ESPN's Ultimate Depth Chart

[Ox]

Ultimate Depth Chart: AFC North

ESPN.com

Updated: June 13, 2007, 12:44 PM ET

It's always a long summer in anticipation of the new NFL season, but "SportsCenter" has come up with a way to keep your attention aimed between the end zones.

ULTIMATE DEPTH CHART

AFC North

Best offense in the AFC North?

Mark Schlereth: Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals easily have the best offense in the division. The Bengals have the ability to be as explosive as any team in the league through the air and can run the ball with the best of them. This offense will miss WR Chris Henry, who is out for eight games while serving a league-mandated suspension, but the Bengals will be just fine throwing to T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Chad Johnson while he's out.

Merril Hoge: Bengals

This is a complete offense with QB Carson Palmer, WR Johnson and one of the most underrated running backs in the league with Rudi Johnson running the rock. They can cut you so many different ways with those three guys because there is no area of the field they can't attack. Johnson has the ability to run any route that is thrown at him, and Palmer can make all the throws.

Joe Theismann: Bengals

This is an explosive team with one of the best quarterbacks in the league in Palmer. What makes this offense better than most is its offensive line, which does an amazing job of keeping defenders off Palmer and giving Johnson time to hit his holes and accelerate into the second level of the defense.

Best defense in the AFC North?

Schlereth: Baltimore Ravens

You can't bet against a defense that is led by Ed Reed and Ray Lewis. These two are perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidates. They are smart and aggressive and know not only where they should be but also where every defender on the field should be at all times. This means that when a younger defender makes a mistake, Reed and Lewis can process that information quickly and do what is necessary to rectify the situation. That may mean filling a spot on the fly or changing the game plan and showing the quarterback a different look to force him away from that area. Simply put, these two play chess on the field, and that's why the Ravens are the best in the AFC North.

Hoge: Ravens

The Ravens are still the best, even with vaunted defender Adalius Thomas leaving to go to New England via free agency. This is one of the most versatile and aggressive defenses in the league, as they can mix it up to confuse basically any quarterback in the league. This is the type of defense that offensive coordinators brew extra pots of coffee to get ready to face.

Theismann: Ravens

This is a team with a slew of Pro Bowl-caliber players at every level. Defensive coordinator Rex Ryan loves versatility, and the Ravens have the personnel not only to execute Ryan's complex schemes but also to thrive in them. This is an extreme, aggressive brand of defensive football.

Best team in the AFC North?

Schlereth: Ravens

While defense leads the Ravens, they will get a huge shot in the arm offensively with the arrival of RB Willis McGahee. He's the type of big-play threat that has been missing from the Ravens' offense in recent years. He and QB Steve McNair should lead this team to a division title.

Hoge: Bengals

The Bengals get the nod because of the defensive improvements they've made. Don't forget that coach Marvin Lewis is one of the foremost defensive minds in the league. There's no doubt that he hasn't been happy in recent years with the play of his defense, but that is subject to change as he finally has the type of personnel necessary for him to finally execute his schemes.

Theismann: Ravens

McNair and McGahee are the reasons why Baltimore is my pick. McNair is one of the best leaders in football, and he has another year under his belt with coach Brian Billick's offensive scheme and with his receivers. Bringing in McGahee gives this team the type of big-play threat that hasn't been seen in Baltimore from the running-back position since Jamal Lewis' 2,000-yard season.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2902803

[Stripes]

Bengals fans always seem to hate Hodge, but he continues to pimp the Bengals every offseason with Marvin at the helm. Then again, so does Skip Bayless and he definitely sucks.

[ArmyBengal]

We are going to be step by step with the Ravens this whole season in my opinion... No mention of the Steelers...

WHODEY !!!

[Bengals Fan in Trenton]

Correction: no Steelers and no Browns.

Brady Quinn = Tim Couch.

[Kazkal]

Bengals will pimp smack the ravens,They got lucky in game 1 last year with china doll returning kicks.

[duus]

Bengals fans always seem to hate Hodge, but he continues to pimp the Bengals every offseason with Marvin at the helm. Then again, so does Skip Bayless and he definitely sucks.

