David Lewis, VP of Operations
Every week for the rest of the season I will be updating my personal power rankings of the NFL. These rankings are subject to change based on the record, overall play, and state of health of every NFL team. So without further ado here are my complete NFL power rankings heading into the upcoming 2008-2009 season.
Preseason:
1. New England Patriots: With Tom Brady this team is still the most talented and well coached team in the NFL. Without him, they just become mediocre. The success of the Patriots, like several teams, is determined by the health of their QB.
2. San Diego Chargers: This team is without a doubt one of the most talented teams in the NFL and has found a leader in Rivers after his heroic effort in the playoffs. The Chargers have a great chance to win the Super Bowl this year, but if Merriman’s injury is really serious their chances take a big hit.
3. Indianapolis Colts: A number of injuries to many key players on this team like Manning, Harrison, Sanders, and Freeney have caused some doubt of the team’s chances this year. These players are all expected to come back healthy, but the team’s playoff chances rest solely on the shoulders of Manning.
4. Dallas Cowboys: Many people are already penciling them in as the 2008 NFC Champion. They sent 13 players to the Pro Bowl last year and got better with the additions of Adam Jones, Felix Jones, and Mike Jenkins. The real question about this team is not of talent, but of their arrogance. This team could be the best in the league or the biggest bust of the season if they stay too conceited.
5. New York Giants: The Defending Super Bowl Champions aren’t receiving a lot of respect from the media and fans. They will use this “us against the world” mentality to prove last year’s run wasn’t a fluke.
6. Jacksonville Jaguars: This team is primed and ready to finally overtake the Colts as the champions of the AFC South. Their biggest questions are the health of Porter and can the young DEs apply pressure to the opposing QBs.
7. Pittsburgh Steelers: The offense looks stacked now with Big Ben becoming an elite QB, Ward, Holmes, and Sweed for WR, and Parker and Mendenhall at RB. The Steelers will face adversity though with their offensive line and the brutal schedule they must play through.
8. Green Bay Packers: With the Brett Favre drama finally over I feel like Rodgers is ready to become the leader of this team. I actually feel like his style is better suited for this system, which allows the WRs to run after the catch and not create turnovers.
9. Philadelphia Eagles: My surprise pick from the NFC this year. The Eagles have several injuries, but McNabb has looked solid in preseason and DeSean Jackson looks like a really special player.
10. Cleveland Browns: If Anderson’s injury is serious then it will be up to the home town hero Brady Quinn to save the day. If he can’t then the Brown’s reloading in the offseason was all for not.
11. Seattle Seahawks: They have controlled the division for years now and don’t seem poised to relinquish that control just yet. Questions at WR and RB could hurt their attempt at continuing that Division Championship streak though.
12. Washington Redskins: They have looked very good in preseason so far and I feel like Jason Campbell is ready to break out, but is this team ready to make a championship run in their new coach’s first year?
13. New Orleans Saints: New additions on the defense and the late addition of Jeremy Shockey should allow the Saints to win the division once again.
14. Minnesota Vikings: This team is stacked at almost every positions expect the most important in QB. The Vikings success will have a lot to do with the maturation of Tavaris Jackson this year.
15. Tennessee Titans: Young has not looked good so far in preseason, which is a scary thing considering he’s in his third year and has a great defense and run game behind him.
16. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The team has several QBs on the roster, which would seem to make Garcia’s injury not a problem. However, Garcia is the only QB on the team who has won consistently in the NFL.
17. Arizona Cardinals: This team has been a sleeper team for about five years now. It’s about time this team wakes up and performs well enough for a playoff spot.
18. Buffalo Bills: Another sleeper team this year with the team’s success resting on the maturation of Edwards and Lynch.
19. New York Jets: With Brett Favre and the Free Agent additions, the Jets have now become a playoff contender.
20. Houston Texans: A team that plays well but can’t stay healthy (Schaub and Andre) and isn’t talented enough to challenge the heavy weights in their division just yet.
21. Denver Broncos: Cutler has been very impressive so far in preseason. His success has been primarily because of Brandon Marshall. Marshall’s 3 game suspension at the beginning of the year will hurt this team.
22. Cincinnati Bengals: If this team can stay out of jail then they can beat some good teams. However, until the defensive front seven has been retooled the Bengals will be on the losing side more times than the winning side.
23. Oakland Raiders: The Raiders could be a surprise team this year. It just seems like Al Davis is spending too much money on unproven or overrated players.
24. Baltimore Ravens: The defense isn’t any younger and they still don’t have a QB who can win right now.
25. Carolina Panthers: This team could sky rocket up if Smith and Delhomme connect like they did a few years ago.
26. St. Louis Rams: With Steven Jackson finally in camp the Rams will try to recapture their momentum from the 2006 season rather than the 2007 season.
27. Detroit Lions: This team did well last year against bad teams, but failed to beat the good teams. They will need to change that in order to have any success this year.
28. Chicago Bears: The Bears seem to have questions at every offensive position except TE. Rookie RB Matt Forte will need to be great early on for this offense to have any success.
29. Kansas City Chiefs: The team has gone with the direction of reloading; essentially meaning things will be worst before they get better.
30. San Francisco 49ers: This team was a sleeper pick last year, but the offense never got on track. Mike Nolan is banking on J.T. O’Sullivan to reverse those offensive woes of last year.
31. Miami Dolphins: The embarrassment of the NFL last year is reloading under Bill Parcells and new QB Chad Pennington. This team could surprise people and win 5 or 6 games.
32. Atlanta Falcons: Matt Ryan has looked good so far in preseason, but with the players surrounding him it may be better to bench him and let someone like Redman take the lumps of failure that is sure to come for this team.
