My August Power Rankings
by BigBlueIntervention on Aug 23, 2010 6:44 PM EDT
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I did my May power rankings...since then, my feelings have changed, so here goes:
1) New Orleans Saints - Again, if you win the superbowl, you deserve to be the best team until the season starts.
Previous: New Orleans
2) Indianapolis Colts - The Colts have sucked in the preseason as of late. Regular season? Not so much. I do agree that the AFC South has gotten stronger, with the Texans being a potential playoff team, and the Jags and Titans have been trading good records/playoff appearances this decade.
Previous: Baltimore Ravens
3) Baltimore Ravens - Baltimore drops a spot not because I don't think they can do well, but because from what I saw from the Steelers preseason game against my Giants, they'll be tougher than I previously thought. Also, the Bengals picked up Terrell Owens, making them tougher to beat as well.
Previous: Indianapolis Colts
4) Dallas Cowboys - The more that I think about it, I can't really find a glaring weakness on the 'Boys. Probably the biggest concern is the offensive line, but I feel like it has been overstressed. That being said, the East beats up on each other, and though they are a top 5 team on paper, there's every bit the potential that Dallas could end up being the 3rd place team in the division.
Previous: Green Bay Packers
5) Green Bay Packers - They drop a spot because of the Favre effect. In May, I thought that they'd sweep the Vikings, now I say that the Vikings take 1 from them. Aaron Rodgers has been ridiculous.
Previous: San Diego Chargers
6) New York Jets - Yes, Darrelle Revis is still holding out and it definitely hurts. But, the Jets still produce an insane amount of pressure from their defense, and Mark Sanchez, while still the weakness of the team, definitely looks a bit more mature.
Previous: Miami Dolphins
7) San Francisco 49ers - I'm still a believer in the 49ers. Alex Smith is in the 2nd year of the same system, which should help. Crabtree can show us what he can do. Frank Gore and Vernon Davis are sick. Yes, Brian Westbrook is on his last legs, but those are some damn shifty fast legs. Oh, and Patrick Willis is disgusting. Disgusting. Combine that with a weak NFC West, and the 49ers run away with the division.
Previous: San Francisco 49ers
8) San Diego Chargers - They'll probably be the division winners again, but the defense looks significantly weaker than in previous years. Rookie nose tackle, Shawne Merriman not playing well, Cromartie traded. Phillip Rivers is sick of course, but he's lost his prime target Vincent Jackson for part of the season which hurts. Ryan Matthews has a world of potential, but we said the same thing about Knowshon Moreno, and his rookie season was solid, but not All-Pro worthy.
Previous: New York Jets
9) Atlanta Falcons- They have a high octane offense, that's for sure. The question now becomes, can they generate pressure on the defensive side of the ball?
Previous: New England Patriots
10) New England Patriots - Lots of new rookies, but they look like they'll be able to contribute right away, especially Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski. Wes Welker is the gutsy player and gives the offense that next dimension.
Previous: Dallas Cowboys
11) Minnesota Vikings - I really, really don't like Favre, but he is who he is and does whatever he does, and does it well. The biggest problem with this team, I think, is the overdependence on Favre, which may lead to a lot of unhappy players a la the 2008 Jets.
Previous: Cincinnati Bengals
12) New York Giants - I guess I might get some flak for acting like a homer, but based on what I've seen, all of the new pieces are working well. Antrel Rolle is looking like a stud, Keith Bulluck is motivated and a natural leader, and we have incredible depth on our defensive line. Eli Manning, say what you want, is a top ten QB and capable of leading the offense. Our wide receivers, as a group, are strong. The big question marks will be the health of our offensive line and the play of our running backs.
Previous: Atlanta Falcons
13) Houston Texans - The offense is high powered, and the defense, particularly the linebacking corps is strong. The secondary loses Deunta Robinson but picks up Kareem Jackson. Losing Tate hurts, so Slaton and Foster need to step up.
Previous: Houston Texans
14) Philadelphia Eagles - From what I've seen from Kolb, he looks like the real deal. Definitely not over his head. Still, in a division with Justin Tuck, Osi Umeniyora, Demarcus Ware, Jay Ratliff, Brian Orakpo and Albert Haynesworth, veteran leadership at the most important position in football doesn't hurt. The wide receiver corps is one of the strongest in the league, and the defense looks hungry. I'm not sold on Philly's Oline and secondary, however.
