Power Rankings - Week P1

  Posted 12/31 by Mike Brown, Exclusive to Footballguys.com

Well, another regular season is in the books. Pretty interesting season, to say the least. I hope you guys had as much fun reading these as I did writing them, but I'm pretty sure you didn't.

This week's feature is sort of a wrap-up to the season. In place of the usual weekly commentary, I've (wasted) used the last two hours to go through all 16 of the previous Power Rankings and locate three comments for each team. They could be great predictions (see Week 4 for the Giants), terrible predictions (see Week 1 for the Giants), or just plain nonsense (see Week 4 for Detroit). At the end of this week's feature, I have copied my preseason power rankings and playoff predictions so you can see how brilliant I am for ranking the Falcons as the 31st best team in the preseason and expecting the Browns to win the AFC North.

Games I watched in Week 17

• NE @ Buf (& parts of many others)
• Mia @ NYJ & Dal @ Phi
• Den @ SD
  

Power Rankings

Rk Team Name Record (Prv.)

1. Titans 13-3 (1)
   Week 2: Lost in all of the Vince Young drama is the fact that this defense and running game are good enough to hide whatever QB issues the Titans may face.
   
   Week 14: Another good sign from this bunch: respond off a loss by absolutely obliterating an inferior opponent. All the great teams do that.
   
   Week 16: Methinks this is going to be their final appearance in the top spot for 2008.
2. Giants 12-4 (2)
   Week 1: Several notable losses on defense is troublesome.
   
   Week 4: The Burress signing was a brilliant move, and helped the team to a Super Bowl. And they wouldn't trade that for anything. But there is the other side to Burress, and Giant fans have to hope it's being nipped in the bud in time.
   
   Week 8: Remember when it was simply assumed by many people (myself included) that the Giants would just fade back to the pack? How about um, they're Super Bowl favorites right now in the NFC -- and it's not close.
3. Steelers 12-4 (3)
   Week 2: Remember Hines Ward? Yeah, apparently Roethlisberger does too.
   
   Week 4: The only thing wrong with the Pittsburgh offense right now is that the top wideout is nowhere to be seen and the star quarterback is banged-up and the star running back is banged-up and the offensive line looks like garbage.
   
   Week 6: Did they clinch the North yet?
4. Panthers 12-4 (4)
   Week 1: I wonder if the Panthers will be a team that loses a bunch of close games and struggles to put away inferior opponents on a regular basis. Cause THAT would be something new!
   
   Week 2: The Panthers are all the way back to form. Watch out, rest of the NFC South.
   
   Week 16: I don't get many opportunities to brag in-season because my weekly picks ATS are typically disgusting, so I'd like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that I had DeAngelo Williams ranked higher in the preseason than all but one staffer (damn you, Wimer!).
5. Colts 12-4 (5)
   Week 10: For anyone who thinks the Colts aren't getting enough love from me, they're averaging fewer rushing yards per game than the Lions. Read that again, and get back to me.
   
   Week 11: With the remaining schedule they've got, a playoff spot should be all but guaranteed. But until they do something to fix that running game, I still say they're a one-and-done team.
   
   Week 14: With Tennessee no longer undefeated and unlikely to need the Week 17 win, the Colts have a great shot at closing out the season with nine straight wins to go 12-4. And then definitely losing in the first round of the playoffs.
6. Ravens 11-5 (6)
   Week 1: This Ravens team reminds me a lot of the 2000 Super Bowl team, just without the talent.
   
   Week 6: Prediction: the Ravens are nowhere near the 20's in my rankings by the time the season is over.
   
   Week 14: Combined record of the teams they've beaten: 26-44-2. Combined record of the teams they've lost to: 39-9. In other words, this might be the definition of a team taking advantage of some creampuff matchups.
7. Falcons 11-5 (8)
   Week 2: I probably picked the wrong week to say I don't like Matt Ryan long-term, huh? Although can we hold off on his HOF induction for another week or two? Thanks.
   
   Week 8: Outside of losing its next ten games, don't you get the feeling that 2008 is already a wildly successful season for Atlanta?
   
   Week 16: I essentially proclaimed their season over after the Denver loss. All they've done since then is prove that they're for real and that I'm an idiot. Nicely done.
8. Vikings 10-6 (10)
   Week 1: Best D in football got better, so did the running game, and the passing game. Look out.
   
   Week 2: Lost in the Rodgers mania Monday night was the fact that Tarvaris Jackson actually looked like a real NFL quarterback.
   
   Week 7: If there is any - and I mean ANY - way for you to go out and get Adrian Peterson...do yourself a favor and get him. Now. Guys this good don't stay this mediocre for too long.
9. Eagles 9-6-1 (15)
   Week 5: Definition of unfair: being the 9th best team in football but last in your own division.
   
