Power rankings
49ers, Rams, Seahawks:
Jaguars, Bengals, Chiefs, Patriots, Cowboys, Ravens, Bills, Bears, Broncos
Vikings
For the most part, all these teams are close, but the teams on the top are better. The teams on the same line are relatively equal, but I’ve roughly ranked those teams from left to right–better to worse.
For the top three, besides injury issues, the 49ers looks good, although the defense seems like a vulnerability. The Rams and Seahawks have played unevenly, but at this point, I think they will iron these things out. (For the Rams, this involves a healthy Garrett and Nacua.)
For next level of teams, the Jaguars seem like an overall good team, although I think Lawrence is a weak link. I don’t their offense is as good as the 49ers or Rams, and their defense isn’t as good as the Seahawks. Bengals seem good overall as well. Actually, they seem similar to the Cowboys, both in terms of the overall quality and nature of the teams (e.g., more offensive driven, with a good passing game, and good enough defense). I guess the Bears and Bills could fall into this group as well. (Allen still can make bad decisions, and I’m not sure they coaching is good enough to go all the way.)
Chiefs and Patriots seem like a well-balanced team as well. They will probably have a lot of close games, but they can win a lot. The key for the Patriots is Maye’s ball security. I guess you could put the Ravens here as well.
The Broncos have a good defense, but their offense–Nix–has looked putrid to me.
I’m skeptical about the Vikings, I feel like their record is misleading (although I didn’t see the game against the Dolphins). Their remaining schedule doesn’t look that difficult, so they could end up with a good record.
Dropping out: Texans, Eagles
The Texans defense has faced three really good offenses, but I still think they should have looked better than they did. They could move back up into the group above, but I’ll leave them here as well.
For the Eagles I view them similarly as I do the Broncos, but I think the Broncos have better offensive coaches.
I believe Reid’s ranking is based on who is mostly likely to win a championship. If based on that I like the top tier teams. I’m not as high on the Niners (ie: #1) as Reid is, but I think based on coaching and how Purdy is playing they should be in the top tier. I would however, add the Jags to the top tier as well. I think I would take the Coen/Lawrence combination over the other top tier teams, with the exception of McVay/Stafford. I think Lawrence is just such a gifted QB. Probably top five in terms of leg and arm talent in the NFL right now.
I agree with tier two as well. But I think I would have the Vikings over a lot of those teams. I think if Murray can figure it out and with Jefferson playing, they might be decent on offense and their defense is good to very good.
If ranking was based on if the playoffs started today. I don’t think Seattle would be a top tier team. I wouldn’t put the Broncos in any tier, and I’m not sure if I like the Ravens in any tier as well.
Yep.
How come? Is it their defense? The injuries? Also, the difference between the 49ers, Rams, and Seahawks isn’t very big. (If Garrett returns to form, I would expect their defense to be way better, and I would expect that makes them the top team.)
They’re the 4th team, but I still need to see more before I put them with the other three teams. A big reason I like them is their defense, although Lawrence has looked good.
As for Coen, I need to see more before I put him up with McVay and Shanahan. I’m also a little skeptical about Lawrence–not his talent, but the other intangibles. Let’s see him under duress, against the best defenses.
I don’t have as much faith in Murray as you. It’s Murray and their offense that I have questions about.
With SEA, I think that’s a fair position, but I just think they’re going to work things out. We’ll see.
Sean Payton is going to call plays now, but I’m skeptical that’s going to improve things. Their defense seems good enough to keep them in games, though, even if the offense struggles (assuming their CBs are healthy).
With the Ravens, I feel like they could be a really good balanced teams–similar to the Jaguars, Pats, and Chiefs. But if Lamar is hurt, that obviously changes things. Also, I’m going to skeptical he can deliver in the playoffs until he proves otherwise. If he can stay healthy, I’m anticipating their defense and run game will be good-to-very-good, and that should make them difficult to beat.
Niners:
I’m just not sure they played good teams this year so far. Yes, they played the Rams, but that wasn’t a good Rams team (at least on that day), and the Broncos, who didn’t have both starting corners at some point in the game. We shall see if Purdy can keep up his MVP start all year long and through the playoffs.
Murray:
Murray has all the talent to be a good QB. I wonder if his injuries make him “scared” or worried in the pocket. There are many times he should be holding the ball longer. That being said, I think he played somewhere around a quarter with Jefferson thus far this year. KOC may get him playing well if he can stay on the field. On a side note, since KOC has taken over, the Vikings probably didn’t lose too many games they should have won (ie: big favorites) like Dallas did against the Bucs.
That’s fair, but I guess I would give them the benefit of the doubt. They may not be as good as their record suggests, but I don’t think they’re going to be a lot worse, either.
