With the NFL offseason officially here Atlanta Falcons Hoodie , ESPN published their r0;way-too-earlyr1; power rankings. Avert your eyes, as their self-described power panel of r0;more than 80 writers, editors, and TV personalitiesr1; make some interesting picks.First, letr17;s get the NFC South. The New Orleans Saints absolutely collapsed down the stretch. Drew Brees was washed and the early season favorites Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara looked ordinary. ESPN puts them at 3rd overall after noting Brees r0;faded a bit down the stretch.r1; The manr17;s arm fell off. The entire offense was predicated on dump offs to Kamara and Michael r0;Catch Rater1; Thomas. No wonder they couldnr17;t beat the pathetic Los Angeles Rams at home in the playoffs.The Falcons come in all the way at 18. Vaughn McClure cites the teamr17;s multiple injured Pro Bowl players returning to health. As a Falcons fan the offseason is where my unbridled optimism demands one of the top spots. Replacing Steve Sarkisian and getting Keanu Neal, Devonta Freeman Cheap Customized Atlanta Falcons Jerseys , Ricardo Allen, and Deion Jones back at full health is certainly worth multiple wins. Yet the Falcons still come in around their 2018 7-9 record. If the team ends up around the 18th best team in the league we will see a much busier offseason next year.The Carolina Panthers come in at 19 where the reason for optimism is Cam Newton underwent shoulder surgery early in the offseason. Ir17;m not kidding. Their bright spot is their oft-injured quarterback got a jump start on serious surgery.The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as is typical, lays at the bottom of the NFC South at the 24th slot. Honestly that feels low for the stellar coaching staff they put together but Bruce Arians will still be stuck with Jameis Winston. We will certainly see updated power rankings after free agency, the draft, then probably every 24 hours leading up to preseason. You just canr17;t stop power rankings despite how hard you try. I will expect the Falcons to bubble up the rankings if they make a few good player acquisitions. The grass that both the Steelers and University of Pittsburgh play on at Heinz Field has already been re-sodded once this season. The NFL has to hope it can hold up under tough circumstances.Thatr17;s because Pitt and Syracuse are playing a game there today Womens Customized Atlanta Falcons Jerseys , a game with thunderstorms severe enough that theyr17;re currently in a weather delay. Any time two teams play in conditions like that, therer17;s a risk of the grass getting chewed up.And if the grass is chewed up today, therer17;s not much that can be done to have it in good shape for tomorrow, when the Steelers host the Falcons. That game kicks off at 1 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, and as of 3:30 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, the Pitt-Syracuse game still has to withstand a weather delay and play the second half.Between Steelers games www.falconsfootballauthentics.com , Pitt games, high school games and other events at Heinz Field, the grass has been known to take a beating. The Steelers and Falcons will find out in pregame warmups tomorrow just how bad a beating it has taken today.
