NFL Division Roundup: AFC North

Last week I previewed all four NFC divisions including the South on Bleacher Report. Now it is time to preview the AFC, starting with the North; you can also click the following links to see the West and East previews, and look for the South here soon. As with all other articles in the series, the teams are listed in order of their projected finish.

The Baltimore Ravens have become a legitimate contender to capture the AFC crown by adding Anquan Boldin to their receiving corps. Now that young quarterback Joe Flacco has three targets to give the offense more balance, look for him to have a breakout year.

The Ravens' defense is still one of the better units in the league on the strength of the front seven. Ed Reed gives the team a playmaker in the secondary, but he will have to cover for some questionable corners.

The Pittsburgh Steelers will not be badly hurt by the loss of Ben Roethlisberger for what looks like four games, but they may not have beaten the Ravens out even with him. They also have questions at cornerback, and their trademark running game is not what it used to be.

Nevertheless, they have a good receiving corps and a good enough backup quarterback in Byron Leftwich to make the playoffs, most likely as the fifth seed.

The Cincinnati Bengals could win the division. They also could implode by December.

By adding historic malcontents Terrell Owens and Adam "Don't call me Pacman anymore" Jones to a roster that already includes one of the most self-centered players in Chad "Liar who claimed he'd change his name back to Johnson if Derrell Revis shut him down" is suicide.

They cannot all get the spotlight, and making Owens' contract laden with personal achievement incentives only ensures he will be complaining about not getting the ball when they lose games in December.

We already saw tonight that this "dynamic duo" can be shut down by even decent corners. Sure, it was a preseason game, but also the first chance for these two megalomaniacs to show off to a national audience. And relying on great defense by running the ball a lot will only make these greedy players more volatile.

By letting go of Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson, the Cleveland Browns showed they understood they did not have a quarterback good enough to win. By paying Jake Delhomme franchise quarterback money, they showed they still do not know how to find one.

Delhomme may, however, be a great tutor for the franchise quarterback the team drafted, Colt McCoy. They also have a solid running game and a good enough front seven to make them competitive against weaker teams; too bad there are none in their division (at least until Cincinnati implodes).