Fantasy Football Tonight 7/20

04 DAYS UNTIL TRAINING CAMP

On Friday rookies will report to Cleveland Browns training camp in Berea, OH. thus kicking off NFL training camp '09. For the next few days I will be going team by team and letting you know what fantasy relevant stories are lurking as the teams open camp. Tonight, in honor of Cleveland being the first team to start camp I will be covering the AFC North.

AFC NORTH

BALTIMORE RAVENS

I can't wait to see Ray Rice this summer. I believe Rice is in for a huge season and there is a chance that if he plays as well as he looked in OTA's, the Ravens will be comfortable enough cutting ties with Willis McGahee. Make no mistake you early drafters out there. McGahee is in a fight for his roster spot this summer as Rice, Le'Ron McClain and Cedric Peerman are talented enough to lead the Ravens rushing charge this season. Whoever wins the starting job and gets most of the carries will benefit from one of the best offensive lines in the league. The addition of center Matt Birk provides the experience and leadership this unit was missing despite performing quite well last year.

CINCINNATI BENGALS

Don't write off the Bengals offense just yet. This team is completely different with Carson Palmer under center and finally healthy after a long season and offseason of elbow troubles. While Chad Ochocinco grabs headlines with his wild thoughts and crazy antics, it is Chris Henry who I believe to be the breakout candidate on the Bengals this season. Henry is starting to mature and take responsibility for his actions. In a recent interview with ESPN he says that he regrets his troubled past and knows that when focused he can be one of the best WR's in the game. I happen to agree with that 100% and am looking forward to seeing him taking a big step forward this season.

CLEVELAND BROWNS

It is a good thing the Browns will be the first team into camp this year as no team has had as rough a offseason as the Browns. For starters, Romeo Crennel is out and Eric Mangini is in as head coach. They brought in Rob Ryan to run the defense, traded star TE Kellen Winslow to Tampa Bay, had one of their starting WR's get arrested for DUI Manslaughter, were sued by a former WR for mistreating his knee injury and are dealing with a possible holdout of their star kick returner Josh Cribbs. Despite all of this however, the main story this preseason will be which QB wins the starting job? Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn are both highly skilled signal callers and have shown flashes of greatness in workouts. There are nearly a dozen NFL teams licking their chops over which QB the Browns choose because they know keeping both QB's is a cap stretch the Browns may want to rid themselves of. My money is on Quinn to win the job and Anderson to get dealt to a team that suffers a big injury to their starter this preseason.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS

I don't know why but I am just not that high on the Steelers right now. I am seeing some kinks in their armor so to speak as the offensive line has gotten old, the defense outperformed itself quite a bit last year and I just don't think Willie Parker can stay healthy. What I'd like to see out of Steelers camp this year is Santonio Holmes continue to build on his Super Bowl MVP and take that next step to elite WR. Word around town is Holmes loved the limelight and is seeking more of it this season. There is no doubt he has the speed and downfield ability to make big plays but he is a sloppy route runner and becomes lazy and disinterested easily. Having Hines Ward mentor him has been the best thing that could have happened to Holmes' career. If Holmes can stay focused on every down and not worry so much about how many targets or receptions he is getting, then he can be special. If not, he'll become just another prima donna NFL WR who thinks he's better than he actually is.

TOMORROW: AFC EAST

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