Cafe Home
Fantasy Baseball
Fantasy Basketball
Fantasy Hockey
Fantasy Cafe Wiki
It’s been a long off-season but all the anticipation is about to come to an end. Football is back, and with it comes the annual debate of where teams stack up against each other on the field.
Every team in the league faces questions that need to be answered in 2006. Is this the year Peyton Manning and the Colts silence their critics and win the big game? Can the injured quarterbacks Carson Palmer, Daunte Culpepper, and Ben Roethlisberger lead their teams to the playoffs? Will Terrell Owens be a godsend or a headache for Bill Parcells and the Cowboys? We’ll try to answer these questions and many more in the weeks to come as the season unfolds.
Keep in mind, being atop any preseason power ranking list is about as meaningful as a politician’s campaign promise. The NFL is the ultimate example of parity, and it usually takes three to four weeks before you can get a feel for what teams are legit playoff contenders and which teams are playing for the number one pick in April’s draft.
In the words of TO: “Get your popcorn ready” and enjoy the show we call the NFL season.
Recently, we asked seven Cafe members to rank all 32 NFL teams from first to worst heading in to the 2006 season. The average number for each team based on their submissions was calculated and the teams were ranked accordingly (to increase consistency, the highest and the lowest values for each team were disregarded).
| Rank | TEAM | Avg Rank | j o s e | G S O E | d a n l | O R S | j a y | M S B | S N S |
| 1 | Indianapolis | 1.6 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| The Colts may have lost their Edge in the running game, but with Peyton at the helm they are once again the preseason favorite. | |||||||||
| 2 | Pittsburgh | 3.0 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Can Big Ben shake this string of bad luck and get the Steelers back to the Super Bowl? | |||||||||
| 3 | Carolina | 3.2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| Can flamboyant wide receivers Steve Smith and Keyshawn Johnson coexist in Carolina? | |||||||||
| 4 | Seattle | 3.4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| The Seahawks surely feel cursed. Shaun Alexander is on the cover of Madden, and the last five Super Bowl losers have missed the playoffs. | |||||||||
| 5 | Cincinnati | 4.6 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 3 |
| Carson looked sharp, but has the defense improved enough to win a few games of their own? | |||||||||
| 6 | Denver | 7.2 | 6 | 12 | 2 | 9 | 5 | 10 | 6 |
| It looks like Shanahan has once again found a diamond in the rough to start at RB. But how long can QB Jake Plummer last on the hot seat? | |||||||||
| 7 | Chicago | 7.6 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 13 | 9 |
| The defense is championship caliber, but they still have questions at quarterback and how they will handle the Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson fiasco. | |||||||||
| 8 | Miami | 9.2 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 7 |
| Will a return to his home turf yield brighter days for Daunte in Miami? | |||||||||
| 9 | NY Giants | 9.4 | 7 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 11 |
| Eli looks poised to become an elite NFL QB. Have the additions to the defense improved enough for them to be tops in the division? | |||||||||
| 10 | Dallas | 9.8 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 8 |
| Will the Tuna keep TO happy? Or is this circus just getting started? | |||||||||
| 11 | Jacksonville | 10.8 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 9 | 16 |
| The defense is stout. Will Coach Del Rio loosen the reins for Lord Byron & Co.? | |||||||||
| 12 | New England | 11.4 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 5 | 13 | 12 | 10 |
| How many key players and staff can one team lose and still remain elite? | |||||||||
| 13 | Tampa Bay | 13.4 | 12 | 15 | 9 | 19 | 16 | 11 | 13 |
