AFC North Rivalries Will Headline Division Again

There is no division in the NFL like the AFC North.  Top to bottom there is one common theme in this division: rivalries.

Just look at the tension between the four teams in the AFC North. There is an in-state rivalry between Cleveland and Cincinnati, the historic 40-plus year run between the Browns and Steelers, and to top it off you have two teams that hate one another in the Steelers and the Ravens.

This is the most competitive division in the AFC, and quite possibly the most competitive in the NFL.  In order for any of these four teams to win the division in 2009, they must be the most dominant team both on offense and defense.

Let's break this down team by team keeping in mind how they finished last season. Mike Tomlin's Steelers went 12-4, won every one of their regular season divisional games, and beat their arch-rival Baltimore in the AFC Championship en route to the Super Bowl.

You can’t have a better season than that.  In order to win again, they must repeat their performance.  Maybe not necessarily be perfect, but repeat the dominance that they had.  Ben Roethlisberger needs to continue his great play, and center Willie Parker needs to have a big season (if he can stay healthy). The defense has to follow up their #1 ranking from 2008 in a big way as well.

Baltimore has been a major contender in this division for a long time, but they have had a problem finding an offense to complement their defense.  Last year rookie quarterback Joe Flacco led the team to an 11-5 record and almost got them to the Super Bowl so they are close to achieving that goal. Flacco must follow up his great performance this season with an equal or better one if Baltimore wants to stay competitive. With the Ravens re-signing their main linebacker, Ray Lewis, and having a very successful draft this past April, it seems the Ravens will definitely be a force once again.

Then you have the Bengals who were third in the division last year, and well known for the antics of Chad Ochocinco (yes, that is legally his name).  With a record of 4-11-1 last season it is safe to say that they have room for improvement.

The offense of the Bengals is looking very good after they made a few quality off-season moves.  They did release wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh to the Seahawks, but they have a very good replacement in former-Jet Laveranues Coles.  Quarterback Carson Palmer is already saying that the current Bengals are the most talented he’s seen.

At the bottom of the board you have the Cleveland Browns.  Their 4-12 season in 2008 led to the hiring of new head coach Eric Mangini.  The big debate this team faced last year was whether to start Derek Anderson or Brady Quinn.  Anderson finally got the job and had over 1,300 passing yards, 9 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions.

Brady Quinn did start in week 10 against Denver, getting two touchdowns with no interceptions.  He ended the year with 985 yards passing and completed nearly 50 percent of his passes.  Quin has the potential to get the starting job, but he needs more playing time to get it.

The Browns also need to have a better draft.  Moving out of the #5 position seemed to be a good move, but Cleveland didn't get very much for trading their high pick.

What Mangini was able to get was a lot of depth at wide receiver by drafting both Brian Robiskie and Mohammad Massaquoi who are great additions to current Browns standout Braylon Edwards.  This will give them more outside weapons to help balance out their running attack.

Cleveland needs to make changes in order to be among the better teams in the AFC North.  Ultimately, coaches won't know if the right moves were made until they take the field in August though.

This division has the best competition and rivalries in the NFL so expect the 2009 season to be the best yet.