AFC South Division:

1) Indianapolis: The bad news for the Colts is that they lost key players RB Edgerrin James, PK Mike Vanderjagt and some defensive talent to free agency, the good news is that they are a first team passer anyway, what that somehow denies losing James and they were able to steal PK Adam Vinatieri from the Patriots and the free agent hits the Colts took on the defensive side of the ball won’t hurt much due to the comparatively weak division the Colts reside in .

In the big picture, Indianapolis will bring back the vast majority of last year’s roster and should easily capture another division title, provided of course they can stay healthy. The Colts had a very average draft, but managed to land a replacement for RB Edgerrin James in Joseph Addai with the 30th overall pick. The Colts have won 10 or more games over the past four straight seasons, which of course means they’ve been a very successful team, but it also means they’ve had four years of fairly low draft picking and it eventually catches up. to a team and especially if you’re plagued by injury and you don’t have depth, you need look no further for this simple truth than the fall of Green Bay and Philadelphia a year ago. Projected record: 11-5

** Look to play IN the Colts in their Nov. 5 matchup in New England, the Colts finally got that Patriot monkey off their collective backs last season with a revealing 40-21 victory in last year’s visit to Foxboro, what ironic it would be What if Colt PK Adam Vinatieri powered his new team to a win over his old team?

2) Jacksonville: The Jags have several question marks on offense for the upcoming 2006 season, for example, is quarterback Byron Leftwich healthy and can he stay injury-free throughout the season? Is RB Fred Taylor healthy and can he last a full season? Who will step up and replace WR Jimmy Smith? The Jags posted a 12-5 record last season, which was their best record since the 1999 season, but they were lucky to do it considering half of their wins (6) were by just 6 points or less, having as many Question marks on the offense make me believe they’ll lose half of those close games this year. Thank goodness for Jaguar fans, the defense will probably be a solid unit again after finishing sixth in total defense last year, but defense will only get them so far and especially when you’re trying to unseat a team like the Colts. Projected record: 9-7

** Look to play IN the Jags when they visit the Colts on September 24, good defensive teams have had great success handcuffing Peyton and co and at the top of the list is this Jag team that has covered 6 of their last 8 ATS meetings against the Colts, as a side note, it’s nice to know that the road in this divisional rivalry is an incredible 5-1-1 ATS.

3) Tenneesee: The Titans who have posted a 9-23 straight and 11-21 ATS record over the past two seasons selected quarterback Vince Young from Texas as their future, making quarterback Steve McNair expendable. The game plan this year is to start former backup quarterback Billy Volek and bring in Vince Young slowly like they did when they drafted McNair from Alcorn State, however, rumor has it the Titans could bring in the former quarterback. Oakland’s Kerry Collins field as an insurance policy in case Volek defaults. The Titans look healthy once again after an injury-plagued season last year, but the fact remains that they are still a very young and inexperienced team that will be led into battle with a running backup quarterback under center. The Titans led by HC Jeff Fisher should make leaps and bounds this year, but it won’t show up in the win column. Projected record: 4-12

** Look to play AGAINST these Titans on October 15th when they visit Washington, these young Titans will be playing their fourth road game in a span of 5 weeks and appear to be a very road-weary team, a review of last year’s results reveals that the Titans lost 7 of 8 road games outright, with five of those losses coming by double-digit points.

4) Houston – These Texans won just two games last year and over the past four years have compiled a sleazy 18-42 record, needless to say, this kind of productivity made HC Dom Capers and their coaching staff go fired, in Dom Capers The Texans hired former Bronco offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak. Houston actually had a pretty good draft which was highlighted by DE Mario Williams who was the first overall pick in the draft, Houston also selected two big OTs in Charles Spencer and Eric Winston to protect defeated QB David Carr. Free agent WR Eric Molds will give Carr a threat on the field, as long as Carr can stay on his feet. I like what HC Kubiak is doing with regards to building the offensive and defensive lines in the first place, but the truth is that this is another year of rebuilding that will slow down because everyone will have to learn new schemes and packages. Give this team a couple of years and they could become a contender considering the talent they have. Projected record: 4-12

**Look to play IN these Texans when the Jags come to town on October 22, Houston has only won 18 games in the last four years, but 11 of those 18 wins came at home vs. the crazy locals, check out the The old history book reveals that Houston has covered 6 of its last 8 ATS meetings against the Jags, including a good 3-1 ATS mark when facing the Jags in Houston.