Home Articles/Editorials 2014 NFL Power Rankings – Week 15

2014 NFL Power Rankings – Week 15

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Okay, I have a quick question. DID YOU SEE JOHNNY FOOTBALL TRY TO PLAY QUARTERBACK ON SUNDAY?!? Oh my God. OH MY GOD. That was the most exciting 60 minutes of football all season, and that includes the 60 minutes I watched the Odell catch on loop on my phone while sitting in the bathroom.

Let’s start from the beginning. I never thought Johnny Manziel should have been drafted in the first round. I thought it was crazy. Literally, it seemed like the craziest thing ever. Of course, it isn’t that crazy considering the Jaguars drafted Bortles third overall in the same draft. It isn’t that crazy considering the Browns drafted Brandon Weeden in the first round two years ago even though he was a year older than Alex Smith and Aaron Rodgers. Still, for a short kid who lacked arm strength and might have been a Blood with all the red flags, a first round pick was very high.

Also, remember the Browns traded back from fourth overall to ninth, so the Bills could take Sammy Watkins. They picked up a first-round pick next year (from a team that could win 9 or 10 games). They ended up trading up a pick –for no reason—to take corner Justin Gilbert, who has been whatever across from Joe Haden. So they could have stayed at fourth overall and taken either Sammy Watkins or Khalil Mack.

If they really wanted the Bills’ pick, then instead of moving from ninth to eighth, they could have tried to get to seventh or sixth and took Mike Evans. Or they could have sat at ninth and took Odell Beckham. All these options sound better than trading up for Gilbert.

Then, sitting at 26th overall, they traded up to 22nd to take Manziel. They gave up a very valuable third round selection in the process. They could have sat where they were and took Teddy Bridgewater. Instead of Gilbert and Manziel they could have had:

  1. Watkins and Bridgewater
  2. Mack and Bridgewater
  3. Beckham and Bridgewater and the Bills 2015 first-round pick

All three of those options look pretty good right now for a team that found a way to 7-4 before dropping three ugly games in a row.

Granted, Brian Hoyer has been terrible as well, and deserved to be benched. At least you would think Manziel has upside, and while Hoyer is a free agent at the end of the year, the Browns are tied to Johnny Football. The team is out of playoff contention, and Manziel should start the next two games as well. Just don’t expect him to be the savior. It was his first start, but I think it will prove to be more affirming and less of an anomaly.

 

Stan

The “Who’s Gonna Keep The Jets From Taking A QB” Tier

32. Oakland Raiders – While the Raiders won’t take a quarterback with the first pick in the draft, wouldn’t it be hilarious if they did? Their offensive line is porous, their receivers might not be real people and their defense is full of castoffs from other teams. So, they’ll definitely be taking a quarterback with the first pick.
31. Tennessee Titans – The Titans should definitely take a quarterback because Mettenberger and Locker can’t cut it. I think Jake Locker is talented but no one would know it because he can’t stay healthy. I think Mettenberger is talented as well but something happened between his good season at LSU and now. I mean he had Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. in college to throw to plus he was handing the ball off the Jeremy Hill. All three of those guys are doing well for their NFL teams. Maybe they were carrying him.
30. Washington Redskins – The Skins might be on their way to taking a quarterback because Colt McCoy isn’t a franchise player, RG3 is a shell of his former self and Kirk Cousins doesn’t know the difference between his receivers and the other teams defenders. I think they should cut ties with all three and see what they can get back in a trade. I think St. Louis still has their picks and this quarterback class isn’t that great anyway.
29. Jacksonville Jaguars – Blake Bortles isn’t totally horrible and the defense looks like it knows what its doing. Hopefully another year of Gus Bradley’s building will help but if we’re talking about the Jaguars trying to get the first overall pick a year from now, obviously he’s the problem.
28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – This is the Jets biggest threat to their dream of Jameis Winston wearing green. I have a buddy who loves the Bucs and he really wants Winston and I keep telling him that he doesn’t want that problem. Putting lipstick on a pig doesn’t make it any less of a pig. Winston is a solid quarterback and if he didn’t have all the off the field issues, he’d be a slightly better version of EJ Manuel. The only reason he’s slightly better is because Jimbo Fisher is a far better offensive recruiter than Bobby Bowden was (toward the end of his tenure) and has surrounded Winston with a ton of talent.
27. New York Jets – I have another buddy that really wants the Jets to take Winston. Unfortunately, he might be an upgrade over their current stable of quarterbacks. That’s so sad.

