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Power Ranking The 32 Teams


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Preseason Edition

This season, I'm inviting TBD to help with Power Ranking to determine the pick order for DraftTek mock drafts. I know it's early. But we actually have to have a pick order established in 2 weeks, and DraftTek Analysts need players in rank order for our Big Board in a month. So that we have something to argue about, here is my initial rank-order of teams.

 

THE "TOP-SHELF SIX"

San Francisco 49ers

Tank Carradine, Corey Lemonier, and Aaron edge-rushing

Navorro Bowman will miss games but I love Chris Borland -Shayne Skov - Patrick Willis, with Aaron Lynch in reserve.

Jimmie Ward and Eric Reid S

Colin Kaepernick

Weapons galore: a healthy Michael Crabtree, added Stevie Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Baldwin, Bruce Ellington, Vernon Davis

offensive line, wild card: Aldon Smith situation

running back depth, can pound it but have speedsters (Gore, Hyde, Lattimore, Trey Millard, LaMichael James who is also PR and KR), distributing one ball to so many playmakers

 

Denver Broncos

Peyton Manning. Wild card is sharp dropoff behind him: Osweiler, Dysert, Renner

Have aging Wes Welker, Added Emmanuel Sanders and Cody Latimer; Lost Eric Decker, slight improvement

Julius Thomas=elite TE

Ryan Clady returns, with Franklin, Ramirez on L side.

Gone: Wesley Woodyard, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Champ Bailey New: Aqib Talib at LCB, DeMarcus Ware at RDE, T.J. Ward at SS and Bradley Roby at RCB opposite Talib

Von Miller at SLB

 

Seattle Seahawks

The Champs

Russell Wilson, then Tarvaris Jackson and Terrrelle Pryor

Backfield of Marshawn Lynch (if he returns--same nonsense in Buffalo), Christine Michael, and Robert Turbin

Paul Richardson new WR, Percy Harvin’s healthy, average after that.

Michael Bowie replaces Breno Giacomini 0n the offensive line--net gain. Okung, Carpenter-Unger is left side

Gone: Chris Clemons, Clinton McDonald and Red Bryant---net loss

DL: Avril, Michael Bennett DE's above average,; DTs are Tony McDaniel (added) and Mebane, Kevin Williams which are above average.

They added WLB Kevin Pierre-Louis (draft)

Legion of Boom backfield is fully intact.

 

New Orleans Saints

Drew Brees then a big dropoff (McCown, Ryan Griffin, Logan Kilgore)

WRs Brandin Cooks, Stills, Meachem, Colston, , added Brandon Coleman

RB Pierre Thomas, Mark Ingram; and Khiry Robinson and/or Tim Flanders could impress

Jimmy Graham TE is red zone (have until July 15 to work out a long-term deal--then one year deal)

Akiem Hicks and Cameron Jordan are NFL's underrated DEs

Add Jairus Byrd with Kenny Vaccaro S, and you now have one of top 3 safety duos

not a lot of depth

 

New England Patriots

Tom Brady

OL still above average

WRs Aaron Dobson or Josh Boyce will have to step up, Amendola, Edelman must show they're consistent, and Gronk must stay healthy.

On DL, Dominique Easley's the wild card with his medical issues, but typical BB pick.

Dont’a Hightower, Jerod Mayo and Jamie Collins is impressive LB group

Secondary is Top 5: Darrelle Revis, Devin McCourty, Brandon Browner and Logan Ryan.

 

Green Bay Packers

Aaron Rodgers. Healthy.

WR Weapons Davante Adams, Jeff Janis, Jared Abbrederis added in the draft. Randall Cobb is healthy.

Bryan Bulaga is healthy and the line is average

Pass Rush looks good. Julius Peppers, Clay Matthews

Ha Ha Clinton-Dix adds the springy athleticism needed on the back end of the defense.

Colt Lyerla and/or Jermichael Finley TE

 

THE "PAY ATTENTION TEN"

 

Philadelphia Eagles

Chip Kelly is a factor; pace and efficiency are the key concepts

Best OL in NFL

Darren Sproles added to LeSean McCoy means full throttle without fatigue

Jordan Matthews will be thrown into the fire right away and Jeremy Maclin’s back,

Gone: DeSean Jackson

TE Zach Ertz

Wild card is back end of the D.

 

Baltimore Ravens

Restructuring mode...okay, they're rebuilding.

Ozzie Newsome great drafts

Mercenary Steve Smith brought in at wR

Pitta returns

Gary Kubiak’s calling the offense's plays

Jeremy Zuttah>Gino Gradkowski at center Aging but still good D-Line (Ngata, Cody, Brandon Williams, Canty) and adds Jernigan

LB unit is top five (Suggs, Dumervil, Daryl Smith, Upshaw, Arthur Brown, and now Mosley from draft)

Terrance Brooks should be a fine complement to Matt Elam on the back end of the secondary.

 

Kansas City Chiefs

Wild card team in 2014 (9-0 at one point, then 2-5 down the stretch, turnover ratio of +18)

Lost to Colts as Andrew Luck led the come-from-behind victory, a microcosm of their season

Impressive D (Eric Berry, Jamaal Charles, Justin Houston, Tamba Hali, newbie Dee Ford)

Wild card is Alex Smith

OL losses will be costly (Branden Albert and Jon Asamoah)

 

Chicago Bears

O-Weapons: Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, Martellus Bennett, Matt Forte, and Ka’Deem Carey

Wild card: Jay Cutler's health (career numbers, then got hurt)

DL revamped, adding Lamarr Houston, Jared Allen, Willie Young, and rooks Ego Ferguson and Will Sutton. Chicago needs young LB to improve.

CBs could be good if Kyle Fuller learns quickly from vets Charles Tillman and Tim Jennings

 

Detroit Lions

Calvin Johnson, Golden Tate, Brandon Pettigrew, Reggie Bush and Joique Bell.

