FAVORITES
1) Green Bay – No one has their combination of offense and defense.
2) New England – They are just like last year’s team only Wes Welker is back at full power and both of their key TE’s are in year two. And their defense is better than last year. That’s right I said better.
3) Baltimore – If Torrey Smith (and Lee Evans) can provide a consistent deep threat, then Baltimore will be tough to beat all year.
4) New Orleans – I don’t like where their defense is at but you can’t ignore Drew Brees.
CONTENDERS
5) New York Jets – They haven’t looked great but you have to give their defense the benefit of the doubt.
6) Pittsburgh – Tough to rank them at this point. But always err on the side of the great QB. Houston should be a good test this week.
7) San Diego – Their Offense is always dangerous. I don’t know if they will be able to overcome the loss of Darren Sproles or having Norv Turner as the Head Coach
8) Detroit – I had a tough time putting them this high after their offense struggled early against KC and Minnesota. But their defense has been really solid so far and Calvin Johnson looks unstoppable.
9) Dallas – I really like the look of their defense. They are physical against the run and their LB’s are making plays in the passing game. Injuries are holding the offense back but they could easily move up if they get healthy.
10) New York Giants – Injuries are keeping them from playing up to their potential but it seems like nothing can get in the way of their Dline.
11) Philly – They have problems to fix with their defensive front seven but even more importantly with their Oline. No way they can win a division with the Cowboys and Giants with their QB taking so many hits.
ON THE CUSP
12) Houston – Every where I look Houston is over-rated. Is that loss to New Orleans exactly like something the Texans would have pulled last year? Still need to see some improvement out of Wade Phillips and the defense
13) Buffalo – You could feel New England was going to struggle to win once that game got tied up in the early 4th, not because of the Bills, but because of the wild fans. Terrific job by the Ralph Wilson crowd. But the Bills have fallen behind big on two straight opponents.
14) Tampa Bay – The talk is about how they need to get the ball to Blount more in the run game but this offense is at it’s best when the ball is in Josh Freeman’s hands.
15) Oakland – Oakland was more physical on both lines against the Jets which is not easy to do. Still not a total believer, went 0-fer on 3rd down all day.
16) Tennessee – Strong defensive play is not getting much attention. With Britt done for the season the offense may have trouble moving the ball.
FATALLY FLAWED
17) Washington – The Redskins almost had me sold. But after watching Grossman on MNF I realize that it cannot end well for the Skins. Their run game is not dominant enough to protect Grossman.
18) Chicago – The D should still be able to pull out a few games against good teams but the offense is a mess.
19) Atlanta – Their offense is stuck in the Stone Ages with a severe lack of Shot Gun. They need the lead to play effectively and Turner might not be the back he used to be. Where do they turn?
20) Minnesota – I don’t know exactly what to make of the second half collapses but I do know a real QB could have pulled out at least one of those games.
OUTSIDE CHANCE
21) Cleveland – Has the Madden curse begun?
22) Carolina – Can’t wait to watch Newton every time he plays the rest of this season. Are they regretting giving Deangelo Williams that huge contract? Stewart is clearly the best RB on the team. I’m not sure Williams is even second best.
23) Denver – Orton and their spread passing attack gives them hope. But not much.
24) San Fran – They are one of three teams (KC and Indy are the others) that don’t have 300 yards of net offense in a game this season. Don’t jump on the bandwagon too fast.
25) Arizona – Kolb is not looking like the answer. He might be a poor man’s Matt Schaub. And like Schaub only his amazing star Wideout is saving him from being totally exposed.
26) St. Louis – They have looked disorganized but I wouldn’t totally give up on them. The offense is struggling with a new system but they will look a lot better when the level of competition they play goes down.
COMPLETELY HOPELESS
27) Cincinnati – I like their toughness but they are handicapped by their coaching and QB.
28) Miami – They tried to change their identity to be more exciting but in the process they lost who they were. Now Chad Henne is stuck trying to carry the offense.
29) Kansas City – The loss of Charles sunk their season. And even before the injury they were not a .500 team.
30) Indy – David Garrard? Carson Palmer? Why not?
31) Jacksonville – No offense, no secondary, no QB. What are they even trying to do?
32) Seattle – The Andrew Luck sweepstakes are being mentioned early and often this season. I think Pete Carrol planned ahead for him by signing T. Jackson in the offseason.
