NFL Power Rankings - Final Rankings
by Joseph
Ross
NFL Analyst
12/31/08
Well,
here
we are again, at the end of another great NFL season.
The first season, that is.
Now begins the second season, where everyone
is 0-0 again. The second season, where
there can be no mistakes – it is lose one and you’re done.
The second season, where 3 wins, or for the
elite – 2 wins, can get you to the season long goal – Super Bowl XLIII. That being said…here are the final Power
Rankings for the 2008 NFL season. Also
included are my predictions for the playoffs (if you’re smart you’ll
bet
AGAINST my picks, trust me, history has not been good to me!). It has been fun, and I hope you’ve enjoyed
the Rankings. Until next year….GO
COLTS!!!
1.
(1) Tennessee
Titans (13-3)
– Sure, they looked
terrible against the Colts, but come on, it was second and third
stringers…and
Vince Young. The Titans lose to the
Colts in the AFC
Championship
game.
2.
(4) New York
Giants (12-4) –
The Giants
roll
into the NFC playoffs with the swagger of a defending Super Bowl champ
team. They are upset by the Eagles in
the Divisional round.
3.
(3) Carolina Panthers (12-4) – Carolina’s running game is the hottest
ticket in town right now, and DeAngelo Williams is the star of the show! The Panthers run all the way to the Super
Bowl, but the other side of offense in the NFL is the pass, and no one
does it
better than the…
4.
(5) Indianapolis
Colts (12-4)
– Peyton Manning
and the Colts had a very rough start to the year by their standards
(3-4), but
have been on fire since then. They are
currently riding the longest winning streak in the NFL at 9 in a row,
and
before all is said and done that streak will be at 13 and will be
rewarded with
Super Bowl rings for all. Yes, I am a
huge Colts fan, but I seriously think they are going to sneak up on a
lot of
teams.
5.
(2)
Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4) – The
Steelers have the #1 defense in the league this year,
but they can be scored on (Tennessee two weeks ago).
Not to mention they have one of the best
weapons in the league for the opposing team when Big Ben Roethlisberger
tries
to do everything by himself. The Steel
Curtain falls to the Colts aerial attack in the Divisional round.
6.
(7)
Baltimore Ravens (11-5) – Baltimore’s
offense is overshadowed by its defense, but the Ravens have
actually had some high scoring affairs this season.
However, rookie QB Joe Flacco just isn’t
ready for the pressure of the playoffs.
The Ravens go down to the also stout Tennessee
Titans defense in the
Divisional round.
7.
(8)
Atlanta Falcons (11-5) – The
Dirty Birds are back in Atlanta, and with a rookie Head Coach, a
rookie QB, and a first time starter RB the Falcons have been one of the
very
nice surprises in the NFL this season.
The Falcons put up a good fight, but lose to
division rival Carolina in
the Divisional round.
8.
(13)
Miami Dolphins (11-5) – What
a difference a year makes! Bill
Parcels is the master at turning teams around, and this Dolphins team
is easily
his masterpiece. From 1-15 a season ago
to 11-5 and AFC East
champs this
season, Parcels and new Head Coach Tony Sparano have done miracles with
this
team. And they did it not with bringing
in a ton of new faces or big names, but by instilling confidence and a
winning
attitude into the players that were already there.
Nice job guys. Unfortunately
for the Dolphins, it will be
one and done as they go down to the brick wall that is the Baltimore
Ravens
defense.
9.
(12)
Minnesota Vikings (10-6) – The
Vikings were a team many (including me) had pegged as a Super Bowl
participant before the season started, but a slow start made it seem as
though
they wouldn’t even make the dance. Well,
they squeaked in, but will bow out just as they came in – barely. The Vikings will lose a close one to
Philadelphia in the Wild Card round.
10.
(15)
Philadelphia Eagles (9-6-1) – The
Eagles have to be thanking their lucky stars. No
one really thought they had a chance to
get in as they needed to not only beat the Cowboys (which they did VERY
soundly), but they needed Tampa Bay to tank against the terrible
Oakland
Raiders. Well, Lady Luck was an Eagles
fan on Sunday, and Philly will repay her with a nice run all the way to
the NFC
championship game against the Carolina Panthers where she will be
pummeled
under the feet of DeAngelo Williams and the Panthers rushing attack.
11.
(14)
Arizona Cardinals (9-7) – Well,
the Cardinals are in the playoffs and wouldn’t you know it…in true
Cardinals style they didn’t charge in, they stumbled in.