Add: Eric Ebron, Joseph Fauria, Ryan Broyles, Kris Durham, and Kevin Ogletree

Sound offensive line

Ndamukong Suh, Nick Fairley, and an improving Ziggy Ansah --nice D-Line

Add: rookie Kyle Van Noy (who'd better learn quick from Stephen Tulloch and DeAndre Levy in LB corps)

Two Too-new coordinators?

 

St. Louis Rams

With Buffalo, top NFL Defensive Line= Robert Quinn. Michael Brockers. Chris Long.

Better depth than Buffalo though=Aaron Donald., William Hayes, Alex Carrington, Kendall Langford

Learning curve for OL, but damn good at outset (Greg Robinson, getting Jake Long and Rodger Saffold)

Zac Stacy and Sam Bradford.

Tavon Austin: if he stays healthy he can help, but if injured, the unit is average at best (Brian Quick, Britt)

The secondary is above average

 

Indianapolis Colts

Andrew Luck

Added Hakeem Nicks

Dwayne Allen returns

OL needs development

Robert Mathis suspended to start

Zach Kerr and Josh Chapman at nose

D’Qwell Jackson at MLB is above average

Trent Richardson is a wild card

 

Buffalo Bills

RB is one of NFL's most-solid on paper (Spiller, Fred Jackson, Bryce Brown, Anthony Dixon, Fred Summers, Evan Rodriguez. Pick 3).

The offensive line (Cordy Glenn, Chris Hairston, Eric Wood, Urbik, Kouandjio) gets 5 preseason games to jell

WRs Sammy Watkins, Robert Woods, Mike Williams, Marquise Goodwin (TJ Graham, Easley, Hogan, Elliott) have speed to burn, and might keep 7, so good run-pass balance

EJ Manuel is the wild card

DL one of NFL's three best, I rank them #2 behind Rams due to Dareus's probable suspension (Mario Williams. Kyle Williams, Marcell Dareus, Alan Branch, Jerry Hughes, Lawson, Corbin Bryant, Jarius Wynn)

Jerry Hughes was one of the NFL’s most efficient pass-rushers in 2013 per PFF

Additions of thumper Brandon Spikes at MLB, Rivers at OLB, Alonso's range moves to OLB

Gilmore, McKelvin, Robey, Graham at CB; Aaron Williams, Searcy at S is impressive backfield

 

Cincinnati Bengals

Loss of Anthony Collins and Michael Johnson in free agency

Rookies Jeremy Hill and Darqueze Dennard will be thrown into the fire early

Geno Atkins and Leon Hall return

Andy Dalton--meh

 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Top spenders in Free Agency (Michael Johnson, Alterraun Verner, Clinton McDonald, Josh McCown, Oniel Cousins)

Playmakers acquired in draft (6’5″ Mike Evans and 6’6″ Austin Seferian-Jenkins)

Darrelle Revis is gone

Lavonte David and Gerald McCoy, First-Team All-Pros excellent

RBs Doug Martin, Mike James, and rookie Charles Sims

 

THE "WILD CARD FIVE"

 

Cleveland Browns

Mike Pettine knows how to blitz, has some pieces to do it, but he's new

Johnny Manziel is the wildest of wild cards

Josh Gordon suspension will hurt Andrew Hawkins YAC slot guy

Solid O-Line and D-Line

Jordan Cameron is a freak

Above-average D with Karlos Dansby, Donte Whitner, Pierre Desir

 

New York Jets

D-Line is disruptive, likely top 3

Rex Ryan's blitz schemes with Muhammad Wilkerson (DE is 2nd in NFL to Watt), Sheldon Richardson DT

David Harris, rookie Calvin Pryor

WR Eric Decker acquired, draft added Jace Amaro

Geno Smith a wild card like Buffalo

Loowest percentage of Elite and HQ players in division, per PFF

35% of team is in Poor or Below Avg. ability ranking, most in division per PFF

 

Pittsburgh Steelers

Shazier won't help them as much as they think

Dick Lebeau’s defensive mind is a plus

Shamarko Thomas and Markus Wheaton need to step up

Picks Stephon Tuitt and Josh Mauro will play early, learn on the fly

Some aging, some inexperienced players is biggest Achilles heel.

OL is just below average except for David DeCastro

 

Miami Dolphins

Improved OL---Signing Branden Albert, Drafted Ju’Wuan James

Ryan Tannehill needs to step up

Mike Wallace, Jarvis Landry at WR are just above average

No Elite players on team, per PFF

DL is underrated (Olivier Vernon, Randy Starks, Jared Odrick)

Average LBs, moved Koa Misi to MLB (not sure about how that'll go)

Finnegan could be picked on in secondary but Brent Grimes at CB and Reshad Jones at S could help them

Lamar Miller at RB is their wild card

 

San Diego Chargers

Overachieved in 2013

High-efficiency offense will help them, Rivers to Keenan Allen will help

Beyond the secondary, defense is below average

OL is below average but with quick passing, it won't have to be.

 

THE "SEVERELY AVERAGE SEVEN"

 

Arizona Cardinals

DL is well above average (Calais Campbell and Darnell Dockett)

One of the best secondaries in NFL (Patrick Peterson, Tyrann Mathieu, & rookie Deone Bucannon)

Season-long suspension of Daryl Washington, and Karlos Dansby wasn’t re-signed Andre Ellington RB

Jonathan Cooper adds more stability to an average OL

Carson Palmer profits from a nice group of WRs (Fitz, Floyd, Ginn)

 

New York Giants

Likely the second-best roster in the NFC East

Gone: Hakeem Nicks; Added: Odell Beckham Jr. and Victor Cruz, so net gain in pass game

Eli Manning and rook Andre Williams wild cards, along with New OC Ben McAdoo (expect more efficiency)

Improved OL

Promising DL needs time to gel (Jonathan Hankins, Damontre Moore, and Jay Bromley); Will Jason Pierre-Paul rise up?

