NFL Off Season Power Rankings (2007-08)
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by user Hbvgamer
Everyone is talking about baseball and their mid-season Analysis'. What about all those football fans out there? These are my off-season Power Rankings based on schedule strength and off season pickups/losses.
1. New England Patriots-They acquired Randy Moss in the off season and if they sign Samuel, their defense will be topnotch. Their offense will be unstoppable with Moss, Caldwell, Brady, Maroney, just to name a few. With a few key wins, you could find them at a near perfect season.
2. San Diego Chargers -The Chargers offense was the best in the league last year scoring many points. They haven’t lost any key players and Phillip Rivers is just beginning to step up his game showing what he can do in the last few games of the season. With Tomlinson and the Chargers offensive line, the run game will be huge for them. Defense will be the key for them in the upcoming season, I expect big things out of Jammer!
3. Baltimore Ravens-The Ravens are back! Playing as top contenders of the AFC, I predict they will have the top defense in the NFL. All they need is for Steve McNair to remain healthy for most of the season and the Ravens will have a chance of succeeding greatly.
4. Carolina Panthers-The Delhomme, Smith combination has been dominate. Few, if any, have been able to stop Steve Smith recently. All Jake has to do is put it in his hands and good things will happen. They seem to be forgotten last year ending up with a final record of 8-8. The only reason was due to the lack of running. Foster was out for a while as well as DeAngelo Williams, with there top two running backs out, the defense knew where every play was going.
5. Philadelphia Eagles-McNabb and the Eagles have shown they can work together and achieve great things. They don’t have the dominate Stallworth anymore but it never makes a difference for McNabb, he'll give any receiver a chance. Westbrook will easily run for another 1,000 yard season if he remains healthy. They are back and ready to play. They seem to be at full health with many improvements from last year.
6. Chicago Bears-The defending NFC champions have more competition this year. The lost of Tank Johnson is a huge hit to their defense. Their offense also hasn't proven yet, they need Grossman needs to have a good year to be Super Bowl contenders. They are going to have to be great this year to make it to the Super Bowl.
7. New Orleans Saints-Not much has happened with the Saints. They still have basically the same team as last year. Colston will be a great replacement to Joe Horn as the top receiver. Bush will continue to run for big yards with his amazing speed. He is the first player to ever get 100 in speed in a Madden game. McAllister will continue to pound the ball and be an unstoppable force, but the Saints may trade one of them (McAllister) to make improvements like their defense.
8. Indianapolis Colts-Why so low you may ask? Domenic Rhodes. He has left leaving the rest of the running game to Addai. Don't et me wrong, Addai is a great HB, but he won't be a replacement for James or Rhodes in previous years. They continue to have a great passing game only because of the receivers. Many may disagree but Manning is overrated and the receivers are underrated. In addition to that, they have a very tough schedule. Teams know their plays and have already begun practicing defenses against them. I believe the defending World Champions will not do as well as last year. I'm not saying the Colts are finished, I’m just saying they need a year off
9. Denver Broncos-Jay Cutler has been a shocking surprise to Denver as he took control of the offense and led to many victories when Plummer was not succeeding. The Broncos took picked a great choice for a backup Q. Patrick Ramsey is a guy with many years under his belt and knows how the game is played. He will help guide Cutler throughout the year. If Cutler goes down, then Ramsey is good enough to step in a do a decent job as proved with the Chiefs. As far a receivers go, they have the top two (Rod Smith and Javon Walker). To go with that, Travis Henry has been brought into the organization gaining over 1200 yards last year. Mike Bell is still young and learning but will be good in the future. Champ Baily and Dre' Ply will do a great job at corner and the rest of the defense looks great.
10. Miami Dolphins-The AFC is a tough league to be in but I think this will be the year before they are at the top of the league. Trent Green was brought in from Washington, but they still have Culpepper who has seen his better days but is still an effective Quarterback. Chambers and Booker will be great like past seasons but perhaps a huge pickup made in the draft was Ted Gin Jr. He is ready for the NFL and will succeed in future years. He clearly isn't ready for a starting position but he will get a few catches in and possibly be a 3rd great receiver for Trent. Defensively they have Porter, Thomas and Crowder who are a few of the best LB's in the league. Goodman will also have a great season at CB.
11. Seattle Seahawks-Seattle's not done yet! They still have Shaun Alexander, Matt Hasselbeck, and a strong WR core. Last year the running game wasn't great due to the loss of Hutchinson who was a big man in the middle. He was lost which made a huge hole in the offensive line. They haven’t done much to repair the hole so expect the running game to be about the same as last year.
