Week 8

The AFC North has no clear front runner as we reach the halfway mark of the season as Pittsburgh has once again shown why you can never count them out, the Ravens pulled off their biggest comeback in team history while the Bengals continue to roll on all cylinders and the Browns are once again, playing sub par football.

Baltimore Ravens: 5-2 Coming off a shaky performance against the Jag's on MNF they put up good numbers against the Cardinal's as Ray Rice showed why he is the future of the team with 3 Rushing TD's and the defense was their typical hard nosed self getting stops in the fourth quarter when they needed them most.


Cincinatti Bengals: 5-2 The surprise team of the AFC has to be the Bengals. At 5-2 they sit tied for 2nd place in their division, with a team that only won 3 games all of last year. The stellar play by their rookies, QB Andy Dalton and WR A.J. Green has realyl propelled this offense while they are playing very consistent defense.


Cleveland Browns: 3-4 The Browns offensive woes are much more than just losing Hillis to injury. They have no deep threat and no reicever who demands double coverage as McCoy is often seen only throwing 4, 5, 6 yards downfield. On top of Hillis being hurt, Hardesty left the game with a calf injury and the no-huddle offense does not seem to be helping anything.
(Bring back Tim Couch)

Pittsburgh Steelers: 6-2 Much like any team who has a shaky start as the critics write them off and talk bad abotu them, they have taken lead of the Division and handed the powerhouse Patriot's only there second loss. Big Ben outplayed Tom Brady and even without James Harrison or James Farrier the Steeler's D proved dominant.

WEEK 5

It was a quiet week for the AFC North as the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens both were on their bye weeks, but the Pittsburgh Steelers showed us once again why they cannot be counted out of the division as they handily picked apart the Tennessee Titans behind Big Ben's five touchdown passes and last but not least the Cincinnatti Bengals who have been riding a stream of energy on the chemistry between rookie's Andy Dalton and A.J. Green.

Baltimore Ravens: 3-1 After a bye week the Raven's are looking focused to take on the Houston Texans who are missing star wide reciever Andre Johnson. Good news for the Raven's is that wide receiver Lee Evan's and left guard Ben Grubbs came back to practice this week and our looking to play Sunday in what should be a very competitive game.


Cincinnati Bengals: 3-2 Coming off another impressive win for this young team is great for their morale going into a very winnable match this week against winless Indianapolis Colts. The chemistry between quarterback Andy Dalton and receiver A.J. Green is turning out to be a great little surprise for the Bengals this season as they have already combined for three touchdown passes in this young season.


Cleveland Browns: 2-2 Coming off a less than stellar performance, and loss against Tennessee the Brown's need to come out of their bye week with a bang. Recent troubles have arisen with Peyton Hillis's decision to sit-out a game with strep throat, which I believe to be totally justifiable, especially seeming how the Browns won that game. Concerns over his contract signing may hinder performance, something the Brown's cannot afford as they lean heavily on him for offense.


Pittsburgh Steelers: 3-2 Maybe Big Ben should get hurt more often as he had five touchdown passes this week in a blowout victory against the Titans. Looking to regain the footing that they lost early in the season they are going up against a soft young Jacksonville Jaguars this week and with Rashard Mendanhall healthy look for another big game from the Steelers.

Another wild week for the AFC North as there were comebacks, letdowns, and just pure merciless beat downs. A conference full of surprises this year, let's breakdown last week's performance's.

Baltimore Ravens: 3-1 The Raven's defense once again shows why it is one of, if not the most, feared force in the NFL. This past Sunday, they made a joke out of the Jets offense, which is not to be taken lightly, as they have the ability to put up points, but the Raven's D caused 6 turnovers, including 3 of them that where returned for touchdowns.

Cincinnati Bengals: 2-2 The Bengals rookie QB Andy Dalton had a rough start, but showed composure at the end of the game as he led his team on a game winning drive to set-up a field goal to beat the undefeated Buffalo Bills. Although they looked shaky, from both an offensive and defensive perspective, they didn't break and are on streak to overcome my prediction of 3 wins for the season. 

Cleveland Browns: 2-2 Another poor offensive calling on the Brown's part this week; What's new? Having Colt McCoy throw the ball 61 times is not the answer the Brown's are looking for. With Peyton Hillis only running the ball 10 times against Tennessee, that isn't going to help them, they need to get him more integrated into the offense if they want to win in the future. And with stud cornerback Joe Haden going down with a sprained knee, things are not looking good for the Brown's.



Pittsburgh Steelers: 2-2 The Steeler's play this year is beginning to make me think that their era of dominance over the AFC North is finally coming to an end. The defense is showing that they are actually indeed human. No longer stalwart against the run, allowing yet another 100+ yard rusher last week, and with Harrison out, they are not looking to get any better. The offense is no better off as Big Ben may have sprained his foot against the Texans, as his weak front line let him get sacked over and over again.