It’s Time for Some Teams to Learn a Valuable Lesson

Proving yet again that NFL owners are richer than anyone deserves to be, Forbes magazine Thursday released its sixth annual rankings of team valuations. Three franchises -- Washington, Dallas and New England -- top $1 billion in estimated value, and the average value of NFL franchises climbed 12% in the last year.

But where is the value on the field? Which teams are on a Google-esque ascent, and which

are on the verge of being

de-listed?

A look at the teams, in order of estimated value (in millions), and which way they’re trending heading into the regular season:

Washington Redskins ($1,264) -- Linebacker LaVar Arrington, who barely played last season because of a knee injury, looked outstanding in a reserve role against Pittsburgh last week. He made three tackles, forced Ben Roethlisberger to rush a pass that fell incomplete, and just missed making an interception. He should boost an already robust Redskin defense.

Dallas Cowboys ($1,063) -- The Cowboys averaged 18 points over the last two seasons, and they’ll have to do better than that to win more games. Drew Bledsoe has looked so-so this summer, and his offensive line has looked worse than that.

New England Patriots ($1,040) -- In the third exhibition game -- often the most telling because it’s when starters log the most time -- the Patriots looked outstanding. They posted a 27-3 victory at Green Bay, and, in building a 20-3 lead, New

England’s No. 1 offense ran as smoothly as it did under former coordinator Charlie Weis.

Philadelphia Eagles ($952) -- OK, so Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens aren’t chumming around the clubhouse. They got along just fine on the field in an exhibition win over Cincinnati -- five completions for 131 yards and a touchdown in one half.

Houston Texans ($946) -- It’s a good thing for the Texans that they open at Buffalo -- something short of a powerhouse opponent -- because Houston’s offense looked horrible in an exhibition loss at Dallas. David Carr completed seven of 19 passes for 52 yards with two interceptions, one in the end zone.

Denver Broncos ($907) -- Getting rid of Maurice Clarett will lighten anyone’s load. And the Bronco defensive line is really rounding into shape. Denver collected 12 sacks in its first three exhibition games.

Cleveland Browns ($892) -- Romeo Crennel built his reputation on keeping teams out of the end zone. Unfortunately for the former New England defensive coordinator, that reputation has followed him to Cleveland -- so far, his team can’t score.

Carolina Panthers ($878) -- Yes, the Panthers were among the league’s hottest teams in the second half of the 2004 season, following a 1-7 start by winning six of eight. But, as other jinx victims will attest, it isn’t necessarily a good thing to make the cover of Sports Illustrated before the season begins.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers ($877) -- The directive from Jon Gruden: Let’s have some better first quarters this season. Reality: Same old sluggish, stumbling starts.

Chicago Bears ($871) -- When Rex Grossman went down because of an ankle injury, the Bear offense collapsed along with him. New starting quarterback Kyle Orton isn’t going to threaten Roethlisberger’s rookie numbers.

Baltimore Ravens ($864) -- Kyle Boller needs to prove he can lift the Ravens to playoff-caliber performances, and Rick Neuheisel can help him do that. Running back Chester Taylor has looked excellent in filling in for Jamal Lewis. But Baltimore needs all the help it can get in its opener against Indianapolis.

Miami Dolphins ($856) -- Before the Dolphins can solve the problem that has plagued them for years -- their defense is significantly better than their offense -- they need to settle on a quarterback. Who is going to rise above retread status, Gus Frerotte or A.J. Feeley?

Green Bay Packers ($849) -- They played well in their first two exhibition games, but the Packers couldn’t muster much offense in the third against the Patriots. Ahman Green’s court troubles stemming from an incidence of domestic violence haven’t helped keep the focus on football.

Tennessee Titans ($839) -- Looking bad in the exhibition season is one thing. Looking bad in the exhibition season against San Francisco is another. The Titans need to be a lot sharper if they hope to win their opener at Pittsburgh.

Seattle Seahawks ($823) -- With just-signed Peter Warrick, the Seahawks can be reasonably sure they have one receiver on the roster who can hold on to

the ball. That’s a rare find in Seattle.

Pittsburgh Steelers ($820) -- Let’s see, in the first three exhibition games the No. 1 offense had zero touchdowns, failed on 80% of its third-down tries, and turned over the ball three times. Paging Mr. Hines Ward. Mr. Hines Ward, please pick up the red courtesy phone.

New York Giants ($806) -- Eli Manning appears to be ahead of schedule in recovering from his sprained throwing elbow. Rookie cornerback Corey Webster is looking like a second-round steal.

Detroit Lions ($780) -- The Lions played so poorly the other night, they needed a pep talk from tight end Marcus Pollard. Pollard has built up a lot of credibility in the Lion locker room, and why not? He has been there exactly zero seasons.

Kansas City Chiefs ($762) -- It’s troubling news for Chief fans that quarterback Trent Green is having circulation problems in his leg, problems that led to surgery this week. Green says he’ll be back for the opener. If Green can’t start against the Jets, the job goes to inexperienced Jonathan Quinn.

