They have us at #24. Don't get me wrong, I certainly don't think we should be top ten, but I feel that is a bit low. Look at several of the teams just above us: Cardinals? Raiders? LIONS? Om my! http://espn.go.com/nfl/powerrankings/_/year/2011/week/0
I think it's low, but I pay these things little mind. One thing to note though is that we have five games against teams ranked lower than us. That's not bad at all.
Yeah, I'd say anywhere from 15-18 at this stage would be fair objectively speaking. 24 is too low, especially with 3 count them THREE NFC West teams ranked ahead of us. Mark it down folks, we finish with a better record than all NFC West Teams. One of them might match us, and in that division, that will be good enough for the playoffs.
Detroit is pretty good. I would not be shocked if they are a playoff team. And if Kolb is at all good the Cardinals should win that division. We're better than the Raiders I think, but I don;t now if its a huge leap
Oh I definitely don't put any stock in it, other than curiosity of what others think of our team. They obviously think very little of us...for now.
Nick Fairley is injured and so is Mikel LeShoure (out for the season). Objectively, what else did they add to their team? They were depending on Nick Fairley to be as big of an impact as a rookie as Suh, which isn't exactly common.
Excellent. Everytime we start the season ranked high we tank.. Remember the TOP10 rankings after we acquired Dante? These ranking mean absolutely nothing to me, especially in the NFL when one significant injury can change the balance of power in a division.. For all I care these experts could rank us 32. If we take care of business on the field and exceed these imaginative and made up expectation we will rise in the rankings.. Which will still be meaningless.. The only ranking that matters is where you stand after the Super Bowl is over.
The only rankings that matter are the records at the end of the season. I like it when we're ranked low to start the season. Might put a little fire in their bellies to go out and get their respect. Besides, it's more "fun" to start low and watch your team climb up the power rankings than it is to see them start up high, only to drop faster than the stock market.
Meh...I can see the argument for any of the 23 teams ranked higher than us that they deserve to be. However...they have the Jets ahead of the Ravens, Colts, Chargers, and Giants? lol..What a bunch of crap! Is the blind love by the media for the Jets only about ratings due to Fat Rex's mouth and the rest of those inbred morons or is it something else? I bet the Jets are 2-5 when they get to their bye week with those wins coming against the Patriots and Jags.
I dont get his remarks... Minnesota actually got younger at QB...signed Donovan McNabb..... Didnt they also draft Ponder? Clayton can be a tool at times...
I think the Lions are probably the most overrated team in the league, but I can see why people like them.
They still need better secondary play. Pettigrew is nice and so is Best, but he's not a full time back which is why they drafted LeShoure. As for "All these guys, that's only four and one is a walking shoulder injury to this point. Durant looks to be a solid contributor, but I don't think he's good enough to turn them into an elite team.
Pre-season power rankings should be taken with a grain of salt. That being said, I think the Jets at 7 is a stretch. I think they tail off this year and don't make the playoffs. Colts at 8 could be too high if Manning is going to miss any significant time with the neck injury. I think the Dolphins at 24 is a bit low. People over exaggerate the QB issues. Browns at 28 is a bit too low as well, McCoy played well last year and Hillis will be good for another 2 years or so. St. Louis and KC are both way over-ranked as well.
We really don't deserve to be ranked high with all the questions we have on offense. Specifically quarterback. But the OL and RB's are also question marks. Basically WR is the only area we're strong. When you take that into consideration, it's hard to put us much higher even with a championship caliber defense.
I'd disagree that the Giants are elite. I'd also disagree that St. Louis is damn good. They went 7-9 last year and still need work. There's also the whole back and forth that Tampa Bay only beat one above .500 team and that was the last game of the season in which the Saints weren't playing for anything. Atlanta isn't elite IMO either. They haven't won a playoff game yet even. Elite in the AFC would be PIT, NE, BAL, and IND. Damn good would include the Jets (until shown otherwise), Chargers, Chiefs. With Houston's changes maybe bringing them into this category depending on how they play.
Green Bay is an elite team. Philly spent a lot in free agency but the players have to produce before you can call them elite. New York didn't even make the playoffs last year. New Orleans lost to the worst team to ever make the playoffs last year. Atlanta is a good team that will challenge for the conference. Dallas is a big jumble of mis-managed talent with a new coaching staff, hard to tell what they'll do. St. Louis is young, no depth, and barely serviceable starting talent at some positions. As for Tampa, this is a point I've been making a lot because so many people seem sold on them. Yes they went 10-6 last year but those 10 wins came against the Browns, Panthers x2, Bengals, Rams, Cardinals, 49ers, Redskins, Seahawks and Saints. There's only one quality win that bunch. Their 6 losses came against the Saints, Falcons x2, Ravens, Steelers and Lions. They can't beat the good teams and got dealt an easy schedule. They'll come back to Earth this year.
