NFC Power Rankings At The Quarter Pole
By Julian Green
Over the course of the 2017 NFL Season, I will be giving you my weekly NFC power rankings. I will also highlight a few teams that stood out to me from the previous week.
Week 5 NFC Power Rankings:
44. Despite a loss to the Bills (who have one of the leagues best defenses), the Falcons remain atop my power rankings. Matt Ryan will eventually even out his play and the defense should get better.. (3-1). . Atlanta Falcons. 1. team
team. 49. The Packers made easy work of Chicago last Thursday night. Health is the biggest problem with this team, especially along the offensive line. When the offense is firing, there is not many teams that can keep up with the Packers.. (3-1). . Green Bay Packers. 2
50. The Lions have slowly but surely climbed up my power rankings. They have yet to get a signature win but they are a balanced team without many holes. I will be watching the next few weeks to see if they can rise to elite status.. (3-1). . Detroit Lions. 3. team
Carolina Panthers. 4. team. 87. To say this team (specifically the offense) needed that big win on the road in New England is an understatement. Cam is at his best when he is taking what the defense gives him. I still need to see more to consider this team a real contender.. (3-1).
5. team. 54. For every open receiver Carson Wentz misses, he scrambles to find another. The national media seems to waver week to week on how they feel about Wentz..and so do I, although I lean towards his potential working out. This team is strong along both line units and that will win you a lot of games.. (3-1). . Philadelphia Eagles
6. team. 51. This Rams team continues to confuse people with how good they have played. Todd Gurley seems unstoppable and despite a few mistakes, Jared Goff continues to prove doubters wrong. Big game vs. Seattle this week that will determine how seriously we take this team.. (3-1). . Los Angleles Rams
Dallas Cowboys. 7. team. 123. The national media is overplaying the demise of this team. Dak is going through some struggles that the incredible line masked last year but I am confident is his ability to improve. Let’s chill on hitting the panic button for now.. (2-2).
My biggest takeaway was not the final score from the Sunday Night game against the Colts, it’s the fact that the Seahawks let the Colts hang around for so long. My concern for this team did not grow this week, but it definitely did not shrink.. (2-2). . Seattle Seahawks. 8. team. 36
team. 48. This team almost let the lowly Giants steal a win against them. Jameis is money in crunch time though, I just wish that was the case during the other three quarters consistently. This has all the makings of a team that will be up and down all season long.. (2-1). . Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 10
. Minnesota Vikings. 11. team. 60. The loss of Dalvin Cook for the season sinks this team in my opinion. It’s even more heartbreaking for Cook considering he lost money when falling in the draft, and making it back just became that much harder. They will not be able to generate enough offense with a weak run game and a combo of Case Keenum/Sam Bradford. I feel bad for Vikings fans having to endure two lost seasons that looked so promising.. (2-2)
team. 15. After starting the season with two straight losses, the Saints have clawed their way back to .500. I think that is exactly where they will hover for all of 2017.. (2-2). . New Orleans Saints. 12
. Arizona Cardinals. 13. team. 32. Arizona’s 2-2 record is a little misleading. Carson Palmer continues to confuse the hell out of me while Larry Fitzgerald continues to amaze me.. (2-2)
(1-3). . Chicago Bears. 14. team. 57. The Bears were embarrassed last Thursday night and that led to a change at QB earlier this week. Enter number two overall pick Mitch Trubisky. This team is better than they have showed and I expect Trubisky to inject life into an offense that looked like the walking dead for four weeks.
*cough* fire Ben McAdoo *cough*. (0-4). . New York Giants. 15. team. 31
team. 42. There is not a lot of talent on this team but they make each opponent bring it. In Shanahan we trust. By the way, Deforest Buckner is beast (shout out to Robert Mays of The Ringer).. (0-4). . San Fransisco 49ers. 16
Teams To Watch:
Arizona Cardinals:
The Cardinals are the lowest two-win team in my power rankings this week. This team is a prime example of why I think every team should take a QB in the draft every year. Carson Palmer and the defense are too good to lose enough to pick at the top of the draft. That said they need to find the QB to lead this team into the next chapter. This team will need a strong off-season so they do not waste away a team that still has some talent on its roster. This team was so fun to watch just two years ago when the honey badger was out there blowing up game plans. Arizona can get back to that, they just need to take some chances and be creative in the front office.
Philadelphia Eagles:
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Welcome to the Carson Wentz experience. On one play Carson will miss an open receiver or overthrow his intended target, yet on the very next play he will shed an almost sure sack, scramble towards the sideline, and hit a receiver with a pass that few can make. This is the case with a lot of young QBs but it’s a bit more frustrating with Carson because of the physical talent he possesses. I really do think he has a chance to be a top ten QB in this league but it’s time to start getting some of those bad habits worked out before they become who he is as a player. All of the physical tools are there. This team also has one the of the better O and D lines in the game and that is an advantage that cannot be taken for granted. Although some Eagles fans are stressing, I would feel really good about this team and there spot in the power rankings going forward.
I really do think he has a chance to be a top ten QB in this league but it’s time to start getting some of those bad habits worked out before they become who he is as a player. All of the physical tools are there. This team also has one the of the better O and D lines in the game and that is an advantage that cannot be taken for granted. Although some Eagles fans are stressing, I would feel really good about this team and there spot in the power rankings going forward.
Chicago Bears:
Well, here we are Bears fans. The Bears shocked the NFL world in April when they moved up to select Mitchell Trubisky in the draft only to sit him behind the guy they just gave a huge contract to. As expected, the Mike Glennon experience was painful and short-lived. Trubisky will make his first start Monday night against the Vikings with the eyes of an entire football thirsty city watching. As a lifelong Bears fans, this is on the short list of five games I have been most excited for. It’s no secret that this is a QB driven league, and if you miss on a QB your chances of being a contender in the next five years decrease significantly. That said I have seen a lot of first round QBs come and go over the last decade and a half, and only a handful looked as good as Trubisky did in the preseason (not just saying that as a Bears homer). Let’s just sit back and enjoy the ride Chicago.
As a lifelong Bears fans, this is on the short list of five games I have been most excited for. It’s no secret that this is a QB driven league, and if you miss on a QB your chances of being a contender in the next five years decrease significantly. That said I have seen a lot of first round QBs come and go over the last decade and a half, and only a handful looked as good as Trubisky did in the preseason (not just saying that as a Bears homer). Let’s just sit back and enjoy the ride Chicago.