My 2019 AFC Preview

It's that time of year again with preseason about to start for 30 NFL teams. This year for conference previews I will review teams in tiers

Oh boy, it's time once again for a totally unpredictable year of AFC football. Not like there's only one team in contention for the AFC crown again

Your 2019 AFC Champions (and probably Super Bowl 54 champions)

Patriots: Let's face it, they'll once again start off slow and look vulnerable in December only to put it all together in the postseason. They catch fire and their opponents either put forth an awful gameplan or make boneheaded mistakes at the worst time and the Pats win yet again. Now let's preview the teams who won't be winning the AFC

Favorites to choke against the Pats in the AFC championship game

Colts: This team appears to have built a solid foundation under Chris Ballard but Andrew Luck has a lingering injury and there has been this team's inability to beat New England since they let go of Peyton

Chiefs: As long as Mahomes doesn't get injured/regress they'll be contenders for a bye, but with that awful defense (which may actually be worse this year) and perennial choker Andy Reid, they aren't going to the Super Bowl

Lots of talent but potential to disappoint

Chargers: They may actually have the most talent in the AFC, but they're the Chargers so they'll underachieve and choke like they always do. Can't believe I thought this team was a legitimate title contender last year

Browns: Lots of talent yes, but can they put it together. Can these strong personalities mesh? How will Freddie Kitchens do as head coach

Held back by poor coaching and glaring weaknesses

Texans: They have some top tier talents yes, but that o-line is hot garbage and Bill O Brien is a piss poor coach. I have no idea why he still has a job

Steelers: It's a popular theory to think that with Le'Veon and AB out of the picture this team is ready to compete again. Unfortunately the coaching is subpar and all the good assistant coaches from last year are gone. Keith Butler and Danny Smith are still here for some reason, the special teams at best is a question mark, and the secondary and LB corp still has many questions.

Mediocre

Ravens: Lamar Jackson can't actually throw a ball and the defense sustained numerous key losses

Jets: Adam Gase is your head coach, meaning you are good for probably 6-8 wins, 5-6 of them being close wins against awul teams, and maybe a win over the Pats at home, all the while your point spread ranges from minus 80-minue 120. Oh and you get to watch Le'Veon without an elite offensive supporting cast.

Broncos: All this team is is 2 stud OLBs going to waste on a team

Titans: The only thing this team will be effective at is putting everybody to sleep

Jaguars: Watch as Nick Foles regresses without Doug Pederson being on his staff while the defense is not world beaters for the 2nd year in a row.

Bills: We're looking at anywhere from 3-13 to 7-9 for this team. It all depends on where Josh Allen falls this year between semblance of a semi-functional QB at times and JaMarus Russell 2.0

Laughing Stock

Raiders: This season is going to be fun and this team is going to be entertaining, well, not for Raiders fans but for everyone else, chief of all Steelers fans looking to see the AB trade blow up in Oakland's face and AFC West rivals. Gruden-AB-Burfict-Incognito. Are you trying to be a football team or an MTV reality show?

Bottom of the Barrel

Bengals: You finally got rid of Marvin Lewis and replaced him with...a guy with one year OC experience in the NFL for the Dolphins because he worked under Sean McVay. Yeah, this team feels ready to just fall apart especially with AJ Green unable to stay healthy

Dolphins: Who is even on this team?

I would put the steelers in a category like, a lot of question mark, but could surprise

The Chargers need to play more man to man defense, otherwise they will never have a chance against the Pats and Brady ... Same thing for the Colts .... The Browns also will play a zonedefense, but I would not be surprised to see them imploded before that.

A team that might surprise, that would be the Jets ... Not because of Bell, but if we look at their history, the last time a first year head coach with the Jets had ended with a not winning season was Rich Kotite in 1995 .... Adam Gase is not a good coach and I do not think the Jets are going to be good after this year, but for this year, I would not be surprised to see the Jets with a winning season.... They have a easy schedule too

Nick Foles was in a horrible situation with the Rams and Jeff Fisher and in a better situation with the eagles and Doug Peterson ... We'll see how he will perform but he needs to prove that he can be a starter for an entire season, which has not done yet in his career

Andy Reid is perhaps the most unlucky head coach in NFL history after Marty Schottenheimer..Just last year, maybe they would have been SB champion if the Chiefs would have won the coin toss in overtime ... But yes, their defense needs to be better,but you can win a SB with Reid as HC.

