05-01-2022, 10:11 AM
(05-01-2022, 02:25 AM)Whatever Wrote: The Ravens are not a better team on paper this year than they were last year. The Bengals are a better team on paper than they were last off-season. The Ravens had injuries, but they also got completely annihilated in both meetings. Did they improve 28+ ppg more than the Bengals even including injured players returning? Doubtful. Can they come back from multiple possessions down to win games as currently constructed? No.
The Steelers added Pickens and Austin in the draft, but lost JuJu and Washington in FA. It really seems like you are only paying attention to the players our division rivals are adding and not the ones they're losing. Not to mention those WR's will have Rudolph, Trubisky, or a rookie QB from an abysmal class throwing to them.
Again, the Browns drafted Wright and Winfrey, but lost Clowney and McKinley in FA. How are they better than before on DL?
The Ravens are still a good team and variance happens. Yes, Cincinnati demolished them last year but that doesn't speak for this year. Did the Bengals improve enough to overcome the deficits they apparently had against the Jets and Bears? What about the Jaguars? They barely scraped by them. Perhaps a better question would be did the Bengals do enough to overcome the Browns? Cleveland banished Cincinnati to the shadow realm, in Cincinnati, with a mediocre & injured QB. Now, they have added a Pro-Bowl and an All-Pro contender type player at QB.
My point is that it isn't linear like this. I think Cincinnati is the best team in the division, but they could go 2-4 just as easily as they could go 6-0. Baltimore and Cleveland are good teams and just because Cincinnati is better doesn't mean they will win.
