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NFL Power Rankings: Pre-training camp edition

By Lyle Graversen

Jan 31, 2014; New York, NY, USA; General view of the Vince Lombardi Trophy prior to a press conference at Rose Theater in advance of Super Bowl XLVIII. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 31, 2014; New York, NY, USA; General view of the Vince Lombardi Trophy prior to a press conference at Rose Theater in advance of Super Bowl XLVIII. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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14. Cincinnati Bengals

The Bad: I think the Bengals will miss Michael Johnson on defense and on offense they are ultimately hand-cuffed by Andy Dalton’s limitations as a QB. The Good: I think having Jay Gruden leave for the Redskins and promoting Hue Jackson will actually be good for the offense and they get Geno Atkins back from injury. The bottom line for the Bengals for me is can Hue Jackson help elevate Dalton to more than just a good regular season QB who crumbles when the pressure is on. If so, they’re a contender. If not, a repeat of last season is probably the best case scenario.

13. St. Louis Rams

Let me start by saying that I’m not a fan of the St. Louis offense. I’m not sold on Sam Bradford as a franchise QB. I’m not a fan of Brian Schottenheimer as an offensive play caller. I’m not convinced that Tavon Austin is any more than a Dexter McCluster type roll player. That having been said, as much of a skeptic as I am about their offense I’m that much of a fan of their defense. I think their defensive line next year is going to absolutely dominate every offensive line they face. If you can stop the run and knock the QB around with just your front four that opens up the other seven players to do so much. I think the best thing they can do is for Brian Schottenheimer to break out his dad’s playbook and play “Marty Ball” so that the offense plays it safe and does just enough to allow their defense to control games.

12. Kansas City Chiefs

(Homer Alert) A lot of people are writing off the Chiefs after their huge turnaround season last year. The Chiefs do have a much more difficult schedule. The Chiefs did lose some players in free agency that they are planning on replacing in-house and not with big free agent signings of their own. The one thing I would point out is that a huge part of their turnaround last year was the arrival of Andy Reid and Alex Smith. Traditionally, a QB improves the longer he is in a system and the coaching staff and QB get on the same page. Their other big problem was the lack of pass rush when injuries hit Tamba Hali and Justin Houston. To solve that problem KC drafted the speedy Dee Ford. If the in-house improvements that come along with getting to know a new coaching staff better in the second year pay off, Kansas City could be a surprise team for the second year in a row.

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