The Ravens could be a very good team, but it's going to depend on the development of Lamar Jackson .... I would not be surprised if the AFC north title is decided in week 17 in Baltimore between the Steelers and the Ravens ... the loser would be a wild card ...

Luck retires so you can now put the Colts into the mediocre category.

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Originally Posted by st33lersguy

Luck retires so you can now put the Colts into the mediocre category.

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The 4 teams have a shot to win this division even if they have weak point in their roster.

Like the Jaguars, if their passing game is just average and their defense continues to be great, they have a chance

The Titans have finished 9-7 in the last 3 seasons, maybe they will take the next step this year? ... Their offense needs to be much better too.

The Texans have the best QB in this division by far, but this is their offensive line that is maybe the worst of the NFL ... Watson had 60 sacks against him last year! ... The Texans could still win this division because of Watson and if the other teams in this division play bad.

I think the Colts are going to be better than they were in 2017 ... Better roster and coaching staff, but is that going to be enough? ... I do not think so but I do not think the Colts are going to be one of the worst teams of the NFL.

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Originally Posted by polamalubeast

The 4 teams have a shot to win this division even if they have weak point in their roster.

Like the Jaguars, if their passing game is just average and their defense continues to be great, they have a chance

The Titans have finished 9-7 in the last 3 seasons, maybe they will take the next step this year? ... Their offense needs to be much better too.

The Texans have the best QB in this division by far, but this is their offensive line that is maybe the worst of the NFL ... Watson had 60 sacks against him last year! ... The Texans could still win this division because of Watson and if the other teams in this division play bad.

I think the Colts are going to be better than they were in 2017 ... Better roster and coaching staff, but is that going to be enough? ... I do not think so but I do not think the Colts are going to be one of the worst teams of the NFL.

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They won't be terrible but they will be mediocre. I think the Texans are the favorites by virtue of their high end talent, Watt, Hopkins, Watson at QB. If those guys stay healthy, the division is theirs. I see the other teams having a chance only if Watt and Watson end up on IR early enough again. The Titans have a stone-aged offense and after LaFleur left, all they apparently did to fill the vacancy was promote from within, not a good sign. As for the Jags, Foles is just another guy without Doug Pederson. Jacksonville is not a good team. 2017 was a fluke aided by an extremely weak schedule. 2018 is closer to their norm as a team.

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Originally Posted by polamalubeast

The 4 teams have a shot to win this division even if they have weak point in their roster.

Like the Jaguars, if their passing game is just average and their defense continues to be great, they have a chance

The Titans have finished 9-7 in the last 3 seasons, maybe they will take the next step this year? ... Their offense needs to be much better too.

The Texans have the best QB in this division by far, but this is their offensive line that is maybe the worst of the NFL ... Watson had 60 sacks against him last year! ... The Texans could still win this division because of Watson and if the other teams in this division play bad.

I think the Colts are going to be better than they were in 2017 ... Better roster and coaching staff, but is that going to be enough? ... I do not think so but I do not think the Colts are going to be one of the worst teams of the NFL.

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How I see the AFC South...
Colts just took a huge step back.
Jags should be much improved with the Foles/Westbrook connection.
Titans have one of the better offenses on paper but can they stop anybody.
Texans should trade Clowney for Trent Williams. Next they need a run game.

Prediction of finish order: 1st-Jags(Foles and Josh Allen), 2nd-Titans(if D improves at all), 3rd-Texans(unless they improve OL and find a run game), last-Colts(Brissette wasn't the answer before)

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Originally Posted by Born2Steel

How I see the AFC South...
Colts just took a huge step back.
Jags should be much improved with the Foles/Westbrook connection.
Titans have one of the better offenses on paper but can they stop anybody.
Texans should trade Clowney for Trent Williams. Next they need a run game.

