I like the draft, but they have had a tough off season overall. Squeally McBeam got busted for DUI or Assault. They lost Fanneca to free agency along with a nother productive veteran LB.
Parker is coming off a broken leg and there was not much speed behind him. 1st round RB may mean it is bad or this guy is really good. I like our back as much as anyone in the draft though.
I also liked Sweed more than any WR, but I guess the Ravens did not like enough to take him at 38.

The Steelers will be a tough team as usuall, but I think they did not address the issues they had last year with the pass protection, the defensive front 7, and the saftey play when Troy was hurt was awful.

They seemed to have a good draft of best player available in a year where the Ravens used the multiple picks to fill more specific needs.

the division is up for grabs though for anyone but the Bungles.

Parker is already back almost 100% and practicing with the 1st team. Not much speed behind him? Where on earth did you hear that? Barring injury he will put up another 1000 yard season. They didn't draft Mendenhall because they were worried about Willie, they picked him because he was the best player available.

The LB corps are getting stronger and they're picking up some more depth. Haggans was let go because they already have his replacement with Woodley. Timmons will compete with Foote for the ILB position and now they picked up Davis to groom to become a solid outside rusher. So I don't know what you're talking about with the front 7? The front 3 was the issue because of the lack of depth.

I'd think they will draft heavy on the lines next year to fill any needs they have.

The Ravens still don't have a proven QB so the division is up for grabs between the Steelers and the Browns. I think the offensive additions the Steelers have made give them the slight edge over the Browns defensive additions.

JJ I am not sure why you think the front 7 play was bad. The Steelers had the #2 Defense in the NFL last season. A team with awful front 7 play does not end up with the #2 Defense in the league.

JJ, have the BENGALS been put on some kind of Northern Division probation? No? Then in spite of your juvenile assessment, I suggest they go ahead and play their games anyway.

Alright I will be more serious this time.

The Bengals have bungled a lot of issues this off season besides Chad Johnson deciding he no longer wants to play there and Levi Jones. They had the worst D in the NFL and lost the 2 best defensive players to free agency. TJ is way underpaid and sounds like he is on Ocho's side.

Chris Henry was a mismatch for us and we had to double Chad most of the time, and we still usually keep Cincy under 20. With no Ocho drawing coverage or Henry exploiting the slot, not much run game to worry about, and the worst defense in the NFL, I figure the Bengals are at best an afterthought, but more fun as a running joke.

They are proof that having a great QB is over rated.

The Steelers melted down the stretch. They started out incredibly hot, but the problems I mentioned got worse and caught up with them.
I know they have a guy they like to replace Fanneca, but in my opinion it is going to be a huge loss.
The young LBs have not shown much yet, so I will believe it when I see it.

Week 17 was not played entirely by reserves, and Jax exposed the run defense.

I am not writing them off, but I am not handing them the division. Troy Smith was leading a lot of our back players right up and down the feild on the starting defense, when the game still meant a chance at the 3 seed instad of a first round date witht he Jags.

The Browns have taken a risk on replacing the defensive line with Rodgers if the Lions were not interested. They still have no one to fear in the secondary, and they actually have less proven talent at QB than we do. DA has played very well in about 6 games, and Quinn has not played much at all. Boller may not be good, but at least we know what he can and can't do. Smith may turn out to be way better than DA with no Billick holding them back.

Jamal and DA did not just learn how to play football when they got to clown town, they just got to play for a coach who knew how to use them.

I did not say the front 7 was terrible, I meant they broke down. Parker had a couple FB types behind him not another speedy 3rd down type.

The Saftey play was terrible when Troy got hurt. That dude who was running his mouth at FS was getting torched every week.

i still like the Stillers though. They are always a tough balanced team and a great matchup for the Ravens no matter what the records are.

Actually in Arians offense the FB is rarely used. Most of the time Parker was the lone man in the backfield and the TEs were doing more blocking.

