New Year’s Eve Power Rankings
Building off my theme of “holiday power rankings” that I started this year by doing my last power rankings on Thanksgiving, I’m going to look back at the NFL season going into week 17. Now, without further adieu…
- Arizona Cardinals (13-2): This team is hot right now. It has not allowed more than 20 points since week 11 against the Bengals and has scored more than 20 points in every game sans week 12 (19 against the 49ers). A 206 point differential is also telling of all that this team can do.
- Cincinnati Bengals (11-4): Just took a hard, OT loss to the Broncos and lost a chance to secure a first round playoff bye (but can still get it with a win and if DEN loses on Sunday) but the team looked like it was firing on all cylinders for most of the game. The defense has allowed more than 21 points only four times (2-2 in those games) and the offence is strong with players like Green, Hill, Sanu, Jones, and Bernard. Having a healthy Dalton will go a long way in the playoffs, though.
- Carolina Panthers (14-1): Bad loss against the Falcons that showed a lot of issues with this team that had been covered up by a very lack-luster schedule. As of right now, only one opponent has 10 wins (Packers) and the only other team that the Panthers faced that has the chance to get that many is the Seahawks. The NFC South got a lucky draw on facing the AFC South and NFC East this year and the Panthers capitalized on that.
- Denver Broncos (11-4): What was a rough loss for the Bengals was a much-needed rebound for the Broncos. After losing two straight in which the offense and defense could not seem to get on the same page, Denver picked it up and got a close win. The win was also the ninth time DEN had not allowed more than 20 points this season. However, there are still a lot of concerns about the offense and if the defense will continue to be balanced (ex: Steelers and Raiders loses).
- New York Jets (10-5): Ryan Fitzpatrick, Brandon Marshall, and Eric Decker are playing possibly the best football of their careers, are fresh off an OT victory against the Patriots, and the defense has not allowed more than 20 points since week 11 against the Texans and hasn’t allowed more than 20 points in a game nine times this season, just like the Broncos. Also, it is a healthy team, which will be huge if the Jets hold on to their playoff spot.
- Minnesota Vikings (10-5): Bouncing back from back-to-back losses against the Seahawks and Cardinals to dismantle both the Bears and Giants in back-to-back weeks by a combined score of 87-34. I still cannot figure out how this team managed to lose week one to the 49ers…
- New England Patriots (12-3): They are the projected number one seed in the AFC, so why are they so low? Simple, actually. They have lost three of their last five, pass rushes have destroyed the offensive line and ruined the offensive rhythm, and the injuries are piling up higher and higher. Plenty of time for that to change come the playoffs since they do have the first round bye, but New England is limping into the playoffs, not surging.
- Kansas City Chiefs (10-5): The second hottest team in the league right now, behind the Cardinals, with nine straight wins. One more win, and a DEN loss, and the Chiefs are looking at a division win, not a wild card slot. The points against them are the same as the ones against the Panthers; the Chiefs have not had many top opponents to face during the winning streak outside of Denver and Pittsburgh. The Chiefs also lost earlier this season to the Vikings, Packers, Bengals, and Broncos (first game).
- Seattle Seahawks (9-6): This team just cannot get past the Rams this season. Outside of that loss, though, Seattle has been playing well in what was a five game winning streak that the Rams snapped. The defense has also bounced back from the Steelers and Cardinals games to allow just over 12 points per game in the five of their last seven games (excluding the Steelers and Cardinals games).
- Pittsburgh Steelers (9-6): This team is a model of inconsistency. A chance to stay in the race for the AFC North was destroyed by losing to the Ravens for the second time this season. And this time, people didn’t have the kicker or the back-up QB to blame. The offense and defense have not been on the same much this season, but when they are, that makes Pittsburgh very dangerous.
- Washington Redskins (8-7): This team is quietly getting stronger as the season progresses. Yes, Washington plays in a poor division and that has helped with this playoff spot, but Kirk Cousins has thrown for over 300 yards in four of his past five games (4-1 in those games) and the Redskins have a 6-1 record in games that Cousins throws for 300 or more yards.
- Green Bay Packers (10-6): The opposite of the Redskins right now in that the team is getting worse as the season progresses. Green Bay was thoroughly embarrassed by the Cardinals and the offensive line looked like a wet paper-towel, allowing more sacks (9) than the team had points (8). Also, forget 300 yards (which Rodgers has eclipsed only three times this season), Aaron Rodgers has thrown for over 250 yards only ONCE in the past six games.
- Houston Texans (8-7): This team has used four different quarterbacks and yet still has a chance to win the AFC South. Yes, it’s a weak division right now, but Houston has stayed resilient despite opening the season 2-5. Having Brian Hoyer back will really help with the projected week one rematch of the Chiefs at the Texans for the first round of the playoffs.
