The Sports Bizzo

Eman’s preview of the AFC South

Indianapolis Colts - Record: 13-3 - AFC South Division Champions

The NFL preseason is well under way; in the AFC South the Indianapolis Colts look to continue dominate their division, but in the rear-view mirror are the Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Houston Texans who will try to dethrone the Colts this season. As the newest formed division, created prior to the 2002 season, the AFC South is currently owned by the Colts who have won six of the last seven Division Championships and have won six Division Championships in a row.

The Colts ended the 2007 regular NFL season with a record of 13 wins and 3 losses winning the AFC South title. They hope to return to the Super Bowl, after losing in the Divisional Round against the San Diego Chargers last year. During the 2008 off-season they brought back RB Dominic Rhodes to battle for the starting RB position against Joseph Addai, last years starter. In addition the Colts added Michigan Wolverine RB Mike Hart. This was also the first year the Colts did not take a major blow in free agency.

This year’s training camp has been without QB Manning due to off-season surgery to remove an infected bursa sac. A few days before training camp the Colts signed former Giant, QB Jared Lorenzen and former Jaguar, QB Quinn Gray. During the first pre-season game Lorenzen threw for 117 yds and two touchdowns in a solid performance. Gray on the other hand had a rocky first game throwing for 107 yds and 2 INTs. The Colts will continue to start QB Jim Sorgi for the remainder of the pre-season or until Manning returns from his injury.

*Jacksonville Jaguars - Record: 11-5 - 2^nd Place

The Jaguars will look to improve on their 2007 showing and try to dethrone the Colts. QB David Garrard will look to improve on his breakout season, where he led his team to the AFC Divisional round where they lost against the New England Patriots. The Jaguars had a critical need on the defensive line after trading Marcus Stroud, so they added ends Derrick Harvey and Quentin Groves with their first two picks. Nonetheless, they still lack a replacement for safety Sammy Knight, who left to join the Super Bowl champions. The Jaguars still lack some young blood at key positions in the offensive line, for example at center, where they did not draft or sign any free-agents during the offseason.

During this year’s training camp and preseason the Jaguars are trying to clear up their receiver slots. Jerry Porter should take over as the No.1 receiver, but behind Porter, you have Reggie Williams, Troy Williamson, Matt Jones and Dennis Northcutt fighting for playing time. Williams seems to be the top contender to start besides Porter, but Jones has been opening some eyes during training camp and preseason.

*Tennessee Titans - Record: 10-6 - 3^rd Place

The Tennessee Titans is my bias pick to win the division (Bizzo pick-Colts), because of one player, QB Vince Young. All Young does is win football games. I digress, the Titans finished last year with a very respectable 9-7 record and returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2003. The Titans lost in the Wild Card round to the San Diego Chargers. This season Young and Co. look forward to building on last year and returning to the playoffs. Once again the Titans failed to acquire any proven receivers for Young. The Titans spent their first pick on running back Chris Johnson and in the fourth round drafted receiver Lavelle Hawkins from California. On defense, the loss of ends Antwan Odom and Travis LaBoy led the team to take defensive end Jason Jones in the second round. The first pre-season game saw the Titans easily handle the Jackson-less Rams. The Titans had solid performances all around, especially rookie RB Chris Johnson drafted out of East Carolina, who was the fastest man at the combine. Johnson showed that speed on a 66-yard touchdown run in the second quarter against the Rams. RB Quinton Ganter also made a strong bid to make the Titans’ roster by rushing for 115 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a 45-yard scoring run in the third quarter. The RB battle will be an interesting battle to watch throughout the remainder of the pre-season.

*Houston Texans Record - 7-9 - Last Place

Last and certainly least are the Houston Texans. The Texans had a non-losing season for the first time last year when they went 8-8. Since joining the NFL in 2002, the Texans record is a dismal 32-64 with no playoff appearances. During the Texans’ six-year history, the offensive line has been a major concern, so the Texans went with Duane Brown in the first round. Brown is the archetype for Alex Gibbs’ system. The Texans addressed their running-back depth in the draft by signing Chris Brown from the Titans and selecting RB Steve Slaton from West Virginia in the third around. Slaton is the kind of running back that could have some success in Texans system. The Texans also addressed some need for depth at linebacker, cornerback and safety. On defense, the team is still improving. Mario Williams had 14 sacks in his second season, and is still 23-years old. Amobi Okoye had 5.5 sacks as a rookie defensive tackle, and is just 21-years old. Williams and Okoye are developing into a dominant defensive line for possibly many years to come. The Texans preseason started off on the right foot with late field goal by Kris Brown to beat the Denver Broncos. The Texans starter QB Matt Schaub was very proficient, going 4-of-5 for 29 yards, and backup QB Sage Rosenfels, taking the majority of the snaps, went 10-of-15 for 137 yards and a touchdown. The Texan’s running game was stalled as Chris Taylor ran tough, but gained just 19 yards on 10 carries, and Darius Walker fared just a bit better, running for 29 yards on eight carries. Rookie Steve Slaton looked showed promised, with 11 carries for 37 yards. While starter Ahman Green got the ball on the first play from scrimmage and managed to pull his groin and is now day-to-day like the rest of us. Coach Kubiak said, “It basically brings about the importance of these young players getting better,” Kubiak said. “You know, Chris (Brown) and (Steve) Slaton, and I’m going to give them a chance to do that.” The Texans are poised to finally make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, but not according to my predictions. Maybe next year Texan fans!

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The AFC South without question is the toughest division in the AFC and the Colts have a tough battle ahead. The Jacksonville Jaguars have a legitimate shot at winning the AFC South for the first time ever, but my prediction is the Colts take the division again for the seventh straight year and on to Tampa, Florida to face the Dallas Cowboys.