NFL Teams Ranked--Again

 We're midway through the 2023 season, and it sure is an interesting one.  I thought I'd rank each of the 32 NFL teams in terms of my personal preference.  As a Seahawks fan, a lot of these rankings are self-explanatory, but most are not.  I'll try to keep it brief, especially if it's self-explanatory.

FAVORITE
1. Seattle Seahawks - Always my #1, always my ride or die.  

I LIKE THESE TEAMS (Not too surprisingly, all AFC teams)
2. Jacksonville Jaguars - Team I've adopted as my #2, or my favorite AFC team.  The Seahawks have no reason to hate them.  I like their new resurgence with Trevor Lawrence, and I really hope they accomplish some things.
3. Miami Dolphins - I'm high on them for three reasons: 1) My girlfriend's 1st cousin once removed is their kicker, Jason Sanders.  He's her dad's cousin.  2) Salvon Ahmed, one of their backup running backs, grew up in Kirkland, WA, just like me.  3) One of their safeties is Jevon Holland, who shares a last name with me, the only Big 4 sports professional athlete I know of who has that distinction.
4. Kansas City Chiefs - I can't help it, they're so easy to root for and fun to watch.  Mahomes, Kelce, Andy Reid, what's not to like?
5. Buffalo Bills - I love Josh Allen; he's one of my favorite NFL players.  The Bills remind me of my Seahawks in a way: loyal to a fault and will brave the elements.

I'M HAPPY FOR YOU WHEN YOU WIN (Usually, unless you beat my Hawks)
6. Cincinnati Bengals - Joe Burrow is easy to root for, and finally Cincy has a consistent winner.
7. Minnesota Vikings - The Jon Bois/SB Nation documentary vaulted them up a bit, plus how big a fan Marshall on How I Met Your Mother is of them, and he's one of my favorite sitcom characters ever.
8. Cleveland Browns - I don't like how they got Watson, but I love lovable losers.  They still deserve to have success someday.  One of my favorite YouTubers, KTO, is a big Browns fan.
9. Detroit Lions - They are easy to like and their win over Green Bay last year enabled the Seahawks to get to the playoffs.  Thanks again, Detroit!
10. Atlanta Falcons - Again, the Jon Bois/SB Nation documentary.  Highly recommend.

NO BIG REASON TO DISLIKE, MAYBE A SMALL REASON TO LIKE
11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - I still think of those late 90s/early 2000s teams that just dominated on defense.  They were fun to watch.  They're still fairly likable.  Guess I just like Florida NFL teams. 
12. Los Angeles Chargers - Never really had a reason to dislike them, except for the fact that as of writing this post, the last time I saw a Seahawks game in person, they lost to the Chargers.  But I don't hold that against them too much.  We should have done more.
13. Dallas Cowboys - I know, I know.  I just find large market teams (Lakers, Yankees, Cowboys) appealing and fun to root for on occasion.  But it is also funny to see them lose, too.
14. Houston Texans - They would be higher, but they share a city with a certain MLB team I would rank 30 out of 30, so that drops them a bit.  I like their uniforms, stadium, but they haven't always made the best personnel decisions.

YOU'RE OK, SO LONG AS YOU DON'T BEAT MY HAWKS
15. Washington Commanders - First off, I wish they'd change their name again.  "Commanders" is so generic and uninspiring.  But I like how Dan Snyder is no longer a part of this team.  Now they just need a new stadium.  But I don't really have a reason to hate them.
16. Las Vegas Raiders - Cool stadium, classic uni's.  I'm not a Raider hater.  Although, like the Cowboys, it's funny to see them lose.
17. Indianapolis Colts - They were featured on Parks and Rec, so that's cool.  The Colts may be the one NFL team I've never felt much emotion towards at all, so it's fitting that they're square in the middle.
18. Arizona Cardinals - What?  A division rival?  Yep.  I don't mind the red birds all that much, so long as we can at least split our season series with them.  
19. Chicago Bears - They may be the one NFL team that has never had a legit franchise quarterback in the Super Bowl era, it's crazy.  I wish them the best someday in finding that guy.  I don't mind the Bears too much, classic franchise and I find their games oddly entertaining, even when they are struggling.

