2005 AFC North Football Preview

In the AFC North I expect to see the Pittsburgh Steelers who posted a mark of 16-2 straight up and 11-7 ATS overall last season to win a close divisional battle over the Baltimore Ravens who finished up their 2004 campaign with a 9-7 straight up and ATS mark and over a much improved Cincinnati Bengal team that finished with an 8-8 straight up record for the second straight year in 2004, the Brownies once again look to pull up the rear in what should prove to be the toughest division in the NFL in 2005.

Pittsburgh has a tough row to hoe this season, the Steelers only have five games on the 2005 docket against 2004 playoff teams but four of those affairs take place on the road and that includes Monday Night road games at San Diego and at Indianapolis, overall the Steelers will play 10 of their 16 games against teams that posted .500 records or better last year, thus the reason for the projected drop off in regular season wins.

Like most teams Pittsburgh lost quite a bit of talent to free agency, most notably the Steelers lost a total of five linemen along their offensive and defensive fronts which could cause depth problems if the ole injury bug hits and those losses were in addition to star WR Plaxico Burress departing to the big apple to play catch with Eli Manning.

Baltimore has a very favorable schedule with regard to playing seven games against playoff teams from a year ago, however, five of those seven affairs will take place in Baltimore and two of those games are against dome teams (Vikes and Colts). The Ravens drafted WR Mark Clayton out of Oklahoma and overall had the best draft of any team in the AFC North, the free agent addition of WR Derrick Mason from the Titans along with the drafting of WR Clayton should bolster a stagnant Raven passing attack that was fully exposed last season.

The Bengals finished 2004 with an 8-8 straight up record for the second straight year under HC Marvin Lewis, Bengal faithful should be overjoyed with their seasonal finishes over the past couple of years when considering that these same Bengals posted a total of 8 wins combined during their 2001 and 2002 campaigns.

With QB Carson Palmer starting his second full season under center and weapons WR Chad Johnson and RB Rudi Johnson happy with new contracts, Cincinnati has all of the pieces on offense to make the playoffs in 2005, the Bengal's major malfunction during their 2004 campaign was their run defense but the drafting of Georgia DE David Pollack who will play LB for the Bengals and Georgia LB Odell Thurman should correct that problem.

A new era starts in Cleveland Brownie land with the arrival of new HC Romeo Crennell who replaces ousted Butch Davis, the Brownies are actually an expansion team once again when considering that they have a totally new front office, totally new coaching staff and have replaced most of their offensive and defensive starters, the saving grace is that the new QB will be experienced retread Trent Dilfer who should be able to provide much needed leadership.

The Brownies added a lot of talent via the free agent market and actually had a pretty good draft which was highlighted with WR Braylon Edwards as their top choice, but in the big scheme of things there has been way too much turnover in this organization to expect much in 2005, look to play the Brownies whenever a home doggie of more than a FG after week four of the regular season, by this time the team should start to gel a little and the public won't be ready for the opportunity.

In closing, the AFC North is a three horse race between Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Baltimore for the top spot, the difference maker will probably be who catches the ole injury bug and who avoids it, with that being said Pittsburgh gets the nod to win the division because of their depth at the QB and RB positions.

With regard to betting opportunities, Pittsburgh played 12 non divisional games in 2004 and went 6-6 ATS in those affairs, a closer look see reveals that the Steelers were a betting underdog in five of the six non divisional games they covered, meanwhile, the Steelers were favorites in five of the six non divisional games they failed to cover.

In other words as a dog playing a non divisional game the Steelers were virtually a sure bet to cover the spread, however, as a favorite in a non divisional game the Steelers had a tough time getting it up and hence proved to be almost a sure bet to NOT cover the posted number, a check backward in time reveals that these Steelers have failed to cover 6 of the past 7 times they have taken to the road as a favorite of six points or less against a non divisional opponent?things that make you go hmmmmm!!