 

Washington Redskins

A healthy Robert Griffin III

DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garcon, and TE Jordan Reed are good targets

Below average defense, added Jason Hatcher

Very good LBs (rookie Trent Murphy, Orakpo, ILB Akeem Jordan, Ryan Kerrigan)

Liability is secondary

 

Minnesota Vikings

Playmakers Greg Jennings, Cordarrelle Patterson. Adrian Peterson

Very good OL (Matt Khalil, John Sullivan and Phil Loadholt)

Teddy Bridgewater learning curve is a wild card, will ascend later in season

Average DL

Xavier Rhodes is rose among thorny secondary

LB is below average for now; Anthony Barr will ascend later in season

 

Dallas Cowboys

Strength will be offensive playmakers ---Tony Romo, Dez Bryant, Jason Witten, DeMarco Murray and rookie Terrance Williams, but will be outscored in half their games with their bottom five defense

Defense was below average then lost DE DeMarcus Ware (now with Broncos), LB Sean Lee ( tore his left ACL at the team's OTA ), and DE Jason Hatcher (to Redskins, has camp injury)

Questionable choices in recent drafts along both lines

 

Carolina Panthers

Gone: Jordan Gross (retired), Steve Smith

Cam Newton to Kelvin Benjamin is interesting, but...who else can you throw to? Cotchery (year 11)? Avant (9th year)? Underwood (178 lbs, waived by 3 different teams)?

Secondary is well below average

Well above average DL (Hardy, Chas Johnson Lotulelei) and LB corps (Kuechly) will keep them in it

 

Atlanta Falcons

Matt Ryan. Roddy White. Harry Douglas. Julio Jones are the playmakers. Check.

Drafted: Jake Matthews OL. Check.

Lost: Sean Weatherspoon. UhOh. Weak defense except for Desmond Trufant

Some defensive changes in base nickel alignment will add more stress to D

 

THE "CELLAR DWELLER FELLERS"

 

Oakland Raiders---cream of the crap

Significant improvement in Front 7 on D (Justin Tuck, LaMarr Woodley, Khalil Mack, Antonio Smith, Justin Ellis, Sio Moore)

Gabe Jackson will be baptized early as OG

James Jones a good red-zone target

Matt Schaub or Derek Carr? Better decide early

Maurice Jones-Drew

 

Tennessee Titans

The quarterback position is worrisome with Jake Locker. The transition to Ray Horton’s 3-4 doesn’t exactly fit the strength’s of the defensive personnel.

Gone: Alterraun Verner (Tampa Bay)

Kendall Wright the playmaker

Will Justin Hunter be more consistent in Year 2?

Above average OL through the last two drafts

Bishop Sankey will get you fantasy points

 

Houston Texans

Ryan Fitzpatrick as the starter with backups Tom Savage and Case Keenum

J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney are elite

Andre Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins will be nice, reliable targets for whoever is throwing them the football.

Aging Arian Foster (7th season, tied his career average of 4.5 in 2013)

 

Jacksonville Jaguars

Henne or a raw Bortles? Oh, my.

Slightly above average WRs, and young (Ace Sanders, Marqise Lee, Cecil Shorts, Mike Brown)

Below-average OL means less time to throw

Decent DL (Red Bryant, Chris Clemons, Walter Thurmond)

Average LB corps

 

Have a different order? A different logic? I want to hear from you. Convince me to change my Power Rankings on the as-yet-unpublished DraftTek Power Rankings Page!

--Astro

Edited by Astrobot
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I will take a crack:

1. SF

2. Seattle

3. Denver

4. New Orleans

5. Green Bay

6. New England

7. Cincinnati

8. Indianapolis

9. Chicago

10. San Diego

11. Arizona

12. Philadelphia

13. Bills

14. Detroit

15. Pittsburgh

16. Washington

17. Tampa Bay

18. Jets

19. KC

20. St. Louis

21. Baltimore

22. Dallas

23. Atlanta

24. Carolina

25. Minnesota

26. Miami

27. Houston

28. Cleveland

29. Jacksonville

30. Oakland

31. Tennessee

32. NY Giants

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Lost me at Ahmad Dixon

Good catch. Change made.

 

Have no scientific reason for feeling this way, but I have a feeling the Saints are going to slide back some.

I could see them sliding down and Colts/Bears/Pats moving up. Need science or stats, though. Even informed intuition works.

 

I will take a crack:

1. SF

2. Seattle

3. Denver

4. New Orleans

5. Green Bay

6. New England

7. Cincinnati

8. Indianapolis

9. Chicago

10. San Diego

11. Arizona

12. Philadelphia

13. Bills

14. Detroit

15. Pittsburgh

16. Washington

17. Tampa Bay

18. Jets

19. KC

20. St. Louis

21. Baltimore

22. Dallas

23. Atlanta

24. Carolina

25. Minnesota

26. Miami

27. Houston

28. Cleveland

29. Jacksonville

30. Oakland

31. Tennessee

32. NY Giants

Interesting. Cincinnati and Arizona are the most hotly-ciontested teams among the guys on our Power Ranking team.

Range so far for Bengals is between 4th (insane) and 13th. I'd love some help understanding either ranking.

 

Arizona is worse. We have 3rd from one analyst, and 14th 15th, and 15th from three others. the other guys on the team are between those extremes.

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Astro, my thoughts on Arizona and Cincy are similar. They are physical defensively, with an elite WR, a speed back on the verge of breaking out and so/so QB play. They are kind of diet SF/SEA with that physicality. I think Arizona is a little better because of their secondary but the AFC is a lot weaker so I have Cincy slightly ahead of them.

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Arizona should be higher, even if the AFC is weaker. Cards beat the Seahawks in seattle last year when it seemed impossible. Arizona might be the third best team in that conference. I put them ahead of the saints and packers honestly.

 

Nah, with Aaron Rodgers healthy the Packers would have had the #2 seed in the NFC. Now that they have Lacy and have been working on the defense a little, I think they are looking pretty good. I like what the Saints have going on too, but I could see them sliding a little and still winning the division.