- Atlanta Falcons (8-7): If Dan Quinn can get his team to be consistent and play the way it did against the Panthers all season long, the Falcons might win a Super Bowl in the very near future. Matt Ryan can be a top tier and bottom tier QB from one play to the next and the defense has been maddeningly inconsistent. The Falcons will have to look long and hard at the streak of eight games where they lost seven of them and find a way to fix those issues and be better than a middling team.
- St. Louis Rams (7-8): Another team that was so utterly inconsistent and was mired in a long losing streak in the middle of the season (five game stretch for St. L) but yet can beat the Seahawks twice, the Cardinals once, and play the Steelers and Vikings very closely. It comes down to this: the Rams need offensive weapons to help Todd Gurley and whoever will be the next QB.
- Buffalo Bills (7-8): Win a game, lose a game, win two games, lose two games, and on and on and on… That is the Bills season in a nutshell. Have only won back-to-back games once this season and part of that was a victory against the Jets in New York.
- Oakland Raiders (7-8): Another team that looked like an early season playoff surprise that fell apart swiftly. Something that is alarming to me about Oakland is that Latavius Murray has rushed for over 100 yards only twice this season and has not done so since week 10.
- Indianapolis Colts (7-8): Barley alive in the playoff race right now but that is the least of the Colts worries. Neither Andrew Luck, Matt Hasselbeck, nor Charlie Whitehurst have been able to get the offense going despite the big free agents the Colts brought in. It’s a bad O-line and that’s one reason why the Colts have not had a 100 yard rushing game this season and why the QBs have thrown for over 300 yards only three times, twice by Luck.
- Detroit Lions (6-9): Started the season off colder than the polar ice caps but have won five of their last seven games. There is no running game to speak off for the Lions and they have only had one game where a receiver has had over 100 yards and that was Calvin Johnson back in week six.
- Chicago Bears (6-9): Add some healthy pass catchers and Chicago might be in the playoff race. Chicago has been playing constantly inconstant this season and looks to have an exciting off season with Matt Forte and Alshon Jeffery having their future with the organization be in question.
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-9): Another team that has been inconsistent this season, especially down the stretch, but it is a team with a solid future. Jameis Winston has played well once you look past week one and he has had only two games this season where he threw for under 200 yards (1-1 in those games). Doug Martin being a FA after this season does make things interesting for TB at running back.
- New York Giants (6-9): Could Tom Coughlin be on his way out? That is anyone’s guess but he did get his team to play the Patriots and the Panthers in some very close games. He has not been able to handle OBJ though, and that could be an issue down the road.
- Philadelphia Eagles (6-9): Chip Kelly is gone so it could be a brand new team next year. Sam Bradford is a FA, although he has had some of his best games in the last few weeks, so the offense, at the very least, will change and try to include DeMarco Murray more in order to justify his large contract.
- New Orleans Saints (6-9): Set a NFL record for passing touchdowns against last week as the Saints were in a dogfight against the Jaguars last week. The defense is dreadful as it held opponents to under 20 points only once this season. The offense is potent but yet stalls out at the most random of times (ex: Texans, Redskins, first Buccaneers game).
- Jacksonville Jaguars (5-10): Blake Bortels is progressing as a quarterback and he has developed a great rapport with his wideouts in Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns. The defense should be the focus of the off-season with possibly a little more offensive line help, too.
- San Diego Chargers (4-11): A lot of injuries to play through this year as well as the lackluster rookie season that Melvin Gordon has been having.
- Baltimore Ravens (5-10): Strong win against Pittsburgh to sweep the season series despite a QB who just joined the team less than two weeks ago, no starting WR, RB, or LB, and a plethora of penalties. Could be a very interesting bounce-back, worst-to-first team next year.
- Miami Dolphins (5-10): The Dolphins replaced their coach and still are a bad team. No idea how to handle Lamar Miller and there really is not much to look forward to with this team. And Ndamukong Suh has been a huge waste of money but who did not see that coming.
- San Francisco 49ers (4-11): A scattered win here and there for SF has made a bad season look a little better. There is not a position on this roster that is not in need of an upgraded.
- Dallas Cowboys (4-11): The defense took a step back after being surprisingly good last year but the offense fell apart without DeMarco Murray to hand the ball off to and without having Tony Romo throw the ball around. With Dez Bryant also being injured, it illustrated the huge depth issue the Cowboys have.
- Cleveland Browns (3-12): If Johnny Manziel had started the season at QB and the Browns actually had someone on the team worth throwing the ball to, it would be a different story. However, he seems unable to keep himself in the role with his off the field antics. Even when the Browns try to build some stability, it falls apart. Cleveland will never be a winning franchise until it becomes a stable one, and that means not firing coaches and GMs every three years.
