2005 AFC North Football Preview

In the AFC North I expect to see the Pittsburgh Steelers who went 16-2 straight and 11-7 overall ATS last season to win a close divisional battle over the Baltimore Ravens who finished their 2004 campaign 9- 7. up and the ATS mark and over a much-improved Cincinnati Bengal team that went 8-8 in a row for the second straight year in 2004, the Brownies once again look to take the rearguard in what should be the toughest division . in the NFL in 2005.

Pittsburgh has a tough row to beat this season, the Steelers only have five games on the 2005 schedule against 2004 playoff teams, but four of those matters take place on the road and that includes Monday night road games. night in San Diego and Indianapolis, the Steelers will generally play 10 of their 16 games against teams that posted records of .500 or better last year, so that’s due to the projected drop in regular-season wins.

Like most teams, Pittsburgh lost quite a bit of talent in free agency — in particular, the Steelers lost a total of five linemen across their offensive and defensive fronts — which could cause depth issues if it hits the ball. injuries and those losses add up to the star WR. Plaxico Burress heading to the Big Apple to play catch with Eli Manning.

Baltimore has a very favorable schedule regarding playing seven games against playoff teams from a year ago, however, five of those seven games will be in Baltimore and two of those games are against dome teams (Vikes and Colts). The Ravens drafted WR Mark Clayton from Oklahoma and overall had the best draft of any team in the AFC North, the free agent addition of WR Derrick Mason from the Titans along with the selection of WR Clayton should bolster an attack from stalled Raven pass that was fully exposed last season.

The Bengals finished 2004 with an 8-8 record for the second year in a row under HC Marvin Lewis, the Bengal faithful should be delighted with their season finishes in the last two years considering these same Bengals put together a total of 8 combined victories. during his 2001 and 2002 campaigns.

With quarterback Carson Palmer beginning his second full season under center and guns WR Chad Johnson and RB Rudi Johnson happy with new contracts, Cincinnati has all the pieces on offense to make the playoffs in 2005, the biggest evil. The Bengal’s performance during their 2004 campaign was their running defense, but the selection of Georgia DE David Pollack who will play LB for the Bengals and Georgia LB Odell Thurman should correct that problem.

A new era begins in the land of the Cleveland Brownies with the arrival of new HC Romeo Crennell, who replaces the ousted Butch Davis, the Brownies are actually an expansion team once again when you consider that they have a brand new front office , an all-new coaching staff and they’ve replaced most of their offensive and defensive starters, the saving grace is that the new quarterback will have the experience of re-reading Trent Dilfer, who should be able to provide much-needed leadership. .

The Brownies added a lot of talent through the free agent market and actually had a pretty good draft that stood out with WR Braylon Edwards as their top pick, but in the general scheme of things there has been too much turnover in this organization to expect. a lot in 2005 looking to play the Brownies every time a home pup of more than one FG after week four of the regular season at this point the team should start to freeze a bit and the public won’t be ready for the opportunity .

In closing, the AFC North is a three-horse race between Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Baltimore for the top spot, the difference maker will likely be who gets the injury bug and who avoids it, with that said, Pittsburgh gets the nod good to win. the division due to his depth at the QB and RB positions.

Regarding betting opportunities, Pittsburgh played 12 non-divisional games in 2004 and went 6-6 ATS in those matters, a closer look reveals the Steelers were underdogs in five of the six non-divisional games they covered. , meanwhile, the Steelers were favorites in five of the six nondivisional games they failed to cover.

In other words, as a dog playing a non-divisional game, the Steelers were pretty much a safe bet to cover the spread, however, as the favorite in a non-divisional game, the Steelers had a hard time getting up and thus proved be almost certain. I’m betting NOT to cover the posted number, a check back in time reveals that these Steelers have failed to cover 6 of the last 7 times they’ve hit the road as six-point or under favorites against a non-divisional opponent… stuff that makes you say hmmmmm!!