2014 NFL Power Rankings: Week 1

Welcome to the first of hopefully 17 NFL Power Rankings posts. For my opening week, I have enlisted the help of my good internet friend Arnold Hart, who gives us his quick thoughts on each team. Enjoy!

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1. Seattle Seahawks







Seattle gets to start their title defense in prime time and have all of the important pieces in place to make another title run. We know what the D brings so a lot of this year will be to see how far Russell Wilson has come. 

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2. Denver Broncos







It's obviously Super Bowl or bust for this team. There's no need to say much about a historically great offense, despite losing their #2 WR. If Von Miller can stay on the field, this team will wreck opponents, never mind the additions of DeMarcus Ware and Aqib Talib.

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3. New Orleans Saints







The Saints are a trendy Superbowl pick so far this year. Crazy to think it's addition by subtraction with losing Darren Sproles but he just wasn't very good last year. You know what the mainstays like Jimmy Graham, Pierre Thomas, and Drew Brees will do so their season should boil down to consistency in what could be a tough division, Mark Ingram's potential breakthrough, and if Rob Ryan's defense can repeat it's 2013 success.

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4. Green Bay Packers







The Packers look amazing offensively with arguably the league's best QB already seemingly in mid-season form and a great cast around him. We'll have to see if an already shaky D can overcome the loss of BJ Raji and improve with new guys like Ha Ha Clinton-Dix.

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5. San Francisco 49ers








The Niners have dealt with losing Navorro Bowman, making a mockery of their head coach, Aldon Smith getting suspended for more than half the season, a new stadium that already had the field replaced, and now potentially their own 'Ray'. Still, this team quietly added more offensive talent in David Hyde and Stevie Johnson to go with a consistently great D. They have only themselves to blame if they can't unseat Seattle.

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6. New England Patriots







Nothing appears to be threatening New England in the East so they've retooled to be better prepared for the rest of the league. The defense that's been missing for the last several years finally seems to be coming together and with the addition of Darrelle Revis to an already stellar cast of Vince Wilfork, Chandler Jones, OJ Mayo, and Devin McCourty, the window is still wide open for this squad. The only slight question marks are with the loss of Logan Mankins and uncertainty at RB.

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7. Philadelphia Eagles







Chip Kelly picked up where he left off at Oregon in his first year. Now everyone has bought in and he seems to have found his QB so there's not much to complain about for Philly fans. This team has high-aspirations after winning the division last year so it'll be up to guys like Zach Ertz and Jordan Matthews to fill the hole left by OG D-Jax ('cause we know Jeremy Maclin's going to get hurt)

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8. Cincinnati Bengals








The Bengals decided to go all-in on Andy Dalton and truly believe the time is now. This team has lots of talent on both sides of the ball and are getting probably the best DT in football back so they'll go as far as they're young QB can take them. It's time for Jermaine Gresham or Tyler Eifert to really show up in the passing game, though.

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9. San Diego Chargers







Philip Rivers regained his form last season and now the Chargers look like they could be a consistent playoff contender again. Keenan Allen isn't getting near enough buzz for his rookie performance and if Ladarius Green can supplant future HoFer Antonio Gates, they could really have something going on offense. 

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10. Indianapolis Colts







For the Colts, it all comes down to their OC unshackling Andrew Luck and letting him throw the ball. Trent Richardson appears to be a bust, Ahmad Bradshaw won't stay healthy, so it's time to let Luck use weapons like Reggie Wayne, T.Y. Hilton, Coby Fleener, Hakeem Nicks, and Dwayne Allen. And they'll probably have to with Robert Mathis missing time defensively.

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11. Chicago Bears







Da Bears have one of the best-looking offenses in the league on paper. We all know about the incredible talent at the skill position so the hope is Jermaine Bushrod and the O-line can keep Jay Cutler upright long enough to be successful. They're going to need guys like DJ Williams and Jared Allen to turn back the clock if the D has any hopes of restoring its former glory, though.

