I will be posting NFL Power Rankings on a weekly basis. The jury is a one-man vote, and here are my thoughts. The records for Week 1 will be the record the team finished with in 2010.
|
Rank (LW) |
Team |
Record |
Comment |
|
1 |
Green Bay Packers |
10-6 |
The defending Super Bowl Champs have to start at one. They didn’t do anything this offseason to make them fall. |
|
2 |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
12-4 |
A loss to the Packers in the Super Bowl was tough, their defense is aging, and Ben Roethlisberger could have it best season. For now, number two. |
|
3 |
New England Patriots |
14-2 |
Believed by some to be AFCs best team. Their defense will have to prove it against the pass. |
|
4 |
New Orleans Saints |
11-5 |
I like Drew Brees to have a great bounce-back season after looking dull last year. It starts at Lambeau Field in Week 1. |
|
5 |
Philadelphia Eagles |
10-6 |
The Eagles will start a new offensive line and they must keep Michael Vick healthy in order to have a huge season. |
|
6 |
Atlanta Falcons |
13-3 |
A great regular season last year that flopped because of the lack of…well, Julio Jones. I like the Falcons to make some noise. |
|
7 |
San Diego Chargers |
9-7 |
I think that Phillip Rivers could throw for 5,000 yards with his WR back and healthy. No slow start this season. |
|
8 |
New York Jets |
11-5 |
If Plaxico Burress works out, this might be a tough team to beat en route to its third straight AFC Title Game. |
|
9 |
Baltimore Ravens |
12-4 |
A tough first game against Pittsburgh should tell me where to rank this team next week. |
|
10 |
Indianapolis Colts |
10-6 |
Peyton Manning will miss week 1 – how many more after that? |
|
11 |
Houston Texans |
6-10 |
I think Matt Schaub is underrated. I think this defense will make strides with Wade Phillips at the helm. Will it be enough in the South? |
|
12 |
Dallas Cowboys |
6-10 |
A healthy Tony Romo and the addition of Rob Ryan to the defense could make Dallas much scarier than the 12th best team. |
|
13 |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
10-6 |
The new expectations may be too much to ask them to repeat last season’s performance. This team is built to win for the long term. |
|
14 |
Chicago Bears |
11-5 |
I have no idea how good Jay Cutler is. This team could bounce around the Power Rankings for the first few weeks. |
|
15 |
Detroit Lions |
6-10 |
A D-line built to stop the run and get to the passer should take some pressure off of Matt Stafford, if he can stay healthy. |
|
16 |
St. Louis Rams |
7-9 |
The West sucks. If the Rams did enough to help Sam Bradford on offense and if Steven Jackson can stay healthy, they might be good enough to win it. |
|
17 |
New York Giants |
10-6 |
The Giants missed on a lot of big name players this offseason and I don’t foresee a repeat of 10-6 in a strong NFC East. |
|
18 |
Kansas City Chiefs |
10-6 |
We’ve seen it about a million times – breakout season followed by a down year. |
|
19 |
Minnesota Vikings |
6-10 |
Same problem here as with the Bears – which Donovan McNabb did the Vikings get? |
|
20 |
Arizona Cardinals |
5-11 |
Same problem a third time – how good is Kevin Kolb? |
|
21 |
Tennessee Titans |
6-10 |
Matt Hasselback is getting old and he won’t have enough help to make this a memorable season in Tennessee. |
|
22 |
Cleveland Browns |
5-11 |
Colt McCoy should have another great season in a West Coast Offense that he’s become comfortable in, but he doesn’t have enough help yet. |
|
23 |
Washington Redskins |
6-10 |
By the end of the season, the ‘Skins might be praying to win the Andrew Luck contest. |
|
24 |
Miami Dolphins |
7-9 |
Chad Henne is under a ton of pressure to perform well early. He better hope he can. |
|
25 |
Oakland Raiders |
8-8 |
New coach, new scheme, same Al Davis. |
|
26 |
Denver Broncos |
4-12 |
I like Kyle Orton and John Elway running their respective shows. I’m not convinced the rest of the organization is in line. |
|
27 |
San Francisco 49ers |
6-10 |
Alex Smith has been in the league for seven years now. Are they really still letting him start? |
|
28 |
Seattle Seahawks |
7-9 |
Tarvaris Jackson? I’ll take whoever the Seahawks are playing for my picks, until he proves me wrong. |
|
29 |
Buffalo Bills |
4-12 |
They lost Lee Evans and don’t have much more help on offense. This could get ugly quick. |
|
30 |
Carolina Panthers |
2-14 |
I’m excited for Cam Newton in the NFL. He’ll need more help in the next few years, but I think he’s going to be great. |
|
31 |
Jacksonville Jaguars |
8-8 |
Who releases their best QB five days before the opener? Jacksonville. |
|
32 |
Cincinnati Bengals |
4-12 |
Is there a bigger mess in football right now outside of Cincy? |
