Home Headlines 2013 NFL Power Rankings – Preseason

2013 NFL Power Rankings – Preseason

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The start of the NFL season is just around the corner and like most of you, I can’t wait. I’ve scoured the internet for any bit of news I can get and in some cases, I haven’t been disappointed. From all of the Aaron Hernandez coverage to Percy Harvin’s injury, to Matt Ryan’s $100M extension to Darnell Dockett buying a tiger, this offseason has been full of news. Here’s the first edition of the official Keeping It Real Sports Power Rankings. I’ve based these rankings on last season’s final standings and I didn’t take into account playoff performances so the Ravens will not be the number one team.

1) Denver Broncos (13-3) – The Broncos finished with the best record in the AFC and tied for the best record in the league. Despite Von Miller possibly missing the first four games of the season with a suspension, I fully expect them to pick up where they left off. They finished the season winning 11 straight games, the most in the NFL. With the addition of Wes Welker, Peyton Manning has all the weapons to win his 2nd Super Bowl.

2) Atlanta Falcons (13-3) – The Dirty Birds are poised to make another run after adding Stephen Jackson and locking up Matty Ice. The ageless Tony Gonzalez returns to hopefully chase that elusive championship.

3. New England Patriots (12-4) – I don’t expect the Pats to stay in this spot. Don’t get me wrong, they’ll probably win the division and make the playoffs but unless they change their offense to make it more run-oriented, I don’t think they’ll be as good. No Aaron Hernandez, Rob Gronkowski is hurt and Wes Welker is in Denver so how can they expect to be as good with such a depleted offense? They’ll have to run the ball more to take pressure off of Tom Brady, who I think is just an average quarterback when his targets aren’t very good. Something tells me Jake Ballard isn’t going to have a breakout year.

4. Houston Texans (12-4) – The Texans have to be worried if Brian Cushing isn’t 100%. When everyone is healthy, they’re as talented as anyone in the league. With the addition of DeAndre Hopkins, the offense will be as dynamic as its ever been.

5. San Francisco 49ers (11-4-1) – The Niners added Anquan Boldin but may not have Michael Crabtree for the season. Tank Carradine and Eric Reid were great additions through the draft as well as picking up Nnamdi Asomugha. The defense should be just as stout as it was last season and Colin Kaepernick looks like he’s ready to have another great year.

6. Green Bay Packers (11-5) – The Packers lost Greg Jennings to free agency but their issues didn’t stem from their passing game. It was their rushing game that suffered. They’ll look to remedy the issue with newly drafted running backs Eddie Lacy and Jonathan Franklin. Both backs have different styles so look for the Packers to have a more balanced attack.

7. Indianapolis Colts (11-5) – There is no reason for the Colts not to be better in the 2013-14 season. Andrew Luck has a full season under his belt, they added a quality back in Ahmad Bradshaw, who will split time with Vick Ballard and Donald Brown and they brought in Luck’s college offensive coordinator. His confidence and familiarity with the offense should help them contend for the division against Houston.

8. Seattle Seahawks (11-5) – Its tough to say if the Seahawks will do what they did last year. Russell Wilson may have a sophomore slump. Their defense is very stout and the running game is good. I loved the trade for Percy Harvin but injury concerns (he’ll start the season on the PUP list) are there.

9. Washington Redskins (10-6) – If injury concerns and sophomore slumps exist for Seattle, it must be doubly so for the Redskins. Head coach Mike Shanahan announced that RGIII won’t play in the preseason after surgery to his ACL. If he’s not ready, Kirk Cousins ail have to step up.

10. Baltimore Ravens (10-6) – The defending Super Bowl champion Ravens have a tough job ahead of them to replace Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. Arthur Brown is my early pick for Defensive Rookie of the Year and Florida’s Matt Elam have an opportunity to hit the ground running. Getting Elvis Dumervil from Denver was a steal. Offensively, more pressure will be on Joe Flacco after signing that huge extension.

11. Cincinnati Bengals (10-6) – I like what the Bengals did in the offseason by drafting Giovanni Bernard and Tyler Eifert. Both guys will take some pressure off of Andy Dalton and open up the defense for AJ Green. Still, they’ll have to battle Pittsburgh for the division, which is no easy task.

12. Chicago Bears (10-6) – The Bears have a new head coach in Marc Trestman so the offense should be more exciting than it has been in recent seasons. Long time Bear Brian Urlacher retired but DJ Williams should fill the void nicely.

13. Minnesota Vikings (10-6) – It’ll be very difficult for Adrian Peterson to repeat the historic season he had last year but he’ll have to be as good because Christian Ponder is still the starting quarterback. I think they did a good job in the draft, especially in the first round getting Shariff Floyd, Xavier Rhodes and Cordarelle Patterson, all of whom should start right away. The loss of Percy Harvin shouldn’t sting too much because of his healthy issues.

14. New York Giants (9-7) – I’ll try to stay unbiased on this one. The biggest issue the Giants will have is avoiding their annual second half slump. Offensively, the GMen were pretty good but defensively they gave up way too many yards, putting them in the bottom third in the league. They signed Aaron Curry and Mike Patterson as well as drafted Damontre Moore, Jonathan Hankins and also picked up some solid undrafted free agents. I think the Giants did well to add depth and fill the holes in their defense.

