Post by Pittsburgh Steelers (Malachi) on Sept 7, 2023 20:18:35 GMT -5
Mel Blount Division Preview: For the 3rd straight year, we had a new team take the top spot in the Mel Blount division. The Steelers won year 1, the Titans got year 2, and the Ravens ran to the division crown in year 3 by starting the season 12-0 and finishing 12-1. The division got its first AFC Championship appearance with the Steelers getting hot late and losing to the Colts in that round. Looking ahead to the 2023 season will we see the Browns complete the cycle of teams winning the division? Will the Steelers ride the hot streak of last season and get the top spot back? Will the Ravens win a 2nd division title in a row? Can the Titans rebound and retake the division after a down year?
Baltimore Ravens (Dave): 2022 Record: 12-1
Dave and the Ravens had a top shelf season in 2022. It was a 12 win season for the team and those 12 wins all came in a row to open the season and meant the Ravens were the #1 seed in the AFC and in the league overall. Unfortunately for Dave his Ravens week 12 was the last week they would win in the 2022 season as in the final week they would lose to the Steelers to end their perfect season bid, and then lose yet again to the Steelers in the divisional round to end their season all together. While the season ended early based on Dave’s record it was a massive turn around for the Ravens as they went from 4-9 and finished in last place in the division in 2021. So far, albeit a short sample size, the Ravens have been successful in even number years 2020 and 2022 and struggled in 2021. Will that trend continue for Dave or was the 2021 season simply a blip on the radar and the Ravens will be in the division and conference fight again? In 2022 the Ravens had the 6th best team in overall points, 4th on offense, and 7th on defense. It was a well balanced attack for the Ravens so they will look to replicate that success here. On offense, the team rolls into the season with their high end RB duo back, but both now on different NFL teams. Dalvin Cook moved to the Jets, while David Montgomery moved to the Lions, so time will tell how those moves affect their offensive put out that ranked 11th in rushing yards and 16th in touchdowns. Rookie Zach Evans was brought in to replace Trey Sermon, so can the RB room step up to help the offense? A receiving core that was 3rd in receptions, 4th in yards, and 7th in touchdowns, runs it back with Michael Pittman, Garrett Wilson, Christian Kirk, and Courtland Sutton. Those 4 led the unit and will be helped out by Allen Robinson and rookie Xavier Hutchinson coming into the fold and replacing Bryan Edwards. The TE room comes into the season a little thin with Hock being the only one on the roster, but with a TE like that, Dave can manage as long as he stays healthy. Harrison Bryant wasn’t retained, so time will tell how Dave navigates that depth. Lastly the QB situation as I write this is 2nd year Desmond Ridder and stable vet Jared Goff. There will be a decision made as Dave doesn’t have the cap space to retain both, so which direction will he take his squad? The Ravens will be looking to stay a top 10 defense and we will start at the DL to see how they plan to accomplish that. Jonathan Allen, Brian Burns, and Joe Tryon will return for the 2023 season, while Jadeveon Clowney was not brought back. Overall the unit will be solid again with Allen and Burns leading the way, while Dave hopes Tryon continues to develop. At the LB spot Dave retained Khalil Mack, Rashaan Evans (currently a FA), Sione Takitaki and Leo Chanel. Myles Jack retired from the NFL, while Tony Fields was not brought back. The group did add a piece that will elevate the unit and that was standout Dre Greenlaw. The group gets better for this season to hopefully boost the defense. Finally at DB, the Ravens regroup with Cameron Bynum, Chauncey Gardner Johnson and Andre Cisco. Mike Edwards wasn’t retained or replaced, so the unit lost some depth and production there. The team will have a brutal middle section of the season as they play the other division winners, so will that cause the Ravens to lose the division title this season?