I'm one of those fans. Nationally, Hoge does continue to highlight our Bengals. Then, locally in Pissburgh, he gets on the radio station several times per week during the season and completely contradicts these points. One time last year I actually called into a radio show because he predicted the Steelers to win the division on the air ... when he had just days prior predicted the Bengals on ESPN's site. I questioned him on this and he did his best to sidestep things and never really answered why he had changed his prediction so quickly when he got on the air in Pissburgh. Point is, I actually think he does like the Benglas team the Marvin has put together, but he spends way too much time trying to 'not offend' the fanbase of his former employer. I'm sure other media types do likewise, but I simply do not like that type of kissing-up. (for what it is worth, outside of his local call-in bit, I do tend to like his opinion in football matters)

[Bobcat Bengal]

Correction: no Steelers and no Browns.

Brady Quinn = Tim Couch.

If Quinn holds out....in the words of Bananarama, it's gonna be a "Cruel Summer".

Not to mention Fall.

[redsbengalsbucks]

Depth chart Offensive skill positions AFCN

QB

#1 Palmer

#2 Big Ben

#3 McNair

RB

#1 Rudi

#2 Mcgahee

#3 Parker

WR

#1 Ocho Cinco

#2 TJ

#3 Ward

[DC_Bengals_Fan]

One time last year I actually called into a radio show because he predicted the Steelers to win the division on the air ... when he had just days prior predicted the Bengals on ESPN's site. I questioned him on this and he did his best to sidestep things and never really answered why he had changed his prediction so quickly when he got on the air in Pissburgh. Point is, I actually think he does like the Benglas team the Marvin has put together, but he spends way too much time trying to 'not offend' the fanbase of his former employer.

Nice job! Incidentally, I've never heard him say anything on ESPN that indicated any hidden intellect on his part. He's not as dumb as Irvin or Salisbury, but he's never said anything that suggested to me that he's worth listening to.

At that point - why do I care what a moron thinks of the Bengals? Of course, that works both ways - I'm not particularly thrilled simply because he says they're good, either.

[derekshank]

One time last year I actually called into a radio show because he predicted the Steelers to win the division on the air ... when he had just days prior predicted the Bengals on ESPN's site. I questioned him on this and he did his best to sidestep things and never really answered why he had changed his prediction so quickly when he got on the air in Pissburgh. Point is, I actually think he does like the Benglas team the Marvin has put together, but he spends way too much time trying to 'not offend' the fanbase of his former employer.

Nice job! Incidentally, I've never heard him say anything on ESPN that indicated any hidden intellect on his part. He's not as dumb as Irvin or Salisbury, but he's never said anything that suggested to me that he's worth listening to.

At that point - why do I care what a moron thinks of the Bengals? Of course, that works both ways - I'm not particularly thrilled simply because he says they're good, either.

I like him because he breaks down tape on the show NFL match-up and gives real reasons for his opinions. I don't always agree with him, but he's not just spouting off opinions. He does his time in the film room.

[The PatternMaster]

Bengals fans always seem to hate Hodge, but he continues to pimp the Bengals every offseason with Marvin at the helm. Then again, so does Skip Bayless and he definitely sucks.

I'm one of those fans. Nationally, Hoge does continue to highlight our Bengals. Then, locally in Pissburgh, he gets on the radio station several times per week during the season and completely contradicts these points. One time last year I actually called into a radio show because he predicted the Steelers to win the division on the air ... when he had just days prior predicted the Bengals on ESPN's site. I questioned him on this and he did his best to sidestep things and never really answered why he had changed his prediction so quickly when he got on the air in Pissburgh. Point is, I actually think he does like the Benglas team the Marvin has put together, but he spends way too much time trying to 'not offend' the fanbase of his former employer. I'm sure other media types do likewise, but I simply do not like that type of kissing-up. (for what it is worth, outside of his local call-in bit, I do tend to like his opinion in football matters)

He can be a bit hypocritical, but he's just trying to feed his family at the end of the day. I like Hodge, he's seems like a fun guy and he back up his opinions with sound logic, unlike some analyst for ESPN. Plus he has the best blonde highlights in the biz.

As for the rankings, I'm not sure the Ravens defense is a slam dunk for #1, they lost arguably there most explosive player in A. Thomas this offseason and despite what Ray says about his conditioning he's on the wrong side of 30 and has been injury prone over the last few years. The Ravens D is getting long in the tooth and still don't have a solid #3 corner, with Rolle getting older he could easily be the 2007 version of Tory James.

If JJ can make it back to full strength I think we have the best secondary in the division and with the improvements made this offseason our front 7 should be much improved.

[ShulaSteakhouse]

Joe Theismann: Bengals

What makes this offense better than most is its offensive line, which does an amazing job of keeping defenders off Palmer and giving Johnson time to hit his holes and accelerate into the second level of the defense.

