Testaverde Touchdown: NFL Power Poll, Week 15

Since this is the last power poll before Christmas, I thought it would be nice to note what fans of each team are thankful for this December.

Rank (Last)	Team	Record	What their fans are thankful for
1 (2)		10-3-1	A competent coach. The 49ers haven't been lacking for talent in years past, they were just lacking a leader to mold it into a championship contender. They have their man now in Jim Harbaugh.
2 (1)		10-4	Perhaps the top QB/Head Coach combination ever. This team has missed the playoffs twice since Brady first became a starter in 2001. In one season, they lost Brady in week 1...and still went 11-5. Add in 3 Super Bowl wins in 5 appearances during that time, and Pats fans don't have a right to complain until about 2056.
3 (7)		12-2	A good foundation. When Mike Smith was hired in 2008, the Falcons had never had back-to-back winning seasons. Since his hiring, the team has only had winnign seasons. They are still looking for their first playoff win under Smith, but it's meaningful that they're always in the conversation on his watch.
4 (6)		12-2	A top threat. The Texans' first year of existence was 2002. They won their franchise opener over the Cowboys, and then did nothing of note until last year. Last season they might have secured the #1 overall seed before they lost their #1 and #2 quarterbacks. This year, they are about to secure the #1 overall seed.
5 (3)		11-3	Winning the Peyton sweepstakes. This team reached the final 8 last year with Tim Tebow. Then this offseason Peyton chose them, and they are looking like a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
6 (4)		10-4	The foresight of the front office. Green Bay drafted Aaron Rodgers in the 2005 draft, while Brett Favre was still going strong. Then, after almost reaching the Super Bowl in 2007, the front office had the stones to say no to Favre's wishy washy comeback story, and were rewarded with continued terrific quarterback play, and eventually (in 2011) a Super Bowl.
7 (8)		9-5	Overlooking height. Pete Carroll and John Schneider inherited a team without much talent on it in 2010. They have done a masterful job rebuilding this team in their 3 years, but the biggest piece was finding what looks to be their franchise quarterback in the 3rd round of the 2012 draft, because they were willing to overlook the fact that Russell Wilson isn't quite 5'11".
8 (10)		8-6	The trade. The Redskins knew what they wanted out of the 2012 draft: a franchise quarterback. They couldn't trade up to #1, but their consolation prize was the reigning Heisman winner. That hasn't always foretold NFL success, but Robert Griffin III's first season has been more than any Redskins fan could have hoped for.
9 (5)		8-6	Two Super Bowls. They may be frustrating. They may be inconsistent. And they may miss the 2012 playoffs. But now Giants fan will soon forget the 2008 or 2012 Super Bowl wins.
10 (9)		9-5	Their Luck. Colts fans got to enjoy 14 years of one of the all-time great quarterbacks in Peyton Manning. Then, after one year without him, their tank-job netted them Andrew Luck, who looks like the real deal he was expected to be.
11 (13)		8-6	AP2K+. The most frustrating part of last season for Vikings fans? Not the record, but that Adrian Peterson tore his ACL in the last month of the season. Presumably, he wouldn't be back until midway through the 2012 season at the earliest. Instead he started week 1 and is threatening the single-season rushing record.
12 (12)		9-5	The career of Ray Lewis. Lewis was the first ever Ravens draft pick, and he has led a tremendous defense since 1996. Ravens fans haven't ~~always~~ ever had the offense to complement it, but they have been spoiled with the defenses they've had.
13 (17)		8-6	No longer a sideshow? For years the Cowboys have been a punchline. Expecting and proclaiming greatness with a single playoff win since 1995 to show for it. Are the tides turning? I'm not willing to say that yet, but there have been signs that the Cowboys will stand tough through tough times, instead of fumble the moment away.
14 (14)		7-7	Recent success. We may be nearing the end of an era with the Steelers, as their vaunted defense is aging rapidly. But if this is the end of an era, that era yielded 3 Super Bowl victories and 2 wins. Plus they still have a great QB in Roethlisberger, so it's not like the cupboard is bare.
