Indianapolis Colts: 12-4; 1st place
The Colts will easily win this division, yet again. After losing the Super Bowl, expect Peyton Manning to have another thrilling year. Given his excellent receiving corps, Pierre Garcon, Dallas Clark and Reggie Wayne, Peyton will continue to climb steadily up the record books. You could provide him with any receiver and his laser rocket arm will make them elite.
Not only will their offense be stellar, but their defense will be top flight as well. With Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis on the ends with the goal of eating QBs for their Sunday meal, the QBs have to rush to throw the ball. When rushed, their safeties Bob Sanders and Antoine Bethea are prime to strike for interceptions. As long as the linebackers can plug the holes to stop the run, this team will again be nearly flawless. Peyton, a winner knowing what it means to lose a Super Bowl, will be relentless in his attempt to win again to prove himself one of the all-time greats.
Houston Texans: 10-6; 2nd place
Unfortunately for the Texans, they are in the same division as the Colts, and I picked the Pats and Ravens to be the Wild Card winners. The Texans are doing well building a formidable team, but it will not be enough to reign in the Colts. Matt Schaub has potential for another great season, though it is hard not to when you have Andre Johnson to throw to. Their running game is a little suspect though, so their offense is slightly unbalanced.
A few bad seasons provided the Texans with some really good drafts picks, the best being Mario Williams. They have a solid team, but it will be just like last season, losing heartbreaking games to the Colts, and just missing the playoffs. The Colts are just too mentally strong to be toppled by an up-and-comer. The Texans will be an exciting team to watch, again, mostly due to Andre Johnson, but that will only last for the regular season.
Tennessee Titans: 6-10; 3rd place
This record seems very low for a team who finished 8-8 last season and has a lot of promise. Vince Young improved last year, and their offense has the weapons there for him to succeed. Nate Washington, Justin Gage, and Kenny Britt are all playmaking receivers, and having the best running back in the league certainly helps. Football players need to be mentally tough though, and I don't see that in Young. Plus, the team's management doesn't seem to have faith either. If Young starts off poorly, they will not hesitate to turn to their old man QB, Kerry Collins.
The defense really isn't that great; five times last year they surrendered more than 30 points. They were shut out by the Pats, 59-0. Granted this was early in the season, before Young rejuvinated the team, but this team is too shaky to pick as winners. They play the line of being great and being terrible, and I feel too many times this season, they will fall on the wrong side of that line.
Jacksonville Jaguars: 4-12; 4th place
This team probably is not as bad as their record would suggest. They were definitely inconsistent last year, losing to Seattle 41-0, but beating the Texans twice, essentially keeping them from the playoffs. They, like the Titans have talent and good coaching, Jeff Fisher for the Titans, Jack Del Rio for the Jags. Inconsistency though will continue for the Jags, and they will be a punching bag for the division.
David Garrard is alright, Mike Sims-Walker is good, and Maurice Jones-Drew is fantastic. MJD won't be enough to carry this team to .500. The most important position in all of sports is quarterback. Given the Colts have the best in the league, with Peyton, the rest of the division fighting for 2nd. In order to garner enough wins to snatch away a Wild Card spot, the other three teams need to build overall great teams, and the Jags have not.
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