 

I agree that the top 6 are the clearly superior bunch.

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Interesting take. Not to be negative, but I tend to look at us as more of the wildcard category I guess. We could be a team to watch, but we could easily be 6-10 again. Redskins should be in the crap. I think they will be garbage this year. As bad or worse than last year.

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Interesting take. Not to be negative, but I tend to look at us as more of the wildcard category I guess. We could be a team to watch, but we could easily be 6-10 again. Redskins should be in the crap. I think they will be garbage this year. As bad or worse than last year.

I had the Bills as the 6 seed in the AFC on my list about 9-7ish. Unlike you though, I like Washington this year. You are obviously closer to it than I but I think RG will bounce back and has some nice weapons in Garçon, D Jax, Jordan Reed and Alfred Morris. They look like a high scoring team in a bad division to me. What is that you don't like about them Greg?
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Preseason Edition

This season, I'm inviting TBD to help with Power Ranking to determine the pick order for DraftTek mock drafts. I know it's early. But we actually have to have a pick order established in 2 weeks, and DraftTek Analysts need players in rank order for our Big Board in a month. So that we have something to argue about, here is my initial rank-order of teams.

 

THE "TOP-SHELF SIX"

San Francisco 49ers

Tank Carradine, Corey Lemonier, and Aaron edge-rushing

Navorro Bowman will miss games but I love Chris Borland -Shayne Skov - Patrick Willis, with Aaron Lynch in reserve.

Jimmie Ward and Eric Reid S

Colin Kaepernick

Weapons galore: a healthy Michael Crabtree, added Stevie Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Baldwin, Bruce Ellington, Vernon Davis

offensive line, wild card: Aldon Smith situation

running back depth, can pound it but have speedsters (Gore, Hyde, Lattimore, Trey Millard, LaMichael James who is also PR and KR), distributing one ball to so many playmakers

 

Denver Broncos

Peyton Manning. Wild card is sharp dropoff behind him: Osweiler, Dysert, Renner

Have aging Wes Welker, Added Emmanuel Sanders and Cody Latimer; Lost Eric Decker, slight improvement

Julius Thomas=elite TE

Ryan Clady returns, with Franklin, Ramirez on L side.

Gone: Wesley Woodyard, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Champ Bailey New: Aqib Talib at LCB, DeMarcus Ware at RDE, T.J. Ward at SS and Bradley Roby at RCB opposite Talib

Von Miller at SLB

 

Seattle Seahawks

The Champs

Russell Wilson, then Tarvaris Jackson and Terrrelle Pryor

Backfield of Marshawn Lynch (if he returns--same nonsense in Buffalo), Christine Michael, and Robert Turbin

Paul Richardson new WR, Percy Harvin’s healthy, average after that.

Michael Bowie replaces Breno Giacomini 0n the offensive line--net gain. Okung, Carpenter-Unger is left side

Gone: Chris Clemons, Clinton McDonald and Red Bryant---net loss

DL: Avril, Michael Bennett DE's above average,; DTs are Tony McDaniel (added) and Mebane, Kevin Williams which are above average.

They added WLB Kevin Pierre-Louis (draft)

Legion of Boom backfield is fully intact.

 

New Orleans Saints

Drew Brees then a big dropoff (McCown, Ryan Griffin, Logan Kilgore)

WRs Brandin Cooks, Stills, Meachem, Colston, , added Brandon Coleman

RB Pierre Thomas, Mark Ingram; and Khiry Robinson and/or Tim Flanders could impress

Jimmy Graham TE is red zone (have until July 15 to work out a long-term deal--then one year deal)

Akiem Hicks and Cameron Jordan are NFL's underrated DEs

Add Jairus Byrd with Kenny Vaccaro S, and you now have one of top 3 safety duos

not a lot of depth

 

New England Patriots

Tom Brady

OL still above average

WRs Aaron Dobson or Josh Boyce will have to step up, Amendola, Edelman must show they're consistent, and Gronk must stay healthy.

On DL, Dominique Easley's the wild card with his medical issues, but typical BB pick.

Dont’a Hightower, Jerod Mayo and Jamie Collins is impressive LB group

Secondary is Top 5: Darrelle Revis, Devin McCourty, Brandon Browner and Logan Ryan.

 

Green Bay Packers

Aaron Rodgers. Healthy.

WR Weapons Davante Adams, Jeff Janis, Jared Abbrederis added in the draft. Randall Cobb is healthy.

Bryan Bulaga is healthy and the line is average

Pass Rush looks good. Julius Peppers, Clay Matthews

Ha Ha Clinton-Dix adds the springy athleticism needed on the back end of the defense.

Colt Lyerla and/or Jermichael Finley TE

 

THE "PAY ATTENTION TEN"

 

Philadelphia Eagles

Chip Kelly is a factor; pace and efficiency are the key concepts

Best OL in NFL

Darren Sproles added to LeSean McCoy means full throttle without fatigue

Jordan Matthews will be thrown into the fire right away and Jeremy Maclin’s back,

Gone: DeSean Jackson

TE Zach Ertz

Wild card is back end of the D.

 

Baltimore Ravens

Restructuring mode...okay, they're rebuilding.

Ozzie Newsome great drafts

Mercenary Steve Smith brought in at wR

Pitta returns

Gary Kubiak’s calling the offense's plays

Jeremy Zuttah>Gino Gradkowski at center Aging but still good D-Line (Ngata, Cody, Brandon Williams, Canty) and adds Jernigan

LB unit is top five (Suggs, Dumervil, Daryl Smith, Upshaw, Arthur Brown, and now Mosley from draft)

Terrance Brooks should be a fine complement to Matt Elam on the back end of the secondary.

