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FanHouse NFL Power Rankings: Patriots, Colts, Chargers Reeling; So Who's on Top?

Posted Sep 11, 2008 12:00PM By Michael David Smith (RSS feed)

Filed Under: Steelers, NFL Fans, NFL Power Rankings

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If I had put together a preseason version of my NFL power rankings, I think my top three would have looked a little something like this:

1. Patriots
2. Colts
3. Chargers

But now I really have no idea who to put on top. The Patriots aren't going back to the Super Bowl without Tom Brady, the Colts looked disorganized with an ill-prepared Peyton Manning, and the Chargers lost their opener at home and then lost Shawne Merriman.

So who is the best team in the league? My rankings, 1-32, are below.
  • 1. Steelers
    In crushing the Texans, the Steelers had the single most impressive performance of Week 1, and for now that's enough for me to call them the best team in the league. If the Steelers' offense can get any production from the big-name rookies, it could be scary: Willie Parker's big game obscured the fact that first-round running back Rashard Mendenhall didn't do much of anything, and second-round receiver Limas Sweed wasn't even active.

  • 2. Giants
    People are probably going a little overboard with all the Eli Manning love right now, but the defending champs looked better than anyone could have expected on defense. Given their upcoming schedule, there's a very good chance they could be 6-0 when they visit the Steelers on October 26.
  • 3. Cowboys
    T.O. should probably knock it off with the silly end zone celebrations, but it's a funny thing about the guys who get a lot of celebration penalties: They tend to be the guys who have lots of reasons to celebrate. If you watched Hard Knocks you might have gotten the impression that T.O. and the Cowboys were a little bit overconfident, but if you watched the way the Cowboys knocked the Browns around on Sunday, you'd think there's nothing "over" about their confidence.
  • 4. Eagles
    That Donovan McNabb to DeSean Jackson combo sure looks nice right now, especially when you see it from the third row. Eagles-Cowboys on Monday Night Football looks like such a good show that I'm going to skip Gossip Girl this Monday.
  • 5. Packers
    I don't even really believe that the Favre-less Packers are the fifth-best team in the league, and I don't know if Packers coach Mike McCarthy and general manager Ted Thompson know what they're doing, but at the same time, I don't know another team to put in the Top 5. I'll keep them here for another week after they crush the Lions on Sunday, and then we'll see what they're made of when they play the Cowboys after that.
  • 6. Broncos
    I actually stayed up for the end of that beat down the Broncos put on the Raiders, but the combination of the late hour, the lopsided score and the effect that Mike Ditka's voice has on my brain all adds up to me remembering little to nothing of what happened in the second half. So let's just say that Eddie Royal is really good and move on.
  • 7. Bears
    If there's one lesson we learned from the way the Bears ran wild on the Colts, it's this: Cedric Benson is horrible. How else to explain that a rookie like Matt Forte can just walk in and instantly make such a huge impact on an offense that was completely stagnant last year?
  • 8. Bills
    Is Buffalo really this good? I didn't think so, but then I watched the re-play of the whipping they put on the Seahawks, and now I think Dick Jauron is going to be my very early choice for coach of the year, and special teams coach Bobby April is my very early choice for assistant coach of the year.
  • 9. Colts
    After getting beaten up by the Bears, defensive tackle Ed Johnson had to turn to pot. Allegedly. But while the defense looked like it had returned to its mid-2006 form against Chicago, the bigger worry is Peyton Manning, who looked on Sunday like a guy whose knee injury had kept him from practicing for the last couple of months -- or like a guy who didn't know what the hell was going on.
  • 10. Jets
    I've heard people say that if you take away those two big touchdown passes Brett Favre threw, the Jets wouldn't have looked very impressive on Sunday against the Dolphins on Sunday. But isn't that like saying if it weren't for those two really fast races he ran, Usain Bolt wouldn't have looked very impressive in the Olympics? Favre did exactly what the Jets needed him to do.
  • 11. Patriots
    I'm not one to say that Tom Brady was the only reason the Patriots were a great team last year -- they did have an above-average defense and special teams, too -- but I do think that they'll be closer to eight wins than 16 when the season is over. They're heading to the Meadowlands -- the scene of the crime -- on Sunday, and Matt Cassel had better hope the Jets' defense isn't as good as the Palisades Dolphins defense that held thim to 3-of-11 for 46 yards passing the last time he started a game.
  • 12. Chargers
    A heart-breaking loss at home to the Panthers followed by the news that Shawne Merriman is done for the year was not the way San Diego wanted to start the season. Shaun Phillips had better be ready for a big year.
  • 13. Saints
    The loss of Marques Colston is huge, but New Orleans still has a big-time passing game, with Drew Brees throwing to Jeremy Shockey and Reggie Bush. With new arrivals Sedrick Ellis and Jonathan Vilma looking good on defense, the Saints have to feel good about their chances in the NFC South.
  • 14. Vikings
    I've been saying for a year that the Vikings are a quarterback away from being a really good team, and after watching their season-opening loss to the Packers, I still think Tarvaris Jackson is holding this team back. They get the Colts at home next; the loser is 0-2.