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12. Baltimore Ravens







Ray Rice helped fans quickly forget how bad last season was by taking up all the attention this off-season. With the addition of Steve Smith and a healthy Dennis Pitta, Joe Flacco will hope to return to championship form this year. The real excitement could come from C.J. Mosley emerging as their new ILB stalwart.

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13. Detroit Lions







Clearly the Lions believe that the best defense is a good offense. How else can you explain them addressing their defensive needs by adding Golden Tate and Eric Ebron? Joique Bell and Reggie Bush continue to be a productive time share for them offensively and they will hope that Tate gives them something other than the corpses they've thrown out there across from Megatron, but if the defense, especially secondary, doesn't improve quickly it'll be all for not. 

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14. Pittsburgh Steelers







Another trendy Superbowl pick, Pittsburgh expects the offense to really open up this year. Speedy youngsters Dri Archer and Markus Wheaton will complement returning stars like Heath Miller, LeVeon Bell, and Antonio Brown. If Ryan Shazier and Jarvis Jones become standouts at LB, this team could fulfill a lot of predictions.

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15. Arizona Cardinals







Arizona somehow managed to win 10 games last year despite having Carson Palmer and his multiple 4 INT games as their QB. The defense was THAT good. After being the only team to go into Seattle and come out victorious, this team wants nothing more than to hit the ground running. And they'll be excited for the regular season to start since they've been losing player after player recently. Losses like Daryl Washington and Darnell Dockett will hurt, but they believe they have the talent to make it up. Watch out for emerging stars in Michael Floyd and Andre Ellington.

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16. Tampa Bay Buccaneers







A decade later Lovie Smith returns to Tampa Bay, this time as head coach. There's a lot to like about this team on both sides of the ball so like many teams it comes down to QB play. Much like Matt Flynn and MattShaub in recent memory, Josh McCown somehow parlayed a fill-in role into a starting gig. If he struggles, Mike Glennon will have another chance at it but I don't think anyone would be surprised if they're taking a QB next year. I love that defense with the additions of Alterraun Verner and Michael Johnson to a unit that boasts players like Gerald McCoy, Lavonte David, Earl Barron and DaShon Goldson.
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17. St. Louis Rams







Well, the Sam Bradford experiment was a failure. A promising rookie campaign and flashes last season prompted the team to believe he was still the future. With that now in the rear view, can Shaun Hill manage the game enough to let the defense get some wins? Hey, the last time this team lost its starting QB in the preseason it won the Super Bowl. Just sayin' (editors note. Mr. Hart's favorite team)

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18. Miami Dolphins







It's time for Ryan Tannehill to takeover. Reports say that he's become more of a leader and with a new offense, this should be the year that we find out who Tannehill will be. Lamar Miller is still non-descript at RB but they brought in Knowshon Moreno to help. Mike Pouncey and Dion Jordan need to get their heads on straight. Defensively they'll need vets Cortland Finnegan and Louis Delmas to join the always underrated Brent Grimes in bolstering the secondary to allow Cam Wake to do his thing.

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19. Kansas City Chiefs







After a soul-crushing playoff loss, the Chiefs will try to pickup the pieces. They're fully committed to Alex Smith, which means another year of a very safe offense. With Dwayne Bowe's value waning thanks to smith, they hope that Travis Kelce will emerge this season. If they can keep their prolific pass rushers from wearing down this year, they may just compete for the playoffs again.

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20. Carolina Panthers.







Cam Newton lost most of his receiving corps and still has the same clowns around him at RB. Even with a broken rib it'll still be up to him to be the whole show. Fortunately he has one of the best defenses around to keep them in games so the Panthers should have every opportunity to win the division again.

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21. Washington Redskins







If the preseason was any indication, Robert Griffin III spent more time this off-season addressing critics than he did preparing for the season. He claims to be as healthy as he's ever been though, so with the addition of DeSean Jackson and Jordan Reed supposedly healthy, that offense has a great chance to take them back to the top of the division. As always, health and a shaky secondary are the concerns for the defense.

