Quote:For obvious reasons, the Texans pass rush scares me to death as a Jaguars fan.
While I am stoked over our past three drafts, I think the AFC south overall is strong enough from top to bottom such that no team's fans can really be cocky about their chances.
Even if you think Grigson is a dumpster fire for the Colts, a healthy Luck gives them a legitimate shot in just about every game.
Predictable improvement from Mariota from year 1 to year 2, plus the pieces the tacks have added around him will make them a tough opponent for a team not prepared to be physical and stop the run.
If the Texans hit on their receiver picks, they will be a bigger, more physical and talented version of the Patriots receiving corps (sans Brady and Gronk, of course, but formidable nonetheless). How is Duane Brown progressing?
Agree completely, nice analysis. I really think the division could be a close race this reason for all the reasons you stated, but at the same time each team has a questionable factor that could be it's Achilles heel, and therefore like you said no fan base can get too cocky. For you guys, the questionable factor is definitely Gus Bradley at this point, since there definitely will be no excuse for him to not win at least 8 games with the talent on your roster now. Like I said I thought for sure he would be a great head coach, but I think he's ultimately what is holding your team back and if he doesn't get this team rallied and fired up to play better this season, then he should get the boot.
For the Colts, it's definitely the defense that could derail them like I said along with overall depth. Pound for pound, they have pretty much the weakest roster overall compared to the rest of the division, and Luck is definitely the reason why they are able to stay formidable regardless. But like they proved last season, if he goes down, the rest of that team is pretty much done. He's I know that applies to every team if they lose their franchise QB, but the Patriots for example have a talented enough roster to maybe survive if Brady misses some games. Definitely not the case with the Colts. I'm also not really a fan of Pagano, he's maybe an average coach at best. Glad he beat cancer, but it doesn't make him a great coach.
And finally the Texans Achilles heel is obviously the unknown at QB. If Brock at least shows he's above average, the Texans have enough roster talent to compete with anyone. But even though I like and believe in him,the odds of Brock being that are still 50/50 at best. I think we have a special head coach in O'Brien, he has flaws he still needs to work at but what he's done the last couple of seasons even with subpar QB play is promising and it's been told that guys want to play for him. It's just all a matter of QB play. And the possibility of not getting a good one for several years is possible, which makes us fans cringe.
Also to answer you about Brown, from what I read his rehab is going well and he thinks he will be ready by the start of the season, but personally I'm skeptical. Even if he's cleared to play the team probably shouldn't put him in the lineup for a few games, but of course we don't have a viable backup option so it's tough to say...
