The New AFC North, Plenty Of Potential For Surprise

Every offseason NFL teams add and subtract players in hopes of improving for the next season. The draft adds a player or two who are expected to have an immediate impact and free agency allows teams to patch holes and move players. The offseason has not changed any division as much as it has the AFC North.

Two teams will be starting quarterbacks they did not have last year. Two players have been suspended (with another one possible). A big name reciever was traded to the division and another one was traded out. A starting tight end was added to one team, and a talented but troubled cornerback was added to another. Teams turned their biggest weaknesses into strengths. Put all of this together and you have arguably the most unpredictable division in the NFL.

I will start with the most unpredictable team, the Cincinatti Bengals. The 2009 AFC North champions swept the division and seemingly should be an easy pick to repeat, but they have not had back to back winning seasons since 1982. Another thing to consider when talking about the Bengals is their off the field issues. They have been hurt by arrests in the past (having the most of any team since 2000), and now they have added two of the leagues most troubled players in WR Matt Jones and CB Adam "Pacman" Jones. Bengals fans don't like to admit character is important, but looking at how the Steelers offseason has unfolded easily proves that it is.

Other than the two Joneses the Bengals have added WR Antonio Bryant and TE Jermaine Gresham, giving Quarterback Carson Palmer three new targets in the passing game. This was an area they felt was a weakness last season after losing T.J. Houshmanzadeh in free agency.

The Baltimore Ravens have also addressed their passing game, signing WR Dante Stallworth and trading for WR Anquan Boldin. After last offseason's near retirement of Derrick Mason they felt this position was becoming a weakness. Both signings come with risks though, Stallworth was suspended for the 2009 season and missed a lot of time due to injuries the previous two years for the Browns and Patriots. Boldin also comes with a bit of an injury risk, not playing a full sixteen games since the 2006 season (though he did play fifteen last year, he was injured during the playoffs)

The Ravens also added players with injury history through the draft. They focused their picks on setting up their traditionally strong defense for the future, but Sergio Kindle was taken off of draft boards because of concerns about his knee.

The Cleveland Browns have been full of optimism lately, with a SuperBowl winning Mike Holmgren now in charge as team president. But like the Bengals the Browns have not had much recent success, with only two winning seasons since returning as an expansion team in 1999. Finishing on a league-leading four game winning streak, many fans are expecting them to turn it around this year. Like the Ravens the Browns also adressed a position of weakness, paying special attention to the defensive backs. They first traded for CB Sheldon Brown of the Eagles, giving the team a veteran presence with experience they desperately needed. They also used their first two draft picks on DBs, taking CB Joe Haden in round one and T.J. Ward in round two.

They also overhauled their quaterback position, getting rid of Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson and adding a guy with SuperBowl experience in Jake Delhomme and a veteran backup in Senca Wallace. They also used their third round pick to draft Colt McCoy, the winningest QB in NCAA history, to be their quarterback of the future.

No team has gotten as much attention this offseason as the Pittsburgh Steelers, and for all the wrong reasons. That is surprising, because as usual they were quiet on the free agent front. But when you look back at the history Santonio Holmes and Ben Rothlissberger what has happened becomes no surprise. Holmes had been arrested twice previously in 2006 and 2008, and Rothlissberger has now been accused twice of sexual assualt and has been seen reportedly riding his motorcycle without a helmet ( breaking a Pennsylvania law that took effect after Ben himself crashed while riding helmetless). Holmes has recieved a four game suspension from the NFL and was traded to the New York Jets. Rothlissberger has also recieved a suspension, six games that may be reduced to four with good behavior.

What this means for the Steelers is they will be going into 2010 without their top receiver, and for four to six games will be without their starting quarterback. For any team this would have the potential for disaster, but for a team with a porous offensive line it could get very ugly very fast. To their credit they did use their first round pick on an offensive lineman, drafting center Maurkice Pouncey to try and fix the issue.

On opening day that makes two new starters at quarterback, three at receiver (and two new slot receivers), and likely two at tight end. Every team has undergone some dramatic changes, and that isn't even adding in the new starters on the defensive side of the ball!

So when you add this with the Bengals character concerns, the Ravens injury concerns, the Steelers suspension concerns, and the Browns quarterback concerns truly anything can happen in the AFC North in 2010.

The NFL is usually good for a real surprise or two each season, and I wouldn't be shocked if a team grabbing headlines for doing the unexpected were to come from the AFC North.