The Dubsism NFL Power Rankings: The Verge of the Playoffs Edition
Now that we have 13 weeks of the NFL season behind us, it time to take a hard look at what we thought would happen versus what did. In other words, it is time for another one of those exercises we love here at Dubsism about how wrong we were. The problem is we were right about a lot of stuff as well…
Rankings By Division
Teams in blue we project as division winners, teams in green as wild cards.
AFC East
What We Thought:
- New York Jets
- New England Patriots
- Miami Dolphins
- Buffalo Bills
How It Is Now:
- New England (Overall #1)
- New York Jets (Overall #9)
- Miami (Overall #13)
- Buffalo (Overall #31)
“While this is the Jets’ division to lose, both the Patriots and the Dolphins stand ready to snatch it away should they stumble.”
More like the Jets would stumble, just in time for the Patriots to show they are the best team in the league.
AFC North
What We Thought:
- Baltimore Ravens
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Cleveland Browns
How It Is Now:
- Pittsburgh (Overall #2)
- Baltimore (Overall #4)
- Cleveland Overall #21)
- Cincinnati (Overall #29)
The Steelers and the Ravens will see each other again come playoff time. Cleveland plays fundamental if not flashy football. But how right were we about the Bengals?
“This leads us to the team most likely to disappoint; the Cincinnati Bengals. The Queen City Kitties have been garnering a lot of buzz around Terrell Owens, Ochocinco, but this comes from the same mentality that worships the over-the-hill Brett Favre. It makes sense though, because T-Old and King Brett I have some things in common: they’re way past their prime, they are cancers in the locker room (when they actually show up), and they haven’t won anything in years. Ultimately, the fate of the Bengals falls on the performance of the offense. The defense is one of the best in the league, but if the offense doesn’t perform after the team invested in Antonio Bryant, Jermaine Gresham, plus two wide receivers drafted in the third and sixth rounds, heads will roll in Cincinnati. And at the end of the day, it will all be for not if Cedric Benson doesn’t repeat his solid 2009 season on the ground.”
It has GOT to be a kiss of death when your best offensive player is arguably a 75-year old Terrell Owens.
AFC South
What We Thought:
- Tennessee Titans
- Indianapolis Colts
- Houston Texans
- Jacksonville Jaguars
How It Is Now:
- Jacksonville (Overall #12)
- Indianapolis (Overall #14)
- Houston (Overall #16)
- Tennessee (Overall #23)
We might as well call this the Flip-Flop Division; we knew the Colts were too soft to win, but we had no idea Tennessee would implode as badly as they did, nor did we see signs of life in the Jacksonville Jaguars.
AFC West
What We Thought:
- San Diego Chargers
- Denver Broncos
- Oakland Raiders
- Kansas City Chiefs
How It Is Now:
- Kansas City (Overall #18)
- San Diego (Overall #17)
- Oakland (Overall #19)
- Denver (Overall #25)
What a train wreck this division is…Kansas City has just been exposed to be nothing without Matt Cassel, ex-Broncos coach JoshMcDaniels has already got the gas pipe, and Charges coach Norv Turner has to be next unless that team makes a miracle run deep into the playoffs. That likely isn’t going to happen because whoever wins this mess ultimately loses to the first good team they face in January.
NFC East
What We Thought:
- Dallas Cowboys
- New York Giants
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Washington Redskins
How It Is Now:
- Philadelphia (Overall #7)
- N.Y. Giants (Overall #10)
- Washington (Overall #28)
- Dallas (Overall #15)
This is what happens when you make predictions. I had the Dallas Cowboys as the class of this division, possibly even of the entire NFC. Thanks, Wade Phillips. The fact that Jason Garrett has this team looking like it should really is an indictment of Phillips’ abilities as a head coach. I had given my beloved Philadelphia Eagles up for dead, and I think that prognostication would be correct if Kevin Kolb were still running the offense. Of course, the completely dreadful Deadskins are only in third place because of the early cratering of the Cowboys.
NFC North
What We Thought:
- Green Bay Packers
- Minnesota Vikings
- Chicago Bears
- Detroit Lions
How It Is Now:
- Chicago (Overall #8)
- Green Bay (Overall #6)
- Minnesota (Overall #21)
- Detroit (Overall #28)
Somehow, the Bears succeed despite themselves. They are quarterbacked by Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Cutler; they have a highly-ranked defense that can give up 30 points in the blink of an eye. The Packers are too injured to play out the string, and nobody is all that surprised that the Vikings became a soap-opera that digested itself.
