NFL Power Rankings 2012: Where Your Team Stands as the Preseason Wraps Up

Power rankings are a sports writer’s best friend. No joke. It gives us a chance to rank NFL teams while giving a little tidbit of insight and maybe a slight humorous jab here and there.

And with the opening of the NFL season barely a week away, it’s time to start winding down on making our preseason power rankings.

So without taking up any more of your time, here are my NFL power rankings heading into the final week of the preseason:

32. Cleveland Browns—The Browns are abysmal and are relying far too much on the potential of their rookies. One of those rookies, Trent Richardson, hasn’t even played a down in the NFL yet.

31. Miami Dolphins—HBO’s Hard Knocks hasn’t been everything the Miami Dolphins hoped it would be. All it’s done is exploit how bad this team actually will be this year.

30. Arizona Cardinals—Nobody seems to want to win the quarterback spot in Arizona this offseason. To Kevin Kolb and John Skelton’s defense, it doesn’t look like anyone wants to block for them, either.

29. New York Jets—I might take heat for this one but I’m not really worried about it. This team has been awful in the preseason; seeing as the 0-3 Jets have failed to record a touchdown in their first three preseason games, I feel confident having them fourth-from-the-bottom on this week’s power rankings.

28. St. Louis Rams—All I can say is that I was watching their preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys, and they could really use some tackling lessons. Lots of young talent that just needs to learn to put it all together.

27. Oakland Raiders—The Raiders are essentially a Darren McFadden injury away from being irrelevant this season. Given Run-DMC’s injury history, we may not be too far off from that. Again.

26. Indianapolis Colts—I’ll admit Andrew Luck has looked very good this preseason. However, he’s not going to make them a playoff team. There are still a ton of holes to patch up, and it’s going to take at least another year.

25. Tampa Bay Buccaneers—I loved the direction this team was going…and then Davin Joseph went down for the year and is now on IR. We’ll see if the young team has the resiliency to overcome the injury and continue their surge upwards.

24. Jacksonville Jaguars—Two different things going on here. Maurice Jones-Drew is still nowhere to be found, and even if he does abruptly end his holdout, it’s unlikely he’ll start Week 1.

Secondly, Justin Blackmon has impressed thus far in the preseason, with eight receptions for 120 yards and a touchdown. However, Blaine Gabbert is still his quarterback, and a lot of Blackmon’s presence on the field hinges on how well Gabbert can evolve in his second season at the helm.

23. Minnesota Vikings—The Vikings defense in 2012 will rely heavily on their ability to get after the quarterback because, unfortunately, their secondary isn’t much of anything. However, if Adrian Peterson and Percy Harvin can stay healthy they could have an offense that really surprises some people.

22. Washington Redskins—I love Robert Griffin III and I think he’ll have a great season, but as a whole I’m still not a huge fan of the Redskins right now. RGIII will keep the ‘Skins competitive but it’ll be tougher to single-handedly pull away victories like he did at Baylor last season.

21. Seattle Seahawks—Personally, I think the decision to make Russell Wilson the starting quarterback over the newly-acquired Matt Flynn was the right move for Pete Carroll to make. That’s why I have them just outside the top 20.

Wilson is a gamer, and like I said with Robert Griffin III, he’ll keep the Seahawks competitive and in a lot of games. However, what Wilson does have is a stout defense and more weapons at his disposal, including Marshawn Lynch.

20.  Carolina Panthers—The Carolina Panthers were another team that many believed was poised to break through behind their stud quarterback and make a strong run at the playoffs. That’s not going to happen if Cam Newton has to run around like a wild man every play because his offensive line can’t protect him.

19. San Diego Chargers—The Chargers seriously underperformed last season and that started with the trigger-happy Philip Rivers. If Rivers can just slow down and take a breather every now and then this season, he’ll be just fine.

18. Kansas City Chiefs—No other team was bitten harder by the injury bug last season than the Chiefs. Now, Jamaal Charles is back, as are Matt Cassel, Eric Berry and Tony Moeaki. Add in the additions of Dontari Poe and Eric Winston and the return of Dwayne Bowe, and Chiefs fans have a ton to look forward to this season.

17. Tennessee Titans—Who is Jake Locker going to throw to if Kenny Britt ends up getting suspended? Well, the new Titans’ quarterback has formed a nice little bond with rookie Kendall Wright this preseason, and Nate Washington is back after his impressive season a year ago. This team will be fine.