Prediction of finish order: 1st-Jags(Foles and Josh Allen), 2nd-Titans(if D improves at all), 3rd-Texans(unless they improve OL and find a run game), last-Colts(Brissette wasn't the answer before)

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The Problem of the Titans last year was their offense (27th in PPG in offense and 3rd in points against in defense)

https://www.pro-football-reference.c...s/oti/2018.htm

Their passing offense was hard to watch for most of the year ... They needed to be much better, but their defense was very strong.

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Originally Posted by polamalubeast

The Problem of the Titans last year was their offense (27th in PPG in offense and 3rd in points against in defense)

https://www.pro-football-reference.c...s/oti/2018.htm

Their passing offense was hard to watch for most of the year ... They needed to be much better, but their defense was very strong.

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Adoree Jackson was great for them. Their pass rush improved but was nothing special(Orakpo retired). Stats don't show the whole picture for their season. They were not good vs the run. I don't know the stats on that but I get them every week and it don't pass the eye test. Mariota is accurate when given time and he's getting smarter as a QB. Henry is a monster RB and they have Dion Lewis now.

The Jags will be better on offense with Foles at QB and their defense certainly didn't get worse with drafting Josh Allen. They still have one of the best secondaries. Fournette is healthy again and DeDe Westbrook is a goto WR.

The Texans will not be able to run the ball with that OL effectively against most teams. Hopkins is the best WR in the game, IMO, and Watson is a very good QB that can run if needed. Can they make that work for 16 games? I don't know about their defense. Clowney may get traded, and JJ has a suspect injury history. Does the defense improve without 1 or both of those guys? I think the Texans are less than advertised.

The Texans offensive line could be a killer for the Texans..Watson was sacked 62 times last year and watching this video of the game of yesterday, this O-line is not much better...

You can not always win with an awful offensive line like that ... I'm worried about Watson's health behind an o-line like this.

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Originally Posted by Born2Steel

Adoree Jackson was great for them. Their pass rush improved but was nothing special(Orakpo retired). Stats don't show the whole picture for their season. They were not good vs the run. I don't know the stats on that but I get them every week and it don't pass the eye test. Mariota is accurate when given time and he's getting smarter as a QB. Henry is a monster RB and they have Dion Lewis now.

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Titans offense was utter trash last year, and they promoted from within after their OC left so it probably won't get better. Mariota is a bad QB, he throws about as many INTs as TDs and he can't even stay healthy. Also Dion Lewis was there last year and he did nothing for them

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Originally Posted by st33lersguy

Titans offense was utter trash last year, and they promoted from within after their OC left so it probably won't get better. Mariota is a bad QB, he throws about as many INTs as TDs and he can't even stay healthy. Also Dion Lewis was there last year and he did nothing for them

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And the Backup QB of the Titans this year is going to be Ryan Tannehill and we know that Mariota has been too much of an injury prone in his career ... So we have to expect that Ryan Tannehill will start some game if Mariota is injured again or even benched ...

I predict the AFC South to finish 1st-Jags, 2nd-Titans, 3rd-Texans, 4th-Colts. What are you 2 predicting?

Most to less likely to win this division

Texans
Titans
Jaguars
Colts

But this is the only division in the NFL that all four team have a chance to win the division

1. Texans: They have the most talent, and the one thing Bill O Brien is good at is winning this division when it's very weak. He did win it by default without a functioning QB in 2015 and 2016. The caveat is if multiple high end players go down, their chances will decrease dramatically

2. Colts: Colts miss the playoffs and slip to 2nd behind the division but I still have them at 2nd because Frank Reich and his offensive system is better than whatever offensive system is up in Jacksonville and Tennessee. They also still have other pieces in place

3. Titans: Bland moribund offense sinks their season agin

4. Jaguars: I predict people being very disappointed in Nick Foles when he has to play outside of Doug Pederson's system again. He's a good relief guy who can succeed with the right coaching staff, he's not a franchise QB who can elevate a team. Also the soft schedule aided success from 2017 was a fluke, 2018 is closer to the norm for this team

I said it back in January and I'm sticking to it again. The Patriots will run away with the East are headed back to the AFC Championship and the Super Bowl. The AFC East is terrible until proven otherwise. The Bills, Jets, and Dolphins all have new Quarterbacks, but their teams are nowhere near ready.

