NFL power rankings: New York Giants No. 21 in preseason rankings

Who doesn't love NFL power rankings?

I mean, everyone must love them since they dominate the NFL calendar. There are the regular season power rankings, the somewhat random power rankings from the "dog days" of summer, the rankings surrounding the draft...

Well NFL.com has released their first preseason power rankings Tuesday afternoon, updating their post-draft rankings from May 5. So where did the New York Giants land?

Back then the Giants were ranked 26th overall, and NFL.com had this to say about them:

Could this be the nobody-is-noticing team of 2015? Does anyone talk about the Giants competing for the playoffs? (If so, his name is either George Martin, Harry Carson or Howard Cross.)

Are the Cowboys dominant? No. The defense is mediocre with serious character concerns -- and maybe one less Twitter account -- in the pass-rush department. Oh, and no DeMarco.

Philly has new personnel and a bunch of questions to go with it -- like, who will play all 16 games?

The Redskins have a giant question mark at the most important position in football.

So why not Big Blue?

Oh, did this team ever need Landon Collins, by the way.

At the time, the Cowboys were ranked fifth, the Eagles were ranked 12th, and the Redskins were ranked 28th.

What has three months of mini-camps, OTA's, free agent signings, and a couple injuries, done for the Giants' --and the rest of the NFC East, for that matter -- ranking?

Now, the Giants are ranked 21st in the NFL, with Elliot Harrison explaining the Giants' ranking by saying:

It's always nice to have your GM pressing the pressure button while you're still practicing in shorts in early August.

Twenty-eight points per game -- the bar Jerry Reese set for his team earlier this month -- might seem like a tall order for this offense, what with New York's weight-room-depleted offensive line, an oft-injured starting tailback and a key wideout coming off major knee surgery.

Then you look around at the other defenses in the NFC East. "Make that 35, guys. I think we should score 35 points per game."

Meanwhile Dallas is still ranked fifth, Philadelphia is still ranked 12th, and Washington has rocketed up one spot to 27th.

Dallas (No. 5):

Everyone is so worried about the running back position on this team. What about the defense? Sure, new addition Greg Hardy and rookie Randy Gregory could make this group much better, but they're not without red flags. Still, with Tony Romo at quarterback, that offensive line and the best wide receiver in the NFC ( Dez Bryant), Dallas is legit. # Megatronblasphemy

Philadelphia (No. 12):

Not sure any other coach who hasn't won a Coach of the Year award -- or, for that matter, a single playoff game -- could get as much attention as Chip Kelly. Meanwhile, the real issues get lost in the media blitz. They are, in order:

a) Will the addition of Byron Maxwell clean up the secondary play?
b) How effective will the offensive line be with new faces replacing Evan Mathis and Todd Herremans?
c) Can DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews stay healthy enough to make that O-line matter?
d) Will rookie receiver Nelson Agholor develop like Jordan Matthews did last year -- and can the latter take a step forward? (Matthews looks fantastic, by the way.)
e) Will Sam Bradford stay healthy (and is the gap between Bradford and Mark Sanchez really that wide)?

Washington (No. 27):

Gotta like what those Redskins have done to shore up the defense. Terrance Knighton and Stephen Paea instantly make that front line better. Ryan Kerrigan's new running mate on the outside, Junior Galette, could make Kerrigan more effective, as long as Galette stays on the straight and narrow. Adding Chris Culliver and Dashon Goldson to the mix sure doesn't hurt. Wow, 21-on-21, this team should compete -- too bad about that 22nd guy at quarterback.

So what do we make of the Giants' rankings? Basically that Harrison thinks that the Giants are a .500 team. And that's a fair stance to take.

Big Blue has questions all over the roster, young players who still have much to prove. Before they can even begin to answer those questions it's impossible to look at them as anything BUT questions. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that the roster is devoid of talent.

What is interesting is how highly Dallas and Philadelphia are rated despite the questions on their roster.

What do you think Big Blue View? Where would you rank the Giants?