The new coaching staff will begin to implement the long term plan of Mike Holmgren.

Key Acquisitions

Steelers: CB Ike Taylor (re-signed), WR Jerricho Cotchery

Ravens: FB Vonta Leach, RB Ricky Williams, WR Lee Evans

Bengals: CB Nate Clements, LB Manny Lawson, QB Bruce Gradkowski, LB Thomas Howard

Browns: RB Brandon Jackson, CB Dimitri Patterson

Key Rookies

Steelers: DE Cameron Heyward

Ravens: CB Jimmy Smith

Bengals: WR A.J. Green

Browns: DT Phil Taylor

Team Previews

Pittsburgh

With all the questions and supposed turmoil leading up to the 2010 season.  Head coach Mike Tomlin did a phenomenal job with this team.  When QB Ben Roethlisberger returned from his suspension the Steelers kept on winning and the defense kept on dominating. Even with the NFL cracking down on their big hitting philosophy. Pittsburgh has stayed relatively intact and poised for another Super Bowl run.

The Steelers are in a good position at quarterback.  They have Roethlisberger available at the beginning of the season.  If he should go down to injury they do have two capable backups in Byron Leftwich and Dennis Dixon.  Not bad when you consider the state of their offensive line the last few years.  Big Ben will have the same cast around him on offense.  WR Hines Ward, WR Mike Wallace and TE Heath Miller are his favorite targets.   Youngsters Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown figure to have bigger roles after strong performances late last season.  If RB Rashard Mendenhall can keep away from twitter during the season and focus on football he should have another productive year running the football.

There weren’t many weak areas of their defense last year.  They were ranked 1st against the run.  First in points allowed.  And first in sacks.  They should figure on being near the top once again.  On the defensive line they have perhaps the best trio in DE Ziggy Hood, NT Casey Hampton and DE Brett Keisel for a 3-4 defense. All three are great run stoppers and occupy their blockers so linebackers James Farrior, Lawrence Timmons, James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley can make plays.  Re-signing CB Ike Taylor was a big move.  The market was clamoring for cornerbacks, but Pittsburgh was wise to keep Taylor and avoid a drop off in the pass defense.  The health of Troy Polamalu will continue to be an issue going forward, but when he’s on the field the Steelers are more effective in both pass and run defense.

Baltimore

The front office made great strides to get the weapons necessary to help QB Joe Flacco and the Ravens offense before the 2010 season.  Unfortunately it didn’t pan out as the injury bug and inconsistent play attributed to the Ravens having the 22nd ranked offense and the 20th ranked passing game.  Head coach John Harbaugh knows the offense has to be on par with the defense if Baltimore is going to contend for a Super Bowl.  The defenses’ age is going to be a factor.

Even though QB Joe Flacco’s numbers weren’t terrible by any stretch.  The offense was sluggish at times.  They are still a run first team.  That’s indicated by their free agent acquisitions of RB Ricky Williams and FB Vonta Leach.  Williams is the ideal power back they covet and Leach is seen as a better blocker than the departed Le’Ron McClain.  Both should help to keep star RB Ray Rice fresh for crucial parts of the game.  WR Anquan Boldin had a down year by his standards.  He did develop a good repertoire with Flacco, but he was constantly double teamed.  That shouldn’t be the case this year if WR Lee Evans can be the deep threat the Ravens have needed.  With the departure of TE Todd Heap Baltimore is going younger and faster with either Ed Dickson, Davon Drew or Dennis Pitta.  Second round pick WR Torrey Smith figures to get a chance to shine as well.

There is no question as to who is the voice of this franchise.  LB Ray Lewis knows the time is now and how much more he has left might just depend on where the Ravens finish in the standings. The same can be said for S Ed Reed.  Both have been mainstays on defense, but they can’t keep playing at such a high level for much longer.  DT Haloti Ngata is a force on the defensive line.  His return is a plus for the entire defense.  If LB Terrell Suggs can continue to post double digit sack totals.  And LB Sergio Kindle can provide the same on the other side of the field.  The Ravens pass rush will be tough to slow down.  First round pick CB Jimmy Smith was seen as a risk, but he’s in the right situation to succeed immediately in Baltimore.  His coverage skills were seen as among the best of any corner in the draft.

Cincinnati

It was as bad a season as you could get in Cincinnati last year. After a promising outlook after the ’09 season.  And with all the moves the Bengals made to improve going into 2010.  It was still a disaster.  As a result their franchise QB Carson Palmer said trade me or I’m retired.  Head coach Marvin Lewis was still given a vote of confidence and a two year extension.  Now it looks as though the Bengals have now been relegated to the ‘Bungals’ of yesteryear.  Since team president Mike Brown took over in 1991 the Bengals have only been to the playoffs two times.

