1. Baltimore Ravens: 11-5
Is the offense going to carry the defense to the playoffs?
2. Cincinnati Bengals: 9-7
It’s Carson Palmer’s time to shine with a new array of weapons.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers: 8-8
Will the first month determine the Steelers season?
4. Cleveland Browns: 6-10
Is Eric Mangini ultimately the long term solution as head coach?

Coaches

Mike Tomlin – Steelers
He’s entering his fourth season as the head coach.  So much success has gone his way early one that it was only a matter of time before he was going to hit some bumps in the road.  Being a defensive coordinator in Minnesota before being hired in Pittsburgh, the “Steel Curtain” defense had gone soft on him overnight.  Too many blown leads and late game winning drives last year resulted in the Steelers missing the playoffs for the first time in his tenure.  To make matters worse is his star quarterback could miss the first six games of the season due to suspension by the NFL under the personal conduct policy.  It will be rough, but Tomlin has shown signs of perseverance throughout his time in Pittsburgh.

John Harbaugh – Ravens
No one knew what to think when the Ravens hired Harbaugh in 2008.  He was a special teams coordinator for Philadelphia the previous 9 seasons.  Who would’ve thought he was going to get Baltimore well into the postseason in his first two seasons.  Thankfully for him, Baltimore hasn’t had a lot of turnover on the roster.  The defense has remained mostly intact.  The offense is now ready to breakout.  Harbaugh wasn’t a major coordinator before being a head coach, but he knows what is expected of his players.  It shows every Sunday when the Ravens take the field.

Marvin Lewis – Bengals
It took a long time for Marvin to get a chance at being an NFL head coach.  Now we wonder when he will be let go.  He’s entering his 8th year with Cincinnati and the Bengals have what appears to be a balanced attack on both sides of the field.  Lewis is a defensive guru and with the help of coordinator Mike Zimmer, the Bengals defense ranked 4th in the NFL.  With that to build on, the Bengals will look to improve on their passing attack in which Carson Palmer now has a multitude of weapons to choose from.  Marvin hasn’t won a playoff game in Cincinnati.  This year might be the year he gets that first win in January.

Eric Mangini – Browns
His first year in Cleveland couldn’t have gone any worse than it did.  The quarterback situation imploded.  Their number one wide receiver was traded (Braylon Edwards).  Anything and everything failed on defense.  There was a lot of talk of Mike Holmgren being hired to take control of football operations and possibly hire a new coach.  Thankfully for Mangini the Browns played well down the stretch winning their last four games.  He was kept on as the head coach, but the leash has gotten a little tighter.  Another start like last year and Holmgren won’t hesitate to take him out.  The defense did play better in their last four games which bodes well for Mangini’s chances of success going into this year.

Best Acquisition: WR Anquan Boldin – Baltimore Ravens
The consensus was that Baltimore had a good passing attack, but nobody on the roster that could get positive yardage after the catch.  Boldin brings that and a receiver who isn’t afraid to catch the ball in traffic over the middle.  That brings a smile to Joe Flacco who will no longer have to be looking for Ray Rice out of the backfield when pressure comes his way.  Just ask Arizona how valuable he was for them.

Quarterback – Grade
Steelers – B
Ravens – B
Bengals – B
Browns – C

Pittsburgh does have a two time Super Bowl champion in Ben Roethlisberger.  However, he will miss the first month of the regular season due to his off-field trouble.  The Steelers have enough talent in other areas to over come the loss of Big Ben, but they are a different team with him.  Byron Leftwich will get the first shot at starting, but Dennis Dixon who did start one game for Pittsburgh last year might get some looks to.  It’s too much to say that Roethlisberger being out will cost the Steelers, but they are playing three potential playoff teams in the first month.
Joe Flacco amazed everyone with his arm strength and poise in his first two seasons.  He avoided a sophomore slump last year and now has a legitimate number one receiver in Anquan Boldin.  Flacco will certainly improve on his TD numbers (21) with Boldin around.  Also it doesn’t hurt to have Derrick Mason, Ray Rice and Todd Heap as complements.  Baltimore for the first time since they were founded might have a better offense than their defense.
The Bengals haven’t had a bad quarterback, but merely an inconsistent one.  Carson Palmer has not disappointed since being drafted 1st overall in 2003.  He has been hurt a lot though.  That’s not his fault, but when he has been healthy, he’s been among the elite passers in the NFL.  Last year playing with a thumb injury on his non-throwing hand, his numbers did slide (3,094 yards, 21 TD), but that was due to the emphasis to the running game and the absence of T.J. Houshmandzadeh.  Now he has Terrell Owens and Antonio Bryant to throw to.  No excuses this year.
Cleveland did a complete overhaul of the quarterback position.  They turned heads when they signed Jake Delhomme (Carolina).  He has plenty of experience winning, but his last two seasons have been hard to watch.  Turnovers killed the Browns in the passing game and they can’t afford to let it happen again with Delhomme.  Seneca Wallace (Seattle) was acquired in a trade.  He is small in stature, but can complete almost any pass in any situation.  It’s safe to say that rookie Colt McCoy will not see any action this season, but he does have a promising future with his poise in the pocket.