15 (15)		8-6	No more joke. The Bengals were a laughing stock for years. Under Marvin Lewis. they've tasted some success, but it's always been fleeting. If they can knock off the Steelers this weekend, they'll secure back to back playoff trips, which is tremendous progress for this franchise.
16 (11)		8-6	They have their quarterback. The Bears have been synonymous with QB futility for years. But with Jay Cutler, they have a QB who isn't the weak spot of their team. Unfortunately they're missing anything resembling an offensive line to protect him and the defense is getting old quick, but at least the quarterback isn't the issue.
17 (19)		6-8	Drew. Drew Brees and Sean Payton legitimized the Saints at a time when New Orleans had been ravaged by Hurricane Katrina and there were major questions about the viability of the sad-sack franchise. Even when the Saints haven't been making playoff runs since 2006, they have always been making sweet offensive music for their fans.
18 (16)		6-7-1	Relevance. This team was terrible last year. Everything looked broken with this franchise. A year later, they're on the fringes of the playoff race in week 16, and they have a 1-0-1 record against one of the best teams in the league (49ers). A huge step in year 1.
19 (18)		6-8	Fight. This team was 4-2 at one point in 2011. They finished the year 4-12 and clearly quit by the end of the season. More distressingly, QB Josh Freeman appeared to substantially regress. This year's team won't bounce back into the playoffs, but Freeman has looked more like his 2010 self (until last weekend) and the team has shown fight (also until last weekend).
20 (20)		6-8	The "other" rookie QB. He seemed a bit of a reach at #8 overall, but his rookie year has gone better than expected. Just because he pales in comparison to Luck, RG3, and Wilson doesn't mean he's junk.
21 (21)		5-9	Hope. The Browns have a new owner, and are cleaning house in the front office. But as their recent play shows, the cupboard is not bare. With the right hires, this team could be a playoff contender next season. There hasn't been that kind of hope in Cleveland in awhile.
22 (27)		5-9	Progress. Cam Newton has shown progress the second half of this season. But next year we need to see it before the playoffs expire as a possibility.
23 (28)		5-9	Who they're not. Sure the Texans look like perennial contenders and the Colts secured yet another franchise QB. But at least they're not the Jaguars!
24 (23)		5-9	Norved no more. It's all but an open secret that Norv Turner will not be retained past the end of the season, giving Chargers fans the chance to root for a team with a real NFL coach for the first time in years.
25 (25)		6-8	Sanchize no more? Jets fans have been done with Sanchez at least since the Bumble, if not earlier. With word that Sanchez has finally, mercifully been benched for non-prospect Greg McElroy, Jets fans may not have to suffer through a 2013 filled with Sanchez despite all the guaranteed money he's owed.
26 (24)		4-10	Getting their wish. It's an open secret that Philly fans have had it with Andy Reid and want him out. This year's debacle should finally get them their wish. Time will tell whether or not the next guy will be any better.
27 (32)		5-9	Two games. Then they shouldn't have to watch John Skelton or Ryan Lindley play quarterback ever again.
28 (22)		4-10	Megatron. The fleeting success of last year may be a memory, but Lions fans do get to watch the best receiver in the game. And he's on pace to break Jerry Rice's single season yardage record.
29 (26)		5-9	Toronto. Bills fans didn't have to witness their team's abysmal effort last weekend in person, as the game was played in Toronto as part of their effort to add the largest Canadian market to one of the USA's smallest.
30 (30)		4-10	No more Al draft decisions. When the second round of the 2013 draft ends, the Raiders will finally be out from under all of the short-sighted trades that used up needed draft picks under the old regime. The new guy properly values long-term planning and should be able to steward this team back to respectability...though it will take awhile.
31 (29)		2-12	End of Blaine? Perhaps the Jaguars will not subject their fans anymore to the Blaine Gabbert as an NFL quarterback experiment. Then again, do we trust them to pick the next guy?
32 (31)		2-12	No more Pioli? KC fans have had an uneasy relationship with GM Scott Pioli for a couple years now. The terrible season may get the fans their wish to move on from the secretive GM.