AFC Preview

Here is the AFC Preview with the NFC Preview due out soon. Look for our SuperBowl Picks and Free Football Picks coming in Thehooks Book ezine. You can subscribe here.

AFC East

Buffalo Bills: Can they score points this year? My nephew's pee-wee team scored more points in two games than the Bills did all last year! Ok, maybe that’s a lie but they could not put the pigskin in the endzone. I think this year's success will depend on how much they can score. Their defense is not the strongest in the AFC but it not bad. Can Drew Bledsoe get his team to score more than 14 points a game is the true question?

Miami Dolphins: A.J. Feeley. That’s all that needs to be said. Do they really think A.J. is their answer to their quarterback problem? Well, according to the Dolphins it is. That’s a tough call but all I know is he is no Dan Marino! The signing of troubled WR David Boston could make the Dolphins one of the biggest WR cores in the AFC. They already have future pro-bowler Chris Chambers and then you add Boston to the mix. They are going to be hard to defend by smaller DB's. The defense isn't getting any younger either... Is this the year the Dolphins won't choke and actually make it to the playoffs? Only A.J. knows that answer!

New England Patriots: How can a Super Bowl winner get even better? Get the one thing they missed last year: a solid running back. So during the off season, the Pats went out and got Corey Dillion. He's a complainer but until last year you would be to if you spent your career with the Bengals. I don't see him complaining in New England. And why would you? You are playing for the team that again is favored to win the Super Bowl again. Will Dillion be a positive or negative aspect for the Pats? Only time will tell and I'm sure QB Brady will whip him into shape. Will the Pats repeat as champs again????

New York Jets: J-E-T-S....Jets, Jets, Jets! Now with the departure of Vinny to the Cowboys it is QB Chad Pennington's team! And I think this is a good thing for the Jets. Now, Pennington knows it’s his team so his confidence will go up. He has a solid running back in Curtis Martin to hand the ball off to and plenty of solid WR’s to throw the ball to. The question should lie on the defense. If the Jets defense is solid, they are going to contend this year. We know they can score points but can they stop teams from scoring. Watch out for the Jets this year!

AFC East Predictions: Patriots, Jets, Dolphins, Bills

AFC WEST

Denver Broncos: Portis for Bailey? Good trade? Bad trade? I guess we will have to wait till the season to really find out. To me, trading a 1,500 yard back for an All Pro cornerback is a tough one but I'd keep the running back. Maybe the Broncos will prove me wrong and Bailey will be out of control and just dominate. They did sign Garrison Hearst as their running back. A few years ago, Hearst was a stud, but I don't see Hearst replacing Portis now. And can the Broncos survive without the mouth of Shannon Sharpe????? Maybe the Broncos know something that the rest of the AFC doesn't? We’ll have to wait and see.

Kansas City Chiefs: Can you say, defense? The Chiefs can't. They can say offense and lots of it but when its comes to the word defense, its like a foreign language to them. Their last 3 losses they averaged giving up something like 42 points! Come on, that’s ridiculous! College teams can't give up that many points and still win! Hey, you can't say anything bad about their offense; they have an outstanding running back in Holmes, who runs over everybody. Their quarterback Green is at the top of his game and Donte Hall...can you say explosive? Offense...out of control, defense.....doesn't exist. Can they duplicate what they did last year, maybe if they average 43 points a game this year.

Oakland Raiders: How can you go from a Super Bowl team to a 4-12 team the next year and go 0-8 on the road? Just get older I guess. I'm sorry, but when your average age is like 38 for your team, I don't think you can win many games. Rice and Brown are what 80 this year? Hey, Rice is the greatest WR of all time and Brown is a Hall of Famer himself but if they play any longer, they will be playing in wheel chairs trying to beat someone down the sideline! And the Raiders didn't go out and get any receivers! QB Gannon says he is in the best shape he has been in a while. Great, but does that do you any good if you can't stay off the turf? The addition of DT Sapp to the defense will help but he is no spring chicken himself. Can experience beat youth? The Raiders are going to try it this year.

San Diego Chargers: And the first pick in this year’s draft is Eli Manning. But Manning doesn't want to play in San Diego...why? We are all still wondering what 22 year old kid doesn't want to live and play in San Diego where the weather is always 80 and the women flow like wine. But hey, to each their own. So the Chargers traded him for Philip Rivers who was drafted by the Giants. Some say Rivers is better than Manning. All I know is he will have more fun than Manning. Hey the Chargers stink! No getting around that but you have to admit their RB Tomlinson is one of the best in the league. You could see a surprise with the Chargers this year with Rivers and Tomlinson. They could surprise a lot of people. There is one thing we know about the Chargers: They are younger than the Raiders (but some retirement homes are as well). Oh by the way, Hey Eli! When it's December in NY and it's -10 degrees, think about Rivers and how much he is enjoy the 70 degree weather! I'm going to guess he will be the happier of the two!

