Team on the rise
CLEVELAND
The Browns have been the division doormat for most of their existence, but they're showing some encouraging signs heading into Year 2 of coach Romeo Crennel's construction job. They're not quite ready to give the Steelers and the Bengals a run for the top rung of the AFC North, but the Browns are finally starting to put some pieces together on the personnel front.
Offensively, much depends on what Cleveland gets from second-year quarterback Charlie Frye and two injury-plagued former first-round picks -- tight end Kellen Winslow and receiver Braylon Edwards. But Reuben Droughns has supplied a legitimate running game, and the Browns have upgraded their offensive line again with the addition of Pro Bowl center LeCharles Bentley. On defense, adding veterans Willie McGinest and Ted Washington will definitely help in the locker room, but don't expect either one to perform as if they were in their prime. The draft, however, supplied two future playmaking cogs in Crennel's 3-4 defense: end Kamerion Wimbley and inside linebacker D'Qwell Jackson. How quickly they develop may determine the level of improvement of Cleveland's defense this year.
Team in transition
BALTIMORE
The Ravens have endured their first two-season streak of missing the playoffs since coach Brian Billick was hired in 1999, and last year's 6-10 mark was the worst of his seven-year tenure. That said, Baltimore still has formidable talent and figures to rebound from last year's desultory performance, when the once-proud defense lost its aura of superiority and an aging offensive line became a major liability.
The arrival of ex-Titans franchise quarterback Steve McNair has sparked renewed playoff hopes, but he's not the same Stevie Wonder who shared the MVP award in 2003 and routinely rescued his team from defeat. Playing behind a suspect offensive line isn't going to help his slow-footed game, either. Succinctly put, the Ravens have a lot of ifs. If McNair and Jamal Lewis rebound in a big way and the offensive line solidifies, the offense will be better. If Ray Lewis and Ed Reed are the healthy playmakers they have been and first-round pick Haloti Ngata stuffs the run at tackle, the defense again could be fearsome. But counting on that to all fall into place is a lot to expect.
Coach in the spotlight
BRIAN BILLICK, BALTIMORE
Pittsburgh's Bill Cowher is coming off the greatest accomplishment of his career. Marvin Lewis finally delivered a playoff berth for the Bengals. And Crennel is making progress in Cleveland. By process of elimination, that leaves the coaching crosshairs this season on Billick, whom Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti publicly warned during the offseason to make some changes stylistically -- or else. Bisciotti said he wanted Billick to worry more about his team and less about the day-to-day tug-of-war with the media, and it was also clear that the organization's patience with the Ravens' unproductive quarterback play was at an end. Billick will let offensive coordinator Jim Fassel run things more so than in the past, and with McNair on board, Baltimore's passing game will actually be capable of posing a vertical threat.
Impact player in the making
KELLEN WINSLOW, CLEVELAND
With only two games played in his star-crossed, two-year career, predicting that Winslow will be an impact player this season is all projection. A broken leg in Week 2 cost him the rest of 2004, and last year he did one motorcycle stunt too many, laying himself up for the season with a torn ACL. Thus, the 6-4, 250-pound Winslow figures to be fairly disaster-proof in 2006, and in the frame of mind to make up for lost time. A phenomenal talent at the University of Miami, Winslow has prototypical tight-end skills in the NFL's pass-happy era and could quickly emerge, if healthy, as Frye's favorite target. Until Edwards proves ready to return from his own knee injury, in mid-October or so, Frye's only proven receiving option figures to be Joe Jurevicius, making Winslow even more attractive as a target.
Story to watch unfold
Keep an eye on those starting quarterbacks in the AFC North. Every one of them has a question mark entering training camp. Will Pittsburgh's wunderkind Ben Roethlisberger show any lingering effects from his scary motorcycle crash? Will Cincinnati's Carson Palmer prove he's all the way back from blowing out his knee in the Bengals' playoff loss to the Steelers? Can McNair enjoy a career renaissance in Baltimore, staying healthy and productive enough to again be mentioned among the game's elite passers? And can second-year man Frye grow up in a hurry in Cleveland, in his first full-fledged shot as the Browns' No. 1 quarterback?
