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NFL Power Rankings 2013: 49ers take top spot, Dolphins 23rd

SB Nation released their updated NFL Power Rankings today. This is a poll of all 32 NFL team bloggers, with each team ranked based on their average rankings from us. As seems to be the standard everywhere, the Miami Dolphins don't rank as highly as we all think they should.

Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Over the past week, all 32 SB Nation NFL blogs were asked to build a set of Power Rankings heading into the 2013 NFL season. Then, those rankings were averaged to make SB Nation's 2013 NFL Power Rankings. With those now posted, we take a look at some of the key teams in the rankings.

There clearly was no east coast bias to the rankings, as the San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos, and Green Bay Packers took the first four spots. The Atlanta Falcons round out the top five.

The first AFC East team appears in the rankings at sixth, with the New England Patriots. Of the ranking, SB Nation's Ryan Van Bibber wrote:

Tom Brady lost more than 60 percent of his receiving targets from last season. Did you forget this was the same quarterback who once made Reche Caldwell a No. 1 wideout? The offense will be fine, helped by a talented group of running backs. The defense has the potential to be the best it's been since the middle of the last decade.

However, the rest of the division fall in the second half of the rankings. The Buffalo Bills take the 29th ranking while the New York Jets come home in 30th.

As for the Miami Dolphins, they come in at 23rd. Van Bibber writes:

Our bloggers gave Miami one vote for 17th in these rankings and one vote for 29th. This is tough team to predict. On the one hand, they have a talented young quarterback in Ryan Tannehill. On the other hand, they have a big hole in the offensive line, especially at left tackle. History hasn't been kind to the offseason's big spenders.

The Dolphins actually did get a vote for 16th, but surprisingly, were not the largest in standard deviation from the list. They were actually 11th, with a 3.276. The top teams in terms of standard deviation were the Minnesota Vikings (4.181 standard deviation, 21st ranking) and the Kansas City Chiefs (4.104, 20th). The 32nd ranked Raiders were the only team with a standard deviation below one, coming in with a 0.634.

Before we get to your thoughts, here are my rankings for the AFC East, as compared to where they were actually ranked:

Team My Ranking SB Nation Ranking SBN Standard Deviation
New England Patriots 6 6 2.126
Miami Dolphins 17 23 3.276
Buffalo Bills 30 29 1.915
New York Jets 32 30 2.434

Now, we're on to your turn. What do you think of the rankings? Let us know in the comments below, and make sure you head over to the full rankings to see where the rest of the NFL landed.

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