I DON'T HAVE SYMPATHY FOR YOU WHEN YOU LOSE
20. Tennessee Titans - There's the Music City Miracle, at least, one of my favorite NFL plays of all time.  I watched that live as an almost 11-year-old.  But I just have never found a reason to like the Titans all that much.
21. New York Giants - Another one of my favorite YouTubers, FivePointsVids, is a Giants fan, but that's about it.  Their classic uni's are nice.
22. Denver Broncos - This team has probably moved the most in recent years, considering the Russell Wilson trade and all.  I'm coming back around on them, and they move back up for me.  In the earlier part of this century, I had them as a Top 5 team.  
23. New Orleans Saints - Part of me forgot about them, part of me just doesn't care.  I find them incredibly overrated as a franchise, considering they were nothing before the Payton/Brees era.  
24. Carolina Panthers - They beat my Seahawks in the playoffs once, so there's that.  But so have the Cowboys, Dolphins, Falcons, and Bears, all of who are higher on this list.  I just haven't forgiven them, I guess.

I ALMOST ALWAYS ROOT AGAINST YOU WHEN I WATCH
25. Philadelphia Eagles - Their fans are just awful.  I wish them nothing but misery.  I like Jason Kelce, but that's about it.  Die, Eagles, Die.
26. New York Jets - Again, not likable fans, and they're just incredibly boring and inept.  And I hate their color scheme--green and white?  Yuck.
27. Baltimore Ravens - They recently beat my Hawks, but moreover, they used to be the Browns, who were stolen from Cleveland and moved to Baltimore (Thanks, Art Modell).  And they've been rewarded with two Super Bowls.  It reminds me of how my Sonics were stolen from me.  
28. Green Bay Packers - A lot of defeats at the hands of these guys, but they've lost to us, too.  I just hate when we lose to them when, because of the refs or a bonehead play by our QB (Thanks Hasselbeck), we lose.  I almost always root against the Packers.  Their fans are a bit obnoxious, too.

DIE, CHUMPS (I seriously wish nothing but bad things for these teams)
29. Pittsburgh Steelers - Three words: Super Bowl 40 (XL).  Yeah.  Still not over it.  I know, it's been almost 18 years now.  I may never get over it.  Plus, like the Packers, their fans are obnoxious.  But the sting of the Super Bowl certainly hurts less now that we have a ring ourselves.
30. New England Patriots - Another team we lost to in the Super Bowl.  Plus, they had so much success with Brady and Belichick, it was sickening.  Their struggles right now are so incredibly hilarious.
31. San Francisco 49ers - Our biggest rival.  I can't stand their fans on social media--they are the absolute worst.  Reminds me of Astros fans.  Oddly, this is my girlfriend's favorite team, being from that area, which probably saves them from the final spot.  But I can never come around on them, especially now that they are a very tough team to beat.
32. Los Angeles Rams - Too many agonizing defeats to these guys.  The blowout at home which was our first big loss at home in years.  The phantom holding call on the first game in Sofi.  The loss in the playoffs in 2020.  And the two games this year.  Also, I hate Aaron Donald--he's a dirty player.  At least when the Niners struggle, we can beat them.  Even when the Rams struggle, we struggle to beat them ourselves.  Also, they're yet another franchise that has moved, so screw them.

My NFL Team Tiers

 Way back in the day, I ranked NFL teams from 1 to 32 on how much I like them.  I thought about doing an updated list, but I realized it makes more sense just to group teams together based on what I think of them.  So, I grouped them into as few tiers as I could, which is 7.  I'll explain my rationale as to why each team is in each tier.  I'll also rank the tiers from favorite group to least favorite.  Generally, teams in a higher tier I will like more than teams in a lower tier, but not always.  

1. My all-time #1 favorite team and always will be:
Seattle Seahawks

Being from the Seattle area and being the son of a huge Seahawks fan since their inception, I will always be a Seahawks fan, and they will always be #1 in my heart.  I'll always be a 12, and I'll always bleed blue and green.

2. The Lovable Losers Tier
Cleveland Browns
Jacksonville Jaguars
Detroit Lions
Buffalo Bills
Houston Texans

I could probably count the number of playoff wins in the past 15-20 years between all these teams on one hand.  The teams in this tier tend to lose more than they win, and I have a soft spot for them.  Being a fan of a lovable loser in baseball (The Mariners), I can relate to fans of these teams.  Whenever these teams have a rare bit of success, I tend to root for them.  The Browns, Bills, and Texans have had recent "success", but who knows how long it will last for each of them.

3. The Lovable Winners Tier
Kansas City Chiefs
New Orleans Saints

I tried to get more teams in this tier, but I couldn't.  I also couldn't put either of them anywhere else.  Unless either of these teams beat my Seahawks bad in the playoffs, I don't see me disliking them anytime soon.  The Chiefs have great fans and with Patrick Mahomes, they should be fun to watch for a long time.  And I've had a soft spot for the Saints since they had to deal with Hurricane Katrina.  Drew Brees may be retiring soon, which may cause me to move them to another tier.

