Part 8- The Preview for the AFC North Division.
Prices- (Division Winner)
• Cincinnati Bengals $2.70
• Pittsburgh Steelers $2.80
• Baltimore Ravens $3.25
• Cleveland Browns $10
Under/Over regular Season wins
• Cincinnati 8.5 wins Over $1.63, under $2.30
• Pittsburg 9 wins over $1.71, under $2.15
• Baltimore 8.5 wins Over $1.91, under $1.91
• Cleveland 6 wins Over $1.58, under $2.40
Gargy- Tough division, very tough- 3 good teams and my perceived worst team aren’t disgraceful. I like the $2.80 on offer for Cinci. Last year they were 10-6 and I reckon they will there or thereabouts again this year. Dalton is a solid QB good, AJ Green is an awesome target to throw to, they added another target, drafting TE Eifert and they have a good group of defensive pass rushers. Their schedule is tough, having to play the NFC North and AFC East, but still I have them winning the division and going over 8.5 wins, shirt you will probably tell me why how terrible Dalton is and how he hasn’t won a career play off match, are you with me?
Shirt- Yeah, agree Gargy, tough Division, with the Bengals the standout for mine, although I think the division title will be a dogfight. The Bengals have come along in leaps and bounds in recent years, and they have fixed their biggest problem by developing a decent QB in Dalton. He seems to have come along well and is a confident, no nonsense athlete, notwithstanding the fact he is a fanta pants. The Bengals also feature in this year’s Hard Knocks reality show on ESPN – catch it if you get the chance, then you too can say things like “Gee I hope the big Estonian defensive end and 2013 draft pick Margus Hunt gets a start this year”
Gargy- Pittsburgh were very under-whelming last year and still finishing 8 and 8, losses included the Titans, Chargers, Browns and Cowboys. Big Ben is a so resilient and just keeps keeping on and I think they will be there or thereabouts. I have them finishing second in the division but grabbing a wildcard spot and I reckon they will 9 games and it will be a push bet; so do what you want with that bit of gold. Shirt Steelers fan?
Shirt- Don’t like the Steelers fan, and very cool on Big Ben as a human. They are a very consistent team though, and I can’t see them falling to any worse than 8-8 this year. The problem is I can’t see them doing much better. They’ll lift for the big games and drop a few that should be easy wins, so avoid them as a betting proposition would be my advice. Without a playoff berth in the offing, what’s on the cards for 2013? Well, Rothelsa…Rothliseb…Big Ben will break the franchise touchdown pass record (212) if he throws at least 22 TD passes for the year. He will also tick over 30,000 yards total, and should do so in week 1. Exciting stuff hey.
Gargy- Ravens, defending superbowl champs, I think I saw a stat somewhere that the Ravens had lost 8 of their players from the winning super bowl team, chuck in a season ending injury to TE Pitta and who does Joe Flacco chuck the ball to? The problems is they paid Flacco so much money there simply wasn’t enough left over. Given their lack of depth and tough schedule I can’t see them winning 9 games, I am on unders, Shirt?
Shirt- It still baffles me that the jeopardy answer to “The player with the biggest contract in professional football history” is “Who is Joe Flacco”; mainly because “Who is Joe Flacco?” was a perfectly legitimate non-jeopardy question a few years ago. He’s got a good arm. He managed to sneak his way to a Superbowl with a fantastic, if aging, team and a genius for a coach. But I’m sorry, he ain’t an elite quarterback. And the fact he is being spoken about as such, particularly in a league that is full to the brim with future hall of famers, shows how retarded most sports fans are. But never fear, the hype will subside this year when the Ravens slip back to a 9 win season and their superbowl victory retreats into memory.
Gargy- Browns. They are the 4th ranked team in this division. They will improve- Brandon Weeden was ok for a rookie but they will be around 6 or so wins. Shirt?
Shirt –The best thing about Cleveland is the road out of town. I’m kidding – I’ve never been there so thankfully I have never had to try and find a way to leave. And the Browns certainly don’t look like enticing me there any time soon. They will have another losing season and will treat 2013 as a year focused on “rebuilding and looking to the future” which is something Cleveland fans have been hearing for time immemorial.
pelicanpunting 