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AFC Central Predicted Finish 1. Tennessee Titans- The Titans may not be the most popular choice to win the Central, but they've definitely got the talent and were overshadowed by being in the same division as the Ravens. They only gave up 191 points (the Ravens gave up 165) and led the league in yardage allowed with 238 yards per game (the Ravens allowed 247 yards per game). The Titans added Kevin Carter to dominate the end that Jevon Kearse isn't dominating and of course still have Jeff Fisher there to oversee the situation. The only thing standing in the Titans way two years ago was the lack of an offense with the struggles of Steve McNair and his average receiving corps. The problem last year was the erratic kicking of one of the great kickers in the NFL, Al Del Greco and Tennessee believes they plugged that hole with Joe Nedney's leg. So all that stands in the way of the Titans and the Super Bowl is Steve McNair becoming an average quarterback. It's bound to happen. 2. Baltimore Ravens- It's a bit ridiculous to see the defending World Champions not even winning their own division, but they could still be the second best in the league. The Titans and Ravens are the two best in the league, proving how important defense is. The Ravens defense will dominate their games once again, but they will have the same problems as the Titans, an unpredictable offense. Yes, Elvis Grbac is an upgrade from Trent Dilfer, but its like the upgrade from eating Taco Bell to eating Taco Bueno. Better quality, but still average at best. Jamal Lewis is a future all-pro at running back and will get more playing time due to the loss of Priest Holmes. If Qadry Ismail and Travis Taylor can stay healthy then Baltimore will have a very solid offense with Brian Billick calling the shots. If Grbac doesn't become the spas we became familiar with in K.C., Baltimore will bid for back-to-back titles. 3. Cleveland Browns- Cleveland has all the right parts to become the surprise team in the NFL this season. A talented young quarterback in Tim Couch, a defense with young talent that could gel, and a impressive, intelligent coach in Butch Davis. Couch and the Browns were off to a good start in 2000, then a freak practice accident left Couch with a broken thumb and the end of a promising season. Couch is back and has talented receivers, Kevin Johnson, Dennis Northcutt, JaJuan Dawson, and rookie Quincy Morgan to throw to. The addition of Dwayne Rudd to a defense that already has young talent with Courtney Brown, Jamir Miller, and drafted Gerard Warren third overall. Not to mention, the addition of proven defensive coordinator Foge Fazio from Minnesota. Finally, hiring Butch Davis was a huge improvement for the Browns. Davis has NFL talent after his success with Dallas when he was with Jimmy Johnson, then the huge success with the Miami Hurricanes. Cleveland will make marked improvement in 2001 and just miss out on the playoffs. 4. Pittsburgh Steelers- The Steelers will continue to be put near the bottom of the division before the season starts until either Kordell Stewart improves or they sign a proven quarterback. The Steelers will be good on defense as usual, but their ineptitude aside from the offensive ground game will cost them too much. You could look at last year in two ways, 1. Pittsburgh could have been 11-5 if not for two terrible calls by officials, or 2. If not for a +14 turnover ratio they could have been much worse than the 9-7 record they finished with. The bottom line is that if they don't get turnovers they will once again lose games 6-3 and 10-7 due to the horrid offense. 5. Jacksonville Jaguars- The Jags are becoming dinosaurs quickly and without much hope of an injection of youth. Mark Brunell is getting old fast due to the beating he took last season, Fred Taylor continues to miss games due to injury, and Jimmy Smith is trying to recover from a surgery where half of his small intestine was removed! Add the big contracts of has-beens Carnell Lake and Hardy Nickerson to R. Jay Soward's discipline problems and you've got a headache off the field. Jacksonville is the type of team that will play extremely well against the good teams but struggle to beat the average and below-average teams. 6. Cincinnati Bengals- In a word, terrible. Akili Smith was supposed to be a superstar quarterback in the NFL, but has failed miserably to compare to the other QB's that came out of the '99 draft. Now, the Bengals have signed Jon Kitna from Seattle to both compete for the job and push Smith to improve his skills. Mixed in with that situation is one of the best backs in the league in Corey Dillon who will get help from fourth round pick Rudi Johnson to lighten the load from his 315 carries in 2000. Peter Warrick caught 4 of the 6 touchdowns passing a year ago and will have help from established veteran Darnay Scott and rookie Chad Johnson. The defense is good enough to stop a team of blind, pregnant, quadriplegic nuns.
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