Mid-Season Power Rankings

Mid Season Power Rankings

With week eight in the books I have decided to write up some mid season power rankings. I was intending to update them weekly but life got the better of me for a while. Currently there is one undefeated team in the NFL and there are some other teams that are starting to pull away from the pack. As usual there is are some surprises on who is doing well (did I pick Kansas City or what?) and some surprises about who is doing bad (I am looking at you Atlanta. I think that is why I love the NFL so much, each season is different and every team has a shot to make it all the way eventually. Without further ado, on to the power rankings.

32: Jacksonville Jaguars

I honestly can't think of a time when picking the worst team in the league was this easy. I feel for their fans and really think this team needs to look at grabbing Tim Tebow. He may not be a classic QB but the man is exciting and can make a bad team look pretty good.

31: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Okay, maybe Josh Freeman wasn't the best QB but I thought he gave them a better chance at winning than the guy who replaced him. I will be amazed if their coach has a job by the end of the season. I have to say while Jon Gruden may not have been putting out the best product toward the end of his time in Tampa, he never fielded a team that looked this bad.

30: Atlanta Falcons

The bottom part of the power rankings are always a hard thing to do. You have teams that suck, teams that have a bad record but don't suck, then teams that really shouldn't suck. I am sorry, but if your a team as loaded with talent as the Falcons and you aren't winning, you need to look at why.

29: Minnesota Vikings

Sorry Mom, but I just can't justify putting these guys any higher on the list. I like them and think they play hard and are a bit better than their record, but they are still 1-6 at this point. Give them a decent QB a new coach and they could be a contender.

28: Houston Texans

Another team that should have a much better record. I have to say I am a bit stunned at how poorly Schaub has been playing. He was never the flashiest QB, but he was solid and could get the job done. I just hope the Texans don't decide Kubiak has to go. He has made a damn good team down there.

27: New York Giants

The last couple of weeks they have looked a bit more like the team a expected them to be, but I also didn't expect them to be very good. I think they keep expecting to much out of Eli and Tom Coughlin seems to keep losing the team. Of course last time I said this, they won a super bowl... if they do it again I am going to insist they pay me for helping them out so many times.

26: Washington Redskins

As much as I hate to say it, I think their coach needs to just give it up and retire. I was willing to buy into the excuses in Denver, but now I am starting to see the problem isn't with the team, it's with the coach.

25: Pittsburgh Steelers

This team needs to get younger at almost every position, needs to let Big Ben play QB like he knows how, and for the love of god find some halfway decent Secondary players.

24: Philadelphia Eagles

I think Chip Kelly needs to realize he can't run the offense he wants without a QB capable of running it. I wonder if the owners of the Eagles are rethinking their decision to Jettison Andy Reid yet?

23: Buffalo Bills

This team could be a real danger next year, but this year they still are looking bad. I have to say though, if your a Bills fan there is a lot of reason for hope.

22: Cleveland Browns

I think that if the Browns keep playing like they have been, they might just be in the playoff hunt at the end of the season. Another team that looks like it might be good next year.

21: St. Louis Rams

I have to say this team plays a lot better than I thought it would and if they can figure out a decent Offensive line they might actually be a winner soon.

20: Miami Dolphins

I like this team but like the last couple I think they need to start looking toward next year. Tannenhill is solid but needs more time to live up to his potential.

19: Oakland Raiders

Man, I think that they need to just commit to Pryor as their franchise QB and build around him. They are on the verge of being a real threat in the AFC.

18: New York Jets

Man it's hard to decide who these guys are. One week they look like a serious contender, the next like they have a rookie quarterback behind center. That is life with a rookie QB though.

17: Baltimore Ravens

Lewis and Reed leaving hurt this club a lot more than even I expected. Also, why do they insist on trying to make Flacco an elite QB when they should know better by now. Don't get me wrong, Flacco is good, and definitely worth a top ten grade, but he has a few flaws in his game that stop him from being truly great.

16: Arizona Cardinals

Having a hard time getting a bead on this team so stuck them at the middle because that's what their record says they are.

15: Tennessee Titans

I honestly think they can make the playoffs if Locker comes back from injury looking like he did before he got hurt. If not they are going to take a dive in the power rankings.

14: Carolina Panthers

Okay, I like what I have seen the last couple of weeks but still am not sold. If they get to like 9-5 I might be willing to believe, but until them not gonna buy.