16. Denver Broncos—Let the Peyton Manning era begin in the Mile High City. Just from watching the veteran, he doesn’t seem completely there on some plays. The velocity is definitely down a bit, but we expected that. If he’s not back completely right now, he will be. Nobody works harder than Peyton Manning does.

15. Dallas Cowboys—Not going to lie, essentially putting Dez Bryant on one of those toddler leashes was the best thing Jerry Jones could have done. It’s called protecting your investment, people.

14. Buffalo Bills—Man, this team has the potential to be pretty darn good this season if Ryan Fitzpatrick decides to play the entire season like he did the first four games of last season.

13. Detroit Lions—So much talent yet so many question marks. Kevin Smith will start the season as the starting running back with Jahvid Best on the PUP list and Mikel Leshoure suspended for the first two games of the season. Seriously, though, over/under 40 on how many unsportsmanlike penalties this team racks up this season.

12. Philadelphia Eagles—There’s no question that the success of this team will ride on the health of Michael Vick, and considering this team has enough talent to win a Super Bowl, we could see a hype-train begin to gain some steam very early in the season pending Vick’s health.

11. Pittsburgh Steelers—The return of Mike Wallace boosts this team up my power rankings a couple of spots because the deep threat is always something you like to keep in your back pocket. Can’t lie though, the injury to David DeCastro could prove to be crucial to keeping Big Ben on his feet as much as possible.

10. Cincinnati Bengals—The Bengals have a ton of potential on the offensive side of the football with the young core of Andy Dalton, Jermaine Gresham and A.J. Green. Now this team just hopes that the addition of BenJarvus Green-Ellis can stabilize a running game that needs to score some touchdowns this season.

9. Atlanta Falcons—All I’m going to say about this one is that Julio Jones, Tony Gonzalez and Roddy White is just a downright nasty core to unleash upon defenses, especially in the red zone.

8. Baltimore Ravens—My guess is that the Baltimore defense will find a way to get it done at an elite level without Terrell Suggs until sometime in the middle of the season. The only real question is what version of Joe Flacco will we see?

7. New York Giants—Nobody gets after the quarterback like the New York Giants defense. And I mean nobody. Jason Pierre-Paul, Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora anchor the league’s elite front four. If only the secondary was as good.  The reigning Super Bowl champions have a lot on their plate this season to return to the promised land. Will they respond?

6. Houston Texans—Staying healthy will really be the motive of the Houston Texans this season, because had it not been for Matt Schaub going down and Andre Johnson being out for a large portion of last season, this team had serious Super Bowl aspirations.

5. Chicago Bears—The Bears were arguably the hottest team in the NFL until losing both Matt Forte and Jay Cutler and their season all in one swift motion. I understand that the offensive line is a work in progress, but with Gabe Carimi back from a 2011 injury and Chris Williams starting to take shape as a serviceable option at left tackle, Bears fans should hopefully breathe a little easier.

With weapons on the outsides in Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery, as well as on the ground in Michael Bush and Matt Forte, the Bears will finally be able to score enough points to aid their defense in winning football games. This is truly one of the most talented Chicago Bears teams in recent memory.

4. New England Patriots—I never overlook a team with Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez and Wes Welker. Now, the Patriots add Brandon Lloyd to the mix, so it’s like Christmas at the Brady household. The offensive line could use a little work but I’m sure they’ll be healthy and ready after the first few weeks.

3. New Orleans Saints—The loss of Sean Payton will be felt throughout the season but it’s nothing compared to what the loss of Drew Brees might have felt like. This team will be fine throughout the regular season.

2. San Francisco 49ers—The only true question mark that looms for the 49ers is Alex Smith as their quarterback. I’m one of the few who have faith in the guy considering he did lead them to an NFL Championship Game last season. And on top of that, they did bring in new weapons for Smith in guys like Randy Moss and Mario Manningham.

1. Green Bay Packers—Not much of a surprise here for most people. Aaron Rodgers is still at the helm, and as long as he is he’ll always keep Green Bay in the discussion as the best team in the league.

The defense improved immensely through the draft with additions like Jerel Worthy, Nick Perry and Casey Hayward, and the running game may get an extra boost from Cedric Benson. That, however, remains to be seen.