How Situ Sees 'em - AFC South Edition
Here’s my rundown of the AFC South in the order that they finished last year. For my key additions, only those players who I feel will make a significant contribution are listed. As for key losses, they’re players the team should really miss.
Indianapolis Colts
2005 Record: 14-2
Key additions:
Adam Vinatieri, K
Joseph Addai, RB
Key losses:
Edgerrin James, RB
David Thornton, LB
Larry Tripplett, DT
I am prepared to catch a lot of flack for this, but I will put in print here that the best team in the NFL did not win the Super Bowl last year. The Pittsburgh Steelers admittedly played the Colts way tougher than Indy had prepared for. The Steelers were the better team that game dominating the explosive Colts offensive with blitzes from all over the field. For some reason everyone forgets that even though the Steelers dominated that game, the Colts still would have won if not for a fluke missed kick by Vanderjagt. I don’t want to make excuses for the Colts, but the untimely death of Dungy’s son had an effect on the entire team not just Dungy. This year the Colts will not be surprised by Pittsburgh’s blitz or anything any other team has to throw at them. Oh, and the biggest hole to fill isn’t the loss of Edge but rather the loss of LB David Thornton to Tennessee.
Jacksonville Jaguars
2005 Record: 12-4
Key additions:
Nick Greisen, LB (maybe)
Marcedes Lewis, TE
Maurice Jones-Who, RB
Key losses:
Akin Ayodele, LB
Deke Cooper, S
Jimmy Smith, WR
I will just come out and say it - I have Jacksonville pegged as last place in this division. “What!!!? Doesn’t he know they were 12-4 last year?“ Of course I know that, I know everything, even the wings man. First I would like to say that just because a team had a good year the previous season is no guarantee they will repeat that success the next year. Some examples are the Jets, Eagles, Packers, and Falcons who were all in the playoffs with double digit wins in ’04 but they fell off hard in ’05 with the none having a winning record and only the Falcons even coming close. So now that you know it can happen, here is why it will. I submit to you that Jacksonville had one of, if not the, softest schedules in the league last year. Other than beating the Seahawks in week 1, the Jags lost when they played the good teams on their schedule. Oh, they beat the Steelers but that was a Roethlisberger-less Steelers team so don't try that argument. Here is proof. 2006 however is not nearly as kind to the Jags as shown here. The Jags can’t beat talented teams so this year they will struggle without a free-ride. Also the Titans and the Texans improved their teams, whereas the Jags, while they didn’t take a huge step back, they did not nearly improve within the division. Also the Jags now possess three of the most overrated players in the league in Fatwich, Fred Taylor, and Mike Williams. Also the Jags are right behind the Browns in terms of having 99 injury. Taylor has already gone down and even Phil can’t argue that the 5-foot-6 ¾ Maurice Jones-Who is too small to carry the load.
Tennessee Titans
2005 Record: 4-12
Key additions:
David Givens, WR
Chris Hope, S
Kevin Mawae, C
David Thornton, LB
Vince Young, QB
Lendale White, RB
Key losses:
Everyone they lost has been filled by a new, quality player
Titans had a very productive off-season adding players who will make significant contributions. Volek is a very capable quarterback, many calling for him to start when the Titans still had McNair. Also the offense has very capable targets in the Hobbit and David Givens, who although they may not be big names, they are consistent, productive receivers. Also good receiving TE’s in Ben Troupe and Erron Kinney. The three running backs should be able to get the job done. Fisher will return to the pounding running game when he had Eddie George. And how could I forget about Vince Young. This stud is in no pressure to jump in early. The Titans will let him learn Norm Chow’s offense and then spring him on defenses late in the year. The Titans also have a solid defense with quality players such as Vanden Bosch, Starks, Haynesworth, Bullock, and Hope to name a few.