------------------------

Pfft - not sure what he's talking about. Rudi's YPC went down significantly last year, and Palmer's sacks went way up. So he picks out the 0-line as a highlight? I would say that Rudi gets a lot of his yards on his own and has trouble "getting to the 2nd level" consistently because of poor blocking. It's why they need him here, he's a brute who can overcome those weakenesses up the middle ecspecially.

Granted they didn't have Levi or Braham - but they won't have Braham again this year, and Levi is still not 100% (nor can he practice last I read).

And it isn't as-if the Bengals' are the only team to have injured 0-line every year - happens to all teams.

They are good because they put so much $ into their skill players, and have a Pro Bowl starting QB in Palmer who is in his prime years.

[BengalByTheBay]

Joe Theismann: Bengals

What makes this offense better than most is its offensive line, which does an amazing job of keeping defenders off Palmer and giving Johnson time to hit his holes and accelerate into the second level of the defense.

------------------------

Pfft - not sure what he's talking about. Rudi's YPC went down significantly last year, and Palmer's sacks went way up. So he picks out the 0-line as a highlight? I would say that Rudi gets a lot of his yards on his own and has trouble "getting to the 2nd level" consistently because of poor blocking. It's why they need him here, he's a brute who can overcome those weakenesses up the middle ecspecially.

Granted they didn't have Levi or Braham - but they won't have Braham again this year, and Levi is still not 100% (nor can he practice last I read).

And it isn't as-if the Bengals' are the only team to have injured 0-line every year - happens to all teams.

They are good because they put so much $ into their skill players, and have a Pro Bowl starting QB in Palmer who is in his prime years.

The Bengals gave big contracts to Levi, Willie and (arguably) Bobby Williams within the past 2 years. I would say that the Bengals put so much money into their line players as well. If you would point to Steinbach leaving, I would simply reply that his price was too high and his replacement had already played large parts of last season -- ie, the Bengals had planned well for that departure assuming Steinbach's contract might go so high as to be one of the top paid linemen in the NFL. It doesn't look to me like the Bengals (anymore than any other team does) are focusing on skill players to the detriment of the line. If anything, the Bengals could be guilty of consistently investing in the offense at the expense of the defense.

[BengalszoneBilly]

If anything, the Bengals could be guilty of consistently investing in the offense at the expense of the defense.

IMHO that's sadly been the case for many years!

[Kazkal]

Bengals fans always seem to hate Hodge, but he continues to pimp the Bengals every offseason with Marvin at the helm. Then again, so does Skip Bayless and he definitely sucks.

I'm one of those fans. Nationally, Hoge does continue to highlight our Bengals. Then, locally in Pissburgh, he gets on the radio station several times per week during the season and completely contradicts these points. One time last year I actually called into a radio show because he predicted the Steelers to win the division on the air ... when he had just days prior predicted the Bengals on ESPN's site. I questioned him on this and he did his best to sidestep things and never really answered why he had changed his prediction so quickly when he got on the air in Pissburgh. Point is, I actually think he does like the Benglas team the Marvin has put together, but he spends way too much time trying to 'not offend' the fanbase of his former employer. I'm sure other media types do likewise, but I simply do not like that type of kissing-up. (for what it is worth, outside of his local call-in bit, I do tend to like his opinion in football matters)

Because he was trying to please steeler fans heh.

[The PatternMaster]

Joe Theismann: Bengals

What makes this offense better than most is its offensive line, which does an amazing job of keeping defenders off Palmer and giving Johnson time to hit his holes and accelerate into the second level of the defense.

------------------------

Pfft - not sure what he's talking about. Rudi's YPC went down significantly last year, and Palmer's sacks went way up. So he picks out the 0-line as a highlight? I would say that Rudi gets a lot of his yards on his own and has trouble "getting to the 2nd level" consistently because of poor blocking. It's why they need him here, he's a brute who can overcome those weakenesses up the middle ecspecially.

Granted they didn't have Levi or Braham - but they won't have Braham again this year, and Levi is still not 100% (nor can he practice last I read).

And it isn't as-if the Bengals' are the only team to have injured 0-line every year - happens to all teams.

They are good because they put so much $ into their skill players, and have a Pro Bowl starting QB in Palmer who is in his prime years.

If anything, the Bengals could be guilty of consistently investing in the offense at the expense of the defense.

That's why Brat said it was the offenses fault that the team wasn't more successful last year because everyone in PBS knows this is the case.

