RANK 16
GIANTS
Injuries are already taking their toll with the
Giants on offense and defense. However, on a positive note, you
have to be excited about
David Wilson. He's the NFC version of
Lamar Miller, a second-year back expected by fans and fantasy owners to break out in 2013 -- except Wilson is, like, 50 times better.
RANK 17
RAMS
The
Rams drop one spot here, not because of personnel, injuries or a terrible preseason ...
... but because they made too many mistakes. You know, the stupid football kind. Penalties, fumbles, drops and more penalties found their way into
Rams preseason football. The club seemed so undisciplined that you wonder if
Jeff Fisher shouldn't have locked half the team in a hotel room next to Lamar Odom.
(For the record, we still believe in this team ... mostly because of the defense.)
RANK 18
SAINTS
The climbing
Saints simply look better than the
Pittsburgh Steelers,
San Diego Chargers and
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, mostly because they've figured out how to pick up a first down by throwing the football.
Drew Brees looks like he's going to pass for 5,300 yards and 37 touchdowns this season. Still,
losing Will Smith hurts this club tremendously.
RANK 19
PANTHERS
Josh Norman might not start for the
Panthers -- but four interceptions
in the preseason? Don't say it's because he's been going against
Derek Anderson and
Ted Ginn, Jr. in practice.
On another note, I might have goofed in picking
Sean Lee over
Patrick Willis at middle linebacker on my
2013 All-Pro Team. Just because Willis has been an All-Pro before, that doesn't mean he has season tickets to the squad; consider
what Luke Kuechly did to
the Ravens.
Dominant.
RANK 20
STEELERS
Hope you enjoyed that exhilarating preseason by the
Steelers. Even ardent Pittsburgh fans have to admit that the team could look a lot better. One saving grace is the offensive line. With some help ... er, health ... it's improved. On another note:
Though it's been reported that Jonathan Dwyer's release stemmed from the availability of cheaper alternatives, I have to think Dwyer's penchant for looking "healthy" was a factor.
Can't report at 260-plus pounds and play tailback, unless your name
rhymes with Watrone Beans.
RANK 21
LIONS
According to
some healthy tallying by Kyle Meinke of MLive.com,
Matthew Stafford went an unhealthy 1-18 in the preseason ... as in, he engineered one touchdown drive in 18 possessions.
That's worrisome -- unlike the defense, which has looked great and has been the key to this team all along. That's why Detroit gets a boost, as I still think Stafford will deliver this year, now that he's got a healthy No. 2 receiver and
Reggie Bush.
RANK 22
CHARGERS
Is there anyone on the planet who knows what to make of the
Chargers right now? I checked Angie's List, NFL Media colleagues ... this is a tough team to decipher. Still thinking San Diego will be on par with the
Kansas City Chiefs, but
King Dunlap's presence at left tackle and a very questionable receiver group make one wish
Antonio Gates were five years younger and a half-a-second faster. The easy AFC West keeps San Diego ahead of Tampa and Cleveland.
RANK 23
BUCCANEERS
What a sputtering preseason for these guys. The offense didn't look good, but at least the defense made up for it by proving that the pass rush does, indeed, suck. In fact, it weren't for
Trevor Scott, there would
be no pass rush. That's OK, though; we didn't see
Darrelle Revis, either. Revis and
Dashon Goldson represent a huge boost to a back four that could help the front get closer to, say, four sacks per game ... as opposed to one.
RANK 24
BROWNS
Took a chance and
predicted Rob Chudzinski will be Coach of the Year. That's the good news. The bad? The
Browns' starters
got their butts handed to them in Indy in Week 3. That's the important week of the preseason, and Cleveland failed the test. Can the
Browns take care of a decent schedule (opponent winning percentage: .492) and manage an eight- or nine-win season? Would like
Browns fans' takes ...
@Harrison_NFL is the place.
RANK 25
CARDINALS
The defense is the key here. Can the revamped secondary make plays right away?
Tyrann Mathieu could be the guy there, depending on how quickly he grows up. If the group can give short fields to what is sure to be (at best) a middle-of-the-road offense, the Cards might be last year's
Rams.
Again, though,
Carson Palmer barely averaged 6 yards per attempt in the preseason -- and now his offensive line is
without first-round draft pick Jonathan Cooper. Defensive coordinator
Todd Bowles' group
has to give the offense a lift.
RANK 26
EAGLES
"Our defense is pretty terrible," said one of our top researchers at NFL Media -- and an ardent
Eagles fan. "We're gonna lose games 31-27." Typical negative Philly follower, still upset about the
'93 World Series. There is a lot to be excited about regarding this
Eagles offense, however, starting with
LeSean McCoy. The guess here is that
Chip Kelly really scaled it back in the preseason. The new head coach has to hope his secondary can hold 'em.
RANK 27
CHIEFS
Still waiting on the
Chiefs and
Alex Smith. As long as the new quarterback keeps tossing a bunch of none-yard outs, this team will be stuck in .500-to-sub-.500 neutral gear. If Smith starts taking vertical shots and
Andy Reid can get
Jamaal Charles going, this will be an 8-8 or 9-7 team. Not yet, though.
Saw where LaVar Arrington talked up
Justin Houston on "NFL AM". What an underrated player Houston is. That's why
he made this list.
RANK 28
TITANS
Tennessee ran the football 132 times in the preseason -- that's well over 30 attempts per game. We should expect more of the same over the course of the regular season.
Jake Locker had a decent preseason, using his legs while averaging a respectable 6.9 yards per passing attempt.
Chris Johnson played well, as did the rest of the team
versus Atlanta in Week 3 of the preseason.
Still, questions prevail at corner and center. And until Tennessee proves its defense is markedly better than the one that gave up 471 points last year, this club will stay parked around No. 27 or 28 in our rankings. This group allowed opposing passers a 90 plus rating in the preseason.
RANK 29
BILLS
Still awaiting word as to whether
EJ Manuel will be a go
versus the New England Patriots. Caught up with free agent (and former Bill) Shawne Merriman, who said "the
Bills can go 8-8 or 9-7" when things slow down for Manuel. Thinking even the most positive
Bills fan would be pleased as punch with 9-7.
RANK 30
JETS
Chris Ivory dropped a deuce in the preseason, averaging 2 yards per carry. For all the
New York Jets' question marks, here's a big one: What is Ivory going to produce for
Rex Ryan? Is he a situational player who will gain 600 yards and score a few touchdowns, or is he the 1,100-yard back who has caused fantasy owners to move early (too early) on him? New York sorely needs the latter.
RANK 31
JAGUARS
Jaguars fans might find themselves thumbing through their programs often this season, particularly when going over the secondary. Yes,
Alan Ball is the top corner. Two rookies --
Dwayne Gratz and
John Cyprien -- will likely start along with him, while two more --
Demetrius McCrayand
Josh Evans -- will likely be coming in situationally. We can talk about
Blaine Gabbert all day, but absent a dominant pass rush, it could be tough to stop the
other guys' quarterbacks.
RANK 32
RAIDERS
This is going to be fun. As raw as
Terrelle Pryor is, he could do some damage
against the Indianapolis Colts. The problem is that the defense won't be able to get to
Andrew Luck or cover the receivers long enough to steal this game on the road.
I feel bad for him since he can't stay in a team for over a year.
