12 Jun 2019
The Baltimore Ravens have revamped their offense, the Cincinnati Bengals have kept faith in Marvin Lewis and the Cleveland Browns are just looking to win a game. Can any of them topple the Pittsburgh Steelers? We take an in-depth look at the four teams…
PITTSBURGH STEELERS
With a streak of four playoff seasons in a row and three division championships, the Pittsburgh Steelers are again the team to beat in the NFC North, with Genting Casino odds of 4/9 for a repeat.
As with most teams in the parity-riddled NFL, they come with a few questions that need to be answered.
In the Steelers’ case, it is how they adequately replace linebacker Ryan Shazier, who was lost to a spinal injury, and how much longer will quarterback Ben Roethlisberger play at an elite level?
The first question is a more difficult one to answer. Once a strength of the defence, the linebacker spot is now a weakness, as Jacksonville showed when beating the Steelers 45-42 in the divisional round of the playoffs.
As well as losing Shazier, they also lost James Harrison, and adding free agent Jon Bostic for the inside linebacker spot did not look a convincing piece of business, since he is injury-prone.
The second question is straightforward. Roethlisberger, 36, who contemplated retirement last season, now says he wishes to continue playing for three more years and the Super Bowl window remains very much open for the team that went 13-3 and earned the AFC’s second seed last season.
He remains one of the most productive passers in the NFL and has a supporting cast that the rest of the league envies.
Last season, the Steelers had nine games decided by six points of less and they won eight of them. But crucially, they got caught looking ahead to the New England Patriots and potentially an appearance in the AFC Championship game - and were out-scored and out-coached by the Jaguars.
This off-season, trading receiver Martavis Bryant was a good move, since they replaced him with second round draft pick James Washington out of Oklahoma State, which gives them a dual deep threat with Antonio Brown. With explosive slot receiver in Juju Smith-Schuster, who was sensational in his rookie season, this trio look set to dominate the AFC.
For the third straight season, the Steelers return all their offensive line starters. Throw in the best back in the NFL in Le’Veon Bell, who also catches a lot of passes out of the backfield, and the Steelers are well placed to repeat or better last season’s production, which saw them ranked third in the NFL.
A quirk of the schedule means they have to make a fast start, as five of their six divisional games take place in the first eight weeks of the season. A tough December schedule, with games that include Oakland, New England and New Orleans, will go a long way to determining if they will grab the top seed.
The Genting Casino odds of 4/9 suggest they are again the team to beat in the AFC North and their Super Bowl odds of 9/1 are certain to interest many as they bid to end a 10-year wait.
BALTIMORE RAVENS
The Ravens have missed the playoffs in four of the last five years and they have missed out on post-season play in the last three years.
Since their Super Bowl season of 2012, quarterback Joe Flacco has a 38-36 record, which is significant drop in form from his 54-26 record in the five prior years.
The offensive output has been severely lacking in recent years and Ozzie Newsome, who will step down from his GM duties after the season, drafted the quarterback of the future in Lamar Jackson, who has performed very well in pre-season.
He also drafted two tight ends, two offensive tackles and two wide receivers, signalling his intent. They also dipped into free agency for veteran receivers Michael Crabtree and John Brown, plus adding Willie Snead from the Saints. Flacco will have to gel quickly with the new trio if Baltimore is to contend with the Steelers.
The Ravens got a nice surprise when Alex Collins (pictured above), promoted from the practice squad in September, produced 973 yards on 212 carries and six touchdowns. He will be the starter this season and should top 1,000 yards. If Kenneth Dixon bounces back from a knee injury and suspension, the rushing attack should be extremely productive.
Newsome was aggressive in filling holes in free agency and the draft, and while the offensive line was weakened with the loss of centre Ryan Jensen to Tampa Bay, Matt Skura is expected to step up. The drafting of Orlando Brown Jr in the third round means James Hurst will be pushed for the starting role at right tackle.
Given that the Ravens are desperate to end their playoff drought and they wish to send the hugely-respected Newsome out in style, their Genting Casino odds of 10/3 to win the AFC North may begin to look a little generous by the time they face the Los Angeles Chargers and Cleveland Browns at the end of December.
CINCINNATI BENGALS
Head coach Marvin Lewis returns for a 16th season – the second-longest tenure in the NFL behind Bill Belichick’s 18 seasons in New England. That was something of a shock, since he oversaw the second losing season in row.
Lewis made some key coaching changes, with Teryl Austin (defensive coordinator) and Frank Pollack (offensive line) replacing long-term aides Paul Guenther and Paul Alexander respectively.
Pollack appears to have the biggest challenge of patching up a line that has had to replace a third starting offensive lineman to leave via free agency in two years.
Drafting centre Billy Price in the first round was a smart move, although keeping quarterback Andy Dalton upright since the departure of Andrew Whitworth to the Rams has been a hard-to-solve problem. The league’s worst offense is counting on second-year running back Joe Mixon to step up and relieve the pressure on the embattled passer after Jeremy Hill left to join New England.
Dalton will also have to learn Bill Lazor’s new system. Lazor was promoted from his role as quarterbacks coach in Week 2 last season and is installing a more diverse scheme that will no doubt play to the strength of top receiver AJ Green.
The offensive line, which was one of the worst groups in the NFL last season, has been completely overhauled and time will tell if the problems are fixed.
In contract, the defensive line was one of the better units, and the secondary gets addition by subtraction with Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones leaving, paving the way for William Jackson III to start every game opposite Dre Kirkpatrick.
With Baltimore, Carolina, Atlanta, Miami and Pittsburgh on the early schedule, the Bengals may be on the back foot early and their Genting Casino odds of 17/2 to win the division may look small by the time of their bye in Week 9.
CLEVELAND BROWNS
Things can only get better. That D:ream track should be the theme for this franchise, having won one game in the last two seasons. The Browns went 0-16 last season, were 1-15 in 2016 and won just three of 21 games before that.
The fan base was not happy when new owner Jimmy Haslam retained Hue Jackson as head coach, but in fairness, he had very little to work with and three quarterbacks failed to win a game between them.
DeShone Kizer, Cody Kessler and Kevin Hogan are now all with other teams and Tyrod Taylor, acquired from the Bills for a third-round draft pick, Drew Stanton, signed in free agency, and top draft pick Baker Mayfield (a 33-3 starter at Oklahoma) are now the incumbents.
GM John Dorsey has completely overhauled the roster and they boast the second-youngest team in the NFL.
Carlos Hyde and rookie Nick Chubb are a nice one-two punch and an upgrade to a strong-looking backfield, which includes Duke Johnson, who returns for a fourth season, and the addition of the highly productive receiver Jarvis Landry (from the Dolphins) ensures the Browns will keep the chains moving.
Todd Haley’s system is aggressive and he likes to send the ball deep, so expect to see Landy utilised as a deep threat more often than he was in Miami.
The Browns need more production form a defense that picked off just seven passes last term, although free safety Demarious Randall should help in that department – the former Packer picked off four passes in Green Bay last season. We should expect a lot more from Gregg Williams’ group, now there is a little continuity with the system.
With Pittsburgh, New Orleans, the New York Jets, Oakland and Baltimore on the schedule early, it is unlikely there will be anything other than some growing pains.
Their Genting Casino odds of 12/1 to win the AFC North is a fair reflection of their chance. They are not going to go winless again, that is for certain.
Watch live NFL action in your local Genting casino. Find your nearest casino here.
