Join Alex Hardy and Nick Ferguson as they break down the AFC North, exploring the strengths and challenges of the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Cleveland Browns. From Lamar Jackson’s MVP potential to the Bengals’ defensive struggles, and the Steelers’ quest for playoff success, this episode covers it all. Don’t miss insights on key players and team dynamics as the NFL season kicks off.
Key Points:
Baltimore Ravens’ offensive and defensive strategies Cincinnati Bengals’ financial and defensive hurdles Pittsburgh Steelers’ cultural and strategic shifts Cleveland Browns’ rebuilding efforts and future prospects
Hashtags: #AFCNorth #NFL #Ravens #Bengals #Steelers #Browns
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Alex and Nick are giving their final **nfl predictions** for the season, starting with the AFC North. They dive into the **baltimore ravens**, **cleveland browns**, **cincinnati bengals**, and **pittsburgh steelers**, giving their thoughts on each team. Check out their **sports** takes!
I’m Alex Hardy. He’s Nick Ferguson. We are up to our final installment of the NFL previews. And good good time for that, Nick. The NFL season kicks off tomorrow. 10ear NFL safety Nick Ferguson at Nick Ferguson_25 on all socials. Uh we got the AFC North, one of the best divisions in football, always whether the teams are good or not. So Nick, when we dive into our last preview here, what’s going on my man? It’s all about the black and blue division, man. Both your shoulders and your backside are black and blue when you play in this division. We’ll start black and purple. The Baltimore Ravens, the reigning division champions. They get themselves uh not as far. They didn’t get to an AFC championship last year like they did two years ago. Uh but another MVP for Lamar Jackson. Uh an incredible just unbelievable. was at 41 passing touchdowns, five receiving uh five interceptions, added more touchdowns on the ground. Um, again, not going to have that debate with Josh Allen, but truly one of the most outstanding performances for an individual and getting the rest of the offense going and yet here they are flamed out in the division divisional round of the postseason. So, Nick, is this because they dropped some games that they needed, missed that first round buy? like tell me what Baltimore did um this past year and the reason why you know they kind of fell short of these high expectations that come with having I don’t know a three-time MVP under center. Well, several things were the reason why the Baltimore Ravens ultimately did not get to the Super Bowl. Obviously, you watched them lose to the Kansas City Chiefs, a game that they should have won. And for me, I got I gotta go back to the offensive play calling with Todd Min. When you have a guy as talented as Lamar Jackson, you gota allow him to do his thing. And I’m not calling for designed quarterback runs, but you know he’s a threat to take off with the ball. That plays in the mind of defensive players and sometimes it’s like a malt to flame. They’re drawn to him, which would open up passing lanes down the field. So that was one of the problems. And then getting the stops when you needed them. Kyle Helmanson just got like a a massive deal from a safety standpoint. And I mean, he played well leading up to some of those playoff games, but they need him to play at a top-notch level. We’re talking about a Ravens defense that they’re going to have to create some turnovers. That means playing more man coverage, getting after the quarterback, putting pressure on the quarterbacks. But once again, can the Baltimore Ravens hold up in the back end? We know what the offense is capable of doing because you got Isaiah likely, you got Mark Andrews, you got N Hopkins, you got Zay Flowers just to name a few. And then you have Derek Henry who is Mr. Blunt for Trauma himself and then Mr. Exciting and Lamar Jackson. So this this is a team that is still one of the scarier teams in the league. When you probably look at all 32 teams, everyone’s still probably going to talk about Kansas City because they they they find ways to win. But this Baltimore Ravens team, man, I really think that this may be their year to really push and get themselves in that AFC Championship game. Well, if not now, then when? Right. You talk about that secondary and the second half of the year was so important for them because they ranked dead last 32nd for the first eight weeks of the season in terms of yards allowed through the air. They had a complete revolving door at corner. Uh Marlon Humphrey got Humph Humphrey Humphrey got Humphrey Humphrey got healthy and the back end led by Kyle Hamilton uh really put themselves back on the standard that they were supposed to be. But a real Jaclyn high that just, you know, they dropped that game to the Raiders. They lost