AFC South burning questions How much of an upgrade is Matt R

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The AFC South figures to be an interesting division to watch in 2022. We have two potential contenders in the and , Jeff Bagwell Jersey and then two rebuilding teams in the and . Still, with how crazy this offseason has been, there's no telling who could end up on top in the AFC South.All four teams will be forced to answer burning questions in 2022 -- answers that could decide how the season pans out. Is a franchise quarterback? Can and carry their respective offenses? How quickly can Doug Pederson get the Jaguars back on track? Let's examine four more burning questions in the AFC South. is gone, and now it's time to focus on the rebuild in Houston. The Texans have shown by the decisions they have made in free agency over the past two offseasons that they are going to complete the rebuild their way. They didn't chase prized free agents and didn't try to reset the market with anyone. They instead just re-signed players on both sides of the ball who they are confident in, like and their three leading tacklers from last year: , and .One interesting decision they made was promoting Lovie Smith to head coach. He certainly has the resume, as the 2005 NFL Coach of the Year won the NFC North three times with the and took them to the Super Bowl. Smith had just three losing seasons during his nine years with Chicago, and also spent time with the and Illinois. The thing is, Smith didn't look to even be a finalist for this job. The three supposed finalists were Brian Flores, and Jonathan Gannon. Then, it was narrowed down to Flores and McCown. The Texans seemed enthralled with McCown despite him having no coaching experience, and many were already preparing for the backlash that would come if the Texans were to hire him over a more qualified Black coach. Instead, Houston suddenly changed direction and landed on Smith.It begs to be asked: How confident are the Texans really in Lovie Smith? Yuli Gurriel Jersey And is he going to have? David Culley did much better than people thought he would in 2021, and he was still fired! An important part of any rebuild is getting the right head coach in place. All eyes will be on Smith in 2022.The Colts decided to move on from Carson Wentz this offseason, and I can understand why. He didn't have a statistically poor season, but he also never established himself as the franchise quarterback of the future. Watching him lose to the Jaguars in a stadium full of clowns in a win-and-you're-in postseason situation was absolutely painful. Indy is again starting over at quarterback with a veteran in Matt Ryan. The 37-year-old threw for 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions last season, posting a career-low QBR of 46.1. He did suffer behind a bad offensive line and with a low-end wide receiving corps, so he can't shoulder all the blame for Atlanta's failures in 2021., and he truly seems rejuvenated with this change of scenery. He wants to compete, and he's going to have a good chance Jimmy Wynn Jersey to do so with this roster. Plus, head coach Frank Reich has from Ryan so far. The question is, will his play be enough to take the Colts from 9-8 to Super Bowl contenders? Or will Indy's offense be up and down like last year? Pick Six Newsletter Crafted By The Best NFL Experts Get the day's big stories + fun stuff you love like mock drafts, picks and power rankings. I agree to receive the "Pick Six Newsletter" and marketing communications, updates, special offers (including partner offers), and other information from CBS Sports and the Paramount family of companies. By pre sing sign up, I confirm that I have read and agree to the and acknowledge Paramount's . Please check the opt-in box to acknowledge that you would like to subscribe. Thanks for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox. Sorry! There was an error proce sing your subscription. The No Roberto Osuna Jersey . 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft threw for 3,641 yards, 12 touchdowns and 17 interceptions in his rookie season while going 3-14 as the starter. It was not a good start to Lawrence's NFL career, but the Clemson product had to deal with an unfair amount of outside noise that mostly had to do with Urban Meyer. Now under Pederson, he should be hopeful about the future. Pederson obviously has experience getting the most out of his quarterbacks, but I'm also excited to see how Lawrence will play with his new set of weapons. Jacksonville brought in , and to help the Jaguars take that next step forward. Plus, is set to make his NFL debut after mi sing last year due to injury. Jacksonville has better receivers, a better offensive line, a better defense and hopefully more organizational stability entering 2022. All of this should help Lawrence, who has been tasked with escorting this franchise into the future.Nashvillians are still trying to proce s January's playoff lo s to the . The Gerrit Cole Jersey No. 1 seed Titans had so much going for them entering the divisional round: a first-round bye, home-field advantage and Derrick Henry coming back from injury. Despite the defense sacking a record-tying nine times, Tannehill threw three costly interceptions that sent Tenne see home early.In speaking with reporters earlier this month, Tannehill called his performance against the Bengals that he will carry with him for the rest of his life. He also spoke about going to therapy to get out of the dark place he was in. Overcoming that failure is obviously tough, but Tannehill will also now have to deal with the lo s of and a new young, dual-threat quarterback behind him on the depth chart. The soon-to-be 34-year-old is not a spring chicken anymore, but he's been capable of top-10 quarterback play before. He's a big reason the Titans have won the AFC South in each of the last two years and made the playoffs in three straight seasons. Still, he's not exactly a fan favorite in Music City right now. We can talk about Henry and we can talk about , but the real burning question for the Titans is will Tannehill be able to overcome these mental hurdles and bounce back in 2022?