Jim Campbell is one of the nations most respected Sports Handicappers, he specializes in College and Pro Football, you can visit Jim at his website located at footballforecastor.com for all of your handicapping needs including free play selections, College and NFL stats, trends and award winning analysis on upcoming games.

With over 30 plus years experience in the handicapping profession Jim has built a solid reputation, his web based handicapping service at footballforecastor.com as been in existence since 1997 and year after year proves to be one of the very best handicapping services in America.

In The News:


pen paper and inkwell


cat break through


Compulsive Gamblers Struggle To Stop Gambling Even Though They Know They Have A Problem Gambling

Every compulsive gambler has uttered the words "Please help me... Read More

Poker Tournaments

Most people believe that poker tournaments are for the most... Read More

A Guide to Common Soccer Betting Terms

Accumulator. Sometimes called a parlay. A bet where the winnings... Read More

Becoming a Consistent Winner at Online Low-Limit Texas Hold ?Em

Start with Small Stakes and Play Tight, Tight, and More... Read More

3 Great Tips To Make More Money Playing Online Poker

There are three very important things that you should have... Read More

Gambling Addiction Basics

The coming age has brought with it numerous new pathological... Read More

Heres an Easy Exercise to Improve Your Texas Holdem Play

Many beginning Texas Holdem players develop a playing style that... Read More

Four Tips for Online Poker ? Tells, Mixing it Up, Preflop Rasies and Changing Gears

Tip One: Mix Up Your Play: Once you have mastered... Read More

Types of Poker Players

Most poker players fall into one of four categories, and... Read More

Understanding Online Casino Bonuses

Are you puzzled by the workings of online Casino bonuses,... Read More

Internet Poker - 13 Rules to Follow

Add bad poker players to your buddy listPlaying poker is... Read More

What is the True Winning Percentage of a Professional Soccer-punter?

Many people believe professional-level sports bettors win at least 60%... Read More

The Secrets of the Fives and Nines

Pssst...! Wanna know a secret?How about the secret of the... Read More

Shorthanded Poker, an Untapped Gold Mine

Feuled by seemingly nonstop television coverage and internet access in... Read More

Your Lottery Odds and The Fastest, No Cost Way To Radically Improve Them

If I had a lottery ticket for every time I've... Read More

World Poker Tour -- The Beginning of a Phenomenon

World Poker Tour high stakes poker tournaments started a revolution... Read More

Class: It Tells All

The word class, used by handicapper is no abstraction. The... Read More

The Secrets of Converting Come Bets

Pssst...! Wanna know a secret?How about the secret of converting... Read More

The Slot Machine

The very first slot machine (called 'Liberty Bell') was created... Read More

Poker Aces ? how to play them

Poker Aces refers to two aces dealt pre-flop. It is... Read More

Compulsive Gambler Shares His Recovery Story About Gamblers Anonymous Now That He Stopped

A compulsive gambler who participated in Gamblers Anonymous program shared... Read More

Earn Money Playing Slots...or not

Yay, what a life would that be - sitting behind... Read More

Online Casino Black Jack

Online casino black jack is said to have originated in... Read More

The Secret of Put Bets

Pssst...! Wanna know a secret?How about the secrets of making... Read More

Bingo Basics

Bingo is one of the most simple and general game... Read More

Video Poker - Tips to Remember

Video poker is an easy game to learn to play... Read More

Compulsive Gambler?s Journey To Day One Stop Gambling

Its day one and this was the most exciting day... Read More

Do You Believe These Four Online Slot Machine Myths?

The fact that people don't really understand how online slot... Read More

Gender Differences in Gambling

Being a fairly regular gambler, I have noticed a few... Read More

The Art Of Bluffing In Poker

In poker it is mandatory to bluff, but you also... Read More

Horse Racing Betting, The Risk Free Way

You may or may not of heard of all this... Read More

Roulette - An Easy Method

Here is a very simple method that gives you the... Read More

Always Win in the Casino Like James Bond

In the Bond film 'Diamonds Are Forever' we see James... Read More