The AFC North continues to make it’s case for the best division in the NFL. Every team is above .500 and there are two teams (Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals) that should be considered a threat to make some noise in the post season. The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the hot teams around the league as well. As for the Cleveland Browns, they are a team that just gets it done by playing old school football. This week Around the AFC North takes a look at some Week 9 Story Lines.
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens made an easy selection in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. They selected C.J. Mosley and he quickly took hold of the starting inside linebacker position alongside Daryl Smith. Mosley was named the AFC Defensive Rookie of the Month recently. His numbers alone justify the nomination. Mosley leads all NFL rookies with 73 total tackles which is the fifth most overall in the NFL.
The impact that Mosley has made extends beyond the stat sheet. He has wrecked havoc against the run by filling his gaps and forcing various running backs to bounce the run outside to a waiting defender. Mosley can track down ball carriers with his tremendous lateral speed. He also has straight line speed that allows him to be disruptive in the backfield. The Ravens like to use him on inside blitzes which has allowed him to make quarterbacks rush their throws. One of the interceptions that Andrew Luck threw when the Indianapolis Colts played the Ravens was caused by a delayed blitz by Mosley. He broke through the line and blasted Luck, causing the ball to fly into the waiting hands of Haloti Ngata.
Ray Lewis recently had some very favorable words about Mosley when he spoke to the Baltimore Sun. “Forget mistakes; the kid just finds the football. He has a great knack. He makes the game simple.” Lewis continued: “It’s early. You really don’t want to put crazy pressure on him but his upside looks like it could be tremendous. If he doesn’t make plays on those screens against Indy, they’re out of the gate. He was a ball hawk in college, and he’s picking up where he left off.”
Mosley is coming off of a 13 tackle game against the Bengals. He will be on full display on Sunday Night Football against the Steelers this week. The Steelers bypassed Mosley in favor of fellow linebacker Ryan Shazier. Rest assured that Mosley will be out to make them pay for passing him.
Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals are coming off of a solid win against the Ravens. Some felt that the win over the Ravens was mandatory because it allowed them to get the season sweep against the Ravens and it was a good way to bounce back from being shutout by the Colts. The Bengals were without A.J. Green, their best player on offense when they faced the Ravens.
One of the players that stepped up in Green’s absence was wide receiver Greg Little. Some may recall how Little consistently dropped the football when he was a member of the Browns. Little has great size and as a former running back, he is still learning the position. The Bengals signed him on October 14th and Little made it his business to cash in on the new opportunity.
Little spoke about his new beginning recently: “I just told myself when I get another chance, do you want to be back on the couch or do you want to be on the field, it means a lot to me that they gave me the opportunity, a fair opportunity to come in here and compete. I took it upon myself to learn the offense as fast as I could so the coaches could trust me on the field, and coach Urban has been a great help. He told me he stood on the table for me to come here and I told him I wasn’t ever going to let him down.”
Little was targeted five times and caught three of them. One of his catches was a 21 yard touchdown that set up a short touch down run by Giovanni Bernard. Little was released by both the Browns and the Oakland Raiders before he signed with the Bengals. It is safe to say that Little will be around the Bengals in the near future. Next up for Greg Little and the Bengals will be the Jacksonville Jaguars. A.J. Green is said to be ready to make his return but still expect Greg Little to get some quality reps.
Cleveland Browns
The Browns have enjoyed a change of culture thanks to new head coach Mike Pettine. Brian Hoyer has shown signs of being able to be a quality starter. Pettine has done a great job of handling what could have developed into a quarterback controversy. Pettine is known for his defensive prowess but it is the offense that has stood out for the Browns.
The defense has struggled for the Browns this year. They are ranked 29th in the NFL in total yards allowed, but they are only giving up 21.7 points per game. Many thought that this year would be a lost cause once Josh Gordon was suspended. Travis Benjamin, Andrew Hawkins and rookie Taylor Gabriel have stepped up by making big plays in clutch situations.
Pettine was the defensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills last season. His current defensive coordinator, Jim O’Neal was the linebackers coach for the Bills last season. They both played key roles in developing two young Bills players in safety Aaron Williams and Defensive Rookie of the Year, Kiko Alonso. They will now be charged with further developing another young stalwart in safety Tashaun Gipson and recent fourth round draft pick Justin Gilbert. . So far Gipson has continued to build on the solid year that he had last season. Gipson already has five interceptions which tied his total interceptions from last season. He also leads the NFL in interceptions.
The young Browns are a team that has been a pleasant surprise and could be a dark horse for a playoff spot. They are 4-3 right now and have lost some close games. Fans are coming to the Dawg Pound once again because their team is finally competitive again. This week they face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers which could be an opportunity for an explosive performance on offense.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers will host the Ravens in a divisional showdown on prime time television. The crowd will be energizing especially with the retirement of “Mean” Joe Greene’s jersey at halftime. Greene spoke to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about how he sees the night taking place. ““I know emotions will be riding high on Sunday night,” Greene said. “One of the things I remember so much through the years, especially the early years when we were being called the SOS [Same Old Steelers], what I remember were the fans, those loyal 13 to 15,000 people who came to the stadium, the way they would fuss at us at times, but they wouldn’t let anyone else fuss at us, which I thought was great.”
The fans will also be there to see Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger was named the AFC Offensive Player of the week after his 522 yard passing game. He was able to complete 4o of his 49 attempts and threw for six touchdowns. Antonio Brown continues to be one of the best weapons in the NFL. The Steelers have been in search of a receiver to step up opposite of Brown. One of the options was Markus Wheaton, a speedy receiver that they will give the ball to on jet sweeps. Another option is Martavis Bryant.
Bryant has scored three touchdowns in first first few games in the NFL. Roethlisbeger likes to throw the ball down field and Bryant is surely an option in the vertical passing game. The two were able to connect twice in the deep plays recently. Having a player that can get down field in a hurry will allow Wheaton and Lance Moore to work the underneath routes. The Steelers vs the Ravens is one of the best rivalries. The last six regular season Ravens-Steelers games at Heinz Field have been decided by three points.
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