12. New York Jets-The Jets will be the top of New York city in football. I believe they will have a good season. Pennington and Coles must stay healthy and work together to establish a good passing game. Although the Jet's QB isn't great, he seems to get the job done in New York. Thomas Jones from the Bears has come to the Jets! Rushing for 1,200+ yards last year he will prove to be great. Remember how many times Grossman got hit last year? The Bears O-line isn't good much like the Jets line, but will have more success here. Ferguson and Moore will make holes for Thomas to run through opening the Jets to a big running season this year.
13. Dallas Cowboys-Tony Romo and the Cowboys will have a fairly good season. I'm not much of a Dallas fan, but I have respect for them. They clearly have a great passing game with both, Glenn and Owens gaining over 1,000 yards. They have a tough schedule playing against New England and playing at; Miami, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Carolina. Julius Jones barely ran for over 1,000 yards and if they are going to be successful, they need to establish and maintain the running game. Roy Williams will also have to step his game up from last year as the defense isn't the greatest. They will be tough to beat though and have many close games so it's tough to say exactly where they'll end up.
14. Jacksonville Jaguars-Jacksonville has been good the past few years but again, in the past few years, many teams have been struggling due to big changes in the organizations. Miami and Baltimore are just a few that will end up with better records than the Jags only pushing them down in the rankings. They are still a top team in the AFC. They also haven't made many changes or big deals. Mathis is a very good CB and will continue to get interceptions and creating turnovers for the offense.
15. Cincinnati Bengals-They still have a great offense which cannot be forgotten! It is not as good as San Diego so they can't expect their offense to win all the games like the Chargers have done. Their defense needs to step it up and do better this year. The organization also can't afford anymore crimes and bad rep. The last thing they need after last year is a top player to be suspended for a few games. Palmer, Rudi Johnson, Chad Johnson, and T.J. Houshmandzadeh are going to have a good season. All but T.J. went 1300+ yards but Houshmandzadeh still had a great season with over 1,000 yards. With defensive improvement, the Bengals could be good in a few years.
16. Tennessee Titans-Vince Young is like the new Mike Vick. He is like the running back and QB at the same time. He may not have a strong arm, but he makes his plays and throws for accuracy to his receivers. It is going to be very tough for defenses to stop him, but if Young takes a huge hit and is out for a while, the Titans will not win many games.
17. Washington Redskins-The Redskins will get it together this year. Honestly, they have a pretty good team and they will prove it this year, well more than last year. They need to decide on a starting QB whether it's Brunell or Campbell, they are both qualified for the job and will do great. There is also the RB situation. Clinton Portis is a good Running Back and has been Washington's guy for a while, but Betts may take over that spot running for over 1100 yards last year. The passing game will also be big with Santana Moss, Brandon Lloyd, and Antwaan Randle El who all could go over 1,000 yards receiving. They all probably won't, but each of them has a lot of potential. Their Defense has also been physical. They were rated by the players as the most physical defense in the NFL according to a Sports Illustrated poll took during last season. Smoot, Landry, and Fletcher-Baker have the backfield covered. Griffen and Carter are two of the best linemen in the game. Most teams will be forced to run to the right side in fear of these two players.
18. St. Louis Rams-The Rams are another high-powered offense. Bulger threw for over 4,300 yards spreading the ball around. Only about half of his yards went to the top two receivers (Holt and Bruce). Stephen Jackson as a top RB rushing for over 1,500 yards last year with a great offensive line that opens huge wholes. The only reason they are so low in the rankings is due to the defense and secondary. They have a great line who consistently sack and put pressure in the backfield but the secondary have had their troubles and need to play unbelievable this year to move up the rankings.
19. Pittsburgh Steelers-The Steelers have seen their better days. It seems to have been all downhill from the Championship they won. Roethelisberger is good and will just have to show how good he is this year. He has Hines Ward as a go to guy who consistently gets 1,000+ yards every year, but his number two and three receiver left. Santonio Holmes is going to have a better season then last year, getting more balls thrown his way and becoming a 1,000+ receiver as well. Willie Parker is a fast, small man who can get a lot of yards. He cannot punch it through the middle in a goal line situation and does not have the strength to earn extra yards needed at moments. The Steelers are yet again, going to be lost while going into the red zone. Troy Polamalu is going to have to do better than last year and se the field better. He had only 3 int's last year which is average for a safety, but as the leader of the D, he is going to have to get more. He defense needs more work and Troy can't do it all!