4. The "At Least You're Usually Entertaining to Watch" Tier
Dallas Cowboys
Las Vegas Raiders
Baltimore Ravens
Philadelphia Eagles
Atlanta Falcons

I don't really care either way if these teams win or lose, but for the most part the NFL is better when these teams win, because they are usually entertaining teams to watch.  The Cowboys are "America's Team" and have a huge fanbase.  The Raiders have the Black Hole and are one of the NFL's most storied franchises.  The Ravens either have an exciting offense, dominating defense, or both.  The Eagles are always well coached and are usually a good-all around team.  And the Falcons usually have a high-flying offense, whether it be through the air or ground.

5. The Has Beens
Denver Broncos
Minnesota Vikings
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Indianapolis Colts
Chicago Bears
Miami Dolphins

These are all teams that I used to like more than I do now.  None are having quite the success they used to.  Denver in the late 90's was when I first liked them, and I even (sort of) rooted for them in the early 2010's, except of course when they played my Hawks.  The Vikings in the early 2000's were fun to watch with Culpepper, Moss, and Carter.  The Bucs in the early 2000's had an amazing defense.  The Colts with Peyton Manning were always fun to watch.  The Bears had a dominating defense in the mid 2000's, and the Dolphins in the late 90's (and even for a brief period in the mid 2000s) were pretty good.

6. The "You Suck and I Don't Have Sympathy for You" Tier
Arizona Cardinals
Washington Football Team
Cincinnati Bengals
New York Giants
New York Jets
Los Angeles Chargers

This is like the lovable losers, except I don't have sympathy for when these teams lose.  Arizona's in the Seahawk's division, so no further explanation needed there.  Washington has a terrible owner.  Cincinnati just has never appealed to me.  The two New York teams are questionably run at best at the top, and the Chargers shouldn't have moved from San Diego.  

7. The "I Love to Watch You Lose Even If It's Rare" Tier
Tennessee Titans
Carolina Panthers
Green Bay Packers
Los Angeles Rams
San Francisco 49ers
Pittsburgh Steelers
New England Patriots

My most hated tier.  The teams that (despite my wishes) still usually have success.  I can't even really explain why I dislike the Titans, except perhaps that my Hawks usually lose to them.  The Panthers have been a "rival" of the Hawks for a while, plus I have no reason to root for them.  The Packers have been a rival for the Hawks as well, beating us a few times.  The Rams and Niners should be self-explanatory.  The Steelers beat the Hawks in Super Bowl XL, and the Patriots beat the Hawks in Super Bowl XLIX.  I will never forgive those two teams for that.  

I can see some changes happening.  If Buffalo has long term success with Josh Allen, they could move to the Lovable Winners tier.  I could see some of the Has Beens moving up to another tier if they become more exciting to watch or have more success.  But this is how I feel right now, and I'm sticking to it.

Seattle Mariners in 2020 - Youth Movement Underway

The Seattle Mariners are in the process of a rebuild.  There's no getting around it.  That's what it is.  They are not expected to contend this year, and even asking for a playoff run next year may be too early.  But the youth movement is here and it is also the future.  Gone are Cano, Cruz, and now Felix Hernandez.  Seager and Gordon are close to gone.  Haniger could join them.

The 2020 season is for the young guys.  We get to see Evan White at first base.  Barring injury or significant struggles (knock on wood), we get to see full seasons from Shed Long, J.P. Crawford, Kyle Lewis, and Jake Fraley.  The 2020 Mariners won't make the playoffs (barring a miracle), but they will be interesting and worth a watch.  I'm certainly going to want to say that I watched the start of these young men's careers.  Hopefully they'll be leading our team to the playoffs in a few years.

I'm going to go over what I expect from each notable player, including the veterans.  Team success isn't quite as important as seeing progress in certain individuals; namely, the youngsters mentioned above.  At the end I'll assign them a tier number.  These tiers are in reference to their careers as a Mariner from 2020 onwards, so if they already had their success, they might have a surprisingly low tier.  Those tiers are:

- Tier 1: I predict them to be a future star with us.  I'd be surprised if they never made an All-Star team for us.  Might not be quite as iconic as Felix or Ichiro, but will become one of the faces of the franchise.

- Tier 2: They'll be a serviceable starter, maybe borderline All-Star.  We've had guys like Jose Lopez, Kyle Seager, Mitch Haniger, and Daniel Vogelbach make the All-Star team just once and anyone in this tier will be like them.  Although Vogelbach only had a good half-season.