Houston Texans
2005 Record: 2-14
Key additions:
Sam Cowart, LB
Mike Flanagan, OL
Eric Moulds, WR
Jeb Putzier, TE
Wali Rainer, LB
Anthony Weaver, DE
Mario Williams, DE
Demeco Ryans, LB
Charles Spencer, OL
Eric Winston, OL
Key losses:
Corey Bradford, WR
Marcus Coleman, S
Jabar Gaffney, WR
Gary Kubiak comes over from Denver where he was offensive coordinator for the last 11 years. Kubiak has an extremely impressive resume. Now I know Carr is no John Elway, but he is a talented QB who I believe can get the job done if he can ever get time in the pocket. The Texans brought in Flanagan from Green Bay and both OL draft picks could start soon. The Texans also brought in Eric Moulds, who with Andre Johnson could give opposing secondaries fits. As for the D, they have scrapped the 3-4 and are going with the 4-3. Mario Williams was a great pick for them and years from now people will say “Reggie who?” You’ll probably just say “Reggie uggggghhhh…” Demeco Ryans should also start and the Texans should have a decent pass rush. Their defense should improve from last year. They were 31st in total defense last year so they really don’t have much place to go but up.
In conclusion, although the Titans are improved and the Texans are vastly improved, the Colts are still the class of this division. They will easily make the playoffs again and will battle for homefield throughout the playoffs. It won’t surprise me to see the Titans to be around .500 and the Texans to have about 6 wins. The Jags bring up the rear and I stand by that.
1) Indianapolis Colts
2) Tennessee Titans
3) Houston Texans
4) Jacksonville Jag-wires
Previous divisions by Situ: AFC East, AFC North, AFC West,
Indianapolis Colts
2005 Record: 14-2
Key additions:
Adam Vinatieri, K
Joseph Addai, RB
Key losses:
Edgerrin James, RB
David Thornton, LB
Larry Tripplett, DT
I am prepared to catch a lot of flack for this, but I will put in print here that the best team in the NFL did not win the Super Bowl last year. The Pittsburgh Steelers admittedly played the Colts way tougher than Indy had prepared for. The Steelers were the better team that game dominating the explosive Colts offensive with blitzes from all over the field. For some reason everyone forgets that even though the Steelers dominated that game, the Colts still would have won if not for a fluke missed kick by Vanderjagt. I don’t want to make excuses for the Colts, but the untimely death of Dungy’s son had an effect on the entire team not just Dungy. This year the Colts will not be surprised by Pittsburgh’s blitz or anything any other team has to throw at them. Oh, and the biggest hole to fill isn’t the loss of Edge but rather the loss of LB David Thornton to Tennessee.
Jacksonville Jaguars
2005 Record: 12-4
Key additions:
Nick Greisen, LB (maybe)
Marcedes Lewis, TE
Maurice Jones-Who, RB
Key losses:
Akin Ayodele, LB
Deke Cooper, S
Jimmy Smith, WR
I will just come out and say it - I have Jacksonville pegged as last place in this division. “What!!!? Doesn’t he know they were 12-4 last year?“ Of course I know that, I know everything, even the wings man. First I would like to say that just because a team had a good year the previous season is no guarantee they will repeat that success the next year. Some examples are the Jets, Eagles, Packers, and Falcons who were all in the playoffs with double digit wins in ’04 but they fell off hard in ’05 with the none having a winning record and only the Falcons even coming close. So now that you know it can happen, here is why it will. I submit to you that Jacksonville had one of, if not the, softest schedules in the league last year. Other than beating the Seahawks in week 1, the Jags lost when they played the good teams on their schedule. Oh, they beat the Steelers but that was a Roethlisberger-less Steelers team so don't try that argument. Here is proof. 2006 however is not nearly as kind to the Jags as shown here. The Jags can’t beat talented teams so this year they will struggle without a free-ride. Also the Titans and the Texans improved their teams, whereas the Jags, while they didn’t take a huge step back, they did not nearly improve within the division. Also the Jags now possess three of the most overrated players in the league in Fatwich, Fred Taylor, and Mike Williams. Also the Jags are right behind the Browns in terms of having 99 injury. Taylor has already gone down and even Phil can’t argue that the 5-foot-6 ¾ Maurice Jones-Who is too small to carry the load.