Biggest splash of the offseason
For obvious reasons, McNair getting dealt to Baltimore for a modest fourth-round pick created the biggest headlines from the AFC North. McNair is 33, entering his 12th NFL season, and has lost chunks of the past two years due to injury. But he still gives the Ravens the most proven commodity they've had at the game's most pivotal position since the franchise relocated to Maryland in 1996. Baltimore hopes the third time is the charm in acquiring ex-Titans. Picking up receiver Derrick Mason and cornerback Samari Rolle last year didn't keep the Ravens from sinking to double digits in losses.
Pay no attention to . . .
The Jerome Bettis-created leadership void in Pittsburgh. With the Steelers' most visible locker room presence blissfully retired with a Super Bowl ring on his finger, conventional wisdom holds that Pittsburgh will feel the effects of his absence. But the Steelers are well-stocked when it comes to team leaders -- receiver Hines Ward, linebacker Joey Porter, center Jeff Hartings and safety Troy Polamalu come quickly to mind -- and if anything, Bettis' departure should allow Roethlisberger to assume a higher profile in the eyes of his teammates. After Big Ben's drama-filled offseason, flashing a little more maturity, especially off the field, wouldn't be a bad thing for him.
Potential land mine
Every updated prognosis of Palmer's surgically repaired left knee has declared his rehabilitation to be ahead of schedule, and there's optimism that he'll be right from the start of the season. But for the defending division champions' sake he'd better be, because no other team in the AFC North will live or die more with the fate of its No. 1 quarterback. As Palmer goes, so goes Cincinnati. If new backup QB Anthony Wright has to play much this season, the Bengals could quickly slip right back to the middle of the pack. The season's opening month could tell the story. Looming before a Week 5 bye will be trips to Kansas City and Pittsburgh and home games against New England and Cleveland. Without Palmer playing at his usual high level, that's got a confidence-sapping 1-3 start written all over it.
CLEVELAND
The Browns have been the division doormat for most of their existence, but they're showing some encouraging signs heading into Year 2 of coach Romeo Crennel's construction job. They're not quite ready to give the Steelers and the Bengals a run for the top rung of the AFC North, but the Browns are finally starting to put some pieces together on the personnel front.
Offensively, much depends on what Cleveland gets from second-year quarterback Charlie Frye and two injury-plagued former first-round picks -- tight end Kellen Winslow and receiver Braylon Edwards. But Reuben Droughns has supplied a legitimate running game, and the Browns have upgraded their offensive line again with the addition of Pro Bowl center LeCharles Bentley. On defense, adding veterans Willie McGinest and Ted Washington will definitely help in the locker room, but don't expect either one to perform as if they were in their prime. The draft, however, supplied two future playmaking cogs in Crennel's 3-4 defense: end Kamerion Wimbley and inside linebacker D'Qwell Jackson. How quickly they develop may determine the level of improvement of Cleveland's defense this year.
Team in transition
BALTIMORE
The Ravens have endured their first two-season streak of missing the playoffs since coach Brian Billick was hired in 1999, and last year's 6-10 mark was the worst of his seven-year tenure. That said, Baltimore still has formidable talent and figures to rebound from last year's desultory performance, when the once-proud defense lost its aura of superiority and an aging offensive line became a major liability.
The arrival of ex-Titans franchise quarterback Steve McNair has sparked renewed playoff hopes, but he's not the same Stevie Wonder who shared the MVP award in 2003 and routinely rescued his team from defeat. Playing behind a suspect offensive line isn't going to help his slow-footed game, either. Succinctly put, the Ravens have a lot of ifs. If McNair and Jamal Lewis rebound in a big way and the offensive line solidifies, the offense will be better. If Ray Lewis and Ed Reed are the healthy playmakers they have been and first-round pick Haloti Ngata stuffs the run at tackle, the defense again could be fearsome. But counting on that to all fall into place is a lot to expect.