 

Kansas City Chiefs

Wild card team in 2014 (9-0 at one point, then 2-5 down the stretch, turnover ratio of +18)

Lost to Colts as Andrew Luck led the come-from-behind victory, a microcosm of their season

Impressive D (Eric Berry, Jamaal Charles, Justin Houston, Tamba Hali, newbie Dee Ford)

Wild card is Alex Smith

OL losses will be costly (Branden Albert and Jon Asamoah)

 

Chicago Bears

O-Weapons: Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, Martellus Bennett, Matt Forte, and Ka’Deem Carey

Wild card: Jay Cutler's health (career numbers, then got hurt)

DL revamped, adding Lamarr Houston, Jared Allen, Willie Young, and rooks Ego Ferguson and Will Sutton. Chicago needs young LB to improve.

CBs could be good if Kyle Fuller learns quickly from vets Charles Tillman and Tim Jennings

 

Detroit Lions

Calvin Johnson, Golden Tate, Brandon Pettigrew, Reggie Bush and Joique Bell.

Add: Eric Ebron, Joseph Fauria, Ryan Broyles, Kris Durham, and Kevin Ogletree

Sound offensive line

Ndamukong Suh, Nick Fairley, and an improving Ziggy Ansah --nice D-Line

Add: rookie Kyle Van Noy (who'd better learn quick from Stephen Tulloch and DeAndre Levy in LB corps)

Two Too-new coordinators?

 

St. Louis Rams

With Buffalo, top NFL Defensive Line= Robert Quinn. Michael Brockers. Chris Long.

Better depth than Buffalo though=Aaron Donald., William Hayes, Alex Carrington, Kendall Langford

Learning curve for OL, but damn good at outset (Greg Robinson, getting Jake Long and Rodger Saffold)

Zac Stacy and Sam Bradford.

Tavon Austin: if he stays healthy he can help, but if injured, the unit is average at best (Brian Quick, Britt)

The secondary is above average

 

Indianapolis Colts

Andrew Luck

Added Hakeem Nicks

Dwayne Allen returns

OL needs development

Robert Mathis suspended to start

Zach Kerr and Josh Chapman at nose

D’Qwell Jackson at MLB is above average

Trent Richardson is a wild card

 

Buffalo Bills

RB is one of NFL's most-solid on paper (Spiller, Fred Jackson, Bryce Brown, Anthony Dixon, Fred Summers, Evan Rodriguez. Pick 3).

The offensive line (Cordy Glenn, Chris Hairston, Eric Wood, Urbik, Kouandjio) gets 5 preseason games to jell

WRs Sammy Watkins, Robert Woods, Mike Williams, Marquise Goodwin (TJ Graham, Easley, Hogan, Elliott) have speed to burn, and might keep 7, so good run-pass balance

EJ Manuel is the wild card

DL one of NFL's three best, I rank them #2 behind Rams due to Dareus's probable suspension (Mario Williams. Kyle Williams, Marcell Dareus, Alan Branch, Jerry Hughes, Lawson, Corbin Bryant, Jarius Wynn)

Jerry Hughes was one of the NFL’s most efficient pass-rushers in 2013 per PFF

Additions of thumper Brandon Spikes at MLB, Rivers at OLB, Alonso's range moves to OLB

Gilmore, McKelvin, Robey, Graham at CB; Aaron Williams, Searcy at S is impressive backfield

 

Cincinnati Bengals

Loss of Anthony Collins and Michael Johnson in free agency

Rookies Jeremy Hill and Darqueze Dennard will be thrown into the fire early

Geno Atkins and Leon Hall return

Andy Dalton--meh

 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Top spenders in Free Agency (Michael Johnson, Alterraun Verner, Clinton McDonald, Josh McCown, Oniel Cousins)

Playmakers acquired in draft (6’5″ Mike Evans and 6’6″ Austin Seferian-Jenkins)

Darrelle Revis is gone

Lavonte David and Gerald McCoy, First-Team All-Pros excellent

RBs Doug Martin, Mike James, and rookie Charles Sims

 

THE "WILD CARD FIVE"

 

Cleveland Browns

Mike Pettine knows how to blitz, has some pieces to do it, but he's new

Johnny Manziel is the wildest of wild cards

Josh Gordon suspension will hurt Andrew Hawkins YAC slot guy

Solid O-Line and D-Line

Jordan Cameron is a freak

Above-average D with Karlos Dansby, Donte Whitner, Pierre Desir

 

New York Jets

D-Line is disruptive, likely top 3

Rex Ryan's blitz schemes with Muhammad Wilkerson (DE is 2nd in NFL to Watt), Sheldon Richardson DT

David Harris, rookie Calvin Pryor

WR Eric Decker acquired, draft added Jace Amaro

Geno Smith a wild card like Buffalo

Loowest percentage of Elite and HQ players in division, per PFF

35% of team is in Poor or Below Avg. ability ranking, most in division per PFF

 

Pittsburgh Steelers

Shazier won't help them as much as they think

Dick Lebeau’s defensive mind is a plus

Shamarko Thomas and Markus Wheaton need to step up

Picks Stephon Tuitt and Josh Mauro will play early, learn on the fly

Some aging, some inexperienced players is biggest Achilles heel.

OL is just below average except for David DeCastro

 

Miami Dolphins

Improved OL---Signing Branden Albert, Drafted Ju’Wuan James

Ryan Tannehill needs to step up

Mike Wallace, Jarvis Landry at WR are just above average

No Elite players on team, per PFF

DL is underrated (Olivier Vernon, Randy Starks, Jared Odrick)

Average LBs, moved Koa Misi to MLB (not sure about how that'll go)

Finnegan could be picked on in secondary but Brent Grimes at CB and Reshad Jones at S could help them

Lamar Miller at RB is their wild card

 

San Diego Chargers

Overachieved in 2013

High-efficiency offense will help them, Rivers to Keenan Allen will help

Beyond the secondary, defense is below average

OL is below average but with quick passing, it won't have to be.

