#6 Off Season Power Rankings

If you're just starting to follow Bronczilla's Off Season Power Rankings, the #1, #2, #3, 4 and 5 Power Rankings can be read by following those links.

The number in parenthesis represents the number of points each team has. Teams began these power rankings in their first week with a number of points inverse to their standing in the rankings.

For example, the Patriots began as the #1 ranked team, so they started out with 32 points.

Transactions and the number of points granted this week for each transaction are listed beneanth each team's name and ranking.

1. Eagles (31 pts)

2. Chargers (29 pts)

3. Colts (28 pts)

-1 Loss of OG Rick DeMulling to Detroit -- How much good will it do the team to keep Manning, Harrison and James together if the O line's performance drops at the same time that the team is again failing to make meaningful positive moves on the defensive side of the ball?

4. Vikings (27 pts)

+2 Siging Safety Darren Sharper from Green Bay -- The Vikings D needs all the help it can get, and adding the DB with more INTs than anyone else over the past 8 seasons, a guy who regularly hits the 100 tackle mark, can't be bad. They've also weakened a Division rival.

+1 Signing WR Travis Taylor from Baltimore -- He was not quite average with a less than average QBs throwing him the ball for the Ravens, so he should do nicely with a stud like Culpepper tossing him the rock.

+1 Signing QB Brad Johnson from Tampa Bay -- Johnson may be much as a full time starter, but he's smart enough and accurate enough that having him as a backup has got to feel reassuring.

+1 Signing LB Sam Cowart from NJ Jets -- Cowart still has something left to give, is a good leader and is a nice upgrade for a very bad defense. At the price of a 7th round draft pick he's a steal.

5. Broncos (26 pts)

6. Falcons (26 pts)

+1 Signing LB Ed Hartell -- Whether he's expected to be a top notch backup or a simply a reliable starter, the Falcons are not hurting themselves on D.

+1 Signing Safties Rich Coady and Ronnie Heard.

7. Patriots (25 pts)

8. NJ Jets (25 pts)

9. Steelers (24 pts)

- 2 Loss of WR Plaxico Burress to the NJ Giants -- He may never see the Hall of Fame, but who do the Steelers have to replace him with, especially when 2nd year QB Ben Rumplestiltskin didn't demonstrate an ability to take over a game last season even with Burress to throw to.

10. Bills (24 pts)

11. Ravens (24 pts)

12. Chiefs (24 pts)

13. Seahawks (23 pts)

+1 Release of S Damien Robinson and LB Anthony Simmons -- Great, they're cleaning house on a bad defensive unit. Now let's see how they upgrade.

+1 Release of RT Chris Terry -- They dumped a guy with a substance abuse problem and gained $3 million in cap space. Sweet.

14. Packers (21 pts)

15. Rams (21 pts)

16. Jaguars (17 pts)

17. Texans (16 pts)

18. NJ Giants (16 pts)

-1 Signing DT Kendrick Clancy -- At very best this guy is an ok backup. Which means he leaves the Giants in about the same spot the were prior to cutting Hand.

+1 Releasing DT Norman Hand and DE Keith Washington -- They did exactly what for the G Men last season? Now who replaces them?

+1 Signing WR Plaxico Burress from Pittsburgh -- He's nearing the end of his career, he's moody and has lapses in his concentration, but he's still a sure upgrade.

19. Lions (14 pts)

+1 Signing QB Jeff Garcia from Cleveland: Garcia will be a quality backup QB and already has a good working relationship with Lions head coach Steve Marriucci.

+1 Signing OG Rick DeMulling from Indianapolis -- I liked QB Joey Harrington already. It'll be nice to see what he can do with an upgraded O line. If they succesfully answer the vacancy at RT this could be a +2 move.

20. Panthers (13 pts)

21. Bengals (13 pts)

22. Cardinals (12 pts)

+1 Signing LB Orlando Huff -- A great move to add quality depth to a D that ended last season on the upswing.

23. Redskins (11 pts)

24. Saints (10 pts)

- 2 Loss of S Tebucky Jones -- Jones had a very nice year in '04, even with the Saints playing generally inconsistant football all season long. Who will they bring in that can not only replace his production, but thrive under the guidance of the Saints idiotic coaching crew?

+0 Signing LB Levar Fischer -- The guy was out of football last year, was no super star even when healthy and is coming off of serious injury. The Saints may be the worst possible team for him to attempt a comeback with, but we'll give him the benefit of a doubt.

25. Cowboys (10)

26. Buccaneers (8 pts)

27. Browns (8)

+2 Releasing DE Courtney Brown: They unload a player who spends too much time on IR the past three seasons AND save themselves a big ole $2.5 million cap hit because now they don't have to pay him the roster bonus he'd soon be due.

+1 Signing LB Keving Bentley and DT Jason Fisk: Bentely is a positive move if you believe the Browns are adoping the Patriots philosophy of building from the bottom up. Fisk has a great motor, but he's getting old and I wonder how much he has left to give. Both seem better signings for depth than for starting roles.

+1 Signing LB Matt Stewart -- Stewart seems like a solid player and if he can really play inside or out he'll be a big asset with the team making its move to a 3-4 base D, which relies more heavily on LBs to make plays up and down the like of scrimmage.

28. Raiders (7 pts)

+1 Signing DE Derrick Burgess: At very worst Burgess is a high quality back up. On a D as lousy as Oakland's was last year I'd have to expect him to be an immediate starter, even if that means hurting the feelings of Warren Sapp.

29. Bears (7 pts)

+0 Signing OG Roberto Garza from Atlanta -- Is he tough? Yes. He doesn't even have and ACL in one knee and still started last season. But Atlanta's O line had plenty of problems pass blocking last season (if I remember correctly, QB Mike Vick was sacked 52 times) and Garza certainly wasn't part of any solution.

+1 Moving OT John Tait back to his natural position of LT -- The Bears gave up a whopping 66 sacks last season. Should have had Tait on the other side already.

+1 Signing RT Fred Miller -- The man is a mountain. Even if he's only average talent his size alone will make it tougher for most DEs to keep up an energetic game-long persuit of QB Rex Grossman (who is expected to be fully recovered from ACL surgery)

30. Miami (7 pts)

+1 Signing S Tebucky Jones from New Orleans -- Jones had a nice year in '04, even while playing for the Saints inept coachs (he lead the team in tackles with 110). He certainly should be able to hold his own while playing for the Dolphins inept coaches with some decent LBs, CB Patrick Surtain and DE Jason Taylor playing in front of him.

+0 Signing OG Damion Cook -- Adding a bad OG to a bad O line on a bad team doesn't make a whole lot of splash.

31. Titans (3pts)

32. 49ers (3 pts)