Here we are again preparing for the 2015-16 NFL season as the preseason games are forthcoming and the regular season is just around the corner. Therefore we choose to preview today the AFC South and the predictions for same for this upcoming season.
In the past couple of years the Colts of Indy have taken the AFC South. Now as it happens QB A. Luck appears a much better QB than R. Fitzpatrick and B. Bortles. With the teams offseason changes they may even be a stronger team in this upcoming season.
It’s expected that the Colts will be atop the AFC South, but what about the Texans of Houston, the Titans of Tennessee and the Jaguars of Jacksonville and where will they place in this division.
We start our preview with Colts of Indianapolis who in 2014 had 11 wins and 5 losses, and what’s amazing is that in the last 2 season they are undefeated in their division with 12 wins and 0 losses. Yes, they easily won their AFC South division in those 2 years, and this year is an incredible favorite to win their division at -475 to win their third division title this 2015-16. In the offseason the Colts signed veteran LB D. Jackson, N. Irving and T. Cole to beef up their defense. On offense they signed F. Gore, A. Johnson and 1st rounder P. Dorsett in the draft.
Along with a new look this season the Colts have what is called the 2nd easiest schedule in the NFL this 2015-16 seasons. Their 2 toughest games will both be played at home, with the Patriots in the 6th week and the Broncos in the 9th week. In the 3 season with Luck at QB the Colts have won 11 games and lost 5 and if they don’t have the same record or better this season, it would be considered not acceptable. It is a safe prediction picking them to go Over 10 wins this season.
Next we have the Texans of Houston who in 2014 won 9 games and lost 7 games, and for that season they won 7 more games than they did in 2013. They made those wins even as their top draft pick J. Clowney only played in 4 games, while they tried QB’s R. Fitzpatrick, C. Keenum, R. Mallett and T. Savage during the season.
In the offseason Houston to QB Hoyer and that is considered an improvement as he had a great year in 2014 with the Browns of Cleveland. Their defense was improved as they got V. Wilfork to accompany their super star on defense JJ Watt. The Texans are much like the Colts with an easy schedule ranked at 3rd in the league for ease. In 5 of their game they play 3 easy teams in the Titans, Jaguars and the Buccaneers and only six games with teams with records of victory.
If Houston wins 5 games from the easy 1st games, then for the remainder of the season they should have wins and 7 losses. Thus, the prediction for this season for the Texans is Over 8 wins.
Then we have the Jaguars of Jacksonville who in 2014 had 3 wins and 13 losses, and they have been on struggling as the rebuilt their roster. Their chose QB B. Bortles had a rough rookie season as he was sacked on 56 occasions, and that was a NFL high for 2014, and had QBR of a mere 21.9 which was worst in the league. The team has a lot of room for improving, and their offseason acquisitions should help them along, and their defense appears to be improving. On offense for their young QB the things can only improve. This 2015 they have a more or less easy schedule as only 50% of their opponents for 2015 had winning records in 2014. With some breaks they could easily exceed 5 wins this season, at that would be the 1st time since back in the 2010 season. Then the prediction for the Jaguars for 2015 is that they will go Over 5 wins.
For those that Bet on NFL at SBG Global or other sports betting sites the final team to briefly preview in this AFC South is the Titans of Tennessee who in 2014 won only 2 games and lost some 14 for the season.
The good news is that they signed 2014 Heisman QB Mariota as their No. 2 pick, but it’s unlikely he will have the stellar season that he had at Oregon, since it will be his rookie year. That plus the Titans overall roster has not improved drastically either. That’s probably reason for last year’s horrible record.
The signing of veterans P. Cox and B. Orakpo should beef up their defense and they return J. Casey who is one of the more underrated players in the NFL on defense. However, there still are questions regarding the offensive line, and their roster lacks talent the skill positions that are very important. Their 1st and 2nd week games with the Buccaneers and the Indians could be favorable, and then they enjoy 4 consecutive home games. This season they play the Jaguars 2 times and in between they play the Raider. However, their struggling offense will again see the Titans pulling up the rear in this division. The prediction is that the Titans will win under 6 games.