The “Oh So No One’s Getting Fired?” Tier

26. Chicago Bears – Remember when the Bears were known for their defense? It wasn’t even that long ago. Two years ago they had a solid defensive line, a future Hall of Fame linebacker, another Pro Bowl caliber linebacker and a solid secondary including a guy named Peanut. You know better than to screw with a corner named Peanut. Now? They have Chris Conte, who gets his lunch taken from him week in and week out. This defense is so bad there are members of the ’86 Bears that will die sooner just to roll over in their graves.
25. New York Giants – I hate that I’m a fan of a team that isn’t good enough to beat mediocre teams but look amazing against really bad ones. They’re so close to either being really really bad and somewhat frisky all at the same time. And now reports are saying that Tom Coughlin is coming back next year. I’m not totally against that. I like Tom Coughlin and I don’t want to see him get fired but how do you justify bringing him or anyone else back? As Rob has mentioned before, they suck year after year then get hot at the right time, catch some teams by surprise and beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl. And next year will be right on schedule for the cycle to continue. 2007…2011…2015?
24. Atlanta Falcons – I wouldn’t let Mike Smith book me a flight, let alone coach my team. I know he’s had injuries but the guy is clueless sometimes. Also, how come they never had a contingency plan in place for Tony Gonzalez? Did they think he’d leave the CBS booth at halftime one day and come to their rescue? It makes me sad that they’re not completely out of the playoff picture. Roger Goodell needs to stop trying to suck up to the owners and do something about this.

The “Unlucky or Terrible” Tier

23. Minnesota Vikings – I was listening to a podcast recently (I forget which) and someone said that if Adrian Peterson had played this year, the Vikings would be one of those secretly bad 11-5 teams that got killed in the playoffs. I both agree and disagree with that. If Adrian Peterson had played the entire season, it would have been the aforementioned lipstick on a pig and the coaching staff wouldn’t have felt any pressure to switch from Matt Cassell to Teddy Bridgewater, who won them a few games. It would have stunted his development and set them back a little in the long run. In fact, they might have lost some games because of their previous quarterback.
22. Carolina Panthers – The Panthers are pretty lucky because Cam Newton’s injury isn’t that serious and Derek Anderson knows that the secret to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is getting dressed, putting on cleats, shoulder pads and a uniform and showing up on time.
21. Houston Texans – More and more people are talking about JJ Watt as a possible MVP candidate but they point out that the Texans’ record will keep him from winning the award. I get why people feel that way but this isn’t the average defensive end. He’s doing things that no one else can do and he shouldn’t be penalized because the offense is terrible and is being led by a third string rookie quarterback.
20. Cleveland Browns – I still believe that switching from Brian Hoyer to Johnny Manziel was a good idea. The Browns made the right decision and shouldn’t pull the plug on Manziel after one bad game.

The “One Side Of The Ball Hates The Other”” Tier

19. New Orleans Saints – Every time the Saints start playing like the Saints again, they drop an easy game and look like their great run is over. If only they could play defenses as bad as the Bears every week.
18. San Francisco 49ers – Rob and I were talking recently about Marcus Mariota and Rob compared Mariota to Kaepernick and I totally agree. We came to the conclusion that Mariota is Kaepernick with a weaker arm and less speed. Just remember this in a few years when some stupid team out there gives Mariota an insane contract filled with incentives and an out clause. Meanwhile, can anyone figure out how he’s gone from this great quarterback with limitless potential to…whatever he’s become now? There can’t be one member of the defense that likes him right now.
17. Buffalo Bills – The Bills defense deserve to be much higher on this list, unfortunately they’re also linked directly to the Bills offense. The defense is scary man. They made Aaron Rodgers look super average and they may have closed his case as MVP. Or not, thats really overreactive. But the defense made him look mortal.
16. St Louis Rams – The Rams defense had back to back shutouts and held their last opponent to four field goals. If thats not a reason for the defense to beat up the offense Full Metal Jacket-style, I don’t know what is. I know they don’t have a quarterback or an offensive line or receivers, but come on. And I’m tired of people giving Jeff Fisher all this credit. As Rob pointed out last week, Fisher may be the most overrated coach in football.
15. Kansas City Chiefs – Do you think that Andy Reid and the Chiefs are purposely trying to go the entire season without throwing a touchdown pass to their wide receivers? Doesn’t that seem like something Andy Reid would do? He wakes up week after week on gameday and says, “You know, if we went the entire season without a touchdown pass to any of our wide receivers, people would call me a genius and forget that I’ve been to so many championship games and never won a Super Bowl!” Definitely verbatim.
14. Philadelphia Eagles – See what happens to every team that sticks with Mark Sanchez? 17-28 for 252 yards and no touchdowns. I mean, the Cowboys defense stepped up. It almost seems like the Eagles wilted under the pressure and they weren’t ready for what the Cowboys had in store for them. Rob has them in the top ten and I don’t disagree with that but how good is this team really if they play a defense better than the Cowboys when the playoffs come?