Running Back – Grade
Ravens – B
Bengals – B
Steelers – B
Browns – B

The Ravens have a three headed monster in the backfield.  Ray Rice is the multi-purpose back.  He excels in passing situations as a receiver or blocker, but he broke out with his 1,339 rushing yards last year.  Willis McGahee is in a perfect situation for his skill set as the short yardage back.  His 14 touchdowns (12 on the ground) led the team.  LeRon McClain didn’t get as many looks as he did in ’08, but he is a great blocker.  Rice and McGahee can’t perform without McClain.
Cincinnati had the 9th best rushing attack in the league last year.  That credit of course goes to the offensive line, possibly one of the best in the league.  Ultimately Cedric Benson, who was the 4th overall pick in ’05 for the Bears, proved his worth in a new environment.  The Bengals had a ground game to go with their franchise quarterback.  The defense carried the Bengals to the playoffs last year, but they couldn’t score any points without Benson’s 1,251 rushing yards. 
Pittsburgh was in a bit of a pickle last year.  They were becoming too reliant on the pass and teams were baiting them to run the ball.  Usually it’s the other way around.  Willie Parker (Washington) flamed out early and was replaced by their 2008 1st round pick Rashard Mendenhall.  That experiment almost failed, but Mendenhall recovered and proceeded to average over 4.5 yard per carry last year.  He salvaged the running game, but Pittsburgh still became too dependent on the pass.  That will have to change with Roethlisberger out the first month.
I mentioned that Cleveland’s defense showed some positive signs in their last four games of the ’09 season.  They also had Jerome Harrison solidify his place as the teams star running back.  With Jamal Lewis (FA) out with an injury, it was time to see what Harrison could do.  In his last three games, Harrison rushed 165 times for 749 yards.  In one of those games he broke Jim Brown’s single game franchise record with 286 yards rushing.  To help lighten the load this year the Browns drafted Montarrio Hardesty to be the “thunder” to Harrison’s “lightning.”  With their quarterback issues, Cleveland will need control of the clock in most of their games.

Wide Receiver – Grade
Ravens – B
Bengals – B
Steelers – C
Browns – C

You know what Boldin can and will do for Baltimore.  The question is whether Derrick Mason (entering his 14th year) still has enough left in the tank to be Flacco’s possession receiver?  Mason was the go-to-guy for Flacco.  He was talked out of retirement before last year and did not disappoint (73 rec, 1,028 yards, 7 TD).  Todd Heap has been injured often, but managed to have a bounce back year.  He will the main target in the redzone (6 TD).  Mark Clayton has been a disappointment since being selected in the 1st round in ’05.  Clayton might be better suited to be the slot receiver in this offense.
Cincinnati was missing that possession guy last year.  Houshmandzadeh was that guy and Palmer had no one to fill the void.  Chad Ochocinco was constantly double covered and Chris Henry’s death came at a time when he was beginning to evolve in the offense.  Enter Terrell Owens who will be counted on to be the possession receiver.  He kept his mouth closed last year in Buffalo and had a decent year (55 rec, 829 yards, 5 TD) with no stability at quarterback.  With Chad being double covered, he still managed to have another 1,000 yard receiving season.  Antonio Bryant has had a lot of stops in the NFL, but his talent is what keeps him in the league.  This will probably be his last chance at a big gig.  Cincinnati’s 1st round pick TE Jermaine Gresham is the first legitimate receiving tight end Palmer’s had in his career.  Too many weapons to not get it together if you’re Palmer.
Pittsburgh had the league’s 9th best passing attack last year.  That will probably go down and it’s not due to Roethlisberger’s suspension.  They traded away their best receiver Santonio Holmes (Jets).  Now Holmes is going to miss the first four games due to conduct off the field, but he was Ben’s favorite target and the MVP of Super Bowl 43.  Remember that catch.  Hines Ward is back to being the number one target, but he is getting a year older (34) and a bit slower.  He still excels in run blocking though.  Heath Miller’s stats have steadily risen every year.  He set career highs in catches (76) and yards (789) last year.  Look for that to continue.  Pittsburgh does have a breakout candidate in Mike Wallace who averaged 19.4 yards per catch and grabbing 6 TD last year.  Antwaan Randle El was brought back as the slot receiver.
Cleveland traded their two best receivers in the last two years.  Kellen Winslow Jr. in 2008 to Tampa Bay and Braylon Edwards during the ’09 season to the Jets.  Their best receiver now is their special teams ace Josh Cribbs.  He is a game changer on returns, but is seen more as a situational player in wildcat formations.  Cleveland doesn’t see it that way and will try to get him more involved in the offense this year.  Mohamed Massaquoi showed flashes of greatness after Edwards was traded, but he still has a long way to go.  Brian Robiskie will be given more touches in the offense to see what he can do.  He has the size and speed to be a difference maker for their quarterbacks.  Ben Watson is an above average blocker, but will be counted on more in the passing attack.  The Browns have potential here, but it must show quickly.

