The two best teams in the AFC South will be battling it out for top spot again
Houston Texans:
Last season: Let's face it, the AFC South is a pretty crap division and the Texans have coasted through it these past two seasons before falling when they hit a decent team. Last year's 12-4 season was ended at the hands of the Patriots in the Divisional play-offs, proving that their performances against weak foes is no preparation for the big boys.
Better than most, but not quite good enough to win it all, the Texans might be the Tottenham Hotspur of the NFL.
This season: To address their lack of post-season success, the Texans brought in Ed Reed from the Ravens. A Super Bowl winner last year, the safety turns 35 in a few weeks and he has yet to appear in a Texans uniform due to injury. That doesn't bode well and Matt Schaub's go to receiver last year, Andre Johnson, is now 32.
The Texans did take another wide out, DeAndre Hopkins, in the first round and if he can bring his college form to the pros, the Texans will be more of a threat, even if running back Arian Foster's numbers continue to decline.
Defensively, the Texans have the magnificent JJ Watt, who can shut down an offence almost single-handedly and with Brian Cushing also back in the fold after missing most of last year with a torn ACL, they will be a very hard side to score on.
Verdict: I expect the Texans to win the AFC South again but the season begins for the Texans in January. They must make a better stab at making the Super Bowl. I'm not convinced they are quite strong enough to go all the way but with some luck, they might just walk off with the AFC crown.
Indianapolis Colts
Last Season: A huge emotional rollercoaster with what went on with coach Chuck Pagano, and with a new rookie QB under centre, they somehow got 11 wins, having tanked the season before. We're not normally one for sentimentality or emotions, but gosh darn it if this didn't nearly have us in tears last season
http://youtu.be/QDYi5u7csJM
This Season: Andrew Luck. What will happen here will be the main thing that determines the Colts' season. He won them games last season, but, as Coach Herm Edwards pointed out, seven of their wins were pulled out of the bag in the fourth quarter.
You can take that to mean that they sucked out loud for three quarters, but not so much that they lost sight of their opponents, and somehow clawed it back. Normally, that's a good learning curve for a team and teaches them how to get results, but it's also a hugely dangerous pattern to fall into. You can't rely on comebacks.
Still, Luck is not only a hugely talented quarterback, but he's quick and strong. In fact, he's almost as quick as RGIII and Cam Newton, which makes him hugely versatile. Here's a trippy gif of the lads all running their 40 yard dashes together, it illustrates the point nicely.
However, he did throw a lot of interceptions last year (18) and while he's learning on the job, that is a worry. The offensive line is still leaky (Luck was sacked 41 times), but there are decent wide receivers there. Reggie Wayne is still great and never seems to age a day, T.Y. Hilton played well with Luck and Darrius Heyward-Bey has been promising in camp by all accounts after having a bad time at Oakland.
All that aside, their schedule is difficult. They have to play the Seahawks, the 49ers and the Rams (not as easy a game as it used to be), while taking on their divisional rivals the Houston Texans is no easy game either.
Verdict: The stats say that last year the Colts got a decent bit of luck, and this time we don't mean the quarterback, we mean the mystical unseen force. That said, we reckon they'll slip back a few games and end up possibly 9-7. This is still a learning curve for a team in transition, which should be remembered.
We're also working on the logistics of the NFL Fantasy League with JOE readers since we had some great interest, so we'll let you all know when it's sorted!