The “Just Keep Winning” Tier

13. Miami Dolphins – I have the Dolphins higher than Rob does because even though they lost to the Pats, the Pats are really good and are more than likely going to the AFC Championship. And to be fair, this game was a lot closer than we think. It was a 14-13 game at halftime and then the Patriots realized who they are and took over. I really don’t like Joe Philbin but if he gets fired and the right coach comes in, they’d be taking over a solid team.
12. Pittsburgh Steelers – I know I should have the Steelers higher on this list but I’m really just waiting for the other shoe to drop. You know its only a matter of time before they drop one they should win. Hell, it almost came against the Falcons. If Julio Jones plays, this is a totally different result because there isn’t a defensive back on the Steelers that could have stopped him.
11. Baltimore Ravens – The Ravens didn’t look all that impressive against the Jaguars but thats just a credit to the Jaguars. Justin Forsett came back down to earth, Marlon Brown was their leading receiver and Joe Flacco played like the highest paid game manager in the league. Still they won and hold on to a playoff spot in a very crowded AFC North.
10. Cincinnati Bengals – The best part of this game was every time they showed the defense on the sidelines mocking Johnny Manziel by doing the money sign. That made me laugh every time. Even the 17th time was just as funny as the first. My feeling is that Johnny Football is going to turn it around and make some people look really foolish. It may not be soon but its coming.

The “Just Hang On!” Tier

9. San Diego Chargers – The Chargers are slipping. They look bad in games against good teams and barely beat the teams they should dominate. At one point Peyton Manning left the game and Brock Osweiler did almost nothing and the Chargers didn’t take advantage. They hanging on by their fingertips and might fall off the cliff if they don’t turn it around quick.
8. Detroit Lions – The Lions barely beat a Vikings team that boasts Matt Asiata and Charles Johnson as their leading rusher and receiver, respectively. The Lions defense absolutely won this game but going forward the offense is going to have to be more consistent.
7. Arizona Cardinals – The Cardinals really belong in the “Unlucky or Terrible” tier because they’re down to their third string quarterback. I don’t think Ryan Lindley or Logan Thomas are good enough to win games for the Cardinals and I think they’re luck has run out.

The “Keep On Trucking” Tier

6. Dallas Cowboys – The Cowboys took care of business in a meaningful December game. Cowboy fans have to be sitting on the edges of their seats hoping this lasts. Tony Romo is playing as well as anyone in the league and the gameplan is working. I wouldn’t worry about DeMarco Murray having surgery on his hand and even if he doesn’t play Joseph Randle is a suitable replacement.
5. Indianapolis Colts – The Colts clinched the AFC South against the Texans but one play really stood out to me. JJ Watt completely ate Gosder Cherilus’ lunch in front of him. He made a move to Gosder’s outside shoulder and quickly clubbed the opposite shoulder to get inside and sack Andrew Luck. Thats what MVPs do. The Colts barely made it out of this game and might have lost if Tom Savage wasn’t called upon to finish.
4. Green Bay Packers – The Packers might have screwed themselves out of a first round bye in the playoffs with their loss to the Bills. My feeling is that they’ll want to exact revenge and they’ll win out. I doubt Jordy Nelson is going to drop very many passes over the next few weeks.
3. Seattle Seahawks – The Seahawks just continue to do Seahawk things.
2. New England Patriots – The Patriots just continue to do Patriot things.
1. Denver Broncos – The Broncos locked up the AFC West but didn’t look all that impressive doing it. Manning threw one touchdown but apparently he was sick going into the game. The running game has looked really good over the past few weeks but C.J. Anderson was held to 85 yards on 29 carries.

