ESPN NFL

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

Clu from Phoenix writes: What I love about these power rankings is that they make no sense. The bloggers base their opinions on homerism and gut feelings.

Shouldn't these teams be ranked by last year's results and the new additions to their respective teams, rather than saying that Kurt Warner is due to get hurt? If it is so hard to predict injuries ... DON'T!

Go into it thinking everyone will be healthy and go from there. I'm tired of the Seahawk fans blaming injuries for last year's results. IT HAPPENS! The Cardinals had their defense destroyed the previous two years by injury. The standings should based on the acquisitions by teams, not the possibility of injury.

Mike Sando: What I love about these rankings is that they generate discussions. I think we can advance this one.

I agree with you about the folly of predicting injuries for specific players. In most cases, forget about it. I'm not sure that's what we were doing, though. We were talking about unusual numbers of injuries. The Cardinals had an unusually low number of injuries last season. The Seahawks had an unusually high number of injuries. The general assumption should be that these things will even out. And if they even out, what does that mean for the NFC West?

A key variable for Arizona is whether the Cardinals can develop more consistency. A team that nearly defeats the Redskins on the road one week should not trail the Jets 34-0 at halftime the next week. A team that loses by 40 points to the Patriots in December should not beat a 12-4 Panthers team in Carolina three weeks later.

I think the Cardinals can win the NFC West, perhaps even comfortably, if they play more consistently. They simply have not proven they can do that over the course of a season. Perhaps they will in 2009.

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Ryan from Seattle writes: Hey Mike love the blog. I know that the 49ers have already started signing picks [along with a few other teams]. My question is, when do you usually start seeing the first- and second-rounders start to get signed? For some reason I always figured they started getting signed around this time. Thanks Mike!

Mike Sando: You're welcome. First-round choices generally sign during the final week of July. Second-round choices start signing a little earlier, but generally not until mid-July.

Most teams are not signing their mid-round and later-round picks as early as the 49ers and Bears have done this offseason.

For example, the Patriots are carrying 90 players on their roster, including 12 draft choices, all unsigned. Unsigned picks do not count against the 80-man roster limits. By waiting to sign their draft choices, the Patriots can evaluate up to 12 additional players in their camps. Some of those players might prove worthy as injury replacements during the season. One or two might earn a roster spot in Week 1.

The 49ers and Bears are obviously more comfortable getting their picks signed and focused on the upcoming season. I would probably rather evaluate additional players.

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Jeremy from Afghanistan writes: How much of an improvement do you think the 49ers run game will have with the addition of FB Moran Norris and RB coach Tom Rathman?

Mike Sando: I think we need to be smart in evaluating how we measure improvements in the running game. The 49ers' per-carry average actually dropped after Mike Singletary took over as head coach. However, I felt as though the 49ers became more effective as a running team during that time. The increase in effectiveness comes in committing to the run, even when the per-carry averages aren't great. Adding a traditional fullback can help make that happen. Norris fits the profile. While I've heard good things about Rathman's coaching, I could not say how much he'll help the running game this season.

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Louis from Chicago writes: Mike, I love your spreadsheets. Is there anyway you can email some? I want to do some 3rd down, red zone, and other offensive research for my team and want to use some of your breakdown material. Thanks, man.

Mike Sando: Glad you like them, Louis. I'll make available for download a spreadsheet with offensive and defensive averages for a long list of categories from the 2008 season. One sheet covers offense. One sheet covers defense. I have sorted the offensive sheet by most points scored and the defensive sheet by most points allowed [per game].

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Aaron says via Facebook that the Rams can be a dangerous team this season because expectations are so low. He points to what the Falcons accomplished last season with a new coach and amid similar expectations. He thinks the Rams will win between six and nine games.

Mike Sando: It's possible. The Rams vastly underachieved last season. At their best, they could beat the Redskins at FedEx Field. Steven Jackson enjoyed a huge game against the Cowboys. At their worst, the Rams made the Seattle running game look like the greatest in NFL history.

The Rams can win a few more games simply by buying into the new coaching staff and having Steven Jackson ready to go from Week 1 [as opposed to missing so much time during his contract impasse last summer]. I do think the Rams are hurting from an overall talent standpoint, though. They'll need players to contribute beyond expectations at quite a few positions, including receiver and cornerback.