Pre draft power rankings are out... guess who is number one?

http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/74371/espn-coms-nfl-pre-draft-power-rankings-2

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Go Hawks!

You beat me to posting this!!!! This is awesome!!!

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Displaced to the south by marriage..... Lifetime Hawk fan BY CHOICE!!! (not always an easy choice)

that is scary - and giving me goosebumps.

Win Forever! We are the Champions! I'm the King of the world!

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As far as polls goes the look at how they voted was interesting

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest/post/_/id/94662

Looks like there were 5 voters and there were 3 voters voting for us and one for Denver, and one for Atlanta. The Niners received ZERO first place votes. Of the two people who didn't vote us number 1, one had us 2nd and the Niners third and the other had the Niners 2nd and us third, so 4 out of 5 had us winning the division basically.

Man I can't wait to get through this off season and get so stuff that actually means something

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We're too high. We didn't even make it to the NFC championship game and need to prove it first before being called #1. The highest we should be is #3 imo

Agreed 100%. Power rankings mean nothing anyways, but it's nice that we're a known threat.

Gah. I don't like high expectations.

Time to prove they belong up there.

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Richard Sherman doesn't just wanna get in your head, he wants to build a vacation home there.

R. Sherman: "I don't want to be an island. I want to be a tourist attraction. You come, I take your money & you go."

Last time we were #1 was the offseason rankings in 2006...after we lost the SB.

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We didn't lose the SB. It was stolen from us. We crushed those guys.

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Richard Sherman doesn't just wanna get in your head, he wants to build a vacation home there.

R. Sherman: "I don't want to be an island. I want to be a tourist attraction. You come, I take your money & you go."

The comments following the article are great. Typical crap.

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@SeahawkGreg



"I will be thrilled with 10 wins.... If we win 14 games, I will tattoo my nuts green and blue!" --13thMan

For those who hate these rankings, just wait a bit. After the draft, pete and john will have them all scratching their heads and they'll all be claiming how great the Niners or some other team's draft was and we'll drop back down a few notches.

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I disagree, I've always hated the power rankings where the previous champ is ranked number one even if they've lost pieces. We were close last year and we've made some serious upgrades and we know what rookies we'll get will get a chance to play if they perform in the preseason. No team scares me right now. Homer glasses off, I'd still think we're #1.

Power Rankings are stupid. But this is still pretty cool to see.

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February 2, 2014... the day the dream was finally realized

I agree with this... i think looking at last year the best teams not to win the Super Bowl were Denver, Seattle and San Fran.. the Ravens have disintegrated. its rationale to look elsewhere. I think alot of people expected a Manning led Broncos to beat the Ravens that nights, as well as the Seahawks to beat the Falcons and set up that 9ers game.

Considering the changes, having any version of the Broncos, Seahawks and 9ers 1-2-3 makes alot of sense.


For those saying "lets just wait until the games are played"

its the offseason, this is an internet fan board... why cant we pontificate, speculate and prematurely celebrate? FFS let people have their fun (whether it be whining on about potential cap issues or deciding if we have our 5th Super Bowl victory parade in Anchorage or Juneau?

I actually both agree and disagree with this 100%. I know it sounds strange, but I never put any "stock" into these power rankings. They are nothing more than someone elses opinion. The only difference between the opinions in the power poll and anyone else, is that these people are paid to analyze the game. With that said, although I see no reason to put any stock into it, this is still a fan message board for the Seattle Seahawks, and if we didn't talk about these things in here, it would certainly make the off season go by even slower than normal.

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I know exactly what you mean. I dont honestly believe that our #1 ranking in March means i should clear out vacation time in Seattle in mid February. I meant it more as an overall.... all of this stuff is open for discussion and none of it means anything until Sundays in September. it just seems every thread has a "lets not get carried away." or "cant we wait until the games?" as if over excitement (whether positive or negative) on a message board will somehow effect the outcomes of those games.

Damn East coast bias rearing its ugly... wait, what?

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Super Bowl XLVIII Champions

Hawks are a team based on competition - who better to compete with than your own and eveyrone else's high expectations?