20. Arizona Cardinals-The Cardinals have something brewing within the organization. With Kurt Warner and Matt Lienart at QB, good things are bound to happen. They have perhaps two of the best WR's in the game, Fitzgerald and Boldin. They also have Edgerrin James who is a force in the backfield along with J.J. Arrington who has yet to be seen in the NFL. He may be great when he starts playing but cannot be positive. Wilson and Griffith are two great safeties who will make plays and create turnovers. Along with them, Antrel Rolle has proved to be a great Cornerback breaking up almost every play that comes near him. In a few years these guys won't just be good, they'll be great.
21. New York Giants-Eli Manning is going to have to see the field much better next season to succeed. In the NFL, 24 TD's is good, but 18 INT's are not. He is going to have to change that. He still has his go-to-guy, Plaxico Burress who is an amazing receiver but he doesn't have many other guys who can catch. Tiki Barber has a huge loss to the Giants. Replacing him will be Brandon Jacobs in the starting slot, but if he can't get the job done, Ruebon Droughns from the Cleveland Browns is a big guy who knows how to run the ball. He could have a great season on the Giants since they have a great O-line whereas in Cleveland, Ruebon had no O-line and earned every yard gaining over 1,000 in some seasons.
22. Tampa Bay Buccaneers-They havn't made many improvements since last year, but they did make a big one. They acquired Jeff Garcia who proved he was good on the Eagles. Chris Simms will probably lose his starting position to Garcia. Cadillac Williams will have about the same season as last year getting up around 800 yards. At least there is some running game! The real offense is going to be through the air with Galloway and Clayton. Both are great receivers who run their routes and know what to do with the ball. Their defense hasn't changed much so I don't expect them to win a whole lot of games, but Garcia is going to be big for them.
23. Houston Texans-They may be onto something here. They picked up Schaub from Atlanta and Ahman Green. With Carr in Carolina, the ball will the thrown more and completed. The offense has huge improvements from last year.
24. Atlanta Falcons- The Falcons have lost it. Mike Vick has ruined them. The owner could have decided to fire wither the head coach, or trade Mike Vick, he picked the wrong move. The Falcons aren’t going anywhere. I haven't heard the latest on Vick's dog fighting crime but it looks awful for the Falcons and the NFL. I am not sure if it's already been decided or not, but he will most likely be suspended by the NFL for a few games. Schaub is no where in sight anymore. Who comes to the rescue? Joey Harrington! Schaub was probably their worst loss, no one wants Harrington starting for them, unless of coarse they are from Detroit and are called the Lions. Anyway, they seemed to upgrade their WR with Finneran, Horn, and Crumpler, they just need someone to throw the balls to them. Warrick Dunn is always a beastly RB who can get big yards. Again, the only reason the Falcons are going to fail this year is because of Mike Vick and the loss of Matt Schaub.
25. Cleveland Browns-The Browns have made huge improvements during the offseason. Brady Quinn was a big pick in the draft. I think he will not be effective right out of the gate, but with experience and guidance, he'll come around mid to late season, that is, if he gets the experience which I'm sure he will. Frye isn't the greatest QB. Jamal Lewis will be starting at Halfback for the Browns running for 1132 yards last season. They also have great receivers with tons of potential (Braylon Edwards and Joe Jurevicus). The O-line will be great for Lewis with Joe Thomas opening holes for him. Defense is also big for the Browns. Willie McGinest and Andra Davis at Linebacker will be unstoppable together. It doesn't stop there, Ted Washington will is always a force up the middle and Sean Jones in the backfield after coming off of a magnificent season with 111 tackles and 5 interceptions as the strong safety. Expect big things from the Brown in future years. The only reason they are rated so low is due to their schedule, almost every team they play has potential to go to the Super Bowl. They seem to be recreating the New England Patriots dynasty team!
26. Buffalo Bills-The Bills have only been gong downhill the past few years. They have a lot of new players, nothing I would really call "new talent". J.P. Losman will be the starting QB who threw for the same TD's and interceptions. Lee Evans and Peerless Price will be receiving the ball from Losman who are both very good at what they do, all J.P. has to do is get the ball to them and good things will happen. Don't expect a huge running game from the Bills either, they have 5 new guys, four of which have not played last year and one who totaled 378 in yards (2nd string for the Bills this year). The only defensive player teams should worry about is Aaron Schobel who had 14 sacks last year, but other than him, the rest of the defense won't be a threat to anyone, not even the Lions offense.