- Tennessee Titans (3-12): Had the second overall pick last season and this is the best your team can do? Marcus Mariota getting hurt didn’t help the issue but the running game has been lack-luster, the wide receiver play has been dreadful (eight times the TE Delanie Walker has been the leading receiver and only once did he have over 100 yds). TE Anthony Fasano lead once, RB Antonio Andrews once), and the defense is not able to stop a nosebleed. Titans are in desperate need of help everywhere.
Thanksgiving Power Rankings
I know it’s been a while since I’ve done some NFL power rankings. Or blogged in general. This thing called college keeps getting in the way haha. But I thought to myself, as I watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, waiting for the Pikachu balloon, I should slap down some power rankings now for the season so far. So, without further adieu:
- New England Patriots (10-0): Super Bowl champs and have yet to be defeated. So they’re still number one in my books.
- Carolina Panthers (10-0): I wasn’t high on them when they started the season hot but the team is getting better. Hasn’t been the toughest of schedules but had some impressive wins like the Packers game.
- Arizona Cardinals (8-2): Impressive blend of offense and defense on this team so far and the most points scored (336) as of today. Palmer is looking like he did years ago in Cincinnati.
- Cincinnati Bengals (8-2): Speaking of Cinci, yes they’re on a two game losing streak but there is still a lot to like about the Bengals. Only question is if they’ll ever get over the “prime-time curse” that has plagued them for so long.
- Green Bay Packers (7-3): Rough three game losing streak but the Pack bounced back very nicely against the Vikings. Needs more consistency though if the team wants to make a long playoff run.
- Denver Broncos (8-2): Got this far because of the defense (183 points against is the 2nd lowest in the NFL) but the inclusion of Osweiler to the offense may be what the team needed – to get away from Manning.
- Minnesota Vikings (7-3): Rough loss when the team had a chance to capture the NFC North against the Packers last week, but this team has enough to make a strong playoff run. One issue? O-Line play.
- Pittsburgh Steelers (6-4): Injuries have plagued this team and the Steelers have a penchant for playing down to some opponents (see: Raiders game, Ravens game) so those, combined with a tough 2nd half schedule could be enough to keep PIT out of the playoffs.
- New York Giants (5-5): Might be in a bad division, but has had some tough loses this season really because of clock management. Might have three more wins if the end-of-game clock had been better worked, including a win over the Pats.
- Kansas City Chiefs (5-5): A team I wrote off after the injury to Jamaal Charles but this team is trending up. Four wins in a row, including over the Steelers and Broncos, plus an easy end-of-season schedule, it could be a winning formula for KC.
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-5): Winston is getting better, the team is working through its rough aspects. Is it enough to make the playoffs? Probably not, but it’s a good place to build off of.
- Houston Texans (5-5): Have they figured themselves out? Allowed only 29 points in the last three games! A bad AFC South is wide open for Houston and I’m sure JJ Watt would love a chance to wreck some playoff havoc.
- Seattle Seahawks (5-5): A very hot-and-cold offense that isn’t being helped by a slide in the overall play of the defense. A late season surge might grab the 6th seed, though.
- Buffalo Bills (5-5): Not a very impressive team but not a terrible one, either. No terrible loses (except the first NE game, maybe CIN) but no real grand wins (except the Dolphins) either. A middle-of-the-road team.
- Atlanta Falcons (6-4): ATL has been Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde this season. Started 5-0, now 1-4 since, against some bad opponents, too.
- New York Jets (5-5): Like ATL, trending the wrong way right now. Since barely losing to the Patriots, it’s like the Jets have played in opposite fashion. Need to bounce back in swift fashion if NY wants a playoff shot.
- Indianapolis Colts (5-5): The only quality tin to Indy’s credit was beating the Broncos. A team that has won more with Matt Hasselbeck than with Andrew Luck. High expectations are falling very low right now in Indy.
- St. Louis Rams (4-6): Another odd team, wins some big games (Seahawks, Cardinals) but lose ones they should dominate on paper (Ravens, 49ers). And the offense is really a mess right now.
- Oakland Raiders (4-6): A team with a lot of promise early in the season have started to fall. May not be ready for the playoffs now, but could be there sooner rather than later.
- Chicago Bears (4-6): Finding a way to win without the starting WRs this season, no Matt Forte, and other injuries. And played the Broncos very closely last week.
- Jacksonville Jaguars (4-6): The offense is progressing nicely right now behind Blake Bortles. The defense still needs a shot-in-the-arm in some sort. Still a shame that Dante Fowler Jr. is out for the season. It’d be interesting to see what he could do for them.
