Sunday, August 9, 2015

The Shutdown Corner 2015 pre-preseason power rankings

The problem with doing one preview per day, counting down the initial power rankings for the 2015 season, is that 32 days is an eternity in the NFL.
Just about every team has had something happen that could change their season outlook, good or bad, and some have had huge changes. The New Orleans Saints cut Junior Galette and his 22 sacks the past two years, and he was signed by Washington. The San Francisco 49ers lost yet another player, former All-Pro Aldon Smith, after cutting him following another arrest. The Chiefs had very valuable nose tackle Dontari Poe undergo back surgery. The Houston Texans lost running back Arian Foster to injury, and everyone is still unsure for how long. And yes, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady will officially be suspended four games, unless the lawsuits lead to a different outcome.
But for now we're sticking with the same power rankings we created more than a month ago. When the rankings return before Week 1 they'll look at a lot different. There will be more news, a full schedule of preseason games to analyze and many other potential factors that might push a team up or down. That's what makes August so interesting around the NFL.
 
32. Tennessee Titans
A lot has been made of Marcus Mariota not throwing any training camp interceptions. Couldn't that just be a reflection of that Titans secondary?
 
31. Jacksonville Jaguars
Early reviews on T.J. Yeldon have been good. Not sure how good he can be if the line isn't better, but it would help Blake Bortles a lot if he's an instant star.

30. Washington Redskins
We're all waiting to see if Robert Griffin III takes a step this year. Yahoo's Charles Robinson had a tremendous look at Griffin as he heads toward a make-or-break season.

29. Oakland Raiders
I never put too much stock into glowing reports early in training camp, because so few actually bear fruit, but for what it's worth everyone at Raiders camp thinks receiver Michael Crabtree is born again.
 
28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
I found it a bit odd that the Bucs already said Doug Martin will be their lead back. It has to be now or never for Martin to recapture that rookie form.
 
27. New York Jets
The word that the Jets are grooming Chris Ivory for every-down work is worth monitoring. He has the talent to thrive.
 
26. Chicago Bears
Rookie receiver Kevin White's lingering injury is the last thing the Bears needed this camp.
 
25. Cleveland Browns
Quarterback Johnny Manziel was 9-of-11 for 93 yards in the Browns' scrimmage and looked pretty good. He makes the Browns an interesting preseason watch.
 
24. Atlanta Falcons
Either Devonta Freeman or Tevin Coleman were supposed to give a boost to the Falcons running game. Now both are out with hamstring injuries. Hopefully for the Falcons that's not a sign of things to come.
 
23. San Francisco 49ers
What more can you even say at this point?
 
22. New York Giants
Seeing Rashad Jennings seemingly fall out of favor in New York is odd, since he's the only all-around tailback they have. Unless Shane Vereen just wasn't allowed to show off his running ability in New England.
 
21. New Orleans Saints
They did what they had to do with Galette, but it's not like the defense is any better as a result.
 
20. Houston Texans
If Foster is only out 6-8 weeks, that gives the Texans some hope. The thought of a Ryan Mallett-or-Brian Hoyer and Alfred Blue-or-Chris Polk backfield for more than half of the season wasn't too exciting.
 
19. Carolina Panthers
Kelvin Benjamin, by all accounts, is dominating camp. That's great news for Carolina and Cam Newton.
 
18. St. Louis Rams
The Nick Foles extension, two years and $24.5 million according to ESPN, isn't that bad for a starting quarterback. But it's a little risky by the team before seeing him play a game with them.
 
17. Minnesota Vikings
Have you heard anything about Cordarrelle Patterson through a couple weeks of camp? Neither have I. That's not good.

16. San Diego Chargers
All indications from camp are that Melvin Gordon is running well. They need him to fix their running game.

15. Buffalo Bills
Tyrod Taylor winning the starting quarterback job would be a crazy story. He has completed one NFL pass since 2012. But it sure seems, from reports there, like he's had a much better camp than Matt Cassel.
 
14. Detroit Lions
Calvin Johnson is having a great camp, the reporters there say. Worth repeating this: In the 11 games Johnson wasn't dealing with a high-ankle sprain, his numbers prorated out to 16 games were 99 catches, 1,539 yards and between 11 and 12 touchdowns.
 
13. Philadelphia Eagles
Sam Bradford apparently being healthy at this point of camp is a great sign. Between him and Tim Tebow, the Eagles are another must-watch preseason team.
 
12. Kansas City Chiefs
Poe had surgery to repair a herniated disc in his back, and could miss at least the first month of the season. That's a massive blow to the middle of the Chiefs defense. And it's not too easy to step on an NFL field after back surgery and dominate interior offensive linemen.
 
11. Cincinnati Bengals
Tight end Tyler Eifert has been one of the stars of training camp. Take that for what it's worth, but he always has had the talent. He could add a nice dimension to that offense.
 
10. Arizona Cardinals
Receiver Michael Floyd dislocated three fingers and they came through his left palm, Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic said. Double ouch. Sounds like the type of injury that might affect a receiver a while.
 
9. Miami Dolphins
Reports say Ndamukong Suh is playing very well in camp. That's not a surprise, but nice to hear his motor is still running hot after collecting a nine-figure contract.
 
8. Dallas Cowboys
The depth behind presumed starting tailback Joseph Randle seems shaky, but Randle has been fine in camp. We'll see if he can hold up with a ton of carries.
 
7. Baltimore Ravens
Rookie first-round pick Breshad Perriman has missed more than a week due to a knee injury. It's hard for a rookie receiver to make up for that lost time.
 
6. Denver Broncos
Gary Kubiak wants one back to handle most of the carries, the Denver Post says, so bump C.J. Anderson up a bit in your fantasy rankings. He'll get as much work as he can handle, it sounds like.
 
5. Pittsburgh Steelers
Ben Roethlisberger wants to average 30 points per game on offense. I don't see why not. Now let's see if the defense can allow less than 31.
 
4. Indianapolis Colts
Every day it seems like there's a new receiver getting praise from Colts camp. It'll be really interesting to see who shines in the preseason and how the playing time is doled out.
 
3. New England Patriots
Maybe I missed it, but I haven't heard one Patriots player complain in the media about Brady's suspension. It's amazing the control Bill Belichick has over the locker room. He's the perfect coach to deal with this potential distraction.
 
2. Green Bay Packers
Nose tackle B.J. Raji has reportedly dropped about 10 pounds. The Packers could really use a resurgent season from him in the middle.
 
1. Seattle Seahawks
The Kam Chancellor holdout isn't what the Seahawks want to be dealing with. But assuming he comes back, this team still looks incredibly big, fast and physical. No surprise.

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