Tennessee Titans
2005 Record: 4-12
Key additions:
David Givens, WR
Chris Hope, S
Kevin Mawae, C
David Thornton, LB
Vince Young, QB
Lendale White, RB
Key losses:
Everyone they lost has been filled by a new, quality player
Titans had a very productive off-season adding players who will make significant contributions. Volek is a very capable quarterback, many calling for him to start when the Titans still had McNair. Also the offense has very capable targets in the Hobbit and David Givens, who although they may not be big names, they are consistent, productive receivers. Also good receiving TE’s in Ben Troupe and Erron Kinney. The three running backs should be able to get the job done. Fisher will return to the pounding running game when he had Eddie George. And how could I forget about Vince Young. This stud is in no pressure to jump in early. The Titans will let him learn Norm Chow’s offense and then spring him on defenses late in the year. The Titans also have a solid defense with quality players such as Vanden Bosch, Starks, Haynesworth, Bullock, and Hope to name a few.
Houston Texans
2005 Record: 2-14
Key additions:
Sam Cowart, LB
Mike Flanagan, OL
Eric Moulds, WR
Jeb Putzier, TE
Wali Rainer, LB
Anthony Weaver, DE
Mario Williams, DE
Demeco Ryans, LB
Charles Spencer, OL
Eric Winston, OL
Key losses:
Corey Bradford, WR
Marcus Coleman, S
Jabar Gaffney, WR
Gary Kubiak comes over from Denver where he was offensive coordinator for the last 11 years. Kubiak has an extremely impressive resume. Now I know Carr is no John Elway, but he is a talented QB who I believe can get the job done if he can ever get time in the pocket. The Texans brought in Flanagan from Green Bay and both OL draft picks could start soon. The Texans also brought in Eric Moulds, who with Andre Johnson could give opposing secondaries fits. As for the D, they have scrapped the 3-4 and are going with the 4-3. Mario Williams was a great pick for them and years from now people will say “Reggie who?” You’ll probably just say “Reggie uggggghhhh…” Demeco Ryans should also start and the Texans should have a decent pass rush. Their defense should improve from last year. They were 31st in total defense last year so they really don’t have much place to go but up.
In conclusion, although the Titans are improved and the Texans are vastly improved, the Colts are still the class of this division. They will easily make the playoffs again and will battle for homefield throughout the playoffs. It won’t surprise me to see the Titans to be around .500 and the Texans to have about 6 wins. The Jags bring up the rear and I stand by that.
1) Indianapolis Colts
2) Tennessee Titans
3) Houston Texans
4) Jacksonville Jag-wires
Previous divisions by Situ: AFC East, AFC North, AFC West,
posted by Andrew at 6:44 PM
3 Comments:
I clearly prefaced my comments by saying that I was not making an excuse for the Colts. I then went on to say that the Steelers handed it to the Colts that game, as in whooped their Colt behinds. I still maintain that if your son takes his life it will have some affect on you no matter what your occupation is. What is in the past is in the past. There is no askerisk by the Steelers/Colts game. The Colts lost flat out. However their are many who want to say the Colts have fallen off or that Manning can't win the big game. I was simply trying to argue that the Colts are still a very, very good team. I also said that the Colts lost on a missed FG that should have been made. The Steelers still won though. I am just trying to give people examples that the Colts are still contenders. That was the whole point of the Colts article, that they are still a very good team and they will be contenders this year. And I see from Pete and Phil's previews that they agree with me on that point.
you are right that they will be a good team, but that death factor was pointless. you even admitted it, so you did think it was a factor, trust me. thats like me saying the seahawks lost the super bowl because walter jones sneezed. well if that was the case then the seahawks wouldve won the NBA finals and world series, but you cant bench press your way out of this one. unless of course this was 265 lbs, then you might be able to becasuse that was your highest max. there are no excuses! they lost!! period! no factors!!
even if his gay son was alive, they still wouldve lost!
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