Raymond Summerlin: One of the things I am interested in every preseason is the line play on both sides of the ball. Although great backs are great no matter who is blocking for them, so much of an average running back's effectiveness is built on how effective their offensive line is at creating holes, and how effective their opponent's front is at disrupting the play. It’s usually easy to see how good teams will be in both areas early in the preseason. The Jets, for instance, showed early last preseason that their run defense was as stout as they come, and then preceded to shut down Doug Martin, Stevan Ridley, C.J. Spiller and Chris Johnson the first four weeks of 2013. By watching New York in the preseason, we were able to identify them correctly as a matchup to avoid despite the fact that they were mediocre at best the year before.
To that end, I will be paying attention to the offensive lines on teams like the Ravens, Jaguars and Giants. All three have "trendy" running backs, and all three were atrocious run blocking units last season. It will also be interesting to see how formerly formidable outfits like the 49ers, Seahawks and Cardinals do after losing key players along their front sevens.
