| 1 |  |
Pre-camp ranking: 1 |
Between them, Richard Seymour, Tedy Bruschi, Mike Vrabel, and Rodney Harrison owned a
combined 11 Super Bowl rings with a Patriots logo on them. And now they're all gone, and Junior Seau too. I picked New England to win it all this season, but I'm not as
confident in that choice today because you wonder how much leadership the defense can lose without it exacting a toll. Don't
fixate on Tom Brady's knee and the offense next Monday night against Buffalo. It's the defense, especially what has
been a very shaky secondary this preseason, that may tell us more about how far the Patriots can go in 2009. |
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| 2 |  |
Pre-camp ranking: 2 |
I'm interested to see how
many opponents try to use the approach against the Steelers' top-ranked defense that Arizona proved so successful with in the
second half of the Super Bowl: spreading out Pittsburgh's 3-4 front seven with quick drops and a timing passing game. The
problem is, not every offense has a Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald to do the attacking. Tennessee gets the
first crack at Pittsburgh on Thursday night, but with ex-Steelers receiver Nate Washington and rookie tight end
Jared Cook both hurting, the Titans may not have enough passing game weapons to fully exploit Dick LeBeau's
defense.
|
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| 3 |  |
Pre-camp ranking: 19 |
Nobody has taken a bigger leap
(16 spots!) up our rankings than the Packers, but nobody had their preseason either. I know, most preseasons are meaningless,
but Green Bay might have been the exception to the rule this year. This just looks like a young team with a bunch of players
coming of age at the same time, and it's hard to not be impressed by the midseason form the Packers achieved in August.
|
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| 4 |  |
Pre-camp ranking: 6 |
I love how the Ravens approached
this preseason. They already knew they could run the ball and play rock-solid defense, so they let offensive coordinator
Cam Cameron open up the playbook and find out if Joe Flacco and Co. could take the passing game to a new level.
Looks like mission accomplished and now opponents realize Baltimore can beat you a lot of different ways.
|
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| 5 |  |
Pre-camp ranking: 4 |
Not all that long ago, the Giants
were a maddeningly inconsistent team, but you pretty much know what you're going to get from New York these days. They've
been to the playoffs an NFC-high four years in a row under Tom Coughlin, and you have to like their chances to make it
five. As for their need at receiver, the G-Men were pleasantly surprised by what they saw out of rookie Hakeem Nicks
in the final two weeks of the preseason. Plaxico who?
|
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| 6 |  |
Pre-camp ranking: 7 |
Don't judge the Titans too
harshly if they wake up 0-1 on Friday morning. Winning at Pittsburgh in prime time is nigh impossible. But Tennessee has
talent everywhere and I get the sense head coach Jeff Fisher knows his roster is deeper than it has been since 2000 or
so. Last year's 10-0 start and 13-3 record won't be duplicated, but neither will 2008's one-and-done in the playoffs.
|
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| 7 |  |
Pre-camp ranking: 14 |
Clearly I was a tad premature
in being so high on the Saints in the preseasons of 2007 and 2008, because this will be the club I kept waiting for New
Orleans to grow into: Capable of matching offenses with anyone in the NFL, and opportunistic enough on defense to give
themselves a chance to win most weeks. I'm convinced the effect new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams will have on
the Saints will be difference making. Atlanta will be tough to get past, but the NFC South is there for the taking for New
Orleans.
|
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| 8 |  |
Pre-camp ranking: 3 |
There's so much we still
don't know about this Eagles team, and it should make for an intriguing season. What will be the real impact on the offense
of the Michael Vick signing? How will the Donovan McNabb-Vick dynamic play out? Is the retooled offensive line
ready? What does Brian Westbrook have left after two offseason surgeries and no playing time in the preseason? And can
new defensive coordinator Sean McDermott fill the very large void left by the death of Jim Johnson? Things are
never boring in Philly, are they?
|
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| 9 |  |
Pre-camp ranking: 5 |
The Chargers have a knack
for making things tougher on themselves than they ought to be, but in this season's woeful AFC West, that's going to be
difficult in and of itself. You certainly hope this week's Shawne Merriman drama isn't an omen that portends a
challenging season ahead.