 

THE "SEVERELY AVERAGE SEVEN"

 

Arizona Cardinals

DL is well above average (Calais Campbell and Darnell Dockett)

One of the best secondaries in NFL (Patrick Peterson, Tyrann Mathieu, & rookie Deone Bucannon)

Season-long suspension of Daryl Washington, and Karlos Dansby wasn’t re-signed Andre Ellington RB

Jonathan Cooper adds more stability to an average OL

Carson Palmer profits from a nice group of WRs (Fitz, Floyd, Ginn)

 

New York Giants

Likely the second-best roster in the NFC East

Gone: Hakeem Nicks; Added: Odell Beckham Jr. and Victor Cruz, so net gain in pass game

Eli Manning and rook Andre Williams wild cards, along with New OC Ben McAdoo (expect more efficiency)

Improved OL

Promising DL needs time to gel (Jonathan Hankins, Damontre Moore, and Jay Bromley); Will Jason Pierre-Paul rise up?

 

Washington Redskins

A healthy Robert Griffin III

DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garcon, and TE Jordan Reed are good targets

Below average defense, added Jason Hatcher

Very good LBs (rookie Trent Murphy, Orakpo, ILB Akeem Jordan, Ryan Kerrigan)

Liability is secondary

 

Minnesota Vikings

Playmakers Greg Jennings, Cordarrelle Patterson. Adrian Peterson

Very good OL (Matt Khalil, John Sullivan and Phil Loadholt)

Teddy Bridgewater learning curve is a wild card, will ascend later in season

Average DL

Xavier Rhodes is rose among thorny secondary

LB is below average for now; Anthony Barr will ascend later in season

 

Dallas Cowboys

Strength will be offensive playmakers ---Tony Romo, Dez Bryant, Jason Witten, DeMarco Murray and rookie Terrance Williams, but will be outscored in half their games with their bottom five defense

Defense was below average then lost DE DeMarcus Ware (now with Broncos), LB Sean Lee ( tore his left ACL at the team's OTA ), and DE Jason Hatcher (to Redskins, has camp injury)

Questionable choices in recent drafts along both lines

 

Carolina Panthers

Gone: Jordan Gross (retired), Steve Smith

Cam Newton to Kelvin Benjamin is interesting, but...who else can you throw to? Cotchery (year 11)? Avant (9th year)? Underwood (178 lbs, waived by 3 different teams)?

Secondary is well below average

Well above average DL (Hardy, Chas Johnson Lotulelei) and LB corps (Kuechly) will keep them in it

 

Atlanta Falcons

Matt Ryan. Roddy White. Harry Douglas. Julio Jones are the playmakers. Check.

Drafted: Jake Matthews OL. Check.

Lost: Sean Weatherspoon. UhOh. Weak defense except for Desmond Trufant

Some defensive changes in base nickel alignment will add more stress to D

 

THE "CELLAR DWELLER FELLERS"

 

Oakland Raiders---cream of the crap

Significant improvement in Front 7 on D (Justin Tuck, LaMarr Woodley, Khalil Mack, Antonio Smith, Justin Ellis, Sio Moore)

Gabe Jackson will be baptized early as OG

James Jones a good red-zone target

Matt Schaub or Derek Carr? Better decide early

Maurice Jones-Drew

 

Tennessee Titans

The quarterback position is worrisome with Jake Locker. The transition to Ray Horton’s 3-4 doesn’t exactly fit the strength’s of the defensive personnel.

Gone: Alterraun Verner (Tampa Bay)

Kendall Wright the playmaker

Will Justin Hunter be more consistent in Year 2?

Above average OL through the last two drafts

Bishop Sankey will get you fantasy points

 

Houston Texans

Ryan Fitzpatrick as the starter with backups Tom Savage and Case Keenum

J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney are elite

Andre Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins will be nice, reliable targets for whoever is throwing them the football.

Aging Arian Foster (7th season, tied his career average of 4.5 in 2013)

 

Jacksonville Jaguars

Henne or a raw Bortles? Oh, my.

Slightly above average WRs, and young (Ace Sanders, Marqise Lee, Cecil Shorts, Mike Brown)

Below-average OL means less time to throw

Decent DL (Red Bryant, Chris Clemons, Walter Thurmond)

Average LB corps

 

Have a different order? A different logic? I want to hear from you. Convince me to change my Power Rankings on the as-yet-unpublished DraftTek Power Rankings Page!

--Astro

 

 

My groups are somewhat similar, but here's how I'd do it (teams within groups in no particular order:

 

Top Shelf Teams:

San Francisco

Seattle

Denver

New England

New Orleans

 

Very Good Teams:

Green Bay

Chicago

Arizona

 

On the Bubble:

St. Louis

Buffalo

Philly

Baltimore

Indy

San Diego

 

Teams Still Good but on the Decline:

Carolina

Kansas City

Cincinnati

 

Average Teams:

Detroit

Tampa Bay

Cleveland

New York Jets

Miami

Pittsburgh

 

6-10 Teams:

New York Giants

Washington

Dallas

Atlanta

 

Bottom of the Barrel:

Tennessee

Jacksonville

Oakland

Houston

Minnesota

Edited by Haplo848
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I had the Bills as the 6 seed in the AFC on my list about 9-7ish. Unlike you though, I like Washington this year. You are obviously closer to it than I but I think RG will bounce back and has some nice weapons in Garçon, D Jax, Jordan Reed and Alfred Morris. They look like a high scoring team in a bad division to me. What is that you don't like about them Greg?

 

Mostly it rests on what I think of RGIII. Loved what he did in their offense in his first year. I believe his game rests on his ability to run with it. If he is a legitimate threat to take off, defenses have to account for that. Opens up the rest of his game and the rest of the offense. In his second season, that threat was gone. He was rarely going to run, and when he did it was not with everything he had to get to the goal line like the year before. You have to earn that threat by really taking off with it. You can't just trick defenses into coming out of coverage because you 'used' to be a running quarterback. The threat better be real, or they won't respect it. He could break out as a pocket passer I suppose. I just haven't seen it yet. He has an arm for sure, but I'm not convinced. You can say he was still nursing the injury, which is true, but it looked to me that because of the injury, he has made a mental decision to no longer run. Or he was coached not to run. Either way.

