As a general rule, I'll give teams a free pass for losing a road game against a tough opponent in week 1.So I'm not going to be dropping teams like Chicago, NO, or Baltimore too much(probably drop the Saints the most since they got blown out). Also there are some teams that I'm higher on than most(Tenn and Pitt would be two examples), so don't take my rankings simply as an overreaction to week 1.


Tier #1: The Big 3
Tough to rank any of these teams as low as #3. NE gets the nod based upon their recent historical dominance. Indy gets #2 for blowing out a tough team in week 1.

1. NE
2. Indy
3. SD


Tier #2: The legit contenders
Pittsburgh probably stands out to some, but I think last year was an abberation for them.

4. Chicago
5. Pittsburgh
6. Baltimore
7. Denver
8. New Orleans

Tier #3: The wannabe contenders
I think Carolina is similar to Pittsburgh. Very impressive week 1 win for them. As I said, I really like Tennessee this year too. Some will argue that Philly is low, but blame that on their poor week 1 showing.

9. Dallas
10. Seattle
11. Cincy
12. Carolina
13. Tennesee
14. Philly

Tier #4: Middle of the pack
Clearly the biggest and most muddled tier. As for now, think of all these teams as pretty interchangable. I'm not going to argue any of their rankings too much, and they'll all have a chance to move a lot based upon their showings next week.

15. NY Jets
16. Jacksonville
17. Minnesota
18. Detroit
19. Washington
20. Green Bay
21. San Francisco
22. Arizona
23. St Louis
24. Houston
25. KC
26. Buffalo

Tier #5: The bottom feeders
Not much to say here.

27. NY Giants
28. Oakland
29. Miami
30. TB
31. Atlanta
32. Cleveland

I think SD is still the best team in the league. I think both NE and SD are a slight but perceptible cut above the Colts. Agreed they are the obvious teams. Can't wait for the game next week.

I think this is a two-team tier that has Pittsburgh and Chicago. Denver is not that good, neither is NOLA IMO. Ravens have zero QB play, McNair is horrific and Boller is Boller. They are likely the #6 team, but a cut below the Steelers and Bears. I personally think the Steelers are pretty close to the top 3 to be honest. Bears by comparison just a hair better than Baltimore but will have home field and a far better chance of going far in playoffs than the Ravens.

Next I'd have Baltimore, Cinci, Carolina, Philly and Jacksonville to round out my top 10.

You obviously missed Jacksonville's game on Sunday.

God I hate arguing about Philly with this board.

Its just like the NFL preseason thread when I predicted the Eagles to win THE EXACT NUMBER OF GAMES THAT VEGAS PREDICTED THEM TO WIN and I got called a homer for it.

Look at where I put the Skins. Look at where I put the Skins arch rival Cowboys. Look at where I put my second favorite team the Ravens and where I put their rivals the Steelers.

Philly lost to a team that almost everyone thinks is an average team at best, yet I still have them ranked above 6 teams that won in week 1. They deserve that spot imo.

Except for Tennesee(who I realize most people don't have that high) who exactly do you think I have above Philly that doesn't deserve to be?

Meh. They laid a few eggs last year, they were still a top 10 team. They won the coinflip with Denver/Dallas/Seattle/Saints for the 10 spot.

Tennessee Run D might be good, but if Jacksonville gives up 250 yards on the ground and can only get 50 yards on the ground, I can't put them that high just yet. They've always disappointed the last couple of years. They can never put it together/

SD lost to NE at home in the playoffs. SD has not even won a game in recent years, while NE and Indy have won SBs with much of their current rosters. NE and Indy both blew out very tough opponents in week 1 while SD was trailing for much of the game. I just can't see a valid argument for putting SD ahead of either of them.

Boller or McNair are better than Grossman imo. I understand that Chicago has an easier road to the SB- that has absolutely nothing to do with my rankings, otherwise Chicago would be in tier #1 easily.

I think the rankings in the OP are pretty good, the only 3things I'd change are

-Seattle could potentially be a legit contender now that they're healthy again. I could see them winning the NFC much more so than New Orleans.

-I think New Orleans is definitely a wannabe contender I'd put them around 12. I agree with you about not dropping teams too far if they lose a tough game in Week 1 but they were only 10-6 last year with an easy schedule and they've gotten badly beat every time they've played a top team this year or last (Baltimore, Chicago, Indianapolis).

-Houston has a very good chance to fight for a Wild Card spot if their defense comes together. 24 is just way too low for them.

I think Denver might be too high. I don't want to eat my words since I am a Charger homer, but I would put them one tier down.

Results oriented. SD played 2TDs better than NE that game, and played better during the regular season as well. I'm not convinced yet that NE has made up the difference.


You are crazy. McNair is truly horrific. He can't make even simple throws anymore. He was exposed in the playoffs last year and continued the sucktitude against the Bengals today. Boller is better than McNair. And Boller is a crappier Rex without the big play capability.

I rank them about the same. Only a few teams really stood out as Superbowl players in week one. Colts, Chargers, Bears and Patriots. All expected. We know who is good and nothing changed. Ravens will be fine when they don't turn ball over so much. I think Steelers maybe need to play a real opponent but they won big which is a good sign.

The Titans and Packers both got critical wins as far as week one goes. Neither expected to win those. One game can go a long way when it comes down to it. After seeing it, I'm shocked how good the Titans defense played. Seemed to get tons of pressure on Garrard, Jags o-line played poor. Running game is going to be tops in NFL, by a lot. If defense plays like this rest of season they make playoffs. Vince Young was terrible and they still beat what most people thought was a quality Jax team. Titans ran a lot of flex offense, did they do this last year?