|
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| 10 |  |
Pre-camp ranking: 13 |
It's not all about Jay Cutler
in the Windy City this year, you know. If the Bears don't play better pass defense -- they were 30th last year -- and find a
way to generate more pass rush, Cutler might be starring for a team that vaguely resembles his Broncos of the past two
seasons. After opening against Aaron Rodgers of Green Bay and drawing Pittsburgh and Ben Roethlisberger in Week
2, we should know plenty early about the state of Chicago's defense.
|
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| 11 |  |
Pre-camp ranking: 12 |
A source I trust who was on hand
last season in Atlanta boiled the Falcons' surprising defensive success down to the following simple equation: Atlanta used
defensive end John Abraham brilliantly, and when he got to the opposing passer that game, Atlanta won. When he didn't
bring the pass rush, the Falcons lost. I think we could be looking at roughly the same story this year.
|
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| 12 |  |
Pre-camp ranking: 10 |
I'm on record predicting the
Colts will snap both their six-year streak of 12-win seasons and their seven-year streak of playoff trips, so why do I have
them at No. 12, arguably the final postseason slot? Because it's not where you start, it's where you finish, as they say. And
besides, I've got to do another 16 weeks worth of these here rankings, so grant me some latitude.
|
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| 13 |  |
Pre-camp ranking: 16 |
At Cleveland, at Detroit and
home against San Francisco should mean the Vikings are 3-0 and the talk of the NFL as September ends. But if Brett Favre's
one rollercoaster season as a Jet taught us anything, it's that we should wait to see how the rest of the story turns out.
Can we all just do that, please? No? I didn't think so. |
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| 14 |  |
Pre-camp ranking: 20 |
When Seahawks head coach
Jim Mora inevitably says his club has come a long way this season, he'll really mean it because for the second
straight year Seattle will travel more than any other NFL team. The Seahawks will log 29,054 air miles this year, and their
two-season total is a whopping 63,820 miles. Talk about your competitive imbalance. Seattle's natural disadvantage when it
comes to geography amounts to a heck of a lot more than a punt or two deflecting off the Cowboys new video screens.
|
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| 15 |  |
Pre-camp ranking: 15 |
Doesn't it seem as if last year didn't really happen and Jason Taylor never wore a Washington
Redskins uniform? The whole episode seems to have just vanished into the ether, with Taylor back to being a Dolphins team
leader and no one ever mentioning that him and Bill Parcells got sideways over the whole "Dancing with the Stars"
stuff. Weird, huh?
|
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| 16 |  |
Pre-camp ranking: 17 |
There's a lot of buzz out there about
rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez and the "it" factor. Sanchez has "it," they say, without ever really defining what
"it" is. I get it. He does have it. But let's at least give him time to show it, in games that count, before we rush to make
it all about the "it." It's the right thing to do.
|
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| 17 |  |
Pre-camp ranking: 8 |
I'm not sure why I've dropped the
Cowboys from my pre-camp top 10 down toward the bottom of my second 10 just six weeks later, based on little more than their
2-2 preseason. Maybe I'm just not buying the Wade Phillips is all-business this year storyline. But I do know this:
The last time the Cowboys opened a new stadium, in 1971, they christened it with a Super Bowl win that season. (I wonder if
the punters were trying to hit the hole in the roof that first year?) |
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| 18 |  |
Pre-camp ranking: 9 |
Another team I've obviously
lost confidence in since late July. The Panthers looked dreadful in their 0-4 preseason, and then there's this whole messy
deal of owner Jerry Richardson firing both his sons from team management. It's hard to see some sort of championship
vibe rising out of all that. Starting the season with Philadelphia, at Atlanta, at Dallas may ensure this thing keeps right
on snowballing. |
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| 19 |  |
Pre-camp ranking: 11 |
Not that it means a ton, but
the Cardinals haven't actually won a game since upsetting the Eagles in the NFC Championship, and I can't convince myself
their January mojo will have any carryover effect in 2009. If the 49ers can win in Glendale in the opener, on the day Arizona
hangs an NFC title banner, the Cardinals' worst fears of being rendered a hollow champion might be confirmed.
|
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| 20 |  |
Pre-camp ranking: 18 |
A lot of pundits are jumping on
the Texans' bandwagon -- Mr. King, I'm looking in your direction -- but I'm in wait-and-see mode when it comes to
Gary Kubiak's club. With three home games in the first four weeks, a fast start is mandatory if they hope to shed
their 8-8 skin and fulfill expectations. First things first, I'd made sure there are no hurricanes on the way to cause the
kind of disruption that last September featured. But those kind of predictions are considerably more difficult to make.