Predicted Division Finish: 2nd
Cleveland Browns (Josh): 2022 Record: 4-9
For the first time since the league was formed the Browns are entering the season with the same owner they ended last season with as Josh returns for his 2nd season in LHL. For a team that has been at the bottom of the league, it is a breath of fresh air to have some consistency and start to get a plan together to turn the team around. The team did drop 1 win overall from 2021 to 2022 and moved down to 4th in the division, but are starting to be pieces that we can see Josh building around to turn this team around. In 2022 the team scored the 18th most points in the league and were 21st on offense, but were 16th best on defense. As Josh builds this team the QB spot looks locked down for the foreseeable future with Trevor Lawrence really coming into his own last year in Jacksonville. Josh does also have Malik Willis on the roster, but he was drafted by the previous owner and that experiment in Tennessee seems to be over with the Titans drafting Will Levis this past March, so we shall see how Josh handles Willis. Lawrence had the team 9th in passing yards, 12th in touchdowns, and tied 4th for fewest interceptions. Josh brings back Jamaal Williams, Michael Carter, and Kene Nwangwu at RB, from a RB room that was 12th in yards and 1st in rushing touchdowns. Can this unit replicate that with Jamaal Williams now in New Orleans and Carter and Nwangwu in more crowded situations this season, while Boston Scott isn’t on the roster anymore? The receiving room is where the offense really struggled to find production as the team was 22nd in all 3 categories, receptions, yards, and touchdowns. In a bid to improve that unit Josh drafted Zay Flowers and Jalin Hyatt, while also signing KJ Osborn. He also brought back Kadarius Toney, Skyy Moore, Tute Atwell, and Khalil Shakir. The only WR to not return was Deonte Harty. The TE group is a very solid duo with Evan Engram and Dallas Goedert, one that could compete for the best TE group in the league if both play all season. The better side of the ball for the Browns was the defense so let's look at how Josh has gone about improving them. Starting at DL, the glaring difference is that Josh let Myles Garrett leave in RFA and replaced him with Josh Sweat in RFA as well. Kwity Paye and Quinnen Williams were brought back, while Felix Anudike-Uzomah was drafted to add depth to the position group. The big change being Myles moving on, so can Josh sustain that with more depth? Sliding down to the LB spot, we saw Josh release Quincy Williams and move on from Lorenzo Carter and Dont’a Hightower. To replace them he added Terrel Bernard and Bradley Chubb. The returnees were Hassan Reddick, Jaelen Phillips, and Shaq Barrett. Will the replacements brought in be enough to cover the players that left? The last group is DB and the sole guy coming back is Derek Stingley Jr. The new names on the roster are Harrison Smith and Vonn Bell, which are replacements for Stephon Gilmore, Juan Thornhill, Micah Hyde, and Brandon Jones. So Josh is opting to start the season with less depth at the position, but hope it is better quality to put up more points. Josh, by way of finishing 4th in the division, will have a good chance to pick up wins this season in the middle part of the season and try to climb up the league standings.
Predicted Division Finish: 3rd
Pittsburgh Steelers (Malachi): 2022 Record: 8-5
The Steelers have made the playoffs every season so far in LHL, the last 2 times being a wild card team, the difference in 2022 compared to 2021 was the fact that the Steelers finally broke the bubble of winning a playoff game as they were able to win 2 games advancing to the AFC Championship game against the eventual champs, the Colts. It was also a successful season for the Steelers as they ended the last bid for a perfect season beating the Ravens in week 13, and then beating the Ravens again in the divisional round with the Ravens being the #1 seed. Looking ahead to 2023, the Steelers look set to be a contender yet again and this time will be hoping for a division win and a first round bye come playoff time. Looking back at how the team did overall in scoring output the Steelers were the #3 team in total, #11 on offense, but were the #1 overall defense. The Steelers will run their first full season with Mahomes at QB, where they split the season between Fields and Mahomes last year. The two QBs put the Steelers 4th in passing yards, 8th in touchdowns, but 19th interceptions. Miles Sanders and Latavius Murray were the only real contributors at RB for the Steelers last season and the two of them put up the 8th most rushing yards and tied for the 3rd most rushing touchdowns. Miles Sanders returns for 2023 and will be backed by Ty Chandler and Kyren Williams. Can Sanders in Carolina lead the Steelers to another strong rushing season? The offense has room to