NFL Power Rankings: Pre-Training Camp Edition
Believe it or not, we are only just under a month away from when the normally scheduled training camps are set to start across the NFL.
Despite the league being locked out, we can still sit here and analyze each and every team until our faces turn blue and I'm sure that's what most of us have been doing during this very depressing off-season.
Free agency hasn't even taken place, as the owners and the players have yet to reach an agreement, but we can still pretend like everything is okay and debate on who the best teams in the league are.
Here are pre-training camp edition NFL Power Rankings.
This article was first seen at PatriotsPlus.net. Be sure to follow Tony Santorsa on Twitter @ TonySantorsa.
32. Washington Redskins
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The Washington Redskins will be the worst team in football if Mike Shanahan enters the 2011 NFL season with John Beck as his starting quarterback.
The Redskins are simply an all around below average team. Washington has no quarterback, terrible wide receivers, no running game and a below average defense.
As of right now, it looks to be that the Redskins are the front-runners in the Andrew Luck sweepstakes.
31. Carolina Panthers
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Quarterbacks Cam Newton and Jimmy Clausen are not NFL-ready and will not be able to lead the Carolina Panthers to any success in the 2011 season.
Ron Rivera's first year as Carolina's head coach will undoubtedly be a challenge as the Panthers have one of the worst rosters in the league.
30. Arizona Cardinals
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The Arizona Cardinals selected arguably the best prospect in the 2011 draft class in Patrick Peterson.
However, the Cardinals have major issues at the quarterback position, and will need to address that if they want to compete in the very weak NFC West.
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29. Cincinnati Bengals
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If Carson Palmer is not the Cincinnati Bengals starting quarterback in 2011, then the Bengals are in for a very rough season.
Rookie quarterback Andy Dalton may have a promising future, but he is by no means ready to start as the Bengals' quarterback.
On top of that, the Bengals could be losing a huge chunk of their offense with the unclear futures of wide receivers Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens.
Brace yourself Bengals fans, 2011 could be an ugly season.
28. Seattle Seahawks
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The Seattle Seahawks are set up to be awful in 2011.
The only solid spot on Seattle's roster is the offensive line, but other than that, it's simply a bad football team—not to mention that the Seahawks do not have a legitimate starting quarterback entering next season.
The Seahawks will be bad, but still will have a shot at winning some games in the weak NFC West.
27. Tennessee Titans
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Jake Locker will enter his rookie season as the Tennessee Titans' quarterback of the future, but he's simply not ready to win quite yet.
First-year head coach Mike Munchak will be in for a rough first season as the Titans have major concerns on both sides of the ball.
26. Denver Broncos
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Kyle Orton, Tim Tebow and Brady Quinn are all three possibilites to be the Denver Broncos' starting quarterback in 2011.
All three quarterbacks may have bright spots but none of the trio will be unable to turn Denver into a playoff team.
It may take some time for first-year head coach John Fox to make his impression on the Broncos' franchise.
25. Buffalo Bills
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The Buffalo Bills are definitely taking positive steps forward, but they sit in the very tough AFC East.
The Bills may put up fights against the New York Jets and New England Patriots, but they will have yet another losing season.
24. Cleveland Browns
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The Cleveland Browns have found their quarterback of the future in Colt McCoy, but he's simply not ready to win yet.
The Browns have a solid defense, but still have some holes to fill on their defensive line. Also, on the other side of the ball, Cleveland needs to add some wide receivers for McCoy to throw to as he and running back Peyton Hillis can't carry the entire offensive load.
23. Minnesota Vikings
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It's official. Brett Favre is out in Minnesota and Christian Ponder is the next Vikings quarterback.
The Vikings are a solid football team, but the big question is, will the Ponder era be any better than the Favre era?
22. Jacksonville Jaguars
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The Jacksonville Jaguars may have shown signs of success in 2010 under quarterback David Garrard, however in the recent draft it appears that the Jags are looking towards the future with their first round selection of quarterback Blaine Gabbert.
Indications out of Jacksonville may be that 2011 will be the start of a rebuilding process.
21. San Francisco 49ers
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The San Francisco 49ers are definitely a solid football team, but just need to find consistency in the quarterback position.
First-year head coach Jim Harbaugh has found a project in quarterback Colin Kaepernick and he may find some playing time during his rookie year.
However, Harbaugh will pair up with former first-overall pick in 2005, Alex Smith, and will give him the best shot at turning around his rather disappointing career.
20. Miami Dolphins
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It looks like quarterback Chad Henne will be getting yet another chance as the Miami Dolphins' quarterback.
The Dolphins are a decent football team that will need Henne to set up big time if they want to make any push for the playoffs in 2011.
19. Oakland Raiders
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Despite being one of the best offensive teams in the NFL, the Oakland Raiders will not be making the playoffs in 2011.
The Raiders will be losing their best defensive player in Nnamdi Asomugha and have doubt in quarterback Jason Campbell—it will be an interesting first year for Hue Jackson.
18. St. Louis Rams
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The St. Louis Rams definitely have the right pieces moving forward in Sam Bradford and Robert Quinn, but they're going to need some time to develop.
However, in such a below average NFC West division, the Rams may soar to the top in 2011.
Next season will be definite positive steps moving forward for the St. Louis franchise.
17. Detroit Lions
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Head coach Jim Schartz has already nick-named his young, up-and-coming defensive line the "Silver Crush," and they'll look to reek some havoc in 2011.