St. Louis Rams ($757) -- The Ram offense has looked good this summer, and Steven

Jackson appears more than ready to pick up the pace on the ground.

New York Jets ($739) -- John Abraham’s teammates were so excited to have him back, they applauded when he took the practice field for the first time after ending his holdout.

New Orleans Saints ($718) -- With all that’s on their minds -- including finding a place to call home -- it would be remarkable if the Saints could focus on football. Then again, it would be an inspiring story if they could bring a scintilla of happiness to that city.

Cincinnati Bengals ($716) -- Declaring there needs to be a “sense of urgency” to improve, Marvin Lewis said the Bengals are not here to be average. In years past, average would have sufficed.

Indianapolis Colts ($715) -- Yes, preseason records don’t count. But there could be a significant psychological effect to the Colts’ losing their first four exhibition games.

Buffalo Bills ($708) -- Watch out, Bill fans. There could be some bumpy times ahead with the unpredictable J.P. Losman at the wheel.

San Francisco 49ers ($699) -- Now that they’ve decided to let Tim Rattay take some lumps instead of rookie quarterback Alex Smith, the 49ers can work on getting their offensive line in sync. There has been some progress on that front.

Jacksonville Jaguars ($691) -- The Jaguars can take solace in two things: Their defense looks pretty good, and even if their offense is lousy, the game probably will be blacked out anyway.

Atlanta Falcons ($690) -- Even though the Falcons haven’t had consecutive winning seasons in 39 years, they are poised to end that drought. With four prime-time games, they’ll have plenty of incentive to keep the adrenaline coursing.

San Diego Chargers ($678) -- The Chargers already are without Antonio Gates for their opener against Dallas, and now there’s a chance they won’t have linebacker Shawne Merriman.

Oakland Raiders ($676) -- Despite starting the exhibition season 0-3, the Raiders didn’t look bad. In fact, Kerry Collins looked promising -- when he wasn’t getting the ball knocked out of his hands. But they’ll have to be at their best to hang with New England in the opener.

Arizona Cardinals ($673) -- Kurt Warner playing for Dennis Green, an expert at squeezing at least one good year out of an older quarterback. What’s not to like? Then again, we are talking the Cardinals ...

Minnesota Vikings ($658) -- Don’t underestimate the loss of center Matt Birk. Losing the reliable anchor of your offensive line just before a big game can be a big problem. Just ask the Raiders how hard it was to lose center Barret Robbins on the eve of the Super Bowl.

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

The Forbes 32

Forbes magazine’s sixth annual valuations of NFL franchises:

*--* Rank Franchise Current 1-yr Change Debt/ Revenue Oper. Inc. Rank Value in Value Value ($mil) ($mil) ($mil) 1 Washington $1,264 15% 19% $287 $53.8 Redskins 2 Dallas Cowboys $1,063 15% 19% $231 $54.3 3 New England $1,040 21% 29% $236 $50.5 Patriots 4 Philadelphia $952 14% 35% $216 $24.5 Eagles 5 Houston Texans $946 5% 45% $215 $41.3 6 Denver Broncos $907 11% 22% $202 $49.4 7 Cleveland Browns $892 12% 11% $203 $41.1 8 Carolina Panthers $878 16% 14% $195 $24.3 9 Tampa Bay $877 13% 16% $195 $45.4 Buccaneers 10 Chicago Bears $871 11% 22% $193 $40.1 11 Baltimore Ravens $864 11% 32% $192 $32.7 12 Miami Dolphins $856 12% 23% $190 $15.8 13 Green Bay Packers $849 12% 4% $189 $35.4 14 Tennessee Titans $839 14% 15% $186 $35.1 15 Seattle Seahawks $823 16% 14% $183 $14.4 16 Pittsburgh $820 14% 12% $182 $36.5 Steelers 17 New York Giants $806 17% 8% $175 $26.7 18 Detroit Lions $780 4% 39% $186 $15.4 19 Kansas City $762 7% 16% $181 $31.0 Chiefs 20 St. Louis Rams $757 7% 13% $176 $39.8 21 New York Jets $739 8% 14% $172 $12.0 22 New Orleans $718 15% 17% $175 $42.6 Saints 23 Cincinnati $716 6% 14% $171 $45.6 Bengals 24 Indianapolis $715 17% 22% $166 $16.4 Colts 25 Buffalo Bills $708 11% 10% $173 $36.1 26 San Francisco $699 10% 14% $171 $43.6 49ers 27 Jacksonville $691 1% 18% $169 $34.6 Jaguars 28 Atlanta Falcons $690 14% 40% $168 $26.8 29 San Diego $678 9% 15% $165 $32.8 Chargers 30 Oakland Raiders $676 8% 8% $169 $7.8 31 Arizona Cardinals $673 22% 12% $153 $16.2 32 Minnesota Vikings $658 9% 48% $164 $15.6 League Average $819 12% 20% $188 $32.4

*--*