[fluoxet]

Some say that doing the Power Rankings before a new CBA is agreed to, before the draft, and before the preseason is flat-out dumb. Others say that Power Rankings, in general, are stupid.

But who cares what those people say? We've got to find something to do between the Superbowl and Mel Kiper's incessant ramblings about draft prospects.

32. Denver Broncos: Hiring Josh McDaniels was a terrible mistake and it's going to take Denver some time to recover from it. If Denver goes with Orton, they'll likely be a decent team, but look for Denver to be willing to suffer through some growing pains with Tim Tebow at QB.

31. Carolina Panthers: It really doesn't matter what Carolina does in the draft or in free agency. The offense has some great talent at RB but that's about it on offense. The defense should improve with the arrivals of Ron Rivera and Sean McDermott, but there's a lack of talent on that side of the ball, too.

30. Washington Redskins: If the Redskins plan on getting rid of McNabb, they're going to be even worse off than they were this year. The defense showed us some things this year but it also got torched quite a few times as well. The national's capital is a mess in more ways than one right now.

29. Buffalo Bills: I'm still wondering why Chan Gailey was hired as a head coach. Yet, the offense seemed to work and the team played some close games. Moral victories are worth something, like a spot at 29th in the 2011 NFL Power Rankings.

28. Cincinnati Bengals: Palmer wants out, T.O. probably won't be back, and Ochocinco is going back to Chad Johnson. Things aren't going well in Cincinnati.

27. Seattle Seahawks: Well, the Seahawks won a playoff game in the 2010-2020 decade. I predict they suck for the next 10 years now.

26. San Francisco 49ers: Harbaugh could be an excellent coach at the NFL level but I'd expect some rough patches in his first year, especially with the offense he's getting.

25. Arizona Cardinals: Bring in a QB who doesn't completely suck and this offense will probably put up a ton of points. And that's a good thing because it will be able to cover for the not-so-great defense.

24. Houston Texans: How long has this team had to get a defense? Now I hear they're considering switching to the 3-4 when they have one of the best 4-3 DEs in the game? Houston, we have a problem.

23. Minnesota Vikings: I'm not sure whether the Vikings will be worse with or without Favre. That's not a good thing. Getting rid of Childress will help but Peterson won't be able to do it all on his own.

22. Tennessee Titans: With Fisher gone, I don't have much confidence in this team. Chris Johnson is good but even he looked like a shadow of himself this year.

21. Cleveland Browns: Cleveland had some big wins this year -- beating New Orleans, New England, and well, that's pretty much it. Still, that is something to build on. Now all the Browns need to do is beat up on the shitty teams.

20. Jacksonville Jaguars: Too erratic. If MJD can continue to rebound from his early-season knee injury, Jacksonville will compete. If not, the Jaguars' defense still sucks too much to win consistently.

19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Tampa Bay was vastly overrated this year. The team had a decent offense and a decent defense, but they also played a very weak schedule. Look for Tampa Bay to struggle.

18. Detroit Lions: Ending strong is always good, and the Lions now have a guy on defense that they can build around and who brings a tough attitude to the team. Don't be surprised if the Lions compete for the division in 2011.

17. Miami Dolphins: If the Dolphins could win a game at home, they might not be so bad. Miami's only home win came against Tennessee. Miami lost to Cleveland, Detroit, and Buffalo in Miami this year, meaning they were 3 expected home wins away from going 10-6. Home sweet home, eh?

16. Oakland Raiders: Going 6-0 against the AFC West was excellent for the Raiders. It's that type of performance that warrants having your head coach get fired. I'll place the Raiders here assuming they bring back Nnamdi. If not, their ranking obviously drops a bit.

15. Dallas Cowboys: With Tony Romo coming back and the team playing with more heart under Jason Garrett, the Cowboys should be very competitive. Adding Rob Ryan as a defensive coordinator shouldn't hurt either.

14. St. Louis Rams: The defense will continue to improve under Spagnuolo and this Sam Bradford guy looks like he's the real deal. One question that Rams fans will be sure to ignore is how much longer Steven Jackson has as a top running back in the league.

