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NFL Betting Breakdown – Four Burning Questions Surrounding the AFC North by Eric Williams
Thanks to the rise of the Cincinnati Bengals – along with the perennial excellence of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens – the AFC North turned out to be one of the most competitive divisions in the entire NFL betting last season.
Now, heading into the upcoming 2010 preseason period, all four AFC North teams are hoping for even bigger and better things, but have at least one or two questions that need to be answered before the start of the regular season.
Pro football betting enthusiasts will get some serious insight into the issues that may possibly lie ahead for each of these AFC North teams.
With NFL training camps set to get underway in approximately two weeks, let me get started.
Cincinnati Bengals
What was Cincinnati thinking by signing Adam 'Pacman' Jones – and will Marvin Lewis allow Carson Palmer to throw the ball?
NFL gamblers get a 2-for-1 here on the Bengals as I answer both of these questions.
First and foremost, for a team that has had some serious problems with their players not being able to stay off the police blotter, I think the Bengals made a huge mistake in signing Jones to a free agent deal. The team has had three player arrests this offseason and just asking for trouble by foolishly adding Jones.
As far as Carson Palmer is concerned, I suspect Marvin Lewis will keep the former Heisman winner on a short (foolish?) leash for the second straight season, choosing to run the ball more often than not and likely losing a game or two for playing it too close to the vest.
Baltimore Ravens
Will the addition of Anquan Boldin be enough to help Baltimore offensively?
While explosive, do-it-all running back Ray Rice had a breakout season in 2009, combining for 2,041 total yards from scrimmage, the Ravens ranked just 18th in passing and needed to improve its passing attack in the worst way coming into this season. I think the addition of veteran pro bowl wideout Anquan Boldin will certainly help the team, but I genuinely believe the Ravens should have gone out and added Terrell Owens to a veteran-laden team where his presence would not have been much of a disturbance to anyone.
Pittsburgh Steelers
After falling to 9-7 just one season after winning the Super Bowl, the big questions surrounding the Steelers are … Can the team survive Ben Roethlisberger's 4-6 game suspension and can the offensive line actually block someone?
To answer the first question, I fully believe the Steelers can survive Big Ben's absence, if and only if they can run the ball effectively, which leads to the next question.
First and foremost, Pittsburgh will have to address its left tackle position as all-pro starter Willie Colon is out for entire season with torn Achilles tendon. Pittsburgh drafted rookie offensive tackle Chris Scott in the fifth round only to see him break his foot while he was working out at his alma mater, so I'm thinking the Steelers are going to have a tough time running the ball again this season – and passing it too – even after Roethlisberger returns.
Cleveland Browns
Can the Browns build on their fantastic finish of 2009?
The Browns won three of its final five games and five of its last eight games overall. The best part is that the franchise brought in respected former head coach Mike Holmgren to run the day-to-day operations and Holmgren wisely retained head coach Eric Mangini following last season's fine finish.
I like the Browns' draft as they added gifted cornerback Joe Haden while also adding two solid players that can help usher in the new era in veteran cornerback Sheldon Brown and linebacker Scott Fujita.
I like the Browns to build on last season's finish and potentially approach a .500 SU record.
Courtesy of BetUS.com |
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