grow this coming season thanks to a receiving group that finished 13th in receptions, 11th in yards, and tied for 20th in touchdowns. The guys back for the unit are Diontae Johnson, George Pickens, Chris Olave, and Devin Duvernay. Michael Wilson was drafted and Robert Woods was added in FA to replace the outgoing Kalif Raymond, Ben Skowronek, and Tyler Lockett, so some depth lost, and potentially some put out, but the Steelers hope the young players take a step forward to improve the putout. Boosting the WR room will be the completely revamped TE room as the Steelers ended last season with Robert Tonyan, Noah Gray, and Albert Okwuegbunam, but will start it with Mark Andrews, Dawson Knox, and rookie Darnell Washington. A major upgrade to the offense and one that will likely see the WR group jump into the top 10, and maybe top 5 in the league. Coming off a season at the top of the heap on defense, the Steelers will roll back out with Cam Heyward and Kayvon Thibodeaux at DL, while replacing Sebastian Joseph-Day and Carlos Dunlap with Joey Bosa and rookie Myles Murphy. A solid group once again for the team. The Steelers made 1 change to the DB unit as Marcus Maye was traded away to make room for rookie Sydney Brown, who came in during the rookie draft. At LB the Steelers bring back Cole Holcomb (now a Steeler in the NFL), Alex Singleton, Willie Gay, and Monty Rice. A strong core of LBs that will be supplemented by the two additions of Preston Smith and Quincy Williams. Those 2 were brought in to replace Kyzir White, giving the team a touch more depth this season. After a deep run, it appears the Steelers improved the roster on both sides, so is the LHL Super Bowl in their future? A season schedule against the other 2nd place division finishers could be the boost they need to help make that happen.
Predicted Division Finish: 1st
Tennessee Titans (Nate): 2022 Record: 6-7
Coming off a division win in 2021, the Titans were headed into the 2022 season on a high and in a spot to be the first to win the division in back to back seasons. Things didn't quite work out that way as the team dropped 2 spots in the division standings behind the Ravens and the Steelers and missed the playoffs. The team also dropped a win, moving from 7-6 in 2021 to 6-7 in 2022. The off-season brought a ton of changes for the Titans, but we will get more into that down this preview. The team in 2022 ranked 9th in total points, 6th in offensive points, and 14th in defensive points. With Josh Allen at QB, the team went on to be 6th in passing yards and 2nd in touchdowns. Allen did have the team tied for 21st in INTs on the season though. Allen will be the QB once again in Tennessee in 2023. The RB room went for the 5th most yards, but only the 10th most touchdowns. Nate will be happy with the RB room and brought back Antonio Gibson, Travis Etienne, and Khalil Herbert to lead that room. He did add rookie Tyjae Spears to try and boost the room a bit this season. The receiving group was 14th in receptions, 15th in yards, but were up at 9th in touchdowns. At WR, Tee Higgins, Jahan Dotson, Romeo Doubs, Elijah Moore, and Dyami Brown were brought back for the core. On the flip side Calvin Ridley, Sterling Shepard, and Dede Westbrook were allowed to leave over the off-season. Rookie Tyler Scott was the only addition for the group. A huge loss for the receiving numbers were the TEs Mark Andrews and Logan Thomas, a hit that Nate was only able to soften by taking rookie TE Sam LaPorta. So will the rookie be able to replace either of those vet guys enough? With a middle of the pack defense, upgrades there will be vital for the Titans to stay in the mix in a loaded division and conference. Montez Sweat is the only DL back from last season and currently the only one on the roster, so Nate will need to sign one to fill out his starting lineup on defense. Joey Bosa and JJ Watt were on the roster last year and JJ retired while Joey moved on. At the LB spot, Christian Harris is the only returnee and the only other guy on the roster is Jack Gibbens. The group is thin like the DL group currently. Bobby Okereke and Dre Greenlaw left in RFA this past off-season. The final position group to break down is the DB room and Percy Butler and Sauce Gardner are the only carry overs for the unit. Vonn Bell and Landon Collins left in the off-season, while the Washington duo of Kendall Fuller and Emmanuel Forbes have been brought in to make the DB room the one with most depth currently on this defense. Nate will need to make some signings to get this roster through the season, and stop his team from getting hit for some penalties, but even once that happens the roster might be in a tough spot to be competitive here in 2023. With a 3rd place division finish last season, the Titans will get a mixed bag of opponents in the middle of the season, making it hard to predict how it will help or hurt the Titans.