Previous: Philadelphia Eagles
15) Cincinnati Bengals - If anything, the Bengals are entertaining. Ochocinco and T.O. should be a spectacle, but I'm worried about the offensive line (Andre Smith is a POS). I also think the division is much tougher than I first thought.
Previous: Minnesota Vikings
16) Miami Dolphins - I've definitely cooled off on the Dolphins. For all of their offseason additions, I'm beginning to think the Marshall transition will be a little bumpy. Also, I'm worried about the secondary besides Vontae Davis. I also am not sold on Chad Henne YET. I thought it was a mistake to let Ted Ginn go, even if he wasn't producing.
Previous: New York Giants
17) Tennessee Titans - They've got the pieces there, but I believe Vince Young takes a step back this year. Hopefully, Kenny Britt turns into a legit threat this year. I think they lose a lot of leadership by letting Bulluck go.
Previous: Tennessee Titans
18) Pittsburgh Steelers - Again, no Ben drops them this far. However, Dennis Dixon has been really solid, more so than Leftwich. Obviously, losing Holmes hurts as well, but Mike Wallace is a beast. Like, legit beast. He's got a Desean Jackson-like potential in the Steel City
Previous: Carolina Panthers
19) Washington Redskins - They are supremely talented, even if one of their talents is acting like a baby. McNabb definitely brings in at least 2-3 more wins than they had last year.
Previous: Seattle Seahawks
20) Arizona Cardinals - They lost a lot of pieces, the most important being Kurt Warner. They won't be the same on defense without Rolle or Dansby. And Boldin is in Baltimore. Ouch. But I see superstar potential in Beanie Wells, and just superstar in Larry Fitzgerald.
Previous: Chicago Bears
21) Carolina Panthers - This is a team that I really don't know how to gauge. Matt Moore has had only a few games so its hard to gauge JUST how good he is. The defense will suffer without Peppers, so I'm interested in seeing if they have enough to pressure the quarterback this year.
Previous: Oakland Raiders
22) Denver Broncos - From what I've seen, their offense seems to be solid. Orton is a solid game manager and will be until Tebow develops. The loss of Dumervil hurts a ton, but I guess its time to see if Ayers can pay dividends.
Previous: Washington Redskins
23) Seattle Seahawks - Carroll will definitely have some growing pains, but he's got talent to work with. Aaron Curry really needs to step up this year, and I want to see if Forsett can reproduce some of the success he had last year.
Previous: Pittsburgh Steelers
24) Jacksonville Jaguars - I've seen some encouraging signs from the Jags this preseason, but the biggest sticking point for me is the pass rush. If Kampman and Alualu can generate pressure, the defense as a whole will function much better. I also want to see someone besides Sims-Walker step up in the WR corps.
Previous: Arizona Cardinals
25) Oakland Raiders - Jason Campbell will make this offense better by leaps and bounds, but I don't have much faith in the running game with Bush and McFadden. The secondary (besides Asomugha) also doesn't really scare me.
Previous: Kansas City Chiefs
26) Chicago Bears - I'm dropping the Bears this low because of question marks with Cutler, with Forte, with the defensive secondary, and the line backing corps. Hopefully Peppers makes a strong impact.
Previous: Detroit Lions
27) Detroit Lions - They have a strong offense, and Best looks like the real deal. But I'm just getting really concerned with the defense. It depends on the push upfront, and hopefully the addition of Suh will help out.
Previous: Denver Broncos
28) Kansas City Chiefs - The Chiefs are only this low because even though I think they could potentially be good, I feel like the other three teams in the division are better. The WR corps needs help.
Previous: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
29) Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Still are missing key parts, especially at defensive end and offensive line, but Mike Williams at WR could be a potential star.
Previous: St. Louis Rams
30) St. Louis Rams - Sam Bradford will definitely have growing pains. I like the potential of the WR corps, and Steven Jackson is awesome. The defense needs to really, really step up.
Previous: Cleveland Browns
31) Cleveland Browns - I can't think of many positives besides Jerome Harrison and Mohammed Massaquoi. Hopefully they can compete in the tough AFC North.
Previous: Jacksonville Jaguars
32) Buffalo Bills - Well, C.J. Spiller is definitely electric. But I still maintain that he was a luxury pick considering that every other position besides the secondary is a mess.
Previous: Buffalo Bills
...Have fun tearing this one apart.
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carolina's defense has actually been stellar (though just in preaseason)
but their offense sucks out loud… just realli sad stuff and no production at all
The Colts really don't care about pre-season wins
They haven’t won more than 1 preseason game since 2004 and haven’t had a winning preseason record since 2003.