AFC West Predictions: Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos, San Diego Chargers, Oakland Raiders

AFC NORTH

Baltimore Ravens: DRUGS! INJURIES! MURDER! It’s like a mystery novel. Ok, the murder charge was years ago, but the other two are happening now. RB Lewis is being charged with drug charges. QB Wright is injured and isn't expected back for a while. Oh and they signed the aging vet QB Kordell Stewart who looks like he is going to come in and possibly start. It kind of is like a mystery novel. That’s the Ravens of 2004. People have been saying Lewis is using these charges as motivation and is in the best shape of his life and has been working out with Ray Lewis. They aren't talking about the best lawyers, they are working out for the season. If RB Lewis is better than he was last year, the Ravens are going to be real scary even without a solid QB. Their defense is always solid and if Stewart can somewhat look like the old "Slash" and not like a 4 letter word starting with S like he did last year in Chicago, the Ravens could possibly be a top team in the AFC.

Cincinnati Bengals: After last years near miss of the playoffs, you can't call them the Bungles anymore. Well maybe if they go 3-13 this year you can call them the Bungles. I don't see last year as a fluke though. They could actually be for real now. They got rid of always pissed off RB Dillon so hopefully his departure will do them good. But the starting of QB Palmer without even a challenge? Is this a good thing? Will it affect the team’s chemistry? He is the Heisman Trophy winner who didn't even see the field last year! He hasn't even thrown a ball in the NFL. He has been just studying tape of some of today’s top QB's and is ready to go...according to him of course. But I have seen interviews and some of his WR's are on his side and says he looks good. Is this the year of the Bungles? I mean Bengals? I see this as a year of building for Palmer so maybe not this year for the Bengals. Hey thank goodness they only have the Ravens in the conference who are halfway decent. They will win games this year but maybe next year they will make the AFC playoffs.

Cleveland Browns: Hey, our team really wasn't good last year so lets send 11 of our players to play NFL Europe and hopefully they will be better than last year. That’s what the Browns did. They had 11 players come back from Europe. Extra practice might actually do them some good, you just never know. They got rid of QB Couch and signed Garcia from the 49ers. Will Garcia be the savior of the Browns? Garcia is a great QB, but I don't see him making a big impact. He will have some WR's that won't complain all the time like Owens did so that should be a relief to Garcia. Do they have a RB? Green is having some problems so that might be even more pressure on Garcia. Can he handle it? He is a seasoned vet so I think he'll be fine but nothing real special. See the Browns to struggle again this year.

Pittsburgh Steelers: Ben Roethlisberger. Might be the best QB in the draft this year. Could be better than Manning and Rivers. Just don't try and say his name 3 times fast. The Steelers needed a QB and they got a good one. He can throw, run, and he's big. This is what the Steelers need to compete. They have decent WR's to throw to, their RB situation is pretty stable with the Bus and their defense isn't too bad. Are they going to be a team to be scared of? I don't see that but I do see them being competitive with all the teams. Probably not an AFC playoff team but surely better than the Browns. Roethlisberger is my pick for Rookie of the Year.

AFC North Predictions: Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns

AFC SOUTH

Houston Texans: This team wasn't bad last year. They gave a few teams fits. I don't see them as double digit underdogs anymore! If QB Carr can stay healthy, he can dominate. The question is, can the line keep Carr healthy? If they can, Carr can throw up big numbers. Their defense needs major help. They went and made a solid draft pick with CB Robinson from South Carolina but they need more than that. The Texans are quite a few years away from being an AFC playoff caliber team. But for now, they should be happy with being non-double digit underdogs anymore....well maybe a few 9.5 underdogs!

Indianapolis Colts: Can they improve on their success from last year? They had one of the best offenses in the AFC and they proved that if you improve your defense you will go far (hello Chiefs? figure it out!). I'm not saying their defense was top notch but compared to past years, they made a dramatic change. They have the best QB in the league in Manning (Peyton not Eli) and a running game that is pretty tough to stop as well. Their WR Harrison catches just about anything you throw at him. You look at their offense and it has it all. Can their defense improve to take them to the next level? That is the true question this year. Oh by the way, Peyton! Since you signed a contract for only 98 million, can you spare a few pennies?

Jacksonville Jaguars: A team that went 0-8 on the road that came on strong in the second half of the season. Ok, I know, they aren't that special. But to me, they are my AFC sleeper team this year. Now with the departure of QB Brunell, it’s Leftwich's team now. They drafted a solid WR in Reggie Williams so Leftwich has another WR to throw to. Defense wise, not too good but still better than the Chiefs! They have to learn to win on the road. I believe with Leftwich at the command this year, the Jags could scare a few people and possibly sneak their way into the AFC playoffs if no one is looking!

Tennessee Titans: How can you not like this team? You have QB McNair who will play through any pain in the world. Just him alone playing on guts makes you like this team. The man could have a broken arm and still find someway to play. Sometimes it hurt the Titans last year, but for the most part, he did them good. What is happening with RB George? Remember when he was a stud? It wasn't that long ago. Last year, he just didn't look like he fit in. Maybe the off season did him some good and he will get back to his regular status. The question for the Titans is on defense. Will the loss of Kearse hurt them? I know one person doesn't make a team but it does put a little fear in the QB's eyes every now and then. We will have to wait and see on that one. Can McNair stay healthy? If he does, they can be a scary team!

AFC South Predictions: Indianapolis Colts, Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans

AFC PLAYOFFS

AFC Divisional Winners: Pats, Chiefs, Ravens, Colts

AFC Wild Card possibilities: Jets, Broncos, Titans, Jaguars and the winners are Titans and Jets

AFC Championship: Colts over Pats

Provided by Staff Member of Thehooks

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