Predicted Division Finish: 4th
Baltimore Ravens (Dave): 2022 Record: 12-1
Dave and the Ravens had a top shelf season in 2022. It was a 12 win season for the team and those 12 wins all came in a row to open the season and meant the Ravens were the #1 seed in the AFC and in the league overall. Unfortunately for Dave his Ravens week 12 was the last week they would win in the 2022 season as in the final week they would lose to the Steelers to end their perfect season bid, and then lose yet again to the Steelers in the divisional round to end their season all together. While the season ended early based on Dave’s record it was a massive turn around for the Ravens as they went from 4-9 and finished in last place in the division in 2021. So far, albeit a short sample size, the Ravens have been successful in even number years 2020 and 2022 and struggled in 2021. Will that trend continue for Dave or was the 2021 season simply a blip on the radar and the Ravens will be in the division and conference fight again? In 2022 the Ravens had the 6th best team in overall points, 4th on offense, and 7th on defense. It was a well balanced attack for the Ravens so they will look to replicate that success here. On offense, the team rolls into the season with their high end RB duo back, but both now on different NFL teams. Dalvin Cook moved to the Jets, while David Montgomery moved to the Lions, so time will tell how those moves affect their offensive put out that ranked 11th in rushing yards and 16th in touchdowns. Rookie Zach Evans was brought in to replace Trey Sermon, so can the RB room step up to help the offense? A receiving core that was 3rd in receptions, 4th in yards, and 7th in touchdowns, runs it back with Michael Pittman, Garrett Wilson, Christian Kirk, and Courtland Sutton. Those 4 led the unit and will be helped out by Allen Robinson and rookie Xavier Hutchinson coming into the fold and replacing Bryan Edwards. The TE room comes into the season a little thin with Hock being the only one on the roster, but with a TE like that, Dave can manage as long as he stays healthy. Harrison Bryant wasn’t retained, so time will tell how Dave navigates that depth. Lastly the QB situation as I write this is 2nd year Desmond Ridder and stable vet Jared Goff. There will be a decision made as Dave doesn’t have the cap space to retain both, so which direction will he take his squad? The Ravens will be looking to stay a top 10 defense and we will start at the DL to see how they plan to accomplish that. Jonathan Allen, Brian Burns, and Joe Tryon will return for the 2023 season, while Jadeveon Clowney was not brought back. Overall the unit will be solid again with Allen and Burns leading the way, while Dave hopes Tryon continues to develop. At the LB spot Dave retained Khalil Mack, Rashaan Evans (currently a FA), Sione Takitaki and Leo Chanel. Myles Jack retired from the NFL, while Tony Fields was not brought back. The group did add a piece that will elevate the unit and that was standout Dre Greenlaw. The group gets better for this season to hopefully boost the defense. Finally at DB, the Ravens regroup with Cameron Bynum, Chauncey Gardner Johnson and Andre Cisco. Mike Edwards wasn’t retained or replaced, so the unit lost some depth and production there. The team will have a brutal middle section of the season as they play the other division winners, so will that cause the Ravens to lose the division title this season?
