Atlanta Falcons: NFC Power Rankings, Week 8
By John Buhler
50. . . Previous: . Detroit Lions. 16. team
Who would have thought that through the first seven weeks of 2015 that the Baltimore Ravens and the Detroit Lions would have the worst records in football at 1-6? Certainly not I. They felt like Wild Card teams in August, I swear!
It’s hard to say the Lions are better than their record indicates any more. The front office fired three members of the coaching staff. Detroit fired the grandson of Vince Lombardi in former OC Joe Lombardi and promoted QB Coach Jim Bob Cooter to OC. Even for the struggling Lions, firing Lombardi mid-season seems like it has bad karma written all over it for the club. Lions fans might need to start figuring out who’s who in the College Football Playoff landscape. They are for sure picking in the Top 5 in 2016.
42. . . Previous: . San Francisco 49ers. 15. team
Just when we almost thought the Niners were going to miraculously turn it around, Seattle comes to town and crushes San Francisco’s dreams. Players in the locker room are saying that QB Colin Kaepernick “is on an island.” HC Jim Tomsula denies that notion.
When your team is considering going with former bust Blaine Gabbert at starting quarterback, your team is in serious trouble. Something has to give with the Niners here soon. One more bad start by Kap might get San Fran on the Blaine Train. The 49ers are by far and away the worst team in the NFC West. No other team fourth place team in football feels more behind third than the Niners. They will pick in the Top 5.
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123. . . Previous: . Dallas Cowboys. 14. team
The Dallas Cowboys are a bad football team without QB Tony Romo under center. WR Dez Bryant and DE Greg Hardy are yelling at each other on the sidelines. The team is on a four-game slide that might continue. All is not right in Jerryworld.
There’s an RB controversy between Joseph Randle and Darren McFadden. The defense is a shell of itself in 2015. For some reason, Owner/GM Jerry Jones is thinking about signing Hardy to a long-term deal. If Romo can’t turn it around in Big D, this franchise possibly becoming the Oakland Raiders of the last decade. This team could go from being a team that could win 13 games in 2015 to a team that could lose 13 in a matter of weeks.
. Previous: . Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 13. team. 48.
There is hope in Tampa Bay…on the offensive side of the football. Jameis Winston, Doug Martin, Mike Evans, and Vincent Jackson are some tremendous offensive weapons OC Dirk Koetter has at his disposal. This team will finish below-.500, but should put up points going forward.
Their main problem now that Connor Barth is back kicking field goals in Raymond James (he should have never left), the defense is undermining any sort of offensive progress the Bucs are making. Whether it’s HC Lovie Smith or DC Leslie Frazier, the Tampa 2 is not working in Tampa. In the city that made this defense famous, it is now about to become extinct once the front office goes with another new coaching staff in 2016. Promote Dirk Koetter?
Next: Tier III: NFC Playoff Pretenders