NFL Power Rankings (End of Season): Packers #1 49ers #2

Benjamin Parker January 7, 2012 0

NFL Power Rankings (End of Season): Packers #1 49ers #2

Here are my Power Rankings at the end of the NFL season. Enjoy! This will also be a playoff preview for the teams that are in the playoffs.

(+/-) 1. Green Bay Packers (15-1): Matt Flynn is being talked of as the next great QB in the NFL. Largely because of all the weapons the Packers have on offense. Look for them to be explosive and victorious in the divisional round no matter who they play. Also, it helps to know that your backup QB has beaten a team that you may go on to face come post-season.
(+2) 2. San Francisco 49ers (13-3): They got home field advantage through the divisional round and have a first round bye. The defense seems to be really good. But will it be good enough to stop New Orleans or Green Bay? I think it is, and with the weak defense that is being played in New Orleans and Green Bay, they should be able to put up enough points to reach the Super Bowl.
(-1) 3. New Orleans Saints (13-3): Look for the Lions to give them a tough game, but also look for the Saints offense to be too much for them to handle. That being said, they are facing a team that hasn’t won a playoff game since 1991, and is hungry to make a a change to that.
(-1) 4. New England Patriots (13-3): The offense is great no question, and they have clinched the #1 seed in the AFC. But the defense is still a major concern. Will they win their first playoff game since the 2007-2008 season? That remains to be seen.
(+2) 5. Baltimore Ravens (12-4): They have a great defense no doubt about it, and they are the exact opposite of New England in that regard. It’s their offense that has people worried in terms of picking them to go all the way. Still, the ground game is very good, and the defense is scary. Perhaps the Ravens will breakthrough this year.
(+/-) 6. Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4): Yes they are banged up and hurt, but look for them to beat the Broncos this weekend. Will they return to the Super Bowl? Probably not, but with how wide open the AFC is, anything is possible.
(-2) 7. Detroit Lions (10-6): They made Matt Flynn look like freaking Joe Montana. The defense has to pick up against the Saints this weekend.
(+2) 8. Atlanta Falcons (10-6): Giants/Falcons just might be your showdown of the week. I expect the Giants to win, but the Falcons have a very good shot of winning. The Giants have looked very erratic this season. Don’t be surprised to see a Falcon victory this weekend.
(+/-) 9. Houston Texans (10-6): They’ve had many injuries this season, but they are in the playoffs. They do have a tough opponent in the Bengals. I don’t see Houston winning this weekend with TJ Yates at the helm and Andre Johnson being iffy. He’ll be out there, but how effective will he be?
(-2) 10. Cincinnati Bengals (9-7): They are a true sleeper team to win the AFC, but with how wide open it is, don’t be shocked to see them in the Super Bowl.
(+1): 11. New York Giants (9-7): They beat the Cowboys convincingly, and did what they set out to do, which was win the NFC East. Another dark horse, I wouldn’t sleep on the Giants. They played the sleeper role To a T back when they won the Super Bowl in 2008.
(-1) 12. Denver Broncos (8-8): They’ve gotten themselves into the playoffs, and now it’s time to see how much magic Tim Tebow has left.
(+1) 13. Dallas Cowboys (8-8): They just missed the playoffs, and now the talk is should Jerry Jones recede into the background and surrender his GM duties. I doubt he does, but it could help a lot if he did.
(+2) 14. Tennessee Titans (9-7): Had Chris Johnson been in his best form all season, we might be seeing them in the Wild Card round.
(+2) 15. Arizona Cardinals (8-8): They finished the season strongly, and I expect them to play well next season and make a run at the playoffs. Larry Fitzgerald is still the best WR in the NFL.
(-1) 16. Oakland Raiders (8-8): Had they won on Sunday, they’d be in the playoffs, but they didn’t win, so they will watch the Broncos play instead of having themselves play. Looks like the Carson Palmer trade didn’t work out. Having Run DMC hurt the for seemingly the whole season didn’t help either.
(+2) 17. Philadelphia Eagles (8-8): The fact that their whole season hinges on a healthy Michael Vick has to concern Eagles fans. Don’t know if he can be your guy. However, they had a lot of other problems besides that.
(-5) 18. New York Jets (8-8): After the season was over the whole lid just flew off and all this ugly nasty gunk came out. The Jets have a lot of issues, and it doesn’t even start with the fact that their QB is worse than a rubber chicken.
(+1) 19. San Diego Chargers (8-8): They are bringing Norv Turner back to do what? Fail?
(+4) 20. Chicago Bears (8-8): They would be in the playoffs had Jay Cutler not gotten hurt. Lovie Smith is returning, but they are getting a new GM. Changes are being made in the Windy City.
(-3) 21. Seattle Seahawks (7-9): Season didn’t end with a win, but they played hard at the end. They didn’t have a worse record than last year. They do need a better starting QB. Perhaps Matt Flynn will be getting a call from them soon.
(+1) 22. Kansas City Chiefs (7-9): The Chiefs gave the Raiders a present by beating the Broncos, and then the Raiders decided to regift, and give it to the Broncos anyways. Cheap bastards.
(-2) 23. Buffalo Bills (6-10): So much promise at the start of the season, only to have it come crashing down all around them. They’ll be back next year having learned a valuable lesson. Look for the Bills to be better in their 2012-2013 campaign.
(+1) 24. Miami Dolphins (6-10): Dolphins will be better next season, but they need a new QB. If Jeff Fisher coaches them, that will be a good start in attracting a good QB.
(-3) 25. Carolina Panthers (6-10): They got themselves a QB and a bright future with Cam Newton at the helm.
(+2) 26. Jacksonville Jaguars (5-11): Maybe new ownership will infuse some life into this lifeless team.
(-1) 27. Washington Redskins (5-11): They need a new QB and a new head coach. The Grossman/Shanahan connection wasn’t a success.
(-1) 28. Cleveland Browns (4-12): If they’re not committed to McCoy, than what exactly are they committed to? Dysfunction?
(+/-) 29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-12): They are by far the most disappointing team in 2011.
(+/-) 30. Minnesota Vikings (3-13): Do look for them to be better next season. But how much better? I can only hope it will be a lot better.
(+1) 31. St. Louis Rams (2-14): They have fired their coach, and now wanna convince Jeff Fisher to take on their mess. Good luck with that. He hates the Rams after what they did to him in the Super Bowl. You think he wants to bail them out? I don’t think so.
(-1): Indianapolis Colts (2-14): Colts are now on the clock. Who will they take number one in the draft? It’s expected to be Andrew Luck, but they might go a different direction.