The much anticipated, anxiously awaited FootballDocs’ 5th Annual Cheerleader Rankings are back and better
than ever.
Yes, as sad as it may seem, there are NFL teams without official team cheerleaders. Football without cheerleaders is like
a movie without popcorn. Sure, it's still a movie, but it could be oh-so-much-better. Most of these
teams are in the North, but that is no excuse. Four of our top 10 ranked cheerleader squads this year have
teams that play games in relatively cold weather climates. If your favorite NFL team doesn’t have
official cheerleaders, keep applying the pressure - it's working. Front office management can only deny their fans for so long, and what the
fans want, the fans get. We are starting to see some positive momentum in markets that have not had cheerleaders in the past, and hopefully the day
will come where every NFL game will have cheerleaders.
Now, some of you who may be new to these rankings
might be thinking to yourself, “That’s interesting. Some nice little cheerleader rankings.” Well, we used to
think so too, but five years later we have come to learn that
the competition on the field pales in comparison to the competition on the sidelines among cheerleaders. Over the years we have received all sorts of emails from NFL cheerleaders. Some complain about not being
in our top 10. Others have expressed their appreciation for our efforts and rankings. This year we started to receive cheerleading magazines and calendars in the mail as well (life is rough). Does this help?
Well, showing you care is never a bad thing no matter what you do in life. Plus, if you cheer for a squad that has a webmaster asleep at the wheel, additional information can go a long way to helping show off the squad.
The added pressure being placed on NFL Cheerleaders is getting bigger each year. Being a NFL Cheerleader is now much more than just cheering on Sundays. It now can also involve
regular appearances in television, magazines, and even movies. As such, the NFL cheerleading world is becoming hotly contested. This added pressure is matriculating through the system to where even our rankings catch a little of
the heat (again, life is rough). Why the added pressure? Well, it has everything to do with momentum. In the same year we released our first set of rankings,
the cheerleaders of the NFL also started appearing in several mainstream magazines that previously didn't showcase cheerleaders. In subsequent years, the television
exposure and magazine photo shoots increased. To date we know of four separate reality shows that
have followed NFL cheerleader tryouts. Athletic cheerleader competitions have also become a popular
item. However, who can blame the networks for putting these fine cheerleading examples on television?
We are a little suspicious about the fact that all four of the recent NFL Cheerleading shows are about
teams that have perennially been ranked highly in our Annual FootballDocs’ Cheerleader Rankings, but hey, we are more than happy to do their homework for them.
So, as the cheerleaders step up their game, the Docs are going to step up our game. Many of you know us
for our intense detail and analysis in our NFL player projections each year for fantasy football. There is no statistic, trend,
news, or injury detail (past or present) that is left unturned when delivering on our fantasy football projections and player rankings.
So are we going to project cheerleaders? Not quite, but we have ramped up the analysis performed when compiling our cheerleader rankings.
(Would you expect anything less from a couple of statistical, football junkies
with advanced graduate degrees up to the Ph.D. level?). Through a careful balance of analysis and judging, there is a load of effort and thought put into the completion of our Cheerleader Rankings.
The rankings were
compiled after taking a “close” look at all the squads. Factors that were weighted heavily included:
uniform quality, cheerleader photo variety and quantity, and … other intangibles (secret recipe!).
Let us just state that all of the teams in the NFL (minus 7 that need to get with the cheerleading program)
have a multitude of exceptionally talented ladies with big … hearts and lots of beautiful... spirit, so if
your team didn’t make the top ten, they were probably ranked number 11?
10. Arizona Cardinals (Last year – 8)
The Cardinals' Cheerleaders just make the cut as the number 10 squad. The warm desert breezes continue to turn out some fine quality
cheerleaders. However, the website quality really holds this unit back. There aren't many photos, and the photos they do have
need to be presented with a little more (ahem)... pizzazz. As always, it is important to have great content and presentation. Their uniforms
aren’t bad, but you have to always be careful when adding mesh to any cheerleading uniform.
9. Philadelphia Eagles (Last year – 5)
Office alert! - Watch out when you click on the squad link. You will get a cool snap shot video of the girls, but you will also get “Bringing Sexy Back” blasting
through your speakers. We think a warning or option feature would be nice for those folks that work for guys like Bill Lumbergh. The front page has a photo gallery with 174 photos in it.
Many of those photos are in swimsuits. The problem is that they have this cool video, but they don’t have a simple bio page for each girl with specific
photos of that girl. This is a MUST HAVE for all cheerleading squads. Extra features are always nice, but you still need the basics as well.
As much fun as the Lingerie Calendar was, it was probably a little too risky for the NFL. Still the Eagles are one of the solid cheerleading units in the NFL.
8. Houston Texans (Last year – N.R.)
First, the Texans have some high quality girls on the squad. You won’t be disappointed by that aspect when you visit their site, but we need to talk a
little bit about the uniforms. There is nothing wrong with going for a sporty looking theme. However, they have about 20 different uniforms
and we aren't sure we love that idea or that we hate that idea. It is just a little odd. Let’s just say that they have one top that could use some work. The uniform designers need to get
with the cheerleading program as they have some of the “most talented” girls to work with in the NFL. On an interesting note,
the team does have a set of twins that shouldn’t be missed.
After seeing the entire magazine and poster for the Texans' Cheerleaders (Thanks to the Texans' Cheerleaders for dropping those in the mail), it is a shame that the website doesn’t have more
game photos of the girls and maybe one or two magazine photos as a “teaser.” With some small improvements to the uniforms, and some major improvements to the website, this group could soar up the rankings.