 

Aside from him, new coach and a whole new system. Always going to be adjustment pains. Their defense was pretty trash last year. I think the stats hide how bad they really were. Fletcher was getting old but that is some serious leadership lost and a solid presence in the middle. With that division though... who knows. Maybe they have a shot.

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I don't have a lot to add other than there really doesn't appear to be much of a gap between teams once you get past the top six. Pretty interesting, really.

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Swap the Giants and Bengals.

 

The Bills...feel too high for me. You've got them slotted anywhere between 7th and 16th, and while I still can't see them as "top half of the league," half the teams in the league seem to be worse off. Were I "outside looking in" at the AFC East, I'd probably be saying "Yeah, they look good on paper...but they always do. They'll find a way to look like a Porsche, but run like a rusted-out Gremlin" and rank Miami above them (and possibly the Jets).

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I'D SAY VEGAS IS A LITTLE MORE IMPARTIAL:

 

Denver Broncos 6/1

Seattle Seahawks 13/2

San Francisco 49ers 17/2

New England Patriots 10/1

Green Bay Packers 14/1

New Orleans Saints 18/1

Chicago Bears 25/1

Indianapolis Colts 25/1

Philadelphia Eagles 30/1

Pittsburgh Steelers 32/1

Cincinnati Bengals 32/1

Detroit Lions 40/1

Baltimore Ravens 40/1

Carolina Panthers 40/1

New York Giants 45/1

Dallas Cowboys 48/1

Arizona Cardinals 50/1

San Diego Chargers 50/1

Kansas City Chiefs 50/1

St Louis Rams 50/1

Atlanta Falcons 52/1

Washington Redskins 55/1

Houston Texans 60/1

Miami Dolphins 65/1

New York Jets 70/1

Cleveland Browns 70/1

Buffalo Bills 75/1

Tampa Bay Buccanneers 75/1

Tennessee Titans 90/1

Minnesota Vikings 120/1

Oakland Raiders 150/1

Jacksonville Jaguars 250/1

 

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I'D SAY VEGAS IS A LITTLE MORE IMPARTIAL:

 

Denver Broncos 6/1

Seattle Seahawks 13/2

San Francisco 49ers 17/2

New England Patriots 10/1

Green Bay Packers 14/1

New Orleans Saints 18/1

Chicago Bears 25/1

Indianapolis Colts 25/1

Philadelphia Eagles 30/1

Pittsburgh Steelers 32/1

Cincinnati Bengals 32/1

Detroit Lions 40/1

Baltimore Ravens 40/1

Carolina Panthers 40/1

New York Giants 45/1

Dallas Cowboys 48/1

Arizona Cardinals 50/1

San Diego Chargers 50/1

Kansas City Chiefs 50/1

St Louis Rams 50/1

Atlanta Falcons 52/1

Washington Redskins 55/1

Houston Texans 60/1

Miami Dolphins 65/1

New York Jets 70/1

Cleveland Browns 70/1

Buffalo Bills 75/1

Tampa Bay Buccanneers 75/1

Tennessee Titans 90/1

Minnesota Vikings 120/1

Oakland Raiders 150/1

Jacksonville Jaguars 250/1

 

There's a 119% chance of someone winning the Superbowl.

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My humble opinion

 

 

1. SF

2. SEA

3. DEN

4. NO

5. GB

6. NE

7. IND

8. PHI

9. CIN

10. CHI

11. AZ

12. KC

13. ATL

14. SD

15. CAR

16. DET

17. BAL

18. STL

19. PIT

20. BUF

21. NYG

22. TB

23. MIA

24. HOU

25. NYJ

26. CLE

27. MIN

28. DAL

29. WAS

30. OAK

31. JAX

32. TEN

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w/o even looking Bills 26

 

why didn't I look? because its freaking JUNE

 

what are you waiting for ?

 

are we going to learn something in training camp ? (very very little)

 

maybe the Bills are going to add a Free Agent starter ? (unlikely)

 

there may be only 2 or 3 starting jobs that are actually up for grabs (LG, SS , SLB)

 

this team is already known. it's a playoff team if they had a Franchise QB and they miss the playoffs with EJ.

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are we going to learn something in training camp ? (very very little)

 

I beg to differ, we'll learn about how all of our players are on the cusp of setting the league on fire this season.

 

Any preseason rankings that have us at a spot higher than 20th should be instantly discredited. Even 20th is generous until we prove otherwise.

 

The burden of proof is on the team.

Edited by TaskersGhost
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At this stage of the game:

 

Top shelf:

San Francisco

Seattle

Denver

New England

New Orleans

Green Bay

 

Middle shelf:

 

Chicago

Cincinnati

Arizona

St. Louis

Philly

Baltimore

Indy

San Diego

Carolina

Kansas City

 

Lower shelf:

 

Cleveland

Pittsburgh

Buffalo

New York Jets

Miami

Detroit

Tampa Bay

Atlanta

New York Giants

Washington

Dallas

 

Bottom shelf:

 

Tennessee

Jacksonville

Oakland

Houston

Minnesota

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I'D SAY VEGAS IS A LITTLE MORE IMPARTIAL:

 

Denver Broncos 6/1

Seattle Seahawks 13/2

San Francisco 49ers 17/2

New England Patriots 10/1

Green Bay Packers 14/1

New Orleans Saints 18/1

Chicago Bears 25/1

Indianapolis Colts 25/1

Philadelphia Eagles 30/1

Pittsburgh Steelers 32/1

Cincinnati Bengals 32/1

Detroit Lions 40/1

Baltimore Ravens 40/1

Carolina Panthers 40/1

New York Giants 45/1

Dallas Cowboys 48/1

Arizona Cardinals 50/1

San Diego Chargers 50/1

Kansas City Chiefs 50/1

St Louis Rams 50/1

Atlanta Falcons 52/1

Washington Redskins 55/1

Houston Texans 60/1

Miami Dolphins 65/1

New York Jets 70/1

Cleveland Browns 70/1

Buffalo Bills 75/1

Tampa Bay Buccanneers 75/1

Tennessee Titans 90/1

Minnesota Vikings 120/1

Oakland Raiders 150/1

Jacksonville Jaguars 250/1

 

Yes! I got my bet in for the Bills while they were still 100/1 at the Venetian. $2,000 here I come.

