2013 NFL SEASON: AFC NORTH PREVIEW

1. Baltimore

2. Pittsburgh

3. Cincinnati

4. Cleveland

Let's get this out of the way: Cleveland will not the playoffs. Ok... they will if running back Trent Richardson duplicates Adrian Peterson's 2012 season, the defense plays to the talent level they are capable of, and everyone else in the division beats each other up to where 9 wins clinches the division. Too many ifs for this team. Plus their last playoff appearance was during my first year in the Navy back in 2002. Their last season where they won 10 games was in 2007. Again, while I was in the Navy.

Next.

Baltimore, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh: one these three teams could win the division and it is very likely that all three could make the playoffs. Despite a roster overhaul, the Steelers still have Ben Roethlisberger. If the Steelers are to make the playoffs they are going to need him for the entire season. The last time Roethlisberger was the starter for all of the Steelers 16 games was in their Super Bowl championship season in 2008.

The Bengals are a young team. Despite their faults, somehow the Bengals have made the playoffs the last two seasons... and both times their season ended in Houston. They could make a third trip to the playoffs and make a deep playoff run with quarterback Andy Dalton and newly acquired James Harrison from the Steelers.

The defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens will be starting their first season without linebacker Ray Lewis on their roster. Lewis was part of the first draft class of Baltimore Ravens in 1996. He was part of the Ravens championship squad in 2000.

Not only is Lewis gone, but also safety Ed Reed who signed a short-term contract with the Houston Texans.

Even though Baltimore had turnover in their roster specifically on the defensive side of the ball, again I look at who is still on the team. They still have head coach John Harbaugh. Joe Flacco gave probably one of the best post-seasons I have seen in a quarterback statistically since Joe Montana's 1989 post-season. Still can send Ray Rice up the middle.

All right... I'm willing to say this: the AFC North will send not one... not two.... BUT THREE teams to the playoffs this year.

Baltimore and Pittsburgh will slug it out for the AFC North Title with Cincinnati getting the final playoff spot.

Keep an eye on the AFC North this season. This will be one division to watch.

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2013 NFL SEASON: AFC EAST PREVIEW

1. New England

2. Miami

3. Buffalo

4. NY Jets

 

I'm not going to spend that much time analyzing the AFC East. Only one team will make the playoffs.

It won't be the Jets. Too much drama surrounding the head coach Rex Ryan and quarterback Mark Sanchez. I still can't believe that Sanchez led the Jets to a total of 4 playoff wins in the two seasons where they appeared in the AFC Title Game. Last season the quarterback situation was awful. This season it has progressed to abysmal. Sanchez has a career record of 32-28. After that it's former Notre Dame quarterback and NFL journeyman Brady Quinn who has a career record of 4-16. Then you have rookies Matt Simms and Geno Smith. Because of a Sanchez pre-season injury against the Giants, Geno Smith is the team's Week 1 starter against the Buccaneers. The best hope for this franchise is to hope it bottoms out and completely overhauls the team.

Most importantly for the Jets...

The Chan Gailey Error in Buffalo is over. While the Bills have fantasy standout running back C.J. Spiller... that's about it. The quarterback situation is no better than the Jets. Heading into Week 1, the Bills are starting rookie E.J. Manuel under center. For the Bills to have some hope, they need to invent a time machine and set it to 1 September 1990. Just remember this one rule of time travel: Kill Hitler Don't divulge information about the future...

Unless you plan to profit from it.

Oh and you MIGHT want to tell Marv Levy to drive a LITTLE closer when he gets into field goal range.

The Dolphins have been generating some buzz as a possible playoff team. If they were in another division, I might buy into it. There was a fourth rookie quarterback drafted in the first round last season: Ryan Tannehill. Some are expecting that Tannehill will take the next step especially with the addition of wide receiver Mike Wallace and lead the Dolphins to their first playoff appearance since 2008. Division champions take up four of the six playoff spots in the AFC. Spoiler: my AFC division champs for 2013 are New England, Baltimore, Houston, and Denver. I see at most five teams in the AFC fighting for the last two playoff spots. Miami could be one of those teams in 2013, but I don't see them making the playoffs.

So... my pick for the AFC East is New England.

Boy... talk about roster turnover....

And that is before you talk about Wes Welker's departure to Denver.

I foresee the Patriots will win the AFC East handily. They still have head coach The Devil Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady. If the new receiving corps gels, the Patriots could be back in the NFLs final four.

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2013 NFL SEASON: AFC WEST PREVIEW

1. Denver

2. Kansas City

3. San Diego

4. Oakland

When I look at this division, there are three teams that stand out. And then you have the Raiders...

This was a once proud franchise. This franchise once could rely on interchangeable parts and they could win a Super Bowl. Now, they are a joke. They are the only team that plays in baseball-football stadium. It would be sensible if the Raiders went in with 49ers in their new stadium... or even look at relocation to Los Angeles.

