I will now present my 2009 predicted finishes for AFC South teams, who all play the entire AFC East and NFC West. The South should be in contention as the strongest division in the league once again, with the Texans returning their suddenly high-octane offense, the Colts being the Colts and Jeff Fisher still the man in charge in Nashville.
- Indianapolis Colts - The erosion in performance from losing a great head coach is never felt the first season (see: Callahan, Bill and Phillips, Wade). So while I have no idea if Jim Caldwell is a good coach or not, the Colts could more or less make the playoffs blindfolded for one season if they had to. Many don't even realize they went 12-4 last year.
- Houston Texans - It's been popular the last 3 years to pick the Texans to finally win, and the last two years they have sort of delivered, with consecutive 8-8 seasons. If they were in the AFC East or the NFC West last year, they may have been 12-4. It's tough to play the Colts and Titans twice a year. However, with the new "triplets" (Shaub, Johnson, Slaton) firmly entreanched, there's no doubt the Texans will feature a top 10 offense this year.
- Tennessee Titans - A third place ranking is not a slight on the Titans. I believe in their coach. But I do think that, in combination with the loss of Haynesworth and the unlikelihood of Kerry Collins staying healthy for 16 games, an improved Texans club will leave the Titans on the outside looking in. Even a 10-6 finish could possibly leave this team in third place.
- Jacksonville Jaguars - It's mind-boggling to me that a city the size of Jacksonville refuses to support an NFL team, but it looks like it's time for the Jaguars to move on to L.A. or somewhere else as soon as possible. MJD is taking over starting duties from the tailback position, but other than that, it's hard to find positives for this team, and Del Rio lost the locker room late last season.
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2 comments:
Has the AFC East really fallen that bad that the Texans would have been the best team in the division last year? Does playing in the East as opposed to the South really give you four games difference? I hope you're switching them with the Patriots and then taking at least a game away from the Colts and Titans in this scenario. No respect!
-Signed
A New England Homer
Not so much a criticism of the divison... more about how weak their schedules were last year. All four teams played the Raiders, Chiefs, Broncos, 49ers, Rams, and Seahawks.
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