NFL 2014

[Duchess]

I have some of the NFL Power Rankings: Post draft edition.

1. Seattle

Pete Carroll, the NFL’s own Benjamin Button, will turn 63 in September. Last season, he became the third-oldest coach in league history to win a Super Bowl; he could jump Dick Vermeil on that list with a repeat title in 2014 — only Vermeil (63 when the Rams won it all) and Tom Coughlin (65 during the Giants’ last championship) currently sit above Carroll.

And good luck trying to dethrone this team. The Seahawks did take a couple of free-agent hits, like losing Golden Tate to Detroit and Chris Clemons to Jacksonville. They also managed to keep DE Michael Bennett, added rookie WRs Paul Richardson and Kevin Norwood, and reeled in some high-upside young defenders. Last season’s 13-3 record may be tough to match in the brutal NFC West, but anything shy of a playoff berth would be shocking.

2. Denver

Maybe 2014 will be Peyton Manning’s last season. Or maybe he will hang around until he’s 50. “I think as soon as I stop enjoying it,” Manning said during Super Bowl week of when he would consider retirement, “if I can’t produce, if I can’t help a team, that’s when I will stop playing.”

We are not privy to Manning’s football-enjoyment level, but that whole production thing? The Broncos scored 606 points last season with Manning at QB, and they may not even notice that Eric Decker and Knowshon Moreno are playing elsewhere with Emmanuel Sanders and Cody Latimer joining Montee Ball on offense.

3. San Francisco

If you have ever watched the show Shark Tank, you no doubt have had that “Why didn’t I think of that?!” moment as someone strikes a $250,000 deal for a company that produces glow-in-the-dark deodorant or beer-flavored water. Some NFL front offices probably feel your pain tracking 49ers GM Trent Baalke. Stevie Johnson for a conditional fourth-round pick … Carlos Hyde late in Round 2 … Chris Borland in Round 4 … Shayne Skov as an undrafted free agent. The list of savvy moves goes on and on and on.

4. Green Bay

Let’s not forget that the Packers went 8-7-1 and won the NFC North in 2013 with Matt Flynn and a duct-taped-together Aaron Rodgers splitting QB duties. They then entered this offseason needing upgrades at a pass-rusher spot, safety, tight end, wide receiver and defensive end. Put five check marks on the board, especially if Julius Peppers thrives as a newcomer off the edge and talented but troubled TE Colt Lyerla takes advantage of his second chance.

5. New England

“Well, I feel like we improved our team today,” Bill Belichick said to open his post-draft press conference. “We’ll see how it all goes.”

Nonchalant but apropos given the Patriots’ draft strategy, which fell somewhere between speculative and fruitless. A star or two may emerge — Dominique Easley being the leader in the clubhouse. For now, though, the Patriots will go to battle with a roster that’s one Darrelle Revis-for-Aqib Talib switcheroo from looking almost identical to the 2013 version. Of course, that team came within one win of a Super Bowl berth.

6. New Orleans

The spring game remains a phenomenon of college football, but Rob Ryan’s defense versus Sean Payton’s and Drew Brees’ offense would be worth the price of admission should the Saints ever allow such an event to transpire. Saints fans will have to settle for dreaming about a Super Bowl resurgence, carried by this thought: Ryan’s defense can more than hold its own paired with the Payton-Brees attack.

7. Arizona

Dismiss the 2013 Cardinals as a smoke-and-mirrors job at your own peril. Head coach Bruce Arians believes the 6-2 closing stretch — and, in particular, how his offense improved during that run — may be a sign of things to come.

“I thought the last eight games we were real close,” Arians said at the combine. “We were playing the way we wanted to play the second half of the season.”

The fate of this year’s team rests with QB Carson Palmer. Because of the Cardinals’ top-10 defense, Palmer does not need to win games by his lonesome; last year, with 22 interceptions to just 24 touchdowns, he did too much to hold Arizona back.

8. Philadelphia

Among the most amazing stats from the 2013 season: Philadelphia third-string QB Matt Barkley threw twice as many interceptions (four) as starter Nick Foles (two), despite attempting 268 fewer passes. Barkley obviously will leave that tidbit off his resume, but Foles’ performance is perhaps the main reason for continued Eagles optimism. Well, Foles’ performance and a talented offense that has added Darren Sproles and Jordan Matthews.

9. Cincinnati

Someone, somewhere has made the Andy Dalton-is-Timothy Dalton leap, right? Sure, Licence to Kill is watchable because James Bond flicks are entertaining and that title is brilliant and there’s a conveyor belt that pulverizes cocaine, but the movie probably would have been so much better with a different actor playing 007.

Similar tale in Cincinnati for the quarterbacking Dalton, who has made the playoffs in all three of his NFL seasons and definitely is at least a middle-of-the-road NFL starter. Yet, until Dalton proves otherwise, there will be the lingering feeling that he’s holding this team back from greatness.

10. Chicago

The Bears ranked 30^th in total defense and dead last against the run last season, so changes were inevitable up front. Out are Julius Peppers, Corey Wootton and Henry Melton (who missed 13 games to injury); arriving are Jared Allen, Willie Young, rookies Will Sutton and Ego Ferguson, and the wholly underappreciated Lamarr Houston. Will the changes work? Hey, it can’t be worse.

11. Baltimore

A full-scale meltdown in Weeks 16 and 17 kept the Ravens from a playoff berth last season — they committed a combined seven turnovers and allowed an average of 37.5 points while losing to New England and Cincinnati. Somewhere, Ray Lewis snapped a tree in half just thinking about that defensive slump. Don’t bank on a repeat, not with the arrivals of WR Steve Smith, LB C.J. Mosley and S Terrence Brooks.

12. Indianapolis

Granted, this is low for a team with back-to-back 11-win seasons and a superstar at quarterback. But aside from wide receiver and maybe an inside linebacker spot, where have the Colts improved? If the answer proves to be “nowhere,” it will become increasingly difficult for Indianapolis to maintain the current gap between itself and the rest of the AFC South.

13. Pittsburgh

Ben Roethlisberger, Heath Miller and Troy Polamalu have seemingly been playing together since this franchise was known as the Pirates and played at Forbes Field. The inevitable roster turnover that occurred in 2012 and ’13 led to more frustration than the Steelers have come to know recently. There’s finally a light at the end of the tunnel again, with as much effort being spent on building up the depth chart as tiptoeing around the cap – good news given that Roethlisberger’s championship window is closing steadily.

14. Carolina

This ranking makes Carolina fans the leader in the clubhouse as Angriest Power Rankings Readers (at least until Kansas City comes on the board). Counter-point to the forthcoming expletives: At No. 14, Carolina is among those teams expected to contend for a playoff spot, led by its dynamite front seven and Cam Newton. The positioning is down a few notches from 2013 because the line and WR corps remain mysteries.

15. San Diego

The Chargers’ Round 1 selection of Jason Verrett was swept away a bit between the Johnny Manziel and Teddy Bridgewater hoopla, but there may not have been a better fit of team need-to-player within the entire draft. Now, if San Diego can just keep Melvin Ingram and Dwight Freeney healthy and find anyone to help Keenan Allen at WR (lookin’ your way, Malcom Floyd), this team might be in business.

16. New York Jets

Good news: Rex Ryan confirmed during the NFL meetings in March that he still had that Mark Sanchez tattoo on his right arm. Better news, for the Jets and Ryan: Sanchez’s spot on the depth chart now belong to Michael Vick, who might elevate this team to the playoffs if he can surpass Geno Smith.