ESPN NFL

Posted by ESPN.com's James Walker

On the Pittsburgh Steelers...

Joe from San Antonio writes: James, I think the biggest problem in the AFC North is at the QB position. The main thing seperating the Steelers from the Browns, Ravens and Bengals is the Steelers have Ben Rothelisberger, and those other teams do no. The Browns are facing a QB controversy between Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson, especially if Anderson struggles at home again. And next year, then what if Brady Quinn struggles? Because Derek Anderson will be gone. The Bengals had ZERO depth behind Carson Palmer, what, did they expect him to always stay healthy? Ryan Fitzpatrick is not an NFL QB. And this is the 2nd year in recent memory that Palmer has been hurt, the other with his knee that cannot also be 100%. And now, you have the Ravens, where Flacco, literally by default, went from the #3 QB to the starter. He obviously is not ready for that transition, and I think has shown his decision making has a long way to go for him to be successful, and this will hold Baltimore back in the short term.

Dre from Atlanta writes: J you are a perfect 10 in your coverage of the AFC North. I have been a ride or die fan with the Steelers since birth. It's a birth right that is passed on to all the son in our family. I'm a little concerned with the way the NFL is applying fines for hits they deem unsavory. They seem to be getting fine happy and it really doesn't seem to be having a positive affect. If anything I believe the fines are going to have the opposite affect. Pretty soon the guys are going to start letting up and not playing their hearts out because the NFL keeps taking food of these guys table. Point incase, Hines Ward for two weeks straight. I didn't see any bad hits and he was not given a penalty... what's up with this?

On the Baltimore Ravens...

Jack from Baltimore writes: James, do you really think the Ravens blowout loss to Indy was simply a matter of having nothing left in the tank? Are you serious? Look, its panic time in Baltimore. We have an offense that was completely shut down by a pourous Indy defense, and our Defense couldn't even keep the score down to a respectable level. This is what I was talking about last week when I said "whats up with the Ravens defense." Mostly its poor play at CB, and Cory Ivy (#35) couldn't cover me if I was in a wheelchair. Obviously it doesn't help if a rookie QB commits 5 turnovers and your runningbacks fail to break 100 yards total on maybe the worst Run defese in the NFL. But unless the Ravens really turn it around right this instant, there are REAL problems in Baltimore. The Colts exposed some serious fundamental problems with this Ravens team in general.

On the Cincinnati Bengals...

Nick V from Cincinnati writes: James, Thanks for being fair with the Bengals, though there have been and continue to be plenty of opportunites to showcase how awful they are. I suppose they take care of that themselves. That being said, my question is regarding the back situation in the Jungle. With Perry proving that he just plain isn't a feature back that can hit holes and put up yardage (or even hold onto the ball) for a team who's killing themselves to be physical and run it, why does Marvin keep giving him chances? I understand that you need to let a guy work out his mistakes and growing pains (especially after being injured for nearly 2 full seasons), but when will enough be enough? It's almost worse to watch him struggle for 2 yards a carry and fumble in the 4th quarter than it is to be 0-6. We have Benson, we have Watson. Why are they not getting any carries? When Rudi was hurt last year, Kenny Watson tore it up in a few games, especially against the Jets where he had over 100 yards. Its sickening to watch Perry struggle overall; he dropped a pass that would have been a big third down yesterday. I thought he was a recieving back? So he can run, catch or pick up blitzes. What is Marvin doing playing him this much? As an aside, I think there is some sort of cosmic curse on my football club. Our defense is good now, and our offense can't do anything? I wonder if I'll ever see the Bengals look like a NY Giants or a Tennessee Titans. All I want is for them to have an identity and play like a team. TRADE CHAD 08-09! Thanks for listening James.

On the Cleveland Browns...

Aaron from San Antonio, TX writes: James, I believed the 07' Browns were missing a few things to make them a legitimate threat in the AFC but the biggest piece was a killer instinct. When the Browns had the lead they played not to lose instead of playing to win. They were afraid to take risks and the coaching decisions were very questionable at times. Even though they won 10 games none of them were statement games. The Monday Night victory was the first statement game I've seen from the Browns since their reintroduction into the league. This is the kind of attitude they need to take into the rest of their brutal schedule.

Gene from Indian Trail, NC writes: James, I know I have been one of the toughest critics of the coaching and leadership of the Browns - After last night - I officially take it all back. Now this was the team we all expected to see this season (except for those penalties), but I am sure we'll get those worked out. I think the team has exorcised the deamons that they received from the Giants during preseason. We should be fine now. Credit to the coaches and the players for a great effort.

Jim from Columbus writes: Overhype? I think so. Just because the browns step on at HOME on MNF doesn't mean their season is saved, in fact the reality of the matter is only one team is likely to get in from the AFC north and that will probably be the dreaded steelers.

On AFC North kickers...

John from Fort Myers, FL writes: Hi James, I just stumbled upon the Scouts Inc. kicker rankings. As a blogger for the AFC North, which is actually quite a strong kicking division, I'm sure you saw a problem with some of those rankings. Phil Dawson and Matt Stover are as solid as they come. Shayne Graham was the first kicker taken in both of my fantasy drafts. But the one that really gets me is that Jeff Reed was not on the list. He hasn't missed all season. He only missed twice last season, once on a 65 yard attempt and the other in the slop against Mia
mi on MNF. Reed makes every big kick the Steelers give him, nailing game-winner after game-winner. Not to mention, he kicks in the most difficult stadium for kickers in the NFL, a stadium in which the #5 kicker on this list, Kris Brown, once missed five field goals in a single game. Jeff Reed is the most clutch kicker in the league, period.