2012 AFC South Preview

Today I tackle on the AFC South.

HOUSTON TEXANS
The Texans defense is outstanding, and that was 1 reason how that team went into the playoffs in 2011.  Matt Schaub is also coming off injury which sidelined him the last 2 weeks & Wild-Card Playoffs last season, hoping to have the same strength this year.  His big target is Andre Johnson, but the running game is also huge w/ Arian Foster & Ben Tate sharing the duties on the ground.  The defense, coordinated by Wade Phillips, has also been key, led by Brian Cushing, and that has helped the team improve over the past few seasons.  The division is weak,  and has a favorable schedule, but trips to Denver (Week 3) & New England (Week 14) can be big, as well as 2 showdowns against Indianapolis Weeks 15 & 17 will be a factor.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
The Manning Era is over and the Luck Era has begun.  The Colts had a disappointing 2-14 2011 season, after missing Peyton Manning for the entire season and coaching/management became issues to fix.  Former Baltimore Defensive Coordinator Chuck Pagano is the new Head Coach and Greg Manusky is the new D-Coordinator for Indy.  Andrew Luck, the Number 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft will be under center, throwing to Austin Collie, Donnie Avery, Andre Smith & Reggie Wayne.  Donald Brown is the featured RB, after losing Joseph Addai to New England.  This Colts team will be in a rebuilding year, and will have tough road tests at New England, Chicago, NY Jets, Kansas City and Houston so if Andrew Luck and the Colts want to compete, they need to work on defense and hard on offense to get the job done.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
The Jaguars had a tough 2011 season with the loss of QB David Garrard due to injury, and Blaine Gabbart had a disappointing rookie year.  However, in the offseason, Chad Henne was acquired and is expected to start, throwing to Justin Blackmon (5th overall pick in '12 Draft), Laurent Robinson (great season in Dallas), Zach Miller and Mike Thomas.  Maurice Jones-Drew hasn't reported to camp yet due to contract issues, but when he comes back, he will dominate the ground game.  If he doesn't, the Jaguars have Rashad Jennings.  Jacksonville does host Cincinnati, Chicago and New England, but after the bye week, they have to travel to Oakland & Green Bay back-to-back before returning home against Detroit, which can be a tough stretch, considering all 3 teams have great defenses.

TENNESSEE TITANS
The Titans played well in 2011, going 9-7, but this year is a whole new game.  Jake Locker will be the starting QB as the Titans will host New England Week 1 and then travel to San Diego the following week.  Home games against Detroit, Pittsburgh & Chicago can help them early on in the season to get wins before their Bye Week in Mid-November.  After signing a big contract extension last year, Chris Johnson had a disappointing '11 campaign, but looks to bounce back this year on the ground.  With Kenny Britt's off-field issues including a recent DUI arrest, Locker will have to look for Nate Washington and Jared Cook as targets. 

PREDICTIONS
Houston     11-5
Jacksonville   9-7
Tennessee   9-7
Indianapolis   6-10