The NFL is the ultimate meritocracy.  You draft well, you sign good players in free agency, and you will compete for a playoff spot.  If you draft poorly (Detroit), and throw good money after bad players (Washington), you will wallow in mediocrity.

AFC EAST:

Previous division winner: New England Patriots

2010 division winner: New England Patriots: The Bills are too far away.  The Jets have a good defense and questions on offense.  They are overrated and over-hyped.  Miami will play tough football, but they are missing key pieces on both sides of the ball.  They may run a similar scheme as the Cowboys, but they lack a Romo, a Witten, and a Ware.

The Patriots are back to being boring.  The offense has been so dynamic the last few years, that it is no longer a story for the mainstream media.  The defense is near to completing their youth movement (partly due to all the veterans getting traded, cut, or injured), and there are few better game day coaches than Bill Belicheck.

AFC North

Previous Division Winner: Cincinnati Bengals

2010 division winner: Ravens:  The Browns defense was adequate last year.  Delhomme may be a better option than Quinn and Anderson, but not by much.  Whether Mangini can be a good head coach still remains to be seen.  The Steelers will have Polomalu roaming deep centerfield and they will make the playoffs, but starting 2-2 with one of the losses being to the Ravens will put them in a severe disadvantage.  As for the Bengals, I don’t see the offense imploding because of Terrell Owens.  I simply doubt the Bengals are good enough to repeat as division champions in one of the better divisions in football.

As for the Ravens, they are young at key positions on offense, QB, RB, and WR; they also have a surplus of talent at the offensive line.  Their defense has been perpetually old for the past 5 years.  Every year it is expected that Ray Lewis and Co. will hit the wall and the team will implode.  Every year I’m wrong so why should I finally be right in 2010?

AFC South

Previous Division Winner: Indianapolis Colts

2010 division winner: Texans:  This is based on one caveat.  If the Texans win against the Colts in week one, I expect the Texans to win the division.  If the Colts win, I predict the Titans to win the division.  The Colts will be formidable and will make the playoffs; however, there are two components to losing a Super Bowl.  The first is the disappointment that the players feel about losing and the amount of time it takes for them to get past that; the second is the fact that the players have to play 3 more physical games.  The first is emotional trauma that no other team has to suffer; the second is a physical trauma that most other players in the league are not subject to.

As for the Titans, they are a capable team.  Chris Johnson has his sights set on 2,500 yards.  I’m not sure he exceeds 1,300.  Historically, running backs who broke 2,000 yards do not come close to repeating their performance.  Consequently, if Johnson isn’t as dynamic, there is little chance that Vince Young will pick up the slack.  I believe the Titans will finish near 8-8, but they will miss the playoffs.  The Jaguars don’t merit discussion.  Jack Del Rio will be looking for work next year; he is a victim of mediocre QB play.  Leftwich and Garrard did not pan out and Del Rio will join a long list of defensive minded coaches whose teams underperformed because of sub-par offenses.

AFC West

Previous Division Winner: San Diego Chargers

Raiders:  There is no reason for the Chargers not to repeat as division winners.  While the Chargers may have still have two prominent holdouts, they are a deep team and can replace the players without missing a beat.  The Broncos fell apart late last season due to injuries, the Chiefs are still rebuilding around a quarterback who did a good Tom Brady impersonation for one season. Thomas Jones still has gas in the tank and the Chiefs won’t be the pushover they were the year before.  The fact of the matter is the only safe bet in the AFC West are the Chargers, which is why I’m picking the Raiders.  The Raiders are the most talented bad team in the NFL and there is always a team that comes from the bottom of the barrel to surprise the league.  On the other hand, it wouldn’t be surprising if Al Davis fires Tom Cable in the 2nd week of the season and cuts Jason Campbell in week four.  Barring the complete unexpected, pencil in the Raiders as your surprise team for 2010.

Tomorrow I’ll cover the NFC.  After week 8 when both the Raiders and Texans are 2-5, I’m sure I’ll look foolish.

Cleveland has never really been a quarterback’s town. It ain’t San Francisco, and it sure as hell ain’t Dallas.

Things aren’t looking up for Cleveland sports fans, either, as the Browns could be preparing to host the worst quarterback competitions the NFL has ever seen.

The Browns have already parted ways with Derek Anderson, a former Pro-Bowler. He got off a good shot off at the Dawg Pound before he left town:

“The fans are ruthless and don’t deserve a winner,” Anderson wrote Tuesday in a terse e-mail when asked for a reaction to being released. “I will never forget getting cheered when I was injured.

“I know at times I wasn’t great. I hope and pray I’m playing when my team comes to town and (we) roll them.”

Anderson’s release came hot on the heels of news that the Browns had traded an undisclosed 2011 draft pick to the Seahawks in exchange for backup quarterback Seneca Wallace.

Wallace isn’t bad, but he’s far from a franchise quarterback, too. In the long run, the team might have been better off with Anderson, who was tall and had a big, strong arm. He’d had the best year of any Browns quarterback in recent memory when he threw for 3,787 yards and 29 touchdowns in 2007.

The aforementioned injury to Anderson, a torn knee ligament thanks to Colts defender Robert Mathis, brought his 2008 to a close. This season, coming back from injury and juggling starts with Brady Quinn, Anderson threw 10 interceptions in eight games. According to team president Mike Holmgren, Anderson threw too many interceptions.

So who are the Browns considering bringing in to fill Anderson’s shoes?

According to rumors, the Browns are courting Jake Delhomme, who threw many more interceptions than Anderson in 2009.

You can’t make this stuff up, people.

The other “Jake the Snake” threw five interceptions in a 2008 playoffs loss to the Cardinals and followed that up with 18 picks in 11 starts last season. That almost makes Anderson’s 10 picks in 8 starts look good. Or at least better.

So, Browns fans, what will it be? Which quarterback do you want to lead your team against the Bengals, Steelers and Ravens twice a year? A perennial backup in Seneca Wallace, turnover machine Jake Delhomme or current bum-in-charge Brady Quinn.

Apparently, Quinn is also on the trading block (quick, Cowboys fans-who would you rather have on your team? Quinn or Felix Jones?). But what do you get for him? It’ll probably be a late-round choice in a future draft, but who will be interested? He’ll probably be cut before he’s traded.

So, imagine with me, if you will, this quarterback competition: Quinn vs. Delhomme vs. Wallace.

There are still plenty of ways for this competition to go depending on who exactly the Browns sign, trade or release.  Still, those three names should never be fighting over a starting job, except in the CFL.

The Browns won’t have a shot at improving, either. Their first-round pick, seventh overall, will probably come after Sam Bradford and Jimmy Clausen are off the board. So, if the Browns go for a quarterback, who do they go for?

There are more questions than answers for the Browns today. Are they banking that Jake Delhomme isn’t done and can find a way to stop throwing interceptions? Is Brady Quinn really a bust? Has Seneca Wallace done anything to show that he can handle a full season as a starter against dominant defenses? Are there any other free agents worth a look? How about someone in the draft?

If I were a Browns fan, Derek Anderson wouldn’t sound too bad right about now.