   Week 11: This week's game was the first sign of something being seriously wrong here. It could be a steep slide if they don't get it right - quickly.
   
   Week 16: Like Mikey McDermott in Rounders, this team just keeps hanging around, hanging around. I feel like I used this reference before. Whatever, only two of you read this article so I don't have to worry too much.
10. Patriots 11-5 (11)
    Week 2: For anyone who thinks 2008 is like 2001, well I completely agree with you if you think that Tom Brady is a declining and overrated veteran and that Matt Cassel is about to throw his name into the discussion for the greatest QB of all-time.
    
    Week 4: Less than impressive wins over a mediocre team and an awful team, followed by a blowout loss at home to another marginal opponent. So when does it turn into 2001 again?
    
    Week 11: No team this year has been less interesting, win or lose, than New England. And that's a big reason why I don't think anyone wants to see them get into the playoffs.
11. Dolphins 11-5 (13)
    Week 1: Mike Brown's power rankings...the only place a 1-15 team can be ahead of four other teams.
    
    Week 2: A lot went right, but a lot went wrong too. It's gonna take some time for Bill to get "his" guys, but at least they're headed in the right direction.
    
    Week 10: Don't look now, but with their remaining schedule I see the potential for a 10-win season. Seriously.
12. Chargers 8-8 (18)
    Week 4: Let's face it - at a deserved 2-1 this would be a top five team right now, defensive warts and all. Alright I'm done lamenting the Denver game now.
    
    Week 12: Something tells me they're still going to climb out of this Kardashian butt-sized abyss that they're in.
    
    Week 14: From where I sit, the division is very much within reach. All they need is to now beat Tampa on the road, Denver loses at home to Buffalo, Norv Turner walks on water, and they sign Sean Astin to get some pressure on the opposing quarterback. Bank on it.
13. Cowboys 9-7 (7)
    Week 5: Slowly but surely, we're all coming to the same realization that it's difficult to win football games when you don't really stop the other team ever.
    
    Week 8: They're only this high because of what they did early and because they beat a quality team, but in all honesty I don't think they're anywhere near the sixth-best team in the league.
    
    Week 14: I'll say again: 14 PPG in games started by Brad Johnson; 29 PPG in games Romo starts. I'm not saying he should win or anything, but let's at least include Tony Romo in the MVP discussion, no?
14. Bears 9-7 (9)
    Week 3: Through two games, even though Kyle Orton hasn't thrown a touchdown, he also hasn't turned the ball over once. Word on the street is that the monument is going to be on the south end of Soldier Field.
    
    Week 11: Is Matt Forte putting up the quietest top-5 fantasy campaign of all-time, or what?
    
    Week 16: While the rest of the nation laughed at the reporter throwing his shoe at George Bush, Kyle Orton sat at home and cried. He knows that reporter will have his job by 2009.
15. Bucs 9-7 (12)
    Week 2: You know, aside from allowing Drew Brees to absolutely throw the ball wherever he wanted, the revamped defense showed up big-time.
    
    Week 10: A loss to KC would've dropped them into the teens. As it stands, it's already inexcusable how they forgot to show up for the first quarter.
    
    Week 14: Tampa has lost three games by a total of eleven points. Read that sentence again. What a job being done by Jon Gruden.
16. Redskins 8-8 (14)
    Week 4: Nobody outside of the Texans looked more lost in Week 1. And nobody has rebounded any quicker since then.
    
    Week 5: The Redskins truly are the anti-Entourage. In their case, they started off like crap and have come around to be really good.
    
    Week 8: So Washington went out and spent all these high draft picks on receivers to revamp the offense, and the guys getting it done are Portis, Moss, and Cooley. Well it's a damn good thing they added those rooks huh?
17. Jets 9-7 (16)
    Week 3: I know you can't count out Brett Favre, but barely beating Miami and then doing nothing against a Brady-less Pats team has to be a bit of a concern.
    
    Week 7: I got an e-mail from Chase Stuart a few weeks ago after the Jets dismantled Arizona that simply told me that Brett Favre is good. Well, if no touchdowns and two interceptions against the Bengals prove anything, it's that Chase is a great guy.
    
    Week 14: In hindsight, we all should have seen that one coming. There's no way the Jets would simply hand their fans that much positive hope this late in the season.
18. Saints 8-8 (17)
    Week 1: Drew Brees is poised for a career year...again.
    
    Week 9: Marques Colston arrived in New Orleans in 2006, the same year as Drew Brees. Nothing against Colston, but watching Lance Moore and Devery Henderson and crew running circles around every defense makes me wonder who is actually more responsible for Colston's breakout seemingly from nowhere.
    
