Alright all football is officially back, which means a ridiculous large number of people trying to force their opinions of who is good on others through the classic power rankings. I decided to get in on the fun this year for some practice for the future. Chances of this actually becoming a weekly thing is about as high as my Colts winning the Super Bowl, but hopefully I can make it last for a while at least. Any criticisms, positive or negative, are welcome and I will take on any comers in insightful debates. With that being said lets jump into the rankings after the first week of games.
1. 49ers 1-0
It is a good thing the blog that I published my NFL playoff predictions is not viewable to all of the public. I was not particularly high on the 49ers coming into this season (frantically deletes Seattle winning NFC west from blog) and I am already regretting my initial assessment. I still contend that relying too much on Alex Smith will lead nowhere good for the 49ers. Problem is that after watching them totally outclass and embarrass Green Bay at Lambeau Field, I no longer think it matters. Even if the Browns were to trade the worst QB of the weekend in Brandon Weeden (cuts to Browns fans groaning) the 49ers would still be able to win double digit games because of their imposing defense and newly acquired offensive weapons.
2. Patriots 1-0
This one pains me, but the Patriots didn’t just look good on Sunday; they looked dominate. The one thing I always enjoyed about the Colts playing New England in the past was that they never truly scared me to get a formidable pass rush on Manning. It appears New England has solved this issue with a couple of stellar first round draft picks to sure up their front 7. I still do not have them making the Super Bowl for a second consecutive year, but if the defense continues to develop and with the fire power Brady has on offense, there may be no one in the AFC that can match them.
3. Texans 1-0
Speaking of Super Bowl picks, my favorite to win it all this year starts off in third after the first week, the Houston Texans. Both the Texans and the Patriots have relative cake walks into the playoffs this year and it could very well come down to the week 14 meeting of these two powerhouses in New England to determine home field advantage. With a healthy Schaub (Big if) I have the Texans squeezing out a victory and winning at home against the Patriots in the AFC Championship game primarily because I trust the Texans defense more than the Patriots defense at this point in time.
4. Falcons 1-0
They came out and beat up on a ready to play Kansas City team at Kansas City. This was one of the first coin flip rankings for me between the Falcons and the Ravens. They mirror each other almost uncannily. Both have Qbs looking to make the leap from good to elite, both put on ridiculous offensive performances in week 1, and most importantly both went out and handled their business against teams that should be tough outs in the future. The reason I give the Falcons an edge is I believe the Chiefs will be slightly better long run than the Bengals, and the receiving combination in Atlanta should scare any defensive coordinator into sleepless nights prior to playing them.
5. Ravens 1-0
The big theme this year will be should you trust Joe Flacco. To be honest I am not sold yet. Flacco has to cut out the absolute stinker of games he tends to play against weaker opponents first before I can truly trust him. For now I will stick to trusting Ray Rice and the Baltimore defense. That alone should keep them as a favorite throughout the season
6. Packers 0-1
The Packers are the first team to make the list while losing their opening game. I have serious concerns about their defense and running game. That being said Rodgers at QB cancels those doubts quite nicely in the offensively favored game we have today, so 6 seems about right for a team that has won 21 of their last 24 games. If the defense can figure out how to be mediocre then this team will be a Super Bowl contender.
7. Cowboys 1-0
Great win for the Cowboys on opening night at the Giants. That being said, I still have great reservations about their ability to perform consistently and not blow games. They did manage to fix their horrific secondary from last year, and the fact that they managed to keep Romo up right for the most part was a great sign especially when facing the Giants’ defensive line.
8. Giants 0-1
A new season equals the same old story for the Giants. I refuse to fall into the trap this year. The Giants will have some bad games like always. They will have some crucial injuries. They will seem dead and out several times in the season. However, when the playoffs come around they will be there and will scare every team they play no matter what they did in the regular season. See you in January big blue.
9. Broncos 1-0
Peyton Manning. That is all that needs to be said for this team. If he is healthy they could very well win the Super Bowl in his home city of New Orleans. If not they are not worth discussing. Only time will tell. (Though it was great seeing him back to his old self)
10. Lions 1-0
You could look at their game against St Louis in two very different ways. The first is the obvious that Mathew Stafford struggled mightily with 3 interceptions and they should have lost to a seemingly inferior Rams team. The second is that the reason they did not lose is their defense stepped up despite being put in several bad positions. I am going to believe that Mathew Stafford will not manage to play quite that bad again throughout the season, so the defense showing up and playing as well as they did is a good sign for things to come.
11. Bears 1-0
I watched the majority of this game and was impressed by the Bears offense as most others were. The big thing I noticed though was there was a huge turning point early on for the offense that came at the expense of one of the league’s best pass rushers getting hurt in Dwight Freeney. Up until then the Bears offensive line was looking invisible. This may not bode well for facing teams such as the Giants and Lions.
