Rank Your Top 5 AFC Teams

[kyle21121]

1. New England

2a. Pittsburgh 

2b. Jacksonville

4. Los Angeles

5. Houston (if Watson comes back 100%) if not KC or Tennessee it’s close between these teams for me. 

[JAF-N72EX]

11 hours ago, Danger said:

Even Pittsburgh and New England don't seem like they'll be as good as last year in my eyes. 

I think losing Haley will effect Pittsburgh more than they think, and New England has lost multiple significant players and their defense is still incredibly suspect.

Think they'd both be WC teams in the NFC.

Pre-draft, I have doubts about Pitt too. Not because of the offense or Haley (getting rid of him is actually an addition) but more-so because of the defense without Shazier who seemed to mask alot of the teams defensive deficiencies in both facets. 

While a healthy Artie and Haden will help and adding Burnett to the secondary over Mitchell, is certainly an upgrade...I still question how the defense will fill the void as a whole. Last year, after Shazier's injury, they got lucky that they had a relatively easy offensive schedule for the remainder of the year.

This could have, however, been a case of Butler and Tomlin having to adjust but I'm not buying it, personally.  

The offense I think will do just fine. Not top 5 tier but a top 10. Juju with another year under his belt and with a new OC (one that actually knows how to utilize his players and mix up his play-calling). The only big question is which version of Ben are we going to see? In 2016 he was very sporadic and last year it took him almost 3/4th of the season to actually get back to his "usual self" (and I use that lightly) so I defiantly see some of the wear and tear taking it's toll on him. 

[43M]

17 hours ago, JustAnotherFan said:

Pre-draft, I have doubts about Pitt too. Not because of the offense or Haley (getting rid of him is actually an addition) but more-so because of the defense without Shazier who seemed to mask alot of the teams defensive deficiencies in both facets. 

While a healthy Artie and Haden will help and adding Burnett to the secondary over Mitchell, is certainly an upgrade...I still question how the defense will fill the void as a whole. Last year, after Shazier's injury, they got lucky that they had a relatively easy offensive schedule for the remainder of the year.

This could have, however, been a case of Butler and Tomlin having to adjust but I'm not buying it, personally.  

While I agree, losing a key player in the middle of the season will disrupt any defense.     With an entire offseason and a chance to retool the offense and practice without Shazier, I dont think the defense will be QUITE as bad as it was late last year after losing Shazier.

17 hours ago, JustAnotherFan said:

The offense I think will do just fine. Not top 5 tier but a top 10. Juju with another year under his belt and with a new OC (one that actually knows how to utilize his players and mix up his play-calling).

Not top 5?   I mean, I guess I cant argue too much because its an opinion, but the talent on offense is top 3 in the league easily.    Just need to see how the new OC turns out.

Quote

The only big question is which version of Ben are we going to see? In 2016 he was very sporadic and last year it took him almost 3/4th of the season to actually get back to his "usual self" (and I use that lightly) so I defiantly see some of the wear and tear taking it's toll on him. 

Wear and tear had absolutely nothing to do with his struggles last year.    Literally nothing.   If wear and tear was the issue, he wouldnt have gotten better as the year went on...he wouldve gotten worse.    Late in the year, Ben was throwing as well as he ever has in his career.     And no, it didnt take his 3/4th of the season.   

The struggles early were a result of poor coaching.      The entire offense struggled except Antonio Brown.   Bell and Ben hardly played in the preseason which seemed to effect them, Juju was a rookie who started slow, Vance McDonald took awhile to get intergrated into the offense, and Martavis was returning from a long hiatus from football.  

Now, Im not saying Ben couldnt regress going forward.   At his age, it could obviously happen at any time....but his issues last year stemmed more from lingering rust than wear and tear.   I suppose you could argue that "lingering rust" is a sign of wear and tear, but it could also be a sign of lack of preparation going into the year, which is what I believe based on how he turned it around. . 

[43M]

On 4/6/2018 at 1:01 PM, Danger said:

I think losing Haley will effect Pittsburgh more than they think,

What exactly did Haley do so well that the Steelers will miss?  

Only way we will miss him is if our new OC is just completely terrible.....which is possible, but at worst, Im expecting a lateral move.

Haley has never been a good OC.     Warner and Fitz/Boldin carried him in Arizona and Ben/Bell/Brown carried him in Pittsburgh.

[TheChancellor]

Hope to see a serious run from the Chargers this year. Don't think they're really far away at all from being an elite team.

Patriots, Steelers, Jaguars, Chargers and Texans if Deshaun continues where he left off.

 

 

[JaguarCrazy2832]

I feel like Pittsburgh was relying on Shazier going into the season and had to learn on the fly. Losing someone like that in the middle of the season is tough so i think they will be better prepared going forward

[BlaqOptic]

On 4/8/2018 at 11:42 AM, JaguarCrazy2832 said:

I feel like Pittsburgh was relying on Shazier going into the season and had to learn on the fly. Losing someone like that in the middle of the season is tough so i think they will be better prepared going forward

I largely disagree. I think we have to put up 30+ a game next year to have a chance.

[lancerman]

I'll throw a wild card out. I think the AFC South is very mobile. Yes the Jags had a great defense last year. Great defenses are fleeting and don't maintain nearly as strong year to year. They will still be lugging Bortles. Texans with Watson is interesting and dangerous imo. Titans with Vrabel as the coach and some great new pieces could also easily make a run. The AFC West was once thought to be the gem of the AFC... well Broncos have no QB and aren't good enough anymore to win without one, the Chargers are in the last gasps of the Rivers era, I'm not a fan of Gruden and the Raiders don't feel like they are going in the right direction, and the Chiefs are whatever. 