NFC South
What We Thought:
- New Orleans Saints
- Atlanta Falcons
- Carolina Panthers
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
How It Is Now:
- Atlanta (Overall #3)
- New Orleans (Overall #5)
- Tampa Bay (Overall #11)
- Carolina (Overall #32)
The Falcons didn’t really surprise us. The Saints didn’t really surprise us. Tampa Bay in the playoffs nearly gave us a pants-shitting moment. As did the fact this is arguably the best division in football. By our estimation, it is the only one with three top-12 teams, and it is the only one that will put three teams in the post-season. We thought that would be the AFC North, but that’s also why we buy our underwear in bulk at Sam’s Club.
NFC West
What We Thought:
- San Francisco 49ers
- Arizona Cardinals
- Seattle Seahawks
- St. Louis Rams
How It Is Now:
- St. Louis (Overall #20)
- Seattle (Overall # 22)
- San Francisco (Overall #26)
- Arizona (Overall #27)
Because somebody has to, I guess…Every possibility exists that the team who wins this division won’t have a winning record. Then we will have to listen to the same yahoos who cry that college football needs a playoff system cry about how playoffs don’t work because some team with a better record didn’t get in. Worse yet: The Rams have all the hallmarks of a team that could surprise somebody in the playoffs.
Overall Rankings
- New England Patriots ↑10 (Pre-season Rank #11)
- Pittsburgh Steelers ↑11 (Pre-season Rank #13)
- Atlanta Falcons ↑14 (Pre-season Rank #17)
- Baltimore Ravens ↑1 (Pre-Season Rank #5)
- New Orleans Saints ↓4 (Pre-sesan Rank #1)
- Green Bay Packers ↔ (Pre-season Rank #6)
- Philadelphia Eagles ↑7 (Pre-season Rank #14)
- Chicago Bears ↑14 (Pre-season Rank #22)
- New York Jets ↓7 (Pre-season Rank #2)
- New York Giants ↑2 (Pre-season Rank #12)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers ↑18 (Pre-season Rank #29)
- Jacksonville Jaguars ↑14 (Pre-season Rank #26)
- Miami Dolphins ↑6 (Pre-season Rank #19)
- Indianapolis Colts ↓6 (Pre-season Rank #8)
- Dallas Cowboys ↓11 (Pre-season Rank #4)
- Houston Texans ↑2 (Pre-season Rank #18)
- San Diego Chargers ↓14 (Pre-season Rank #3)
- Kansas City Chiefs ↑12 (Pre-season Rank #30)
- Oakland Raiders ↑8 (Pre-season Rank #27)
- St. Louis Rams ↑12 (Pre-season Rank #32)
- Cleveland Browns ↑10 (Pre-season Rank #31)
- Seattle Seahawks ↑2 (Pre-season Rank #24)
- Tennessee Titans ↓16 (Pre-season Rank #7)
- Minnesota Vikings ↓15 (Pre-season Rank #9)
- Denver Broncos ↓10 (Pre-season Rank #15)
- San Francisco 49′ers ↓10 (Pre-season Rank #16)
- Arizona Cardinals ↓11 (Pre-season Rank #16)
- Washington Redskins ↓5 (Pre-season Rank #23)
- Cincinnati Bengals ↓9 (Pre-season Rank #20)
- Detroit Lions ↓2 (Pre-season Rank #28)
- Buffalo Bills ↓6 (Pre-season #25)
- Carolina Panthers ↓11 (Pre-season Rank #21)
About J-Dub
One comment on “The Dubsism NFL Power Rankings: The Verge of the Playoffs Edition”
Drop Your Comments Here
The Man Behind Dubsism
Dubsism on Pinterest
Click On JoePa-Kenobi To Feel The Power Of The Jedi Photoshop Trick. Besides, you can get the best sports-related recipes ever. This is the sports-related content you are looking for.
Blog Directories
Dubsism 
I don’t know anyone other than Jack Del Rio that had the Jags winning that division so don’t feel bad about that pick.
Besides, they still have three games left to blow that lead.
It’ll probably happen this Sunday at Indy.
LikeLike