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As Peter King puts it, "let the silly season" begin. In the time between the NFL Draft and the beginning of training camp, news is scarce. This is when the experts pen their different rankings and analysis to help give the football deprived flock something to nibble on while they bide their time.
King recently released his offseason power rankings, and to say his list is different than most is an understatement. We will get to who tops his list in a second, but first lets focus on the Pittsburgh Steelers. King has the Steelers ranked 8th among all 32 NFL teams, and here is what he said regarding his ranking:
8. Pittsburgh (11-5). Like Antonio Brown a lot. Like Ben Roethlisberger a lot. But this faith is subject heavily to the ascension of Keith Butler to defensive coordinator after 16 seasons as a defensive assistant below the coordinator level. Mike Tomlin is putting tremendous faith in Butler, who replaces Hall of Famer Dick LeBeau, to be a breath of fresh and productive air. Risky move, and early returns are good. But early returns come in shorts and T-shirts on the South Side of Pittsburgh, not on a cruel Thursday night in Foxboro.
Hard to disagree with King's sentiment regarding the giant question mark surround the Steelers' defense and the direction it will go under Butler. The Steelers being 8th is about par for the course in terms of expert predictions for the upcoming 2015 Steelers. However, who King has as his top 10 might cause some controversy.
Take a look at his top 10:
1. Baltimore Ravens
2. Seattle Seahawks
3. Green Bay Packers
4. Kansas City Chiefs
5. New England Patriots
6. Minnesota Vikings
7. Philadelphia Eagles
8. Pittsburgh Steelers
9. Denver Broncos
10. Arizona Cardinals
This top 10 list certainly will raise some eyebrows. From the Ravens being the top team, to teams like the Indianapolis Colts, Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys being left out of the top 10. It certainly is a different take on the upcoming season.
One thing is for certain from year to year in the NFL, you never know what is going to happen.