NFL Preview: The AFC South

AFC South – The Houston Texans had their break out year last season. Their defense was tough, and close to being elite. They finally managed to beat the Indianapolis Colts (although with Manning sitting out, almost everybody managed to beat them). On so many levels, last season was a huge success for them. Early on in the offseason, there was speculation that maybe they were in contention for the Peyton Manning sweepstakes, but they did the right thing in sticking with Matt Schaub as their quarterback, thus reassuring him that they have every confidence in his abilities. Now, he has to reaffirm the validity of their faith in him. Houston could use some improvements in their passing game. The Texans also have a very strong running game with Arian Foster running behind an effective and physical line, which should help keep this offense stable, and effective. The defense lost a bit of talent, but they should prove to still be tough. Last year, Houston 's defense ranked among the very elite units in the league, with only the Pittsburgh Steelers, San Fransisco 49ers, and Baltimore Ravens having yielded fewer points. The Texans right now are the best team in a weak division, and by far. The Colts are obviously not what they used to be, the Titans are likely far from being a serious and consistent contender, and that is even more the case with the Jaguars. That should leave Houston as a strong division champion, with a possible run at a playoff bye, and maybe even home field advantage, if they play their cards right. But everyone knows who Houston is, too, and they cannot afford to get too complacent. They essentially eliminated themselves from one of the top two seeds last year in losing to their last three opponents at the end of the regular season, none of which were playoff teams, and only one of which (the division rival Titans) did not end with a double-digit losses in their final record last season. If they can realistically rank among the elites this season, then they simply cannot overlook anything like that again. Every game could be crucial. Experience from last season, including the two playoff games, should help this team to get even stronger, and I see them as a serious Super Bowl contender this season, and what should be an easy march to the division title, to boot.

The Tennessee Titans lost in their attempts to woo Peyton Manning, who used to play for the Tennesses Vols football in his college days. It would have made sense for him to go there, since this also would have brought him home on many levels, and also would kept him in the familiar AFC South, but ultimately, he obviously chose not to, favoring instead the Denver Broncos. So, the Titans remain just another ordinary team, kind of a run of the pack type of team. Nothing really makes them stand out, in either a good or a bad way. They have been decent at times, but not that great at others. They are nowhere near the best in the league, but also nowhere near the bottom of the pack, either. They did finish up the season with a winning record, which was an accomplishment, although it fell short of a playoff berth. Defeating the Texans at Houston in the final game of the season, following an embarrassing blowout home loss to the Texans early in the season, should help bolster confidence for this upcoming season. The defense was a fairly tight unit through much of last season, although they had lapses, particularly during the first half of the season in consecutive games against the Steelers and the Texans. Their offense was not bad, but could use some improvement. The passing game was effective, but the running game needs some work. All in all, the Titans have enough weapons in their arsenal to have another mildly successful season, possibly even enough to produce another winning record. But they likely do not have enough tools at their disposal to launch a serious run at a division title, or perhaps even the playoffs. Still, they should at least place second within the division, but adjustments will need to be made if they hope for better, now or in the future.  

The Jacksonville Jaguars once seemed to be a promising franchise on the rise. But their promise of future success was never entirely realized, and they have since more fully returned back to the pack that they never were able to separate themselves from all that much in the first place. Their offense ranked among the weakest units in the league last season, particularly their passing game. Their running game enjoyed more success, yet overall, this was one of the lowest rated offenses in the league. Combine that with a not so special defense, and you get the kind of long season that the Jaguars suffered through last season. They got off on the wrong foot right off the bat, releasing one time bright quarterback prospect David Garrard just days before the season began. It left an impression of instability, and the results seemed to cement this viewpoint further. The Jaguars were not a historically bad team, but they were largely irrelevant and as close to invisible as a professional team could get. They did not make much news even for being bad, since their division rival Indianapolis Colts were suffering through an immensely unsuccessful season of historical proportions after almost a decade of dominance, so it could even be argued that while the Jaguars not only were in the shadow of better teams in the league, they were even in the shadow of worse teams, or at least one worse team in particular. It is hard to imagine that they will do anything to greatly improve their station this season, either. Depending on how the Colts do, since they are a rebuilding team presently filled with inexperience, Jacksonville may avoid being a last placed team. Yet, Jacksonville did not make as much news as the Colts did in the offseason, and that will likely be to their detriment in the long run. Probably this is a third place team, and a losing one at that. But this is also a team that does not appear to have anything to indicate a bright future, either for this season, or beyond.

While the rival Patriots may have been the team of the last decade officially, the Indianapolis Colts were the winningest team of any decade during that same time period. They managed to earn records of at least 12-4 or better for seven consecutive seasons – a new NFL record. That alone is truly phenomenal. They enjoyed remarkable success with one of the most potent offenses in league history. Nine consecutive playoff appearances, tying a record. They became the first team in league history to begin three consecutive seasons undefeated for as long as they did, as they started off with at least seven consecutive wins in perfect starts (13-0 in 2005, 9-0 in their championship season in 2006, and 7-0 in 2007). Add to that their historical 14-0 start in 2009 (they became only the third team in NFL history to start a season at 14-0), a season that saw them qualify for their second Super Bowl in four seasons, and this team's accomplishments seem to grow and grow. In the second half of the decade, they finally overcame their biggest obstacle: the New England Patriots, which allowed them to qualify for the Super Bowl, finally, and which they would go on to win. Yes, it was a remarkable run of success, overtaking the 49ers of the 1990's (ironically, another winning team that was in the shadow of the "Team of the Decade" Dallas Cowboys, and the parallels between those 49ers and these Colts were actually fairly remarkable, when you think about it). But that success ended abruptly last year, as Peyton Manning, who was known as an iron man up to that point, and seemed on course to at least challenge, if not overtake, Bret Favre's iron man streak of starts, suddenly announced that he would not be the starter when the season opened. Eventually, it became clear that he would not take a single snap. All hell broke loose, as the Colts found life without Manning difficult, to say the least. They brought in veteran quarterback Kerry Collins, but he was ineffective and injured early on, so Painter became the quarterback, but he was no Peyton. Used to undefeated starts, the Colts suddenly found themselves on a massive winless streak to start the season, and seemed to be threatening to become only the second winless team in league history when the streak reached an epic 0-13. They managed to pull off two wins in a row to salvage some respect, but finished off a dismal 2-14. One good thing: they got the first pick in the draft, and used it wisely in acquiring quarterback Andrew Luck, who like Peyton Manning, is supposed to be a once in a generation kind of a quarterback. The Colts had better hope so, as they in effect are building their entire offense, even their entire team, around his abilities. He has looked very good so far in warm ups, but game action will be an entirely different thing altogether. Still, the Colts did what they had to, and seem poised to have a successful future behind Luck. That's a good thing, too, as the absence of Manning last season revealed that this team had some serious flaws that needed to be addressed. Their offense, traditionally a strong point, was abysmal, and the defense was not much better. They made some good moves in the offseason, but it will take some time for the rebuilding process to pay dividends down the line. Right now, Indianapolis will have to pay their dues with another losing season, but the experience that Luck and the Colts go through should prove beneficial for the future, so things could be worse.