1. Patriots

2. Texans

3. Steelers

4. Jaguars

5. Titans

[Jakuvious]

1 hour ago, lancerman said:

I'll throw a wild card out. I think the AFC South is very mobile. Yes the Jags had a great defense last year. Great defenses are fleeting and don't maintain nearly as strong year to year. They will still be lugging Bortles. Texans with Watson is interesting and dangerous imo. Titans with Vrabel as the coach and some great new pieces could also easily make a run. The AFC West was once thought to be the gem of the AFC... well Broncos have no QB and aren't good enough anymore to win without one, the Chargers are in the last gasps of the Rivers era, I'm not a fan of Gruden and the Raiders don't feel like they are going in the right direction, and the Chiefs are whatever. 

1. Patriots

2. Texans

3. Steelers

4. Jaguars

5. Titans

Well, now that's just rude.

[game3525]

8 hours ago, Jakuvious said:

Well, now that's just rude.

He doesn't pay attention to anything outside of Boston. 

[lancerman]

22 hours ago, game3525 said:

He doesn't pay attention to anything outside of Boston. 

That’s not remotely true (don’t even live in Boston) and a cheap straw man. There’s no reason to believe the Chiefs will do anything this year. Every year they’ve been falling off or under performing and now they have uncertainty at QB. 

Sorry I didn’t bow down to the Chargers

[game3525]

1 hour ago, lancerman said:

That’s not remotely true (don’t even live in Boston) and a cheap straw man. There’s no reason to believe the Chiefs will do anything this year. Every year they’ve been falling off or under performing and now they have uncertainty at QB. 

Sorry I didn’t bow down to the Chargers

Reid wins 9-11 games every year. At a certain point you have to factor that in. Also, everyone here knows you are just a Brady/Pats homer, the fact that you have Pats, and two Pats-like teams like Houston and the Titans in the top 5 isn’t fooling anyone.

Also, I don’t care where you have the Chargers. You aren’t the only who has them ranked outside of the top 5.

[lancerman]

1 minute ago, game3525 said:

Reid wins 9-11 games every year. At a certain point you have to factor that in. Also, everyone here knows you are just a Brady/Pats homer, the fact that you have Pats, and two Pats-like teams like Houston and the Titans in the top 5 isn’t fooling anyone.

Also, I don’t care where you have the Chargers. You aren’t the only who has them ranked outside of the top 5.

First off most everyone on the site is a homer to an extent. I’m usually high on the Pats, to be fair they’ve made the AFCCG every year this decade and have been in 4 of the last 7 Super Bowls. So let’s be honest, it’s not without merit for me to talk them up. It’s very justified. 

I’m high on Watson and I like the moves the Titans made. I also think the Colts are in a bit of a rebuilding phase so I see the potential for those teams. Also not for nothing, we know what the Broncos are until they find a QB, a lot of people aren’t fans of what the Raiders are doing, I told you how I feel about the Chiefs, and I’m skeptical of how Rivers will hold up. I’d probably rank the Chargers 6th. Meanwhile every team in the North outside the Steelers needs aerious retooling, and in the AFC I’m just not going to buy into the Bills or Dolphins yet. 

[game3525]

57 minutes ago, lancerman said:

First off most everyone on the site is a homer to an extent. I’m usually high on the Pats, to be fair they’ve made the AFCCG every year this decade and have been in 4 of the last 7 Super Bowls. So let’s be honest, it’s not without merit for me to talk them up. It’s very justified. 

I’m high on Watson and I like the moves the Titans made. I also think the Colts are in a bit of a rebuilding phase so I see the potential for those teams. Also not for nothing, we know what the Broncos are until they find a QB, a lot of people aren’t fans of what the Raiders are doing, I told you how I feel about the Chiefs, and I’m skeptical of how Rivers will hold up. I’d probably rank the Chargers 6th. Meanwhile every team in the North outside the Steelers needs aerious retooling, and in the AFC I’m just not going to buy into the Bills or Dolphins yet. 

I don't see how you can dismiss the Chiefs, while still being high on Houston and Tennessee.

Watson is coming off a torn ACL and their defense was crap last year and we don't know what Watt is at this point. The Titans (despite the playoff win) were a below average team in the regular season. They ranked in the 20s in terms of DVOA and pythagorean win/loss record of 7.4-8.6. They are also turning over the coaching staff.  KC may have lost Alex Smith, but it is not like they are losing Tom Brady. Also, Reid has a history of getting good production out of his QBs. I expect Mahomes to turn it over more then Alex, but I don't think their passing game is going to drop off that much. The defense is problematic, but they get Berry back and should be younger and faster.

I agree about Denver and Oakland, but I think you are wrong about Baltimore. Their defense and special team units are always among the league's best, if the offense can just be average, then they are a playoff team. As for the Chargers, I don't know why you skeptical about Rivers holding up. He played well last year and got better as the year went on. For older QB's, it tends to be the opposite. 

[JaguarCrazy2832]

On 4/10/2018 at 10:09 PM, BlaqOptic said:

I largely disagree. I think we have to put up 30+ a game next year to have a chance.

Is that asking alot? I mean y’all put up big points on us. A bunch of weapons still plus Juju and Bryant should be better than last year