Scouting Reports

HOW DR. Z RANKS 'EM

1 St. Louis Rams
2 Pittsburgh Steelers
3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
4 New England Patriots
5 San Francisco 49ers
6 Green Bay Packers
7 Chicago Bears
8 Philadelphia Eagles
9 Miami Dolphins
10 Tennessee Titans
11 Oakland Raiders
12 Indianapolis Colts
13 New York Jets
14 Denver Broncos
15 Dallas Cowboys
16 Buffalo Bills
17 New York Giants
18 Washington Redskins
19 Atlanta Falcons
20 Seattle Seahawks
21 Cleveland Browns
22 Minnesota Vikings
23 Cincinnati Bengals
24 Jacksonville Jaguars
25 New Orleans Saints
26 Kansas City Chiefs
27 Arizona Cardinals
28 Detroit Lions
29 Baltimore Ravens
30 San Diego Chargers
31 Houston Texans
32 Carolina Panthers

COLOR PHOTO: PHOTOGRAPH BY HEINZ KLUETMEIER HIGH MARKS Running back Amos Zereoue will help put the Steelers over the top in the AFC.

PLAYER VALUE RANKINGS (PVR)

We ranked the NFL's offensive backs, receivers, kickers and
return men from 1 (the best) to 500, based on our projections of
their statistical production this season. The categories
considered were scoring (touchdowns, field goals, extra points),
long scoring plays (25 yards or more), big-game potential (300
yards passing or 100 yards rushing or receiving) and passing
efficiency. We also took into account each player's career
statistics as well as his role on his team, his prospects for
improving or declining, his injury history and his physical
condition. Using these criteria, we determined each player's
value ranking, or PVR, which appears next to his name in his
team's projected lineup.

Projected lineups and Player Value Rankings compiled by David
Sabino

CNNSI.com For the complete list of PVRs by position, go to
cnnsi.com/fantasy. For NFL scores, team pages, rosters and
individual and team statistics, plus the latest news and
analysis from Peter King and Dr. Z, go to cnnsi.com/football.

HOW THEY'LL FINISH

NFC EAST PROJECTED RECORD

Eagles (8) 11-5
Cowboys (15) 8-8
Giants (17) 7-9
Redskins (18) 7-9

NFC NORTH

Packers (6) 11-5
Bears* (7) 11-5
Vikings (22) 7-9
Lions (28) 5-11

NFC SOUTH

Buccaneers (3) 13-3
Falcons (19) 7-9
Saints (25) 5-11
Panthers (32) 3-13

NFC WEST

Rams (1) 12-4
49ers* (5) 11-5
Seahawks (20) 8-8
Cardinals (27) 6-10

AFC EAST PROJECTED RECORD

Patriots (4) 10-6
Dolphins* (9) 9-7
Jets (13) 9-7
Bills (16) 9-7

AFC NORTH

Steelers (2) 11-5
Browns (21) 8-8
Bengals (23) 7-9
Ravens (29) 5-11

AFC SOUTH

Titans (10) 11-5
Colts* (12) 9-7
Jaguars (24) 6-10
Texans (31) 3-13

AFC WEST

Raiders (11) 10-6
Broncos (14) 7-9
Chiefs (26) 6-10
Chargers (30) 4-12

OVERALL RANK IN PARENTHESES
*WILD CARD TEAM

WILD-CARD PLAYOFFS

NFC Packers over Bears
49ers over Eagles

AFC Dolphins over Raiders
Patriots over Colts

DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS

NFC Rams over Packers
Buccaneers over 49ers

AFC Dolphins over Titans
Steelers over Patriots

CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES

NFC Rams over Buccaneers
AFC Steelers over Dolphins

SUPER BOWL XXXVII

Rams 27, Steelers 24