Pre-Season Power Rankings

We have less than half a week to go, so I thought now is a good time for some highly controversial, highly questionable power rankings… well maybe not but I figured now would be a good time to rate every team 32-1.

So how did I work it out? I sat down at the start of the week and predicted every single game in the coming season and worked out Division Leaders, Playoff winners and Finally the Superbowl (more on this later). Any way after I worked out all these results, I worked out where every team would fit in.

Oh by the way, feel free to hit me up about this on Facebook or Twitter or on a rock thrown through my window. So lets start with the stinkiest NFL team.

32) Oakland Raiders

Probably considerably worse than any other team. I think this teams continual terrible moves in free agency and the draft will finally catch up with a team that is looking just horrific

31) San Diego Chargers

When you close your eyes and hope that Ryan Matthews will carry your team, you have a massive problem. This is an ugly team and I don’t think Rivers will be part of the team next year.

30) Jacksonville Jaguars

I think there will be a noticeable improvement with the Jags and I think they’ll get some wins. But this is still truly work in progress. They really need a stand out QB.

29) New York Jets

A real circus going on with the Jets. But I think towards the end they get a lot better towards the end. I think they can ride the run game to a few wins and I think the Defence is not truly awful. Still this team needs an overhaul.

28) Carolina Panthers

My big prediction is that Defences figure out the Read Option plays, which is a big problem for this team. I question Cam’s ability as a pocket passer and to be honest I question his work ethic. The Defence looks solid, but judging by what we saw in pre-season Cam won’t be able to get the ball to the limited weapons they have in Carolina.

27) Minnesota Vikings

If Defensive Coordinators are smart they will focus on Peterson and nothing else, I would imagine they will be riding him hard this year. Jennings isn’t the WR they needed with someone like Ponder as a QB. Harvin will be a huge miss, as a multi-purpose player that can cause match-up problems. The Defence seems strong, but getting old. I can’t see the Vikings making the play-offs with the huge amount of talent that is in the NFC this year.

26) St Louis Rams

Just Blargh. this team is massively vanilla. An improved O-line means that Bradford doesn’t have any excuses, especially with the addition of Austin. Jackson will be a huge miss and Richardson is not the no. 1 back they need.

25) Buffalo Bills

On paper this is a great team, but there are problems. Whilst Manuel looked solid through pre-season, I would imagine he’ll drop off slightly. As I said earlier, there is some serious talent on this team, mainly in the Running Backs, but there are also some obvious holes. To take the next step they will need to improve the Defence.

24) Detroit Lions

I can’t make my mind up about this team, in truth they could be here or they could be top 15. The Defence looks strong, specifically the D-line. Johnson will have another great season and Bush should provide some points, but I just don’t think they’re that good.

23) Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals could be a surprise package this year. They seem to be going for it with the signing of some veterans on 1 year contracts. Palmer will be a much improved option at QB and bring Fitzgerald back into the game. A strong Defence will keep them in games, but I’m just worried they can’t keep up with the Seahawks and the Niners

22) Tampa Bay Buccaneers

As I have said before, they are this years ‘dream team’, in reference to when the Eagles spent a lot of money and turned it into very few wins. I think Revis will be Revis, but I do worry about the supporting cast. Martin will have his work cut out and I think this might be the last year for Freeman.

21) Tennessee Titans

Another flip-flop team. Whilst Locker looks slightly improved, I still think he’s a liability behind a bad O-line. Johnson looks good however and will push for a serious amount of yards even behind said O-line. The Defence looks pretty good particularly the secondary, but if they get behind I think it’ll be hard for them to push for a win.

20) Pittsburgh Steelers

Massive drop off for this team. I really don’t like Big Ben this year behind a terrible O-line with awful Running Back support. The Wide Receivers look great however, even without Wallace and could be integral to bailing out the Offence. The Defence looks out of sorts and could provide some issues for this team.

19) Cincinnati Bengals

The whole world is high on this team but I can’t see it. I think Dalton has been heavily covered up some amazing talent at Wide Receiver. I think the RB position drops off and the Defence suffers some issues they’ve managed to avoid over the last few years. In the end if they get behind I don’t think they can pull it back.

18) Philadelphia Eagles

Who knows? This team could be amazing, but more than likely they’ll struggle a bit this year. The Defence needs work and they have some serious injuries issues on Offence. In truth this team could be very good…but it might take a few years.

17) New York Giants

Every time this team looks like they’re not worth a damn, they seem to go and win a Superbowl. But this year I think the issues are too much. The Defence has taken a massive step back with a truly awful linebacking corp. At Running Back they’re down to the bare bones. However the D-line look like bruisers and the Wide Receiving Corp look as good as ever. So who knows they might just about push to the play-offs.

16) Washington Redskins

Rg3 was a saviour last year and led this team to the play-offs, this year I think they’ll struggle to do the same. The team seems pretty pedestrian at Defence, so will leave the Offence trying to keep up with the opposition. Don’t get me wrong I think the Offence can score points, I just don’t think enough points.

