I do think the Ravens will bounce back this year, (though this Ray Rice press conference certainly seems like that issue will drag on a while longer for them). And it’s hard not to like the Colts after the weapons they’ve added. If they can protect Andrew Luck they’ll be tough to beat, especially at home.
I actually re-watched the playoff game between them and the Pats yesterday and it was a little closer than we might like to remember. I just think they’re a totally different team outside, especially in January. Will be very interesting to see how the Pats do against them in Indy.
Ultimately though I think it comes down to the quarterbacks. I’m sure some team will feast on an easy schedule and get into the playoffs, but I don’t think there’s much debate that Brady/Peyton/Luck/Flacco and Rivers are the only QBs to fear in the AFC (and I barely have Luck/Flacco/Rivers on there – depends on the game and the location).
The Bengals/Chiefs are in that second tier and who knows, could maybe upset one NE/DEN, but until a team outside of NE/DEN finds some consistency to sew up one of the top two seeds it’s hard to project a legitimate threat to Brady/Manning.
The day is likely coming, probably sooner for Peyton than Brady, when the door will be open for another team to take over one of those top two spots in the AFC, but for 2014 I still think it’s NE/DEN then the field.
