Peter Kings NFL Power Rankings projects LA Rams at 16

The NFL season is weeks away. But Peter King has published his NFL power ranking with the Rams at 16

The LA Rams are in the same place that all other 31 NFL teams find themselves. After NFL teams have rounded out their roster with free agents, drafted players, and undrafted free agents, they begin the arduous effort to prepare another NFL season. Preparation involves training, drills, exercises, assessment and evaluation, replanning, and reimplementing. And that cycle repeats itself until the NFL season is underway. So what do sportswriters do in the meantime?

Well, there is always roster competition to highlight. And the analysis of how teams performed in their offseason moves relative to other NFL teams.  But much of that work rests in the hands of beat writers – sportswriters who focus exclusively on one NFL team or at most one NFL host city. National sportswriters maintain a high perspective about the NFL at large.  At that level, there is the opportunity to discuss rules changes, significant shifts of coaches and key NFL players, and the general status of the sport of professional football. Oh, and the national writers love to “rank” NFL teams in a hierarchy known as the NFL Power Ranking.

Peter King NFL Power Ranking

So here we go.  After a prelude from Peter King about current events, he turns his attention to the NFL at large. From his perspective, the NFL West teams are ranked in this order:
(4) – San Francisco 49ers – King loved what the 49ers did to address team needs in the offseason. But he declares that the 49ers will only go as far as Jimmy Garappolo’s arm will take them. And based on the fact that his interception against the Vikings triggered 14 passes and 72 running plays, that could very likely be in question. This is a pretty high perch for a team banking on that passing arm.

(6) – Seattle Seahawks – King talks at length about Russell Wilson as a solid reason for the Seahawks remaining high on his list despite an iffy offensive line and defensive woes.  While I agree with the theory, can the Seahawks remain that high in power rankings if they play the 49ers twice a year? I disagree with this lofty spot for the Seahawks. Perhaps 10th?  In any case, we’ll be publishing our own version in the days ahead.

LA Rams at 16

(16) – Los Angeles Rams – King admits that he likes the Rams in 2020 more than most, and then proceeds to list all of the Rams changes. He likes the addition of offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell.  But he sticks to the same element – for the Rams to return to the playoffs, he holds QB Jared Goff accountable. No mention of the Rams defense, nor of the presence of All-Pros Aaron Donald or Jalen Ramsey either?  I guess that helps justify the Rams as the midpoint of the NFL rankings.
(18) – Arizona Cardinals – King points to the Arizona Cardinals five-win season and 21st ranked offense from 2019, and then goes into why he loves their rise this year. While they did add a playmaker on both offense (DeAndre Hopkins) and defense (Isaiah Simmons), the team is attempting to dig its way out of the hole in 2020. While he feels they do it, I can’t see the 32nd ranked defense improving well enough to get them near the NFL playoffs this year.

The curious thing about Peter King’s Power ranking is the lack of predicted records.  But he does talk about each team at length.  And I’m fascinated how the same logic used to justify a Dallas Cowboys team which finished 8-8 in 2019, has changed their coaching staff, suddenly finds itself listed among the NFL’s top ten teams, but the 9-7 LA Rams, who merely changed coordinators, are in a struggle to win and even drop a bit in the power rankings?  Well, such is the game of creating debate over opinion.