• Changing RCF's index page, please click on "Forums" to access the forums.

Landscape of the AFC North

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

Will we see the power of balance shift in the AFC North?

  • No - Pitt has done enough to replace all they lost

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • No - Balt has lost big names but have done enough to remain on top

    Votes: 2 8.0%
  • Yes - Off-season was nothing flashy but Cincy will overtake Pitt & Balt

    Votes: 5 20.0%
  • Yes - Cleve has had an impressive off-season & will finally jump into the top 2

    Votes: 2 8.0%
  • Somewhat - Cincy is ready, Cleve is on upswing. It will be a tight race w/ all 4 teams

    Votes: 14 56.0%
  • No - Balt & Pitt are too good of organizations and Cincy & Cleve haven't proven anything yet

    Votes: 2 8.0%
  • Yes - Complete reversal w/ Balt & Pitt in 3rd & 4th due to revamping & aging

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Other - Name it.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    25

MoFlo

Hall-of-Famer
RCF Honored Elder
Joined
Feb 13, 2009
Messages
19,639
Reaction score
55,721
Points
148
With discussion going on in the Free Agency thread about the landscape of the AFC North, I figured I'd start this thread now, looking at the off-seasons of each of the AFC North teams.

I'll put up a poll once the free agency dust settles a bit, but it's too early in the process for that.

Let's keep the AFC North discussion in here.

Cleveland Browns

Additions:TE Gary Barnidge; DT Desmond Bryant; LB Quentin Groves; LB Paul Kruger; P Spencer Lanning; P Jake Schum; OL Dominic Alford; TE Kellen Davis; CB Chris Owens; WR David Nelson; QB Jason Campbell; CB Kevin Barnes; K Shayne Graham; WR Devone Bess; RB Dion Lewis; DE Barkevious Mingo; CB Leon McFadden; S Jamoris Slaughter; DE Armonty Bryant; OL Garrett Gilkey

Subtractions:DE Frostee Rucker; LB Kaluka Maiava; K Phil Dawson; TE Ben Watson; QB Josh Johnson; WR Mohamed Massaquoi; LB Chris Gocong; LB Scott Fujita; S Usama Young; TE Alex Smith; QB Colt McCoy; LB Emmanuel Acho

Re-Signed: RB Chris Ogbonnaya; LS Christian Yount; WR Jordan Norwood

Notable Differences:
Backup QB Colt McCoy > Jason Campbell
#3 WR Mohamed Massquoi > Devone Bess
Starting TE Ben Watson > Jordan Cameron/Kellen Davis
Starting DL Frostee Rucker > Desmond Bryant
Starting LB Kaluka Maiava > Paul Kruger-Sheard/Barkevious Mingo
Starting CB Sheldon Brown > Buster Skrine/Leon McFadden
Starting FS Usama Young > Tashaun Gipson/Jamoris Slaughter
K Phil Dawson > Shayne Graham
P Reggie Hodges > Spencer Lanning/Jake Schum

Notes:Unproven front office; Revamping both sides of the ball; Very young & inexperienced team & head coach

Great coordinators to help the transition; Front office very smart in terms of cap & contracts; Continuing to draft well & develop the young players will be the key.


Pittsburgh Steelers

Additions: QB Bruce Gradkowski; CB William Gay; TE Matt Spaeth; QB John Parker Wilson; LB Jarvis Jones; RB Le'Veon Bell; WR Markus Wheaton; S Shamarko Thomas; QB Landry Jones; CB Terry Hawthorne; WR Justin Brown; LB Vince Williams; DT Nicholas Williams

Subtractions: RB Rashard Mendenhall; WR Mike Wallace; LB James Harrison; CB Keenan Lewis; G Willie Colon; S Ryan Mundy; S Will Allen

Re-Signed:WR Plaxico Burress; LB Larry Foote; G Ramon Foster; RB Jonathan Dwyer; TE David Johnson; LS Greg Warren; WR Emmanuel Sanders; DT Steve McLendon; LB Stevenson Sylvester