The OL scares me, but they won the AFC with a terrible OL last year and the Colts are clearly better pretty much every other area.
Choke/Clutch is the fetishization of the small sample size.
"People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do." -Isaac Asimov
Mike Thomas
Has really stepped up at receiver for the Jags. He is the clear cut number 2 now.
If hip hop is dead, then it happened the day that Dilla died.
-Akrobatik
The only question I have is
does he have the skills to beat a team’s number 2 CB (who will most likely be taller than him). Its fine if he’s the number 2 but used more often in the slot, I’m just curious as to how the Jags will use him.
by DBroncs1414 on Aug 25, 2010 12:06 AM EDT up reply actions
Denver's spots fair
It really depends on how healthy they get once the season starts. But as of today, a lot of key players are either returning today or tomorow, including Clady. Huge news and hopefully he’s full go for the opener. Here’s the link if anyone cares who’s coming back
Also, in your write up on Denver
you mention Ayers making up for Doom. I know a lot of us Denver fans hope he will, but the best natural pass rusher I think we have is Jarvis Moss. He’s always had the speed, but now he’s starting to develop moves beyond that which could be huge. He’s just been promoted to 1st string and I really think he could be the guy that has the most sacks on the team.
In no way is this a knock on Ayers. I just don’t see Ayers being a high sack total guy yet. His primary move is his bull rush, which has been stellar so far, but rarely do bull rushers rack up a ton of sacks but instead they collapse the pocket, force the QB to move away from him, and help others make the sack. No one outside Denver mentioned it, but when he played his bull rush really helped Doom. Hopefully it can do the same for Moss.
Didn't know that...thanks man
Hopefully that bull rush can come in handy for moss.
Introducting: Jason Fear-Paul
by BigBlueIntervention on Aug 26, 2010 3:37 PM EDT up reply actions
for the rams,
the defense was actually better than the offense last year. Too many turnovers and 3 and outs tired out the defense. When your offense only scores 8 points a game, the defense wont have a chance by the end of the game.
Keith Null won't accept my friend requests.
Very true...
I think the WR core is talented enough, though it was a shame that Laurent Robinson got hurt…he seemed like he had potential last year. And so I guess the biggest thing was the QB situation.
By the way, how’s the Oline situation You guys drafted Roger Saffold and you have Jason Smith from last year, but from what I remembered last year you all weren’t that good…do you htink there’s going to be an improvement with Saffold in the mix?
Introducting: Jason Fear-Paul
by BigBlueIntervention on Aug 26, 2010 3:37 PM EDT up reply actions
After the Pats game we're looking better
I’m not sure what difference a game makes but our improvement was notable from pre-season games 1 & 2. Look to the Ravens match-up for verification. Hopefully they play their first string long enough to test the reserves as well as the starters, but I doubt that.
Nice.
I’m only skimming for the Broncos right now and I like where you have them. I mean, you bumped them up significantly even after Dumervil’s injury, so that says a lot. I’ll be by later to check out the rest so I can find something to complain about!
MileHighReport.com member since 02/06/07, promoted to "Position Coach" (i.e. new staff writer) on 02/16/10!
well alot of what you had said before made me rethink the broncos...
on top of that, a friend of mine is a broncos fan so he’s been keeping me up to date I guess haha. And I thought it was a very smart decision to extend Kyle Orton. I’d previously thought that maybe there would be a QB competition and that would muck things up, but this I guess sorta solidifies him as the bona fide starter over Quinn or Tebow.
Also looked at the teams below the broncos and can’t really find one that I can honestly defend 100% to have a better record than the broncos will.
Introducting: Jason Fear-Paul
by BigBlueIntervention on Aug 26, 2010 3:35 PM EDT up reply actions
Nice Job
I think that you are over-rating the Cowboys tho, that O-line was really exposed against Minn. last year & has not exactly shined in pre-season. I also think that you are underestimating your boys, a new DC is going to make you guys tough to beat.
Chiefs
28th is an accurate ranking, however your comment about the WR’s isn’t really.
KC definetly has it’s shair of holes, but Bowe, Chambers and McCluster isn’t a terrible group.
Don't get Jose Bautista Mad. You wouldn't like him when he is mad.
by craig in calgary on Aug 26, 2010 9:40 PM EDT reply actions
Lions
lower 20s seems about right. Alot of holes and a ways to go, but finally heading in the right direction. Woo-Hoo, top 30!!!!
Now they have to prove it on the field.
In life, a man is either the hammer or the anvil. Ndamukong Suh is both
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