AFC South

The AFC South: Clay is buying into Jacksonville. Oz? Not so much.

Oz: We all can guess who'll be at the top this year, but the toughest battle will be coming out unscathed here.

Houston: The bottom-feeder here. However, they are not too bad. Matt Schaub put up pretty good numbers last year, Andre Johnson is one of the league's top receivers, and the two have really meshed together. Their offensive line should be better this year than last and last year they gave up a third of what they gave up in sacks the previous year. A third! Mario Williams has shown flashes that he deserved the number one pick over Reggie Bush in 2006, and if Rosevelt Colvin plays at full health, the Texan defense won't be too bad. Dunta Robinson is a stud at cornerback.

S.D.C. I don’t think the line will be better this year. They used their first round pick on a Tackle, Duane Brown, who may be good, but he is raw and may not even start this year. They have two subpar running backs, which is not better then one good one. Their passing game was great last year, and I don’t see any reason for it to get worse, except that maybe they surprised everyone and they may key on the fact that they shouldn’t be able to run the ball. Their defense is ok, Mario Williams is a stud, but they do not have any depth and I don’t think they have enough playmakers.

Oz: Indianapolis: The question mark here is health. The key stat being that the players injured (Manning, Harrison, Freeney) are all top 3 at their position. Manning will most likely be fine, but how's his number one receiver? Is Reggie Wayne the man now (104 catches, 10 TD's last season)? Some people are saying the Colts are going to be down this year, but how so? They've got the second best q

uarterback in the game, a veteren line, two young playmakers (Wayne/Addai), and an above average defense. They should win this division. I don't think they win it at 13-3, but they'll win it.

S.D.C.: Agreed, they do not have a lot of depth on the O-line or D-line. If they stay healthy they are competing for the Super Bowl, but if they lose some key guys like last year, they won’t be able to keep up with the Patriots and Chargers. They also have a very tough schedule this year, playing Minn, GB, NE, SD, Pitt and of course Jax twice. Healthy, 14-2 wouldn’t surprise me a bit, but the lack of depth scares me.

Oz: Jacksonville: The only threat to the Colts dominance. Do you buy it? They're terrific defensively and apparently they can score, but they've never actually impressed me. I've never said to myself, "wow, Jacksonville is GOOD!" Have you? They're a smash-mouth team, which I like. Maurice Jones-Drew is a little shit. I love him. David Garrard is their quarterback. I don't know; I just don't buy into it. Can you sell me on these guys? Is this league competitive because none of the teams are really top tier teams besides the Colts?

S.D.C.: I do buy it.They have a great defense, and a great running game. They have a decent QB who stayed out of trouble last year, and he has JD to bail him out, which is huge. Their lack of play making receivers is a big deal. They got Jerry Porter who could be good, but may not show up…after that they have Reggie Williams and Troy Williamson. Garrard has a strong arm and Williamson is fast. If they can figure things out, they could be a little bit better there then last year. Then again, Williamson could continue to be a bust as well as Porter and they could be worse. They lost Marcus Stroud to Buffalo, which could hurt them pretty big on D, making their Dline young and shallow. They do, however, have a much easier sched then the Colts which will make their two games against each other huge. I wouldn’t be surprised if they ended up at the top and compete in a stacked AFC, but they could look exactly the same as last year, which is just not quite good enough.

Oz: Tennessee: Say what you will about Vince Young's style of play, but the kid is a leader. He can put a team on his back and help them win the game. The problem is that he's got no one around him. The Titans signed Alge Crumpler this year and he should help if he can establish a solid relationship with Young. LenDale White is the running back. Do you think that Vince Young talks shit to White about the 2006 Rose Bowl? I definitely would. Back to the Titans. I think they're no better than third here but I do think they could beat any team in this division at least once.

S.D.C.: He is a leader, he just isn’t a great passer and has shit for receivers. The last three years the Titans have been 17th, 27th and 21st ranked offense in the league, and they didn’t do anything to get better. You are right Crumpler could help, but they have shit for receivers and I hope that VY talks shit all day long to a fat cocky Lendale White. The defense was great last year as long as Haynesworth was healthy, he was a beast. Getting franchised was smart for a guy with motivation issues because he has to play well again to get a new contract. I think they made the playoffs last year with some good D and an easy schedule. This year I don’t see them getting as many close wins. They fired Norm Chow for a lack of offense, but I have news, they aren’t going to be any better this year.

Oz: This is a tough division to pick. I really am not sold on any of these teams this year.

It is not as tough as I thought it might be, but it is tough in that an injury here or there could change everything. I think we have one super bowl contender, one team on the fringe of being good but not quite great, and two average teams that would do much better in a different division, but just don’t have quite enough guys.

Oz: Overall, I agree 100%. This division has one legit contender and another probable playoff team. Getting three teams out of this division will be extraordinarily tough, though. I doubt it happens.

Indianapolis: 11-5
Jacksonville: 10-6
Tennessee: 8-8
Houston: 6-10

S.D.C.:

Indianapolis: 12-4

Jacksonville: 11-5

Tennessee: 8-8

Houston: 8-8

I wanted to give Indy more wins, but the main question is this…can Indy stop a good offense in a final drive to win the game? And to me the answer is no.