back-to-back games. It just it ultimately cost them, you know, it’s a game of attrition and not having the extra game or two in the win column meant that they had to go on the road. Now, Mark Andrews could have caught the ball in the end zone and maybe we’d be having a different story with the the Chiefs game, but it’s just so unfortunate that, you know, we just talked about this with the Buffalo Bills and the AFC East episode, the Ravens, too. We just saw the Chiefs at their weakest and they still went 15 and one and they still made it to the Super Bowl. So, if not now for the Baltimore Ravens, then when? And I look, I don’t know what else there is to say considering just how dominant they’ve been at times, but health is a concern and that back end of the secondary has been a problem as well. Uh, you want to talk about a problem area on just the secondary or an entire defense because that might be what’s holding the Cincinnati Bengals back this year, Nick? Um, one of the most electric offenses with one of the quarterbacks who’s asked to do more than anybody else at that position and the Cincinnati Bengals missed the postseason last year. What happened? Well, I mean, you you said it in a nutshell. uh the the fact of Lu Anoramo his defense they couldn’t really stop a nosebleleed which put an immense amount of pressure on the Cincinnati Bengals just imagine here’s a team that’s averaging about 30 to 38 points a game and I mean some of their games end up being like a a shootout and all they need is their defense to get a couple of stops and they were unable to do that especially knowing as though your offense had a propensity to score as many points as They did. That means guys like Trey Henderson and all those other guys, don’t worry about the runs. Just get up field and sack the opposing quarterbacks. And that and that’s something they could not do. Their biggest issue was giving up explosive plays. I watched as Bo Knicks dropped two bombs to Marvin Mims on that secondary. If if the Bengals can slow people down, it gets them an opportunity because when you talk about Chase Brown, uh Jamar Chase, and T Higgins, I mean, some of the better skilled players in in the league and Joe Barrow should have been in that MVP conversation last year. And by all account, my accounts, uh he should have won it, but I know it went to Josh Allen. But if he had a defense, if they could slow other people down or even stop them, which I think is a tall task, then the Cincinnati Bengals would have had some of opportunity. So that that’s an uphill climb for them. And just think about it. If you’re Joe Burrow, you go into every single game, no matter who is the opposite quarterback across the field, you’re saying that you have to outscore them for 17 weeks. You know how difficult that is? Very difficult. But we’ll see what what happens. But but I’m expecting big fantasy numbers. Even though I’m not expecting the Cincinnati Bengals to kind of be in that back half of the season where we’re going, “Oh, wow. Look at those Bengals. Who they we not gonna be saying who they gonna be saying, well, who the hell is that damn defense?” That’s what we’re gonna learned that Nick had the number one overall pick in his fantasy draft. So, we’re pulling for Jamar Chase for you this year, Nick. I’m thrilled. couldn’t be more excited for you. Uh but yeah, like you talk about th that trio in particular and this now comes down to the boring money part of the discussion. Never in NFL history have three players at quarterback, receiver, and receiver accounted for as much of the salary cap as they are. Roughly 30% and this is year one essentially for T. Higgins and for Jamar Chase. So it’s only going to get more and more expensive. I understand the cap is going to grow, but we’ve never seen a team built this way uh compete and win for Super Bowls. So, it’s created friction and it’s caused the team to pull their purse strings in other areas. Like, why for a team that’s trying to win a Super Bowl with one of the elite quarterbacks waiting four months to give their star defensive end a $14 million raise that he’s, you know, I get it. They signed him to a contract. He’s outperformed the contract. Why is it that they are going to uh create incident clauses in the rookies uh Shamar Stewart’s contract before he can even get on the football field? Why are they drafting a project at defensive end who had four and a half career sacks in college when they need players that can help them win now? I just the whole infrastructure of the front office, which is like three guys and Mike Brown in the first place, doesn’t seem to align with what this team needs to do. and it’s to get their players in house, to keep them there, to draft well enough considering, you know, their budget is tight all around the margins. And yet they they they’re the only team