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The Bills...feel too high for me. You've got them slotted anywhere between 7th and 16th, and while I still can't see them as "top half of the league," half the teams in the league seem to be worse off. Were I "outside looking in" at the AFC East, I'd probably be saying "Yeah, they look good on paper...but they always do. They'll find a way to look like a Porsche, but run like a rusted-out Gremlin" and rank Miami above them (and possibly the Jets).

 

Wow, I found myself agreeing with DC Tom. I need beer. :beer: I will be delighted if the Bills hopes come to fruition this year. Unfortunately, the Jets and Miami will be considered better teams until we prove they are not by thumping them.

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The way that I view it with the division (and I try to be objective) is Bills, Jets, then Dolphins. The QBs, all have question marks (Tannehill is probably my favorite of the bunch). If you look at every other area on the field besides TE, OL (maybe) and ST I think that the Bills have the best talent (front 7, secondary, RBs, WR & maybe OL). They beat Miami twice and hammered the Jets in their second meeting. I actually believe that top to bottom the Bills are the most talented team in the division but think that they will finish behind Brady and Belicheck.

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The way that I view it with the division (and I try to be objective) is Bills, Jets, then Dolphins. The QBs, all have question marks (Tannehill is probably my favorite of the bunch). If you look at every other area on the field besides TE, OL (maybe) and ST I think that the Bills have the best talent (front 7, secondary, RBs, WR & maybe OL). They beat Miami twice and hammered the Jets in their second meeting. I actually believe that top to bottom the Bills are the most talented team in the division but think that they will finish behind Brady and Belicheck.

 

I agree with you. Talent-wise that is. I think Rex is a helluva coach though. There's a reason they went 8-8 last year with nothing.

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Arizona should be higher, even if the AFC is weaker. Cards beat the Seahawks in seattle last year when it seemed impossible. Arizona might be the third best team in that conference. I put them ahead of the saints and packers honestly.

 

The Cardinals would have been the scariest team in the playoffs last year if they made it. What they did to Seattle in Seattle giving Russel his first home loss in two years was fantastic. It happened at the end of the season when Seattle and SF were competing for the #1 seed so they had something to play for. They are a lot better than they get credit and Arians should have made coach of the year again back to back. Look what happened to Pittsburgh after he was let go as OC. They regressed to two 8-8 seasons. Then he goes to Indy and resurects that team as Pagano is out. Then he takes a 5-11 team with no t that many additions, and turns them in the toughest division in football to 10-6. his offense was figuring out their scheme in the beginning of the year. They will beat the SF and Seattle I'm betting once each.

 

I'm in the NFC South Conference in Tampa, so I follow the saints closely, and they had some losses on defense. We'll see. It's all speculation at this point. BTW- to the original poster, I liked a large percentage of your picks. Just giving my two cents on two of the 32. nice job.

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I'm in the NFC South Conference in Tampa, so I follow the saints closely, and they had some losses on defense. We'll see. It's all speculation at this point. BTW- to the original poster, I liked a large percentage of your picks. Just giving my two cents on two of the 32. nice job.

I like the Bucs to be a team on the rise this year. I am not in love with their QB situation but McCown was awfully good last year. Maybe the light went on.

 

I do not know if they will get by the Saints. They remade their secondary and it should be really, really good (especially if Baptiste is as good as they think). Their offensive playmakers will look a little different with guys like Khiry Robinson being featured. I actually think that adding Robinson (more prominently) & Cooks makes them a lot better. Thei OL has some question marks for sure. If that unit holds up I expect the Saints to be right there. They will have a top 10 defense, Drew Brees, Sean Payton and a handful of weapons. That's a recipe for success.

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Since I have time on this Sunday morning...

 

1. Seattle

2. San Francisco

3. Denver

4. New Orleans

5. Chicago

6. New England

7. Green Bay

8. Philadelphia

9. Cincinnati

10. Buffalo

11. Carolina

12. Detroit

13. St. Louis

14. Indianapolis

15. Arizona

16. Pittsburgh

17. San Diego

18. New York Giants

19. Tampa Bay

20. Baltimore

21. Cleveland

22. Kansas City

23. New York Jets

24. Dallas

25. Miami

26. Minnesota

27. Washington

28. Atlanta

29. Oakland

30. Jacksonville

31. Tennessee

32. Houston

 

Teams I'm higher on than most: Chicago, Buffalo, St. Louis, Arizona.

 

Teams I'm lower on than most: Baltimore, Kansas City, Dallas, Washington, Atlanta

 

The NFC West is really, really good. The AFC South is just as bad.

 

Like the last couple years, after Denver and New England, the AFC is WIDE open.

Edited by Lt. Dan's Revenge
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  1. Denver
  2. San Francisco
  3. New Orleans
  4. Seattle
  5. New England
  6. Cincinnati
  7. Green Bay
  8. Atlanta
  9. Indianapolis
  10. Kansas City
  11. Philadelphia
  12. Arizona
  13. San Diego
  14. Detroit
  15. Dallas
  16. Carolina
  17. Baltimore
  18. Chicago
  19. Pittsburgh
  20. Buffalo
  21. Tampa Bay
  22. Washington
  23. Miami
  24. NY Giants
  25. NY Jets
  26. St Louis
  27. Cleveland
  28. Minnesota
  29. Tennessee
  30. Oakland
  31. Houston
  32. Jacksonville

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