    Week 14: I'm going to keep asking this until I get a straight answer, but how is this a .500 team?
19. Texans 8-8 (21)
    Week 10: Statistically, the Texans probably won't lose a ton going from Schaub to Rosenfels. But if you think they won't lose something realistically, you haven't been paying attention.
    
    Week 11: You know something? The only impressive things they've done all year are beat Miami on a last-second play and almost beat the Colts. Perhaps they ARE as bad as we first thought.
    
    Week 12: Can someone please explain why Matt Schaub is not on IR yet? Are they really going to bring him back for the last two games with a bum knee and probably sitting at 4-10 by that point?
20. Cardinals 9-7 (22)
    Week 2: I'm starting to get the feeling that Arizona is going to force Tim Hightower to become the next Marion Barber, whether he is or not.
    
    Week 3: Having picked Arizona to win the NFC West for I believe the last four seasons, I'm taking no credit if they somehow actually do it this year. Blind squirrel and all.
    
    Week 16: This seems like an obvious answer at first because of the team's history, but if Arizona gets embarrassed in the first round by the Falcons, was it still a successful season?
21. Bills 7-9 (19)
    Week 2: It's been awhile since we could say that the Bills could do no wrong. Clearly on the rise.
    
    Week 6: I don't want to say we've all horribly overrated the Bills, but...I think we've all horribly overrated the Bills.
    
    Week 14: The Buffalo QB is going to be starring in a new movie called "The Curious Case Of Trent Edwards". It's about a quarterback who starts off his season as a Pro Bowler and over the course of the year, he regresses in the opposite direction to become a scrub.
22. Broncos 8-8 (20)
    Week 4: If there's one team currently in the top ten that I don't expect to be there in a few weeks, it's this one. Still, there's no denying the offensive firepower here.
    
    Week 12: They're like the soft core movies on HBO Zone after midnight. They look good enough and they typically get the job done, but when you look really carefully you can tell they're clearly a step down from the elite.
    
    Week 15: So Denver's magic number is down to only one. That means they need to win one more or the Chargers need to lose one more. How many Denver fans feel supremely confident right now -- four? Six?
23. Packers 6-10 (24)
    Week 6: Just so I understand for future reference...when the Packers win, it's because Aaron Rodgers is better than Favre right now. But if they lose, Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy are idiots. Got it.
    
    Week 8: Good thing they won these last two, because they've got an absolutely murderous stretch coming up after the bye week.
    
    Week 16: Hey, remember when they were 4-3 and had just trounced the Colts heading into the bye week? Seems like that was about 147 weeks ago.
24. Niners 7-9 (25)
    Week 1: I love how the same people who questioned Martz three years ago because he only had Jon Kitna, are now saying the Niners offense won't be as good as Detroit's was because "at least the Lions had Kitna".
    
    Week 2: Some people were surprised at how the San Francisco offense performed, but at least they have the "get the quarterback sacked repeatedly and turn the ball over way too much" part of the Martz offense down pat.
    
    Week 12: The Niners aren't elite, but the team is averaging sixty yards more per game through the air than they did a year ago. Tell me again that Martz is overrated.
25. Jaguars 5-11 (23)
    Week 1: David Garrard joins the league's elite this year. As long as someone catches the ball.
    
    Week 2: The losses Jacksonville has suffered to the O-line are getting all the pub, but the defense failing to stop Kerry Collins twice on third down has to be a LITTLE disconcerting no?
    
    Week 4: A quick glance at their remaining schedule shows me that the baseline for this team's victory total is at least ten. Not too shabby after an 0-2 start and staring down the Colts in Indy.
26. Raiders 5-11 (29)
    Week 1: I still say the offense will surprise some people.
    
    Week 7: Do you realize how long it's been since the Raiders had a winning season? The last time Oakland was good, no one had ever heard of Frank Caliendo. Think about that.
    
    Week 16: Darren McFadden is going to be remarkably undervalued in drafts next year. Remarkably.
27. Bengals 4-11-1 (28)
    Week 2: I have more hope for the new 90210 lasting another season than I do for Marvin Lewis.
    
    Week 3: The Bengals without an offense are like Paul Walker without his good looks. Oh yeah - I went there.
    
    Week 5: Am I crazy to think Carson Palmer is not playing again in 2008? Go ahead, point to a more secretive injury in NFL history, I dare you.
28. Browns 4-12 (26)
    Week 4: Derek Anderson, we hope you enjoyed your time playing the role of Scott Mitchell. Please go now.
    