Rob

The “Embarrassed We Thought [Insert QB Here] Was Good” Tier

32. Tennessee Titans

31. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

30. Jacksonville Jaguars

29. Washington Redskins

28. New York Jets

Here was basically either Plan A and B for each of these teams: Jake Locker, Charlie Whitehurst, Josh McCown, Mike Glennon, Chad Henne, Colt McCoy, Kirk Cousins, Geno Smith, Michael Vick.

The Redskins technically started Robert Griffin III, but he got injured early in Week Two, and it was like pulling teeth to get Jay Gruden to go back to him, despite incompetency from Cousins and McCoy.

The Jaguars are the only team in this group with a logical Plan B, which was their 3rd overall pick Blake Bortles, who seemed terrible in college and looked terrible in the NFL so far. Of course, they get bonus points for at least taking a chance on someone who wasn’t guaranteed to blow up the season. And as bad as he has looked, the offensive line has outshone him in infamy in Jacksonville.

Josh McCown is the worst of the group, because there was actual excitement about him. Even other Plan A quarterbacks like Jake Locker and Geno Smith came with a groan of inevitability.

At least the Titans had a Plan C in Zach Mettenberger. Even though he was a sixth-round pick, he fell due to injury and character concerns and is theoretically a better talent than hid draft position would imply. Of course, four of his LSU weapons (Beckham, Landry, Hill, Alfred Blue) are putting together rookie years ranging from incredible to really good, and somehow Mettenberger looked lost at times playing for the Tigers.

Still, of the bunch of quarterbacks, Mettenberger seems to be the least like a lost cause at this point. Not necessarily a compliment, but not necessarily and insult either.

The “Let’s Glaze Over These Four Teams So We Can Talk About Manziel” Tier

27. Oakland Raiders

26. Chicago Bears

25. Carolina Panthers

24. New York Giants

They get bumped up out of that dysfunctional tier, despite firing their coach midseason in favor of Tony Sparano, and having a general manager on the precipice of the same fate this offseason. Impressive feat for the Raiders.

I think the Bears move on from Marc Trestman and company.

The Panthers are 5-8-1. Derek Anderson was the quarterback for two of those wins. Both came against the Buccaneers. The Panthers could still win the division if the Falcons beat the Saints this weekend. This is all nonsense.

At least (other than the loss to the Jaguars) they aren’t embarrassing themselves or their 68-year old coach. Of course, that could mean they have a 69-year old coach in 2015, which isn’t a great thing either.

The “DID YOU SEE JOHNNY FOOTBALL TRY TO PLAY QUARTERBACK?” Tier

23. Cleveland Browns

[See opening.]

The “We Are Embarrassing Ourselves, But At Least We Didn’t Draft Manziel” Tier

22. Atlanta Falcons

21. New Orleans Saints

20. San Francisco 49ers

On the other hand, the winner of the Saints vs. Falcons game this week in New Orleans will more or less decide which NFC South team gets a home playoff game in round one. The scary thing is these teams both could win a first round game, which is why I am almost rooting for Derek Anderson and the Panthers at this point, with their outside shot at a division crown.

The “Can You Believe Manziel Went In The First Round?” Tier

19. Minnesota Vikings

Bridgewater looked good in this game, really good. He had the Vikings within a chip shot field goal of taking the lead at the end of the game, and with barely any time on the clock drove them back for one last chance (albeit a 68 yard longshot) of stealing a victory against a mighty Lions’ defense.

Is he great? No, he’s not perfect. He is a rookie. He isn’t shooting out of a cannon like Luck or RGIII or Wilson. But he is dealing for stretches at a time, and looks to be the best rookie quarterback in the league.

By the way, this is not surprising, since back in January after the college football season was over, the talk was “Will Bridgewater be the first overall pick, ahead of Jadeveon Clowney?” Then he “struggled” at his pro day, and almost became a second round pick.

The Texans would be hosting a playoff game if they drafted Bridgewater first overall (not saying he is better than Clowney, but Clowney didn’t have an impact as a rookie). Everybody knew he was the best prospect, but he just wasn’t as much fun as Manziel and Bortles, I guess.

The “We Didn’t Score A Touchdown And We Are Still Happy To Not Have Manziel” Tier

18. St. Louis Rams

17. Houston Texans

Shaun Hill and Austin Davis are way better players right now than Manziel. I know it sounds like I am killing him, but he is just not ready for primetime.

Speaking of not ready for primetime players, I wonder if we can get Taran Killam to impersonate Tom Savage not knowing how to hand off the ball to the running back on a simple stretch or dive play?

