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To provide a fair and accurate ranking of all 32 teams it takes time, motivation, analysis, and quite frankly some guesswork. I've spent a good portion of the holiday weekend reading through articles about new coaches, new playbooks, players relocating during the off season, off season player injuries, players returning from injury, results of the 2015 drafts, again player injuries and how that affects teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars, and which teams still have question marks. Based on this, I've created a power ranking of all 32 teams.
So knowing that these things always get heavily debated, below is the results of some reading and ranking. I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments.
Revenge of the Birds 2015 NFL Power Rankings 6 July 2015:
Ranking | Team | Comment |
1 | Green Bay Packers | The Packers have the largest number of returning starters, scored the highest in the league in 2014, and only got deeper with talent. |
2 | Seattle Seahawks | They gained a lot of talent on the offensive side of the ball and lost a lot on defense. They're still one of the best teams in the NFL, but the roster churn leaves some question marks. |
3 | New England Patriots | A consistently outstanding team who also has a weak division. The Patriots lost some key cogs in the off season but they will still be in the hunt deep into the playoffs in 2015. |
4 | Pittsburgh Steelers | They're powerful offense is going to continue where it left off and the defense will start to return to it's glory days as players mature. They lost a few unexpected players in the off season but the Steelers are the team to beat in the AFC North. |
5 | Indianapolis Colts | The Colts have one of the best offenses in the NFL and that was with the lack of a running game in 2014. They added run support, retooled their defense, and are ready to make a solid shot in the AFC this year. They're doing everything right and they bump Denver for this spot. |
6 | Denver Broncos | Denver had a lot of turnover in the off season, and I'll say frankly it was too much. I think 6 is too high regardless of Peyton Manning and the Bronco D. They lost their head coach, Peyton is another year older, and their running game and line are question marks. Peyton won't be the same guy this year as seen in the playoffs. This 10-6 team will win the division and again stumble in the playoffs. |
7 | Dallas Cowboys | The Cowboys are prepped to raise up 1-2 slots if they can pick up where they left off in 2014. They're a team built to win now and if the distractions of the off season don't catch up to them they're tooled to win late with players returning from suspensions and being hungry to prove themselves. This could be a team deep in the playoffs. |
8 | Arizona Cardinals | The Cardinals were poised to strike deep into the playoffs if they had any signal caller that was worth their jersey in 2014 and in 2015, they have exactly that. Carson Palmer is returning with his best O-line he's ever played with and a team that is built to win now. Carson has one more shot with Larry Fitzgerald and he knows the window is closing. The Cardinals were ravaged with injuries at the end of 2014 but are getting healthier by the day and could push to win the NFC West in 2015 and go even further if they can avoid the injuries that derailed 2014. |
9 | Detroit Lions | The Detroit Lions have great weapons on both sides of the ball and will be fighting for their wild card spot in a tight division loaded with talent. |
10 | Baltimore Ravens | The Ravens quietly put up 409 points (8th) in 2014 and only allowed 302 points (6th). That's the type of team that deserves mentioning in the top 10 and they were able to snag high potential talent in the off season. The Ravens will be fighting with the Steelers in the AFC North and still have a lot of the recipe that helped them win a Super Bowl recently. |
11 | Philadelphia Eagles | The Eagles know how to score points and Chip Kelly has his experiment running on all cylinders. They added the leagues top rusher, patched some holes on Defense and gained more "Chip Kelly" guys. The team was 10-6 in 2014 will look to take back the division from the Cowboys this season. |
12 |
Cincinnati Bengals |
The Bengals performed well in their conference but broke even in their Division. They have a lot of skill players but they're looking up at a lot of power in their Division as well as the AFC. |
13 | Buffalo Bills | Talk about off season moves and you have to talk about Rex Ryan and his chess moves with the Bills. The Bills Defense was very good in 2014, will only improve in 2015, and suddenly they have a chance for a greatly improved offense. This may be a repeat of the 2011 Jets with a great defense, a power running game, and a game manager QB. |
14 | Kansas City Chiefs | Stability, power running game, and stout D. The only thing missing is the aerial attack. We'll see if Andy Reid is able to coax it out of his QB this year. |
15 | San Diego Chargers | A lot of off swirl and distractions. Now they lost Gates for four games due to suspension. This team had it's best shot last year and I think they'll suffer this year. |
16 | New Orleans Saints | The Saints added a lot of talent and are sitting in the middle of the road until they can prove they can return to their former offensive power, especially considering the departure of Jimmy Graham. I'm holding my breath but I think the Saints will return to a top-10 spot this season. |
17 | Houston Texans | Great D, interesting Offense, only question left is the QB. Who's it going to be and will they be consistent? |
18 | Carolina Panthers | This team has potential, but needs to shine on either it's Offense or Defense. Right now it's a middle of the pack performer and looking to stay that way. |
19 | Miami Dolphins | Winning the off season doesn't always mean winning the regular season. |
20 | Minnesota Vikings | All-Day I had to think about this one. This team could really surge if Teddy and AP start clicking. |
21 | San Francisco 49ers | I know this is a shock to sum, but I think the off season changes, departures, etc are going to make this a 7-9 team at best in 2015. |
22 | St. Louis Rams | Depending on how the preseason goes the Rams may surpass the 49ers this year. |
23 | Atlanta Falcons | Loaded with talent on the offense but unable to keep their opponents out of the end zone (allowed 417 points in 2014, 27th in the NFL). |
24 | Cleveland Browns | A team with an identity crisis but a lot of talent. |
25 | New York Giants | This team could end up going up a few spots if they continue to feed their star WR and get some better play out of their QB. The D gave up 400 points in 2014 and will probably repeat that in 2015. |
26 | New York Jets | A 4-12 team last year who had a huge off season and brought a great coach on board. The Jets are trending up. |
27 | Chicago Bears | Gone are the glory days of the Bears D (ranked 31st) and because of it they'll be rebuilding for another season to climb back up. |
28 | Jacksonville Jaguars | Even with the loss of their first round pick I think this is the year the Jaguars start to trend up in the league. |
29 |
Oakland Raiders |
I like their QB situation and the chance of a running game in Oakland. They just need a defense. |
30 | Tennessee Titans | Marcus Mariota might be able to help this team grow into something, but I'm biased and think Ken Whisenhunt will put too much weight on him and he'll have a season similar to Blake Bortles rookie season. |
31 | Washington Redskins | Not enough improvement and too much pressure on the QB room to carry the team. They'll be picking in the top five. Write this down. |
32 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | There are too many question marks coming from the Bucs and their QB room. Following a 2014 where they went 2-14 and the Saints and Panthers improved in the off season, this team might win five games in 2015. |
What do you think? What's your top 10?