Defense – Grade
Ravens – B
Bengals – B
Steelers – C
Browns – D

Baltimore has had one of the best defenses in the NFL ever since winning their only Super Bowl title in ’00.  That trend is attributed to having Ray Lewis in the middle since he first arrived in ’96.  His leadership and tenacious style has been contagious throughout the roster.  Terrell Suggs and Haloti Ngata have been the newest pieces to the puzzle.  Suggs since being drafted in ’03 has been a sack machine.  He has improved his coverage and run stopping skills along the way, but he has become a force along the line.  Ngata is an immovable wall that will take three guys to move.  Ed Reed is the true definition of a ball-hawk.  He will be hard to replace if he decides to hang up the cleats after this season.  Injuries have slowly caught up with him, but Baltimore needs him in that center field position against the top passing teams.
The Bengals have dramatically improved on the defensive side.  They ranked 7th and 6th against the rush and pass respectively.  The reason for the improvement starts with the defensive line.  They have a seven man rotation that works both against the run and the pass.  Domata Peko is the main clog for the opponents running game.  Antwan Odom was on pace to be the league leader in sacks until a leg injury sidelined him for the year.  He will be looked to restart what he couldn’t finish last year.  The linebackers aren’t the best, but they can sure tackle.  A pair of USC draftees in Keith Rivers (’08) and Rey Maualuga (’09) are turning a weakness into a strength.  The secondary has been the biggest improvement as a pair of 1st round picks Jonathan Joseph (’06) and Leon Hall (’07) each had six interceptions last year.  Both are widely seen as one of the best cornerback tandems in the game.  Safeties Roy Williams and Chris Crocker help in stopping the run, but their strength has spread to the corners Joseph and Hall. 
Looking at the Steelers defense in hindsight, they didn’t have a bad year.  They ranked 5th in total defense and 3rd against the run.  However, their glaring weakness was the pass.  Being 16th against the pass cost the Steelers a playoff spot and it resulted in a five game losing streak last year.  Most of that was attributed to safety Troy Polamalu being injured for most of last year.  A healthy Polamalu will do wonders for their pass defense.  The lost a bit of their pass rush on the defensive line when defensive end Aaron Smith went down with an injury.  His return will help and keep Pittsburgh in the top tier of run defenses.  LaMarr Woodley, James Harrison and Lawrence Timmons are sack machines.  As long as they can continue their production, the pass defense will get back to normal.
There was some serious turnover during the ’09 season for the Browns defense.  Most players were trying out for their jobs down the stretch.  Shaun Rogers will continue to man the nose tackle position.  He was named to his first Pro Bowl last year.  The defense’s one strength was the pass rush and the pass rush will have to come from a variety of players.  Matt Roth was picked up from waivers last year and impressed the coaching staff.  He and veteran David Bowens will be the primary pass rushers.  Scott Fujita was signed as a free agent from New Orleans.  He brings a winning attitude and excellent coverage skills the Browns lack at linebacker.  Their secondary received an adrenaline shot with the trade of CB Sheldon Brown and drafting Joe Haden with their 1st round pick.  Eric Wright was a pleasant surprise and is turning into a great coverage corner.  Coverage isn’t a strength for the safeties, but Abram Elam and Mike Adams are great in supporting the run.