AP Pro 32

[FireJimCaldwell]

http://bigstory.ap.org/NFL-Pro32

Even though the Super Bowl is the end all be all in every NFL season I am a bit surprised that this hasn't happened sooner than 2012.

A mythical in-season ranking system via the Associated Press. It fills up space and will cause a water cooler discussion or two.

The Voters:

• Chris Berman, ESPN
  
• Clifton Brown, Sporting News
  
• Cris Collinsworth, NBC Sports
  
• Rich Gannon, CBS Sports/SiriusXM NFL Radio
  
• Bob Glauber, Newsday
  
• Rick Gosselin, Dallas Morning News
  
• Clark Judge, CBSSports.com
  
• Ira Kaufman, Tampa Tribune
  
• Pat Kirwan, SiriusXM NFL Radio/CBSSports.com
  
• John Lynch, Fox Sports
  
• Alex Marvez, Foxsports.com
  
• Dan Pompei, Chicago Tribune
  

RANK TEAM 2011 RECORD POINTS PV
1 Green Bay Packers (5) 15-1 374 --
2 New England Patriots (2) 13-3 369 --
3 New York Giants (5) 9-7 362 --
4 San Francisco 49ers 13-3 336 --
5 Baltimore Ravens 12-4 315 --
6 Houston Texans 10-6 314 --
7 Pittsburgh Steelers 12-4 308 --
8 Philadelphia Eagles 8-8 290 --
9 New Orleans Saints 13-3 272 --
10 Denver Broncos 8-8 271 --
11 Chicago Bears 8-8 257 --
11 Detroit Lions 10-6 257 --
13 Atlanta Falcons 10-6 255 --
14 Cincinnati Bengals 9-7 218 --
15 Dallas Cowboys 8-8 217 --
16 San Diego Chargers 8-8 216 --
17 New York Jets 8-8 189 --
18 Kansas City Chiefs 7-9 182 --
19 Buffalo Bills 6-10 169 --
20 Carolina Panthers 6-10 167 --
21 Tennessee Titans 9-7 162 --
22 Seattle Seahawks 7-9 137 --
23 Arizona Cardinals 8-8 115 --
23 Oakland Raiders 8-8 115 --
25 Washington Redskins 5-11 101 --
26 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 4-12 100 --
27 Miami Dolphins 6-10 64 --
28 St. Louis Rams 2-14 55 --
29 Minnesota Vikings 3-13 49 --
30 Cleveland Browns 4-12 42 --
31 Jacksonville Jaguars 5-11 31 --
32 Indianapolis Colts 2-14 26 --

If you get 1 point for 32nd , and there are 12 voters then the obvious minimum is 12 points. The Colts received 26.

It seems one or two of the voters ranked a bit higher while the majority voted them close to the bottom.

Here are most of the ballots:

Kaufman

http://www2.tbo.com/...llot-ar-448859/

31. Indianapolis — Rebuilding intensifies for franchise used to contending for titles.

Pompei

http://sportsillustr...0791/index.html

31. Indianapolis - Colts are in rebuilding mode, but have some interesting pieces in place

Kirwan

http://sportsillustr...1066/index.html

32. Indianapolis - In full-blown rebuilding mode. It may not be pretty in 2012, but it will pay dividends in 2013

.

Gosselin

http://sportsillustr...0988/index.html

32. Indianapolis - Colts also will go with rookie quarterback: Andrew Luck. But this former champion has been gutted and Luck will be running for his life.

Lynch

http://msn.foxsports...-Lynch-88490268

31. Indianapolis - New GM, new coach, new QB, new schemes, new roster. It all equals struggles in 2012. Luck is real deal and long term will eventually approach greatness of his predecessor in Indy.

Collinsworth

http://msn.foxsports...sworth-71583011

32. Indianapolis - Even Peyton Manning struggled his rookie year. Andrew Luck will be great eventually.

Glauber

http://msn.foxsports...lauber-13492883

27. Indianapolis - Ditto for Luck. Ditto ="26. Washington - RGIII will be fun to watch. But remember, he's still a rookie, and he'll need time to figure things out."

Judge

http://msn.foxsports...-Judge-84529729

29. Indianapolis - Colts starting over; one step above an expansion team.

Brown

http://msn.foxsports...-Brown-82387218

31. Indianapolis - Andrew Luck will become great NFL quarterback, but it will take time for Colts to build a great team.

Marvez

http://msn.foxsports...Marvez-18093416

32. Indianapolis - Welcome to NFL, Andrew Luck.

Berman

http://msn.foxsports...Berman-90208855

32. Indianapolis - Nowhere to go but up. It worked with Manning, why not with Luck?

King

Haven't found a link yet. Since he's the only one missing it can be deduced that he has the Colts ranked 30. The only thing missing is a comment that can range from lackluster to witty.

Just thought it would be an interesting topic to kick around. Well it's better than the fluff-fest.

[Andy]

They are all generally right...

[Superman]

Can't fault those opinions, but I think they're kind of lazy. I haven't seen all of those breakdowns, but the ones I've seen hold pretty close to the standings from last season. And that practically never happens.

An example of an opinion that I don't think has any basis in reality:

28. St. Louis - If any coach can make a team competitive quickly, it's Jeff Fisher.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/football/nfl/wires/07/31/2020.ap.fbn.ap.pro32.pompei.0791

I still fail to understand why Jeff Fisher has this reputation as a great, franchise making coach. I believe Fisher is living off a reputation that he didn't really earn, and it just hasn't been challenged. He might be perfect for the Rams, but I'm not sold on him at all.

[Warhorse]

Kind of nice to have low expectations for a change. Good for a rookie QB as well.

[blotsfan]

Bills seem about right. We have a lot of potential, but too many questions to be rated top 10 or anything like that.