Arizona Sports NFL Power Rankings – Cardinals on top heading into Week 1
Sep 7, 2016, 8:38 AM | Updated: Sep 13, 2016, 8:35 am
The Arizona Cardinals are flying high -- at least heading into Week 1 in the ArizonaSports.com NFL Power Rankings. (Jeff Haynes/AP Images for Panini)
(Jeff Haynes/AP Images for Panini)
For years on ArizonaSports.com, we’ve tracked the Arizona Cardinals’ progress in various NFL Power Rankings from around the internet.
We’ll continue to do that in 2016, but we’re putting out our own weekly pecking order based on the votes of seven panelists from Arizona Sports 98.7 FM and ArizonaSports.com.
The panel consists of Dave Burns, Paige Dimakos, Doug Franz, Adam Green, Craig Grialou, Vince Marotta and Craig Morgan. Our rankings will be released each Wednesday during the football season.
Below is our first offering heading into Week 1 of the NFL campaign.
| Rank | Team | Hi | Low | Comment | This Week | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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1. | Arizona Cardinals | 1 (4 voters) | 3 (Franz) | The most complete roster in the NFL. — Burns | vs. NE |
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2. | Green Bay Packers | 1 (Franz) | 5 (Marotta) | Without Nelson, they’re really good. With Nelson, they’re the best. — Franz | @ JAX |
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3. | New England Patriots | 1 (Morgan) | 5 (Grialou, Franz) | Tom Brady’s absence is huge, but they’re still the Pats. — Grialou | @ ARI |
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T4. | Seattle Seahawks | 2 (Marotta) | 7 (Morgan) | When Wilson has time (which isn’t often) they’re the best team in football. — Franz | vs. MIA |
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T4. | Carolina Panthers | 2 (Grialou, Franz) | 7 (Green) | Benefit from playing in a weak division. Benjamin’s back, but Norman’s gone. — Green | @ DEN |
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6. | Pittsburgh Steelers | 4 (3 voters) | 6 (3 voters) | Look for Big Ben to enjoy a renaissance under Todd Haley. — Morgan | @ WAS |
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7. | Cincinnati Bengals | 5 (Morgan, Green) | 11 (Grialou) | Dalton is back and healthy — they were a true contender with him last year. — Dimakos | @ NYJ |
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8. | Denver Broncos | 7 (Marotta, Franz) | 11 (Green) | Outstanding defense will probably be undone by horrific offense. — Green | vs. CAR |
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9. | Minnesota Vikings | 8 (Green) | 13 (Franz) | Massive chase for one open NFC playoff spot…hard to trust Bradford. — Franz | @ TEN |
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10. | Oakland Raiders | 8 (Burns) | 14 (Marotta) | I am high…on the Raiders, apparently. — Burns | @ NO |
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11. | Kansas City Chiefs | 9 (VM, PD) | 16 (Green) | Too high for top ten, but nobody else deserved it. — Franz | vs. SD |
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12. | Indianapolis Colts | 8 (Grialou) | 19 (Franz) | Fact is, Luck wasn’t that good last year before the injury. — Franz | vs. DET |
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13. | Houston Texans | 7 (Grialou) | 20 (Morgan) | I admit it — Osweiler impressed me during meaningless preseason. — Grialou | vs. CHI |
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14. | Washington Redskins | 12 (Green) | 19 (Burns) | Some think they’ll be better than last year. I can’t see it. — Burns | vs. PIT |
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15. | New York Jets | 12 (Franz) | 20 (Green) | Good coach, good defense. Serious questions at QB. –Green | vs. CIN |
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16. | New York Giants | 11 (Marotta) | 25 (Green) | They spent a ton of money. That has to work, right? — Marotta | @ DAL |
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17. | Jacksonville Jaguars | 10 (Green) | 21 (Morgan) | We keep hearing about all that talent. We still need proof of it. — Morgan | vs. GB |
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18. | Dallas Cowboys | 14 (Morgan) | 25 (Grialou) | How many QBs will they use before Romo returns? — Grialou | vs. NYG |
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19. | Baltimore Ravens | 13 (Burns) | 29 (Dimakos) | I am not buying into the bounce-back year for this team, the talent isn’t there. — Dimakos | vs. BUF |
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T20. | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 11 (Franz) | 26 (VM, CM) | I have no idea who wins second NFC Wild Card, but if I had to guess… — Franz | @ ATL |
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T20. | New Orleans Saints | 18 (Dimakos) | 24 (Morgan) | They have Brees and Fleener, but the defense will still struggle. — Dimakos | vs. OAK |
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22. | Atlanta Falcons | 17 (Morgan) | 26 (Green) | Who is Matt Ryan? You’d think with him and Julio Jones, they’d be better. — Green | vs. TB |
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23. | Buffalo Bills | 16 (Grialou) | 26 (Franz) | No team with Rex Ryan as head coach should ever be taken seriously. — Franz | @ BAL |
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24. | Miami Dolphins | 14 (Green) | 28 (Morgan) | Laremy Tunsil won’t save Miami from taking another early smoke break. — Morgan | @ SEA |
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25. | Los Angeles Rams | 13 (Green) | 29 (DB, DF) | The sun rises in the east and the Rams will be mediocre. These are facts of life. — Green | @ SF |
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26. | San Diego Chargers | 21 (Marotta) | 29 (Morgan) | Chargers will be improved, but what is the ceiling? — Marotta | @ KC |
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27. | Detroit Lions | 22 (Burns) | 29 (CG, AG) | They’re going to be decent — played better in the second half. — Burns | @ IND |
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28. | Chicago Bears | 23 (Franz) | 30 (Morgan) | 30 years since last Super Bowl win. The drought has no end in sight. — Morgan | @ HOU |
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T29. | Tennessee Titans | 23 (Dimakos) | 31 (Morgan) | They will be better than last year…I think. — Dimakos | vs. MIN |
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T29. | Philadelphia Eagles | 21 (Dimakos) | 31 (Marotta) | Carson Wentz ain’t ready. We’ll find that out. — Marotta | vs. CLE |
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31. | San Francisco 49ers | 30 (Marotta) | 32 (CM, AG) | I just can’t believe that in 2016, a team is going with Blaine Gabbert in Week 1. — Green | vs. LA |
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32. | Cleveland Browns | 28 (Morgan) | 32 (5 voters) | Easily the best team in the Big Ten and front-runner to take on Alabama. — Franz | @ PHI |
How the panel voted – Week 1 Burns | Dimakos | Franz | Green | Grialou | Marotta | Morgan
