The Cincinnati Bengals made the most drastic moves in the off-season, starting with the addition of new head coach Marvin Lewis, and the Baltimore Ravens, who appear to have picked up a wealth of talent in the draft, are coming off a surprising seven-win season. But even if the Cleveland Browns, who slipped into the playoffs with a late-season run last year, settle their quarterback controversy, the Pittsburgh Steelers are still the favorites to win this division.
Predicted Order of Finish:
1. Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers still have one of the best front sevens in the NFL and they strengthened their secondary by drafting USC safety Troy Polamalu. Their defense should be as good, or better, than last year’s version, and their offense should stretch opposing defenses. They have a dangerous set of young wide receivers, which head coach Bill Cowher will try to get on the field at the same time more often this season.
The Steelers two biggest weaknesses appear to be stopping the pass and running the ball. Their secondary was torched at times last year, and unless they can do a better job in pass coverage, expect them to be in a lot of shootouts this year. The combination of running backs Jerome Bettis and Amos Zereoue need to take some of the pressure off quarterback Tommy Maddox by resurrecting a running game that appeared to have lost some of its potency in 2002. I expect the Steelers to finish somewhere around 10-6 and in first place in the division.
2. Baltimore Ravens
At this time last year, the Ravens were a shell of a team torn apart by salary-cap restrictions, but they managed to put together a respectable 7-9 season with their defensive superstar on the sideline most of the schedule. The return of Ray Lewis in 2003 will do nothing to hurt a defensive unit that was surprisingly respectable without its leader in 2002.
However, if the Ravens would like to make a serious run at the playoffs, they need someone to take control at quarterback. Chris Redman has been beaten out by rookie Kyle Boller, and it appears at this time as if head coach Brian Billick is ready to sink or swim with his new signal caller. Running back Jamal Lewis, entering his second season since rehabbing an injured knee, may be ready to join the NFL’s elite ball carriers and should take a lot of pressure off Boller.
The Ravens won’t sneak up on anyone like they did early last year, but I could see them picking up another game or two in the standings and finishing as high as 9-7.
3. Cincinnati Bengals
The addition of Lewis seems to have changed the face of this franchise. The change at the team’s helm seemed to set off a chain of moves that, on paper, have given high hopes to a fan base that hasn’t had much to be optimistic about over the past decade. There’s no doubt the Bengals are heading in a direction they haven’t been in a while, but I don’t look for these guys to make the jump to playoff contender immediately.
