AFCN

(attempts to sound excited) With a wealth of prospective free agent information having been added to most draftnik websites and a smattering of mock drafts popping up, it appears the NFL offseason is officially in full swing.  Lots of formerly locked-down (in some cases legendary) players are suddenly without teams, so determining their direction right…

It’s the postseason!!!  Yay!!! Why aren’t you celebrating?  Oh, right.  There’s no meaningful football being played. With all apologies to the XFL, American football will always be associated with the NFL and will remain embedded as such in the minds of every fan who appreciates the game being played at its highest level.  Although these…

I didn’t choose the term “broken” lightly. To be sure, the 8-8 Steelers suffered their share of injuries during the 2019 season; none more consequential than the Week 1 loss of starting QB Ben Roethlisberger for the season, courtesy of a torn elbow on his throwing arm.  Ben’s normally prodigious elbow single-handedly deprived the Steelers…

The Bengals are back, baby. No, not the Carson Palmer or Andy Dalton-led Bengals, which both managed a playoff appearance every other year and an occasional AFCN title.  No, we’re referring to the illustrious David Klingler or Akili Smith eras, which featured a bizarre willingness of the front office to embrace and stand by mediocre…

Schizophrenia, thy name is the Cleveland Browns. Seriously, the emotional toll the 6-10 Browns must inflict on their fans has to be wearying.  Granted, the Cleveland fanbase has had little to cheer for football-wise for nearly a generation, and the Browns’ 2018 finish lifted expectations to unsustainable levels.  The 2019 version of the Browns remains…

So that’s that. Despite the fanfare, hype, projections, eye-popping numbers, yards gained and touchdowns scored, the top-seeded Ravens lasted exactly one game and two weeks longer than their AFC North counterparts, losing in ugly, disjointed fashion to the plodding, methodical, sixth-seeded Tennessee Titans and mammoth running back Derrick Henry (why isn’t this guy promoted as…

Not much to report in the AFC North this week. As the last AFC North team in action, the Ravens are producing news of a sort, but let’s be honest – how many human interest stories does the public really need to see?  We know all about Ravens’ QB Lamar Jackson’s humble, grassroots beginnings.  We…

The season just kind of came and went, didn’t it? Speaking as a doom-and-gloom prognosticator, I was surprised by the AFC North’s final standings.  At season’s outset, the Ravens were considered an ascending but developmentally raw 8-8, 9-7-ish team.  Even with some notable free agent defections, the Steelers were the sentimental favorites to reclaim the…

It’s Week 17!  The REAL season is about to begin. I’m refraining from calling this a “prediction” piece this season. Predictions indicate one firmly believes something will happen and isn’t afraid to stand behind that judgment. In the NFL, nothing is certain except Roger Goodell’s poor judgment. That said, I’ll offer some form of prognostication,…