Ty Ranks the 2017 NFL Teams: The "Yes, The Empire Strikes Back is Still the Best" Edition

Today is the final day of my countdown. I have my top 4 teams for you. Tomorrow I will do a whole postseason, playoff, Super Bowl and award winners piece, but today, I have the best of the best that I think the NFL will have to offer. These are my 4 true contenders. All 4 of these teams, given the perfect chance and with some luck, can win the Super Bowl. Some have flaws, some don't. But, I feel like these are, far and away, the top 4 teams for the upcoming 2017 NFL season.

Lets get to it. At number 4, I have the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers are absolutely loaded on offense. They may have the best offense in the league. I know that Ben Roesthielberger talked about retirement, but no one believed him. He wasn't going to leave behind a team this stacked. I despise him, but he can play QB. I think he is wildly overrated, and one of his Super Bowl wins is definitely tainted, but the dude produces. I actively and openly root against him, but he can still play and he is still hard to take down with one tackler. Although, I love when he gets smacked by multiple defenders on a sack. It brings me so much joy. The group of receivers that they have is incredible. Antonio Brown is probably the second best receiver in the league, behind only Julio Jones.  Brown is nearly impossible to cover and he puts up big time stats. Martavis Bryant is back, and he will open things up even more for this offense. He is s good wide out. Jesse James has stepped into that Heath Miller role with ease. He is very, very tall too, making him a hard cover. LeVeon Bell may love weed, but he is also a tremendous runner. He is so good at waiting for holes to open and then taking the ball through that hole and getting 5, 6, or 7 yards every time. I know he hasn't shown up to camp yet, but he will be fine. He doesn't need camp. The O-Line is very good too. They can protect and run block. Where the Steelers fall off a bit is their defense. Sure, they still have guys like Ryan Shazier, who is extra dirty, James Harrison, who is old, but still in tremendous shape and Alvin Dupree, who really started to show flashes at the end of last year. But, the rest of the D is kind of blah. Names like Sean Davis, Stephon Tuitt, Mike Mitchell, Cameron Hayward and William Gay fill out the rest of the roster. Those names are not that threatening. They won't make offenses think twice about stuff. The Steelers offense is going to be the reason this team makes the playoffs and has a possible deep run. They will score a ton of points and teams will have a hard time stopping them. They are lethal on that side of the ball.

At number 3, I have the Oakland Raiders. This is another team that is going to score, score again, then score one more time. They are as stacked as the Steelers, except the Raiders are younger everywhere on that side of the ball. The O-line proved they can be good last year. They protected Derek Carr very well, until week 16, when his leg looked like it was broke in half. We will see how Carr recovers from that, I think he will be fine. He is a very good, young QB. I already think he is better than guys like Andrew Luck, Eli Manning, Alex Smith and Ben Roesthilberger. He is becoming a top level NFL QB. He has a very good arm and a great sense of the game. He also has guys like Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper to throw to. Crabtree is still a very solid receiver. He has kind of had a rebirth in Oakland. Cooper is looking like he will be the next in a line of very good Alabama receivers. Last year he really broke out and the Raiders benefited from his awesome performances. I also think that signing Cordarelle Patterson is going to be a big get for both parties. He is going to love playing in Oakland. The Raiders also got Marshawn Lynch to come out of retirement to play for them. I know he is in his 30's and took a year off, but he is still big, fast and bruising. He is also playing in his hometown, which I love. And Jalen Richardson is a fine second option at running back. The Raiders do have a similar problem that the Steelers have. Their defense is very suspect. Khalil Mack is awesome. When he is on the field, this defense has a leader, and he gets the most out of his teammates. Mack is tremendous. But, after him, it is a bit murky. Gareon Conley might be good, but he has a big time injury past. Bruce Irvin is solid, but he is not the same player he was in Seattle. The D-line is very average. They do not get much pressure. The secondary is young, but has a chance to be decent. The Raiders will score a ton. That has been established. They need everyone on that offense to stay healthy though. They will be in a ton of shoot outs, make the playoffs, but that defense will be the key to how far they go, and may be the deciding factor in a possible Super Bowl run.

At number 2 I have the defending Super Bowl champs, the New England Patriots. The Patriots return the majority of their super powered offense.  Tom Brady is still there, and he is the GOAT of all QB's. As long as he is the starting QB, the Patriots will always be contenders. He and Belichek, even though they like douchey, horrible people, are 2 of the best to ever play and coach. In fact, they are the 2 best ever at their respected spots. They still have Gronk, and if he can stay healthy, he is the best tight end in the league. By far. He is unstoppable. He is big, fast and has great hands. Julian Edelman is probably the best slot receiver in the NFL. He is getting too many concussions, which is problematic. But, he is still very productive. Danny Amendola has been very good since signing with the Patriots. They also got Brandin Cooks this offseason. He is going to thrive in this offense. They have a stable of running backs that play the exact way the Patriots want them to play. Guys like Dion Lewis and James White are the perfect for what the Patriots want to do. Their defense lost some guys, Logan Ryan for example, but they replaced him with some super talents. Stephon Gilmore is awesome. He is going to be a great addition. Malcolm Butler is playing for a contract, so he is going to ball out. Donta' Hightower is hurt, but he will be fine, and he will produce. Kony Ealy was another great addition for the line. Alan Branch is a stout D-lineman. Trey Flowers is an okay lineman. The Patriots are the type of team that can plug in and play anyone and they will produce. They don't need stars. They need players, and they get players. Players that want to win. The Patriots are great, and will continue to be as long as Belichek is the coach. They could win another Super Bowl this year and I wouldn't be surprised.

My final team, my number 1 team, my beloved Green Bay Packers. I may be seeing this through rose color glasses, but I think they are the best team in the league. They have the best offense, if they can stay healthy, in the league. Aaron Rodgers is the best QB in the league right now. That's right I think he is better than Tom Brady. He has a tremendous arm, laser accuracy, can run and leads the offense to perfection. Randall Cobb, Jordy Nelson and Davante Adams are all very good, solid options at wide out. They can really spread the field out too. They also have Richard Rodgers and they signed Martellus Bennett. That is a lethal combo at tight end. Rodgers is enormous and Bennett is all around excellent. The run game is suspect, but I think Ty Montgomery is going to be good. He will be a threat to run the ball and catch it out of the backfield. He will add a totally new dimension to this offense. The O-line lost some guys, but this team also plugs and plays guys, and they produce. The defense is going to be better this year too. Clay Matthews and Jake Ryan make for a very solid linebacking duo. Matthews can rush and Ryan is a tackling machine. Quentin Rollins is a solid corner. HaHa Clinton Dix is fast becoming an elite safety. Kevin King was a great pick at corner. Nick Perry has his moments. The defense is going to produce and play a hell of a lot better than last year. The only thing that scares me is Mike McCarthy. He is a horrendous coach. But, this group of players should more than cover up for his shortcomings. The Packers are going to be awesome this year. I hate to put so much shine on my favorite team, but I have a great feeling about this team, and I'm ready to say that they could, and should, win the Super Bowl this year. They are loaded.

There you have it, my 2017 NFL countdown. Tell me who I was wrong about and why in the comment section, but this is the order I see the teams finishing this year. Let's play some football.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. His love of the Packers blinds him to the absolute awesomeness of the Sam Bradford led Vikings. That is the most pathetic thing the head editor has ever written on this website. I am going to go to my shame corner now.

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