That's exactly what I was agreeing with. We should be able to discuss how we feel about the team here. None of it matters here, even in September we are all here discussing opinions. Some opinions will be more popular others less so, and even others will be dumber than dumb, but that's how you get through the days there are no games, and those are many in the offseason

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I commented saying:

"As a Hawks fan, I agree with Niner fans that this ranking doesn't mean anything. After all, Niners were #1 right before the Hawks smacked 'em down 42-13."

8 likes so far, woohoo!

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"I'm not the type to let a sleeping giant lie. I wake up the giant, slap him around, make him mad and beat him to the ground. I talk a big game because I carry a big stick." --- All-Pro Stanford Graduate

I take it with a grain of salt. We look at what time of year it is, and when the power rankings came out. This is about who is looking best towards the end of FA when most of the impact players are signed somewhere.

The Hawks retained most of their team and pretty much all of their starters but Branch, and that was on purpose. We've "won" FA by signing the highest rated free agents that addressed our greatest areas of need, and we didn't over pay for them. We also added an offensive weapon that is one of the tougher matchups in the league, fits our system perfectly, and gave our biggest division rival fits the last time they played.

I don't take any stock in it, but it's hard to disagree with any of the top 4 -5 teams being interchangeable at this point.

I really think that these "power polls" no matter if taken now or in week 17, you can really bunch them off in groupings. As you said, any of the top 4 are interchangeable, and if you watch throughout the season, it's not uncommon to see the #1 team drop down a few notches every few weeks. I believe this can be said for the poll as a whole. You can take any group of 4-6 teams in the same part of the poll and likely find them quite interchangeable. The poll itself doesn't MEAN anything, but it can make for some interesting discussion topics.

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I'd swap the Falcons and Packers. No way Atlanta should be in the top 5.

Man I really hope we can live up to these expectations on the field. We cannot have a letdown!

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I take no stock in power rankings. I'm sure it will change after the draft anyway.

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"I don't know what you're talking about." GT

Dang...now this board has nothing to look forward to! We have come to the end! Nothing else to read or say anymore!

(BTW...if you stay on that page long enough, it will just about freeze your Internet connection with all of the user comments flowing in.)

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"Make good teams look bad and make bad teams look terrible!" -Michael Robinson

I kinda miss East Coast Bias sometimes...

...wait a minute. No I don't! This is AWESOME!!! Somebody wheel Areatha Franklin's fat ass in here! "R-E-S-P-E-C-T, Pehawk please stop touching me, R-E-S-P-E-C-T, Seahawks win the NFC, ohh!"

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I <3 Nunchucks

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap100000 ... ncy-frenzy

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World Champs - Sounds good don't it

Those are just the rankings of one dude. I agree this rankings business is silly, but at least ESPN's is a consensus of four regional bloggers and Clayton. Much better snapshot of national perception.

This guy has the Ravens at #5, ahead of the Packers and Falcons, after they essentially blew up their team this off-season. Ridiculous.

Don't like this. Seams too much too fast.

Wish we didn't have the spot light focused on us until we actually won the whole damn thing.

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NFC West is the highest rated division. Even with the Cardinals ranked at 29. Three teams in the top 15. It's a far cry from 3-4 years ago when we were the butt of a lot of jokes. That's what I love

I wish the Niners were ranked #1. I want to beat them while they are the consensus number one. And frankly, I think they deserve it. They had a great record last year against a tough schedule with some very high quality road wins. They go into Atlanta and win the NFCCG and come within a few yards of winning the SB.

Fast forward to the offseason and they don't lose a ton, sign a quality veteran WR, and have 14 picks in a deep draft in which to replace people they do lose and add some depth in other areas such as their defensive backfield.

I hate them as much as anyone here (as in loathe) but I give credit where credit is due. I'm glad they're good. These battles are going to be epic. The games are months away, but I can guarantee you I'm going to need a concoction of Unisom, Ambien, and Patrón to sleep the night before those two SEA-SF games.

That happened last year. And it was glorious.