7. Washington Redskins (Last year – 7)
While things may be a little topsy-turvy on the field for the Redskins football team, the organization’s cheerleaders are still doing a great job representing
them. The uniforms continue to improve, and this year they have really made some nice improvements to their online photo selection. Most of the
girls have a swimsuit pic as the first one that you can click on. The squad needs to add a few more game shots, but they are doing a great job in Washington.
Make sure you stop by Arlene’s page and see her photo album.
6. New England Patriots (Last year – 9)
Well Patriots fans, things just keep going your way. 1) You get Adalius Thomas as a free agent from the Ravens. 2) You stockpile picks for the 2008 NFL Draft.
3) You STEAL Randy Moss from the Raiders. 4) Your cheerleaders keep moving up the FootballDocs' Annual Cheerleader Rankings. The first thought that
will run through your head when you look at the Patriots Cheerleading uniforms is Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman is patriotic, so who better to model your
cheerleading uniforms after when you are cheering for the Patriots. The layout of this website could use some work. It is hard to find photos of
specific cheerleaders, and they could add some more photos of the girls. It will take a lot of hard work from everyone involved with the Patriots Cheerleaders
to jump into the top five, but you never know what the Patriots’ organization has up its sleeve. Let’s take a moment to recognize this show of cheerleading excellence by an
outdoor, cold weather team. Kudos to the Patriots for not using cold weather as an excuse to not have cheerleaders. Much like their other endeavors, the
Patriots don’t need excuses, they just get it done.
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last year – 6)
The Buccaneers' Cheerleaders have added a cool new scrolling team photo feature to their website. You can get a great look at the whole squad by just letting the
team photo scroll. After getting such a long look at each member and their great uniforms, you will have a hard time arguing for anything but a top five finish for the Buccaneers'
Cheerleaders. The swash bucking theme is always a popular one, but few have done it as well as the Buccaneers currently do. The website could still use more
photos for fans to peruse, but this is still a solid unit. This group is one of the three that have made it to the NFL Network’s “Making the Squad.” The common
theme of all of these “Making the Squad” videos is how much these girls want to be NFL cheerleaders.
If you didn’t see the Bucs’ Cheerleaders in “Making the Squad”, you can own it (just click below):
4. Denver Broncos (Last year – 4)
The Broncos' Cheerleaders force themselves into the top five by the quality of the girls and their very sharp uniforms. This site really needs more photos of the girls.
The squad’s website does have calendar photos and a picture of each girl, but more can be done. There is no limit to how high this group could soar with the right site to show
off the squad’s quality. It is hard to talk about the Broncos' Cheerleaders and not mention the length of their skirts, so we aren’t going to mention that they have impossibly
short skirts. We just aren’t going to stoop to that level and talk about how not only do they have the shortest skirts, but they look great in them too. Nope!
Not doing it.
3. Miami Dolphins (Last year – 3)
This site has everything! It has an awesome scrapbook feature, swimsuit calendar photos, and personal bios clips. The content and the presentation are something that
all of the NFL Cheerleading squads should take a look at for inspiration. One of the major factors that is keeping this group from climbing to the top is the uniform quality.
The mesh in the uniforms has to go. If you saw the Miami Cheerleaders' “Making the Squad” television show, you know that this group is run with the highest standards, and it
shouldn’t take them long to take their uniforms to the next level. It would not be surprising to see this group reach number 1 with only a few tweaks.
If you didn’t see the Phins’ Cheerleaders in “Making the Squad”, you can own it (just click below):
2. San Diego Chargers (Last year – 2)
The number 1 team on the list had better keep pushing the standards of high quality cheerleading because this group is hot on their heels. The first thing any red-blooded
American male will notice is that the Charger Girls are high caliber quality. To start with, the Chargers just have some great colors to work with for their cheerleading uniforms.
However, the uniforms do need some work. The fluffy shoulders are a little excessive. The stitching in front looks sharp and the skirts have some obvious appeal, but there
is just too much fluff in the shoulders. The extra fluff makes it look like the girls are wearing shirts that are too big for them. When you have a great photo selection,
high quality girls, and pretty good uniforms, you have to point to the uniforms to find ways to improve one of the very best groups of cheerleaders out there. Speaking of uniforms...
if you don’t check out the Halloween uniforms, you are missing out big time! While we haven’t had the privilege of being at a Charger game near Halloween, one can only imagine how those fun
uniforms make that game day experience even better. If someone said that they had the Charger Girls as the best cheerleaders in all the land, it would be hard to disagree. However... here comes FootballDocs number 1 Squad.
If you didn’t see the Charger Girls “Making the Squad” last season, you can own it (just click below):
1. Dallas Cowboys (Last year – 1)
Obviously, this is starting to sound like a broken record. The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders are number 1 once again. This squad still has lots of photos of the girls and plenty of
examples from the swimsuit calendar. This group is still the standard that all cheerleaders are measured against. They are truly an institution and an all-time great American icon.
The one criticism of the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders is that their site could use a few more photos of all of the girls on the squad and more game photos. The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders
do have puffy shoulders, but they pull it off to perfection. This squad is a great example (which many of our top 10 follow) of pulling off sexy without running into trampy. Hey, what
else can you say? The King of the Mountain (or should we say Queen of the Mountain) still reigns. However, there are a few squads out there that can snag the top spot if the Cowboy Cheerleaders
don’t hold tight to their high standards. The Champs of Cheering have hit TV this past fall with their on version of “Making the Squad.” They called it “Making the Team” and it is on
CMT (you knew it was only a matter of time).