12. Jets 1-0
I hate this ranking. I do not think the Jets will be good this season and that the Buffalo performance especially on offense will end up being more of a fluke than the norm. Still if they can keep the offense going like this, then few will be able to beat them with that monstrous defense.
13. Chargers 1-0
Wait… the Chargers won? Their first game of the season? Could this be the year that they finally live up to their potential early as well as late in the season? Oh Norv Turner is still the coach. The irony of 13 works perfectly
14. Redskins 1-0
Much like the Jets, once could be a fluke. Still watching RG3 shred the Saints defense was incredibly impressive. He looks like the whole package and the Redskins future is certainly bright. On a side note not starting RG3 in fantasy was probably the biggest point’s difference I have ever lost between him and Luck. Chances are Luck will outperform RG3 this week. I hate having two Qbs.
15. Steelers 0-1
They lost week 1. They could very well be tail spinning this year with a new offense and a team aging quickly. Then again, they lost to Peyton Manning in a night game. Let’s reserve any real judgment until next week.
16. Chiefs 0-1
It was the perfect game to describe all of last year in two halves. The first half the offense looked explosive and the defense looked competent without some of their best players. The second Matt Cassel could not throw a rock into the ocean from 5 yards away. Their schedule and division still lends more to the first half than the second this season.
17. Bengals 0-1
They ran into a juggernaut of a performance by the Ravens. AJ Green and the offense will be fine in the long run and they will be in the hunt for a wild card.
18. Eagles 1-0
They played one of the worst teams in the NFL, against one of the all-time bad performances of a QB, and still should have lost. Vick played horrible, but I blame Andy Reid and the play calling much more. This team will not win or lose because of Vick. Instead it will all come down to whether they call enough plays to get the ball into Mccoy’s hands.
19. Cardinals 1-0
By default someone in the West has to have a decent record besides the powerhouse 49ers. If Kevin Kolb can be what he was in Philadelphia then Arizona may just be that team
20. Buccaneers 1-0
The replacement of the old head coach alone is likely enough to get them to 6 -10. If Freeman can return to form from two years ago then this team will shock some people.
21. Saints 0-1
They were outplayed on both sides of the ball significantly no matter how close the final score was. I will probably regret rating them this low, but they genuinely seem to be cursed this season. They have lost a couple of their wide receivers they relied on in the past, such as Meachem. Just feels to me like a down year overall for them.
22. Panthers 0-1
Is Cam Newton the QB from the first few weeks last year, or from the ending weeks? I believe he will bounce back from a rough opening start, but even he will not be able to lead this cast to a playoff berth.
23. Vikings 1-0
Yes I actually like Christian Ponder. In fact, if the Vikings were in the NFC West they could make noise for the playoffs. Too bad they have to face the Lions and Packers and Bears Oh My!
24. Seahawks 0-1
Growing pains for Russell Wilson may take a while to get over. Still could end up being the team no one wants to face in the end of the season.
25. Raiders 0-1
They lost because of a hurt long snapper. Mcfadden is still a beast with a great first name. Carson Palmer will have plenty of choices once everyone is healthy. This Raider’s team will be fine.
26. Rams 0 – 1
I sense resurgence in St Louis. Keeping in mind they were a favorite among many experts to win the West last year, they likely were not as bad as their record indicated last year. This team is not quite in the lost cause section of teams for this year.
27. Titans 0-1
I look forward to see if Locker becomes any resemblance of a pro QB once he has a decent receiver in Kenny Britt to throw too. This team will long run rely on Chris Johnson to return to form if they want to win anything.
28. Colts 0 – 1
This starts the I hope my team doesn’t end up winning meaningless games and screw over our chances at a good draft pick group. The Colts offensive line looked non-existent the majority of the time. Keeping Luck healthy is going to be a tricky task throughout the year.
29. Bills 0-1
They allowed the Jets to score 48 points. They allowed the Jets to score 48 points. They allowed the Jets to score 48 points. I have no clue how many times I have to repeat that before it will actually make sense.
30. Jaguars 0 -1
Gabbert was actually pretty good. Bad news is that it was against the Vikings. They will not face too many opponents’ worse throughout the year.
31. Browns 0-1
It is going to be a long season. I would be surprised if they pulled out one victory within their division.
32. Dolphins 0 – 1
Can anyone give me a reasonable explanation why Matt Moore is not starting? He was around average in most QB stats last season when he was healthy. He may not be a long term solution, but you can win under him and the Dolphins DID win under him last year, winning 6 of their last 9 games. I assure you plenty of teams would be happy to have him as their starting QB at least as a transition. So Dolphins please do the smart thing and learn from the Eagles. Play him a couple of games against weak teams. Let him light it up and then sell him to the highest bidder like what happened with Kevin Kolb.
That is all for now. Look forward to seeing the critics come out. Breakdown of next week hopefully will be out earlier.
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