The “If Everyone Keeps Talking About Manziel, We Can Fly Under The Radar ” Tier

16. Miami Dolphins

Jeez, I’m really dragging out this Manziel stuff. No player has taken over a Power Rankings like this since Kirk Cousins pooped on the field and rubbed the fecal remains deep into the turf with Jay Gruden’s nose while heaps and heaps of media personalities lauded him as the savior from the RGIII-era Redskins.

Hey, at least we aren’t talking about how badly Miami elfed up their playoff chances for the second straight year under Joe Philbin, right?

The “This Manziel Obsession Has Gone On Long Enough” Tier

15. Cincinnati Bengals

I don’t know why the Bengals wanted to humiliate Johnny Football so badly this past Sunday, but they did a hell of a good job doing it.

I don’t know why the Bengals pay Andy Dalton anything more than the minimum salary to play football, but they do a hell of a good job paying him.

The “Best Non-Playoff Team” Tier

14. Buffalo Bills

13. Kansas City Chiefs

12. San Diego Chargers

11. Baltimore Ravens

10. Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia needs the Cowboys to lose to the Colts to switch spots with them, but the NFC East runner up will likely be home in January.

The Bills, Chiefs, Chargers, Ravens, Eagles, and Cowboys are all fatally flawed teams, but they all did some things so well it almost didn’t matter.

By the way Stan, I don’t know if you can count San Diego as a “Just Hang On” team when they have a 13% chance of making the playoffs.

I love Philip Rivers and their offense, but they blew their chances this season.

The “Can’t Wait To Be A Ten Point Underdog On The Road In New Orleans In Round One Even Though We Have Five More Wins Than The Saints” Tier

9. Arizona Cardinals

Ryan Lindley is going to be the quarterback of a 12-4 team that has to travel to either New Orleans or Atlanta for round one. I think that Arizona will be the underdog on the road. I think if the Saints or Falcons finish strong, that spread could be close to double digits.

Here is where I will remind you that Lindley has thrown 181 NFL passes. He has completed 51.4% of those passes for an average of 4.32 yards per attempt. In his time in the NFL, he has thrown seven interceptions and fumbled twice. He has never thrown a touchdown, making him the quarterback with the most pass attempts in NFL history never to throw a touchdown.

Matt Ryan throws a touchdown once about every 21 passes. Drew Brees throws a touchdown for every 19 pass attempts he has. I actually think I might lay the points with the NFC South winner.

The Cardinals should be praying to every single God human imaginations have ever invented in order to hope the Panthers somehow steal that division.

The “Just Good Enough” Tier

8. Pittsburgh Steelers

7. Indianapolis Colts

6. Detroit Lions

All solid teams, just not very interesting right now.

The “Barely In The Playoffs, Yet Still Frightening” Tier

5. Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys seem like shoe-ins for playoff football at this point, but that just is not the case. They will have to beat a good Colts team to stay in the lead in the NFC East. They could be 12-4 and the top seed in the NFC, or they could be 11-5 with an early vacation.

The “Suddenly Not So Flawless Favorites” Tier

4. Green Bay Packers

3. Denver Broncos

The game Aaron Rodgers played against the Bills is just one game. I know, but it derails Rodgers MVP season a little bit, and it has to give us a little pause now that the Seahawks are playing so well. The Packers also lost the inside track to the number one seed in the NFC, and they do not want to travel to Seattle for an NFC Championship game.

The Broncos are still rolling just fine, and I believe DVOA still might list them as the best team in the NFL. I know the defense is improved from last year, but this offense should be improved as well and it just isn’t. Obviously the numbers would be hard to match, but the weapons when healthy early this year were even scarier than the record-setting 2013. Injuries to Julius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, and Wes Welker have hurt, as has their inability to find a running back, but Peyton Manning just doesn’t look as sharp as he did early this year and last year. I just don’t think they can go into Foxboro and be thought of as the favorites in that game, and that is exactly what I expect to happen.

The “Man They Seem Dangerous If They Stay Healthy” Tier

2. Seattle Seahawks

1. New England Patriots

Both these teams seemed to have fallen off the map at a point early this season, The Seahawks were 3-3, and the Patriots got blown out by the Chiefs. All they have done since those low points was get healthy and rip off impressive performance after impressive performance. I think these teams will finish with the top seeds in their respective conferences, and I think it will be a difficult task to knock them off their perches. Neither will have an easy road to the big dance, but I imagine both will be favored in every playoff game they play.

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