Coach in the spotlight
BRIAN BILLICK, BALTIMORE
Pittsburgh's Bill Cowher is coming off the greatest accomplishment of his career. Marvin Lewis finally delivered a playoff berth for the Bengals. And Crennel is making progress in Cleveland. By process of elimination, that leaves the coaching crosshairs this season on Billick, whom Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti publicly warned during the offseason to make some changes stylistically -- or else. Bisciotti said he wanted Billick to worry more about his team and less about the day-to-day tug-of-war with the media, and it was also clear that the organization's patience with the Ravens' unproductive quarterback play was at an end. Billick will let offensive coordinator Jim Fassel run things more so than in the past, and with McNair on board, Baltimore's passing game will actually be capable of posing a vertical threat.
Impact player in the making
KELLEN WINSLOW, CLEVELAND
With only two games played in his star-crossed, two-year career, predicting that Winslow will be an impact player this season is all projection. A broken leg in Week 2 cost him the rest of 2004, and last year he did one motorcycle stunt too many, laying himself up for the season with a torn ACL. Thus, the 6-4, 250-pound Winslow figures to be fairly disaster-proof in 2006, and in the frame of mind to make up for lost time. A phenomenal talent at the University of Miami, Winslow has prototypical tight-end skills in the NFL's pass-happy era and could quickly emerge, if healthy, as Frye's favorite target. Until Edwards proves ready to return from his own knee injury, in mid-October or so, Frye's only proven receiving option figures to be Joe Jurevicius, making Winslow even more attractive as a target.
Story to watch unfold
Keep an eye on those starting quarterbacks in the AFC North. Every one of them has a question mark entering training camp. Will Pittsburgh's wunderkind Ben Roethlisberger show any lingering effects from his scary motorcycle crash? Will Cincinnati's Carson Palmer prove he's all the way back from blowing out his knee in the Bengals' playoff loss to the Steelers? Can McNair enjoy a career renaissance in Baltimore, staying healthy and productive enough to again be mentioned among the game's elite passers? And can second-year man Frye grow up in a hurry in Cleveland, in his first full-fledged shot as the Browns' No. 1 quarterback?
Biggest splash of the offseason
For obvious reasons, McNair getting dealt to Baltimore for a modest fourth-round pick created the biggest headlines from the AFC North. McNair is 33, entering his 12th NFL season, and has lost chunks of the past two years due to injury. But he still gives the Ravens the most proven commodity they've had at the game's most pivotal position since the franchise relocated to Maryland in 1996. Baltimore hopes the third time is the charm in acquiring ex-Titans. Picking up receiver Derrick Mason and cornerback Samari Rolle last year didn't keep the Ravens from sinking to double digits in losses.
Pay no attention to . . .
The Jerome Bettis-created leadership void in Pittsburgh. With the Steelers' most visible locker room presence blissfully retired with a Super Bowl ring on his finger, conventional wisdom holds that Pittsburgh will feel the effects of his absence. But the Steelers are well-stocked when it comes to team leaders -- receiver Hines Ward, linebacker Joey Porter, center Jeff Hartings and safety Troy Polamalu come quickly to mind -- and if anything, Bettis' departure should allow Roethlisberger to assume a higher profile in the eyes of his teammates. After Big Ben's drama-filled offseason, flashing a little more maturity, especially off the field, wouldn't be a bad thing for him.
Potential land mine
Every updated prognosis of Palmer's surgically repaired left knee has declared his rehabilitation to be ahead of schedule, and there's optimism that he'll be right from the start of the season. But for the defending division champions' sake he'd better be, because no other team in the AFC North will live or die more with the fate of its No. 1 quarterback. As Palmer goes, so goes Cincinnati. If new backup QB Anthony Wright has to play much this season, the Bengals could quickly slip right back to the middle of the pack. The season's opening month could tell the story. Looming before a Week 5 bye will be trips to Kansas City and Pittsburgh and home games against New England and Cleveland. Without Palmer playing at his usual high level, that's got a confidence-sapping 1-3 start written all over it.