I hope the 49ers win 11-12 games next year (as long as they don't beat us). There is no team I'd rather play in the NFCCG than them. Great dynasties are built on rivalries.

We are fans we can get too high, we are not playing on the field. Take it with a grain of salt if it bothers you.

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42-13, 29-3, and 23-17 and a Lombardi trophy from THIS century, deal with it niner trolls

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS SUPERBOWL XLVIII CHAMPIONS!

The Seahawks have NEVER started the season in the number one spot in the rankings, even after the Superbowl showing. That following year, the Steelers started in the top rankings spot. We did, however, rule the number 1 spot for weeks leading up to SB40.

That being said, I echo what many have already said, and agree that this truly means nothing beyond some learned sportswriters finally looking past the Mason-Dixon line for their data.

It is amazing what effect the signing of arguably the best available free-agent in the league has on the whole deal.

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"God bless America, and God bless the Seattle Seahawks" - Cortez Kennedy

Rather be flying under the radar, stealthy-like.

IMO, Bennett and Avril were top 5 free agents. If Harvin was a free agent, he would have probably been #1. So it's a bit like we added 3 of the top 5 players out there, all at areas that we needed help at. I think most people recognize that Seattle was the NFL's best team by the end of the season- crushing the 49ers mercilessly pretty much decided it. Seattle was around the very top of the Vegas odds before FA- and were by far the most bet on team. Any other team at #1 would look pretty stupid right now, honestly.

Man, I absolutely love being considered one of the elite teams in the NFL. I've been a Seattle sports fan for 25 years and the only time I felt we had an elite franchise was the mid 90s Sonics. They threw up on themselves when they had a Jordan-less NBA and ran into the best team in history when it all finally clicked.

That's the complete list of my teams that I felt were as good as anyone else in their league for half a decade.

THIS Seahawks team is in the best position of any Seattle sports franchise in the last quarter century. Players want to play here. Analysts and media acknowledge how well run and talented they are. Opponents respect them.

We have a chance to be the dominant team of this decade. For real. Youth, drive and talent. In the front office and on the field.

I say enjoy the expectations. There has never been as much focus on a Seattle sports franchise as there will be this year with this team. They have the perfect makeup to not only handle the spotlight, but to thrive under it.

GO HAWKS!!!

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"If I were Tarvaris Jackson and Matt Flynn, I'd be leery of this kid because if you give him a chance, if you give him a chance and look past his 5 foot 11 or 5-10 and a half or whatever it is, if you give this kid a legitimate chance to win the job, he'll win it" - John Gruden

I agree with the rankings. I disagree with the poster who said the Niners didn't really lose anyone in FA and they signed a good receiver. They did get a good receiver but lost both their starting and back up nose tackle, a good #2 TE, a probowl safety who was the best player in their secondary and Manningham will be lucky to have any impact this season the way he tore up his knee.

I don't know how yoy can't think the Niners have some glaring holes. Two/thirds of their receiving core will be new along with a new nose tackle and safety of which neither look to be on the team currently.

Seattle lost Jason Jones who was good when healthy but was rarely healthy and couldn't be relied on. We brought in his replacement and a good DE and a dynamic playmaker in Harvin that perfectly fits description of "tilts the field". I don't see any area we are worse and a couple we are better. Add in how strong we were to end season and it makes sense.

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The Lion has no interest in the opinion of the sheep.

This is pretty meaningless and I love it because its already getting under my niners friends skin! GO HAWKS!

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Sure. Good Points. I also think we are the best team in the NFL. I just disagree with Kearly that it is "stupid" to consider anyone else at #1. I just think the Niners are as deserving as a preseason number 1 ranking as anyone. They were a few yards away from the Superbowl victory, they have a young QB, and they 14 picks in a deep draft. Yes, they lost a good DB, nose tackle and a backup TE, but their core is still the same. I think Boldan is a huge pick up that negates their losses. This isn't just a "respect the champs" thing either. It would be asinine to put Baltimore at #1, their subtractions of key, core players is irrefutable.

