The AFC Central is the envy of the league. Everybody wants in. There are now a lopsided six teams with the return of the Cleveland Browns. If it were an open house, the division would be jammed.
Only the defending champion Jacksonville Jaguars appear capable of winning it, and their schedule provides a highway to home-field advantage in the playoffs. None of their division rivals is coming off a winning record and the Browns didn’t exist in 1998.
What the division really needs is a road map and travel guide.
The Jaguars are an expansion team that joined the league in 1995 and made it all the way to the AFC title game in 1996, ruining the concept of expansion forever.
The Baltimore Ravens used to be the Cleveland Browns until 1995, when Art Modell decided he couldn’t make money in Cleveland and moved, leaving the Browns’ legacy behind but taking his own legacy with him. He hasn’t been able to make money in Baltimore either.
The Tennessee Titans are another new team that used to be an old team, the Houston Oilers. Then they became the Memphis Oilers for a few minutes, then the Nashville Oilers, and now the Tennessee Titans. They still play in Nashville, in a new stadium.
The Cincinnati Bengals are still the Bengals, but the Pittsburgh Steelers are no longer the Steelers, at least not on the field, where they keep losing more players than they gain.
The Browns are the league’s first expansion team with a history, but most of the good stuff is ancient.
The Jaguars built their new stadium in 1995. By 2001 it will be the oldest in the division.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Coach Tom Coughlin lost offensive coordinator Chris Palmer to Cleveland and defensive coordinator Dick Jauron to the Bears, but he gained Dom Capers as defensive coordinator and will call plays himself for Mark Brunell, who doesn’t need much help anymore.
An early test for the Jaguars is Oct. 3 in Pittsburgh, where they never have won. If they can’t do it this year, it gives the rest of the division incentive.
– Changes: Safety Carnell Lake came from Pittsburgh, tight end Kyle Brady from the Jets and defensive tackle Gary Walker from Tennessee. Rookies Fernando Bryant and Larry Smith will help at cornerback and defensive tackle, respectively.
– Hopes: This team thinks it is Super Bowl-ready. Lake and second-year safety Donovin Darius should help Capers put together a better defense than the 25th-ranked unit (in yards) Jauron coached. Fred Taylor already is way ahead of Curtis Enis as a second-year running back and ex-Bears practice-squadder Keenan McCardell is one of the league’s best receivers. Brunell gets better every year, but has had injury problems.
– Doubts: The defense needs to get more sacks and develop a more aggressive nature, especially up front. The excitable Coughlin might be biting off more than he can chew on the sidelines.
Tennessee Titans
Win some, lose some. Wherever they play, whomever they play, whatever they’re called, this team has finished 8-8 the last three years. If coach Jeff Fisher can’t get out of that rut, he’ll find himself in a hole.
– Changes: Fisher is counting heavily on top rookie Jevon Kearse to juice a pass rush whose leading sacker was a linebacker with four. Kearse is called a “freak” because of his size and speed. Bruce Matthews moves from guard back to center in his 17th season. Free-agent defensive tackles Mike Jones and Jason Fisk are starting. Fullback Lorenzo Neal was added to block for Eddie George. New football boss Jeff Diamond arrives from Minnesota.
– Hopes: Quarterback Steve McNair will try to connect more downfield with second-year man Kevin Dyson, drafted ahead of Randy Moss, and with Yancey Thigpen. Fisher wants more big plays on both sides of the ball.
– Doubts: Despite Kearse’s potential, rookie pass rushers seldom make much of a dent. Another rookie defensive lineman, John Thornton, is promising. Starting defensive end Pratt Lyons is out for the season, and this team managed only 30 sacks a year ago.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Quarterback Kordell Stewart is working with his third offensive coordinator in three years, Kevin Gilbride, who is trying to forget his far-out encounter with Ryan Leaf. Stewart also is working without a top receiver for the third year in a row, as Charles Johnson bolted to Philadelphia.
Coach Bill Cowher and football boss Tom Donohoe have ways of getting the job done, but they slipped out of the playoffs last year and it will take some quick growing pains to return.
– Changes: Rookie Troy Edwards is a talent. Alex Van Dyke arrives from the Jets. But Stewart’s new main man looks like Hines Ward. Tackles Wayne Gandy, Shar Pourdenash and Anthony Brown signed to fix a dire problem. Safety Travis Davis came from Jacksonville; cornerback Chad Scott is back from injury.
– Hopes: Stewart must rebound from a horrid season and get more help from a healthy running back Jerome Bettis. Stud linebackers Levon Kirkland, Earl Holmes and Jason Gildon can carry a defense.
– Doubts: Except for guards Alan Faneca and Brendan Stai, the offensive line is a mess. Even all-world center Dermontti Dawson is nursing an injury. Are players getting tired of losing teammates?
Baltimore Ravens
One of the first things new coach Brian Billick noticed was that the conservative offensive approach of old coach Ted Marchibroda was tailored to his below-average talent.
“Ted made a coaching decision, and probably a legitimate one, that the team could not handle anything but running on first and second down, minimizing mistakes and playing good defense,” Billick said. “But that’s giving in to 6-10. I’ll go down 2-14 trying to make something happen before I’ll bleed at 6-10. Those guys have got to understand we’re going to be multiple.”
– Changes: Billick and ex-Bears coordinator Matt Cavanaugh are trying to revive quarterbacks Scott Mitchell and Tony Banks. Rookie corner Chris McAlister joins last year’s No. 1, Duane Starks, while Rod Woodson moves to safety. Lovett Purnell replaces Eric Green at tight end.
– Hopes: Jermaine Lewis is a big-play receiver, but he’s only 5 feet 7 inches. The defense is talented if top sacker Mike McCrary is happy with his contract.
– Doubts: Billick will soon find out it’s a long way from Minnesota to Baltimore.
Cincinnati Bengals
The AFC’s losingest team of the decade boasts a few good men, but this isn’t the Marines. Coach Bruce Coslet must either overhaul quarterback Jeff Blake or get late-signing Akili Smith up to speed.
– Changes: Offensive linemen Rod Jones, Brian DeMarco, Rich Braham and Matt O’Dwyer are new or are playing new positions. Nose tackle Oliver Gibson arrived from Pittsburgh. Corey Sawyer or rookie Charles Fisher replaces Ashley Ambrose at corner. Willie Jackson fills in for absent receiver Carl Pickens, who vows never to return.
– Hopes: Corey Dillon is a tough, powerful running back who could carry a team if this were the 1960s. Young linebackers Takeo Spikes and Brian Simmons give hope to a team that was last against the run.
– Doubts: This team needs a heart transplant. Players slink into lobbies embarrassed to admit they play on a team that has won all of 39 games in the 1990s.
Cleveland Browns
Nobody comes right out and announces it, but the Browns are aiming toward 2000 and beyond. They’re just happy to be in uniform for 1999. Their best hope is their crummy division, rabid fans and Lake Erie’s cold wind.
– Changes: Nothing about the uniform changed, including the plain orange helmet. Everything else is new, including the stadium.
– Hopes: Coach Chris Palmer is happy with the development of No. 1 quarterback Tim Couch, who looks a whole lot further along than the Bears’ Cade McNown. A decent offensive line was assembled to protect their investment.
– Doubts: A shaky defense got shakier with the loss of emotional leader Chris Spielman, who was like a lot of his teammates–over the hill. Palmer is way short of impact players on both sides of the ball.
