hawaiiansteel
01-26-2010, 04:40 PM
Offseason priorities: AFC North
Sporting News
Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010 - 9:23 a.m. ET
Each NFL team has a different priority entering this offseason, and SN correspondents uncover just what each franchise is focusing on — for the draft and for the 2010 regular season and beyond.
Baltimore Ravens
Where will they find a No. 1 receiver?
SN says: They'll talk to the Broncos about Brandon Marshall and the Bills about Terrell Owens. If they can't get a legitimate No. 1 receiver via trade or free agency, they'll draft one.
G.M. Ozzie Newsome says: "If there is someone out there available that we think can help our team, we'll take a look. … If a receiver is available at a range that we like (the Ravens likely will pick 22nd) and we have rated him high on our draft board, then we'll take him. "
Cincinnati Bengals
How can the Bengals help out QB Carson Palmer? Get him more depth at receiver.
What's the best way to fix the deep passing game?
SN says: Cincinnati has a strong running game and solid defense, but without a consistent deep threat, QB Carson Palmer is handcuffed. WRs Chad Ochocinco and Laveranues Coles are 32, and WRs Andre Caldwell and Jerome Simpson are fast and talented but raw. The team needs a wideout who can stretch defenses.
Coach Marvin Lewis says: "We've done a good job of adjusting, understanding the task at hand and moving the football when we needed to. But we've got to do a better job in the passing game of being able to get the execution done down the field."
Cleveland Browns
Will new team president Mike Holmgren need a new No. 1 quarterback?
SN says: Brady Quinn has West Coast offense traits but must become more accurate. Derek Anderson will get a full review, although he probably is a West Coast misfit. Drafting a quarterback to groom would be a groaner for a win-starved organization, so Holmgren might bring in a veteran, as he did when he traded for Matt Hasselbeck in Seattle.
Holmgren says: "The quarterback question has to be answered down the road, not just by one person but by a group. I know this, that it's very, very important to have your quarterback play well to be successful."
Pittsburgh Steelers
Does the middle of the defense need to get younger?
SN says: Age and depth became issues as 2008's top-ranked defense slipped in '09. Six starters in the season finale were 31 or older, and the team hasn't groomed players behind five-time Pro Bowl NT Casey Hampton, 32, and ILB James Farrior, 35, who had trouble in coverage but has three years left on his contract.
Farrior says: "We've been getting old for a few years now. I think it's all relative. I really don't think about the age issue. My age is getting up there, and I might have lost a step … but the mental part of my game helps me."
Sporting News
Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010 - 9:23 a.m. ET
Each NFL team has a different priority entering this offseason, and SN correspondents uncover just what each franchise is focusing on — for the draft and for the 2010 regular season and beyond.
Baltimore Ravens
Where will they find a No. 1 receiver?
SN says: They'll talk to the Broncos about Brandon Marshall and the Bills about Terrell Owens. If they can't get a legitimate No. 1 receiver via trade or free agency, they'll draft one.
G.M. Ozzie Newsome says: "If there is someone out there available that we think can help our team, we'll take a look. … If a receiver is available at a range that we like (the Ravens likely will pick 22nd) and we have rated him high on our draft board, then we'll take him. "
Cincinnati Bengals
How can the Bengals help out QB Carson Palmer? Get him more depth at receiver.
What's the best way to fix the deep passing game?
SN says: Cincinnati has a strong running game and solid defense, but without a consistent deep threat, QB Carson Palmer is handcuffed. WRs Chad Ochocinco and Laveranues Coles are 32, and WRs Andre Caldwell and Jerome Simpson are fast and talented but raw. The team needs a wideout who can stretch defenses.
Coach Marvin Lewis says: "We've done a good job of adjusting, understanding the task at hand and moving the football when we needed to. But we've got to do a better job in the passing game of being able to get the execution done down the field."
Cleveland Browns
Will new team president Mike Holmgren need a new No. 1 quarterback?
SN says: Brady Quinn has West Coast offense traits but must become more accurate. Derek Anderson will get a full review, although he probably is a West Coast misfit. Drafting a quarterback to groom would be a groaner for a win-starved organization, so Holmgren might bring in a veteran, as he did when he traded for Matt Hasselbeck in Seattle.
Holmgren says: "The quarterback question has to be answered down the road, not just by one person but by a group. I know this, that it's very, very important to have your quarterback play well to be successful."
Pittsburgh Steelers
Does the middle of the defense need to get younger?
SN says: Age and depth became issues as 2008's top-ranked defense slipped in '09. Six starters in the season finale were 31 or older, and the team hasn't groomed players behind five-time Pro Bowl NT Casey Hampton, 32, and ILB James Farrior, 35, who had trouble in coverage but has three years left on his contract.
Farrior says: "We've been getting old for a few years now. I think it's all relative. I really don't think about the age issue. My age is getting up there, and I might have lost a step … but the mental part of my game helps me."