LogFAQs > #957995106

KCF's Playoff Power Rankings

1. St. Louis Rams
2. Miami Dolphins
3. Oakland Raiders
4. Dallas Cowboys
5. Baltimore Ravens
6. Portland Express
7. Minnesota Vikings
8. San Juan Orcas
9. San Francisco 49ers
10. Denver Broncos
11. Tennessee Titans
12. Philadelphia Eagles

The Rams had a phenomenal defensive season. They finished 1st in yards, 1st in sacks with a staggering 60, 4th in INTs with 22, and T-5th in FR with 15. QB Ryan Tannehill was wire-to-wire one of the best QBs in the league, and WRs Patrick Turner and Greg Lee are one of the best WR tandems in the league. Due to injuries, they had to start five different HBs this season, but their best option, Romance Taylor and his 4.7 YPC, is healthy ahead of their wild card round match, and backup Giovanni Bernard with his own 4.7 YPC might return in the divisional round should they advance. Returner Roy Helu Jr. had a resurgent season, and K Mason Crosby has been excellent since arriving last season. The only question for this team is the OL whose health and propensity to give up sacks is a poor matchup against an Orcas front seven featuring two of the best DL this season in Aaron Donald and Angelo McDowell, and a major RotY contender in Darius Leonard. It will be very tough for them to make the long-awaited SB given they have to play one more game than the Cowboys and 49ers (whom they went 1-2 against this season), and will have two guaranteed away games in their path to a SB.

The Dolphins are rounding into playoff form, getting back just about everyone they lost to injury in the process, with an excellent D that is in the Top 10 in all 11 categories that the game tracks and a balanced offense that will get great contributions from anyone on any given game with nine offensive players having scored multiple TDs, and five at 5+. The issue is now that superstar HB Jacquizz Rodgers is done for the season. 2nd round rookie Javorious Allen has done an admirable job filling in, but as with most young HBs, efficiency is a concern with him. They have since brought in Joseph Addai to be their playoff workhorse. He has a somewhat similar skillset to what Jacquizz Rodgers offers, but with substantially limited work in his career with 130 total touches across 9 seasons.

The Raiders lack the star player performances this season, but they are elite on defense, allowing the 5th fewest yards and just 10.1 points per game, one of the best marks we have seen in our history. While both the offense and defense have seen remarkable turnarounds from last season, there are reasons for concern that they will have yet another disappointing playoff appearance with the #1 seed. While most of the ratios are okay, the OL has had difficulty registering blocks, which simply will not do against the likes of teams with formidable front sevens they could face in the AFC like the Express, Dolphins, and Ravens. The DL is also a problem area, especially at DE where young starters Dee Ford and Danielle Hunter combined for 6 sacks, 1 FR. That's not going to bode well as all five other AFC playoff teams have had excellent OT play this season. While it simply hasn't happened often this season, the Raiders are prime to be exploited for their line issues that so many teams in the playoffs are fully capable of taking advantage of.

It was a rocky start, but Cam Newton and the elite defense (6th overall) got into a groove and ended the season on a 6-game winning streak to give themselves a bye. They'll need it and hope that others get banged up because it just can't be expected that Cam Newton will literally carry the offense to a SB title without a runner stepping up. The Cowboys finished ninth in rushing largely because of Cam Newton who was one of three QBs to lead their team in rushing this season. Their top two healthy HBs have YPC of 3.8 and 3.3.

The Ravens have had one of the more bizarre seasons in recent memory. They began the season 0-2 behind 10 turnovers and a -7 differential. They ended up with a -13 differential, tied for the worst in the league, so they continued to worsen in that department. However, they finished with the league's #1 O and #2 D with Top 10 marks in points for and points allowed. Star HB Doug Martin played in all 16 games for the first time in his career and became just the fourth HB with a 2000 yard season in B8NFLL history. WR Michael Crabtree was available for anyone in free agency, but presumably all 31 other teams didn't offer him a contract, and he's currently slated to make the Pro Bowl. The OL continued their high-level play, and, well, the Ravens defense is still the Ravens defense. QB Kirby Freeman who bounced back to nearly a Top 10 passer rating after a horiffic start to the season will not be playing in the Wild Card game against the 12-4 Express.

The Express could very well be the favorites in their match against the Ravens. With the #13 O and #4 D despite having one of the higher starters games lost due to injuries, they had one of the league's toughest schedules and have gone 4-1 against teams with double digit wins this season. They have been tested as much as anyone. Losing star HB DeMarco Murray a quarter through the season was a gutpunch, and backups Erik Haw and Le'Veon Bell have shared duties to okay results. It's wild that so many fantastic teams now have critical rushing issues come playoff time, but that is their achilles heel in what is an otherwise underrated and turnover-averse offense.
---

KCF can't actually be a real person but he is - greengravy
If you smell what the rock is cooking he's cooking crap - ertyu