With 2/3 of the season gone, who do you think will win the AFC? I'm voting for the Steelers. Yes, I'm a fan, but I'm just not sold on anyone else in the AFC. Maybe New England, especially if they get a bye, but I think they'll lose in the playoffs at some point. If Schaub was still active, I may have even picked the Texans with how they'e been playing.
I think Baltimore may finally get over the hump. They seem to own Pittsburgh right now and they've proven that they can destroy the Patriots come playoff time. They've stumbled against some bad teams, but they are clearly the most healthy at this point. A drubbing of San Francisco on Thursday Night would probably raise some eyebrows. Patriots I just can't see getting past Baltimore/Pittsburgh. No running game is one thing, no defense is entirely another. Belichick is able to work magic in the regular season but they've been destroyed come playoff time for the past 5 years. Pittsburgh has had some injuries but they should be right there. Bengals are young and hungry but not quite ready to be giant slayers. Losing Leon Hall really, really hurts their defense. If the Jets can get the to dance again it'll be because of their defense (again). For some reason Sanchez seems to forget he sucks when its a playoff game. Unfortunately the Jets D has sprung leaks and both Wild Card winners will likely come out of the AFC North. Texans I think will still be a dangerous team, great ground game, defense playing very well. They've never been to the dance before though, and Leinart will be forced to make plays against some very tough defenses. Raiders aren't disciplined. They have the talent on both sides of the ball but they have no discipline on defense. Getting exposed by the wildcat and getting 5 personal foul penalties a game is not the mark of a good defense, no matter how good they are when they play focused. Tyvon Branch might be the best SS in the AFC right now.
Pssh. Baltimore was aided by two egregious calls that directly led to 10 points. Props to them for getting the job done, but you're out of your mind if you think Pittsburgh really feels like they can't beat this Ravens team or wouldn't welcome a round III. Especially with both LaMarr Woodley and James Harrison on the field at the same time.
Emphasis on: week one. No excuses but they had that date circled for months. Ray Ray and Ed Reed endured a summer full of "Are you guys ever going to beat Pittsburgh?" questions while partying in Vegas and what not. They kicked our asses week one. That past game should have been a different story, though. Regardless, in terms of "ownage" - yeah they won, just saying don't think for one second this Pittsburgh team doesn't think they can beat them. Very little mental advantage for Baltimore, IMO. Clearly, I'd welcome a rematch.
I'm not saying Pittsburgh wouldn't be up for it, I'm just saying Baltimore is clearly going to be favored in that game assuming they win the division.
Fair enough. Should be an interesting finish. Personally, looking at the schedules I think it will be either Pittsburgh or New England. As far as challenging games go: Pittsburgh: @SF, Cincinnati New England: @Philly, @Denver Baltimore: SF, @SD, @Cincy Houston: Atlanta, @Cincy Pittsburgh realistically could win out. I think Baltimore loses at least one of those three. Same for Houston. New England could go either way, IMO. P.S. Whoever designed the AFC North's schedule this year is an idiot. Pittsburgh/Baltimore week one, then Cleveland/Cincinnati comprise 4/7 remaining games. Same goes for Baltimore. P.S.S. My apologies for not including your Oakland boys in my prediction.
As much as I'd like to pick the Texans, I just don't see them winning the AFC with Lionheart. We haven't seen him play yet, and there's no telling what he'll look like. I know this is a rushing team now, but he still needs to make plays here and there. If Leinart plays well, then maybe they can win it. The Steelers have been on a roll lately, but I picked the Ravens. If they get a #1 or #2 seed, I don't see them losing at home.
When Baltimore plays the Steelers, they look great. Against everyone else, not so much. I think the challenge for them is to not look ahead to a rematch with Pittsburgh. They came out on fire in week 1 and crushed the Steelers. They celebrated like it was a playoff win. They came out flat the next week and lost by double digits to Tennessee. Fast forward to week 8. The Ravens were looking ahead to the Steelers and got down 20 points to a really bad Arizona team in the 1st half. They pulled it together at the half and came back. The beat the Steelers the next week in a great game, dump Gatorade on the coach to celebrate, and then lose (at home) to a bad Seattle team the next week. It comes down to coaching, and Harbaugh has to do a better job of maintaining the team focus week to week. If they can do that, I think they can win the AFC. But, if they focus on the Steelers, the Patriots (or maybe the Texans or Jets) can beat them. And I wouldn't count the Steelers out. Ben is starting to click with the receivers.
Either Pats, Ravens or Steelers. I would leave the Pats out but if they avoid Pittsburgh and get the Ravens in the AFC championship game, they can slip in. Otherwise, it will come down to a 3rd Ravens/Steelers matchup.
The Pats are beatable, Ravens are a horrible road team unless they are playing the Steelers, the Texans can beat all three. Unless Lienart is a complete and total bust, the Texans are going to the Super Bowl. I can't believe I am writing this.
