2035 AFC PREVIEW

The season starts soon, so I’ll make this short. It should be another competitive year in the AFC with a lot of teams able to go all the way. Some new or somewhat new to the EFL coaches should make it even more competitive than last season. Well, on to the picks.

AFC EAST

New York – This is by far the most competitive division in the EFL with three teams capable of making it to the championship game. If Miami’s coach hadn’t left it would be four teams. However, only one team can and of the four New York has the best chance. They have a solid roster and a spectacular coaching staff. Always busy in the off season, they made a huge pickup in QB James Alvarez. Is that the shot in the arm they need to get back to the title game? It very well could be. They had no draft picks this year, so this is a team that wants to win now, and they should win the east at least.

New York- “Liar, liar, pants on fire/Burn this dynasty on a pyre.”

Buffalo – With a couple seasons under his belt to build a solid roster at Buffalo, head coach William Fernandez should really make a run for it all. He has no assistant coaches, so his success or failure lies squarely on his shoulders, but it doesn’t seem to be a factor given his success last season. The addition of speedy OLB Damon Schmidt from Philadelphia should give him a pass rushing threat for many years to come. And rookie CB Ken Cuevas was a quality second round pick in the draft. Look for Buffalo in the playoffs.

Buffalo- “Looking for points off Champion’s toe/At least there’s one winner in Buffalo.”

New England – Two fairly mediocre seasons for a veteran talented coach. Lets hope he’s brought his playbook over from USC. Coach Prince Calhoun has a pretty good eye for assistant coach talent, so maybe the addition of OC Joseph Edwards will get them past two 9-7 seasons. They made some moves in free agency, and the addition of WR John Heffner should provide a boost to the already talented offense. They have a good coaching staff and a talented roster. If they were in the NFC they would probably win their division, but unfortunately they are in the AFC east, so they will need a wildcard berth.

New England- “Nine and seven times two/When you can’t cheat to recruit.”

Miami – This team had a talented roster but lost their most important asset in head coach Neil McNamara. I expect a bumpy road for the new coaches in Miami, but if they can make them mesh, all the pieces are there for a good team. Check back in two years.

Miami- “Joeybon now leads them to action/Prototypical addition by subtraction.”

AFC NORTH

Pittsburgh – There have been no major changes in Pittsburgh. The coaching staff has remained in tact and the roster hasn’t changed much either.

Pittsburgh-”Even with admin hacking and BS calls/No coach in the game can beat Dalton Qualls.”

Cleveland – Cleveland has been a fairly average team the past three seasons. However, they didn’t have OC Neil McNamara, who has left Miami to give Cleveland the boost it needs to get over the hump. He should bring an eye for talent and a great training program with him. They picked up a QB in the first round of the draft, and brought in Thomas Payne from Miami. Payne should be the starter, but this is a team planning for the future. They also brought over running back James Freeman and jack of all trades Dwight Wingfield from Miami. This team has a good chance to make the playoffs, but they are not a lock as the competition is so tough in the AFC.

Cleveland- “A mediocre team adding Hawk/Does anybody give a fawk?”

Baltimore – Coach Charles Torres has a rough road ahead to make the playoffs. After an 8-8 season, they did nothing in free agency and had a mediocre draft at best. They will have to put in a lot of work to get this team to the playoffs.

Baltimore- “Terrorzone leads the team of Poe/A division title? Nevermo’”

Cincinnati – Too many little indians and not enough chiefs. This team has three new assistant coaches and no head coach. Lets hope someone can make the call when things get hairy. Cinci hasn’t had success since head coach Charles Beard left three seasons ago. They must have felt they needed help on defense with the addition of free agents, OLB Terry Vick and DE Joseph Levi. I don’t expect much from their draft picks as first rounder Clarence Burroughs out of Hawaii will take a few years to learn to be a receiver on this level. I expect another down year for the Bungles.

Cincinnati- “With a D led by the intimidatingly named Sparrow/In the AFC’s Scopes Trial, they’re Clarence Darrow.”

AFC SOUTH

Jacksonville – This is a no brainer if there ever was one. Jacksonville is the only talented team in the south and should win once again. Head coach Craig Raab took a kicker in the first round of the draft, but at a salary of only $1.85 million, isn’t as much of a head scratcher as I had first thought. Look for their power rushing attack to plow them into the playoffs.

Jacksonville- “Newman, Freeman, and Lister/More playoff fodder for Elpidio Mister”

Houston – Houston really needs to get their act together to get back to the playoffs. After a successful campaign a couple seasons ago, they dropped off in a major way last year. They drafted a couple good backs in Demar Bryant and Dennis Williams, but don’t look for that to help much now. A defense that gave up 32 points a game last season needs a major overhaul and two sixth round cornerbacks aren’t going to cut it. Don’t look for Houston to be playing football in 18 days. This is an 8-8 team at best.

Houston- “As their play fills them with a thousand shames/Linemen Rocket, Queen, and Hammer still have the coolest names.”

Indianapolis – Maybe coach George Fox Jr. can turn this flailing franchise around, but he has a lot of work ahead of him to do that. He added the little engine that could running back Lino Allen and DE Charles Balchin in the draft, but was fairly inactive in free agency. Success is going to be tough, but if there was ever a division to do it, the south is it. This team will need a few seasons to make the playoffs however.

Indianopolis- “A team going for every fourth down?/A team of bozos, coached by a clown.”

Tennessee – I believe my assistant coach Elpidio Mister said it best when he said Tennessee’s coach Thomas Harder should change his name to try. DeMar Gammon was a good pick in the draft, but he won’t make a difference. This team is just bad.

Tennessee- “66 yards a game on the ground, 42 through the sky/New OC Thomas Harder should change his name to Try”

AFC WEST

San Diego – The west is an interesting conference which could play out a few different ways. I expect San Diego to win the west and return to the playoffs again, but if Oakland can figure out the pro game they could give them a run for their money. Coach Allen Dixon is on the verge of a getting deep in the playoffs and could make a run this season if he improves a little. They had a good draft but lost a few players in free agency. So it might be hard unless some up and coming players can make an impact. I see them winning the west but losing in the first round of the playoffs again.

San Diego-”Acknowledged, but ignored for a reason/Get ready for another fourth seed season.”

Oakland – Coach Zoltan Fernandez brings a good college coaching pedigree and helped Oakland win three more games than the previous year. Can he continue that trend and get them to the playoffs? He will have to win the division to do that and I don’t think he has the personnel to do that just yet. He added guard DeAndre Dixon and running back Donte Fullerton in the draft. Oakland didn’t add much or lose much in free agency. This all comes down to coaching. Has Fernandez learned enough of the pro game to make the playoffs? Not this year.

Oakland-”Another legend taking a fall/This ain’t the MWC,more .500 ball.”

Kansas City – They have a new head coach, but it should be more of the same in Kansas City. They might win eight games, they might win six games, but don’t expect much more than that. They only had four draft picks as the previous administration traded away most of their picks, but maybe the moves he made will carry over to help this coaching staff. I don’t see anything really impressive in free agency, so I don’t see this team improving much if at all.

Kansas City- “The Heart of America is KC/Also known as The Colon of PSE.”

Denver – This team will never fail from lack of effort. Head coach Thomas Hite is very active in the off season, but is a fairly new coach and has some learning to do. If he could bring in some talented assistant coaches it would help their cause greatly. They went defense in the draft with the first two picks going for tackles. That should help a team that gave up 190 yards on the ground per game. Denver won’t make the playoffs but they should continue to improve.

Denver-”What’s the best you can say about Mile High?/Jets can count to three and he’ll try.”