| How far can the Cadillac and the aging defense carry them? | |||||||||
| 14 | Baltimore | 14.0 | 18 | 11 | 21 | 11 | 11 | 15 | 15 |
| Bitten by the injury bug last season, can the Ravens and new QB Steve McNair stay healthy and crack the playoffs this season? | |||||||||
| 14 | Philadelphia | 14.0 | 14 | 16 | 14 | 17 | 14 | 6 | 12 |
| The nightmare is over, but Donovan and the Eagles face a brutal division schedule in the NFC East. | |||||||||
| 16 | San Diego | 17.1 | 19 | 18 | 13 | 16 | 15 | 17 | 22 |
| After they kicked Drew Brees to the curb, the Chargers placed all their chips on young Phillip Rivers. Time will tell if that was a good move. | |||||||||
| 17 | St. Louis | 17.2 | 21 | 7 | 18 | 10 | 20 | 20 | 18 |
| With offensive guru Mike Martz gone, how will this affect the “greatest show on turf”? | |||||||||
| 18 | Atlanta | 17.8 | 20 | 20 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 14 | 17 |
| People say it every year, but is 2006 going to be Michael Vick’s breakout year as a better passer? | |||||||||
| 19 | Kansas City | 18.2 | 24 | 17 | 15 | 20 | 21 | 18 | 14 |
| The outstanding offensive line of 2005 looks like a distant memory. Can Larry Johnson carry the Chiefs the hard way? | |||||||||
| 20 | Arizona | 19.4 | 16 | 23 | 19 | 15 | 19 | 22 | 21 |
| The Cardinals are set at the skill positions and they have an underrated defense. All their questions reside right up front with the offensive line. | |||||||||
| 21 | Washington | 19.6 | 15 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 18 | 19 | 19 |
| You can’t buy a championship, but Dan Snyder is trying. Can the Redskins shake the rust and turn things on in the regular season? | |||||||||
| 22 | Minnesota | 20.4 | 17 | 19 | 20 | 24 | 22 | 21 | 20 |
| Brad Childress is hell bent on cleaning house. Will he regret trading Daunte Culpepper? | |||||||||
| 23 | New Orleans | 24.0 | 23 | 22 | 24 | 30 | 23 | 25 | 25 |
| Can Reggie Bush give New Orleans something to smile about as they still rebuild after Hurricane Katrina? | |||||||||
| 24 | Cleveland | 25.2 | 28 | 24 | 26 | 29 | 25 | 23 | 23 |
| Coach Romeo Crennel has the Browns future looking bright, but can 2nd year QB Charlie Frye get the offense running at a high level? | |||||||||
| 25 | Detroit | 25.8 | 25 | 26 | 31 | 23 | 24 | 30 | 24 |
| Can the new coaching staff make up for the incompetent front office? | |||||||||
| 26 | Buffalo | 26.8 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 25 | 26 | 24 | 29 |
| Is Willis McGahee capable of leading his team out of football purgatory? | |||||||||
| 27 | Oakland | 27.4 | 22 | 29 | 28 | 32 | 28 | 26 | 26 |
| The offense teases you with potential, but can Head Coach Art Shell get the offensive line and defense to gel enough to salvage a season? | |||||||||
| 28 | Green Bay | 27.6 | 30 | 25 | 32 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 |
| Brett, has it really come to this? | |||||||||
| 29 | Tennessee | 27.8 | 27 | 30 | 23 | 22 | 30 | 29 | 30 |
| How soon until we see the Vince Young show? | |||||||||
| 30 | Houston | 28.4 | 29 | 27 | 29 | 28 | 29 | 28 | 28 |
| Mario Williams will be under the microscope. Can he make Houston forget about Reggie Bush? | |||||||||
| 31 | NY Jets | 30.0 | 31 | 31 | 25 | 26 | 32 | 31 | 31 |
| It looks like a long year for Coach Mangini and the Jets. | |||||||||
| 32 | San Francisco | 31.6 | 32 | 32 | 27 | 31 | 31 | 32 | 32 |
| Will the Alex Smith experiment turn out better during Act II? | |||||||||
| Legend jose = josebach GSOE = GreatestShowOnEarth danl = danleroi22 ORS = Omaha Red Sox jay = jayday MSB = mutantseabass SNS = SwiperNoSwiping |
As always, thanks to the fantasy football buffs that took the time and effort to produce this list! Special thanks goes out to jayday for heading up this colossal achievement!
Rate this article:
    (1 votes, average: 1.00 out of 5) Loading ...Questions or comments for Jason? Post them in the Cafe Forums! Want to write for the Cafe? Check out the Cafe's Pencil & Paper section! |
subscribe
print version