- Washington Redskins (4-6): Blows out the Saints one week then gets blown out the next by the Panthers. A little more consistency and this team has a good shot at the NFC East.
- Philadelphia Eagles (4-6): I was a believer after watching the Eagles dispatch the Saints, Giants, and Cowboys in strong fashion. Then they fell out of my favor after two hard looses to the Dolphins and Buccaneers. Mathematically still in a strong playoff race. Realistically, not so much.
- Detroit Lions (3-7): Team was able to hold down the Packers and snag a victory in Green Bay. This team may be a mess, but it’s found a way to win a few games despite its mess.
- Dallas Cowboys (3-7): Tony Romo is 3-0 on the season, Cowboys are 0-7 without him. Romo beat the Giants because of poor clock management by NY, the Eagles, and the Dolphins. I don’t see anything impressive about that.
- San Francisco 49ers (3-7): Another team that’s been able to win a few games despite itself. Beat the Vikings and the Falcons. But SanFran will have quite the interesting offseason, that’s all but certain.
- Miami Dolphins (4-6): Won three games for the interim head coach. But the defense has allowed less than 21 points only three times this season (won two) and the offense has scored more than 21 points only twice the season (both wins) it’s a mess in South Beach.
- San Diego Chargers (2-8): I really do believe that without the plethora of injuries this team has gone through, this team would be in the playoff hunt. But alas, that isn’t so. So they’re stuck down in the bottom.
- Cleveland Browns (2-8): Has had some close loses and some bad loses this season. The biggest issue? Handling Johnny Manziel. He gives the team the best chance to win and yet the team can’t get him to behave to stay under center.
- New Orleans Saints (4-6): Four wins and a bottom three team? Yeah, when you look at how bad that defense is. Has allowed less than 21 points only once this season but allowed more than 30 five times.
- Baltimore Ravens (3-7): Oh the injuries. Baltimore has had more than its fair share of bad luck this season. But if a team could go from worst to first next season, it could be the Ravens with a good upcoming draft pick.
- Tennessee Titans (2-8): Another team that’s really become a mess. Winston started cold and has gotten hot, it’s the opposite for Marcus Mariota. Yes, he had a little injury issues earlier in the season but there really isn’t anything to look forward to when it comes to the Titans.
Week 6 NFL Power Rankings
Why week six? Because I do my power-rankings going into the NFL week, not coming out of the past one. This is the 6th week of the NFL and here is where the teams stand after.
- New England Patriots (4-0): reigning Super Bowl champs and has yet to be defeated. It’s as simple as that. But how much will the loss of Nate Solder hurt? Change: None
- Green Bay Packers (5-0): Still the third most net points in the NFC with the toughest schedule of those three teams. Change: None
- Cincinnati Bengals (5-0): What a game against the Seahawks. Had the lead, came from behind, won in OT, made great adjustments as the game went on, and the offense has more weapons than just AJ Green. Change: None
- Arizona Cardinals (4-1): Dominating win against the Lions last week. Team is firing on all cylinders and is first in the NFL in total points scored and point differential but do have a very big test this week at Pittsburgh. Change: Up 1
- Denver Broncos (5-0): Undefeated but by the skin of their teeth so far yet again. Beat the Raiders, barely, and the defense is doing all the heavy lifting for the team. Still waiting for the offense to do… something. Change: Down 1
- New York Jets (3-1): Coming off of a bye week and came in time to help the team rest up and, oh, let’s not forget that Sheldon Richardson is back from his suspension, making the D-line even deeper and more fearsome. Change: None
- Atlanta Falcons (5-0): Escaped the Redskins by the skin of their teeth by a pick-6 in OT. Redskins exposed some issues that might come back to hurt the Redskins. Change: None
- Minnesota Vikings (2-2): This week will show if the Vikings were able to make any good changes during the bye week to the offensive line.