Notable Differences:
Backup QB Charlie Batch > Bruce Gradkowski
Backup RB Rashard Mendenhall > Le'Veon Bell
Starting WR Mike Wallace > Emmanuel Sanders
#3 WR Emmanuel Sanders > Markus Wheaton
Starting LT Max Starks (? - Still a FA)
Starting LG Willie Colon > Ramon Foster
Starting LB James Harrison > Jarvis Jones
Starting CB Keenan Lewis > William Gay/Cortez Allen

Notes:Aging D; Horrible O-Line; Ben 1 hit away from career ending injury

Well run organization, however, and always seem to know how to recover & put a good football team on the field; Always seem to make right calls on decisions


Baltimore Ravens

Additions:DT Chris Canty; DE Marcus Spears; DE Elvis Dumervil; S Michael Huff; LB Rolando McClain; QB Caleb Hanie; S Matt Elam; LB Arthur Brown; DT Brandon Williams; DE John Simon; FB Kyle Juszczyk; OL Ricky Wagner; DE Kapron Lewis-Moore; OL Ryan Jensen; WR Aaron Mellette; CB Marc Anthony

Subtractions: LB Dannell Ellerbe; LB Paul Kruger; WR Anquan Boldin; C Matt Birk; LB Ray Lewis; SS Bernard Pollard; CB Cary Williams; OL Bobbie Williams; S Ed Reed; LB Brandon Ayanbadejo

Re-Signed:[/B]RB Damien Berry; G Ramon Harewood; LS Morgan Cox; SS James Ihedigbo; WR David Reed; QB Joe Flacco; DB Chris Johnson; DE Arthur Jones; LB Josh Bynes


Notable Differences:
Starting WR Anquan Boldin > Jacoby Jones
Starting LT Bryant McKinnie (? - Still a FA)
Starting C Matt Birk > Reggie Stephens/Ryan Jensen/Gino Gradkowski
Starting DL Ma'Ake Kemoeatu > Chris Canty
LB Ray Lewis-Paul Kruger-Darnell Ellerbe > Elvis Dumervil-Rolando McClain-John Simon-Arthur Brown
Starting CB Lardarius Webb returning from injury
*Which means Starting CB Cary Williams > Corey Graham*
Starting FS Ed Reed > Michael Huff
Starting SS Bernard Pollard > Matt Elam


Notes:Lost heart & soul of their D; Have to revamp LB core & majority of D; 2 best defensive players more than likely gone (Reed still a FA)

Like Pitt, Ozzie seems to work magic; More than likely will have a good draft & will find at least 1 suitable replacement LB via FA; Bolstered DL with Canty addition; Has QB & RB locked up.


Cincinnati Bengals

Additions: LB Aaron Maybin; QB Josh Johnson; LB James Harrison; TE Alex Smith; QB John Skelton; G Mike Pollak; TE Tyler Eifert; RB Giovani Bernard; DE Margus Hunt; S Shawn Williams; LB Sean Porter; OL Tanner Hawkinson; RB Rex Burkhead; WR Cobi Hamilton; OL Reid Fragel; C T.J Johnson

Subtractions:K Josh Brown; QB Bruce Gradkowski; LB Manny Lawson; DT Pat Sims; LB Dan Skuta; RB Brian Leonard; CB Jason Allen

Re-Signed:
DE Robert Geathers; DE Wallace Gilberry; DE Michael Johnson (Franchised); P Kevin Huber; K Mike Nugent; RB Cedric Peerman; LS Clark Harris; LB Rey Maualuga; CB Adam Jones; OL Dennis Roland; WR Brandon Tate; TE Richard Quinn; CB Terence Newman; RB Bernard Scott; S Jeromy Miles; OL Andre Smith

Notable Differences:
Backup QB Bruce Gradkowski > John Skelton
Backup RB Cedric Peerman > Giovani Bernard
#2 TE Orson Charles > Tyler Eifert
Starting LB Manny Lawson > James Harrison

Notes: A team that there's nothing too flashy about, yet they are on the rise in the division; Nothing too earth shattering yet this off-season and it looks like the draft will be the key.