  • 15. Ravens
    With Ray Lewis looking rejuvenated and Joe Flacco looking like he's not Kyle Boller, there's reason for optimism in Baltimore. I'd say the Ravens are going to the playoffs, except that I'm just not convinced that Flacco is going to have many more turnover-free games this season.
  • 16. Panthers
    Yes, I know, they beat the Chargers on the road and I've got them ranked below the Chargers. So every Panthers fan will accuse me of incompetence or west coast bias or something. But, of course, that game could have gone either way, and although it was a thrilling win for the Panthers, I just don't think their defense is going to be good enough for the long haul.
  • 17. Titans
    With questions surrounding Vince Young's mental health and physical health, you have to figure Kerry Collins could be the starter for quite a few games this year, and I'm just not prepared to put a team with Kerry Collins as its starting quarterback in the top half of the league. Their defense was great against the Jaguars, however, and for now they're all alone in first place in the AFC South.
  • 18. Jaguars
    They laid an egg in Week 1, but I believe in their defense and I believe in quarterback David Garrard. The biggest issue is whether their offensive line, which was already thin and lost both starting guards in Week 1, can hold up.
  • 19. Cardinals
    They forced five turnovers in a win against the 49ers, although forcing a lot of turnovers in a game with the 49ers is like blocking a lot of shots in a game of one-on-one with Verne Troyer. I think we're in about the 10th straight year of people saying, "This is going to be the Cardinals' year!" If it is, it's because the NFC West stinks, not because the Cardinals are good.
  • 20. Seahawks
    Yes, the NFC West really stinks, and I think the Seahawks are in big trouble. If they were healthy they'd be higher than this, obviously, but they're not healthy. Wide receiver Nate Burleson was the one bright spot of the loss to the Bills, and now he's out for the season.
  • 21. Buccaneers
    Brian Griese will lead them into Sunday's game with the Falcons, and Jon Gruden is really wishing he had landed Brett Favre. Griese will have a much better chance of succeeding if wide receiver Joey Galloway actually decides to try this weekend.
  • 22. Redskins
    So I guess the consensus after one game is that quarterback Jason Campbell doesn't fit in coach Jim Zorn's offense. That's good to know. Not to write off a team after one week or anything, but does anyone see a way the Redskins don't finish last in the NFC East?
  • 23. Falcons
    As crazy as it sounds, the Falcons -- widely considered the worst team in the NFL before the season -- could start 3-0. They get the Buccaneers minus Jeff Garcia on Sunday, and after that they're at home against the Chiefs. All aboard the Matt Ryan bandwagon!
  • 24. Browns
    The Browns have serious problems at safety. One starter, Brodney Pool, missed the first game with a concussion. The other starter, Sean Jones, will miss several games with a knee injury. Backup Nick Sorensen has been accused of grabbing Pacman's package. And Tony Romo had no trouble at all completing deep balls in Cleveland. It doesn't get any easier with the Steelers coming to town.
  • 25. Texans
    As if Hurricane Ike weren't enough to worry about, the Texans also have the little matter of figuring out how they turned in such a miserable performance against the Steelers. After the Ravens on Sunday they've got division opponents in three straight games, so the Texans can't afford a slow start if this is going to be the year they finally resemble a decent football team.
  • 26. Chiefs
    The disturbing popularity of Bernard Pollard aside, no one really expects anything from the Chiefs this season. So going to New England and beating the Patriots in Week 1 would have been the highlight of the year, except that they couldn't punch it in when they had four straight plays from the 5-yard line in the final minute. We're going to see a lot of that from the Chiefs this year.
  • 27. Bengals
    T.J. Houshmandzadeh says they suck on offense right now, and I'd have to agree. If anything, saying these Bengals look like the 2007 Bengals might be giving them too much credit: This is a team that will struggle to get to seven wins.
  • 28. Dolphins
    Linebacker Joey Porter talks tough to the other team's kicker during pregame warmups, but once the game started the Dolphins' defense didn't look very tough. The story of the game for the Jets was Brett Favre, of course, but the story for the Dolphins' defense was their total inability to stop Jets running back Thomas Jones.
  • 29. 49ers
    The 49ers may finally be willing to admit that drafting Alex Smith was a mistake, but I don't think J.T. O'Sullivan, Shaun Hill or Jamie Martin is the answer, either.
  • 30. Rams
    They've turned to Eddie Kennison at wide receiver. Apparently Henry Ellard wasn't available. Rams coach Scott Linehan is doing a bad job with this team, but at least he knows it.
  • 31. Raiders
    The Raiders were absolutely horrible in losing to the Broncos; if you didn't stay up to watch the whole game you might not realize that the 41-14 score doesn't capture how pathetic Oakland was. The Raiders scored those 14 points in the fourth quarter, after half the Broncos had already boarded the team plane back to Denver. But just because I'm in a charitable mood, I'll point out that Oakland's special teams looked pretty good, including a couple of very nice kickoff returns from Johnnie Lee Higgins.
  • 32. Lions
    Fire Millen.



Tags: Fire+Millen, FireMillen, nfl+power+rankings, NflPowerRankings, NFLPowerRankings08, Peyton+Manning, PeytonManning, Shawne+Merriman, ShawneMerriman, Tom+Brady, TomBrady

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