- Seattle Seahawks (2-3): In a heartbreaking loss to the Bengals, the team showed a lot of improvement. Big issue is, though, is that the defense did give up a three score lead in the 4th quarter. Change: Up 3
- New York Giants (3-2): A solid win against the 49ers and the offense is trending up (7th in points and passing yards, 9th in total yards) and, with the Cowboys in such disarray, the Giants are prime to take a solid divisional lead in the next two weeks. Change: Up 3
- Carolina Panthers (4-0): Panthers needed to make some huge bye-week changes to keep up with the Falcons right now. This team is similar to the Broncos; little offense, strong defense. Change: Down 1
- Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2): A team that really didn’t need to struggle against the Chargers as much as it did. Defense showed up and Vick/the offense only looked good for about 8 minutes of play. But SD was the easiest team for PIT to play on the schedule stretch that is without Ben. Change: Down 1
- St. Louis Rams (2-3): The Rams were even able to keep Packers more-or-less in check. Lack of offense is really killing this team, though, and that could continue a decline. But, seriously, how good is Todd Gurley? Change: Down 4
- Buffalo Bills (3-2): Struggled far more with the Titans than anyone really expected Buffalo to. Could be a sign that the Bills are pretenders, not contenders. Change: None
- Indianapolis Colts (3-2): Dominance within the AFC South continued for the Colts after defeating the Texans. Got some production from big off-season players in Andre Johnson and Frank Gore. Defense, though, still shaky. Change: Up 3
- Cleveland Browns (2-3): A strong win in OT against the Ravens, playing comeback with McCown at QB for most of it. CLE is still missing some aspects to become a playoff team, but the team has fight. Change: Up 6
- San Diego Chargers (2-3): Had chances to bury the Steelers and looked ever so impressive on the first drive. But the defense faltered and the offensive line is in complete shambles. Change: Down 2
- Oakland Raiders (2-3): Kept the Broncos off the scoreboard as much as possible, seeming to be an easy trend right now this season, but some dumb choices cost OAK the game. Still, good to keep an undefeated, division leader close if you’re going to lose. Change: Up 2
- Washington Redskins (2-3): Close game against the Falcons and a killer OT loss. Keeping the game close against some opponents that WAS really shouldn’t be that close to. Change: None
- Philadelphia Eagles (2-3): Team win over the Saints as PHI looked about as dominant as ever against NO. Will it last? Time will tell. Chance to make a statement this week against the Giants. Change: Up 5
- Dallas Cowboys (2-3): The defense looked good to start the game against New England but fell apart in the second half. Team made a QB change but that wasn’t really the problem. Three game losing streak continues as the team hopes for the return of injured players. Change: Down 4
- Tennessee Titans (1-3): Kept the Bills close, much closer than expected. Could be a sign of hope for a team that hasn’t won since beating TB week 1. Change: Up 1
- Baltimore Ravens (1-4): Offense weapons are sorely lacking on BAL, especially at the pass-catching positions. Defense also isn’t doing too well since the loss of Terrell Suggs. Change: Down 2
- Chicago Bears (2-3): Chicago showed up against KC but also got a little lucky. Would CHI have won if Jamaal Charles hadn’t gotten hurt? Change: Up 4
- Kansas City Chiefs (1-4): Lost a tough game to CHI but the loss of Charles is the worst part. How will the offense adapt? Change: Down 9
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-3):OK, you’ve beaten JAX. Show me a little more after the bye week. Maybe you’ve gotten things on the right track and Jamis Winston is growing. Maybe it was luck against a bad team? Going to have to wait 2 more weeks to see. Change: Up 3
- Houston Texans (1-4): Another change in QB made it a bit of a closer game against IND. But there isn’t much offensive constancy or stability right now. Change: Down 3
- Jacksonville Jaguars (1-4): Offense is working out pretty well. Defense… not so much. Doesn’t help when the first round pick is on the IR with a torn ACL, but one man doesn’t make a team, either. Change: Down 2
- San Francisco 49ers (1-4): Seriously, how in the world did this team beat the Vikings in week one? Well, the game put together against the Giants is a bit of an example. This team is just way too inconstant, though. Still looks better than NO right now. Change: Up 2
- Miami Dolphins (1-3): Easily the worst team in the AFC. Nothing really to talk about albeit, after a bye week, that might just be what MIA needs. Change: None
- New Orleans Saints (1-4): One of the few teams that can make any team look great. It’s a mess down in NO and last week did nothing to help with that issue. Facing NO is pretty much a rebound week at this point. Change: Down 4
- Detroit Lions (0-5): Speaking of rebound teams, DET got the bad side of ARI as the Cardinals needed to bounce back from losing to the Rams. DET just looks bad right now and there really isn’t any other way to put that. Change: None
NFL Power Rankings: Week 5
Starting my power-ranking series now, in-between week four and five, and before the Colts and Texans game. Why wait until week four to do them? Because weeks one through three are far too early to tell if a team is for real or not. Now I have far more information to go off of and much more observations to base my thoughts off of. Without further adieu, here are my NFL power rankings:
- New England Patriots (3-0): reigning Super Bowl champs and has yet to be defeated. It’s as simple as that.
- Green Bay Packers (4-0): The third most net points in the NFC with the toughest schedule of those three teams.
- Cincinnati Bengals (4-0): Have had some impressive wins, a comeback win, and behind only the Patriots in net points while being first in the AFC in points scored.
