Sports Illustrated projection

[Whatever]

(09-07-2015, 11:06 AM)BengalFanInNJ Wrote: All good points, but, you know that the Steelers and Ravens always seem to find diamonds in the rough. While the Steelers defense isn't what it used to be, it won't be terrible. Plus, they have a top-5 QB like him or not. If Roethlisberger is playing, the Steelers always have a chance. Same with the Ravens. They always seem to have a solid defense and Flacco plays great when it counts. The QB position is what separates us and those two teams and it's a huge difference.

I have the AFC North as this:

Steelers  11-5
Ravens   10-6
Bengals   9-7
Browns    7-9

Wherever you rank Ben, number wise, he is still a second tier QB. Teams with a truly elite QB are almost guaranteed a playoff berth. Tom Brady and Peyton Manning don't miss the playoffs, no matter what's going on around them. The Steelers have missed the playoffs 3 of the last 6 years, more than demonstrating that Ben is simply not capable of putting a team on his back and carrying them. He has always needed either an elite defense or a stacked supporting cast on offense for the Steelers to be a contender. Saying they have a chance just because they have Ben isn't really rooted in fact.

Similarly, Flacco often plays well in the playoffs, but during the regular season, he is much like Dalton in that he is highly inconsistent. I think that's a valid argument if we're talking who goes further in the playoffs, but not when predicting regular season records.