He may be talented, but I think his height and size are real limitations. I suspect he doesn’t stay in the pocket because a) his vision is obscured and b) he doesn’t want to take a big hit. On the second point, it’s hard to blame him. He is tiny, and it seems like one big hit could wipe him out.
His speed and agility can, and has, helped him overcome these limitations. But he may have lost a step.
Raiders@Patriots
The Pats took it to the Raiders in basically all three phases. The Cousins and the offense just looked overwhelmed at times. The defense looked overmatched.
On a positive note, Mendoza got some snaps and made a lot of successful plays, which I think should help his confidence.
49ers@Seahawks
The Seahawk offense–what the heck? No way they should play that badly. I don’t think the 49er defense is so dominant that they’re making the Seahawk offense look that bad. For example, the 49er offense often struggled primarily because the Seahawk defense was so good (except in the red zone and near the end of the game).
That the Hawks even had a chance to win this game was near miraculous. But even if they had won, I would have been really troubled by the offense.
Hawks, Niners:
Both defenses looked good in this one. Not sure if it’s because both offenses were bad, though. It’s probably a combination of both. One of the reasons Seattle lost was Seattle’s turnovers were much more costly than the Niner ones. Even then Seattle is up after three quarters and probably was the better team. But at the end of the third quarter and in the fourth quarter, Purdy was unbelievable. He looked like Montana out there. The drive when the Niners were down five, where he kept throwing Mike Evans the ball, Purdy was almost perfect. He took them down to score (twice to Cooks actually), and then the two point conversion. Then the drop by JSN sealed the game. I think Seattle at home was the better team, and it may not even be that close. For Seattle to overcome those crazy turnovers, especially the one at the end of the half, and be up after three quarters.
I think the 49ers offense is good, but not necessarily great, but they’re not at full strength (e.g., no FB). The Seahawk offense, on the other hand, is close to trash, I would say. Darnold looks like the Darnold prior to 2024. Overall, I think they’re playing below their talent, and, right now, I put the blame on Fleury, the OC.
If the Hawks don’t improve their offense significantly, including the ball security, they’re not better than the 49ers, and I don’t think they have a legitimate shot to win the SB.
To me, Evans stood out more than Purdy. Basically, there was no one on the Hawks that could defend him. Also, on one of the key drives near the end, the 49er run game came alive, and I thought that was critical.
Bills@Rams
The game is a blur to me now, but I’m glad the Rams lost. Thank you, Hampton Marvel, the Thicker Kicker!
The last field goal was blocked. However, Mevis probably kicked it too low.
In the first half, there was only one punt total, but I didn’t think either defense played that poorly. Both defenses really stop the explosives, and it seem just good offense more than bad defense. That changed in the second half, where there seem to be a whole lot of explosive plays. Bills could not get receivers open, so limiting Allen from getting out of the pocket would have probably been a better strategy for the Rams. Allen was incredible despite his team being the lesser of the two.
It wasn’t really his fault. They let Rousseau get too much penetration, but I just wanted to say “Hampton Marvel.” …And now I won’t be able to because the Rams just cut him.
I don’t know if I’d go that far. I think the defenses of both teams are vulnerabilities–things that can prevent them from winning it all. (The Rams should get a lot better when Garrett returns.)
To be fair, the Rams are often really good at moving the ball down the field. They seem to get a lot of 5-9 yard plays, and they make it look easy. But once they get behind the sticks that can really hinder them. It’s kinda weird because they look dominant at least in terms of methodically moving the ball.
And that’s another thing: weren’t the Rams offense controlling the ball well? I’m pretty sure they did so in the first half at least. The defense should be way better given that they were kept off the field a long time.
Yeah, I think his running won the game for them.
Judging the Rams defense is tough in this one. I have this issue with the Cowboy’s defense against the Jayden Daniels as well. In both cases, the defense played decently, it’s just that the QBs were making something out of nothing by running or just avoiding sacks. Yes, you can make the case that the defense should be better or make adjustments. But I think to say they just weren’t great isn’t completely correct. Allen had like 215 yards passing for the game including OT, and he had a 55-yard play in OT. Take that play away and he throws for a little over 150 yards.
What did you think the about the Rams run defense? It didn’t look all that great to me, and it might have looked worse if the Bills ran a bit more.
Overall, how good would you say the Rams defense is? I wouldn’t call them really bad, but I had higher expectations, and right now I would say that the opponents have a chance of beating them because of their defense. (Again, that may change when Garrett returns.)
I wouldn’t say the Ram’s defense against the run is bad. It definitely isn’t dominate. I would say they are on par with the Cowboy’s run defense. But I’m hearing Snead is playing really well, like shut down well. I didn’t notice that in any of the games, not just the one against Buffalo, but that’s what the commentators were saying. It could be I don’t notice it because nobody is trying to challenge him. If that’s true and with the return of Garrett, the Rams defense could be great.
