AFC North offseason exit interview 3 good things 3 bad things for each team

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The roster-building portion of the NFL offseason is all but over. Your favorite team's lineup is pretty much set, with the big names in free agency all snatched up and the 2016 NFL Draft in the books. More offseason exit interviews How did your favorite team do addre sing its biggest needs heading into May and June OTAs? We're taking a team-by-team look with offseason exit interviews for each division. Next up: The AFC North.Three positives 1. Joe Flacco's contract extension Re-working Joe Flacco's contract was definitely at the top of the Ravens' offseason to-do list and for good reason: Going into this offseason, Flacco was set to count $28.6 million against the salary cap in 2016. That's no longer the case thanks to Flacco's three-year extension. The new deal freed up $6 million in salary cap space for 2016, which the Ravens sorely needed. Going into June, the Ravens have roughly $7 million in cap Vlade Divac Jersey space available, which means if Flacco hadn't reworked his contract, the budget would be kind of tight in Baltimore. Anyway, the Ravens weren't the only big winners when Flacco signed his new deal. Dunkin' Donuts also won big: Flacco blew his signing bonus buying coffee there. No McDonalds for this time after signing his new deal. We are at getting Chad Steele (@CSteele32) Flacco didn't blow his entire signing bonus at Dunkin' Donuts though because that would be an unhealthy amount of coffee. 2. They added a few weapons for Flacco. If you're going to give your quarterback a ridiculous amount of money, then it only makes sense to add a few offensive weapons and that's exactly what the Ravens did this offseason. Not only did Baltimore pick up a legitimate deep threat in Mike Wallace, but the Ravens also added tight end Ben Watson, who could put up some big numbers in Baltimore. The former Saints tight end caught 74 pa ses for 825 yards last season and should contribute immediately for a franchise where healthy tight ends apparently don't exist (Crockett Gilmore had nagging injuries in BOTH shoulders). Former Chargers safety Eric Weddle isn't an offensive weapon, but he is someone who will contribute right away in Baltimore. 3. Time pa sed The most positive thing that happened to the Ravens this offseason was the pa sage of time. "Time heals all wounds" has basically been the Ravens' unofficial offseason motto. Injuries need time to heal and no team was more injured heading into the 2016 offseason than the Ravens. Besides Gilmore and Flacco, Ravens receivers Steve Smith (Achilles) and Breshad Perriman (PCL) were also dealing with injuries at the end of the 2016 season. Actually, pretty much everyone on the roster was dealing with an injury by the time the 2015 season ended. The Ravens placed in 2015, a total that includes running back Justin Forsett and defensive end Terrell Suggs. Two negatives and a tough one 1. Joe Flacco's contract extension means the Ravens are stuck with Joe Flacco Why is Joe Flacco's contract extension listed as a both a positive and a negative? Glad you asked. The negative part to Flacco's extension is that it means the Ravens are basically stuck with him for the next three years and that's not nece sarily a good thing when you're talking about a quarterback who's coming off an ACL injury like Flacco. It's also not a good thing when you're talking about a quarterback who's 21-21 over the past three seasons. In two of the past three seasons Flacco has struggled: Not only did the Ravens quarterback throw a career-high 22 interceptions in 2013, but he was on pace to throw 19 picks last season before injuring his knee. Those aren't elite numbers. Don't get me wrong, there's no quarterback controversy in Baltimore, and there shouldn't be, but if Flacco struggles in 2016, you know what, let's just hope he doesn't struggle in 2016 because I don't want anyone in Baltimore to start panicking. 2. They let their top free agent go If the Ravens had been able to hold on to Kelechi Osemele this offseason, that would've been some good news for their offensive line. Unfortunately for Baltimore, the Raiders decided to throw a lot of money at Osemele (five years, $60 million), which was an amount the Ravens just couldn't match. The problem with losing Osemele is that it leaves the Ravens with a lot of question marks on the offensive line. Even worse, most of those question marks are on Joe Flacco's blind side. Right now, it's likely that Ronnie Stanley and Eugene Monroe will be the starters at left guard and left tackle. The problem with that is that Monroe regularly struggles and Stanley is a rookie. Not to mention Monroe has mi sed a total of 15 games over the past two seasons due to various injuries. Basically, the Ravens are going to be protecting their trillion-dollar quarterback with two unproven commodities on the left side. That's a recipe for disaster. 