The first signal that the Bengals were starting over was during the draft.  They drafted QB Andy Dalton with their second pick.  That sent signals throughout the league that Cincinnati was ready to move on from the Carson Palmer era.  With that and the acquisition of QB Bruce Gradkowski the Bengals will have a new look in the backfield.  They will probably go back to being a run first team with RB Cedric Benson re-signed.  The Bengals aren’t short on talent at wide receiver with 1st round pick A.J. Green ready to step in.  Jordan Shipley, Jerome Simpson and Andre Caldwell figure to get plenty of playing time as well.  TE Jermaine Gresham will look to build on a good rookie year, but the quarterback position is in flux.

Whether the Bengals defense will remain in the middle of the pack or begin to fall to the bottom remains to be seen.  What is certain is that head coach Marvin Lewis will have some pieces to fill in on the defensive side.  CB Leon Hall will be without his teammate Johnathan Joseph who left via free agency.  Cincinnati replaced him with Nate Clements who was once considered a top tier corner, but age has caught up with him.  At linebacker the Bengals added Manny Lawson and Thomas Howard who were starters for their previous teams.  Here they will have to compete for playing time, but they figure to be in the mix with Rey Maualuga and Keith Rivers.  DE Carlos Dunlap is primed for a big year if the Bengals can find an adequate complement to Dunlap on the other side of the line.

Cleveland

There was reason for optimism in the middle of the 2010 season for the Browns.  They had defeated the New Orleans Saints and New England Patriots in back-to-back weeks.  And nearly beat the New York Jets to complete the trifecta.  Alas, it was all for not as the Browns finished the season going 2-6.  The Eric Mangini era was over and team president Mike Holmgren hired St. Louis Rams offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur to right the ship.  He brings the west coast philosophy to the offense and Dick Jauron as the defensive coordinator.  Which means no more 3-4 defense.

There is no doubt as to who will lead the Browns offense going forward and that’s QB Colt McCoy.  It’s not Pat Shurmur’s guy, but Mike Holmgren drafted him.  He showed in flashes that he could handle the job last year, but he needs to work on his tendencies as he looked to run first rather than throw.  McCoy has one of the best offensive lines in football in front of him and RB Peyton Hillis to carry the running game.  That and new RB Brandon Jackson to help in 3rd down situations should give McCoy added confidence this season.  If WR Mohamed Massaquoi and TE Ben Watson can continue to produce at a high level the Browns offense will have a nice transition to the west coast playbook.  If they could find better ways to include WR Joshua Cribbs Cleveland would have an easier time moving the ball consistently.

With the change from a 3-4 to a 4-3 defense it should be a welcome to the Browns fans who have seen year after year the 3-4 defense fail.  It should be felt immediately with two rookies.  First round pick DT Phil Taylor and 2nd round pick DE Jabaal Sheard. Both will be looked to make immediate impacts in the rotation. Established DT Ahtyba Rubin was becoming a force in the middle in the 3-4 scheme.  In the 4-3 paired with Taylor, the Browns will tough to run on going forward.  Cleveland’s best pass rusher LB Marcus Benard will now be a DE in the new defense.  It should benefit him as he should approach the double digit sack total this year.  Scott Fujita and Chris Gocong will anchor the linebacker corp in the 4-3.  Both have experience in this type of scheme for previous teams.  The lone bright spot from the Browns defense last year was the maturation of CB Joe Haden and S T.J. Ward.  Haden has quickly risen to the status of a shut down corner as he was unafraid of taking on the opponents best wide receiver.  Ward instantly got the reputation of being a hard hitter after a devastating hit on Bengals WR Jordan Shipley.

If they can continue to be competitive they might surprise some opponents

Key Acquisitions

Patriots: WR Chad Ochocinco, DT Albert Haynesworth, DE Shaun Ellis, DT Marcus Stroud

Jets: WR Plaxico Burress, WR Derrick Mason

Dolphins: LB Kevin Burnett, OT Marc Colombo, RB Reggie Bush

Bills: LB Nick Barnett, WR Brad Smith, QB Tyler Thigpen

Key Rookies

Patriots: OT Nate Solder

Jets: DE Muhammad Wilkerson

Dolphins: RB Daniel Thomas

Bills: DT Marcell Dareus

Team Previews

New England

The staple of a Bill Belichick coached team is a good all around defense.  The defense led the NFL in interceptions and turnover differential, but was near the bottom against the pass.  The main reason was because of their lack of a pass rush.  They ranked in the middle of the pack last season, but they still finished the season with a 14-2 record.

Of course when you have Tom Brady as your quarterback you will have success.  The Patriots were the best scoring team in the NFL and Brady was named MVP for the second time.  He had many reliable targets last year, but there wasn’t a clear cut gamebreaker last season.  Enter Chad Ochocinco.  His arrival will help open up the middle of the field for Wes Welker and Deion Branch.  Tight end is a loaded position for New England with the emergence of Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski.  Should Chad be the Chad of ’03-’07 the Patriots will be the team to beat in this division.