Predicted Division Finish: 2nd
Cleveland Browns (Josh): 2022 Record: 4-9
For the first time since the league was formed the Browns are entering the season with the same owner they ended last season with as Josh returns for his 2nd season in LHL. For a team that has been at the bottom of the league, it is a breath of fresh air to have some consistency and start to get a plan together to turn the team around. The team did drop 1 win overall from 2021 to 2022 and moved down to 4th in the division, but are starting to be pieces that we can see Josh building around to turn this team around. In 2022 the team scored the 18th most points in the league and were 21st on offense, but were 16th best on defense. As Josh builds this team the QB spot looks locked down for the foreseeable future with Trevor Lawrence really coming into his own last year in Jacksonville. Josh does also have Malik Willis on the roster, but he was drafted by the previous owner and that experiment in Tennessee seems to be over with the Titans drafting Will Levis this past March, so we shall see how Josh handles Willis. Lawrence had the team 9th in passing yards, 12th in touchdowns, and tied 4th for fewest interceptions. Josh brings back Jamaal Williams, Michael Carter, and Kene Nwangwu at RB, from a RB room that was 12th in yards and 1st in rushing touchdowns. Can this unit replicate that with Jamaal Williams now in New Orleans and Carter and Nwangwu in more crowded situations this season, while Boston Scott isn’t on the roster anymore? The receiving room is where the offense really struggled to find production as the team was 22nd in all 3 categories, receptions, yards, and touchdowns. In a bid to improve that unit Josh drafted Zay Flowers and Jalin Hyatt, while also signing KJ Osborn. He also brought back Kadarius Toney, Skyy Moore, Tute Atwell, and Khalil Shakir. The only WR to not return was Deonte Harty. The TE group is a very solid duo with Evan Engram and Dallas Goedert, one that could compete for the best TE group in the league if both play all season. The better side of the ball for the Browns was the defense so let's look at how Josh has gone about improving them. Starting at DL, the glaring difference is that Josh let Myles Garrett leave in RFA and replaced him with Josh Sweat in RFA as well. Kwity Paye and Quinnen Williams were brought back, while Felix Anudike-Uzomah was drafted to add depth to the position group. The big change being Myles moving on, so can Josh sustain that with more depth? Sliding down to the LB spot, we saw Josh release Quincy Williams and move on from Lorenzo Carter and Dont’a Hightower. To replace them he added Terrel Bernard and Bradley Chubb. The returnees were Hassan Reddick, Jaelen Phillips, and Shaq Barrett. Will the replacements brought in be enough to cover the players that left? The last group is DB and the sole guy coming back is Derek Stingley Jr. The new names on the roster are Harrison Smith and Vonn Bell, which are replacements for Stephon Gilmore, Juan Thornhill, Micah Hyde, and Brandon Jones. So Josh is opting to start the season with less depth at the position, but hope it is better quality to put up more points. Josh, by way of finishing 4th in the division, will have a good chance to pick up wins this season in the middle part of the season and try to climb up the league standings.
Predicted Division Finish: 3rd
Pittsburgh Steelers (Malachi): 2022 Record: 8-5
The Steelers have made the playoffs every season so far in LHL, the last 2 times being a wild card team, the difference in 2022 compared to 2021 was the fact that the Steelers finally broke the bubble of winning a playoff game as they were able to win 2 games advancing to the AFC Championship game against the eventual champs, the Colts. It was also a successful season for the Steelers as they ended the last bid for a perfect season beating the Ravens in week 13, and then beating the Ravens again in the divisional round with the Ravens being the #1 seed. Looking ahead to 2023, the Steelers look set to be a contender yet again and this time will be hoping for a division win and a first round bye come playoff time. Looking back at how the team did overall in scoring output the Steelers were the #3 team in total, #11 on offense, but were the #1 overall defense. The Steelers will run their first full season with Mahomes at QB, where they split the season between Fields and Mahomes last year. The two QBs put the Steelers 4th in passing yards, 8th in touchdowns, but 19th interceptions. Miles Sanders and Latavius Murray were the only real contributors at RB for the Steelers last season and the two of them put up the 8th most rushing yards and tied for the 3rd most rushing touchdowns. Miles Sanders returns for 2023 and will be backed by Ty Chandler and Kyren Williams. Can Sanders in Carolina lead the Steelers to another strong rushing season? The offense has room to grow this coming