[BengalszoneBilly]

That's why Brat said it was the offenses fault that the team wasn't more successful last year because everyone in PBS knows this is the case.

I hope this is loaded with sarcasm.

[Clackwoods]

Correction: no Steelers and no Browns.

Brady Quinn = Tim Couch.

Hey man, I hate the Browns now, not only because they are division rivals but because of the way they ruined his career. He had a horrible offensive line and he still played rather well. He took the browns to the playoffs in 2002 NOT Holcombe. If he hadn't gotten hurt he would be playing QB somewhere successfully. Don't be so hard on Tim. Call Quinn the next Leaf, Tim wasn't a stuck up prick so full of himself like Quinn is.

[dez0923]

Depth chart Offensive skill positions AFCN

QB

#1 Palmer

#2 Big Ben

#3 McNair

RB

#1 Rudi

#2 Mcgahee

#3 Parker

WR

#1 Ocho Cinco

#2 TJ

#3 Ward

moron

[Clackwoods]

Depth chart Offensive skill positions AFCN

QB

#1 Palmer

#2 Big Ben

#3 McNair

RB

#1 Rudi

#2 Mcgahee

#3 Parker

WR

#1 Ocho Cinco

#2 TJ

#3 Ward

moron

Actually I have to agree with him, except for the fact that I believe Willie is better than Willis. Other than that he is pretty accurate. The browns aren't on here because their posistion players suck.

[dez0923]

Depth chart Offensive skill positions AFCN

QB

#1 Palmer

#2 Big Ben

#3 McNair

RB

#1 Rudi

#2 Mcgahee

#3 Parker

WR

#1 Ocho Cinco

#2 TJ

#3 Ward

moron

Actually I have to agree with him, except for the fact that I believe Willie is better than Willis. Other than that he is pretty accurate. The browns aren't on here because their posistion players suck.

QB

#1 Palmer

#2 Big Ben

#3 McNair

RB

#1 Parker

#2 Johnson

#3 McGahee

WR

#1 Johnson

#2 Hines Ward

#3 TJ.

[Clackwoods]

Depth chart Offensive skill positions AFCN

QB

#1 Palmer

#2 Big Ben

#3 McNair

RB

#1 Rudi

#2 Mcgahee

#3 Parker

WR

#1 Ocho Cinco

#2 TJ

#3 Ward

moron

Actually I have to agree with him, except for the fact that I believe Willie is better than Willis. Other than that he is pretty accurate. The browns aren't on here because their posistion players suck.

QB

#1 Palmer

#2 Big Ben

#3 McNair

RB

#1 Parker

#2 Johnson

#3 McGahee

WR

#1 Johnson

#2 Hines Ward

#3 TJ.

Willie is not better than Johnson. The steelers run much more than the Bengals do. I guess you could make the same argument for Hines. If he was in a more pass oriented offense then he might be better than TJ. We will see this year, I hear the Steelers are going to air it out.

[Ox]

Depth chart Offensive skill positions AFCN

QB

#1 Palmer

#2 Big Ben

#3 McNair

RB

#1 Rudi

#2 Mcgahee

#3 Parker

WR

#1 Ocho Cinco

#2 TJ

#3 Ward

moron

So why exactly does that make him a moron? Because Willie is listed as 3 out of 3? Give me something moronic so I don't think you just said that out of lack of something better to say.

[Stripes]

I'd rank Willie and Rudi in a virtual tie, with McGahee far beneath both.

[redsbengalsbucks]

Depth chart Offensive skill positions AFCN

QB

#1 Palmer

#2 Big Ben

#3 McNair

RB

#1 Rudi

#2 Mcgahee

#3 Parker

WR

#1 Ocho Cinco

#2 TJ

#3 Ward

moron

Actually I have to agree with him, except for the fact that I believe Willie is better than Willis. Other than that he is pretty accurate. The browns aren't on here because their posistion players suck.

QB

#1 Palmer

#2 Big Ben

#3 McNair

RB

#1 Parker

#2 Johnson

#3 McGahee

WR

#1 Johnson

#2 Hines Ward

#3 TJ.

Parker has never quite shown he is capable of anything other than a few big games every year. Mcgahee is going to bring the Ravens running game back to respectability and Johnson is one of the most consistent backs in the league.

Ward was better than TJ, a couple of seasons ago, but TJ has passed him like he was standing still since.

Name calling is the last resort of an uninformed mind.