15) Kansas City Chiefs

A greatly improved team this year. Hopefully an improvement at the QB position will mean less pressure on Jamaal Charles and hopefully he’ll last all-season and score some consistent points for this team. The Defence looks improved on last year too and will hopefully mean that they can keep the score low. Add into this a special teams unit with Dave Toub in charge will mean they should win the field position battle.

14) Miami Dolphins

Another team that spent a ton of money in the Off-Season. It feels like everyone has got off the Dolphins band-wagon after a shaky pre-season, but I still think they’ve got some decent talent. I like how Wallace and Tannehill were linking up towards the end of Pre-Season. The O-line also seemed to gradually improve and hopefully Tannehill will stay upright. The Defence looks great and genuinely scary with Wake and Jordan on the D-line and could help them make a push for the play-offs.

13) Chicago Bears

It goes without saying I like the Bears this year. Anyway after removing the fan from the equation, I discover that this team is actually pretty good. The O-line has 4 replacements and looks hugely improved and might give Cutler more than a second to actually get the ball out of his hand. The Wide Receivers look great and Forte looks set for a huge season. The Defence seems to have weathered the storm of losing Urlacher and looks strong and young. This team could be serious play-off contenders.

12) Indianapolis Colts

I really like this team, specifically I like Andrew Luck, who is set for a monster season. His weapons look fantastic too, the Running Backs, The Wideouts all look set for a huge season. The Defence doesn’t look amazing but I think the Offence can keep this team ahead.

11) Houston Texans

I think this is the season we all figure out the Texans can’t make it with an average QB. Having said that, they do have an amazing O-line, amazing Wide Receivers, amazing Running Backs and an improved Defence, led by JJ Watt. This team will do well, just not win the Play Offs.

10) Cleveland Browns

Probably the biggest shock of the list (well unless I have spoken to you in the last couple of months). This team is awesome. The QB is better than everyone seems to think, the O-line is probably one of the best in the league, the Wide Receivers and Tight Ends are all better than expected and the Running Back corp look awesome. On Defence they look at least top 5. This team will take a massive step forward this year and push for the play-offs…well that’s what i’ll be pushing for.

9) New Orleans Saints

Another greatly improved team this year. Sean Payton is back and I think in a big bad way. YES the Defence is awful, but I think Drew Brees can keep up with pretty much any teams score. But it’s probably not good enough to lead them to multiple playoff wins.

8) Baltimore Ravens

Last years Champions have made some massive changes. There will probably be a drop off on the Offence, but the Defence looks improved. Expect a different ethos in Baltimore and it might cost them a repeat.

7) Seattle Seahawks

This team seems to have improved this year. But I worry that Defences might figure out Wilson as a QB. I think there will be a clear drop off with Wilsons play, but the likes of Lynch and Tate should keep this team competitive, not to mention how good this Defence is. This team will more than likely make the playoffs, I can’t see them winning it all.

6) Green Bay Packers

So once again this team has massive injury concerns, but does this ever really effect anything, especially with the addition of a decent Running Game. The Defence looks strong enough to keep the Packers in the game and Rodgers will still look amazing despite the lack of a decent O-line.

5) Atlanta Falcons

Another year. Another great Offence. Another bad Defence. But this Offence looks good enough to deal with these issues and take this team to the Play-Offs and probably to the same round as last year, but almost certainly not to the Superbowl.

4) Denver Broncos

So this Pre-Season has been kind of a nightmare for this team. They have a ton of injuries and suffered an embarrassing loss to the Seahawks, not to mention the issues with Von Miller and the strange manner they lost Dumervil. That being said, this is an immensely talented squad. They should be challenging for the Superbowl and should be disappointed with anything less than an AFC Championship game.

3) San Francisco 49ers

The Niners are another team with a ton of injuries. But they are so deep it doesn’t really matter. Kaepernick looked as comfortable as a pocket passer as he did making runs and this team is surprisingly deep at both Running Back and Wide Receiver, not to mention how amazing this Defence is. It would be no surprise of this team made another Superbowl.

2) Dallas Cowboys

Probably another surprise to most people but I really like this team. They have a great Running Back Corp and probably the best Wide Receiving Corp in the game. The Defence looks great and will start scoring points with Kiffen and Marinelli in charge. They do have a relatively inexperienced O-Line, but I think this truly could be Romo’s year and I don’t think he’ll let anything stop that.

1) New England Patriots

Too obvious? This team also had a ton of issues over the off-season, but they have weathered that with professionalism and look better than they have in a long time. The Running Backs look incredible, the Rookie Receivers look great and the Defence looks serviceable. Add into the mix Rob Gronkowski and Danny Amendola. The you have a truly great team.

So I would imagine everyone has some serious disagreements with this. If so feel free to contact me. Anyway enjoy the season guys, it’s very very soon.

Main Image: Stephen Brashear/Associated Press

Featured Image: Michael Zagaris/Getty Images