3. They had an emotionally charged offseason The Ravens went through one of the most difficult offseasons that an NFL team could ever go through. When the team kicked off OTAs on May 24, it came just eight weeks after cornerback Tray Walker died in Miami. If any team can overcome adversity in 2016, you have to think it's the Ravens. Three positives 1. They had another fantastic draft The Bengals basically have the NFL Draft down to a science. Every year, you know exactly what's going to happen with them: They're going to get everyone they want, when they want, no matter what. It's usually pretty boring to watch the Bengals draft -- I know, because I've tried it -- but the joke's on me because 99.9 percent of the time, they hit a home run. In 2016 alone, the Bengals picked the best corner not named Jalen Ramsey (William Jackson) and Andrew Billings fell to them in the fourth round, which wasn't exactly a surprise because the Bengals are always good for at least one draft steal a year. The Bengals draft was so solid in 2016 that each of their picks in the first five rounds should see serious playing time over the next two years, if not this year. 2. The secondary is still (mostly) intact The biggest decision the Bengals had to make this offseason came in their secondary. As soon as the 2015 season ended, Adam Jones, George Iloka, Reggie Nelson and Leon Hall became free agents. Trying to get a defensive back under contract isn't cheap, so there was no expectation that the Bengals would retain all four guys, and they didn't. In the end, the Bengals held on to Iloka and Pacman, while letting Nelson walk. Although Nelson led the team in interceptions last season, letting him go was the right move to make. Nelson is going to be 33 in September and the Bengals definitely don't need two 33-year-olds in their secondary (Pacman will also be 33 in September). If the Bengals had zero depth, letting Nelson go would've been a risk, but they have plenty of younger guys who they want to see on the field, like Shawn Williams, who signed a four-year contract extension in March. If the Bengals decide they still need some depth, Hall is still out there. The former Cincy corner this offseason and probably won't be signing with anyone until teams are convinced that he's healthy enough to play. 3. They brought in some Super Bowl savvy veterans The Bengals' annual offseason checklist seems to cover three things every year and we've already covered two of those (dominate the draft, re-sign your key free agents), so what's the last one? Bring in a veteran or two. The Bengals seem to bring in a veteran every year and 2016's no different. Four years ago, the Bengals brought in the Law Firm (BenJarvus Green-Ellis). They followed that up in 2014 by bringing in James Harrison, and then last year, it was A.J. Hawk. This year, the Bengals signed Karlos Buddy Hield Jersey Dansby and Brandon LaFell. All of these players have something in common: They've played in a Super Bowl. The good news for Dansby and LaFell is that the pre sure to get to a Super Bowl is slightly lower in Cincinnati because if the Bengals can just win A SINGLE PLAYOFF GAME, that would basically be the same as winning the Super Bowl for Bengals fans. LaFell could put up huge numbers in the Bengals offense if he plays anything like he did in 2014, when he put up some big numbers with the Patriots (74 catches, 953 yards, seven touchdowns).Three negatives 1. Hue Jackson and half the coaching staff decided to leave At some point this offseason, you probably heard that Hue Jackson decided to leave Cincinnati to coach the Cleveland Browns. Although Jackson was definitely the biggest name to leave the Bengals' coaching staff, he wasn't the only a sistant who jumped ship. The Bengals also lost secondary coach Vance Joseph, linebackers coach Matt Burke and defensive line coach Jay Hayes. Were they tired of losing playoff games? Po sibly, but the more likely answer is that they just found better opportunities elsewhere. Joseph is now the defensive coordinator in Miami and he was followed to South Florida by Burke. As for Hayes, that was probably the most surprising lo s because not only had he been coaching in Cincinnati since 2003, but his brother is on the Bengals' coaching staff. The good news for Hayes is that he probably won't have to worry about experiencing another playoff lo s this year because you actually have to make the playoffs to suffer a lo s. Hayes' new team, the Buccaneers, hasn't made the postseason since 2007. Although Jackson's lo s will probably hurt the most, the Bengals haven't had any problems replacing their coordinators over the past two years (Mike Zimmer, Jay Gruden) and 2016 shouldn't be any different. Jackson was replaced by quarterbacks coach Ken Zampese, who has been with the Bengals since Marvin Lewis was hired in 2003. No one on the coaching staff is more familiar with Andy Dalton than Zampese. 