Preseason Power Rankings - Not What but Why

I looked at the pre-season Power Rankings on NFL.com. I know I shouldn't because it's all rubbish wrapped in speculation and tied up with the bow of overblown expectations. So just ignore the rank number; it's completely meaningless.

However...

This time they included, for the Seahawks, this insightful little blurb:

Amidst the Jay Cutler headshots, Zeke Elliott non-news stories and Hall of Fame speech timers, a small NFL trade was missed. Not shocking. The Seahawks acquired D.J. Alexander, a special teams ace in K.C. who will help Pete Carroll keep the Seahawks' M.O.: Give Seattle's opponents flat nothing on the special teams front, then, with said opponents dealing with oft-poor field position, trot a defense out there that has allowed fewer than two touchdowns and a field goal per game over the last five years. It works, apparently. And if Big Ed runs the clock ...

Click to expand...

I think the special teams gunner was sorely missed last year, and we can't underestimate how much backing a team up in the shadow of their own goalpost impacts their drive success rate. I was really stoked on the trade for Alexander and I think he's going to make a big impact, both figuratively and literally.

Power Rankings IMHO are worthless, even when they have Seattle at #1.

The only Power Ranking that counts is the one after the last game of the year where one team is holding the shiny silver trophy.

I'm not trying to diss on your blurb though.

Power Rankings, especially at this point in the year, are shit. It's pretty much just how last season played out with some minor changes. If we believe these rankings then the Falcons lose to the Pats again in the Superbowl. How would they qualify? Beating the Packers in the NFCCG and the Seahawks in the divisional. Just like last year.

Not happening.

Everybody knows that pr's are bogus. BUT they are NFL content and I drink that up like the milk left over after a bowl of cinnamon toast crunch.

Also, if this guys calling out the DJ alexander move, he obviously has done a little homework which is all you can really ask for from people doing this. Dont just pander to the big market fan bases.

Great post. What a great trade. Kiwi, you are, as ever, the $hit.

I love the emphasis on ST.

We missed #83 a lot last year. I loved those bits he made on returners comin, out of nowhere to clear their browsing history

This is good news from the media. it's the details that make this team roll, and it's nice to see someone paying attention to what JC is doing to build the team.

Thanks, Kiwi; good stuff.

PowerRankings can be fun, but they're full of baloney. Just one more piece of bait to get fans riled up and click on links.

I have absolutely no illusions about power rankings. Even if it was the most accurate list based on the most advanced metrics, the fact of the matter is that the NFL is all about the match-ups of individual unit strengths and weaknesses against their opponent, which is why we so often struggle against the likes of the Rams, who are not even in our league as far as any ranking metric would be concerned.

And I think I made that reasonably clear in my OP - it was always about "hey look, this guy actually got what we were doing", which is of course only news if they usually don't understand what we're doing, which is normally the case.

It means we've gone from "WTF are they doing up there signing big slow corners?!?!" to "Well, Pete and Bob are doing it so it must be good and I'll try to spin it as if I understand it" to finally someone who understands what we're on about and can read it from a simply linebacker swap that was fairly trivial news around the league.

Of course it helps that I had the same reaction to the trade - it's SO important that we're able to pin an opponent down, or to flip the field when we get into trouble on the offensive side of the ball so we don't just give up easy field goals. An effective gunner is as important to this team as our downfield blockers or cover linebackers - the small things that are so often overlooked are our stock in trade.

That's not to mention the emotional lift a big special teams hit makes to the team. It can literally be a game-changer. It pumps up the defense as they come on, and lifts the intensity.

Anyway, for those who got why I posted a silly power rankings thing, thanks for the appreciation.

Thanks Kiwi for your diligence in searching out "things Seahawk". Pete knows by now that it is the little acquisitions one by one that make a team ready for anything on the gridiron. Special teams are key to a Seahawk success this year.....especially the PAT. I know that Pre-season games "do not mean a thing", but it gives us fans who are "panting" to see on field play against an opponent. Our "starvation diet" is soon to be ended.

Posts on this message board have been scarce this year.....compared to years past. Once Pre-season starts there should be no scarcity of subject matter to comment on.

evergreen":37vtmmns said:

We missed #83 a lot last year. I loved those bits he made on returners comin, out of nowhere to clear their browsing history

Click to expand...

ha ha

Ad Hawk":18gfa465 said:

This is good news from the media. it's the details that make this team roll, and it's nice to see someone paying attention to what JC is doing to build the team.

Thanks, Kiwi; good stuff.

PowerRankings can be fun, but they're full of baloney. Just one more piece of bait to get fans riled up and click on links.

Click to expand...

If it's on NFL.com I doubt they're just throwing click bait out there.

Lords of Scythia":21owwy9z said:

Ad Hawk":21owwy9z said:

This is good news from the media. it's the details that make this team roll, and it's nice to see someone paying attention to what JC is doing to build the team.

Thanks, Kiwi; good stuff.

PowerRankings can be fun, but they're full of baloney. Just one more piece of bait to get fans riled up and click on links.

Click to expand...

If it's on NFL.com I doubt they're just throwing click bait out there.

Click to expand...

Hmmm... so you don't think the NFL wants clicks? You don't think they try to keep people on their site, thinking, talking, and paying for "football"?

If they really just cared about news and real analysis, that's what we'd get. Power Rankings are neither of those yet still get full-page real estate when they first come out. In the off season, they're even more useless for anything substantial.

But I love the quote that Kiwi found. It means the Hawks are getting looks even at the small stuff, and that's cool.

nanomoz":2prhivqf said:

Great post. What a great trade. Kiwi, you are, as ever, the $hit.

I love the emphasis on ST.

Click to expand...

Agree on Kiwi's diligence, but the value of the Alexander trade has already been pointed out on this board.

MontanaHawk05":1l6yjbtm said:

nanomoz":1l6yjbtm said:

Great post. What a great trade. Kiwi, you are, as ever, the $hit.

I love the emphasis on ST.

Click to expand...

Agree on Kiwi's diligence, but the value of the Alexander trade has already been pointed out on this board.

Click to expand...

On this board yes. I found it interesting that someone writing an article as vapid as a pre-season power ranking picked up on it. I thought that showed an unusual level of insight.

....and all this time I thought power rankings were a scientific evaluation of how powerful your team was!
Lol

This changes everything! SMH

TheHawkster":32n6n4yl said:

....and all this time I thought power rankings were a scientific evaluation of how powerful your team was!
Lol

This changes everything! SMH

Click to expand...

Did you even bother to read what I wrote? Clearly you've missed the point. I KNOW POWER RANKINGS ARE RUBBISH.

Hell, read the damn subject: "Not what but why". That means the RANK is irrelevant, but the REASON was interesting.

Do you understand now? I don't know how I can state it any more plainly.

Heres a new one. Up to number 3.

I love reading through the comment section! They all hate us!!! Honestly can say that every nfl team besides the pats and maybe Denver are jealous of us because of what we've been during the PC/RW run!

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/page/NF ... awks-front

I love nothing more than people getting bent out of shape about the Hawks. Being hated usually means you're pretty damn good. Plus, we have a huge shot at the National Title game now