB Montario Hardesty to support Jerome Harrison.  They better hope these 2 can get it going again, or else points will be at a premium.  I believe that, yet again, their best offensive weapon will be Josh Cribbs (pictured) as a kick returner.  Cribbs has 8 kick returns and 2 punt returns for TD's in his career.  At least the Browns have one threat.

Pittsburgh Steelers 

2009 was a very disappointing year for the Steelers.  Coming off a Superbowl win the previous year, the Steelers struggled to stop the pass following the loss of superstar S Troy Polamalu.  This left them with a 9 - 7 record, out of the playoffs, and most embarrassingly, in 3rd in their division.

How will they cope without 'Big Ben'?

 When it comes to Training Camp questions for the Steelers, there is only one place to start.  Ben Rothlisberger got into alot of much publicised trouble, and has received a minimum 4 game suspension from commissioner Goodell.  It looks like Byron Leftwich will be given the starting job, ahead of Dennis Dixon.  They will definitely have to try and run the ball more during Ben's absence using Rashard Mendenhall, and the 6th round draft pick Jonathan Dwyer.  Both these players are big loads that will pound the ball up the middle.  They just need a good line infront of them......

How good can the 'O Line' be?

 The absence of 'Big Ben' is obviously going to be a big blow to the Steelers, but their plan had to be to do what the Steelers do best, and run the ball.  They have 2 young pounding RB's in Mendenhall and Dwyer, so if the impressive O Line can open up the holes, the Steelers should be fine.  They selected C Maurkice Pouncey with their 1st round draft pick, and he will probably start.  This line was looking set, and the Steelers worries were easing.  Then - T Willie Colon (pictured)  picked up a season ending injury.  How will the Steelers deal with this?  Keep checking up on nflgbview for updates.

Can the secondary make the much needed improvements?

After Troy Polamalu's (pictured) injury last year, the Steelers secondary really struggled against the pass.  They have bought back CB Bryant McFadden from Arizona to help ease this problem.  This coupled with the return of Polamalu should help to eliminate the problem altogether.  There are though 2 major concerns here; 1. Polamalu gets injured again, 2. The WR's in the division are alot better now.  The struggles the Bengals and Ravens had in the pass game forced them to bring in WR talent.  Can the Steelers secondary compete against this better level of competition?
 
 Check back tomorrow for a look at the AFC South

Cleveland Browns


Last year - 5 - 11 (4th in AFC North)


Team needs - Everything apart from T and DT.


Players in - Ben Watson TE, Jake Delhomme QB, Scott Fujita OLB, Tony Pashos T, Seneca Wallace QB, Peyton Hills RB.


Players out - Rex Hadnot G, Derek Anderson QB, Brodney Pool FS, Hank Fraley G, Brady Quinn QB.


Draft Positions :


1st Round : 7th pick.
2nd Round : 6th pick.
3rd Round : 21st pick, 28th pick.
4th Round : 7th pick.
5th Round : 6th pick, 15th pick, 29th pick.
6th Round : 8th pick, 17th pick.

Total : 10 picks.


There are a couple of different directions that the Browns could go in here.  The major players that are left on the board are QB Jimmy Clausen and S Eric Berry.  With the Browns bringing in 2 QB's this off-season - Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace, I can't see them selecting another QB this high in the draft.  I think that they will select a 'project' QB at some point in this years draft, but not at this position.  So that leaves the player that I actually believe is a top 4 player, still sitting there at number 7.  I believe the Browns will select Tennessee's Eric Berry.  He will make an instant impact on a defence that really needs a play maker.

Oakland Raiders


Last Season - 5 - 11 (3rd in AFC West)


Team needs - Everything apart from DE and TE


Players in - Nobody!


Players out - Cornell Green T.


Draft Positions :


1st Round : 8th pick.
2nd Round : 7th pick.
3rd Round : 5th pick.
4th Round : 8th pick.
5th Round : 7th pick, 27th pick.
7th Round : 8th pick, 44th pick.

Total : 8 picks.


