National Football League

What did we learn about the NFL this preseason?

Published Sep. 3, 2010 9:57 p.m. ET

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The Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets are supposed to be among the ranks of Super Bowl favorites. They sure didn't look like it during the preseason.

Of course, those games also didn't count.

That's the trouble with trying to make sense of the preseason. We don't know how much to take from the things we saw the last five weeks.

Are the 49ers (4-0) really that good? The Colts (0-4) certainly aren't that bad. (The 0-4 Bears, however, might be.)

Since the standings aren't a good barometer, let's instead turn to some story lines that emerged from preseason. There are plenty to follow headed into Thursday night's opener in New Orleans, with Brett Favre and the Vikings taking on Drew Brees and the Super Bowl champion Saints:

- DILEMMA IN DALLAS, NERVOUS IN NEW YORK

Tony Romo led just one touchdown drive in four preseason games, and it covered all of eight yards. The worrisome part for Jerry Jones' crew is how many drives fizzled because of a shoddy offensive line and sloppy play close to the opponent's goal line.

The Cowboys say bland play-calling and a patchwork line are to blame. They insist everything will click once the season starts, with the debut of rookie receiver Dez Bryant giving them another boost. What else can they say?

Whatever Jets coach Rex Ryan has to say is probably funny, filthy or both if you've seen his starring performance in ''Hard Knocks.''

But the most foul words New York could hear are ''sophomore slump,'' as in Mark Sanchez regressing in his second season. He doubled Romo's preseason TD production with two amid excuses, er, explanations similar to those heard in Dallas. The club has another lingering issue with star cornerback Darrelle Revis still holding out.

- LAMBEAU LEAK

Cleveland, Seattle and Kansas City all posted their highest point totals of the preseason against Green Bay.

So the Packers don't even want to think about what good offenses might do against their club.

Defensive coordinator Dom Capers can offer the same plausible reasons as the offensive coordinators on the Cowboys and Jets - Green Bay wasn't going to show more than it had to in exhibition games. However, mounting injuries in the secondary (safety Atari Bigby, cornerback Al Harris) are a huge concern for a unit that already seemed overmatched against the top quarterbacks last season. Kurt Warner and the Cardinals racked up 51 points in the Packers' last game that counted, a playoff loss.

Green Bay defenders have the benefit of practicing against a great quarterback: Aaron Rodgers, who led the Packers to seven touchdowns in 13 drives this preseason.

- REPLACING ROETHLISBERGER

Pittsburgh was hoping Byron Leftwich could be enough of a game manager to get his club through Ben Roethlisberger's suspension, which commissioner Roger Goodell on Friday cut to four games. But Leftwich got hurt in the preseason finale, leaving coach Mike Tomlin to choose between Dennis Dixon and Charlie Batch.

Dixon is young, athletic and error-prone. He might be put on a short leash or find himself behind Batch, another game manager type. Then again, the Steelers had such little faith in him as Roethlisberger's stand-in that they signed Leftwich.

- FAVRE'S TARGETS

Soon after the 40-year-old quarterback was pried from Mississippi by several Minnesota teammates, he started losing his receivers: Sidney Rice underwent hip surgery, then Percy Harvin had a flare-up of his migraine problems that was so severe he was rushed to a hospital.

Harvin is back and thinks his migraine issue might be under control. Rice, however, is on the physically unable to perform list for at least six games. That led to a trade for Greg Camarillo and the signing of Javon Walker, who'd been unemployed since Oakland dropped him last season.

Grandpa Brett might just have to give the ball to Adrian Peterson more often.

- CAROLINA'S SHUTOUT

The Panthers took 253 snaps this preseason. None resulted in a touchdown.

That's right, their offense went 0-for-the-preseason. The best they could muster was an offensive player, running back Mike Goodson, going 91 yards on a kickoff return.

Sure, Carolina was missing receiver Steve Smith, running back Jonathan Stewart and right tackle Jeff Otah. Matt Moore was taking over as the No. 1 quarterback for the first time and rookie Jimmy Clausen was trying to steal the job. But, still - 253 straight plays without a touchdown?

At least the defense is doing fine without Julius Peppers. The Panthers allowed the fewest yards and second-fewest points. The D even scored a touchdown, on a fumble return by defensive end C.J. Wilson.

- THE TWO-REALITY-HOST OFFENSE

Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco are getting along just fine. They aren't fighting over ratings or receptions.

Ochocinco is calling himself Robin to Owens' Batman, and quarterback Carson Palmer has dubbed himself Alfred, as in the butler to the original dynamic duo. It's a great analogy because Palmer's success revolves around keeping his wideouts happy.

- HEY, UMP!

The league moved umpires from the middle of the defense to behind the deepest running back to get them out of harm's way. The problem is that's still the best perspective, so they were supposed to get back there for the final two minutes of each half.

Then the ump in the Indianapolis-Green Bay game failed to get in position before two plays, leading to a pair of illegal snaps against Peyton Manning. His complaints prompted the league to move the umpires to their old spots for the final five minutes of each half in Thursday's preseason games.

A decision on what to do this season is expected before the opener.

- PRESEASON PREDICTOR

And now, back to the original question. How much can you read into preseason football?

The oddsmakers at Bodog.com saw enough to change the Super Bowl betting line on 18 teams since the start of the exhibition season. The odds got better for only four clubs - and that includes Dallas and Green Bay.

Let's look at some recent history, too.

The last five Super Bowl winners went a combined 12-8 in the preseason, ranging from 1-3 to 3-1; nothing significant there.

When the Patriots went 16-0, they were 2-2 in the games that didn't count.

There was one noteworthy performance: the 2008 Detroit Lions went 4-0 in the preseason - and 0-16 in the regular season.