Are you Ready for Some Football?

I am. And the first game is still roughly four months away (the Bengals play the Cowboys in the Hall of Fame game to kick off the preseason).

Let's hope the Bengals can keep it rolling indeed. But the odds aren't in our favor; it has been 28 years since the Bengals have had back-to-back winning records.

But this could be the breakthrough year.

I don't know if they'll win the division, but they should at least make a run at a wild card spot.

Here's how the AFC North looks now.

I think the front runner has to be the Ravens. They had a good free agent period (Anquan Boldin is a great addition. But outside of him, they have little in the way of a receiving threat). They also had a very solid draft, mostly on defense.

But the one saving grace the Bengals have here is Carson Palmer. Prior to him the Bengals were probably something like 3-52 against the Ravens. But since Palmer has been a starter, he has gone 8-3 against them.

The Bengals and Ravens have kind of become mirror images of each other - no surprise since Marvin used to be the defensive coordinator for the Ravens. Each features a top five defense and a tough, physical run game. Both are limited in the pass game.

This should be a tight race for the AFC North title.

The Steelers are the Bengals of old - getting all the headlines for players in trouble and suspended. Just look at the two pivotal players from their Super Bowl win two years ago - Big Ben and Santonio Holmes. Ben is out for at least the first four games if not the first six. Holmes is gone completely, traded to the Jets.

Now one of Holmes' replacements, Limas Sweed, tore his achilles tendon and will most likely miss the season.

All of this does not bode well for the Steelers. Plus, if Troy Palomalo can't return to form, that would be an incredible blow to their defense.

The Browns will be terrible again. They have nothing at QB and very little in terms of offensive threats. When the best player on your team, Joshua Cribbs, is a kick returner, you know you've got problems.

The Bengals have a real shot here. I don't expect them to go 6-0 in the division like they did last year, but if their defense can stay in the top ten and if their offense can get in the top 15, they might not only get those elusive back-to-back winning seasons, but they might also get that elusive playoff victory.