Nick Fairley will team up with Ndamukong Suh to make one of the most athletic and potentially extremely dominating pass rushing defensive lines in the entire NFL.
The Lions have all of the right pieces, but it's just a matter of Matthew Stafford staying healthy.
16. Dallas Cowboys
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It may be a rough first year for head coach Jason Garrett in Dallas.
Granted, Tony Romo will return healthy and the Dallas Cowboys will be getting a fresh start—however, they still have some holes to fill in order to compete in the tough NFC East.
15. New York Giants
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Pressure will be the entire New York Giants football team—not to mention Tom Coughlin.
If the Giants don't make the playoffs in 2011, it's safe to expect many drastic changes on the team's rosters, including the coaching staff.
14. Houston Texans
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2011 finally may be the year that Matt Schaub will lead the Houston Texans into the playoffs.
The Texans are all-set offensively, but will need to gain some stability on the defensive side of the ball.
The Texans will be switching to a 3-4 defense, which means that Mario Williams might be switching to outside linebacker—believe it or not. Surprisingly, the Texans defense may shape up into one of the more fierce ones.
13. Chicago Bears
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The Chicago Bears had a nice run to the NFC title game in 2010 thanks the solid play from their defense and the very consistent play out of quarterback Jay Cutler.
Cutler will enter his second year with offensive coordinator Mike Martz and he'll have the chance to flourish in Martz' offensive system if he continues on the same track he was on last year.
12. Kansas City Chiefs
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The Kansas City Chiefs are a solid football team and surprised the NFL in 2010.
They wont be surprising anyone in 2011 but they'll still remain a tough team to compete against week in and week out.
In my opinion, the biggest weakness with the Chiefs is that they are not dominating on offense or defense—they're just good at everything, but not good at one aspect of the game.
11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with quarterback Josh Freeman, are both on the rise towards major success in 2011.
The Buccaneers posted an impressive 10-6 record last season, and look to continue their success in 2011.
Freeman, alongside head coach Raheem Morris, appear to have a good thing going down in Tampa, as they strive to be playoff bound next season.
10. San Diego Chargers
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The San Diego Chargers are such a talented team with loads of potential, but they're always prone to a slow start.
Philip Rivers will likely do what it takes to carry the Chargers to the top of the AFC West, but the team must get some stability for its running game.
9. Atlanta Falcons
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The Atlanta Falcons recorded a surprising NFC best 13-3 record last season thanks to the great success out of quarterback Matt Ryan.
Ryan will enter 2011 with the addition of Julio Jones to his weaponry along with All Pro Roddy White.
The Falcons major weakness is the defensive side of the ball. Granted, the Falcons can score points, but it's up to the defense in how far Atlanta will go next year.
8. Baltimore Ravens
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It is almost guaranteed that the Baltimore Ravens will be in the playoffs as quaterback Joe Flacco has yet to miss the postseason.
The Ravens are one of the more well-balanced football teams, but their defense isn't getting any younger.
7. Philadelphia Eagles
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The Philadelphia Eagles success last season should be mostly credited to quarterback Michael Vick—who was the comeback player of the year.
Vick led the Eagles to an impressive 10-6 record and to a NFC East crown, but fell short in the first round of the playoffs against the Green Bay Packers.
Philly needs to improve defensively and needs to keep Vick healthy if they want to make a deep playoff run in 2011.
6. New Orleans Saints
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The New Orleans Saints had one of the best first rounds of the NFL in quite sometime. The Saints selected two top-15 talent prospects in the mid-to-late twenties, as Cam Jordan and Mark Ingram will both be first-year impact players.
However, it will be a struggle for the Saints to overcome their humiliating playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
5. Indianapolis Colts
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By Indianapolis Colts' standards, 2010 was a complete failure as the team posted a 10-6 record and Peyton Manning was picked off 17 times—not to mention being knocked out in the first round of the playoffs.
The Colts will be back and ready to go in 2011, as if the team has another early exit in the playoffs, Jim Caldwell's job could very well be on the line.
4. New York Jets
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Ever since Rex Ryan took control of the New York Jets, they have been an extremely challenging opponent in the NFL.
The Jets have a lot of free agents at a lot of important positions. If the Jets want to live up to Ryan's Super Bowl predictions for 2011, they're going to have to address their needs some more via free agency.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers
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The Pittsburgh Steelers will look to remain as a dominant force in the AFC next season as they're coming off of a heart-breaking Super Bowl XLV loss.
Mike Tomlin and Ben Roethlisberger may be one of the best head coach and quarterback combinations in the NFL, and they always make it challenge to beat them every single week.
2. New England Patriots
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The young and promising New England Patriots, led by reigning MVP Tom Brady, will look to make some noise in yet another Super Bowl run in 2011.
BIll Belichick and the Patriots will look to overcome their playoff loss against the New York Jets, as their past couple playoff performances have been subpar to what New England fans are used to seeing.
Brady may be entering the twilight of his career, but don't be surprised if he ends up winning two or three more Super Bowls.
1. Green Bay Packers
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The reigning Super Bowl champions were one of the most injured teams in the NFL last season.
Remember how good they were in the playoffs? They did so while having 15 players on injured reserve.
The Green Bay Packers will attempt to complete one of the most difficult challenges in all of sports—winning back-to-back championships.
Green Bay is in very good shape as they enter 2011, and you can bet on that they Aaron Rodgers and the Packers will give it all they got to be back in the Super Bowl attempting to complete a repeat.
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