Since their Super Bowl appearance in January 2003, the Raiders have not made the playoffs. 8 of their last 10 seasons have ended with 11 or more losses. The closest the Raiders came to sniffing the playoffs was in 2011 when they finished with an 8-8 record. Denver and San Diego also finished 8-8. All the teams in the AFC West that season finished within one game of each other. Denver made the playoffs that season due to magic of Tim Tebowtiebreakers giving them the division title.

Clearly the Raiders have been committed to something. I suspect they MIGHT need to be committed.

I've flipped between which team will finish second and third. Kansas City had an AWFUL season last year given the events off the field. In the off-season the Chiefs hired former Eagles coach Andy Reid and traded for former 49ers 1st overall pick quarterback Alex Smith. Along with a healthy Jaamal Charles at running back and first overall pick, this team could be building something. If the Chiefs finish with 6... 7... maybe 8 wins, it will be considered a success.

Meanwhile, you look at the roster the Chargers had from 2001 to now and look at the players who were on this team during that time period. Why didn't they win a Super Bowl? Three reasons: the AFC was top heavy with the Colts, Patriots, and Steelers. And then you had head coaches Marty Schottenheimer and Norv Turner. Former Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy is now the head coach. I think this team is in a transition period for a few seasons and needs to do some serious roster building if they are to return to the playoffs.

Baring a major injury, Denver should return to the playoffs. The Broncos lost Elvis Dumervil due to paperwork error involving a FAX MACHINE... really?! Folks still use those. Linebacker Von Miller will miss the first six games due to violating the NFL's substance abuse policy. Still this team will revolve around Peyton Manning. In the offseason the Broncos signed Wes Welker away from the Patriots improving their receiving corps.

The Broncos will return to the playoffs, but in order to avoid the fate of Manning's Colts teams in the 2000s the Broncos need to perform in the playoffs.

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2013 NFL SEASON: AFC SOUTH PREVIEW

1. Houston

2. Indianapolis

3. Tennessee

4. Jacksonville

This division is split between the really good and the really bad.

Jacksonville and Tennessee fall into the really bad category. Yes, they both have stud running backs with the Titans Chris Johnson and Jaguars Maurice Jones-Drew. But again... what do you need in order to succeed in the NFL? A decent quarterback. Neither of these teams have that. I expect a long season in Tennessee and I wonder if folks in Jacksonville know that there is an NFL franchise in their city.

Since the AFC South's inception due to the NFL adding the Houston Texans in 2002, this division has been dominated by the Indianapolis Colts. At first it was during the Peyton Manning Era until his injury in 2011 which allowed the Texans to win their first division title. Now it could happen again with the arrival of Andrew Luck. The Colts rode Andrew Luck and their coaching staff to a playoff appearance. As I mention in my AFC East preview, the Colts should be one of five teams battling for two Wild Card spots. Playing against the NFC West this season will make a return playoff trip difficult, but I think this franchise is on the rise for the future.

Houston knows that their window for a championship is closing. In 2011, the team probably could have made a Super Bowl run if it wasn't for injuries to key starters. Last season the Texans were 10-1 after 2 overtime victories over the Jaguars and then on Thanksgiving beat the Lions on national television. Houston followed that up with a 2-3 record in December. They still made the playoffs, but as the 3-seed. Houston's season ended in New England.

This team is talented on offense with running back Arian Foster and defense with linebacker J.J. Watt. Houston will win the AFC South, but to be considered a championship squad this team needs play with a level of urgency in December. Again they looked like a Super Bowl team at 10-1 and then 11-1. I think Monica Roberts was planning on a road trip to New Orleans at that point and then the Patriots curb stomped them on Monday Night in Week 14.

You don't get too many opportunities in the NFL and if Houston is to make their first Super Bowl appearance they must take advantage of them.

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DISCLAIMER, CORRECTION, AND APPOLOGY

That last entry was supposed to be the 20th Anniversary of David Letterman appearing on CBS.

If you recall in 1993, Johnny Carson retired from NBC's The Tonight Show. It was assumed that David Letterman was going to move from his Late Night program to that spot as Carson's heir apparent. The hosting duties went to another comedian: Jay Leno.

Letterman felt that he was screwed over and jumped to CBS where he became the host of the newly created Late Show at the same time as Leno's Tonight Show. A former Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons writer by the name of Conan O'Brien took over NBC's Late Night program. A similar episode repeated itself in 2009 when Conan O'Brien moved to The Tonight Show while Jay Leno was given a 9:00 PM (CT) weeknight talk show. That bombed horribly and was causing NBC's ratings to head further into the dumpster. Long story short, Leno returned to The Tonight Show and Conan O'Brien is hosting his own program on TBS. It is hard to believe, but the relationship between Letterman and Leno has thawed over the years. They appeared in a Super Bowl commercial together a few years ago.

So, why aren't you able to watch Letterman's first CBS program via the player I provided?

Apparently there is a copyright claim and the original holder has scrubbed YouTube of that episode EVER existing.

Bastards!

I'm sure if you go through some of my old posts you'll see some videos have been removed due to copyright claims or the YouTube accounts associated with those videos have been canceled.

The only thing I can say is....

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LETTERMAN'S FIRST CBS SHOW (30 August 1993)

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"I HAVE A DREAM." (28 August 1963)

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