I wanted to get this up in a hurry, so excuse the notes. I'll polish them up a little more when I have time again, and I'll keep this 1st post updated as more moves happen.

So, where do you think the landscape of the AFC North stands right now? Will Baltimore & Pittsburgh keep finding ways to put contending teams on the field? Are Cincinnati & Cleveland prime to pass them up?
 
Last edited:
Ravens lost Ray Lewis also and released Bernard Pollard today.
 
Ravens lost Ray Lewis also and released Bernard Pollard today.

:chuckles: I mentioned him in the notes too, and completely forgot to add him to the subtractions list.
 
As I said Bengals, and Browns are rising to the top quickly. Next five years the AFC North is a battle between those two with the Steelers and Ravens falling out.
 
Updated the original post with the re-signings of Norwood, Ogbonnaya, and Yount; and made some edits that were pointed out I missed.
 
As I said Bengals, and Browns are rising to the top quickly. Next five years the AFC North is a battle between those two with the Steelers and Ravens falling out.

The Browns won how many games last year?
 
if Rey leaves Cinci, does that hurt them?
 
The Browns won how many games last year?

Is funny how everyone sees the large strides the Browns are taking... everyone except you.
 
The Browns won how many games last year?

This really isn't about last year though, this is about the present & the future of each club.

Pittsburgh & Baltimore, while they are expected to still make good decisions & put good teams on the field, are most definitely on the decline.

Baltimore has to revamp almost their entire D and are losing their best 2 defensive guys, who were also at or near the top of their respective positions in the league.

Hell, Pittsburgh used their top 2 picks last year and 2 of their past 3 1st round picks on OL, and their OL is still plain awful.
 
Last edited:
if Rey leaves Cinci, does that hurt them?

Meh, not a huge loss in itself, but with them already losing Lawson via FA, it'll definitely hurt their depth at the very least.

Burfict & Aaron Maybin are their only 2 LB right now who have played in more than 10 career games.
 
Last edited:
Add OL Dominic Alford to the Browns additions. He was with us most of last year but played the last 4 games with Carolina.
 
Is funny how everyone sees the large strides the Browns are taking... everyone except you.

Um, okay...until you start winning games, all that is "on paper" and means very little. A bunch of people on a Browns board "seeing strides" doesn't mean much. Having a .500 season or god forbid, a winning one, would be the precursor to comments like "The Browns will be fighting the Bengals for the division in the future." The Browns just turned their FO over for like the 18th time in a dozen years.

@MoFlo, I know it's about the future and I think it's possible that yes, in 5 years they will be the toast of the division. Do I see heavy indicators that that is coming? As of now? No...not really. I see a turned over front office, a team with some good talent but that had an abysmal season last year.
 
What screams abysmal about last season? I see a 5-11 team that played without a top 5 player on their roster for four weeks, who lost 4-6 games on single drives or plays at the end of games. I don't see a team getting blown out, I see a young team that competed quite well, that's going to get more talented than it was last year.
 
@MoFlo, I know it's about the future and I think it's possible that yes, in 5 years they will be the toast of the division. Do I see heavy indicators that that is coming? As of now? No...not really. I see a turned over front office, a team with some good talent but that had an abysmal season last year.

And that's fine, that's why I made this thread, to gauge people's opinions on whether the Browns and/or the Bengals can overtake the 2 teams that have dominated the division for the past decade +. You don't see it as of now, and that's fine, nothing wrong with that, though most of the people may disagree with you lol.

That being said, the Steelers' & Ravens' potential downfalls have as much to do with the changing of the guard as the Browns' & Bengals' potential rise. While on some level, I need more proof on the field that the Browns are on the rise (As I'm sure most Browns fans do), I'm very happy with their off-season thus far and the decisions that have been made since Haslam took over. Combine that with the state of Baltimore & Pittsburgh's rosters, and I'm (cautiously, this is Cleveland after all :chuckles:) optimistic going forward.
 

Rubber Rim Job Podcast Video

Episode 3-13: "Backup Bash Brothers"

Rubber Rim Job Podcast Spotify

Episode 3:11: "Clipping Bucks."
Top