AFC South Breakdown: Season Predictions

So for this article I'll be breaking down the AFC South, given that it was one of the most hyped up divisions in the preseason and also given that it's the division that I, a Titans fan, know the most about.

Indianapolis Colts (1-1-0)

The Colts are starting off the season in un-Colt-like fashion, losing their season opener and looking less than glamorous against the Vikings this past Sunday.  They managed to squeak out a win somehow, largely due to the inadequacies of Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, who, unsurprisingly, has had the plug pulled on him by Head Coach Brad Childress, who likely didn't want to go down with the ship.  However, the Colts, in very Colt-like fashion are as fragile as ever.  Today we learned that last year's Defensive MVP Bob Sanders will miss 4-6 weeks with an ankle injury and also might undergo arthroscopic knee surgery in the coming days.  Now it's not surprising to anyone that Bob Sanders is injured.  He gets injured every season, and it would be a shock if he were to survive a 16-game season and avoid some type of offseason injury.  The Colts defense loses its intensity without Sanders.  Already they were struggling to stop the run; well, now it's only going to get worse.  Big matchup this week against the Jaguars.  It'll be a good test of how bad each of these teams really are.  The Colts' offensive line is in shambles, as is the Jags, and it's hard for a qb to look good when he's on the ground every play (see Tom Brady, Super Bowl 42).  Without Sanders, the Colts defensive unit will struggle.  They already have to this point and I do not see any improvement near-term.  I predict the Colts will win 11 games this season, and I think that might be generous on my part.

Jacksonville Jaguars (0-2-0)

The Jaguars, in their wildest nightmares, probably did not foresee starting this season off 0-2.  Then again, they probably didn't foresee losing 3 starting lineman either, nor having their brand new receivers already down for the count.  But after week 2, we have to wonder what went wrong.  So many of the analysts picked the Jaguars to be that sexy Super Bowl pick, along with the San Diego Chargers.  After playing toe to toe with the Patriots in the playoffs, we saw what looked to be an up-and-coming team, a team making that jump into the class of the elite annual contenders.  It just goes to show how a few key injuries can destroy a season.  So the question everyone is wondering is.....Will the Jaguars recover?  Will they even make the playoffs?  To be quite honest, I don't believe they will.  While the AFC has the appearance of being wide open this year, with teams like the Bills emerging from the depths of mediocrity to pull off consecutive impressive showings, and teams like the Patriots suffering catastrophic injuries, and still others teams choking two weeks in a row in the final seconds (for those of you who haven't watched any football, that's a reference to the Chargers), it would be surprising to me if the Jaguars made the playoffs.  I predict a very average 8-8 finish.  Garrard has already matched his interception total for all of last year (3).  Now we all knew that Garrard would probably throw more INTs than last year, but I think it's safe to say that none of us knew that they'd be starting off 0-2.

Houston Texans (0-1-0)

With this team it's a bit hard to say, since we only have one game to go by which, admittedly, was a miserable showing.  For a team who was picked to beat out the Tennesee Titans in the division and possibly get a Wild Card berth, they certainly did not live up to expectations.  While its extremely early for them and for all teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers demonstrated what all of us suspected: maybe next year.  To deserve to be in the playoffs you have to be able to match up halfway respectably against other potential playoff teams, and the pummeling that the Texans took resembled that of the pummeling the Houston community took due to Hurricane Ike.  A team that's gone through all that they have deserves to be rooted for, and believe me when I say that I am pulling for them, so long as 1) they lose to the Titans this coming Sunday; and 2) they finish behind the Titans in the AFC South.  The defense was porous, the offensive line looked porous.  The running game was nonexistent, the passing game was average at best.  Matt Schaub got tossed around by the Steelers defense.  I predict for the Texans another 8-8 year, right up there with the Jags.

Tennessee Titans (2-0-0)

So I saved the best for last.  The only undefeated team in the division, my team, the Tennesee Titans.  There's been a lot of drama circling the team, but it didn't seem to affect them much in their annihilation of the Bungles, who look to be about as good as ever.  The defense is physical, and as long as Haynesworth stays healthy, that should remain true.  Like the Colts with Bob Sanders, the Titans defense will only go as far as Haynesworth takes them.  Cortland Finnegan leads the NFL with 3 INTs.  He's really developed into an elite corner; hopefully that continues.  Chris Johnson (rookie) looks impressive, and he's used every bit of that 4.2 speed on his way to averaging 101 rushing yards a game.  On the flip side, the passing game is below average.  Kerry Collins performed very well last week, despite the nasty winds.  Hopefully that also continues against the Texans this week.  They say defense wins championships, and with the Titans currently ranked #2 in that regard, we do have a real fighting chance, provided that the offense manages the game and doesn't put the defense in too many sticky situations.  It's sad when your offense's purpose is basically to get your defense some rest and not turn the ball over, but it seems like that's the game plan for the Titans so far this season, not that I mind.  If Chris Johnson continues to perform well, we should be just fine.  I predict a battle with the Colts for the AFC South crown, with the Titans dethroning the Colts with a record of 12-4 or 13-3.

Thanks for reading! Comments are very much appreciated.