- Denver Broncos (4-0): Undefeated but by the skin of their teeth so far. Defense has really been in lock-down mode, but has yet to really face a prolific offense. Offense needs to pick it up, however, to remain a top-tier team.
- Arizona Cardinals (3-1): Lost to the Rams last week but have really put together a great team. Healthy return of Andre Ellington will really help as Chris Johnson has re-established himself as a usable RB.
- New York Jets (3-1): Really not sure how/why this team lost to the Eagles but anything can happen on any given Sunday. This team is an improved copy of the NYJ teams that went to back-to-back AFC Championships.
- Atlanta Falcons (4-0): May be 4-0 but hasn’t really beaten a team worth noting yet and a Cowboys team that is without Tony Romo and Dez Bryant and a late collapse from the Giants have really helped the Falcons remain undefeated.
- Minnesota Vikings (2-2): A team that also has a surprise loss to its name (to the 49ers none-the-less!) but ALMOST beat the Broncos. The O-line will be what makes or breaks the season for MIN, however.
- St. Louis Rams (2-2): There is no better front seven in football. Such a random loss to WAS but almost beat PIT. And, Todd Gurley is healthy and looked so impressive against ARI. Could be the shot-in-the-arm STL needs on offense.
- Carolina Panthers (4-0): These guys have had it even easier schedule-wise than ATL. And how long can this team survive without a go-to WR.
- Pittsburgh Steelers (2-2): Would be 3-1, possibly 4-0, if there had been a better kicker on the roster, but this team has a strong offense. Defense is still suspect and it’ll be rough until Ben Roethlisberger returns, but this team can still make a play-off push.
- Seattle Seahawks (2-2): Alreadyhave a big divisional loss to St. Louis to their name, almost lost to the Lions (even if you don’t talk about the possible penalty in the endzone) and has one convincing win to the Bears. Lack of offense could be the big downfall to SEA this year.
- New York Giants (2-2): Another team that almost was 4-0 but the G-Men couldn’t hold two late, large leads. Early season sluggishness gone? Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t, but I’ll take them in the NFC East right now.
- Buffalo Bills (2-2): A team with high pre-season expectations has been a middling team with a defense that hasn’t been as impressive as advertised. And beating MIA 41-14 really isn’t that impressive.
- San Diego Chargers (2-2): A team that has struggled with consistency early on in the season. Hung in there with CIN but struggled with CLE and took a huge comeback to beat DET. Consistency can turn this team around.
- Kansas City Chiefs (1-3): One of the best looking 1-3 teams there ever could be. Offense is starting to pick up but, as that happens; the defense seems to be slipping. Might still have a chance to make a wild-card push with the remaining schedule, though.
- Dallas Cowboys (2-2): The defense looks like a shell of itself from last year and the injuries to Bryant and Romo have truly taken the life out of this team. Will the return of suspended and injured players turn it around or will it be too little too late?
- Indianapolis Colts (2-2): An overall struggling team right now. Took OT and some missed FGs to beat JAX last week and the offense just hasn’t been there for IND. Frank Gore and Andre Johnson are pretty much invisible. And if Luck is seriously hurt? Bad ju-ju.
- Washington Redskins (2-2): Matt Jones and Alfred Morris has been a solid RB tandem (team is first in rushing YPG with 140) and the surprise win against STL is a testament to what WAS can do. Doesn’t mean they will do the whole season, though.
- Oakland Raiders (2-2): Thought OAK had something special going on but then dropped the ball against CHI. I still really like the Derek Carr-Amari Cooper connection, though.
- Baltimore Ravens (1-3): The injury to Terrell Suggs has been a huge blow to BAL and a slacking offense isn’t helping that problem. Nevertheless, the win against PIT has BAL trending in a better direction than this time last week.
- Cleveland Browns (1-3): Not a terrible 1-3 team and really hung in there with SD till the very end (literally, lost due to an offsides penalty) but there are certainly some areas that need fixed. Still find it funny, though, that the only win right now belongs to Johnny Manziel.
- Tennessee Titans (1-2): Hung in with the listless IND squad in TENs last game. Marcus Mariota doesn’t look half-bad so far to start his very young NFL career. Just needs more pieces around him.
- Houston Texans (1-3): A defense that had so much success last year is struggling this year (see: ATL game) and the offense is even worse. Could bounce back with a win over IND, however.
- Philadelphia Eagles (1-3): Offense has been taking a step in the right direction lately. May not be enough to push for the playoffs, but might be enough to escape a top five draft pick.
- Jacksonville Jaguars (1-3): Kicker woes are the reason why this team isn’t 2-2 (sound familiar, PIT?) and getting blown out by NE isn’t a shocker right now for the NFL.