    Week 13: Hey good news, Derek! Brady broke his finger. Yup, so he's done for the year. So uh, ya still feel like playin'? Great! OK well we're at Tennessee, Philly, and Pittsburgh over the next five weeks. No, no, no, you'll survive probably not. What? I didn't say anything!
    
    Week 16: Good thing they won those early-season games, because Monday night they sure looked like the worst team in all of football.
29. Seahawks 4-12 (27)
    Week 1: Raise your hand if you think Julius Jones is terrible...Julius, put your hand down.
    
    Week 6: So, um. Didn't Seattle make a conscious effort to upgrade the defense?
    
    Week 7: The biggest problem I see with Seattle is that most of the players are really bad at football.
30. Chiefs 2-14 (30)
    Week 2: I heard a rumor that New England defenders wanted to take out the Chiefs best player in retaliation for Brady, but the Chiefs don't have a best player so nothing happened.
    
    Week 4: I'm comfortable calling the Chiefs 'the taint of professional football'.
    
    Week 12: This is going to be the team that is coming off a 2-14 season but then starts off 5-1 in 2009 and everyone wonders how they turned in around so quickly. They're the perfect example of how small the margin of error is between a win and a loss in the NFL.
31. Rams 2-14 (31)
    Week 1: Torry Holt is either going to catch 130 passes or be triple-teamed on every play.
    
    Week 4: Rams are the worst team in the league. Clay Aiken is gay. Humans breathe oxygen.
    
    Week 9: If Donnie Avery isn't the most-traded player in fantasy football this week, I'll be shocked. Here's the kicker, though - in my opinion he hasn't reached his peak value yet.
32. Lions 0-16 (32)
    Week 4: Matt Millen lasting this long with Detroit is more amazing than Cash Warren still being the love of Jessica Alba's life.
    
    Week 8: I don't normally do this, but I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Calvin Johnson's parents for fornicating at the precise right time to create him.
    
    Week 16: No matter what happens the next two weeks, one thing Lions fans can take from this season is the never quit attitude of one Mr. Calvin Johnson. The effort to get himself into the end zone on his touchdown catch and run this past week was outstanding from a second year guy playing out the string on a winless team. He's going to be some fun to watch these next ten years or so.

Super Shufflers of the Week

• Philadelphia Eagles and San Diego Chargers (tie) +6...Dramatic victories to secure playoff spots helped, but just as key in moving up this much was the manner in which each team won.
• Oakland Raiders (+3)...It would figure that the one week Raider fans really wanted to lose, they won.
  

Plungers of the Week

• Dallas Cowboys (-6)...True or false? Tony Romo is in his third year as a starter. Perhaps people should calm down a bit.
• Chicago Bears (-5)...It's not JUST the loss to the Texans that did it; it's that a lot of the teams around them that needed to win, did.
• Tampa Bay Bucs (-3)...They probably deserve be even lower because of a loss to Oakland, but they did have a great first 13 weeks.

Power Rankings

1. Patriots
2. Cowboys
3. Chargers
4. Colts
5. Jaguars
6. Giants
7. Vikings
8. Jets
9. Packers
10. Browns
11. Steelers
12. Eagles
13. Saints
14. Broncos
15. Panthers
16. Texans
17. Titans
18. Redskins
19. Cardinals
20. Seahawks
21. Rams
22. Bills
23. Bucs
24. Niners
25. Lions
26. Bengals
27. Chiefs
28. Dolphins
29. Ravens
30. Raiders
31. Falcons
32. Bears

2008 Predictions

• AFC East
1. Patriots
2. Jets
3. Bills
4. Dolphins
• AFC North
1. Browns
2. Steelers
3. Bengals
4. Ravens
• AFC South
1. Jaguars
2. Colts
3. Texans
4. Titans
• AFC West
1. Chargers
2. Broncos
3. Raiders
4. Chiefs
• AFC Playoff Teams
1. Jaguars
2. Patriots
3. Chargers
4. Browns
5. Colts
6. Jets (Texans, Steelers just miss out)
• AFC Championship
  Jaguars over Patriots
  
  
• NFC East
1. Cowboys
2. Eagles
3. Giants
4. Redskins
• NFC North
1. Vikings
2. Packers
3. Lions
4. Bears
• NFC South
1. Saints
2. Panthers
3. Bucs
4. Falcons
• NFC West
1. Cardinals
2. Rams
3. Seahawks
4. Niners
• NFC Playoff Teams
1. Vikings
2. Cowboys
3. Saints
4. Cardinals
5. Panthers
6. Eagles (Giants just miss out)
• NFC Championship
  Vikings over Saints
  
  
• SUPER BOWL
  Vikings over Jaguars