This will be a very interesting decision for the Raiders and owner Al Davis.  We all know how Al likes to have a big say in the selections the Raiders make, and we all know how much Al likes current QB JaMarcus Russell.  In my opinion, the Raiders should take Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen.  Clausen is a very capable QB, who I believe would beat Russell to the job this year, and I think that Clausen may have a better pro career than the perceived best QB in this draft Sam Bradford.  I think that they will then decide to try and upgrade the OL, to try and get the old fashioned 'Raiders football' going.  Smash mouth, run first offence.  I think the next best OL available would be Anthony Davis from Rutgers.  Knowing the history of the Raiders draft though I think they may select workout warrior Bruce Campbell from Maryland.  Campbell blew everyone away with his workout at the combine, and this performance will definatly have caught Al Davis's eye.


So thats the preview for the Browns and Raiders, next up are the Buffalo Bills and the Jacksonville Jaguars.  If you want to get in touch regarding anything NFL related, please get in touch. Email - nflgbview@googlemail.com, twitter - www.twitter.com/nflgbview, facebook - http://tinyurl.com/yaxmcsq or just leave a comment.  Please send me any mock drafts that you have, mine will be relased on 21st April.    

Thursday Night Football

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cleveland Browns

‘Thursday night football’ this week comes live from the Dog pound as the 1 – 11 Browns host their divisional rival 6 – 6 Steelers. This game is absolutely vital for the Steelers playoff hopes. If they lose this, they can pretty much forget making the post season. The Browns have not been making the playoffs for a long time, so a prime time game, at home, against a divisional rival is as good as it gets for them. I’m sure that they will be relishing playing spoiler in this game. To be completely honest, I don’t think they have a chance.

A big talking point surrounding the Cleveland Browns is who will be the QB next year. Will it be Brady Quinn? Derek Anderson? Or will they use draft picks (which will obviously be high ones) to select somebody? I personally believe that Brady Quinn should be the future. The problem he has had this year is that he has a very poor surrounding cast, and the coaches are very conservative. I would like to see Quinn, with a decent receiver, and being allowed to air the ball out a bit. I think you would see a different player in this situation. Quinn may be able to throw the ball a bit easier than expected in this game as the Steelers are still without Polomalu. This, of course, makes this defence a lot less scary than normal. I think Quinn has an ok game, but as I said before, the supporting cast are not up to much. One interesting thing to look out for is kick returner on the Browns Josh Cribbs. He is one of the elite returners in the league, and may run riot against this poor Steelers coverage unit.

The Steelers will have Big Ben back at QB for this game. This obviously drastically improves the offence. Ironically, after criticising Big Bens toughness when he missed the Ravens game, WR Hines Ward looks to be out of this game. Wonder what Ben makes of this?? The loss of Ward would decrease the effectiveness of the Steelers passing game, but they should easily win this game on the ground. The Browns defence ranks 29th in rush defence. Also they have now lost nose tackle Shaun Rodgers, who was a beast in that defensive line. His loss undoubtedly increases the Steelers ability in the run game. Steelers RB Rashard Mendenhall is getting 5 yards/carry this year and have 5 TD’s. I expect him to have a big game here.

Lee’s Prediction: Steelers 24 Browns 7

Monday Night Football Preview

Baltimore Ravens @ Cleveland Browns

The 4 - 4 Ravens travel to Cleveland to take on the 1 - 7 Browns. This is a huge game for the Baltimore Ravens. They are now 2 games behind the Steelers, and 3 behind the division leading Bengals. Therefore if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive, they have to win this game against the lowly Browns. The Browns, coming off their bye, have had a big shake up of the back room staff, sacking GM George Kokinis. They hope that this may show everyone at the club that their jobs are on the line. The Browns defence is pretty poor in all the stats, but it is ranked 31st in rush defence. This plays right into the Ravens, and Ray Rice's, hands. The only chance that the Browns have in this one is to hope the home crowd are as loud as possible for this big rivalry game, and the sacking of the GM fires everyone up enough. Do I believe this can happen, no!! I think the Ravens go into the Dog Pound, and get a very important win.

Lee's Prediction: Ravens 21 Browns 6