by Mike Davies

After ten weeks of football, there is no clear front-runner for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.  There has been a hand full of surprising and disappointing teams in every division.  Before the season started, I made predictions of the AFC standings.  So far I have not been too accurate.  Here’s a breakdown of every division in the AFC and my new predictions:

The Pittsburg Steelers have reestablished their defense to be the AFC North leader.  Ben Roethlisberger has made some questionable decisions since his suspension, but none too drastic.  The Baltimore Ravens are tied for the North lead with their high-powered defense.  The only flaw in their game is the offense, which has been disappointing so far.  The Cleveland Browns have shown hope with surprising games versus the Patriots and Jets.  This team is by no means a playoff team, but at least they are showing that Colt McCoy is a contender.  Finally, the most disappointing team in the NFL goes to the Cincinnati Bengals. Carson Palmer cannot even make completions to Owens or Ochocinco while Benson struggles to establish the run game.  My prediction for the AFC North crown goes to the Ravens with the Steelers as the wild card.

As expected, the New England Patriots are on top of the division along side the New York Jets.  The Patriots are the top offence in the league while the Jets have one of the top defenses.  I did not expect the Jets to be this successful this early in the season, but both teams have shown flaws in their game.  The Miami Dolphins are average at best and the injuries to Chad Pennington and Chad Henne have ended their playoff hopes.  At least the Buffalo Bills have shown signs of hope with Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback; however, they are not able to get W’s on the board.  Expect the New England Patriots to be the AFC East winner with the Jets as the wild card.

The AFC South is the most wide-open division in the league.  The Indianapolis Colts hold a one game lead, but do not look as dominating as year’s past.  Manning’s offense has been destroyed by injuries, but he continues to put up big numbers.  The Tennessee Titans are a work in progress with lingering injuries to Vince Young.  Chris Johnson has yet to have a “huge” game, but the Titans are showing they can fight with the best teams.  The addition of Randy Moss can only help, right?  The Jacksonville Jaguars have surprised everyone with a tie for 2nd place in the division.  David Garrard has shown he can still throw the ball, but the more he throws it the more likely he is to throw interceptions.  As long as they can establish Maurice Jones-Drew in the running game, this team will be a contender.  The Houston Texans have been somewhat of a disappointment so far, yet are only two games out of the division lead.  Matt Schaub has yet to put up huge numbers, but he does not need to with the dominating performances by Arian Foster.  My prediction for the AFC South winner goes to the Tennessee Titans because they have yet to face the Colts.  If they can win these games, they will be able to dominate everyone else.

After a fast start by the Kansas City Chiefs, their record has fallen back to 5-4 in a wide-open AFC West.  Even the unexpected Oakland Raiders have created a buzz with a share of the division lead.  After a slow start, the San Diego Chargers have found their stride with MVP favorite Philip Rivers.  The Chargers are a team destroyed by injuries, but have been able to stay afloat.  One of my most disappointing teams thus far is the Denver Broncos because of their inconsistent offence and their lackluster defense.  My prediction for the AFC West champion is the Chargers mainly because they have history of their side and the Chiefs and Raiders are too inexperienced in meaningful games.

I will not be revealing my pick for the super bowl, but I will mention it in my next article.  Expect another article come playoff time to see if my predictions are correct.  Remember you can see me every week on Ground Pound only on FPTV-25.