|
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| 21 |  |
Pre-camp ranking: 25 |
The presence of HBO's "Hard
Knocks" cameras didn't exactly portend great success for the Cowboys and Chiefs the past two years, but there is a growing
belief the Bengals will be better than most people expect this year. Carson Palmer is the obvious key to Cincinnati's
season, but I still can't get over the fact that his brother, Jordan, started that Web site (RunPee.com) that
instructs you on the best times during a movie in which to head for the bathroom. Who has that kind of time on their
hands? |
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| 22 |  |
Pre-camp ranking: 21 |
As bad as West Coast football
was last season in the NFL, with only the 8-8 Chargers avoiding a losing season -- and it took them all season to get there
-- it'd be great to see the 49ers return to relevancy. But I don't have my hopes much higher than 8-8 or so for Mike
Singletary's team, because it's built to win low-scoring games with a sound defense and running game. That only takes you
so far in today's NFL. |
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| 23 |  |
Pre-camp ranking: 22 |
I do believe last week in Buffalo
was the first time in league history the Turk was the one who got the bad news on cutdown weekend rather than delivering it.
Please tell me the Bills didn't send their version of the Turk to inform offensive coordinator Turk Schonert that his
services were no longer required. |
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| 24 |  |
Pre-camp ranking: 24 |
Well of course the Redskins signed ex-Giants quarterback Andre Woodson to the practice squad in part to pick his brain prior to Washington's opener at New York. What's the big hub-bub about? All's fair in love and the NFC East. But knowing New York's snap count isn't going to necessarily make it easier to bring down Brandon Jacobs at the line of scrimmage.
|
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| 25 |  |
Pre-camp ranking: 29 |
When I see a team make as
many last-minute moves in the preseason as the Jaguars just made, adding the likes of veterans Luke McCown, Brian
Russell and Kynan Forney, it's normally not a sign of big things to come. Then again, New England didn't exactly
stand pat in recent days, and that's my Super Bowl pick, so go figure. |
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| 26 |  |
Pre-camp ranking: 23 |
Not that it's going to amount to
a winning season or anything, but my sense is the Broncos defense will be better than expected, and the Broncos offense will
be worse than expected. Which probably isn't what Pat Bowlen had in mind when he hired ex-New England offensive
coordinator Josh McDaniels. But stuff like that happens in the NFL all the time. See Brian Billick, Tony Dungy,
Marvin Lewis and Jon Gruden. |
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| 27 |  |
Pre-camp ranking: 28 |
Getting rid of veteran
backup quarterback Jeff Garcia because he might threaten JaMarcus Russell's development as a starter is the
most faulty piece of logic I've seen employed in the NFL in quite some time. Or at least since the Raiders reasoned that
Randy Moss's legs were shot.
|
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| 28 |  |
Pre-camp ranking: 32 |
I like what I see so far of the Rams
defense, and that's at least in part a credit to new head coach and former Giants defensive coordinator Steve
Spagnuolo. St. Louis in the preseason created 12 takeaways, had 12 sacks, and scored two defensive touchdowns. If the
Rams defense can manage to stay in a few more games this season, St. Louis is going to win a few more games this season.
That's how that works. |
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| 29 |  |
Pre-camp ranking: 31 |
By my math, the Lions are one of 10
teams in the NFL this season who will feature different opening-day starters at quarterback compared to last year (presuming
Brady Quinn wins the Cleveland job). But none of them inherit a 17-game franchise losing streak but Lions rookie
Matthew Stafford. Congrats, kid.
|
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| 30 |  |
Pre-camp ranking: 27 |
It's hard to remember it
now, but the Bucs entered last December at 9-3 and facing a first-place NFC South showdown at Carolina. They lost that game
38-23, and nothing much good has happened since.
|
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| 31 |  |
Pre-camp ranking: 26 |
If I were the Chiefs, I'd be
very, very careful about playing a gimpy-legged Matt Cassel at quarterback against a Baltimore defense that gets even
more geeked than usual when it's playing at home. Far better to see Cassel miss a game than an entire season. |
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| 32 |  |
Pre-camp ranking: 30 |
Here's hoping Eric
Mangini continues the starting QB subterfuge right through the Browns first offensive series of the new season, putting
both Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson on the field at the same time, with Josh Cribbs actually at
quarterback in the Wildcat formation. Wouldn't that keep everyone guessing? Including even the Browns offensive players
themselves. |
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