The run defense fell apart after Aaron Smith went down. It showed how pivital he is to the defense. Unfortunately they didn't add any DE depth in the draft so I'll just have to cross my fingers and hope he makes it through this season. Woodley got 4 sacks in his limited playing time so when he is in there full time at OLB those numbers should go up.
Actually both our starting safeties went down last year which is why the play at that position wasn't very good. Ryan Clark is back with the 1st team offense though and Polamalu is going back to his old workout regimine so hopefully he'll stay healthier this year. Anthony Smith(the FS you mentioned) was only in his second year and still has a lot to learn (like shut your mouth before then game, open it on the field).

Unfortunately isleb I think the Bengals have little chance at taking the division. Even if Chad plays I doubt he will be very into it. There's just too much off the field drama going on to get together and concentrate on playing team football. They will have 2-3 rookies out there playing WR with Houshyourmamma so I think it will be a frustrating year for Palmer.

The Ravens are always a tough team in the divisional games so we'll probably split as usual. However I don't think they'll have the offense to keep up with our division's ridiculously tough schedules.

I agree with JJ and S on the Bengals this year . I believe Steelers , Browns and even the Ravens likely take advantage on the Bengals .
1 Steelers have to be consider favorite this year [ im a Ravens fan , just being realistic ] Yes , they havent address some of their holes at offensive line ,etc. But you have to remember they are well organization , dont make many gambles . They are conservsative and drafted best available players or back up dept. They are also used to national spotlight also .

2 Browns , its a coincedence that the Browns had 10 wins in same year when Ravens/Bengals struggled . Savage done some good drafting , but he also made some questionable trades for players like Rodgers , if he didnt cut it in Detroit , would he in Cleveland? They lost their 2nd , 3rd picks from trades also . This year however , everyone knows who the Browns are , the national spotlight on them, plus they get 2nd place schedule , so which Browns team will show up this year?

3 Ravens , this team is another question mark . will they be healthy and benefit from 4th place schedule ? or wil they have growing pains learning Cameron's new offense , and new coach Harbaugh direction? One good thing is national media not focus on Ravens , hence no pressures [ sleeper]

4 Bengals , finally we down to the Bengals , if anyone has read the blogs above me , you get the feeling that Ravens problems are a joy , when compared to Bengal's .

Wow, As a Steelers fan I never thought I could read anything that came from a Ravens fan and not be filled with utter hate. Turns out I don't hate the Ravens just the coach. Once Billick left all of my hate went with him. You guys actually made several good points. I think the Browns (D. Anderson) caught everyone off guard and slipped through an easy schedule. I don't think they'll be so lucky this year. I'm going Steelers #1 Ravens #2 Browns #3 Bungles (ahhhhh hahahahahaha) Losers! New system with a rookie QB will be hard to overcome but a healthy D will keep you competetive. Look forward to some nasty, kick yo a$$ brawls with you guys this year. Later

"I'm going Steelers #1 Ravens #2 Browns #3 Bungles"

Steelers: toughest schedule in the league with an aging team. Prominent inbreeding and poor dentistry is also an issue.

Browns: potent offense, upgraded defense, 2 starting caliber QB's.

Ravens: also an aging group with questions at QB and new head coach/system

Bengals: yikes.

Browns (9-7)
Steelers (7-9)
Ravens (5-11)
Bengals (4-12)

After reading the above post's i am amazed everyone is playing so well together. as for me i have been a steelers fan for 40 years and this is the first time that i think they will have to win games by out scoring the teams they play. the defense will a great one if they have no long term injuries. if they do get the injury bug they will need their O to run up the score. i would feel much better if they drafted a D lineman that could step in if Aaron goes down again. as for the other teams i like the browns (as much as a Steeler fan can) to be the only team in the division to press the Steelers. I also think that D.A. is the real deal and they will be a better team on O this year. the ravens will finish 3rd by default only because the bengals are so bad. i am very much worried about next year Chad will be in a new color scheme and if he goes to the browns they will be a MUCH MUCH better team in 2009. there aren't many teams in the NFL that can march out an offense as good as the one Pittsburgh can they are now a complete team great QB great RB's great Receivers the O-line is a concern but with the weapons they have it may not matter. i look for the STEELERS to set a new team points scored record this year. i wish i could draft 5 STEELER players this year that is how good they are going to be.