How about the Rams playing so much 13 personnel? Don’t get me wrong, they run it well. But does it limit big plays and does it fit Puka, Adams, and Stafford? I feel like Puka had much more explosives a couple years ago. The Rams offense is so loaded. Their running backs are great as well.
I wouldn’t say the Rams run defense is bad per se, but it seems like a vulnerability, at least in that game.
Snead? Do you mean McDuffie? Watson? (I think Snead went back to the Chiefs or is he on the Cowboys?)
I like it, especially if McVay is willing to stick with the run game a bit more. In one game last year, the Hawks did well against it, but in another, they were having a lot of difficulty, at least during a significant portion of the game.
And they use to get big plays, with the TEs as well as the WRs.
As for the offense, I really don’t get the sense that they’re loaded, talent-wise, beyond Nacua and a healthy Adams. Stafford is talented, but he has consistently very good pockets, and he doesn’t take that many hits. Even with this, when he has to move because of pressure, he doesn’t throw very accurately at times.
I really think a lot of their offensive effectiveness is due to McVay. Put another offensive coach back there, and I would expect a significant decline in effectiveness.
Yeah, McDuffie not Snead. Oh boy.
I’m not surprised you liking the 13 personnel. I’m very surprised that you don’t think they have good talent offensively. If you are including the o-line, then I’m less sure. But to me talent wise with or without the QB, they are a top five unit. They have a top five WR and as a pair, borderline top five RB if not just outside the top five. If you include the QB, Stafford is top five or right outside the top five as well. Their TE as a group is top ten, too (maybe close to top five). Although, they have been having some injuries with Parkinson, Ferguson, and Higbee (not sure if he got hurt this year). I think their only weakness is depth at wide receiver. But historically Stafford is not one to spread the ball around anyway. Which group would you take over the Rams? The Lions? I think I prefer the Rams if you include Stafford. I also like Puka over St Brown. The Cowboys? Maybe because the Cowboys are better in terms of wide receivers, especially in terms of depth. But I would take the Rams RBs over the Cowboys. I like the Jags, but they are not quite there yet. Parker Washington seems like the real deal, though. I would pick the Rams over the Niners, too. Although Seattle made Evans look like he was 25 again.
Ask yourself this: how many of the offensive players would performing as well as they have been if they went to another team? I would think at least a few would be, but I wouldn’t be surprised if most didn’t. I feel like the productive players who have left the Rams were just like average players at best on other teams.
I really think McVay’s coaching and play calling is really elevating the offense. I think ESPN had a poll of executives about the best players at each position, and for the OL, I don’t think the Rams even had one player (or maybe they had one who was close to the 10th player), but they’re playing like a top 5 OL. Stafford has some really nice pockets, and he hardly gets hit, let alone sacked. Also, many of the plays called seem to work really well. Pass-catchers are really open and the RBs have really nice holes to run through.
Suppose Matt LaFleur, who seems like a good, not great, OC, was coaching the Rams offense. I don’t think they would be nearly as good.
Overall, I would say it’s really difficult to judge how good the Rams players are.
Last year by most metrics the Rams were the number one offense. I’m guessing most pundits would have the Rams top five leading into this season barring injuries. Would you say if LaFleur was coaching this offense they would be below top ten? Man, I don’t see that. But again, I’m less sure when taking into account the o-line.
On a side note, Puka is the real deal. He seems tough in middle of the field and great at getting his feet inbounds on the sidelines. I sort of see him as Edelman type, but with maybe a little more quickness. Maybe Edelman when he was younger.
Honestly, this wouldn’t surprise me. I feel like the OL performance is a big part of the Rams offensive success. Stafford’s effectiveness depends heavily on the consistently good pockets and the minimal hits he takes. I think his performance could really take a nosedive if the pass pro declines even a little.
With the run game, while I like Williams and Corum, the OL is a big part of their productivity. The OL, and actually the TEs and WRs, gets a good push and also creates very good creases for them.
In terms of the blocking, in pass pro and run-blocking, I really think it’s a thing of beauty. (With the pass pro, it’s almost as if McVay is manipulating the defenders to run right into the blockers.)
If the OL is performing above their talent level, then would LaFleur be able to do this as well? I don’t get the sense that he would be able to do this, based on watching GB since he’s been there. He’s not on the same level as McVay and Shanahan (and I’m starting to think Kubiak might belong here as well).
I don’t know how good Puka would be on another offense, but he is a tough WR. I think the Edelman comp is good, but he’s a better at the jump ball, which surprised me when I saw him make those plays.