27. San Francisco 49ers-Well, at least the 49ers don't have to reputation of being THE worst in the league, just a bad team. Darrell Jackson from the Seahawks was a big pickup for them giving Alex Smith at least one go-to guy for the season. Frank Gore is a big guy with a lot of speed. He rushed for 5 yards shy of 1,700 yards last season. Their right Cornerback, Walt Harris, is also a key player in their defense. He had 8 int's last year and will be a force the 49ers will use at will.
28. Kansas City Chiefs-What do you want me to say? They went from playoff contenders to one of the worst teams in the NFL. Croyle will be starting at Quarterback this season with only two games from last season under his belt. He is going to work exceedingly hard and have a great season for the Chiefs to even have a chance at being .500. Larry Johnson will continue to rush for a lot of yards. The receivers are fairly good with Kennison, Gonzalez, and Parker, but they are going to need Croyle to come through. Damon Huard will be their backup QB with 11 TD's and 1 INT in 10 games last year. It isn't the ratio of touchdowns and interceptions that has Huard at backup, it’s the lack of touchdowns, 11 in 10 games isn't a whole lot. In the mean time, there defense will struggle without Ty Law helping again. Law needs to step it up, he had a total of 4 interceptions last year, he needs to bring all his numbers up and help his team out a little.
29. Green Bay Packers-Favre needs to retire! He is doing nothing to help the Packers out. He has been steadily decreasing with every year. Last year he had 18 touchdowns and 18 interceptions with a 56% completion rate. Joey Harrington has a better completion percentage with 62.5! Donald Driver is getting all the passes as he is a dominant receiver, but the defenses have figured that out. Their number two receiver, Jennings, caught for less then half the yards then Driver. The running game is completely gone for the Packers, neither their HB's nor FB's have very, very little experience, if any. I hate to say it, but I think their defense may actually be better then their offense. Woodson had 8 interceptions last year and knows how to play the game at corner. Kampman also had 15.5 sacks last year which is almost a sack per game. Maybe when Favre retires, they will move up in the rankings.
30. Detroit Lions-They made a few improvements, but not many. They went from Harrington to Kitna at the QB position. Guess they aren't winning 10 games anymore! It's not like they would have with Harrington, but I guess now he has an excuse? Anyway, the WR core has improved a lot which included Roy Williams, Calvin Johnson (Rookie), and Mike Furrey. They have also acquired Tatum Bell from the Broncos. It's going to be weird seeing Tatum in a Lions uniform. Kevin Jones for some reason is still their starter, but I doubt he'll start the season, Bell's just too good, but we'll see just how well with the Lions offensive line. Their whole defensive line totaled 14 sacks from last year. To sum up the Lions defense, it sucks.
31.? Minnesota Vikings-The Vikings went 6-10 last year with many players who they lost. Well they got replacements that happened to be even worse. A guy named Tarvaris Jackson will be starting for Quarterback this season. His only decent receiver will be Troy Williamson who didn't even gain 500 yards last year. Chester Taylor will remain as their running back. He can expect a lot more touches throughout the season as they will have nothing to do with the ball since passing is out of the question. Darren Sharper and Antoine Winfield are going to have to carry the defense since they will be getting no help from anyone. Honestly, this could be the most idiotic analysis I've ever seen for the Vikings.
32. Oakland Raiders-The Raiders have been awful since going to the Super Bowl a little while back. Josh McCown will start the 2007-08 season as the Raiders Quarterback. He won't really have anyone to throw to unless Ronald Curry and Mike Williams have great seasons but don't count on it. LaMont Jordan is still in Oakland. In 9 games he ran for 434 yards. He may soon be replaced by Domenic Rhodes. Rhodes showed his stuff on the Colts but the thing was, the Colts have perhaps the best offensive lines in the league, so Rhodes may not be getting many yards or even touches this season. Everyone on the defense has many tackles because the offense kept turning the ball over so the defense was always on the field. Asomugha had 8 interceptions last year and is going to need to carry the secondary as no one else looks like they can contribute a whole lot. Let’s not forget the line though. Warren Sapp (10 Sacks), and Derrek Burgess (11 Sacks) will carry the defense in hopes of keeping the Raiders out of last place.
Please leave your comments and questions you have.