- New Orleans Saints (1-3): NO is an example of a team that took advantage of the down-trending DAL squad. Brees didn’t look perfect in that MNF game, but he looked a lot better after missing a week of play.
- Chicago Bears (1-3): Traded away veteran players and still managed a win last week. A huge, gutsy game by Jay Cutler to go out and play. But I also wouldn’t count CHI out of the trade market just yet.
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-3): TB has taken some hard losses this season and the defense is really taking a step back. Not ready to call Jameis Winston a bust, but he is struggling. Of course, the horrid O-line doesn’t help.
- Miami Dolphins (1-3): Already fired their coach but the problems stem far deeper than that. Biggest problem might be the bigman they signed in the off-season: Ndamukong Suh (his big cap hit will certainly be a big problem this off-season. Notice a theme here?)
- San Francisco 49ers (1-3): How in the world did this team beat the Vikings in week one? A prime example of “any given Sunday” is what the 49ers are right now. This team is a mess and it isn’t getting any better anytime soon.
- Detroit Lions (0-4): Blew a huge lead to SD, got handled pretty well by MIN and DEN, and took some really bad luck in the SEA game. This team does have a favorable schedule to avoid going 0-16 again, though.
2015 NFL Preview: AFC North
With the 2015 NFL season set to kickoff tonight, many fans are wondering who will win the division and make the playoffs. Others are just wondering how well their favorite team will do. Well, here is another outlet for the plethora of NFL fans in the world, looking for words on their favorite teams. For those who are unfamiliar with my previews, here’s how it goes. I give a blurb about each team, alphabetically, and then I give my prediction on how the division will look and the win-loss record. I’ll do a final one with post-season berths and my Super Bowl predictions. Next up is the AFC North.
Bengals: A team that seems to always struggle under the prime-time lights had an uneventful off-season. The team cut WR Denarius Moore, one of their top free agent signings, who was less than impressive this preseason, and brought in two members to assist the defense in LB AJ Hawk and DE Michael Johnson. The best part of the off-season for the Bengals was the draft; the addition of OT Jake Fisher (second round) and Cedric Ogbuehi (first round) solidifies what was a very impressive offensive line last season. The Bengals will try to live off of the running game with Jeremy Hill and Giovanni Bernard in the backfield while trying to give Andy Dalton plenty of time in the pocket. Yes, the Bengals could use another WR, but if Marvin Jones and AJ Green can both stay healthy, it’ll be a boon for the offense and could help Dalton to be more successful overall. The front seven is formidable and will help to take some pressure off of a secondary that is very deep which will help when the Bengals face off against top tier WRs like Antonio Brown.
Browns: The Browns did well to add Tramon Williams to the secondary and drafted well, paying attention to the trenches with the drafting of NT Danny Shelton and OL Cameron Erving in the first round. Adding Williams and Shelton may not be enough to turn the Browns defense of last year (142 rushing yards allowed per game) into a top-tier defense, but with players such as the aforementioned two and Karlos Dansby, Paul Kruger, and Barkevious Mingo in the line-backer position, it’s a step in the right direction. The biggest problem will stem on the offense. The offensive line will get a boost with the healthy return of Joe Thomas and it does have some depth. But Cleveland runs a running-back-by-committee carousel each week it seems so that makes it hard to rely on its running game. Finally, the pass catching options are dreadful. With Josh Gordon suspended indefinitely for his issues, it’s up to Dwayne Bowe and Brian Hartline, two wide receivers who washed out of KC and Miami respectively, to lead the way. And there was little to no effort by the Browns to replace Jordan Cameron at TE.
Ravens: Aside from Kyle Arrington, the Ravens didn’t add anyone of note this off-season. They seem to be trying the “addition by subtraction” way with the loss of players like Pernell McPhee, Torrey Smith, Owen Daniels, and Haloti Ngata. With Dennis Pitta injured, again, there is no depth in the TE position which might press rookie Maxx Williams into a bigger role sooner rather than later. The wide receiver depth is poor as well; Steve Smith is the number one option, and that isn’t terrible, but he’s getting ready to retire after this season. After him is rookie Breshad Perriman and then a whole lot of nobody. And the loss of Gary Kubiak could be bigger than some people are giving it credit; Justin Forsett might’ve been a product of Kubiak’s zone-blocking scheme (Kubiak does have a grand track record of making lesser RBs very successful) and could hit a sharp decline this season. Despite the losses on the defense, it still looks to be a very tenacious bunch and will still cause a lot of headaches. The biggest in-season issue will be the overall defensive depth, especially in the secondary. The corners look strong with Arrington, Jimmy Smith, and Ladarius Webb, but the safety positions are thin, even more so with Matt Elam on the IR for the whole season.
