Ben Roethlisberger’s suspension has the AFC North up in the air.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are turning to Byron Leftwich and Dennis Dixon to replace quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, much to the chagrin of Steelers’ nation.
‘Big Ben’ is suspended for at least the first four games of the season due to the very public (and ugly) incident in Georgia. The veteran Leftwich is the favorite to get the nod, leaving sports betting odds handicapers unimpressed.
The Steelers are plus 300 on the NFL betting odds futures list to win the AFC North at Bookmaker.com. They trail heavily favored Baltimore (minus 220) and are ahead of Cincinnati (plus 350) and Cleveland (plus 2000).
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Coach Mike Tomlin just signed a contract extension, but he would likely trade that security for a full season of his star quarterback. The Pittsburgh offense turned into a passing attack last year, ranked ninth in the NFL football odds. The rushing game struggled for the second consecutive year (19th in the league).
Tomlin wants to reestablish the ground game to take pressure off the quarterback. Rashard Mendenhall will be the featured back after gaining over 1,100 yards last year. The depth is not great with Willie Parker now fighting for time in Washington.
Wide receiver Santonio Holmes (1,248 receiving yards) is also gone. He was jettisoned to the New York Jets after more off-the-field incidents. Hines Ward is still playing at a high level at 34-years-old, but the receiving core is average at best.
The offensive line allowed 50 sacks last year and didn’t open up enough holes in the running game. There was more bad news recently with tackle Willie Colon (Achilles) out for the year. The line problems would seem to favor Dixon at quarterback as he is far more mobile than Leftwich and can escape pressure.
Pittsburgh’s defense was once again a top-5 unit in yards allowed. The front seven is one of the NFL’s best, led by the sack-machine duo of LaMarr Woodley and James Harrison. Woodley is unhappy about his contract, but says it won’t affect his play.
The secondary needs safety Troy Polamalu to stay healthy after missing most of last year with knee injuries. He covers up for a lot of deficiencies at cornerback and turns a very good defense into an elite one.
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Baltimore is the big beneficiary of Roethlisberger’s absence and the fifth favorite (plus 625) to win the AFC behind Indianapolis (plus 290), New England (plus 485), San Diego (plus 525) and the Jets (plus 545).
The Ravens finished 9-7 in the regular season, with four of those losses by a field goal or less. Their win total this year is an even 10, with the ‘under’ minus 130 juice.
Quarterback Joe Flacco has to take the next step to get to double-digit wins. He showed just moderate improvement in his second season. The Ravens were still good enough to win a playoff game at New England (33-14), but were outclassed at Indianapolis (20-3) in the divisional round.
Wide receiver Anquan Boldin was acquired from Arizona to upgrade Flacco’s weapons. All five offensive linemen also return. All the tools are in place for the passing attack to excel along with a very good running game.
Led by the ageless Ray Lewis, Baltimore’s defense should be a top-5 unit once again. However, there are some questions at cornerback and safety Ed Reed (hip) could miss the start of the season.
The key game for Baltimore is Oct. 3 in Pittsburgh. Roethlisberger will still be suspended and the Ravens need to take advantage with a win.
Cincinnati isn’t getting a lot of respect after going 10-6 and winning the division last year. The home playoff collapse to the Jets is one reason, and there are questions whether the running game (ranked ninth in the NFL) and defense (ranked fourth) can duplicate last year’s success.
Quarterback Carson Palmer threw for just 3,094 yards last year. The team added receiver Antonio Bryant, rookie tight end Jermaine Gresham and are still talking to the combustible Terrell Owens. None of it will matter if Palmer doesn’t regain his old arm strength.
The defense is in good hands with coordinator Mike Zimmer, but it faces some tough competition like fellow first place teams Indianapolis and San Diego.
Cincinnati’s win total is eight-games, with the ‘under’ and ‘over’ both minus 115 juice.
Cleveland has optimism abound with Mike Holmgren taking over the reigns as Browns president. The former Super Bowl winning coach is putting his stamp on the team, but his biggest move was retaining coach Eric Mangini.
Skeptics claim it’s because Holmgren needs someone to blame next year if the team struggles, but Mangini did win the final four games of last year. Veteran quarterback Jake Delhomme is the new starter, and he’s a solid choice if he can limit his interceptions.
The Browns’ defense was 31st in the league last year in yards allowed (389.3), but just 21st in points (23.4). There are several veteran additions, plus rookie corner Joe Haden.
The improvement of the defense will determine if Cleveland can reach its modest 5 ½-win total.