2. There was an M&M exodus at wide receiver In an ideal world where salary caps don't exist, the Bengals probably would've held onto Marvin Jones or Mohamed Sanu. But salary caps do exist, so the Bengals ended up losing both players. Although these two lo ses are probably going to sting early on in the season, the Bengals absolutely made the right choice to not retain either player. Marvin Jones is valuable, but he's not five years, $40 million valuable to the Bengals. The same goes for Sanu, who got a ridiculous five-year, $32.5 million deal in Atlanta. Anyway, when your biggest offseason negative is something you chose to do -- the Bengals let both players walk -- that's a good sign. Of course, if LaFell flops and second-round draft pick Tyler Boyd is a bust, then the Bengals are going to look foolish for letting Jones and Sanu walk. 3. Tyler Eifert's ankle isn't bionic The worst thing to happen to the Bengals this offseason was something they actually had no control over: Tyler Eifert's ankle injury. Eifert's injury is listed third here because it could potentially hurt the Bengals offense three times more than the other two negatives on this list. When Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu decided to leave, it wasn't a huge deal because Eifert became the undisputed No. 2 target on the team in 2015. Eifert's 13 touchdown catches last season were the most by any tight end in the NFL, including Rob Gronkowski. With Eifert po sibly mi sing the first few games of the 2016 season, Andy Dalton will basically be throwing to a group of receivers (minus A.J. Green) with whom he has no connection. Dalton might have to make his receivers wear name tags in 2016 just so he knows their names. If Dalton struggles early next season, it's going to be because teams are quadruple teaming Green, not because his offensive coordinator left for Cleveland, or it might also be again. is officially over! Thankful that Robert found our bags. The power of social media is real! Andy Dalton (@andydalton14) Three positives 1. They didn't draft a QB they didn't like The Browns are synonymous with ineptitude, a fact that has been Nemanja Bjelica Jersey reinforced every time they turned to the first round to find their next franchise quarterback. From Tim Couch to Brady Quinn to Brandon Weeden to Johnny Manziel, there has been very little to celebrate. So instead of sitting at No. 2 and taking Carson Wentz, the Browns instead traded out of the spot and parlayed that into a boatload of picks that allowed them to addre s their other needs. And according to the law of averages, the best way to find good players is to draft a lot of them, instead of taking first-round fliers on a quarterback only to see it never pan out. Not everyone loved the Browns' draft, but they selected players, which is the exact right way to think about things when you're rebuilding a franchise from the ground up. 2. They signed Robert Griffin III Given how his career imploded in the past few years with the Redskins, it's hard to make the case that RG3 is the answer for the Browns. But he arrives in Cleveland on the cheap, and most importantly, he'll be working with first-year head coach Hue Jackson, who is known for his ability to get the most out of young quarterbacks. Bonus: Griffin had a fantastic rookie season (he earned offensive rookie of the year honors), and it's reasonable to think he can replicate some of that succe s in the right offense. 3. They have an owner who says he's in it for the long haul In theory, anyway. Jimmy Haslam is also the same guy who burned through three coaching staffs and a couple front offices since taking over the team in 2012. But now, with a new analytics-focused front office and a quarterback-friendly coach -- and the understanding that this won't be an overnight project -- Haslam to understand the importance of patience.Three negatives 1. The offensive line is a huge question mark The Browns went from having one of the division's best offensive lines to one of its worst in a matter of weeks. Gone are tackle Mitchell Schwartz and center Alex Mack. Perennial Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas remains, though he probably should've been traded this offseason. There's also Joel Bitonio, last year's first-rounder, center Cam Erving (who struggled as a rookie) and 2016 third-round pick tackle Shon Coleman. The good news is that the Browns appear set to be a run-heavy offense. The bad news is that RG3 is skittish in the pocket -- and understandably so, given how many hits he took in Washington -- and those fears may not be allayed anytime soon behind this unit. 2. They still don't have a legit downfield playmaker That should change should the NFL finally reinstate Josh Gordon, who has been suspended since the 2014 season for violating the league's substance-abuse policy. In the meantime, this roster won't scare a lot of opponents. Yes, first-round pick Corey Coleman could be a difference-maker from Day 1, but it's more likely he'll need time to grow into his role as a top-flight receiver. Behind Coleman there's ... well, not much. Marlon Moore and Andrew Hawkins will battle for playing time, though it's worth pointing out that the Browns also drafted other pa s catchers, again hoping the law of averages works in their favor. Tight end Gary Barnidge will almost certainly become a favorite target of RG3, but he's not known to stretch the field. 