Houston Bias NFL Preseason Power Rankings #30 - Jacksonville Jaguars

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        An epic QB battle for the ages....

    

      A lot of the pressure this year will unfortunately fall upon the shoulders of Blaine Gabbert, who has yet to show any signs of being a starting caliber QB. Jacksonville has no choice but to test the waters with Gabbert as much as possible simply only because of his draft status at this point. The Jags can sleep somewhat easy knowing that Chad Henne is always waiting for that call that will more than likely come. The problem is that there is absolutely nothing special about Henne and they are a dime a dozen in the NFL. New owner Shad Khan has flipped the Jags coaching staff and management completely around this year. Only time will tell if the Jaguars will benefit from having defensive mastermind Gus Bradley calling the shots this year. It certainly can't be worse than the recent tenures under Jack Del Rio. It seemed like the guy just flat out gave up on his team which isn't all that hard to understand when you're relying on guys like Gabbert. Much to the joy of Jags fans everywhere, MJD will be returning this year and should shore up what was an awful rushing attack last year. Cecil Shorts was a concussion away from being a 1000 yard guy last year so I can imagine him hitting that mark this year and establishing himself as a premier receiver in this league. I was personally very impressed with what I had seen from him over the course of this past season. Justin Blackmon showed flashes of brilliance last season but lacks consistency so I can't give a solid opinion on him just yet. The potential is definitely there though so he is one to keep an eye. He will certainly need to improve on his maturity issues before he makes progress in the receiving game though. There isn't much to say about the Jags defense other than the fact that they were simply awful last year. On the bright side they didn't go out this offseason and over pay incredibly average players to try and find a quick fix. They have promising young talent on the defensive side of the ball and with a defensive minded guy like Gus Bradley at the HC position there should be some improvement. Most likely that won't happen though and our #30 ranking seems to suggest the same thing.

Houston Bias NFL Preseason Power Rankings #31 - Oakland Raiders

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Don't expect this smile to be around for much longer.. 

      When you start out training camp with the likes of Matt Flynn, Terrelle Pryor, and Tyler Wilson competing for the starting QB position, there isn't much to get excited about. The Raiders have been a team on the decline for awhile now as a series of bad drafts have put them in the position that they find themselves in today. The most recent of these draft busts, Darrius Heyward-Bey, was allowed to walk which shows some positive signs of life at the GM position for the Raiders. Reggie McKenzie hasn't been at the the helm long enough for a verdict to be put out, but it certainly seems like the Raiders are attempting to take steps in the right direction. The Raiders used their first selection this year on CB DJ Hayden out of Houston and could have a huge payout if he can remain healthy and return to the form he had before his life-threatening injury. Other than some positive steps that management is making, the rest is all downhill for the Raiders. They have one legitimate receiver in Denarius Moore and he certainly isn't making any of those QBs look better than they are. Darren McFadden has proven to not be the most durable of backs and needs to remain 100 percent healthy for the Raiders to have a shot at competing this year. If he goes down, the Raiders are left to rely on a passing attack that rivals the Jets for the worst in the league.  Things might be even worse on defense, as the signing of Charles Woodson clearly suggests. This is a team that has been putting a makeshift secondary together for years ever since Asomugha left for the Eagles. Things won't be any different this year, even with the stellar addition of Hayden to that unit. With no names worth mentioning on the D Line after the departure of Richard Seymour and Tommy Kelly, teams will be looking to run all over the Raiders this year. There is almost no run D to speak of and as mentioned earlier, the secondary isn't quite there this year. Look for the Silver & Black to stumble out of the gates this year and trip all the way to the finish line. 

Houston Bias NFL Preseason Power Rankings #32 - NY Jets

This happened. 

      The now infamous "butt fumble" marked the exact moment that the Jets were officially beyond repair and they wisely went ahead with the decision of mailing in the rest of the season. The Jets never fail to attract the wrong kind of attention with last season seeming to focus on a player that rarely even saw the field. They decided to let go of the Tebow circus and brought another one onto the team in Geno Smith. The QB controversy has been a mainstay on sports news outlets; for what reason, I'm honestly not sure. Early indications have been that Mark Sanchez will be the starter heading into the season but that role is by no means secured and Geno Smith will always be a constant threat to his job. In most instances the Jets would take comfort in some type of stability but the fact of the matter is Mark Sanchez is an absolute abomination. Last season he put up truly pathetic numbers, with a QBR of 23.4 and 27 total turnovers on the year. Sanchez's performance has steadily been on the decline since he entered the league and I don't see the guy turning it around this year. His confidence has to be absolutely shot at this point as he is the undisputed laughingstock of NFL QBs. Rex Ryan usually manages to put together a solid D but now he no longer has the services of Darrelle Revis to look forward to. Look for the Jets to take a step back on defense. With no weapons on offense whatsoever, the Jets look to be in for a dreadful season. A defense can only carry a team so far and this offense will negate any good work the defense manages to do on the field. J-E-T-S, J-E-T-S! 

Official Houston Bias NFL Preseason Power Rankings

      Over the coming weeks I will compile a rankings system to see where each team stands before the start of the season. Football is approaching us quickly and what better way to build even more excitement for what looks to be a very promising season, especially for our hometown team. I will only be ranking one team per post but I will do my best to give a solid analysis of where each team stands as the roster is currently put together. Please keep in mind that the lot of us over here at Houston Bias are pretty opinionated so expect to see the good guys close to the top. As if they don't deserve it anyways.. Well, cheers to the upcoming season and keep a watch out in the following weeks for each team's rankings.