The teams in the AFC North are set to take part in their first preseason games this week. There will be some players that make a splash when they get their introduction to the NFL. Each team has their own training camp headliners. Let’s take a look at the big stories for each team in the AFC North.
Baltimore Ravens
The big story in Baltimore continues to revolve around Ray Rice. Rice will serve a two game suspension to start the season. Ravens fans have been very supportive of Rice at open practices. He has received loud cheers when they show him on the big screen. The team has stood behind him during his trying time as well. The majority of them showed up to support him when he faced the media for the first time since being suspended.
More importantly, there have been questions about how Rice will fit into the zone scheme that new offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak employs. The results have been good so far. Head coach John Harbaugh had positive things to say after the Ravens practice at the Navy Marine Memorial Stadium on Monday.
He’s been very patient with the zone runs, which is something that I believe to be an improvement over the past few years. He’s catching the ball well and his pass protection has been very good. Ray has looked good. He’s in tremendous shape. I am seeing him make a good lateral cut. He has really good burst, acceleration is there and vision is there. He’s been very patient.
Rice will get his first chance to show those outside of the NFL that he can excel in the zone scheme when the Ravens host the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday. He has looked sharp in practice and has been able to read the designed cut back lanes that are built in to get him to the second level of the defense. As Harbaugh said, Rice has good burst and acceleration. That is something that he will need to fit the one cut and downhill running style that is most effective in Kubiak’s offense.
Cincinnati Bengals
Without a doubt the top story in Bengals land is the new contract that Andy Dalton has received. According to spotrac.com, Dalton’s contract will earn him $96 million over six years. It includes a $12 million signing bonus and guarantees Dalton $17 million. The yearly average salary for the contract is $16 million and locks him up until 2021. The Bengals President, Mike Brown said that Dalton has earned his place with the team and acknowledged that they were betting big on him. Brown said the reason that they are doing so is because they believe in him.
The Bengals didn’t have many other options. Productive quarterbacks don’t grow on trees. They were fortunate to get the signal caller in the second round of the 2011 NFL draft after being forced to move on from Carson Palmer. Coley Harvey of ESPN.com offered his take on why the move to sign Dalton was one that the Bengals needed to do.
When you consider that the Bengals had been to the playoffs only twice in the 20 years before Dalton’s arrival, his regular-season success becomes even more noteworthy. It is that success (and perhaps the fact there aren’t a lot of options out there at quarterback) that is perhaps the biggest reason the Bengals clearly feel they can trust him, even if the structure of his contract might tell a different story.
The questions about his playoff performances remain a concern. The Bengals are 0-3 in Dalton’s postseason trips. He has thrown six interceptions and just one touchdown in the playoffs. The new contract will surely require a better showing in the playoffs. The pressure is truly now on Andy Dalton to lead this team past the first round of the playoffs.
Cleveland Browns
Is there any other thing to talk about besides Johnny Manziel? The big news this week is that Manziel has taken snaps with the first team. This isn’t anything that was not planned according to head coach Mike Pettine. Pettine told the media that he was pleased with the way that Manziel was able to keep plays alive with his feet.
This is something that could come in handy if Manziel is named the starter. Having a mobile quarterback that can make plays when things break down always helps an offense that lacks weapons. The Browns without Josh Gordon are no different. Jordan Cameron is surely a viable option but he’s hardly a top tier receiving option.
Joe Haden was recently asked about Manziel and he said that he can tell that the rookie is picking up the offense with more ease and has shown flashes of the premier play maker that he was at Texas A&M.
“He was a winner,” said Haden. “I liked the way he played with passion and he just was a playmaker. Running around, scrambling around, being able to throw the ball like that. That’s something that a lot of people aren’t able to do. He’s able to extend plays. At the same time he has a really big arm.”
Manziel will make his NFL debut on Saturday against the Detroit Lions. It has not been clarified who will be the starter. Either way, expect to see Manziel take a lot of snaps during the preseason so the coaching staff can truly get a pulse on his ability.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers brought in safety Mike Mitchell via free agency. Quietly, Mitchell was one of the more productive safeties last year as he posted 3.5 sacks, four interceptions, 66 tackles, two forced fumbles and eight pass break ups. It’s safe to say that he earned the right to be one of the highly sought after free agents. The Steelers didn’t waist any time giving Mitchell a five year, $25 million deal on the first day of free agency.
Mitchell recently returned from a groin injury that caused him to miss the first week of camp. He hated missing time because he wants to prove himself to his new teammates.
“My approach is, I want to come out here and earn it with my brothers every day,” Mitchell said. “To see them, they’re all banged up and how sore they are, I want to feel that way, too. You feel like you let everyone down when you can’t participate and you can’t practice. The big thing I hang my hat on, and good NFL players hang their hat on, is your availability to play every single day and have guys be able to trust you and count on you and rely on you. It’s frustrating to not be able to do that.”
The Steelers are happy to have Mitchell back. He was brought in to replace Ryan Clark who signed a free agent contract with the Washington Redskins. The 27 year old safety will bring a great degree of speed and a physical presence to the Steelers defensive backfield.
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