Defensively they should be greatly improved with the additions of Haynesworth, Ellis and Stroud to go along with Vince Wilfork on the defensive line.  New England attacks opposing offenses with many different fronts.  It will be interesting to see how all the pieces will fit, but Belichick is a master at putting players in the right spot to succeed.  With an improved pass rush that should help linebacker Jerod Mayo continue to be a force in the middle. Cornerback Devin McCourty and Safety Patrick Chung should still be a dominant duo with less time chasing opposing receivers.

New York

It wasn’t as successful an offseason as the Jets would have liked, but they did keep some important pieces to remain Super Bowl contenders.  Rex Ryan is still talking and why wouldn’t he?  New York had a top three rushing attack and one of the best defenses in the league last year.  Both are relatively intact for the 2011 season.

QB Mark Sanchez survived his sophomore season with the Jets. It was a repeat of his rookie season as the Jets were one win away from playing in the Super Bowl.  With that much early success it’s easy to think that Sanchez will have a breakthrough year.  And why not?  WR Santonio Holmes was re-signed and will be playing an entire year with Sanchez.  Braylon Edwards is gone, but replacing him are a capable veteran Derrick Mason and 6’5 Plaxico Burress.  Plus Sanchez’s favorite target TE Dustin Keller is an elite pass catcher.  The rushing attack should be among the best again with Shonn Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson going through one of the best offensive lines in the NFL.

They struck out trying to get the big free agent prize, CB Nnamdi Asomugha.  But they were able to bring back CB Antonio Cromartie.  It doesn’t sound as good as the combo of Nnamdi and Darrelle Revis, but it’s still pretty good.  Both are good cover corners and are ballhawks as well.  With a youth movement taking place on the defensive line that should help keep the veterans fresh through the long regular season.  And linebackers David Harris and Bart Scott should be free to wreak havoc all over the field.

Miami

He was almost shown the door when owner Stephen Ross was courting then Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh to be the Dolphins head coach.  Harbaugh turned Ross down.  Afterwards Ross almost immediately extended Tony Sparano’s contract. Sparano is now in his 4th season in Miami.  Miami has gone 7-9 the last two seasons.  Going forward Sparano knows he doesn’t have much time to turn it around.  He has a good defense, but the offense is in transition.  Time will tell if it will work against New England and New York.

They didn’t want a quarterback in the draft and they weren’t looking for a replacement in free agency either.  That means Chad Henne is the guy going into the 2011 season.  With new faces in the backfield for Henne, it remains to be seen if he can bounce back after a rough 2010 season.  He still has Brandon Marshall to look for.  Whether anyone else can step up to take the pressure off Marshall is another story.  Reggie Bush coming over in a trade will help the short passing game, but Miami figures to use him more as a running back this year.  Rookie Daniel Thomas figures to see a lot of action running the ball, but he’s a bruiser and won’t be asked to carry all the time.

The one constant with Sparano’s teams have been on defense. They were a great defense last year even though the offense didn’t help through long stretches of the season.  One big reason was LB Cameron Wake.  His 14 sacks led the team and was 3rd in the NFL.  One weakness was coverage among the linebackers and Kevin Burnett should fix that.  He’s seen as an improvement over Channing Crowder last season.  Burnett and Karlos Dansby are a formidable duo inside for Miami.  The defensive line should continue to get better with 2010 1st round pick Jared Odrick and Paul Soliai anchoring it.  CB Vontae Davis will have to start living up to his 1st round selection in 2009 this season and become a shutdown corner.

Buffalo

The one positive from the 2010 season for Chan Gailey is that Buffalo was competitive in almost all of their games.  Their 4-12 record doesn’t show that, but 6 of their losses could easily have been wins.  Do the math and that’s a 10-6 record.  But that can be said for almost every team.  Going forward the mindset in Buffalo is to remain competitive and get the offensive playmakers more involved.

The quarterback position could very well have been a disaster last year.  Fortunately for the Bills they had Ryan Fitzpatrick.  He finished the year with career highs in yards thrown and touchdowns.  Along with Fitzpatrick’s career year they discovered a gem with WR Steve Johnson.  His spectacular production was a welcome surprise when their best receiver at the time Lee Evans was struggling to stay healthy.  The offense should open up with the versatile Brad Smith being signed away from the rival New York Jets.  Look for some creative play calling this season with Smith on board.  Fred Jackson will be the workhorse in the backfield, but C.J. Spiller should have an expanded role with one year under his belt.

Buffalo was struggling to find an identity on defense last year as well as on offense.  It became apparent that the Bills weren’t adequately equipped to run a traditional 3-4.  In the middle of the season they switched to a hybrid defense that alternates between a 4-3 base to the occasional 3-4.  It was probably too late as the defense was the worst against the run last year.  The defense should get a lift with the additions of LB Nick Barnett and rookie DT Marcell Dareus.  Look for improvements from LB Shawne Merriman and LB Chris Kelsay with the change in tactics.  The one positive was that Buffalo was third against the pass last year.  Credit to the Bills for keeping that intact with CB Terrence McGee, CB Leodis McKelvin, CB Drayton Forence and S Jairus Byrd all returning.