Prognosticating this early is rarely effective, especially when it comes to accuracy, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t fun. That’s why I enjoy sitting down and ranking each team against each other every week, even if its not all that effective.
With that in mind, here’s how I see things breaking down one game into the pre-season.
1. New Orleans – With more than enough talent to repeat as champs, the Saints should stay at or near the top of the heap this season.
2. New York Jets – The Jets added more talent than anyone else this off-season on top of their AFC Championship team last year, but chemistry issues could be problematic early on, with a ton of egos competing against each other for face time.
3. Baltimore – If Joe Flacco and Co. can pick up where they left off last season offensively, the Ravens should be making a deep run into the playoffs once again this year. Having Anquan Boldin around will be a big help on that front.
4. Minnesota – This ranking all depends on whether Brett Favre decides to come back for another season or not, as without him, the Vikings are clearly a weaker team.
5. Green Bay – The Packers have more than enough talent to be a force on both sides of the ball, and as long as Aaron Rodgers stays healthy, they should be playing late in January.
6. Indianapolis – The Colts are still a force to be reckoned with in the AFC, with their offensive firepower and upgrades defensively, but they need their stars to stay healthy to make another deep run.
7. San Diego – With LaDainian Tomlinson out the door, the mantle of leadership sits squarely on the shoulders of Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates, and the Chargers will go as far as they take them.
8. Dallas – The Cowboys offense should be solid once again, but they’ll need to have their defense step up more consistently to take it to the next level in the playoffs.
9. Houston – Expectations are high for the Texans this season, as they’re coming off the best season in franchise history. If they can hold their own against the Colts, look for them to make their first trip to the postseason.
10. Miami – The Dolphins are planning on big things from their top off-season acquisition, Brandon Marshall, but their defense has to be improved to make return to the playoffs.
11. San Francisco – If Alex Smith can hold things together offensively, the 49ers have more than enough talent on defense to take home their first division crown in eight years.
12. Atlanta – The Falcons will likely rise in the rankings as the season progresses, especially if they can stay healthy this year, and could end up challenging the Saints for division supremacy when things are all said and done.
13. New England – It’s hard to write the Patriots out of the playoff picture when Tom Brady is at the helm, but they have their work cut out for them this year with their division rivals all upgrading in a big way.
14. Philadelphia – It will be tough early on without Donovan McNabb leading the way, but first year starter Kevin Kolb should prove to be more than adequate in his role. If they can eliminate the mistakes that plagued them late last year, the Eagles could find their way back to the postseason.
15. Arizona – The Cardinals are another club that may have difficulty this year without their usual starter handling things under center, and given the way that Matt Leinart has played in the past.
16. Cincinnati – The addition of Terrell Owens to the mix may not be enough to get the Bengals over the hump this year, and even with him, they’ll need the defense to step up once again.
17. New York Giants – There’s no doubt that Eli Manning is up to the challenge of leading his team this year, but the Giants defense has to be more effective for them to have any chance at post-season play.
18. Tennessee – The Titans have to hope for the team that played the second half of last year to show up on opening day, instead of their first half club. Having Vince Young play well consistently will be critical as well.
19. Chicago – Jay Cutler could not have had a worse start to his stay in the Windy City last year, but Bears fans will be all to happy to forget that performance if he can be more consistent and lead his team towards a playoff spot this fall.
20. Oakland – The Raiders have a solid team and could make some serious noise in a weak AFC West if they can put aside all the mental mistakes that have plagued them in recent years. Look for Jason Campbell to play a big part in making that happen.
21. Carolina - Matt Moore established himself as a solid starter at quarterback last season, and he should handle that role well once again this year. The bigger question is whether the Panthers can generate offense outside of their stud duo at RB.
22. Pittsburgh – Not having Ben Roethlisberger running the show for the first four games at the very least this fall will hurt the Steelers for sure, but not having a definite gamebreaker at wide receiver could be more problematic in the long run.
23. Kansas City – The Chiefs still have a ton of questions, especially along their defensive line, but their offense could end up being pretty special if Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones can produce the way they did last year.
24. Washington – It’s hard to imagine that the Redskins will struggle all that much this fall with Donovan McNabb at the helm, but the talent around him offensively is significantly less than what he had in Philly, which could make things difficult early on.
25. Seattle – Trying to figure out how the Seahawks will play this year with Pete Carroll as their head coach isn’t easy, as Carroll didn’t exactly distinguish himself during his previous stints in the league. That said, having Matt Hasselbeck at quarterback should help in the transition.
26. Detroit – If the Lions can find a way to harness the talent they’ve accumulated in recent years, they should prove to be a much more difficult foe for their opponents this season. That all starts up front with quarterback Matt Stafford.
27. Denver - The Broncos haven’t exactly shown themselves to be astute in the off-season under Josh McDaniels, but none of that will matter if they can play like they did to start last season. Staying healthy will be a must though, and losing Elvis Dumervil already won’t help in that regard.
28. Cleveland – Having Mike Holmgren overseeing the overall operations of the club will be a definite plus for a team that has clearly been lacking in front office leadership. That said, they’ll need more than that to be competitive this fall, and not having a solid presence at quarterback will hurt.
29. Buffalo – The Bills didn’t exactly have a brilliant off-season, as they struck out repeatedly in their head coaching search before finally settling on Chan Gailey. They have a decent amount of talent to work with, but barring a miracle, Buffalo isn’t likely to make much noise in the uber competitive AFC East.
30. Tampa Bay – The Bucs did well with what they had in the off-season to improve their team, but like most of the other teams on the bottom, they have to get consistent play from their quarterbacks to be a factor in a tough NFC South division this season.
31. Jacksonville - It’s surprising to see the Jaguars down this far, but they just don’t have enough talent across the board to be effective against their three division rivals this year, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
32. St. Louis - There is little doubt that the Rams will struggle once again this fall, but things have to be looking up now that they have definite quarterback of the future in place in Sam Bradford. Offensively, the talent should be enough to make things exciting, but the defense is still problematic, and as such they’ll likely be looking at another top 5 draft slot next spring.
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Written by Chris Kolb
Topics: NFL News, Power Rankings