Top 12 NFL regular season Power Rankings, 2007

[74_75_78_79_]

Yes, let's round-out the 2000s! Concluding with the year of a certain team doing something that wasn't done in 35 years (only this time, in a 16-game season and - at least the first three quarters of the way - in more dominant fashion)! Three 13-3 teams added to this mix! One of them being Dallas's best regular season outing since the early-'90s, the other being Brett Favre's final season in Titletown, and the third one being...the defending Super Bowl Champs! No 12-4 finisher but a couple 11-5 division winners both in the AFC. Five 10-6s. One of them led by first-year HC, Mike Tomlin, another one of them en route to..."shocking the world!", and another one of them a non-playoff participant in Joe Thomas's rookie year! Does this, so-far, best-ever 21st Century Cleveland squad led by Crennel/Chudzinski push aside any of the two 9-7s (both playoff teams), Wash & TB, or any of the 10-6s-and-above? You have five 8-8s as well; neither a playoff team.

Okay, let's shuffle-up!

The next one will bring us into the '10s in-style! Not only the first installment of this very decade, but a rather nice one to piece together (despite me hating the very final result)!

[ChrisBabcock]

1. <cue the Star Wars imperial march here>
2. Colts
3. Chargers... won their last 6. They had a very under the radar D that year.
4. Packers
5. Cowboys... Some quality wins but stumbled a bit in December. (resting starters?)
6. Jaguars... didn’t score less than 24 the last 10 weeks.
7. Seahawks
8. Vikings
9. Buccaneers
10. Steelers... Beat up on their relatively weak division and not much else. Did shut out the Seahawks.
11. Giants
12. Browns

[74_75_78_79_]

1) “The Imperial March” as well
2) Colts - not far from ‘1b’
3) Cowboys
4) Packers
5) Jaguars
6) Chargers
7) Steelers
8 - tie) Titans & Browns
10) Seahawks
11) Giants
12) Redskins

Going into the playoffs at the time, not only did I not see NE winning it all, but not making it to the Super Bowl either. That’s because I saw Indy getting by them in the AFCC. They came real close to beating them in that ‘battle of unbeatens’ regular season match, and Pats were a bit on cruise-control down the stretch. However, you can’t deny 16-0 and that remarkable body-of-work for, at least, most of the season. Plus, they didn’t exactly come out of nowhere. Them 3-in-4-years Lombardis were still very fresh as well as very respectable (not far at all from winning it) ’05 & ’06 campaigns. You have to place them the clear #1 (no ‘1a’)!

Dallas beating GB and Jags beating SD made #3-thru-#6 quite easy with me. Steelers with the 1-3 finish, but did actually have #1 defense, swept Browns and shutout Hawks; although Jags were the better regular season team thus my ranking them ahead of them, I didn’t see Steelers losing to them yet again at home.

It was tough to decide the rest of the 10-6s but saw each of them as better than any of the 9-7s. Yes, I placed some stock in Browns’ win over Hawks albeit game going into OT. No 8-8s made the cut. Giants giving Pats a game in finale not enough to rank them any higher. Embarrassment to Vikings in London a real black eye for them, and losing penultimate to Wash didn’t help. I figured they beat Bucs 1st Rd but nothing else after that. Yes Bucs beat Washington head-to-head, but Redskins’ strong finish coupled with TB’s bad finish solves #12 with me.

Turns out this wasn’t a real hard one. No team with a lesser W/L record finishing higher than anyone with the better record.

[Todd Pence]

1. Patriots
2. Colts
3. Cowboys
4. Packers
5. Chargers
6. Jaguars
7. Eagles
8. Steelers
9. Redskins
10. Vikings
11. Giants
12. Seahawks

[74_75_78_79_]

1. Patriots
2. Colts
3. Cowboys
4. Packers
5. Chargers
6. Jaguars
7. Eagles
8. Steelers
9. Redskins
10. Vikings
11. Giants
12. Seahawks

8-8 Eagles and 8-8 Vikings at #7 and #10 respectively...interesting.

2007 factoid I just came across...Steelers’ win at Rams that year was the very first time the Steelers won on the road vs Rams-period, whether in Clev, LA, or StL. It was also Steelers’ first game at StL since ’79, vs Cards.