Top Plays Of The 2012-2013 Season

15. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-8) – After a down year by the Steelers standards, they’ll obviously look to do better than .500 in 2013-14. They drafted La’Veon Bell and he’ll battle for playing time with Jonathan Dwyer and Isaac Redman. If Bell wins the starting job, the Steelers running game will improve and in turn help Ben Roethlisberger. The tough part will be replacing Mike Wallace’s production.

16. Dallas Cowboys (8-8) – The Cowboys management seem to trust Jason Garrett and Tony Romo but should they? I mean the regular season is one thing but don’t they want to win in the playoffs?

17. St Louis Ram (7-8-1) – The Rams might be one of the more improved teams going into this season. They’ve gotten some more weapons for Sam Bradford and on the other side of the ball, the secondary has a lot of added depth. I think Alec Ogletree will be a candidate for Defensive Rookie of the Year.

18. San Diego Chargers (7-9) – A lot of people are going to be watching Manti Te’o but the real reason to pay attention to the Chargers the rebuilt offensive line. Phillip Rivers is on the wrong side of 30 and he’s all out of excuses.

19. Miami Dolphins (7-9) – The Fins are very likely to move up from this spot. They’re one of the more improved teams in the NFL and are in a position to take control of the AFC East. The Pats might not be as good as they have been, the Jets are a circus and the Bills will have a rookie head coach and quarterback. Mike Wallace’s impact on the offense cannot be understated.

20. New Orleans Saints (7-9) – The Saints had a down year in a tough division but Sean Payton will be back on the sidelines and that will have a bigger impact than you think. Even in a down year, Drew Brees had over 5,000 yards passing. The key will be the defense stopping the other high powered NFC South teams.

21 Carolina Panthers (7-9) – The Panthers are right around where they’re going to be all season. Cam Newton will bounce back but the running game is subpar at best because of the swiss cheese offensive line. The defense should definitely be improved after they drafted two impact defensive tackles.

22. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-9) – The Bucs might have the most talented secondary in football and should improve. As good as the defense might become, this team is going to live and die with Josh Freeman’s performance. They better implement this new popular read option offense and let Doug Martin take some pressure off of Freeman.

23. Tennessee Titans (6-10) – The Titans are in an unfortunate position similar to the Panthers. They’re good enough to make that leap but they’re playing in a tough, competitive division. I don’t think they’ll finish any better than 8-8. Chris Johnson boasted breaking Eric Dickerson’s rushing record but he’ll have trouble doing it with teams stacking the box because they don’t respect Jake Locker. The Titans need a new face at quarterback because that receiving corps is too talented not to have a better signal caller.

24. Buffalo Bills (6-10) – The Bills are going to struggle. New head coach in Doug Marrone, potentially new quarterback in EJ Manuel and a struggling defense will spell trouble for the Bills. The bright side is that they might not be as bad as the Jets.

25. New York Jets (6-10) – Speak of the devil. I love the Jets. They’re terrible and will continue to be terrible. Plus they’re hilarious. Thats how bad they are. Its actually funny. The quarterback situation is going to be fun to watch, the running backs are mediocre at best and the offensive line is porous. At least the defense will be a good enough reason to watch.

26. Cleveland Browns (5-11) – The mission statement for the Browns should be extremely simple this season. Hand the ball off to Trigga Trent and let him run. The defense will be better with Paul Kruger rushing the passer.

27. Arizona Cardinals (5-11) – This is going to sound crazy but the Cards aren’t going to be that bad. Don’t get me wrong. They aren’t going to make the playoffs but I don’t think they’ll be a 5 win team again. Unless Carson Palmer gets hurt and Kevin Kolb has to start. Then they will absolutely be a terrible team.

28. Oakland Raiders (4-12) – The Raiders are predictably unpredictable. All we know is that we don’t know. DJ Hayden could pan out, Sio Moore could be a steal and Tyler Wilson could could usurp Matt Flynn as the starter. Personally, I hope he does because it’ll be the 2nd straight season a rookie quarterback beats him out for a starting job, and that would be hilarious.

29. Detroit Lions (4-12) – The Lions record wasn’t indicative of the talent on the roster. Reggie Bush’s impact is going to be huge. They’ll finally have a legitimate threat in the backfield. The real question will be the defense, specifically the secondary. Nothing strikes fear in a wide receiver like Bill Bentley.

30. Philadelphia Eagles (4-12) – The Eagles won’t be at the bottom of the power rankings too long but they won’t be at the top either. They still don’t know who their starting quarterback is, Jeremy Maclin is out for the season and they have a rookie head coach. Oh and the offensive line couldn’t stop a nosebleed with Charmin Ultra.

31. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-14) – They should let Maurice Jones-Drew walk, tank the season and let Teddy Bridgewater or Stephen Morris be their savior. I’m dead serious.

32. Kansas City Chiefs (2-14) – The Chiefs somehow had a boatload of Pro Bowlers on a two win team so that tells me that they just need to learn how to play together. They’re still gonna suck but they’ll suck together…as a team.

The Queens native handles all things football on KeepingItRealSports.com. Stan attended Holy Cross High School in Flushing, Queens and SUNY Old Westbury. He's spent his post graduate career in different parts of the media, as an editorial assistant, a production assistant and a board operator. He can be followed on twitter @FunnyManStan and routinely performs standup comedy all over New York City.

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