PokerFink's NFC Rankings (Week 1)

[nation]

ya you're right my bad finky.

[BillNye]

Give STL some love and get off Favre's nuts

[hoyasnaxa]

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Well, I have a pretty different take on it. I think my top 3 teams are clearly the best in the NFC right now, while the middle teams are somewhat interchangeable. My rankings would be something along these lines:

1. SEATTLE
Defense looked good, Alexander looks like he's back.

2. CHICAGO
Defense looks good, Offense does not look improved over last year.

3. CAROLINA
Defense looked good, Steve Smith looks like he has fully recovered.

4. NEW ORLEANS
Horrific 2nd half against the Colts. They should look much better against Tampa Bay.

5. DALLAS
Dallas can score and it doesn't look like Philly or Washington can.

6. PHILADELPHIA
Looked horrible.

7. WASHINGTON
Up and coming.

8. ST. LOUIS
Looked bad against a good Carolina Defense.

9. DETROIT
Very young, but could be one of the NFC's most potent offenses.

10. SAN FRANSISCO
Defense looked good, Alex Smith made a couple of plays on the final drive.

11. NEW YORK
Would be higher, but Manning injury a big question mark.

12. GREEN BAY
You aren't going to win many games if your offense doesn't score a touchdown.

13. MINNESOTA
I may have them ranked too low, but not ready to jump on the bandwagon until they play a real team.

14. Arizona
Lienart has no mobility and happy feet. They looked terrible.

15. TAMPA BAY
Offense is horrible and Defense did not look sharp

16. ATLANTA
Bad Newz

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this is a good list. no eagles bias.

[PokerFink]

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I liked your Bill Simmons comment. I'm one of his few fans on this board and even I found his Atlanta placement a bit loony.

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I love Bill Simmons, but yeah I had to do a triple take when I saw that one. His argument for Joey Harrington was a valiant effort, but stupid.

A few years ago, I really liked his NFL stuff. Now that I know a lot more about the league, I'm amazed by the stupidity of his reasoning. Perhaps if I educate myself about the NBA I would find the same thing.

But in the end, I think he is often very funny and will still read his columns.

[PokerFink]

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I do think Dallas should be rated a tad higher - I can't imagine they don't fix the secondary problem somehow.


[/ QUOTE ]

His name's Terence, and it all depends [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

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Getting Newman back will certainly help, but from what we saw on Monday night, Dallas not only has serious problems in the secondary but no pass rush. That is not a good offensive line they were playing. If they can't get to Eli, they have no chance of getting to McNabb.

EDIT: The other thing about Dallas, they have a HARD schedule. If you believe that Philly is better than Dallas (most people do and so does the FO projections) it only makes Dallas' schedule that much harder. They might be better than the 9th team in the NFC, but with that schedule, they aren't making the playoffs.

[PokerFink]

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Is Pace definitely out for the season? I know that was a possibility but hadn't seen a definitive injury report confirming that yet

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Yes. Link.

Also, just because I have the link up, it looks like the Eagles are going to bring back Reno Mahe to return punts. Link.

[Spellmen]

I think they have the tools to get a decent pass rush. Ware is a beast. Even with Newman back I don't really like their secondary, but I think their defense will be at least average

[PokerFink]

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hey is phili's run stopping really that good, or was it a combo of gb's being that bad ?

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Some of both. Green Bay's offensive line should be better than it played this week, but they don't have a running back.

However, the Eagles have a very deep and much improved front seven that I thought played quite well. They got rid of Walker, who is a good pass rushing DT but not good against the run.

I don't think Philly will have an elite rushing defense this year, but they will be better than last year. Probably above average and maybe, just maybe, top 10.

[Jack of Arcades]

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i just started reading so i'll comment more later but i'd just like to say that it's painfully obvious that you put in that note about how these are *projected* rankings solely because of where you ranked the eagles.

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Seriously, this is so [censored] retarded.

[PokerFink]

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Ok. Good reasoning for most. I do think the Eagles are high, but not by much. They're clearly a good team and outplayed the Pack, but those special teams mistakes are inexcusable and until they fix it they have to drop.

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See... this just doesn't make any sense bud. Those mistakes cost them one game, but won't cost them another. Why would you drop them based on two muffed punts? The rest of the team is still excellent, and they're bringing in a punt returner this week.

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I'm really high on Seattle, they're injury free and looking good.

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Apparently everyone loves Seattle after a solid but nondominant win over a bad Tampa team. This is the team everyone is jumping to conclusions on.

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1. Seattle
2. Chicago
3. Philly
4. Dallas

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Do people not read the disclaimer, or do they just not care?