that that all had their original draft selections, didn’t trade, didn’t maneuver, they just like the spots that they were in. Oh, good. The laundry is done. uh they they just operate in these fine margins and it almost makes it harder for the football team itself to meet those expectations that rightfully so the team and the fan base has had since they went to the Super Bowl a few years ago. Well, what what you’re essentially saying in a nutshell, the Cincinnati Bengals ownership is cheap as hell. That’s basically what you’re saying, right? And was I too long waiting? Well, no, but but that that’s I mean you you were trying to to make a make a case for them. You were trying to do right by them, but I was I was sitting there listening like why don’t we just tell her how a TI is. They cheap as hell, right? Yeah. You you spent a lot of money on the officer side of the ball. You didn’t do it for Trey Henderson, but this is an organization that has been known to cut corners, right? You talk about their front office. They’re not willing to spend in the front office. So, if you’re not willing to spend in the front office to evaluate talent properly, at least you can pass the savings on to the players. But they can’t even do that. Alex, why do you think that they’re going to constantly be bottom out? And I feel for T. Higgins, Jamar Chase, and Joe Barrow. Well, let me take that back. No, I don’t feel for them because they’re getting paid goo gobs of money. And to me, they’re going to have to use that money to drown their sorrows. So hopefully they could buy a whole bunch of things to make them feel better about their life and the place and the team that they’re playing for because they’re not going to win a damn thing. The Pittsburgh Steelers pride themselves on winning football games and yet it seems like they haven’t won a damn thing either. Uh no playoff wins since what I I I think the drought’s long enough that that kid would be old enough to go to middle school by now. I believe 2016 2017 right around that margin. So, is a winning season more important than any further success? Uh, you you come to conflict with not having that success and yet having one of the most revered coaches in any sport and Mike Tomlin and the infrastructure of that team is the is the best. The standard is the standard as he said and I think three coaches over the last 60 years that is certainly a standard in in and of itself. I’m not going to be calling for Mike Tomlin’s job, but many people might be if a team led by Aaron Rodgers doesn’t put them over the hill considering the types of seasons that they put together, nine wins with the quarterback play that they’ve had and have been unable to fulfill since Ben Rothllessberger hung it up. Well, Alex, this is a byproduct of success. This is something that most NFL teams would love to say that over so many decades, you’ve only had three head coaches. And to be fair to Mike Tomlin, Mike Tomlin hasn’t had a losing season. Now, the big knock is winning a playoff game. That is one of the issues. But I’m sure if you asked around the league, you asked a couple of fans, you know, would would you want to be in Mike Thomas shoes? would you want to be a Steelers fan? They would say yes. You know why? Because so many teams don’t make the playoffs. They’re not main stays. And they’re two teams that we constantly see main stays in the playoffs, but they end up beating each other up. That’s the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers, right? So all this nonsense and I heard it during the off season, trade Mike Tomlin, uh he’s run its course and all of this. It’s just like, no, there’s 32 there’s 32 teams and Pittsburgh has one of those coaches. One of those I think there’d be 30 there’d be at least 30 maybe 25 teams at the least that’d be calling for Mike Tomlin would rather be there. Yes. And it’s just like okay let’s just say for the sake of argument that the Rooney thought about trading Mike Tomlin which we’ve seen coaches traded before John Gruden being one of them. How many other teams you think that’ll be standing in the corner go us pick us pick us because that’s the type of culture he brings. Now the the part that is really difficult for the Steelers is that there’s two things that they typically do well. Play great defense and run the ball. And when they have not progressed past the first round of the playoffs, that has been one of that’s been that’s been the issues. They didn’t run the ball. That’s that. Well, that’s why Naji Harris is now a member of the LA Chargers, right? And they didn’t play great defense, right? When when you look at some of the players that they have, they’re getting older. They traded Mink Fitzpatrick, like I said earlier, uh for Jaylen Ramsey. That was I mean, that was kind of crazy. And to bring Jon Smith in as well, that was