It’s one and done for Arizona in the “Battle
of the Birds” in a game that I believe Atlanta will “fly away” with.
12.
(21)
San Diego Chargers (8-8) – That
brings us to the San Diego Chargers. Hold
on while I get my soap box. The Chargers
have no business being in the
playoffs this year. Everyone keeps
talking about how they saved their season after starting 4-8. No, the Denver Broncos saved their season by
sucking in the month of December, and the AFC
West saved their season by sucking altogether.
The Chargers are 8-8 folks…8-8 (.500).
There should be a rule: If
the
winner of the division is at .500 or below, then the team with the best
record
from the other divisions that didn’t make the playoffs gets in and the 5th
seed gets bumped up to 4th seed and gets a home game. The Chargers lose to the Colts in the Wild
Card -- I hope…the only team I hate playing worse than the Chargers in
the
playoffs is…
13.
(11)
New England Patriots (11-5) – Yes,
I am ecstatic that the Patriots didn’t make the
playoffs (as a Colts fan I have to be).
But, I also think it is a travesty that a team
that has an 11-5 record
is left out while a team that is 8-8 gets in.
So, yes, New England deserved to go to the
playoffs this year. There, I said it.
14.
(6)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7) – Wow,
is this team going to miss defensive coordinator Monte
Kiffin, or what? He announces 4 weeks
ago that he is leaving to coach at the University of Tennessee (yes!!!)
with
his son Lane Kiffin, and Tampa’s defense completely tanks the rest of
the
season. Imagine how bad they’ll be once
he’s actually gone.
15.
(10)
Dallas Cowboys (9-7) – Is
there any doubt that Terrell Owen’s big mouth and Tony Romo’s
oversized ego capsized the juggernaut that was supposed to be, but
never was the
Dallas Cowboys?
16.
(9)
New York Jets (9-7) – The
Jets surprised me by firing Head Coach Eric Mangini on Monday. Let the Brett Favre retirement talk/watch
begin.
17.
(17)
Chicago Bears (9-7) – The
Bears blew their chance at the playoffs with a terrible game against
the Texans. I’ve said it before and I’ll
say it again – the Bears defense is overrated.
18.
(16)
Denver Broncos (8-8) – Talk
about collapsing. First
place all season, but no playoffs.
Terrible.
19.
(20)
Houston Texans (8-8) – The
Texans played well at the end of the season. Now
if they can just carry that momentum over
to next year.
20.
(19)
New Orleans Saints (8-8) – Drew
Brees had a great year, and fell only 15 yards shy of Dan Marino’s
record for passing yards in a season.
Fifteen yards….man, I bet Drew was wishing for
one more possession and 5
seconds on the clock.
21.
(18)
Washington Redskins (8-8) – Tanked
down the stretch.
22.
(25)
San Francisco 49ers (7-9) – Looked
respectable at the end, but there’s still room for
improvement.
23.
(22)
Buffalo Bills (7-9) – The
Bills seemed to just quit playing after midseason.
24.
(24)
Green Bay Packers (6-10) – A
very disappointing season for the Packers.
25.
(23)
Jacksonville Jaguars (5-11) – Jaguars
fans can chalk this disappointing season up to
injuries and off the field distractions.
26.
(28)
Oakland Raiders (5-11) – This
team has a ton of talent, if they can just find the right coach…and
stick with him for a full season.
27.
(27)
Seattle Seahawks (4-12) – You
hate to see a great coach like Mike Holmgren go out with a 4-12
season, and you hate to take over a 4-12 team if you’re Jim Mora, Jr.
28.
(30)
Cincinnati Bengals (4-11-1) – I
look for Marvin Lewis to be one of the next coaches let
go. The Bengals are in need of a
complete overhaul.
29.
(26)
Cleveland Browns (4-12) – Romeo
Crennel is out as Head Coach in Cleveland after the Browns went
from the favorite to win the AFC
North before the season began to just trying to catch the ball (props
to
Braylon Edwards) once it did.
30.
(29)
Kansas City Chiefs (2-14) – I
also predict Herm Edwards to be let go in the next few
days…loyal Chiefs fans have had about all they can stand.
31.
(31)
St. Louis Rams (2-14) – St.
Louis is another team that needs some major overhauling, and I don’t
think Jim Haslett is the man to do it.
32. (32)
Detroit Lions (0-16) – Woohoo!! They did it!! First
team ever to finish 0-16. Coach Miranelli
is at home celebrating right
now…what’s that? He was fired?!?! How could they fire him…he just made
history! Just kidding.
The question now becomes:
Can they repeat?
