AFC Contenders

[Captain Happy Pants]

I was surprised to see the Broncos win last night with Simeon at the helm. I didn't think they'd be contenders in the AFC with a new starting QB, but they looked decent against one of the best defenses in the league. And their defense is still nasty. Don't get me wrong, the jury is still out on Simeon. But as of week 1, I see them as a legit threat to the Bengals.

How do you see the year playing out? List your seeds for the playoffs for the AFC.

1. Patriots (yeah, yeah, I wanted to put the bengals here but you can't say playoffs without mentioning Bilichick and Brady. Not to mention their defense is not bad)

2. Bengals (it's our time damnit)

3. Broncos (defense is still amazing)

4. Texans (I see Osweiller and Hopkins hooking up a lot)

5. Steelers (like always they are overrated but they're talented enough to get to the playoffs)

6. Chiefs

[jeremydc]

Steelers are not overrated .

[Nebuchadnezzar]

1. Broncos
2. Patriots
3. Cheifs
4. Bengals
5. Raiders
6. Texans

Until the Broncos are beaten, they are still number 1.
As long as Brady is QB, the Patriots are never out.
The Cheifs have a good Defense and the Offense isn't bad either.
The Bengals are still without a playoff win and well, you know the story.
The Texans and Raiders are the same and both will be in the playoffs.

[Benton]

I wouldn't go by seeds necessarily, but teams I think will will be in the playoff hunt in no order:
Bengals (ravens are going to stink this year and the Steelers are at best 8-8)
patriots
Denver (taking a page from the Steelers of a decade ago, who needs a QB when your defense rocks)
jaguars (yeah jaguars. Over the Texans. Why? Because jj watt can't be everywhere and the rest of the team pretty well stinks)
chiefs
buffalo (yeah, I know. Its buffalo. But they've got a pretty doable schedule and luck into playing the pats early. I can see them as a wildcard team given that a few teams usually in the mix are looking at having a down year)

[Jpoore]

Steelers will be 9-7 and miss playoffs

[StoneTheCrow]

(09-10-2016, 02:46 AM)Jpoore Wrote: Steelers will be 9-7 and miss playoffs

They'll be there. They can accidentally trip and fall backwards into postseason access and success. Year in/out. 

[Brownshoe]

(09-10-2016, 12:53 AM)jeremydc Wrote: Steelers are not overrated .

Steelers are very overrated. They probably would have been 7-9 or 8-8 last year if they didn't play 6 backup QBs in a row.

[jeremydc]

(09-10-2016, 03:00 AM)Brownshoe Wrote: Steelers are very overrated. They probably would have been 7-9 or 8-8 last year if they didn't play 6 backup QBs in a row.

Uh huh, yet they often manage to beat us when it counts.

[Brownshoe]

(09-10-2016, 04:39 AM)jeremydc Wrote: Uh huh, yet they often manage to beat us when it counts.

When we had a backup QB playing?

[jeremydc]

(09-10-2016, 06:21 AM)Brownshoe Wrote: When we had a backup QB playing?

ok , justify it whatever way you want.

[Brownshoe]

(09-10-2016, 06:23 AM)jeremydc Wrote: ok , justify it whatever way you want.

Ok, I guess in your world losing your starting QB doesn't matter that much. That is the only time that they beat us in the playoffs.

[jeremydc]

(09-10-2016, 06:35 AM)Brownshoe Wrote: Ok, I guess in your world losing your starting QB doesn't matter that much. That is the only time that they beat us in the playoffs.

Whatever helps you sleep at night. Full strength or not ( on both sides ) Steelers are a tough team to beat anywhere, anytime . Not acknowledging the obvious is silly.

[Brownshoe]

(09-10-2016, 06:42 AM)jeremydc Wrote: Whatever helps you sleep at night. Full strength or not ( on both sides ) Steelers are a tough team to beat anywhere, anytime . Not acknowledging the obvious is silly.

they're about to go 0-2

[jeremydc]

(09-10-2016, 06:48 AM)Brownshoe Wrote: they're about to go 0-2

[Captain Happy Pants]

(09-10-2016, 12:53 AM)jeremydc Wrote: Steelers are not overrated .

You sound like a closet Steeler fan. Yes they are.  Most "experts" have them in the Super Bowl, despite losing Bryant and Heath Miller.  Also the Bell suspension for 3 games.  Their defense hasn't gotten any better, if anything, worse.  Their first round pick from last year, Bud Dupree is done for the year.

