In a months-forgotten feature that I hope to bring back a couple of times per week, we'll take a look at what's going on around the division, mostly through our SB Nation affiliates. In today's edition of Around the AFC North, we take a look at the Bengals defensive coordinator praising the Colts' receivers, a Ravens player getting fined for removing his microphone, and a Steelers player who received an award for his performance last week.
Cincinnati Bengals: Colts' Receivers Will be the Best They've Faced
The Bengals will be taking on the Colts this week, a team that the Browns defeated back in Week 2. The Colts' receivers never really got going and have not been able to produce this season without Peyton Manning, although Pierre Garcon has been the benefactor of poor coverage the past two weeks. Despite the Colts' struggles and the fact that the Bengals have already faced five other teams, defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer says that this will be the toughest group of receivers they've faced.
"This will be the best receivers we play by far," said Zimmer. "It's not even close."
I love the last part, which you can take as a partial dig at all of the teams Cincinnati has faced, including the Browns. How dare Zimmer not give credit to a tandem like Mohamed Massaquoi and Brian Robiskie!
Baltimore Ravens: Remove the Microphone and Pay the Price
I thought this was an interesting story because I never knew that centers were required to wear microphones during the game. I guess that's why when NFL Films produces clips, you can always clearly hear the center calling out signals. Ravens center Matt Birk was fined $5,000 for removing his last week:
Birk says he tore his microphone off after it came loose and was jabbing his neck. He said because he couldn't reach it, "I just took it off." He says he will appeal the fine, in part because he didn't know he couldn't remove the microphone. He called it a "misunderstanding."
Pittsburgh Steelers: Roethlisberger Named AFC Offensive Player of the Week
Boo.
Roethlisberger was 24-for-34 for 228 yards and an interception to go along with the five touchdowns. The Steelers offenses exploded, mostly due to the outstanding play of Roethlisberger. He had only three touchdown passes through the first four weeks of the season. Exploiting an aggressive Titans secondary, Roethlisberger used play action to perfection, particularly in the red zone. This is Roethlisberger's seventh Offensive Player of the Week award, the last coming in a 41-9 Week 17 victory over Cleveland last season.