20 would be about right mainly due to defense, 24 seems low. But back to back 7-9 seasons, with a lot of the same offense returning except RBs, with one an unproven rookie doesn't make us anywhere above 18-20. The Cardinals are way high. Lions are right, they've been improving and should be even better. I say the Lions finish 8-8 or 9-7 and in 2nd place in NFC North.
One cure for the low ranking would be to win some freakin' games. If the team is any good the better rankings will follow. None of it really matters though, except for our collective ego.
The Giants are certainly not an elite team. Aside their SB run, when have they won a playoff game? Their secondary doesn't look good, and their QB threw 25 INTs last season. In regards to Atlanta, can you be considered an elite team when you gave up 48 points on defense, at home, in your dome?
The Lions have more talent the the dolphins do by a long mile but I am not convinced on if they are a playoff team. The Packers are being totally dissed but the afc is remakablly tough so a detriot team probaly gets in at 9 wins but if the dolphins finish 3 rd in the east then we wont be in the playoff discussions . its going to take Miami to win the afc east or finish 2nd with a reccord of 11 wins . just for the reccord I am hoping for a much improved team but I dont think dolphin fans are seeing what outside people are seeing and truthfully I hope those people are wrong but this jive of sneaking up on people when they are not giving the fins any talk is misdirected somewhat, in that nearly every teams fans say this but the sad truth is miami let two proven runningbacks go and the wr corp still doesnt scare anyone. so its a bad sign when people are predicting us to finish last in the east. if you really look at this objectfully , the less people talk about us is usually a sign we wont do well and I have yet to see this sign to prove those people wrong. I really do hope for the best but when we have the same issue for 14 years or whenever Marino retired its hard to drink any kool aide . so honesty is not a pleseant thing for Miami but we have to look at the hard facts.
Simultaneously, you are penalizing them for beating inferior opponents. Good teams are supposed to beat inferior opponents.
The only thing that matters is that you're not in the bottom 6 or the top 6. You can kind of grasp a few teams that will get in and a few times that just have no shot.
Fully agree. And again I have to reiterate, the extent to which this defense was "championship caliber" in 2010 is really overdone. This was not a top 5 defense, it wasn't even a top 10 defense. You can't just stop other teams from gaining yards and scoring points. You have to force turnovers. If you don't force turnovers, even if you do allow fewer yards and fewer points than some defenses, the defenses that force more turnovers are better than you. And there's a defensive character issue that has to be discussed as well. You're at home against the Detroit Lions, you're 7-7 and fighting for a winning record, and you let up 27 points to Shaun Hill and that offense? Then the following week your defense goes up to New England and just DIES shamefully. When I talk about the team having bad mental toughness down the stretch, I'm not just talking about the offense by a long shot. Yeah, the offense was too incompetent to get the job done against the Browns and Bills, but the defense collapsed against the Lions and Patriots. And I wonder if that couldn't happen again, except sooner.
Incidentally, #24 ranking...hmm...well, I guess that gives us a starting point on mock drafts: #9 overall. Not saying that's where we'll be, but that's what they're implying and it's as good place to start for mock drafts as any. Who are the 10 best players in college football? We should be able to get one of them.
The Miami Dolphins for what? They came out that very day and said they weren't looking at Brett Favre. Salaguero came out with his source saying they weren't even talking about it. Hyde wrote an entire article on us looking at Favre because a "source" told him we were and started the ball rolling on the entire Favre drama. I believe it was Cole (unsure) who pushed it down a hill by flying to wherever Favre was and asking him about interest in the Dolphins.
IIRC, that was in Miami too. Gonna have to go better than 1-7 at home to earn more respect y'all. JMHO...
24 isn't really surprising. I think a lot of people do not realize just how badly a lot of our offseason is viewed outside of the fan base. The embarrassing lame brain coaching fiasco, not having any depth at the Qb position, a rookie RB, offensive line issues, etc. This team has a ton of questions to answer before people in the media are going to even think about putting them in the top half of the league. We are behind the Jest and Pats too, our division is hard. Can't blame anyone for doubting this team to be honest.
Why are you underrating the Lions? They are actually pretty good. And if their franchise QB makes good strides this year, I won't be surprised if they squeeze into the playoffs. That's what having a legit QB does for your team (yes I know they added some other decent pieces). The previously league worst Lions are actually pretty good now. When will the Dolphins get a turn?