The calendar has now turned a page to the month of July and that means Football is right around the corner! Preseason NFL kicks off on the 3rd of August with the Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio. With that game only four weeks away it’s an ideal time to continue taking a look at the assessments for the NFL teams for the upcoming 2008 season. Let’s pick up where we left off last week and take a look at the AFC North!

Baltimore Ravens – Injuries certainly didn’t help this team last season as the Ravens struggled to a 5-11 record. However, even when healthy it was apparent that this team was a step slow and had a little “too much” experience as they almost appeared old at times. A rebuilding year and an injection of youth is the story for the 2008 season but, at the same time, it will still be a veteran defense that the Ravens rely heavily on. New head coach John Harbaugh was the Eagles defensive backs coach with most of his prior experience coming as the special teams coach. What this means of course is that field position and defense will be at the forefront for this group as they did retain defensive coordinator Rex Ryan. Until the offense catches up with the defense (which is not likely this year) there will be some “growing pains” in Baltimore.

Cincinnati Bengals – This defense is certainly not showing any signs that there is going to be any dramatic improvement in comparison with last season. In other words, all the pressure will be on Carson Palmer at QB and that is not a great sign for the Bengals because they still are not deep at the WR position and their running game showed how fragile it was when it got set back by injuries at the RB position last season. Cincinnati also will have a tough schedule outside their division this season as it includes hosting a Philadelphia team that should be much improved and it also includes hosting the Jaguars and Titans whom combined for 21 wins last season. Road trips to face the Colts, Giants, and Cowboys also look quite imposing. All of this is made worse by a defense that still has not gotten over the hump!

Cleveland Browns – QB Derek Anderson was a big story for the Browns last season but this season they have a tougher schedule and they still have question marks on defense. They did make some moves in free agency to try and address their leaky defense but the problem is that there is almost always an adjustment phase when bringing in new players. If you don’t believe that just ask Daniel Snyder, owner of the Redskins, how well all his big free agent signings have worked out through the years! Overall, Cleveland is still going the right direction but this season may be a step back before they then take two steps forward in the successive years. The tougher schedule makes last season’s ten win season seem unlikely in terms of being able to repeat that success in 2008.

Pittsburgh Steelers – The “Steel Curtain” defense was intact in 2007 with a very strong showing. While that will still be strength, there have been some personnel changes that could end up hurting on that side of the ball. The bigger issue though is the offense where the Steelers just can’t seem to get the job done in pass protection. This results in too many sacks for Ben Roethlisberger and it also results in too many disruptions to the timing of the Steelers offense and that’s why their passing offense is a big concern heading into the 2008 season. After a 10-6 season in 2007, the Steelers do have one of the tougher schedules in the league in 2008 and this will make a .500 season an achievement for this team. Yes, we’re forecasting mediocrity in the AFC North in 2008 and that includes for Pittsburgh!

The 2008 NFL betting season is just around the corner, and if you like winning NFL Football Picks, then Vegas Experts is your home for Sports Handicapping. The Vegas Experts have you covered with, free betting trends, free NFL picks, free college football picks and Guaranteed Winners all the way up until the 2009 BCS Title Game and Super Bowl XLIII.