kind of the trade that I I don’t want to say sent like shock waves or this is incredible, but it’s rare that we see the player for player type of trades. Um, I mean, talk about a defense that shifts from having a center field type of safety for an outside shut at one point of his career and could still be there. Shut down. How does that how does that philosophy No, no, not shut down. No, I said at one point of his career. Okay. Well, having Jaylen Ramsay in the building like they they wanted more of a veteran presence and they felt as though well Jaylen Ramsey can’t run like he used to. So, let’s move him into the slot. He’s played better in the slot position. Now, Jaylen Ramsay is not known for being a physical corner, but it is seen from the preseason standpoint by him wearing the the the silver, not the silver and black, but the the golden black and wearing the black blazer, now he is essentially, you know, starting to embody and take on everything that the Pittsburgh defense actually stood for, even though that’s not a natural part of who he is as a player. So, I’m interested to see is this fact or fiction or do we have to pull back the curtain and really see who Jaylen Ramsay really is? Because if if I’m playing against the Pittsburgh Steelers and he’s on the field, we’re going to run at him. We’re going we’re going to wear him down. But the one thing that we know about Mike Tomlin, they’re going to be physical up front. This is going to be a team that is going to be in your face. They’re going to be well coached. They’re going to be really aggressive, but the question is, can they bring it together? But I do like the fact that you got DK Medaf matched up with Aaron Rogers. And this is kind of Aaron Rodgers last run, is it not? Yeah. Right. I mean, the the tenure with the Jets was definitely a disappointment. It would be the understatement of the century. Um, and honestly, I’m kind of disappointed with the kind of alignment that they have with Rogers and DK Metaf. So, they send George Pickkins to Dallas. They acquire DK Metaf from Seattle and ultimately make him a top five paid receiver. Despite the guys around him and the type of success that they had is something that he’s still kind of looking for. Um, and the, you know, you can picture Mr. Big Chest, well, I was AB, uh, which, you know, he has his own concerns, but the guy with the biggest chest at the receiver position, DK Metaf, not as physical of a player as he would look. And the one thing for me is that his contested catch rate was lower than George Pickins last year. And Pickkins wasn’t really good either, uh, despite all those acrobatic sideline catches. So, we’re looking for him to go up and get the football. First, he’s got to create some separation, which he can do. But at that size and physicality, that back shoulder throw that Aaron Rogers has been throwing for 20 years, that doesn’t necessarily align with DK Mataf strengths from his early years in the NFL. So, if that’s not something that they’ve improved upon, I just don’t know if it’s a clear-cut fit for that offense other than, of course, running the ball and working those multiple tight ends, that 12 personnel that Arthur Smith just loves. Well, Jaylen Warren just got paid a significant amount of coin. So, you know, they’re gonna lean heavily on him. Yeah. And they got the third round rookie Caleb Johnson as well. Two different runners. I think you know Rogers best friend Warren being Rogers best friend because he’s the better pass catcher and more importantly for him blocking. Well, once again, that goes back to what Aaron Rogers had with the Green Bay Packers and Aaron Jones, right? A guy who you could run swing routes with. you could dump it off and check it down and runs, you know, plays in a flat or even screen plays. And Jaylen Warren is not a big guy, but he he is he’s still a little thick and he is still a low. And when you get behind that offensive line and you have accurate pass throwing ability, then that changes a lot of things for Jaylen Warren as far as him receiving his passes. But with Aaron Rodgers, you know, Aaron Rogers been through a lot since those days with the Packers. And he really has to prove himself. Even so much so that Terry Bradshaw, a Steelers legend, has had some, let’s just say, some interesting things to say about Aaron Rogers. And Aaron Rogers is great. And my and my home state and the well, my son’s home state of California. Yeah. Calls a bunch of bark chewers. Well, you know what? Aaron has his own unique way of speaking, his own unique way of dealing with things. And I really want to see if Aaron can really revitalize this Pittsburgh Steelers uh organization because they’ve been lying dormant ever since, you know, you think about Ben Rothosberger lacing them up. Um, I mean, it’s it’s been somewhat of an issue, but it’s