13: Chicago Bears

I would have them a lot higher had they not lost Cutler. Now we will once again see why more attention needs to be given to the back up QB. How many times has a promising club been sunk because NFL coaches don't put any real effort into preparing their back up QB's for “just in case”?

12: Detroit Lions

I want this team to make the play offs so bad. If they can keep being competitive and keep playing well, I think they can do it.

11: San Diego Chargers

Man, I knew Mike McCoy would improve this team and he has. This year I think they squeak into a wild card spot, but next year.. wow the AFC West is going to be the most competitive division in football the next few seasons.

10: Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys remind you of that really good looking girl who always seemed to say the one thing that would ruin the date. If I was a Cowboys fan I would be infuriated and depressed over the way they find ways to loose games.

9: New England Patriots

Something is wrong with Tom Terrific over there in Foxborough but the rest of the team is starting to come together. My advice to Brady, quit caring so much about what everyone does and start enjoying the game again.

8: Green Bay Packers

Once they stopped worrying about telling everyone how good they were and started actually playing football, they got better. Go figure.

7: Cincinnati Bengals

Andy Dalton is looking like a damn good QB. I think he finally learned that he can throw the ball to someone besides A.J. Green. I wouldn't be surprised to see these guys make it to the Super Bowl.

6: San Francisco Forty Niners

I am glad to see they are starting to let Kapernick play like Kapernick. I bet if they had done that from the start of the season they would be ahead of the Seahawks right now.

5: Indianapolis Colts

Okay, I am starting to buy into the idea that Andrew Luck might be something very special. He may not look pretty but he is a damn good QB. He kind of reminds me a bit of Elway who never had Mario's stats but always won the game.

4: Kansas City Chiefs

I know they are the only undefeated team right now, but they also haven't played a good team other than the Cowboys and that was a game they barely won.

3: Seattle Seahawks

These guys are number three because somebody has to be and the Saints look more complete than they do right now. One thing I really like is Russell Wilson showing his leadership every week and willing his team to victory. That takes a special kind of player and is a skill you can't really measure.

2: New Orleans Saints

This team is good. I knew they were going to be good with getting their coach back but I didn't see that defense coming. I am still holding out for a Broncos vs. Seahawks Super Bowl, but wouldn't it be fun to watch Brees and Manning go at it again?

1: Denver Broncos

I want anyone who questions their spot at number one to consider the following things. They make mistakes that would lose most teams the game and still are on a record setting pace. They are starting to make less of those mistakes and they just got their best player on defense back. Seriously I don't see how you can't put these guys on top.  

Let Them Play: Why Teams Need to Stop Trying to Change the Way QB's play the game

I know that I am not in any way shape or form qualified to be an NFL coach. I don't have the knowledge, dedication, or drive to ever achieve that kind of thing. However, sometimes I think NFL coaches could use a little bit of what I like to call "fan wisdom". See, while your typical NFL fan will never be equal to a coach, this actually can work as an advantage because we look at the game differently than they do. One of the best ways to explain this is the fact that so many NFL coaches try to force their QB's to play according to their system and not the way the QB plays best.

Think about it. Three seasons ago Ben Rothelisberger guided his team to the playoff's. During the offseason they hired a new offensive cordinator. That cordinator decided that he wanted Big Ben to be more of a traditional drop back QB. The result? The Steeler's sucked last year and they suck this year. While it is true that some of that suckatude has to do with an aging defense, the fact is that by trying to force Big Ben to play the game differently, it hampers one of the most important players on the team.

It's not just Big Ben either. You can see it in how the 49er's handled Kapernick, the Panthers keep trying to change Cam Newton, and more. It seems to me that every time a cordinator or coach gets it in their head the QB needs to play differently they teams fortunes fall down and sadly the QB winds up catching the game.

Think back for a moment to the 2011 season when the Broncos finally benched Kyle Orton and started Tim Tebow. The first two games they tried to make Tebow fit the system and didn't look like a good team at all. Once the Denver brass stopped and decided to let Tebow play the way he plays, they wound up making it into the playoff's. Had John Fox not decided to do that, chances are they wouldn't have had a winning seasons much less a playoff berth.

I am not saying that you shouldn't try to make a QB play better. I am just saying that maybe you shouldn't try so hard to make a QB play differently. If more coaches and cordinators adopted this philosophy I think a lot more teams would find out that their QB is capable of playing in the NFL and wouldn't waste so many draft picks on "busts"