NFL Quarterly Review: AFC South

AFC South

MVP: Arian Foster

Expect to see Foster's
signature celebration a lot

He’s been in beast mode this year so far. He can run through people, he can run around people, and—with that defense playing so well—he’s going to run a lot. In fact, that’s the only negative when it comes to Foster. Currently he’s on pace to rush the ball well over 400 times this year. That’s too much, especially with Ben Tate on the team, who is perhaps the best backup running back in the game. Even if coach Gary Kubiak lessens Foster’s role a bit going forward, he’s in for another big year.

LVP: Chris Johnson

Another top-20 fantasy football pick appearing on this list in short order. This one isn’t good though. Outside of last week’s performance, CJ2K has been outright awful. He currently sits right behind Shonn Greene and Andre Brown in rushing yards, way below expectations. The 3.2 yards per carry is not good, but it’s the eye test that really fails Johnson. He just looks bad out there, and disappears for huge chunks of the game.

Player to Watch: J.J. Watt

I wanted to give Watt the MVP, but decided to give him the nod here instead. Through 4 weeks, he has undoubtedly been the best defensive player in the game, playing amazingly on both passing and running downs. I can’t think of the last time a 3-4 defensive end was this much of a impact player. Richard Seymour, maybe? If Watt can continue this level of play, he should take some hardware home at the end of the season... and it might be more than just the Defensive Player of the Year award.

Division Winner: Houston Texans

The Texans are men; the rest of the division are boys. Indianapolis, Jacksonville and Tennessee could all finish below .500. The Texans meanwhile will be way over that winning percentage.

J.J. Watt: BEAST

Division Dog: Jacksonville Jaguars

This was a total toss-up. It could be any team not named the Texans, as the Colts, Jags and Titans are just awful. Pros for the Jags: Maurice Jones-Drew is still there, Justin Blackmon has looked better the last couple weeks; Cons: everything else.