3. This won't be a one-year turnaround The most important person in the organization for 2016? Haslam. Yes, it would be nice if RG3 or Coleman had a breakout season, or Gordon finally got to return to the field, but the Browns' ability to compete every year will come down to whether Haslam can stay out of everybody's way. History suggests he can't but we would like to think that he finally has the right people running the front office and leading the coach staff. Whether Haslam feels that way should the Browns get off to a slow start remains to be seen, but the hallmark of every succe sful franchise is an owner who doesn't meddle in the football operations, and also understands that every season won't end in a Super Bowl, much le s a playoff appearance.Three positives 1. They have one of the NFL's most explosive offenses The conversation starts with Ben Roethlisberger, but Mike Bibby Jersey unlike, say, recent Patriots teams that relied solely on Tom Brady (specifically, when the Pats were without Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski because of injuries), Big Ben is surrounded by playmakers. Antonio Brown is the NFL's best wide receiver and Markus Wheaton continues to grow into the role of a legit No. 2 option. Then there's Le'Veon Bell, the league's most dynamic running back. Not only can he rush for 100 yards a game, he could be a starting wide receiver on most teams. Behind Bell is DeAngelo Williams, who had something of a Yogi Ferrell Jersey resurgence last season. Yes, tight end Heath Miller retired this offseason, but the Steelers went out and signed 25-year-old Ladarius Green, an athletic, speedy matchup nightmare for most defenses. 2. They addre sed their most pre sing needs with the last two drafts It's no secret that the Steelers' defense has been its Achilles heel in recent years, and it's part of the reason the team replaced Dick LeBeau with Keith Butler after the 2014 season. The defense was better in 2015, improving from 30th to 11th, according to ' metrics, and increased its sack totals from 33 to 48. Perhaps an even bigger reason for the turnaround: Pittsburgh drafted inside linebacker Ryan Shazier and defensive end Stephon Tuitt with its first two picks in 2014, landed rush linebacker Bud Dupree and cornerback Senquez Golson in 2015, and cornerback Artie Burns and safety Sean Davis in 2016. If the defense doesn't meet expectations, it won't be because the Steelers didn't stockpile the unit with young, athletic players. 3. They have two of the most underrated defensive ends in football When you think about the Steelers' defense, names like James Harrison or Troy Polamalu come to mind. Polamalu retired after the 2014 season and Harrison (probably) won't play beyond 2016. As it stands, Cameron Heyward and Stephon Tuitt are two of the brightest young players on the team, and it won't be long before the rest of the league takes notice. Heyward was a first-round pick in 2011, and Tuitt would've been the same in 2014 if not for an injury that saw him slide to the second round. Historically, defensive ends in Pittsburgh were responsible for tying up blockers while the linebackers made all the tackles. But Butler has Heyward and Tuitt getting after the quarterback and the duo combined for 13.5 sacks last season (7 and 6.5), and the expectation is that they'll improve on those totals in 2016.Three negatives 1. They won't have Martavis Bryant Martavis Bryant fell to the fourth round of the 2014 draft for one reason: off-field concerns. He has since been suspended twice -- once for four games to start the 2015 season, and then for the entire 2016 season, which means the Steelers will be without one of the league's best young pa s catchers until at least 2017. But it's tough to argue that Bryant isn't worth the trouble; in 10 games as a rookie he had 26 receptions for 549 yards and eight touchdowns. And last season he followed that up with 50 catches for 765 yards and six touchdowns in 11 games. The Steelers will turn to Darrius Heyward-Bey and Sammie Coates to fill the void but the reality is that the only person who can replace Bryant is Bryant.Over the past 2 years, have scored 30+ points in 52.3% of games with Martavis Bryant vs. 27.3% without him. Chris We seling (@ChrisWe seling) 2. They lack experience in the secondary Good news: The Steelers are serious about fixing their secondary, and they've devoted the nece sary free-agent and draft resources to making it happen. Bad news: They're extremely young on the back end and there could be some growing pains. Cornerback William Gay and free safety Mike Mitchell are veterans, but after that, there could be plenty of inexperience on the field come September. Don't be surprised if rookie cornerback Artie Burns and rookie safety Sean Davis earn playing time immediately, or if second-year cornerback Senquez Golson, who mi sed his rookie season with shoulder injury, plays in the nickel. It'll likely be a trial by fire for this group, though the upside is once it all comes together, their athleticism and playmaking ability could make the Steelers dangerous on both sides of the ball. 3. They have questions at left tackle The team lost free-agent left tackle Kelvin Beachum to the Jaguars. Yes, Beachum mi sed much of last season after tearing his ACL, but he's also a former seventh-round pick who was playing like a top-flight left tackle in recent years. The Steelers will turn to former Army Ranger Alejandro Villanueva, a former undrafted free agent who was solid in 10 starts last season. Additionally, the team signed Ryan Harris, formerly of the Broncos, to push Villanueva. Pittsburgh also drafted former LSU tackle Jerald Hawkins in the fourth round, though he's considered more of a project.
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