- Tier 3: They'll have a good season for us or two, but that's it.  Nothing all-star worthy.

- Tier 4: They really don't have much to give us and/or they'll be gone by the end of the season.

Catcher
Tom Murphy - With Murphy's emergence as the starting catcher, Omar Narvaez became expendable.  Murph will get the bulk of starts behind the dish in 2020.  He's not our future at catcher, but he's our starting catcher until Cal Raleigh is ready.  Interestingly, Murph is the only pure catcher on the 40 man roster, as Nola is listed as an infielder.  I expect Murph to have a similar 2020 as he did 2019, and hopefully he does not drop off (at least not significantly).  I'll give him a Tier 3 because I don't expect Murph to be our catcher in two years.

Austin Nola - I'm excited to see him catch more in 2020.  He may be used as a super utility player in 2020, going from catcher to first to third and maybe outfield.  Nola burst onto the scene in 2019, but he faded down the stretch.  Hopefully he can have a more consistent 2020 season.  If he rakes, Servais will find a spot for him in the lineup.  If he continues to do fairly well, which I hope, I'll give him a Tier 2.  I think he has potential to be our All-Star representative this season.  He's got to get starts somewhere, though.

First Base/DH
Evan White - I'm more excited to see this kid play defense than I am to see him hit.  His defense is constantly raved about, so I bet we'll see a sparkling play from him or two.  He doesn't need to absolutely light it up with his bat in 2020, but get at least some timely hits and show some pop.  I see him as a Tier 2.  I don't see a ton of star power in Evan.  I could see him being the next Eric Hosmer.

Daniel Vogelbach - He just completely fell apart last year.  After the All-Star break, he couldn't buy a hit, and our lone "All Star" ended up hitting .208 for the year.  He needs to have a more consistent 2020 for sure.  I do not see him as a regular in our lineup around the end of the season.  If he struggles, he'll get cut.  If he has success, he could get traded because he's turning 28 later this year and could be dealt for a prospect to a team needed a left-handed bat.  But I am very concerned for Vogey; his fall-off last year is concerning, so I while I'd like to give him a Tier 3, I am leaning more towards Tier 4.  If he doesn't get off to a decent start, we won't have the patience for him, and we could see Nola take a few of his starts.

Second Base
Shed Long - Apparently Shed will be given the bulk of the opportunities at second base over veteran Dee Gordon.  Shed showed some flashes last year with a surprising amount of pop in his 5'8" frame.  He needs to get better defensively, however.  He struggled mightily early on last year with his glove.  I'll give Shed a Tier 2.  Like Evan White, has some good qualities but lacks star power.

Dee Gordon - Dee is in a weird spot.  He's sort of going to be used as a utility man, spelling Shed and JP and maybe even playing outfield.  He'll also, I'm sure, be used as a pinch-runner.  But more than likely, Jerry Dipoto will find a suitor for Dee who will want to use his glove, legs, and contact ability.  I don't expect Dee to make it past the trade deadline, therefore I won't guess at his stats.  I expect Dee gone soon, so he gets a Tier 4.

Shorstop
J.P. Crawford - J.P. would have to really struggle to lose his job.  He did start off last season great, but finished kind of slowly (but so did most of the youngsters).  I'm sure we'll see quite a few more sparkling defensive plays this year from J.P. as he makes a name for himself in baseball.  I just hope he's able to hit for a fairly high average and stay at the top of the lineup.  I am torn between tiers 1 and 2 for J.P., but because of his defense I will give him a Tier 1.  If he turns out anything like Francisco Lindor, I'll be a very happy man.

Third Base
Kyle Seager - Seags is in a weird spot.  We can't really trade him because he has a poison pill in his contract; basically the option in his contract gets converted to another year automatically if he gets traded, and he is making way more than what he's worth at the moment.  He's the longest tenured Mariner now, and it'll be interesting to see how much the Mariners front office wants him to play.  They'll want him to play to hopefully increase his trade value.  But with how much he has put into this organization, I could see him staying for a while to also help mentor the younger players on both hitting and defense.  I'll give Seags a Tier 3.  

Outfield
Mitch Haniger - Unfortunately Mitch survived another set-back and will miss spring training and probably the start of the season.  You might think he's a bit injury-prone.  It's unfortunate; his career got off to such a great start with us.  Kyle Seager suffered a set-back at the start of last year, so hopefully Mitch has a similar hot streak to Seager's in him.  He could be trade bait if that happens.  Mitch literally could be any of the tiers, depending on how well he bounces back and if we trade him.  I'll go with Tier 3, because we have a lot of outfield talent in our system, and he is injury-prone.

