08-12-2015, 08:28 AM
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000508650/article/nfl-power-rankings-packers-seahawks-rule-to-start-preseason?campaign=Facebook_writers_harrison
AFCN teams
Steelers #9
As with the Cardinals, slotting this team this high might make me a bit of a Positive Perry, even with running back Le'Veon Bell's two-game suspension knocking the Steelers down two spots for now. The good news: Bell is healthy, second-year pro Martavis Bryant should know what he's doing out there at receiver from Day 1 of camp and the secondary simply cannot be worse than it was last year. So there you go.
Bengals #10
As we head into Week 1 of the preseason, everyone is going to want to know if the Bengals will be bungling yet another playoff game come January. Bear in mind, however, that Cincinnati was loaded with the walking wounded during that playoff loss to the Colts last season, much like the Chiefs in that crazy wild-card game in the 2013 playoffs. It's hard to win when Andy Dalton is throwing the ball to big-time targets like Ryan Hewitt, Kevin Brock and Rex Burkhead. On that note, methinks tight end Tyler Eifert's return to health will be a huge boost to the prospects of both Dalton and the team.
Ravens #13
Baltimore might be the one team people are forgetting about, given that most prognosticators see the AFC North coming down to the Steelers and Bengals. Even with Haloti Ngata in Detroit, there is so much young talent on the Ravens' defense that it should be the best unit in the division. The real question lies with the youth in the passing game. How pro-ready will rookies Breshad Perriman and Maxx Williams be?
Browns #30
Funny how those league observers and fans who wrote off 21-year-old Johnny Manziel are talking him up now ... when he's 22. Maybe we should give people a chance to grow up. Meanwhile, good buddy and NFL Media colleague Marc Sessler (@MarcSesslerNFL) is at Browns camp; he let me know that first-round pick Danny Shelton is tearing it up and that coach Mike Pettine has a copy of the Warren Report. Shelton and the Warren Report. Interesting. One can probably eat three truckloads of baloney -- and the other literally is three truckloads of baloney.
I find this more down to earth than the nutbags that were putting the Ravens at #1 earlier in the offseason. I agree with almost everything Harrison says in the comment sections (for the AFCN teams at least). I won't be surprised whatsoever if the Ravens have the best defense in the AFCN, and one of the best in the league, people are exaggerating their losses on the defensive side waaay too much. Pittsburgh was supposed to be having a "down year" last season according to everybody and their mothers, yet they won the division, so they still deserve to be the top team in rankings since they didn't lose many significant pieces. The Bengals have a very solid team but they have a hard time overcoming large numbers of injuries and winning in the playoffs in general. The Browns are...the Browns.
AFCN teams
Steelers #9
As with the Cardinals, slotting this team this high might make me a bit of a Positive Perry, even with running back Le'Veon Bell's two-game suspension knocking the Steelers down two spots for now. The good news: Bell is healthy, second-year pro Martavis Bryant should know what he's doing out there at receiver from Day 1 of camp and the secondary simply cannot be worse than it was last year. So there you go.
Bengals #10
As we head into Week 1 of the preseason, everyone is going to want to know if the Bengals will be bungling yet another playoff game come January. Bear in mind, however, that Cincinnati was loaded with the walking wounded during that playoff loss to the Colts last season, much like the Chiefs in that crazy wild-card game in the 2013 playoffs. It's hard to win when Andy Dalton is throwing the ball to big-time targets like Ryan Hewitt, Kevin Brock and Rex Burkhead. On that note, methinks tight end Tyler Eifert's return to health will be a huge boost to the prospects of both Dalton and the team.
Ravens #13
Baltimore might be the one team people are forgetting about, given that most prognosticators see the AFC North coming down to the Steelers and Bengals. Even with Haloti Ngata in Detroit, there is so much young talent on the Ravens' defense that it should be the best unit in the division. The real question lies with the youth in the passing game. How pro-ready will rookies Breshad Perriman and Maxx Williams be?
Browns #30
Funny how those league observers and fans who wrote off 21-year-old Johnny Manziel are talking him up now ... when he's 22. Maybe we should give people a chance to grow up. Meanwhile, good buddy and NFL Media colleague Marc Sessler (@MarcSesslerNFL) is at Browns camp; he let me know that first-round pick Danny Shelton is tearing it up and that coach Mike Pettine has a copy of the Warren Report. Shelton and the Warren Report. Interesting. One can probably eat three truckloads of baloney -- and the other literally is three truckloads of baloney.
I find this more down to earth than the nutbags that were putting the Ravens at #1 earlier in the offseason. I agree with almost everything Harrison says in the comment sections (for the AFCN teams at least). I won't be surprised whatsoever if the Ravens have the best defense in the AFCN, and one of the best in the league, people are exaggerating their losses on the defensive side waaay too much. Pittsburgh was supposed to be having a "down year" last season according to everybody and their mothers, yet they won the division, so they still deserve to be the top team in rankings since they didn't lose many significant pieces. The Bengals have a very solid team but they have a hard time overcoming large numbers of injuries and winning in the playoffs in general. The Browns are...the Browns.