I'm not saying the Niners are better than us, as a matter of fact, I look forward to kicking the crud out of them. I can't wait to prove our dominance on the field by earning it, I'm just saying that it doesn't bother me that some would put the Niners ahead of the Seahawks, I can see the rational. I hate em', but they have earned it.

All I know is that after that first head to head matchup with Niners, there will be no doubt that we are a better, more talented, and more physical team

rjdriver : "I think Boldan is a huge pick up that negates their losses."

All of them? All their loss's? I could see saying he replaces Manningham and would even buy he might be an upgrade but what about Moss? And the fact Crabtree will be the only returning starter from last year.

Delanie walker was used alot in their two TE sets and moved on because he wants to be a starter. Alot of members here wanted him on the hawks. He's not a giant loss in himself but take away Moss and Manningham also and I don't see how Boldin makes it an even swap.

Kaepernick will only have two guys from last year catching pass's in Crabtree and VD. Boldin's not "that" good. Kaep will also need to learn how to use Boldin. He is not fast but he is strong. If you can place the ball properly Boldin will win most of those battles but it is not as simple as it sounds and unlike Crabtree who gets separation and is visible when he is open, Boldin rely's on the QB to place the ball were he can fight for it. By the way if he is going up against Sherman that ball placement had better be excellent and if he is going up against Browner, please try and let Boldin fight it away from him. That won't work so well. Bowner can out muscle him and Sherman can out maneuver him.

Last time he played against those guys Boldin had two catch's for 22 yards.

Defensively their front 7 was what kept that machine rolling and hid the fact they were pretty weak in the secondary. Now they lost their NT and his back up. Again, might not normally be a big loss but they don't have a replacement on the team right now that can play the NT position. Add in that Justin Smith is coming off injury and is turning 34 in September. Consider whoever they get to play NT will take some time to get familiar with their schemes and how will that effect Justin Smith?

Now figure if that font seven takes a step back, how will that effect the secondary? Then remove the only probowler in the secondary from that equation. How good do you think Boldin is?

Yes they have 14 picks but last year was the first year that Balke was on his own as well as the first year in many he was picking towards the end of the draft. LMJ I think is the only draft pick that seen the field and AJ Jenkins looks like a horrible miss with zero catch's on the year and not being able to beat out even Ted Ginn for playing time.

If they lose Ted Ginn and it is looking like a real possibility, their return game will also take a big hit. LMJ might be able to step in but it is another unknown and most likely a down grade even if he is decent.

They just signed a new kicker. Do we just automatically assume he is going to be good? Can he boot it into the endzone on kickoffs? What about consistency or long kicks?

Glenn Dorsey might prove to be a good pick up and I am sure they are hoping he is Justin Smith's replacement but again, his track record so far doesn't guarantee success. I was hoping we would make a run at him so I won't lie, I think he has potential but still he is not the answer at NT and even if he does work out, as long as Justin Smith can play, he will be on the field.

Frank Gore also turns 30 May 14th. That is something that could very possibly come into play also.

I like Boldin but he is not the answer to all the questions they have going right now. They still have many other issues staring them directly in the face.

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The Lion has no interest in the opinion of the sheep.

Why do you think they were close to winning the Superbowl? Even if they scored a touchdown they'd have led by two points (unless they converted a two point conversion) with a minute and a half left against a team with all it's timeouts, a great kicker, and a passing attack that proved it could burn their secondary.

Seahawks proved against Atlanta it was unwise to go up by less then 4 pts with 30 seconds left in the game in the same situation.

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Lets also not completely ignore the difference in that game before and after the black out.

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The Lion has no interest in the opinion of the sheep.

My boss is a Niners fan and I let him have it with the ESPN power rankings! Thank you.

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Well, regardless of what would have happened, I think leading the Superbowl with 1:30 left can be considered close to winning it.

We were close to winning the Atlanta game. We didn't win, but we were close.

But I digress.

You guys are right. We are head and shoulders better than them. We are in a totally different league than the defending NFC champs. Anybody who thinks they are even competition for us is crazy like me.