NFL Rantings: There's Football on my Television!

No doubt, if you're familiar with these parts of the blogosphere, you've been impressed with the overwhelming amount of content on NFL Outsider in the past few weeks. Andy and Issac have done some great work. Certainly, they're making it hard to keep up, as are all of the team-specific bloggers around the network.But, if just for a day, I'm going to change the focus of NFL Outsider from the big-picture season in the future towards the NFL preseason.What have we, as fans learned that we didn't know just two weeks ago? Which teams are doing well for themselves, and which teams are struggling with three weeks to go until the first game? Which players are making names for themselves?Cincinnati's First Team DefenseThese guys have been fantastic. LB Keith Rivers is an early defensive player of the year candidate. They've been getting strong corner play from Jonathon Joseph, which is one of the keys of their entire season. And most importantly, they are finally generating a pass rush. The improvements these guys have made on the defensive line are very noticeable, and critical from a team with questionable pass covering safeties.Bears Offensive VolatilityJay Cutler looked awful against the Bills, and then he came back and was on his game against the Giants. Cutler's margin of error is so paper thin on most of his throws that you can almost say he leaves games up to chance. Cutler was threading needles with mid-season type accuracy, though his decision making was questionable in both games. As he'll find out soon, that decision making is only going to be a problem when he loses, but he also spread the ball around much better against the Giants than vs. the Bills.NFC East StrugglesThe NFC East is still your consensus best division, but each team has thrown up a stinker of a game in it's first two preseason attempts. The Redskins were shut out in Baltimore, 23-0, while the Cowboys were beaten 31-10 by the Raiders. Both teams managed to bounce back this week with impressive wins, but the Philadelphia Eagles defense was torched by Peyton Manning, while the New York Giants watched Jay Cutler and Caleb Hanie go up and down the field on them. In all cases, it's the defensive coverage units that have been at fault. The Eagles badly need to rebound next week, while the rest of the teams may be fighting their own demons for most of the season. It's a division where the winner doesn't often dominate (last two years aside), but instead, usually outlasts.Aaron RodgersBrett who? 19 attempts, 10 first downs, 3 completions over 20 yards, 3 TD's, 0 sacks, 0 INTs. Is there a better quarterback in the league right now?If Rodgers comes out and lights up the scoreboard in the team's dress rehearsal, don't we have to make the Packers the favorite in the NFC North? We know what Jay Cutler can do, but it's time to consider the fact that Aaron Rodgers might just be better. He's certainly got the offense to out shoot the Bears. I can't wait until Bears-Packers in Week 1 from Lambeau.Michael TurnerOkay, so his first two opponents have been Detroit and St. Louis, and those were his two 200 yard games from last year. He's got to do it again next week. But, get this, he's averaging 9.8 yards per carry this preseason. If he's going to slow down this year, it's not happening in August.Javon Ringer Coming out of Michigan State, Ringer dropped in the draft all the way to the fifth round. Oops. In this preseason, he's broken more than a few runs en route to a 6.1 YPC average over a 16 carry sample. Beast! The Titans know their running backs, and might be the next team to develop a Denver-style running system where they go totally plug and play on the rest of the NFL.Martellus BennettThe second TE for the Dallas Cowboys is now in their starting lineup and he's an unstoppable force in the passing game. The knock on him coming out of college had to do with his routes, would they be crisp enough to work at the next level? He seems to have answered those questions, and when Bennett gets the ball in his hands, he's been money in this preseason.Brodie Croyle and Dwayne BoweIt's hard to believe that Croyle is in his fourth year in the NFL already, but he is, and he's really on his last chance in the league. So, maybe the timing of Dwayne Bowe's recent demotion to a second team WR is a blessing. Croyle and Bowe have picked apart the defensive coverages of Houston and Minnesota, and Croyle is now competing for the No. 2 spot while it's only a matter of time until Bowe is the offenses' go-to guy. He'll be their leading receiver this year, without a doubt.Bills CornerbacksSix interceptions in three games? Hello outside chance at the AFC Playoffs! It turns out that undrafted CB Ellis Lankster may have earned a spot on the Bills roster, and while the development of Reggie Corner is a pleasant surprise, it's the numbers that Leodis McKelvin have posted this preseason that means the most to the Bills. He's perhaps the most critical of all the Bills defenders this year to there success. Tough not to like the job Dick Jauron's defensive unit has done.Chad Ocho CincoChad Ocho Cinco is back to his scoring ways, which means he's (naturally) kicking the extra points in the preseason for the Bengals. His receiving numbers are clearly on their way back as well. In two preseason games, Ocho has 142 receiving yards, which is third in the league (per game) behind only his own teammate, Chris Henry, and Troy Williamson (!). If he makes this a habit, it's not hard to see the Bengals back in the playoffs this year.