Hello, AFC North

Since I’m taking over for James Walker today as the AFC North blogger, I want to take a moment to introduce myself.



I spent the past 11 years covering the Ravens for The Baltimore Sun. My hometown is Baltimore. But my football home is the AFC North.



Skeptical? Well, I’ve covered almost as many playoff games involving the Steelers as the Ravens.



I was there when the Steelers hoisted up the Vince Lombardi Trophy in the 2005 and 2008 seasons. I was there in 2005 when Carson Palmer was injured in a wild-card game, abruptly ending the Bengals’ Super Bowl aspirations. And I was there in 2002 when Kelly Holcomb threw for 429 yards and three touchdowns in the Browns’ last playoff appearance.



I can rattle off the names of disappointing draft picks for the Browns just as easily as the quarterbacks who failed for the Ravens. I can even give you the number of gray hairs on this year’s Pittsburgh defense (OK, just kidding).



The AFC North is the division where defenses flex their muscles and offenses run up the gut of teams. Likewise, I’m ready to roll up my sleeves to provide timely news, analysis and opinions on all of the NFL happenings from Lake Erie to the Chesapeake Bay.



I look forward to the interaction with readers. You can also connect with me via Facebook and Twitter. My goal is to keep all discussions lively yet cordial. Let’s leave the unnecessary roughness penalties to James Harrison and Terrell Suggs.