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22. New York Jets







Rex Ryan always finds a way to keep his team relevant, but unfortunately it seems like the same ol' song and dance. A shaky QB that's pretty polarizing when it comes to projections, a great defense with big flaws (previously amazing secondary w/no pass rushers, now it's just the opposite), Eric Decker becomes the new Santonio Holmes, etc. Ryan always gets the most out of his players so if Geno Smith can make the leap, this team could contend for a wildcard spot.

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23. Atlanta Falcons







After a brutal season last year, Matt Ryan and company are back and thankfully so is Julio Jones. That offense was completely different without him. Still, the offensive line issues haven't been resolved and that defense isn't intimidating at all so it'll be up to Ryan to get the most out of that offense to get the Falcons back on top.

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24. Cleveland Browns







Questionable coaching hire, keeping Josh Gordon around and feeding him in the preseason, rookie QBs rolling up bills in the bathroom, it's been an interesting off-season for the Browns. Still, despite all the negativity, if Johnny Manziel is the stud they hope he is, it'll all be worth it. The sad thing is a pretty good looking defense has been overshadowed by all of the press. Pierre Desir and Justin Gilbert (the higher 1st round pick) should be great additions to an already solid secondary and promising front 7.

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25. Houston Texans







Despite many thinking they had the team in place to make a Super Bowl run, Houston completely ignored the QB position and just took the best player available. That's not hard to do though, when that player is Jadeveon Clowney. Now with a compliment to the monster that is JJ Watt and Brian Cushing healthy for at least one series, Houston could actually surprise some teams this year.

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26. Dallas Cowboys







Much like Marvin Lewis, Jason Garrett seems to be made of teflon. After three 8-8 seasons full of all kinds of questionable calls and happenings, Dallas will try again this year with an even worse-looking D on paper. Everyone knows how good Tony Romo and that offense can be so it'll be up to that defense to somehow not embarrass themselves if the Cowboys want to get over the hump. 

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27. Tennessee Titans







Jake Locker is where Sam Bradford was supposed to be. It's put up or shut up for this kid that doesn't have the look of a franchise QB. They've got some nice young pieces at WR and an interesting rookie RB so that offense could put up some points if Jake Locker finally progresses. Many think Ken Whisenhunt can make them do just that.

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28. Minnesota Vikings







The NFC Championship with Brett Favre seems like it was decades ago now. The future could be bright in Minnesota with Teddy Bridgewater looking competent and Cordarrelle Patterson appearing to be a stud and the addition of Norv Turner always makes your offense better. Matt Cassel is a serviceable stopgap but can Sharrif Floyd, Xavier Rhodes, Anthony Barr and that defense develop fast enough for them to make a title run before Peterson potentially bolts?

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29. New York Giants







Eli Manning was a joke last season throwing pick after pick. They hope to have help for him with Jennings as a versatile back and Rueben Randle and Victor Cruz catching passes. The defense will have to find it's superior pass rushing ability again for this team to have any chance to compete. 

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30. Jacksonville Jaguars







There's finally excitement in Jacksonville as the preseason will have all Jacksonville fans clamoring for Blake Bortles to start. Although they say he's going to sit this year, it's going to be hard to keep him off the field if Chad Henne struggles. With so many high picks all over the place, it's time for the Jaguars to show marked improvement.

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31. Oakland Raiders







After picking up the unspectacular Matt Shaub, the Raiders used his injury to back out and give Derek Carr a try, much the same way they fleeced the Rams by claiming that Rodger Saffold couldn't pass a physical. They acquired a lot of vets on defense and some on offense too in the hopes that they can make a run at the playoffs sooner rather than later. Not the best-looking moves mind you, but at least you can say they're trying.

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32. Buffalo Bills







CJ Spiller's always hurt, EJ Manuel looks like a bad reach, Kiko Alonso's out for the season, it's tough times in Buffalo. The defense should still be solid without Alonso and at least they'll get to watch Sammy Watkins (if he ever gets healthy).

Jonathan Carrano

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