For several years, right around this time, I have been clustering quarterbacks in specific subgroups in an attempt to categorize them ahead of the following season.It involves a se sment and projection in order to come up with a list of sorts to indicate the similarities between players and to indicate who is ascending and who is not. It's an exercise that tends to elicit heated reactions in fans, and it's something I will be renewing later this week but that's not why we're here today. Over the weekend the thought occurred to me Carl Nassib Jersey that there might be a similarly split apart while also lumped together list of franchises as we sit in the doldrums of the offseason (and a quiet period that might be le s active than anything we have ever seen before, given the uncertainties of this pandemic).Of course, step one in this proce s is to come up with some categories that apply to multiple teams. In general I don't believe in more than five or six categories in my QB rankings, so I went with the same concept here. Some categories are just plain obvious, though the deeper we got, the more explanation nece sary. Here is what I went with:Tier 1: True Lombardi contenders 'Nuff said.Tier 2: Best of the rest Could see these teams making the playoffs or getting close ... just not winning it all. Basically, they're the NFL's middle cla s.Tier 3: Rebuilding and rebounding They seem to have a cogent, or at least semi-cogent plan and understand who they are and where they need to go.Tier 4: Stuck in the middle Still have enough talent to me s around and maybe finish .500, but given their lack of a sets and strange decision making and the pre sure they are under, I don' DeSean Jackson Jersey t envy their position.Tier 5: Is this rock bottom? Would anyone be shocked to see these teams picking in the top 10 again next year? So with the descriptions out of the way, let's see who landed in where.Tier 1: Lombardi contenders (8 teams) winners kept the band together and have the best player on the planet. Love their roster and love their offseason. Could be back in the big game. Don't foresee a hangover here. Best record a year ago with an MVP QB who just turned 23 and a rebuilt defensive front 7. If not for some terrible calls and bad breaks they'd have won one in the last few years already. and Gronk surrounded by the best cast they have had in a decade. Maybe the best defense in the NFL and they get Big Ben back. keeps you in the equation every year. They have won recently and the supporting cast around is legit.Tier 2: Best of the Clelin Ferrell Jersey rest (9 teams) If only they had a defense. Not sure they win a title with their QB, but they will be a factor in the AFC, big-time. Picking battles with is not smart. Giving him nothing else to work with is even le s on point. Always good for nine wins or so, but will be hard pre sed to duplicate last year's run. Generally good enough to reach the postseason, but not nearly good enough to grab a trophy. Will be among the more improved teams in the league, but how much does have left? Defense should keep them viable through December. Plenty of wild-card potential here. Wouldn't be stunned to see them grab the seventh playoff spot in the NFC if the defense can hold its own. That's a big if.Tier 3: Rebuilding and rebounding (4 teams) If not for yet another regime change with another rookie HC/GM and all that constant turmoil, they would be in the above group. I don think they could push for a playoff spot. But I gotta see it to believe it when it comes to this franchise. The tear down is over and they've begun reaping their draft pick haul with another monster cla s coming in 2021. Matt Rhule understands the college rebuild game like no one else and I like the direction they are headed in. They are done shedding expensive veterans and had a ton of picks in 2020. Time for more wins.Tier 4: Stuck in the middle (6 teams) Brady is gone, and some older players on defense, too, but they kept a guard on a franchise tag, didn't upgrade much at the NFL Las Vegas Raiders Jersey skill positions and could be in store for their first losing season in forever. may be good enough for them not to be awful, although being awful now might be best for the long term. If stays healthy they will be competitive, but with the coach and GM fighting to keep their job, will that Willie Snead IV Jersey be enough? Notorious for overestimating their own talent and being askew on how good the roster really is, looks like more of the same in 2020. Can they survive another middling-at-best season with a suspect cap situation and with so much $$ in aging stars? The run of former Bill Belichick a sistants continues (maybe we need a New England subgroup, sans Titans?). will keep them from being terrible, but Bill O'Brien's GM mistakes have them in cap/draft pick trouble for years to come and that locker room will not get over the trade anytime soon. The heady times of that Super Bowl appearance seem long ago. Roster has taken a nosedive, huge questions remain about the overpaid QB, salary cap and budget i sues are real, getting sued by former players not a good look and they have plundered future drafts already. Since they flirted with the playoffs a year ago I kept them out of the bottom tier, though I suspect that is where they land next year at this time. Had they done the tear down that was screaming out to be executed in 2019, shed salary and vets at the deadline and entered 2020 with more than just seven picks, they would be with the rebuilding teams. They will be a better Las Vegas Raiders Home Office team, but will an old-school front office adjust to the changing times? Regardle s, they are the only team in this group likely not heading in a downward direction.Tier 5: Is this rock bottom? (5 teams) No QB of the present, no QB of the future, not enough draft capital and a front office that has gone a long while without hitting a double much le s a homer, with far too many K's along the way. situation just the latest in a long line of ugly situations for this once storied franchise. They have been stuck in reverse for years now and not sure when that stops. Rough time to hire a novice coach. They won seven games a year ago, but face a brutal schedule this year and the specter of Woody Johnson returning from the UK in 2021 casts a unique shadow. Another new set of coaches for their young QB and perhaps the worst offensive talent in the NFL. No history of any sustained succe s under this own