In the Red Zone: AFC, NFC North breakdown
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- Eight teams down, 24 to go. Last week I briefly analyzed the NFC and AFC East divisions and I'm following it up this week with the north divisions. Teams within these divisions have extremely interesting topics that have floated around the media within the last few months, so lets get started.
AFC North
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens will have a great season this year with the developmental growth of third-year players quarterback Joe Flacco and running back Ray Rice. They added another weapon to Flacco's arsenal in acquiring receiver Anquan Boldin from Arizona. Expect to see them connect at least 85 times this season for 10 touchdowns. Rice accumulated over 2,000 total yards last year, catching the ball out of the backfield 78 times to lead the team. This will be a scary team for opposing defenses.
The defense, led by 15-year veteran Ray Lewis, has been one of the best defenses in the league for the last decade. Last year their passing defense ranked 9th in the league and 5th against the run. Expect this team to put up the same defensive numbers as long as they can stay healthy.
Swink's 2010 prediction: 10-6
Cincinnati Bengals
What an interesting offseason it has been for the Bengals. Quarterback Carson Palmer has a widerange of targets to choose from as the team acquired receivers Antonio Bryant and headache Terrell Owens. Along with Chad Ochocinco, this will be a high-powered passing offense this year while running back Cedric Benson looks to improve from last year's 1,251 yard season.
The defense, ranked fourth in 2009, is coming off a solid season. They will have their hands full in 2010 facing intimidating teams such as Indianapolis, New England, San Diego, New Orleans and Atlanta, along with inner-division rivals Baltimore and Pittsburgh twice. Good luck!
Swink's 2010 prediction: 8-8
Cleveland Browns
Where do I begin? They will be competing ... I guess. Former Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme may retire after this season in frustration with the lack of talent surrounding him. This is a bad team that will compete for the No. 1 draft pick in 2011. Running back Jerome Harrison could amass 1,000 yards this year, which would be a huge accomplishment for this team. This would be the only highlight for the Browns' offense this year.
The defense is among the best in the league in giving up yards. They were just edged out by the Lions floor-mat of a defense for first place. We'll get to that joke later. I was under the impression the Browns were previously in rebuilding mode, trying to build a championship-caliber team. With their transactions in the offseason, I don't see how they're building this team up. More like blowing it up.
Swink's 2010 prediction: 2-14
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers are led by an incredible role-model in quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. With his off-the-field issues this offseason, the NFL has suspended him for six games. Even though it could be dropped to a four-game suspension, this still puts the Steelers in a bad situation to start the season. Let's see if running back Rashard Mendenhall can handle the workload until Roethlisberger is back.
The defense should rank in the top 10 this year as long as anchor Troy Polamalu can stay healthy to control the safety position. Expect outside linebacker James Harrison to have another Pro Bowl year. He is a freak!
Swink's 2010 prediction: 9-7
NFC North
Chicago Bears
The Bears are a below average team as long as quarterback Jay Cutler has a season like he did last year throwing 26 interceptions. If he can cut that number down to 15, this offense would improve a lot. Matt Forte had a disappointing 2009 season due to being injured much of it. If he can duplicate the production numbers of his rookie year in 2008, it would take some stress off Culter's shoulders.
The defense improved in the offseason with the addition of defensive end Julius Peppers, who was acquired from the Panthers. He is looking to help anchor this defensive line and add to his 81 career sacks. With linebacker Brian Urlacher returning from missing 99 percent of last season, the Bears should drastically improve their 23rd-ranked rushing defense. All-in-all, this team still won't make the playoffs.
Swink's 2010 prediction: 6-10
Detroit Lions
The Lions increased their wins by 200 percent last year, improving to a stellar 2-14 record. This year it should be much of the same; they are a bad team. Second-year quarterback Matthew Stafford should continue to improve as long as the offensive line can hold up. With the addition of receiver Nate Burleson from Seattle, Calvin Johnson should be more productive with a counterpart who can take some of the focus off him.
The defense will still be dominated by most teams. Rookie defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh will make an impact for the front line, creating a headache for opposing quarterbacks. This rookie could be named Rookie of the Year when the season ends. He is that good. That's about the only upside to this defense ... pitiful.
Swink's 2010 prediction: 3-13
Green Bay Packers
The Packers are one of the top contenders in the NFC, led by quarterback Aaron Rodgers. They have a well-rounded offense with Greg Jennings and Donald Driver split wide and Ryan Grant pounding the rock up the middle. The offensive line is solid even though they gave up 51 sacks last year. They should be good enough again to get them into the playoffs.
The defense is a turnover machine. They picked off 30 passes last year and caused 12 fumbles, recovering 10. They had the best defense against the run last year, anchored by linebackers A.J. Hawk and Clay Matthews. This team has the potential to go far in the playoffs if they can win their division. The Vikings might have something to say about that.
Swink's 2010 prediction: 11-5
Minnesota Vikings
With the beat-my-head-into-the-ground decision finally made by quarterback Brett Favre, the Vikings have the opportunity to repeat what they accomplished last year. His decision to come back and play single-handedly changed the outlook of the Vikings to the rest of the league. The team is extremely talented, but without Favre returning, this team would have been a joke with Tarvaris Jackson running the helm. Even though No. 4 is back, don't expect him to have the magical season he did last year. He'll be roughed up and have lingering injuries throughout the year.
This defense will stop the rush, no question, but is vulnerable to the air attack. Expect them to do well against running teams and have issues against teams with a dangerous passing game such as New Orleans, Green Bay, Dallas and New England. The way they can succeed against the pass is to do what they did against Dallas in the playoffs last year - get to the quarterback.
Swink's 2010 prediction: 11-5
I'm halfway through the 2010 NFL teams. Less than two weeks until the season kicks off, so as the newly-acquired Bengal would say, "Get yo popcorn ready!"
If you want to argue a prediction or point I made, please e-mail me at bryan.swink-02@mcguire.af.mil. Give an explanation of why you disagree and some responses will be posted in next week's column with, of course, my explanation of why you are wrong.