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I’ve got my personnel evaluator’s hat on, and this week I am ranking each NFL
team in terms of its combined skill-position talent. What follows is how I rank the
NFL’s bottom 11 teams in skill-position talent:
The back of the pack |
21. Chicago Bears
22. Carolina Panthers
23. San Diego Chargers
24. Cincinnati Bengals
25. New York Giants
26. Detroit Lions
27. Oakland Raiders
28. New Orleans Saints
29. Philadelphia Eagles
30. Baltimore Ravens
31. Cleveland Browns |
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I didn’t provide team-by-team analysis on these clubs because I figured it would
become redundant talking about all of the woes that exist with these back-of-the-packers.
I will, however, offer some comments on some of the more interesting factors involved
for some of these teams.
There are three teams that you look at and, at first glance, say what the heck are they
doing here with the bottom feeders? They are the Bengals and Lions.
As for the Bengals, they would rank around 15th or 16th if Carl
Pickens were signed, sealed and delivered, but I ranked Cincinnati without him since it
looks like there is an excellent chance he won’t be wearing a Bengal jersey this
season. For Jeff Blake or Akili Smith to shine, I really think they need Darnay Scott and
Pickens at the WR spots. If Pickens leaves, I think Scott will have a career year, but the
quarterbacks need both receivers to excel in 1999. I am a huge believer in Corey
Dillon. He is a wonderful running back. If he ever gets a prime-time passing game to
complement him, look out.
The Lions would have ranked fifth overall in skill-position talent if Barry Sanders
were still playing. Were he still playing, Sanders would have been the second-best running
back in football behind only Terrell Davis this season. With Sanders retired, however, the
roof caves in on the Lions in the skill-position department. For starters, the running
backs they have leave a lot to be desired on paper. It would be a huge shock to me if
either Ron Rivers or Sedrick Irvin becomes a star. I wouldn’t be surprised if the
Lions bring in a veteran running back with a lot of mileage to get them through this
season, but at the time I wrote this, they only had Rivers and Irvin, so No. 26 is where
they get ranked. Depending on who they bring in (Terry Allen?), they could move up some in
this ranking. In addition, Sanders’ retirement really sets QB Charlie Batch back.
Batch exceeded all expectations as a rookie because defenses were paying so much attention
to Sanders. With Sanders gone, defenses can really try to get after Batch and rattle him
in passing situations without fear of getting killed by Sanders on a draw play. Until
Batch actually proves he can be as good or better as last year without Sanders, I’m
taking a wait-and-see attitude on him. The passing game will not completely fall apart
because the Lions’ receivers (Herman Moore, Johnnie Morton and Germane Crowell) are
so good, but I have a difficult time believing it will be the same as when Sanders was
around to scare the daylights out of defenses.
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Teams with long-term reason for optimism on this list are the Bears, Chargers, Saints
and Eagles, because each has a potential franchise skill-position player.
The Bears actually have big-time, but highly unproven, talent at multiple skill
positions. Cade McNown is intriguing at quarterback, but it’s still way too soon to
make an assessment of him. Curtis Enis still has to prove it, but I think he’s going
to be a big-time running back. Lastly, don’t rule out the possibility of Curtis
Conway becoming the star receiver people once thought he’d become, especially if
McNown develops nicely in the next couple of seasons.
I’m still not willing to give up on the Chargers’ Ryan Leaf for the long
haul.
Ricky Williams is going to rush for about a gazillion yards in his pro career for the
Saints behind what is starting to look like a potentially great offensive line. If the
Saints had actually brought in a decent veteran quarterback (such as Jim Harbaugh, Warren
Moon or Erik Kramer), I would have picked them to make the playoffs this year. The
quarterbacks whom they actually have on the roster are making it difficult for me to pull
the trigger on that out-on-a-limb call.
The Eagles’ hopes are tied to Donovan McNabb, whose athletic ability and
leadership skills make him a player to watch down the line.
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Back to Part One |