season thanks to a receiving group that finished 13th in receptions, 11th in yards, and tied for 20th in touchdowns. The guys back for the unit are Diontae Johnson, George Pickens, Chris Olave, and Devin Duvernay. Michael Wilson was drafted and Robert Woods was added in FA to replace the outgoing Kalif Raymond, Ben Skowronek, and Tyler Lockett, so some depth lost, and potentially some put out, but the Steelers hope the young players take a step forward to improve the putout. Boosting the WR room will be the completely revamped TE room as the Steelers ended last season with Robert Tonyan, Noah Gray, and Albert Okwuegbunam, but will start it with Mark Andrews, Dawson Knox, and rookie Darnell Washington. A major upgrade to the offense and one that will likely see the WR group jump into the top 10, and maybe top 5 in the league. Coming off a season at the top of the heap on defense, the Steelers will roll back out with Cam Heyward and Kayvon Thibodeaux at DL, while replacing Sebastian Joseph-Day and Carlos Dunlap with Joey Bosa and rookie Myles Murphy. A solid group once again for the team. The Steelers made 1 change to the DB unit as Marcus Maye was traded away to make room for rookie Sydney Brown, who came in during the rookie draft. At LB the Steelers bring back Cole Holcomb (now a Steeler in the NFL), Alex Singleton, Willie Gay, and Monty Rice. A strong core of LBs that will be supplemented by the two additions of Preston Smith and Quincy Williams. Those 2 were brought in to replace Kyzir White, giving the team a touch more depth this season. After a deep run, it appears the Steelers improved the roster on both sides, so is the LHL Super Bowl in their future? A season schedule against the other 2nd place division finishers could be the boost they need to help make that happen.
Predicted Division Finish: 1st
Tennessee Titans (Nate): 2022 Record: 6-7
Coming off a division win in 2021, the Titans were headed into the 2022 season on a high and in a spot to be the first to win the division in back to back seasons. Things didn't quite work out that way as the team dropped 2 spots in the division standings behind the Ravens and the Steelers and missed the playoffs. The team also dropped a win, moving from 7-6 in 2021 to 6-7 in 2022. The off-season brought a ton of changes for the Titans, but we will get more into that down this preview. The team in 2022 ranked 9th in total points, 6th in offensive points, and 14th in defensive points. With Josh Allen at QB, the team went on to be 6th in passing yards and 2nd in touchdowns. Allen did have the team tied for 21st in INTs on the season though. Allen will be the QB once again in Tennessee in 2023. The RB room went for the 5th most yards, but only the 10th most touchdowns. Nate will be happy with the RB room and brought back Antonio Gibson, Travis Etienne, and Khalil Herbert to lead that room. He did add rookie Tyjae Spears to try and boost the room a bit this season. The receiving group was 14th in receptions, 15th in yards, but were up at 9th in touchdowns. At WR, Tee Higgins, Jahan Dotson, Romeo Doubs, Elijah Moore, and Dyami Brown were brought back for the core. On the flip side Calvin Ridley, Sterling Shepard, and Dede Westbrook were allowed to leave over the off-season. Rookie Tyler Scott was the only addition for the group. A huge loss for the receiving numbers were the TEs Mark Andrews and Logan Thomas, a hit that Nate was only able to soften by taking rookie TE Sam LaPorta. So will the rookie be able to replace either of those vet guys enough? With a middle of the pack defense, upgrades there will be vital for the Titans to stay in the mix in a loaded division and conference. Montez Sweat is the only DL back from last season and currently the only one on the roster, so Nate will need to sign one to fill out his starting lineup on defense. Joey Bosa and JJ Watt were on the roster last year and JJ retired while Joey moved on. At the LB spot, Christian Harris is the only returnee and the only other guy on the roster is Jack Gibbens. The group is thin like the DL group currently. Bobby Okereke and Dre Greenlaw left in RFA this past off-season. The final position group to break down is the DB room and Percy Butler and Sauce Gardner are the only carry overs for the unit. Vonn Bell and Landon Collins left in the off-season, while the Washington duo of Kendall Fuller and Emmanuel Forbes have been brought in to make the DB room the one with most depth currently on this defense. Nate will need to make some signings to get this roster through the season, and stop his team from getting hit for some penalties, but even once that happens the roster might be in a tough spot to be competitive here in 2023. With a 3rd place division finish last season, the Titans will get a mixed bag of opponents in the middle of the season, making it hard to predict how it will help or hurt the Titans.
Predicted Division Finish: 4th