Packers offense could not play a whole lot worse unless they had a lot of turnovers. Favre made some bad decisions as always but on top of that their younger skill position players on offense did absolutely nothing. They can only improve from here. Defense was huge against an excellent Phlly team. I think they can keep it up in the NFC. They should be around until the end, good chance of playoffs unless offense somehow regresses. I put them way higher than 20.

Those were major things that stood out to me.

Carolina ran the ball well except for fumbling and passed it too but St Louis is really quite bad based on this first game and recent history. Orlando Pace is a big loss, if passing attack regresses now which seems likely then this is a really bad team. Want to see Carolina play more before really saying much.

Denver outplayed Buffalo pretty bad and nearly lost to Buffalo. I thought Cutler made a lot of wacky plays, he will cost this team huge based on some things I saw at some point. Defense seems to be as advertised. Did anyone see them run the option like 5 times? What was this all about? I know one was a busted play but rest clearly not. Very strange.

I put Oakland in tier 4. They nearly beat Detroit. Offense played a whole lot better than last year. Defense seems to have regressed quite a bit but then again Lions passing attack looked pretty sick. All four recievers involved. Pass protection better than usual. Detroit does not play much defense, Rogers had a nice game one player doesn't help much.

Washington should be higher. Beat AFC team with quality defense. Rushing attack very solid. Should look even better when they play in division. Speaking of NFC East... Philly struggled on offense even though special teams blew game... Dallas defense was pretty bad in all respects and Romo IMO no way is this good... Giants suck.

Enough rambling?

good points. I actually agree on all 3 accounts now that I think about it more.

Denver is ranked way too high. The Bills definitely belong in the bottom tier of teams, and Denver barely managed to squeak by them.

Kyle Boller played very well in 3 games last year. The results were bad tonight, but he should've had 2 TD passes- he did his job. I don't think Boller is nearly as bad as you think. He was EXTREMELY young and had a horrible surrounding cast at the start of his career, so don't hold that against him too much. I think that Boller is a top 25-30 QB in the NFL actually. I'd put Rex in the 30-35 range, and I actually think Brian Griese is better and should be starting over him.

Denver played better than the score and it was on the road.

I don't think any rational person disputes this

I tend to agree here. Boller could be a fringe starter, good backup at least. He's better than guys like Harrington, Carr, etc. He doesn't need to be great, Ravens are an excellent team. Based on McNair's play recently his best days are long gone. It was a good idea to grab him when they did just on the chance that he could still play but fuel tank is empty. Too much beatdown during career. Boller gives them slightly better chance IMO. Thought running game was fine, not great but servicable. They have quality skill players on outside but McNair can't get it to them. Defense is obviously pretty sick.

vixicator, I don't think I agree with all of your points but I can certainly understand where you're coming from with nearly all of them. And I'm definitely going to make major changes in the next few weeks- it really is a big guessing game after just one week.

In response to a few of your points:

I very much expected Denver to struggle, and I liked Buffalo +3 a lot. Its a tough place to play, and Denver often starts slow in week 1.

Funny that I was accused of being a Skins homer by others, yet you think I have them too low. If they win this week, they'll make a BIG jump.

Oakland was the worst team last year and they lost at home to a fairly bad team. I understand what you're saying, but theres no way they make it out of the bottom tier just yet.

Green Bay's offense looked absolutely terrible to me...like maybe worst in the league terrible.

I think the biggest problem with the Packers offense Sunday was the OL. They couldn't run or pass block for [censored]. Favre was pressured all game and there were no holes for anyone to run through (Brandon Jackson didn't look all that impressive, but still).

Next biggest problem was the overly aggressive play calling. They need to stop trying to throw 15 yard passes every time and stay a little more conservative. The young receivers just aren't good enough yet.

Which segues to the third problem. Without Jennings on the field, there is no WR who can separate from a defender. Driver is fantastic, but his catches are always in traffic. The rookie Jones looked good (and the buzz on him was very positive in the preseason) and I do think Ruvell Martin is going to be solid. Given some time, this could be a very good WR core.

I think the OL is the biggest problem. You can't run an offense with no blocking. The play calling can be adjusted and the WR's should be able to perform if put in the right positions.

As for the rankings, I think Baltimore is too high and Seattle is too low. I think Green Bay will turn out to be the 2nd best team in the NFC Central, but I won't argue the ranking (I can't really see Minn and Detroit higher, but it's only a difference of a spot or two). Houston should be higher, and the Giants are better than KC.

Yes, but even still they put up only 15 against one of the league's worst defense that was ravaged by injuries.

I think Buffalo is a tough team to play at home. They were 7-9 last year in the AFC and in a division featuring 2 playoff teams. How do you look at that and call them bottom tier?

470 yards total offense man.

It's hard to say without knowing more about Bills defense. Or Bills as a whole. JP Losman was unbelievably bad, it definitely wasn't all Denver's defense either. Marshawn Lynch ran ball well enough so I think Broncos are vulerable here considering how much LT owned them last year. They certainly left a lot of points on board. Cutler plays like a wild man. The Favre comparisions are credible. He makes very strange decisions but has all the skill in the world. Without a few more years under his belt and in his prime he will need to get lucky more often than not. The Jags, Jets, Miami all losing opens window more if it comes down to one game. Shannahan seems like a smart guy so I think he will do the right thing if Cutler gets too crazy. Henry wasn't quite as good as stats but ran solid overall.

By actually watching all of their games and such. They lost lots to free agency, lost a ton of players to injury already, league's toughest schedule, etc. - looking at a 4-12 season here.