Does Rank Really Matter?
By Brian Miller
Unless you have chevrons, leafs, stars, or other military insignias that show your rank, do ranks really matter? I suppose they matter if your a fan of a sports team who is either ranked dead last in some statistical category or number 1 so you can brag about it. In the case of the Miami Dolphins you suffer from both. Dead last in most opinion formed categories and stats while listening the New England Red Coats gloat about being number 1. Still, does it really matter?
I spend quite a bit of time during the course of my days, scrolling message boards, news articles from Podunk, Arkansas and the likes, all in an effort to find some breaking news tid-bit or just to see what the fans are saying. It seems that a recent ESPN WR ranking has many Phins fans trying to dig out a wedgie…it got them that uptight.
Is it a surprise that ESPN has Miami listed 32 out of 32 in WR rankings? Not really considering the fact that our team was 1-15 last season, the entire offense, defense, and special teams is likely to be ranked in any category that low.
Miami’s history of late has been, well, horrendous. A 9-7 gift in 2003 was really only a peak of sunshine through otherwise cloudy years. Yet it seems that an NFL ranking system on anything is enough to drive people over the edge. Amazing. Even the Fan-Sided Network is doing power rankings.
If you are one of those Phins fans who are truly irritated at ESPN for ranking our WR corp so low, then take comfort in knowing that almost all fantasy football rankings have John Beck and Josh McCown ranked higher than Brody Croyle of the Chiefs.
It’s that time of year when it seems fans just can’t find something to talk about. Your waiting and waiting for ESPN to break the news that your favorite team has signed their draft picks and instead you get news that likely to be cut former 1st round pick and certified bust Matt Jones of Jacksonville has “blown” his NFL life on cocaine. I wonder how that ranks? Well, we can assume that if we are ranking players and drugs, Ricky Williams and pot is no longer sitting on the bottom.
There really is only one rank that matters at all, the one where your team is ranked in the standings come January. When training camp is over and the season begins, the standings are all that matters unless your the coach, GM, or Grand Poobah of Football Operations, and then the statistical rankings mean an awful lot. The rest is just opinion from people being paid a lot of money to…talk.
The truth is that rankings are something that these big web sites do to get you all flustered and pissed off so that you can argue with them on a message board, send really nasty Emails to their inbox, and send the link to 400 of your closest friends who feel the same way you do. Do you know what they get out of it? Ad revenue from you visiting their site a million times to bitch about it.
On second thought, that isn’t a bad idea. Click here for my pre-training camp Power Rankings or click continue reading…and please, feel free to come back often and bitch.
PRE-SEASON POWER RANKINGS
TOP 5
Putting the Patriots first after losing the SB was difficult but they still are the best…even for Red Coats
The Cowboys are a legitimate contender for the NFC crown, the question is can they achieve whats on paper?
The Colts missed the Super Bowl last year. So what. With Manning, Dungy, Wayne, and company, they will be competing for the AFC Title again.
The Chargers have the talent to take on both Indy and the Patriots. Can they with Norv Turner?
Favreless doesn’t mean winless. Aaron Rodgers looks like he could be a good QB in this league and until it is proven different, the Packers will give the NFC teams fits.
MIDDLE OF THE PACK
A legitimate shot at taking Indy head on for division title
Too many defensive questions for a higher ranking
A weak division and Julius Jones will have Seattle on Divisions top all year.
Fluke or real deal? Browns fans will find out soon enough.
If the Browns are for real, the Steelers could be looking up at them all year long.
Explosive RB, better WR’s, solid defense. QB leaves a lot to be desired.
Vince Young, Vince Young, Vince Young
Despite the exceptionally poor playoff exit, the Bucs may actually surprise a few people this year.
Was last year simply a misstep or was the year before a gift from the NFL? Pressure is on to perform.
McNabb says his shoulder is fine, but the workhouse will still be Westbrook.
Jake Delhomme comes off Tommy John surgery. As Jake goes so do the Panthers.
Jim Zorn? Really?
Was Jay Cutler a product of diabetes or did it really matter?
Matt Schaub did not look all that impressive for the price the Texans paid. Time for the Texans to stop being an expansion team.
Amazing that NFL teams can be so bad that the Cardinals are ranked higher.
Can TJ, Chad, and Carson finally put something together? Maybe but their defense still sucks.
The 9ers made a lot of changes this year, and I think it might show for the better. Not enough to get to the playoffs, but that is why they are ranked here.
Being 2nd in the AFC East used to mean something. Now it just means your not the Jets.
Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton. That’s all.
Some NFL teams have stretches of bad seasons, they go from the top to the bottom and then to the top again. The Lions benefit from that because it is the only reason they are never listed at the very bottom. It’s also why they are never listed in the top 25.
New HC, new QB, new philosophy. Hmmmm.
New OC could put the Rams back on the right track. Maybe.
THE BOTTOM 5
I was surprised too, and I did the rankings.
A 1-15 record won’t get you much, but last years team lost 6 games by 3 points, and that was with Cam Cameron. On paper this team should be better. They are going to have to prove it though.
Chiefs fans really get pissed off when I rank them so low. Ranking them lower than the team with the worst record should really get him pissing vinegar.
Rumor has it that Brett Favre may have interest in staying close to home and that the Falcons might be a destination. If Favre goes to the Falcons, the Falcons move up in front of the Chiefs.
They were so overrated last year and a major spending spree IMO does nothing but put this team in a position to be exceptionally in horrible cap shape for the next 3 to 5 years. I don’t mind pissing off Jets fans. Reason is, most Jets fans don’t have the attention span to read this far down on a page. Probably didn’t know how to click the “continue button” to realize there was a second page.
All rankings are subject to change without notice. Opinions expressed for each team does not reflect the opinion of Phinphanatic.com or it’s network affiliates. If you find any comments or ranking to be offensive in any way, please feel free to leave a comment or get a life. Since the author of this ranking has no life, leaving a comment might be a better option.