going to be really interesting because you have a guy in Aaron Rogers who loves to do the things his way. How is that going to work with Arthur Smith? And more importantly, how is Mike Tomlin going to handle that when he is usually the leader of men and not allowing his quarterbacks to dictate what he does as a head coach? Yeah, a completely different outlook. Look, they they need each other, right? Aaron Rogers is kind of, as you said, on his last ride after the last team he had full control of, those New York Jets just gave him the keys and he drove that car into a ditch. Uh, so Pittsburgh, right, they can push the culture, but Mike Tomlin needs an Aaron Rogers because he’s more likely to get them over the top than Mason Rudolph was or Russell Wilson a year ago. So, it just sort of leaves us with Nick, you know, maybe it’s serendipitous. I’m not sure. We’ve broken down 31 teams and the team that we are about to do 32nd may be the 32nd best team in the National Football League. And those Cleveland Browns, Nick, uh they’re carrying four quarterbacks. Miles Garrett is still there. Thank goodness for that. But it is just bleak. And maybe we’re a year, maybe two years ahead of talking about the actual potential for this team. But let’s start. We’ll get the Colorado stuff out of the way. Shador Sanders, I think, gets certain exceptions as ahead of what a fourth string quarterback normally would, but he needs that time to develop. Second, they traded out of the opportunity to select his former running mate and Travis Hunter. Uh, it’s going to reverberate one way or another whether they made that right decision based on the draft capital they picked up or the type of player he becomes in Jacksonville. So, as far as Cleveland and that CU Buffs connection, Nick, how do you see what they did in the draft specifically with giving up that second overall pick and then taking Shador Sanders as the second rookie quarterback now fourth string on their death chart? You know, you always wonder when it comes to the Cleveland Browns, what are they really thinking? What’s the long-term and the shortterm plans? Because when they draft, it leaves you scratching their head. Like you said, you know, here was a team that has four quarterbacks. Deshun Watson is on the roster. They’re playing they’re paying him, but let’s be totally honest, he’s never going to lace it up for the Cleveland Browns again. No. And starting a season with uh old man Joe Flacco. Listen, the reason they did that because Flaco was able to lead them to the playoffs, but we saw how how that ended playing against a younger Houston Texans team. So, the faith of this team lies right now in the two younger quarterbacks, Dylan Gabriel and Shador Sanders, which I think well for Shadore, I obviously just like Dylan and just like any other quarterback, they still have a lot to learn, but I still think that Shadore really showed who he was as a player and I didn’t think that he really got the benefit of the doubt in the last preseason game. Um, so that that’s a whole another conversation that we can have, but yeah, we this isn’t the tin foil podcast, you know, you’re not setting up the fail or any of that. Yeah. So, when you think about the Cleveland Browns, uh there there’s a a lot to like about this team because you want to root for them as an underdog and hope that they finally get there. But it’s a tough hill to climb considering the fact of the division they’re in, let alone the conference. And they got talent. I mean, there’s talent around Joe Flacco. You got Jerry Judy, you got David and Jooko, right? Now, the guy that I would I I was hoping to see is Queen Sean Junkens, right? And we don’t know when we’re going to see him and uh when we do, you know, that that could be a gamecher for them, especially after losing a guy like Nick Chug. But that Cleveland is a team that they’re at the bottom and right now I see them remaining at the bottom. I I do as well and you know for all the talk of you know and and Ivy front office of Andrew Barry and Paul D Podesta. I mean the decision- making just time and time again. And look, I’m not going to blame them for Judkins in particular, but they bring in Isaiah Bond afterwards. you know, the allegations of Deshun Watson and they say, “This is the guy. We’re going to make the highest paid player in NFL history, the most guaranteed money that we’ll get 31 other organizations upset at us.” It’s just it’s it’s hard. And it was, you know, I mentioned the Travis Hunter deal at first because, you know, they think they’re smarter than everybody. And I and I get it. Like maybe they’re not ready to fully employ a Travis Hunter or are afraid to um use him on both sides of the field. I’m not entirely sure what the thought process is, but to move on from the choice of taking a guy who just loves football and is completely