Andrew Luck turned the ball over a little too much for my liking during the 2012-13 season. That will improve in his sophomore year. The Texans and Colts are both Super Bowl caliber teams. The Jaguars and Titans are not. It’s an interesting division.
Houston Texans- Stump the Schaub has always been one of my sleeper quarterbacks. He puts up decent numbers every season. Matt Schaub struggles to stay healthy but makes big plays when given the chance. I like Andre Johnson and Owen Daniels. There was a time when it was do or die for Gary Kubiak and the Texans. It’s hard to believe this is his eighth season as head coach. Arian Foster seems to be in better health than was thought at the beginning of last year. Ben Tate is a solid number two back as well. Houston didn’t seem to mind losing Jacoby Jones a year ago either. I like the Texans offense.
Houston quietly had a top ten defense last year. J.J. Watt is something special, with 26 sacks in his first two years. The linebackers on the Texans are solid too. Brooks Reed, Brian Cushing, Joe Mays and Whitney Mercilus have not all been starters for the first few years of their career. But they are all young, big and strong. Hopefully this team can again hold opponents to just over 320 yards a game. Houston is a playoff team.
Indianapolis Colts- Even though the Andrew Luck turned a 2-14 team into an 11-5 squad, I still maintain that what Russell Wilson and Robert Griffin III did with their respective teams was more worthy of a Rookie of the Year nod. Indianapolis threw games with Curtis Painter and crew. They blew up that team to “Suck for Luck.” The Redskins had not been good in years. Wilson was a third-rounder, way off of everyone’s radar. I digress. Luck is a stud. It was so smart to bring in Matt Hasselbeck as well. A little guidance could really curb that turnover issue. Reggie Wayne seems to have no issue with age. He’s still an elite target in the NFL. Darrius Heyward-Bey wasn’t first-round material in Oakland. I’m still not sure why they gave up on him. Do they have much better options? I’m not sure if Luck will have more chemistry with Colby Fleener or Dwayne Allen. It’s nice to have options. Vick Ballard and Ahmand Bradshaw are a great tandem. I love this offense.
You don’t need the best defense in the world when two of the teams in the division are garbage. I am a tad worried that everyone and their brother was able to run on the Colts last season. Opponents ran for 137.5 yards per game against Indianapolis. Year two with the Colts should go better for Cory Redding and the rest of the defensive line. Either way, the Colts will out gun a lot of teams with their offensive weapons.
Jacksonville Jaguars- The Jags were bad last year mostly because of Blaine Gabbert’s injuries and the lack of consistency at the running back spot. Maurice Jones-Drew is back. When he is healthy, Jacksonville competes on a weekly basis. Although I do not like this receiving core for Gabbert. It’s very possible that if Gabbert can’t get it done and the Jags are hanging around .500, the team will turn to Chad Henne, who played alright in relief a year ago. I don’t believe in Gabbert nor do I believe in Jake Locker in Tennessee. Fantasy owners should be very pleased to own Jones-Drew and his backup, Justin Forsett, because the carries will be coming. Just don’t expect touchdowns.
The Jaguars defense was atrocious last season. Teams threw for 240 yards and ran for 141 on the ground, which was good for 28 points a game. Jason Babin only played five games for Jacksonville. Maybe he can help out more this year. This team needs everything they can get.
Tennessee Titans- Why they parted ways with Jeff Fisher, we will never know. As I said before, Locker is not my favorite. There are some cult followers of the former Washington quarterback. He also struggled to stay healthy and could not initially beat out Matt Hasselbeck. He won’t have that problem this year, as Matt moved on to Indy. Ryan Fitzpatrick is on the prowl now. I would not be surprised to see ole Fitzy grab some snaps. The Titans are stacked with number three wideouts. Nate Washington, Kenny Britt, Kendall Wright and tight end Delanie Walker do not impress me. All of these guys combined for less than 180 catches a year ago. Like with Jacksonville, fantasy owners of Chris Johnson should be happy. Like with the Jaguars, Shonn Greene is a solid number two back as well.
The Titans had arguably the worst defense last year. Opponents nearly scored 30 points a game. That’s 30 points a game! At least they didn’t allow as many yards as the Saints.
AFC South- I like the Colts to win it with a similar 11-5 record this season. The Texans are a playoff team too. Jacksonville and Tennessee could easily combine for 22 or more losses. Two good teams and two bad teams in the South.
NFL Playoffs- NFC North- Packers, NFC East- Giants, NFC South- Falcons, NFC West- Seahawks, NFC Wild Card- 49ers, Redskins, AFC North- Ravens, AFC East- Patriots, AFC South- Colts, AFC West- Broncos, AFC Wild Card- Texans, Bengals
SUPER BOWL- Broncos over Seahawks.
