Baltimore Ravens: In case someone out there didn’t take notice, Ray Rice is a legitimate beast; the addition of star wideout Anquan Boldin will give Joe Flacco a fully loaded arsenal of receivers; and Ray Lewis still eats people, so that has to be taken into account. This team is one of the elite few that can count itself as a legitimate Super Bowl contender. The only thing that could come back to haunt them is a weakness at cornerback, which could be exposed while Ed Reed is out recovering from hip surgery.
Pittsburgh Steelers: With QB Ben Roethlisberger’s suspension reduced from six to four games, things are looking up for the embattled 2009 Super Bowl winners. Santonio Holmes is gone, while QB Byron Leftwich will attempt to keep them treading water until Big Ben returns. Another question mark for this team is the condition of safety Troy Polamalu’s knee. He needs to be healthy for the Steelers to return to contender status.
Cincinnati Bengals: Pacman Jones, Terrell Owens, Chad Ochocinco…you’re excused if you’re unsure whether I’m listing players on the 2010 Bengals or competitors on the next edition of Celebrity Big Brother. This is the most volatile team in the division and they could do well or implode fantastically. Regardless, they’ll be fun to watch on the field and in the pressroom. First-round pick Jermaine Gresham could be key to the team’s attempt to return to the playoff picture.
Cleveland Browns: Jake Delhomme will replace Denver-bound Brady Quinn as the starting QB and should have a much better season than he did last year, but it still won’t be enough for the Browns to pose a serious threat to anybody. On the bright side, the long-term picture for the team looks better than it has in years past, as the addition of Colt McCoy in the draft may have given the Browns their quarterback of the future.