Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the weekend as we all try to get the last little bit of summer in before the fall begins. To be perfectly honest, I’m still catching my breath from last night’s Game of Thrones finale. While I was going to write a little bit about the Mayweather/McGregor fight from Saturday, I think the collective sports outlets covered just about every angle. So we’ll continue our division-by-division journey through the NFL.

Today, we’ll be looking at the AFC South where last season the Houston Texans narrowly edged out the Tennessee Titans for the division title. This year figures to be another tight race between these two teams, which should make for colossal matchups during the year. Indianapolis and Jacksonville each have talented teams but the quarterback situation could prevent them from making a move to the top of the division.

It won’t be pretty at times but this division will be one of the more intriguing storylines of the 2017 season. Let’s size up these teams in today’s edition of “No Huddle.”

Houston Texans (last season: 9-7)

The Texans seem to be in a perpetual state of competitive purgatory. They have made the playoffs four out of the past six seasons but have gone no further than the Divisional Round. In that time, the team has gone through a multitude of quarterbacks, and relying heavily on a defense that is consistently one of the best in the NFL. 2017 presents Houston with a rare opportunity to finally get over the hump, if they can take the division crown.

The key to this will be finally solving their questions at quarterback. Tom Savage took over for the ineffective Brock Osweiler last season and showed he could get this offense going in the right direction. Savage could just be the stopgap for the future of this team as Houston drafted Clemson quarterback DeShaun Watson with the 12^th overall pick in the NFL Draft. Savage was named the starter in late July, but Watson has shown a lot of promise in the preseason so stay tuned here if the Texans start slow.

Once again the strength of this team will be the defense. Houston withstood the loss of J.J. Watt last season due in large part to the emergence of Jadaveon Clowney. We may finally get to see the full potential of this defense with Watt returning to the lineup. Opposing offenses will have their hands full trying to keep Watt and Clowney at bay on a weekly basis.

It will be an interesting season for sure, but the offense will have to improve if the Texans want to hang onto the division crown for a third consecutive season. Squeaking by with a 9-7 record just won’t cut it this season.

Tennessee Titans (last season: 9-7)

The Titans are the main reason why the Texans should be worried about hovering around .500 for another season. Tennessee was one of the surprise teams of 2016 due in large part to the smash-mouth identity of this offense. DeMarco Murray proved that he is far from done as one of the best running backs in the NFL and the offensive line emerged as one of the best units in the league. Another bright spot was the vast improvement of quarterback Marcus Mariota.

Tennessee used this offseason to upgrade the receiver position to take this offense to the next level. While this isn’t a high-volume passing offense, drafting Corey Davis with the 5^th overall pick and signing Eric Decker will certainly help give this offense another dimension. The Titans were one of the best red-zone offenses a year ago and the addition of two potentially solid receivers should only make them more efficient in that area.

Where the Titans will really need to improve is on the defensive side of the football. Last season the Titans finished 20^th in the NFL on defense, which certainly kept this team from reaching the postseason. Tennessee spent much of free agency overhauling the secondary with the hopes that its front-seven would be solid again (12^th in the NFL a year ago).

The new additions include cornerback Logan Ryan and safety Jonathan Cyprien. Ryan was one of the more underrated players on the New England defense last season but will be right in the spotlight this season transitioning into the top corner in Tennessee. Cyprien came into the league with a lot of potential but never seemed to reach the lofty expectations. The Titans used their second first round pick to select USC cornerback Adoree’ Jackson, who is an explosive playmaker and solid against the run game.

If the Titans expect to take the next step in their development and become a playoff team they will have to take care of business within the division. A 2-4 record against the AFC South prevented the Titans from stealing this division a year ago despite four out the last five games a year ago. Things are looking really good here, and don’t be surprised if the Titans force a changing of the guard in the AFC South.

Indianapolis Colts (last season 8-8)

The Colts are a tough team to get a read on heading into 2017. A litany of injury concerns could prevent Indianapolis from capitalizing on potentially the easiest schedule in the NFL. This is an extremely volatile situation less than two weeks before the season starts.

Two key injuries on the offensive side of the ball will have a profound effect on how this season will go for the Colts this season. Since being drafted with the top pick in 2012 draft, Andrew Luck has had to carry this team on his shoulders. Unfortunately, his throwing shoulder is the main injury concern in Indy heading into this season. Conflicting reports about Luck’s recovery from offseason shoulder surgery have really prevented any realistic expectation for this team. As we get closer to the season though it is becoming increasingly likely that Luck will not be ready for Week 1 at the very least. The worst case scenario puts Luck out until Week 6, although it seems unlikely he will be out that long.

To make matters worse, the Colts already shaky offensive line lost its best player when center Ryan Kelly went down with a foot injury. Kelly was tremendous as a rookie last season, but he will be out for the first 6-8 weeks of the regular season after he had surgery to correct a bone defect. This injury could be the one that sinks the ship for the Colts this season.

Indianapolis spent much of the offseason trying to improve a defense that finished 30^th in the NFL last season. The defensive side of the ball has never been this team’s strength, but if injuries are going to be a problem for the offense, this unit needs to become reliable. Rookie safety Malik Hooker could be one of the keys to making that change to this defense in addition to a number of free agent acquisitions. There is a lot of hype surrounding Jonathan Hankins, who could end up being this defense’s best player by the end of the season.

Overall, there is just too much uncertainty surrounding this team to really feel confident about its chances to get back to the postseason. At this rate, the Colts might be lucky to finish 8-8.

Jacksonville Jaguars (last season: 3-13)

Speaking of uncertainty, the Jaguars enter this season with a metric ton of it. Doug Marrone took over for Gus Bradley as the head coach and Tom Coughlin was brought in to oversee the entire organization. While that should have signaled a step in the right direction, in true Jacksonville fashion, they have already taken a few steps backwards.

Most of that concerns the increasingly erratic play of quarterback Blake Bortles. Statistically he looks fine, but Bortles is failing the eye-test miserably this preseason. Bortles might be the king of garbage time, but until he shows that he can keep this team in games the Jags aren’t going anywhere. Chad Henne looks like a better option every time Bortles goes out on the field. Marrone may have named Bortles the Week 1 starter over the weekend, but it looks like the leash is going to be incredibly short.

Some form of consistent quarterback play will be the key for this team to truly embrace the of their new head coach. Marrone wants to run the ball right down the opposing defense’s throat. Jacksonville took Leonard Fournette in the first round of the draft and if healthy, he could become the next Adrian Peterson. Unfortunately, Fournette is already dealing with a foot injury, similar to the one that hampered him in his final season at LSU. Jacksonville just can’t seem to have nice things.

Things are not as dire on the defensive side of the ball though. Jacksonville has quietly put together an extremely talented defense, one that experts believe could be one of the surprise units this season. The Jags added Calais Campbell to an already solid defensive line. Another name to keep a eye on is weak-side defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, who totaled eight sacks as a rookie last season.

What could really make this a dangerous defensive unit is the play of Jalen Ramsey. A year ago Ramsey looked like one of the best corners in the league during the second half of the season. Year two for Ramsey brings a whole new set of challenges, as he will have to be the leader of this defense. His playmaking ability is unquestioned, but there is no room for him to have a sophomore slump.

While there are things to love about these Jaguars, the quarterback situation could prove too much to overcome this season. This won’t be one of the worst teams in the league, but the record may not show that. Don’t get too excited about Jacksonville’s chances this season.

That’s it for me today. I’ll be back tomorrow with another installment of my NFL preview as we’ll be taking a look at the NFC North. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney, subscribe to Shooting the Moon on WordPress, and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.