about it. Um, you know, I I I I feel a certain type of way about it. I I love some of the picks that they made outside of um Judkins. I mean, Swissinger, who went the top of the second round with that pick they got from Jacksonville, great kid out of UCLA, who scratched and clawed and I, you know, might be wearing a green dot within the next year or so. It’s kind of the same conversation we had with the Patriots. It’s how many guys do they have on this roster that can stick around for the long term? Because the reality is you mentioned Injoku and Jerry Judy and on the defensive side it’s it’s Miles Garrett, it’s Denzel Ward. It’s these are guys that are not going to be here when the rest of the roster is ready to go. I mean, it’s an aging offensive line that are dealing with their injuries. It’s just they can’t have one foot in the present while having one foot in the future. They need to find a quarterback. I think they drafted two that could be a backup, but two first round picks in the 2026 draft. they’re going to go quarterback hunting. Um, just the the roster that we see now is not the one that’s going to matter when they’re going to compete for games two or three years from now. And it’s it’s hard to say because I love Andoku. I mean, Jerry Judy revitalizing his career catching balls from Jameus Winston, that’s great, but it doesn’t ultimately matter for the future of this franchise, Nick. No. Well, it it does because the present is going to set up the future. And what I mean by that is if these guys go out there and guys who may be on expiring deals in the next couple of years, see that the team is moving in the right direction and they’re trying to make the right decisions in the front office. That’s how you get guys to extend their contracts. And we haven’t really seen that. Cleveland has become one of those places where careers go to die. It was that way when I played and nothing has really changed. Like you mentioned the fact that they have two first round picks, right? And and they kind of passed up on, you know, a guy like Travis Hunter. I can understand that frame of mind because being in that position to be able to get somewhat of a hall for a player like that. Yeah, you make you make that move to make your team better with the hopes of maybe one of those first round draft choices. maybe you can swap with someone else and add more picks because that’s what it’s going to take to build this team. Now, I mean, really quickly, talking about Dylan Gabriel and Shador Sanders, I don’t think these two quarterbacks are destined to just be viewed as being backup quarterbacks. I don’t look at it that way because to to me, everyone had a jumping off point. Even your favorite quarterback Tom Brady was drafted in the sixth round and no one thought that he would actually do what he did, but he was surrounded by a veteran group of players on the defensive side of the ball. And there was a sprinkle of a couple of players here and there on the offensive side of the ball. And the play calling from one Josh McDaniels and and so many others helped Tom Brady. So the same can happen with these two players. It’s all about building from the ground up. Right now, Cleveland as as as bad as they seem right now. And the way I look at them as being a bottom feeder, their future looks bright if they make the right decision. And I say if in capital letters because this is an organization that is proven when they have the picks, they can’t make the right damn pick. Yep. Exactly. Exactly. And the type of people they bring around the organization, too. I already touched on that, but that’s, you know, we’ll be able to watch that play out during the season. These AFC North games, these black and blue games, as you put it, are going to be some of the best to watch. And hey, that’s 32 teams. Nick, you ready for some football? I am ready. You see these helmets behind me? Hey, man. Don’t don’t get me started. I mean, luckily you’re not here, man. I start smelling the fresh scent of that grass, man. I throw that helmet off, man, and I go berserk. You heard it. You heard it from Nick. Uh, we’re going to do our opening night episode. Nick’s me throwing on a helmet. Uh, I got to do something something to, uh, match that type of energy. He’s Nick Ferguson, 10 years in the NFL as a safety. You can catch him at nickferguson_25. Uh, throughout the season, I mean, we’re going to be here. We are those guys. You see these guys over there doing what they’re doing. How about those guys? Uh, all season long. You catch us, we’ll be breaking down film, having some fun along the way, and talking about what needs to be talked about. So, Nick, hey, when I see you again, we’re gonna be talking about actual smell the green grass NFL football. What do you have to say for the people? Football is here. Let’s go. What? Let’s go.