Steelers: Pittsburgh kept most of its free agents in house, with the exception of Brice McCain, Brett Keisel, and Ike Taylor, but had the retirements of Troy Polamalu and Jason Worilds force more holes on the defense’s side of the roster to open. Pittsburgh is thin at linebacker, as Jarvis Jones has been very unimpressive since he was drafted, James Harrison may not give a full season and there are still questions about Ryan Shazier after he missed most of his rookie season with hamstring injuries. The defensive line looks solid with Cam Heyward leading the charge but it could all change if Steve McLendon and Stephon Tuitt don’t grow in their positions (and this is Tuitt’s first season as the starter on the end). And the secondary for Pittsburgh is just poor. The cornerback and safety positions are thin and full of uninspiring players. The offense for Pittsburgh, however, has a chance to be prolific. Or at least had a chance before the two game suspension to Le’Veon Bell, the four game suspension to Martavius Bryant, and the ankle injury to Maurkice Pouncey (which seems to happen more often than not) that will sideline him for a minimum eight weeks due to his placement on the injured reserved/designated to play list. Low depth on the offensive line could lead to trouble as Pittsburgh does have to face a plethora of blitz-happy, strong front seven teams. All of the AFC North has a tough schedule this season, having to face the AFC West and the NFC West, but Pittsburgh gets the worst of it, having to face the other AFC division winning teams in the Colts and the Patriots.
Predictions:
Bengals: 9-7
Steelers: 8-8
Ravens: 7-9
Browns: 3-13
2014 NFL Preview series: AFC North
It’s that time of year again. Between classes, activities, and responsibilities, it’s time for me to crank out my NFL Preview series before the season starts. If you’re new to this, it takes a different format as my MLB Preview series. A blurb, a projected record, and a playoff spot should they receive one. Now, let’s take a look at the AFC North.
1) Bengals: The team had a so-so free agent season but really improved in the draft. Adding Hill to replace Green-Ellis, drafting Dennard to load up a cornerback position that is very deep in: Hall and Newman (starters), Kirkpatrick, Jones, and Dennard. All five of those guys could start on another team. The linebackers and D-line still looks very strong and the Bengals are getting Atkins back from injury as he only played about half of last season. The offense still looks powerful behind Green, Bernard, and Dalton (because he’s playing on a pay-as-you-go contract so he has the drive to put up top tier numbers) and the team should get a boost when Jones comes back from injury at WR. Record: 11-5 Playoffs: Second Seed
2) Steelers: They have the best offensive line this team has had in years, have a strong running back tandem in Bell and Blount (even if I still believe they should be suspended at least two games because of the marijuana arrest) and still have Ben. However, the team is relying heavily on young players. The passing game could be a dud if Wheaton doesn’t do anything as teams would then only have to cover Brown, Tuitt, Jones, and Shazier are all young and unpredictable, and the defense is so weak in the secondary that a quarterback that isn’t under pressure from the snap, they could rip apart the team through the air. Taylor, Allen, and McCain all graded poorly at the CB position according to profootballfocus.com. If all the younger players click and the team fires on all cylinders and the secondary is a manageable defect, the team could rival Cincy for the division. If the young guys flame out, the passing game dies, and the defense becomes an albatross, it could be a long season for Pittsburgh. Record: 9-7 Playoffs: Miss
3) Ravens: The additions of Steve Smith and Owen Daniels gives the Ravens a desperately needed boost in the receiving core that struggled all season leading to a mediocre passing attack, with some blame on Flacco on there as well, but most of it on the lack luster receiving core. The defense looks to be the same strong defense that it was last year and the additions of Mosley and Jernigan from the draft. The thing that could drag this team down, aside from the rising strength of other AFC North teams, is the running back and offensive line tandem. The rushing game was 30th in the NFL last season at 83 YPG and the offensive line allowed 49 sacks last season and was one of the reasons that Rice (660 yds, 3.1 YPR, 44 YPG, 4 TDs) and Pierce (436 yds, 2.9 YPR, 27 YPG, 2 TDs) struggled so massively. Record: 7-9 Playoffs: Miss
4) Browns: The Browns were going to be better, they really were, but then Josh Gordon got suspended, putting this team back down into the cellar. The offense now will struggle, no matter who is the QB, because there isn’t really anyone to catch the ball aside from Cameron. Tate and West should have a solid season as the RBs, though, as the team should rely on the running game, which could be a problem against three tough defenses to run against. The defense, however, will keep the games close. The secondary looks to be one of the best in the game with Gilbert, Haden, and Whitner, the LB core is solid with Dansby and Kruger, but the defensive line isn’t too intimidating, but this team can allow the QB to scramble with the two CBs they have. Record: 5-11 Playoffs: Miss
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