They get fluffed up every year because they're the biggest bandwagon team besides the Cowboys

[*SHRacerX*]

(09-10-2016, 12:53 AM)jeremydc Wrote: Steelers are not overrated .

We will see how they do when they don't get a run of something like 7 straight backup QBs. 

[*SHRacerX*]

(09-10-2016, 12:44 AM)Captain Happy Pants Wrote: I was surprised to see the Broncos win last night with Simeon at the helm.  I didn't think they'd be contenders in the AFC with a new starting QB, but they looked decent against one of the best defenses in the league.  And their defense is still nasty.  Don't get me wrong, the jury is still out on Simeon.  But as of week 1, I see them as a legit threat to the Bengals.

How do you see the year playing out?  List your seeds for the playoffs for the AFC.  

1. Patriots (yeah, yeah, I wanted to put the bengals here but you can't say playoffs without mentioning Bilichick and Brady.  Not to mention their defense is not bad)

2. Bengals (it's our time damnit)

3. Broncos (defense is still amazing)

4. Texans (I see Osweiller and Hopkins hooking up a lot)

5. Steelers (like always they are overrated but they're talented enough to get to the playoffs)

6. Chiefs

Of those teams, I think the Texans are the one that doesn't belong.  I would probably replace them with the Ravens or Jets.  The Broncos could be set up for a fall.  Teams will see the game plan with Simeon (it was brilliant) and defend it, not to mention if he goes down, they have a rookie backup from a spread college offense. 

Denver matches up very well against Carolina...they can negate (to an extent) their biggest weapon, the running game.  They will not match up so favorable against many other teams on their schedule. 

My dark horse team that no one is talking about (and I mean NO ONE) is the Chargers.  They still have Rivers, and a pretty good defense.  They are paper thin on depth, so injuries will play a huge role, but I am really surprised they are a 7 point dog to the Chiefs. 

If I had to rank them, I would go:

1.) Bengals
2.) Patriots
3.) Steelers
4.) Chiefs
5.) Ravens
6.) Jets

With Denver just missing out at 9-7

[*SHRacerX*]

(09-10-2016, 06:48 AM)Brownshoe Wrote: they're about to go 0-2

Oh, I SO want to use my knock, knock joke for about 5 weeks:

"Knock, Knock!"

"Who's there"

"Owen"

"Owen, who?"

"0 and 2", then "0 and 3", then "0 and 4"....every steeler fan I saw with a jersey (there weren't that many when they weren't winning, of course, their turdburgler jersey was hung up for an OSU jersey for a while) was hearing that one. 

[PlayerFormerlyKnownAsMousecop]

(09-10-2016, 09:31 AM)Captain Happy Pants Wrote: You sound like a closet Steeler fan.  Yes they are.  Most "experts" have them in the Super Bowl, despite losing Bryant and Heath Miller.  Also the Bell suspension for 3 games.  Their defense hasn't gotten any better, if anything, worse.  Their first round pick from last year, Bud Dupree is done for the year.

They get fluffed up every year because they're the biggest bandwagon team besides the Cowboys

Wheaton has a stinger also, and Sammie Coats has fallen out of favor with the team in fecent weeks. Their offense looks much weaker than it was a year ago.

Having said that Ben is still a top 5 QB. Do I think that guarantees that the Steelers will be a good team? No. Just look at the Saints.

However, if I were not a Bengals fan, I would likely view the Steelers as the team with the most potential in the AFC. But, as a Bengals fan, I believe our team is better. There's at least a very convincing argument to be made there, if it isn't outright obvious. 

[*Nately120*]

(09-10-2016, 06:48 AM)Brownshoe Wrote: they're about to go 0-2

Let's hope.  If I had a nickel for each time we Bengals fans spent the offseason declaring the Steelers were on their way down the drain finally I'd have at least enough for a decent cup of coffee.

Personally, I haven't declared them dead since my claims that they'd never make it without Sanantonio Holmes blew up in my face.  I get the nature of fandom though, and it's why we spent all offseason talking up how losing our starting TE and our #2 and #3 WRs could very well be a blessing while claiming the Steelers can never be expected to crack 8-8 without Heaff Miller and Marcus Wheathin.

I also recall us citing Troy and Kiesel's oldness, Lebeau's old and out-of-touch defense, and Arians' insanity as an OC as knocks against them BUT then turning around and saying they'd never be the same after all those liabilities left.  We are pretty wacky when it comes to declaring the Steelers dead...let's just admit it.