I think the Ravens need to look at Cincinnati, not Pittsburgh or Cleveland, as the team they need to beat in 2022. Pittsburgh will have the QB transition and their OL is still a mess, and Cleveland remains Cleveland.

Cincy has not shown they can sustain a level of success beyond making the playoffs and getting knocked our right away-the Marvin Lewis era, their best since Wyche in the late 1980's-early 1990's. They appear to have two generational talents in Burrow and Chase and other playmakers on offense, and their defense is solid, but will they be able to keep them together and rebuild the OL to keep Burrow upright? I'm sceptical, but for next year they obviously have to be considered the Ravens' primary threat. The Ravens have to be able to put enough pressure on Burrow next year to make him throw short and take away the deep stuff the Bengals killed them with last year, and let's assume/hope the secondary can make it through one season relatively intact.

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#257 BSLMikeFast

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Posted 17 February 2022 - 08:23 AM

I think the Ravens need to look at Cincinnati, not Pittsburgh or Cleveland, as the team they need to beat in 2022. Pittsburgh will have the QB transition and their OL is still a mess, and Cleveland remains Cleveland.

Cincy has not shown they can sustain a level of success beyond making the playoffs and getting knocked our right away-the Marvin Lewis era, their best since Wyche in the late 1980's-early 1990's. They appear to have two generational talents in Burrow and Chase and other playmakers on offense, and their defense is solid, but will they be able to keep them together and rebuild the OL to keep Burrow upright? I'm sceptical, but for next year they obviously have to be considered the Ravens' primary threat. The Ravens have to be able to put enough pressure on Burrow next year to make him throw short and take away the deep stuff the Bengals killed them with last year, and let's assume/hope the secondary can make it through one season relatively intact.

Fair point. They are definitely on the way up, but it's still hard to not think of the Steelers as the main threat.

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#258 JimJohnson

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Posted 17 February 2022 - 02:53 PM

Long term, sure you can't take your eyes off the Steelers, but 2022 could be a rough year for them-even if they bring in a veteran QB (unlikely) they still have to address the OL. Probably no quck fixes, but that organization won't stay down long.

Fair point. They are definitely on the way up, but it's still hard to not think of the Steelers as the main threat.

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#259 cprenegade

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Posted 17 February 2022 - 08:09 PM

I think it is more likely that Cleveland rebounds and is more competitive than Pittsburgh. Unless they uncharacteristically pull off a deal for one of the proven QBs that might be available. They might be better than I think they will be, but right now I think they will be hard pressed to finish above .500 next season.

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#260 JimJohnson

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Posted 23 February 2022 - 02:53 PM

I think it is more likely that Cleveland rebounds and is more competitive than Pittsburgh. Unless they uncharacteristically pull off a deal for one of the proven QBs that might be available. They might be better than I think they will be, but right now I think they will be hard pressed to finish above .500 next season.

I think the Browns will wind up going with Mayfield at QB, and they would be wise to reign him in and focus on the running game. Cleveland used the most 3-tight end sets in the league last year, and their WR group is shaky depending on what happens with Jarvis Landry. If they hunker down and go all-in on the running game, with Chubb and Hunt sharing carries, they could be tough. They don't need to light up the scoreboard with the way their defense played toward the end of last season.

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