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With the majority of NFL teams beginning their preseason action in the next few days, the start of the NFL season is truly upon us; likewise, the start of game action also signifies that Power Rankings are coming - that exercise in which one NFL writer at a time lists out who he or she thinks is the strongest teams in the league at that time.
The first batch of rankings we have this preseason comes to us courtesy of NFL.com's Elliot Harrison, who I must say has quite a brain on him. After all, he lists the Green Bay Packers in his top spot, edging out the Seattle Seahawks for number one. Good choice, Elliot.
Here is his explanation:
Sticking with my spring Super Bowl pick. Before you jump all over me with soliloquies about Jimmy Graham and 20,000-word manifestos defending the Patriots, please bear in mind that I have predicted each of the last two Super Bowl combatants and outcomes. And in case you haven't noticed, the Packers have brought all their key players back and are dealing with nary a significant injury.
Well, let's hope he makes it three in a row, because as Harrison notes, he picked Green Bay to win Super Bowl 50.
It should come as no surprise that the four teams involved in the conference championship games last January make up the top four in Harrison's rankings; however, it's the order that is a bit of a surprise, with Green Bay ahead of Seattle, and the defending champs from New England in fourth place behind the #3 Colts.
The other NFC North teams all fared well below the Packers. The Lions were next in Harrison's rankings at 11, followed by the Vikings in 17th and the Bears back in 24th place.