The AFC South is more of the same. With Andrew Luck now being retired, the division is all up for grabs. Jacksonville, with it's low expectations, may sneak up on people again. Texans take the division again, but doesn't scare anyone.

The AFC West belongs to the Chiefs. The Chargers will be good, but mediocre. The Broncos, with a better quarterback, will contend a lot better and compete with a wildcard. The Raiders suck.

The AFC North is running big on Cleveland Browns hype, and they just may have a chance. Not only because they have improved, but because everything around them has weakened. The Steelers are dealing with the definition of insanity right now. They got rid of the "locker room cancer", but they still have Mike Tomlin at head coach and Keith Butler at DC. We'll see more of the same from the Tomlin Steelers that we expect from them. Occasional bouts of goodness, but nothing noteworthy. The Ravens are unknown. They have gutted their Top Defense and seemingly riding all in on the Lamar Jackson train. The Bengals have gotten rid of loser Marvin Lewis, and just may be a darkhorse in the division. Watch out for Cincy in 2019.

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Originally Posted by Edman

I said it back in January and I'm sticking to it again. The Patriots will run away with the East are headed back to the AFC Championship and the Super Bowl.

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Would I like to see that, of course, but I just don't see how they can do it again? The odds are really against it.

Maybe the titans will bench Mariota soon...

Oakland Raiders:Super Bowl champions this year?...This is the prediction by David Carr and Akbar Gbajabiamila.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300...gn=Twitter_atn

Only one predict the steelers will win the SB(Gregg Rosenthal)

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Originally Posted by polamalubeast

Oakland Raiders:Super Bowl champions this year?...This is the prediction by David Carr and Akbar Gbajabiamila.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300...gn=Twitter_atn

Only one predict the steelers will win the SB(Gregg Rosenthal)

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:lol:

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Originally Posted by polamalubeast

Oakland Raiders:Super Bowl champions this year?...This is the prediction by David Carr and Akbar Gbajabiamila.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300...gn=Twitter_atn

Only one predict the steelers will win the SB(Gregg Rosenthal)

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Brutally honest reasons for each prediction
Carr: Well my brother is the starting QB for the Raiders, so...
Akbar: I played most of my career with Oakland, so...

No way the Raiders make the playoffs, not with how much of a trainwreck they are. You have to be incredibly biased to think they so much as sniff a Super Bowl with this team

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Originally Posted by st33lersguy

Brutally honest reasons for each prediction
Carr: Well my brother is the starting QB for the Raiders, so...
Akbar: I played most of my career with Oakland, so...

No way the Raiders make the playoffs, not with how much of a trainwreck they are. You have to be incredibly biased to think they so much as sniff a Super Bowl with this team

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James Jones predict also that the Raiders will win the AFC(but losing the Super Bowl against the Green Bay Packers)

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Originally Posted by polamalubeast

James Jones predict also that the Raiders will win the AFC(but losing the Super Bowl against the Green Bay Packers)

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The 2 teams he played for, LOL

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Originally Posted by st33lersguy

The 2 teams he played for, LOL

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Yes I know!

Seriously,the experts who are not able to be objective should never be on TV or at least make predictions!

Even me, I rarely make predictions about the Steelers before a game or a season, because I struggle to be objective somethings, since I almost always think they can win the games, especially when they are good.

The Buffalo Bills shock the world in 2019???

Predicting the Taperiots or the Steelers to win the Super Bowl does not get one page clicks. Conversely, saying just about anything about the Raiders right now gets people’s attention. If nothing else, AB keeps his team in the headlines.


Side-note:
Decades ago, when Utah was playing SDSU, it was Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala at RB and Akbar Gbaja-Biamila and Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila on defense. About mid-way through the second-quarter, the announcer simply gave up and started calling them by their jersey numbers. :lol:

I think the Colts will win the AFC south if Brissett is just fine....

I trust Frank Reich as head coach.

Reich as backup QB made the biggest comeback in NFL history in a playoff game in 1992.2 season ago, he was one of the offensives coach of the eagles when they won the super bowl with a backup QB, so I think the Colts have the right coach in this tough situation

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Originally Posted by polamalubeast

I think the Colts will win the AFC south if Brissett is just fine....

I trust Frank Reich as head coach.

