09-27-2021, 07:36 PM
(09-27-2021, 01:13 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Cleveland and Baltimore both look like Super Bowl contenders.
Cleveland has been consistently good. They lost by 4 on the road to the Chiefs, but they had more yards and first downs than Kansas City. Over all they have the #7 offense and #3 defense. Their roster is loaded with talent, and Baker Mayfield is a much better QB than a lot of people want to admit.
Baltimore has looked like a Super Bowl contender at times, but they have been hit hard by injury and have not been as consistent as the Browns. I watched them give the Raiders game away with poor defensive schemes that resulted in too much one-on-one and sometimes zero-on-one coverage on the Raiders receivers. I did not see the Detroit game but from everything I read and heard it was a dumpster fire. Jackson is becoming a better passer than a lot of people want to admit, but he still needs to be more consistent. Catch them when they are on and we won't beat them. but catch them on a down stroke and we could easily win.
Steelers looked pathetic. But for every Bengal fan who swears he is not going to believe in the Bengals until he sees a full season to prove it we all have to realize that the Steelers have not had a losing record in 18 years and their defense has been top 6 in the league for 4 straight years. If they get healthy they could be a completely different team.
Bengals have top 10 defense talent. The offense has a lot of potential, but they have to get a lot more consistent. That "banged up" Steeler defense still held us to 3 of 9 on third down and 268 total yards. I think we have a lot of talent on offense also. My biggest fear there is the health of Jonah Williams and Joe Mixon. Hopefully Higgins returns 100% and Carman develops into an upgrade over Su'a-Filo. If that happens then we will look a lot better. Not an elite offense (yet), but plenty good enough to beat a lot of teams with a top 10 defense.
If the Browns stay healthy then I see them as the class of the division. Right now, due mainly to injuries, the Steelers sre struggling and the Ravens are inconsistent. I can see us anywhere from 2nd to 4th.
I think Ohio has the 2 best teams in the Division after yesterday honestly.
Browns will be tough. Very talented team and finally have a good coach.
The Browns beat a very good Bears Defense we couldn't beat cause of a play here and there but the Browns had a tough time
against that pass rush and maybe even tougher than we had. Hopkins played bad but played a bit better against the Steelers.
We are growing, the Division is tough.
We have been stopping the run which is key to beating the Browns and the Ravens.
