Football season is almost upun us and everyone wants to know, who is your preseason pick for Super Bowl XLVIII?
Going into the second week of the preseason, Elliot Harrison released his power rankings on NFL.com on Aug. 13. There will most likely be an update on this after the preseason is over but, we will discuss the top five and where they stand at the moment.
Harrison has the San Francisco 49ers as number one.
They have had multiple injuries and a lot of questions in their defensive secondary with the first-round draft pick Eric Reid from LSU. Losing Dashon Goldson to Tampa Bay and Chris Culliver tearing his ACL in training camp there is no guarantee on how good their secondary will be. Looking at the end of last season, if their pass rush is not stellar then their secondary has a hard time picking up the slack.
At number two Harrison has the Denver Broncos.
Broncos are a strong favorite this year to make it to the Super Bowl, despite the aging Peyton Manning. Broncos lost a key player in their offence, center Dan Koppen, to a torn ACL and he is out for the season. Koppen is not a star player, but he is a veteran and can handle changes that Manning would make at the line and maintain chemistry. Trying to fill his shoes, Broncos are bringing in Ryan Lilja from the Kansas City Chiefs. Enough about centers, this team’s relies on Manning and his strong receiving core of Demaryius Thomas, Wes Welker and Eric Decker.
Number three goes to the Seattle Seahawks.
Seahawks lost Percy Harvin to a small tear in his labrum in his hip and has already had surgery. Seahawks are hopeful that Harvin will be back in the lineup by Thanksgiving. On the defensive side of the ball, Seahawks have a strong defensive end in the form of Bruce Irvin, but need to get Chris Clemons back, but he needs to be healthy. The player to watch on this team is Doug Baldwin. It looks as though Baldwin will be Russel Wilson’s primary target without Harvy.
Atlanta Falcons are ranked fourth.
Falcons’ main concern is the middle of their defensive line, and defending the rush. Toward the end of last season, they let up over 100 rushing yards in the playoffs. They are looking to get veteran Richard Seymour, but at the moment cannot come to an agreement with their shrinking salary cap, after resigning Matt Ryan on a five-year, $103.75 million contract. Seymour could be a good fit and aid Falcons in their hope of making it to the Super Bowl.
Rounding out the top five is the Houston Texans.
Texans acquired rookie DeAndre Hopkins from Clemson with their first round pick. Looking at the AFC south they should have no problems taking it. Looking at the AFC as a whole their only competition are the New England Patriots and the Denver Broncos. With the Patriots passing game in question, and Broncos losing their center, it looks like the Texans have a chance to take the division.
Rounding out the top 10 are the Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens, Green Bay Packers, Patriots and Washington Redskins.
Preseason rankings are always interesting to look at, and you never know what will actually happen until the season starts.
