Opening Drive 2019: AFC North
Each team has one burning question that encompasses their 2019 season, and it's being asked here. Projected finish is in presentation order.
The Cleveland Browns have made the most noise and got the most ink this offseason. Will it turn into success in the fall? Being the champs in the spring more often than not become also-rans when the games are actually played. But after going 7-8-1 last year, which was an impressive turnaround after going winless in 2017, the palpable excitement surrounding the Browns was only amplified once free agency began. Pulling off two separate trades to net WR Odell Beckham Jr and DT Olivier Vernon from the Giants, then signing DE Sheldon Richardson (Seattle) only added to the haul by general manager John Dorsey to load the hype train with rocket fuel. Freddie Kitchens, the running backs coach turned offensive coordinator turned interim head coach, was tapped to be the permanent head man. The powers that be had to be impressed with both the 5-3 record Kitchens put up the second half of 2018 and the rapport he built with rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield to feel confident in retaining the coach. With a roster containing both good pros and promising young playmakers, it seems that any step back will be seen as a massive disappointment. It is a possibility when one considers the volatile personalities on the team, especially Beckham. But when one also sees the talent on this roster, and take into consideration that all other AFC North teams will be making significant adjustments to their particular organizations, and that makes for the ideal environment for the Browns to win their first division title since 1989 and play postseason ball for the first time since 2002.
Are the Pittsburgh Steelers better off without Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell? 2018 was a surreal season for an organization that relishes stability. Their best running back reached an impasse with the Steelers' executives, then Bell proceeded to hold out the entire season and ultimately fled to New York to play with the Jets. Brown, meanwhile, turned in yet another fine year (104 receptions, 1297 yards, & 15 TD's), but issues off the field and the relationship between him and his teammates, specifically QB Ben Roethlisberger, soured to the point that Pittsburgh ate over $20 million of dead money to trade Brown to Oakland. The Steelers responded by extending Roethlisberger until 2021, getting WR Donte Moncrief (Jacksonville), LB Mark Barron (LA Rams), and CB Steven Nelson (Kansas City) in free agency, then drafted University of Michigan linebacker Devin Bush in the first round. In short, general manager Kevin Colbert took care of business in getting the Steelers back to its familiar perch atop the AFC North and somewhere in the conversation of the conference title picture. If they solve their turnover issues (-11 turnover differential), improve their run offense (30th in attempts and total yards), and can avoid another late season swoon (2-4 to close out 2018), the Steelers should be challenging Cleveland for division supremacy. A wild card berth is certainly within reach.
Is the Baltimore Ravens' coaching staff equipped to develop QB Lamar Jackson? Between drafting Jackson at the end of the first round last year, him supplanting long time starter Joe Flacco, then leading the Ravens to an AFC North championship, it's evident that ball club is all in on this young man. Jackson showed impressive athleticism and a lively arm, with his running ability difficult for opposing defenders to deal with... Until they met up with a playoff caliber squad in the LA Chargers on Wild Card Weekend. The next step for both the player and the team is making Jackson into the complete package; a passer whose rushing capability would make him a not only a nightmare defensive match-up, but a new cornerstone of the Ravens franchise. Here's the problem; the current offensive staff under head coach John Harbaugh does not have neither the reputation nor pedigree of developing quarterbacks into well rounded professionals. If the name of offensive coordinator Greg Roman doesn't give a fan of the Charmed City Blackbirds pause, it should. In his last two stops as a coordinator, he was working with signal callers who were known for their running ability... And neither grew as passers under his tutelage. While some may have opinions about Colin Kaepernick in San Francisco or Tyrod Taylor in Buffalo, Roman was the playcaller for both of those men. Did neither Kaepernick or Taylor have the desire or aptitude to learn the pro system, or is Roman not a capable teacher to take a raw talent to the next level? Baltimore and the rest of the football world are going to find out in fairly short order. They promise to be competitive, but the Ravens will need 2019 as a developmental season to try to set themselves better for the future.
Is the arrival of new head coach Zac Taylor two years too late? Everyone who follows football, much less the Bengal faithful, knew that long time head coach Marvin Lewis had overstayed his welcome in Cincinnati. There's a strong case that could have been made that he should have been fired after the epic collapse in the 2015 Wild Card game against the Steelers. And three losing seasons afterward, it goes to show hindsight is 20/20. Enter Taylor, ripe off the Sean McVay coaching tree (Seriously, this is a thing?). He brings offensive experience and a youthful set of eyes (Taylor is 36 years old) to a roster that has not known another head coach, save players who were trade acquisitions or free agents. The Bengals let the Walking Suspension Machine Vontaze Burfict go, which given his reputation, this was a move that was addition by subtraction. Cincy really didn't do much else offseason, although they will be without star WR AJ Green until October due to an ankle injury. The funny thing is, by simply changing the voice of the man the players (especially the veterans) are listening to, the Queen City Kitties could come out of nowhere to snag a playoff berth or potentially steal a division title. They could also fall into the abyss, doomed by a young coach in over his head. This could be a very interesting year in southern Ohio.