Reich as backup QB made the biggest comeback in NFL history in a playoff game in 1992.2 season ago, he was one of the offensives coach of the eagles when they won the super bowl with a backup QB, so I think the Colts have the right coach in this tough situation

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Jaguars would be my guess for the South...

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Originally Posted by Born2Steel

How I see the AFC South...
Colts just took a huge step back.
Jags should be much improved with the Foles/Westbrook connection.
Titans have one of the better offenses on paper but can they stop anybody.
Texans should trade Clowney for Trent Williams. Next they need a run game.

Prediction of finish order: 1st-Jags(Foles and Josh Allen), 2nd-Titans(if D improves at all), 3rd-Texans(unless they improve OL and find a run game), last-Colts(Brissette wasn't the answer before)

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Texans traded for Hyde and Tunsil. That's improvement but want to see if they can pull off another to really solidify their OL.

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Originally Posted by Born2Steel

Texans traded for Hyde and Tunsil. That's improvement but want to see if they can pull off another to really solidify their OL.

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They do not have much draft pick left to do that!

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Originally Posted by polamalubeast

They do not have much draft pick left to do that!

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Maybe not. I hear the market was recently flooded with roster cuts though. The Steelers could be on the look out for a TE or Safety, and the Texans could search that same pile for a serviceable OL. Tunsil is an improvement right out of the box. I don't know much about the Texans OL other than they are not good. Might be a cut or two out there that improves them a bit further.

If the Broncos have a very good running game(likely now with Mike Munchak, they might surprise), but they'll need to overtake the Chiefs or Chargers

- - - Updated - - -

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Originally Posted by Born2Steel

Maybe not. I hear the market was recently flooded with roster cuts though. The Steelers could be on the look out for a TE or Safety, and the Texans could search that same pile for a serviceable OL. Tunsil is an improvement right out of the box. I don't know much about the Texans OL other than they are not good. Might be a cut or two out there that improves them a bit further.

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This is their offensive line right now...

Matt Kalil as been cut later today BTW.

65 points in a game for the Chiefs this year?

A team will never score over 60 points in a game, unless the team needs to do that to win! ... You need a great offense and awful defense to do that and yes the Chiefs are the team the most likely to do that, but I still do not think it's going to happen

I remember Jacksonville once beating the Dolphins 62-7 in a playoff game about 20 years ago (Marino's last game), so it's definitely possible.

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Originally Posted by fansince'76

I remember Jacksonville once beating the Dolphins 62-7 in a playoff game about 20 years ago (Marino's last game), so it's definitely possible.

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Yeah and the Jaguars had scored as 38 points in the first 20 minutes of the game or something crazy like that !!!! ... I had never seen something like that!

The other time I saw a team scoring over 60 points in the last 20 years were by the Saints in 2011 against the Colts without Peyton Manning, 62-7 too, but their last TD was on a TD defensive, otherwise they would have not had 60 points

It's not impossible, but not very likely, unless you really need to do this to win the game

AFC Predictions by Division:

AFC North
1. Steelers 12-4
2. Browns 9-7
3. Ravens 8-8
4. Bengals 3-13

AFC South
1. Jaguars
2. Titans
3. Texans
4. Colts

AFC East
1. Patriots
2. Jets
3. Bills
4. Dolphins

AFC West
1. Chiefs
2. Broncos
3. Chargers
4. Raiders

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Originally Posted by Born2Steel

AFC Predictions by Division:

AFC North
1. Steelers 12-4
2. Browns 9-7
3. Ravens 8-8
4. Bengals 3-13

AFC South
1. Jaguars
2. Titans
3. Texans
4. Colts

AFC East
1. Patriots
2. Jets
3. Bills
4. Dolphins

AFC West
1. Chiefs
2. Broncos
3. Chargers
4. Raiders

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Same question that in the others thread...Wild card?

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Originally Posted by polamalubeast

Same question that in the others thread...Wild card?

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I don't know the question. Can you repeat it please?

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Originally Posted by Born2Steel

I don't know the question. Can you repeat it please?

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Who do you think will be the 2 Wild card in this conference?

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Originally Posted by polamalubeast

Who do you think will be the 2 Wild card in this conference?

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Ah. Browns and Jets.