Mallex Smith - I'd prefer him as a 4th outfielder and speed off the bench, but what can you do.  He'll probably share time in center with Jake Fraley, Haniger, and maybe even Dee.  I just wish he hit a bit more consistently.  He could be a potential trade piece if a team needs to replace an injured center-fielder or they need speed on the bench.  I'm going with Tier 4 because I expect Mallex to either be benched or traded.

Kyle Lewis - Hard to get off to a better start than Kyle did at the end of last season.  It was awesome to watch.  Can he carry that over to 2020?  Remember, Dustin Ackley got off to a really good start too, and we all remember how that turned out.  He's got potential to be a 5 tool player.  I am going to give him a Tier 1 because I feel optimistic when it comes to Kyle's chances.  He's been in our system a while and he finally gets his first full season to prove himself.  And I could see him like an Adam Jones type player.

Jake Fraley - I was not too impressed with Fraley last year.  In 40 AB's last year he hit .150 and did not get a home run.  He's surprisingly good defensively, but I worry about his bat.  He could surprise me this year and go on a tear, but I just don't feel like that will happen.  He didn't look wholely comfortable at the plate last year.  I know, that could change.  I'm going to give him a Tier 3.  I could see us trading him in a year or two, especially if Kelenic or Rodriguez come up and go on a tear.

Every other position player: I don't see anyone else having a lengthy or impactful career with the Mariners.  Dylan Moore, Tim Lopes, Patrick Wisdom, and Braden Bishop will battle it out for the remaining spots.  Haniger will probably start the season on the DL, so that opens a spot for someone, probably Bishop.  Usually, teams carry 12 or 13 position players, so there's not a ton of room for other players.  Wisdom is the newbie so I'll be most interested to see how he does.

Starting Pitchers
Marco Gonzalez - Marco is our presumed opening day starter since he was last year.  He just got a nice new contract as well, which I was happy to see.  Marco is a great guy to lead this pitching staff until we get some of the youngsters up, and then hopefully be able to pass on some knowledge to them.  I'll give Marco a Tier 2, only because I don't see Marco becoming a true bona fide #1 starter.  He could make one All-Star team as our lone representative.

Yusei Kikuchi - Yusei certainly had some moments in 2019, most notably in Cleveland and New York.  Otherwise, he mostly struggled.  He will need to make significant improvements in 2020, otherwise he won't be with us long.  He'll be given plenty of chances because A) We don't have too many starting pitching options and B) We're not expected to make the playoffs.  Unless Yusei makes a big jump this year, I give him Tier 3. 

Justus Sheffield - Justus didn't really impress me last year, but it was his first significant big league action.  He, along with Kikuchi, will need to make an improvement in 2020.  I give Justus a better chance due to his age.  I really hope he can become at least a serviceable starter, because when we acquired him in the James Paxton trade, he was supposed to be a legit frontline starter.  I'll give him a Tier 2, but I feel like I'm being optimistic with that.

Kendall Graveman - I really only know him by name, but I see he struggled a bit with the A's and then underwent Tommy John surgery.  He could either surprise us or cost us multiple games.  Even if Graveman struggles, Servais will probably be forced to stick with him due to lack of options.  I'm giving Graveman a Tier 4 based on recent history.

Justin Dunn - Dunn showed flashes last year in very limited time.  I honestly see him as more of a reliever than a starter, but maybe that's just me.  I like Dunn, he seems like he'll work hard and compete his butt off, but how well will he really do?  Time will tell.  I will give him a Tier 3, hoping to be proven wrong.

Bullpen: Much like with the bench, I'm not going to go over the bullpen individually.  I think our bullpen is going to see a huge amount of turnover the next few seasons until we find guys that stick.  I like Magill and Tuivailala.  We also brought in Carl Edwards Jr. and Yoshihisa Hirano, so it will be fun to see how those guys do.  There's also Erik Swanson, Brandon Brennan, and Dan Altavilla, who all pitched for us last year, but I don't really like any of them that much. 


It's odd how excited I am for this upcoming season.  I know at times it won't be pretty, but to see young players develop is fun to watch.  This season will remind me of the 2011 Seahawks, who had a lot of bright, young stars but not a lot of experience.  They were still really fun to watch, however. 

I'll predict a record of 69-93.  It's not great, but it's not awful, either.  I think there will be just enough talent to avoid 100 or even 95 losses.