13. Kansas City Chiefs: With Jamaal Charles, Dexter McCluster, and a quick defense, Kansas City won some games based on pure speed this year. But in order to win another AFC West Championship, the Chiefs will need to step their game up.

12. San Diego Chargers: Did they fire Norv Turner yet? No? Ok, expect a 10+ win season and an ass-beating in the playoffs.

11. Chicago Bears: Chicago was probably one of the most unimpressive #2 seeds in the history of the NFL. While Mike Martz seemed to help out tremendously on the offensive side of the ball, Jay Montana showed he is just a below-average Joe.

10. Philadelphia Eagles: The problem is clear -- the Philadelphia Eagles need to improve the offensive line and bring in more talent on the defensive side of the ball. The question is whether Andy Reid will actually do this. With Desean Jackson, Lesean McCoy, Jeremy Maclin, and Michael Vick, there is no shortage of playmakers on offense , though.

9. Atlanta Falcons: The problem with Atlanta is that they don't have any excitement on either side of the ball. The offense doesn't seem to be capable of consistently coming up with big plays and the defense, despite 31 takeaways, lacks what my friend John Madden would call "swagger."

8. New England Patriots: Coming into the season, I think Belichick figured it would be a rebuilding season. Then suddenly, the Patriots ended up going 14-2 and owning the 1st seed in the AFC. Losing Ty Warren, having crap at WR besides Welker, and playing a lot of young guys on both sides of the ball, it was hard to expect the Patriots to win it all this year. New England should be better on defense in 2011, and thus, be a better overall team.

7. New York Giants: Justin Tuck, Matthias Kiwanuka, Osi Umenyiora, a respectable rotation at DT, and Jason Pierre-Paul in his second year and the Giants should be able to get plenty of pressure on the opposing quarterback. So who cares if their secondary has some holes? By the way, Steve Smith, Mario Manningham, and Hakeem Nicks are pretty good at WR.

6. New York Jets: The Patriots may have won the division but the Jets showed they have what it takes to win in the playoffs. And that's a tough as nails defense and a QB who overthrows his WRs every other pass. Look for Sanchez to take another half-step forward in his third year. Maybe that will be enough.

5. Baltimore Ravens: The defense isn't getting any younger but let's be honest -- Baltimore basically had to throw away the game in order to lose to Pittsburgh in the playoffs. With a little better ball security, we might have seen a Packers-Ravens Superbowl this year.

4. New Orleans Saints: Losing to the Seattle Seahawks in the first round of the playoffs is one way to get ranked as a preseason 4th for the next season. Another way to do it is to have an explosive offense led by Drew Brees and a defense that has a knack for forcing turnovers.

3. Indianapolis Colts: Like it or not, the Colts are always in the running with a guy like Peyton Manning. And while Peyton isn't getting any younger, he showed again this year that he can win without help from anyone else on the team. If this team just gets healthy and adds some solid players on defense, they will be looking for another Lombardi in 2011.

2. Pittsburgh Steelers: Even with Ben Roethlisberger looking like the 2nd coming of Neil O'Donnell, the Steelers still had a shot to win the Superbowl this year. I've come to the realization that Troy Polamalu is the greatest player to ever grace an NFL football field. He's the sole reason USC was good in the early 2000s.

1. Green Bay Packers: The Superbowl Champions have always got to be #1, right? Aside from that, think about all the injured players Green Bay will have returning and what this team could do with even a respectable rushing attack. The team will have to make some decisions at WR and on the defense, but the Pack shouldn't be losing any superstars in the offseason.

[mr.memo]

18. Detroit Lions: Ending strong is always good, and the Lions now have a guy on defense that they can build around and who brings a tough attitude to the team. Don't be surprised if the Lions compete for the division in 2011.

i'll be fucking shocked

[HugoSimon]

i'll be fucking shocked

[Sipewrio]

haha yah i opened myself up to that one, no pun intended

[AlexDatig]

haha yah i opened myself up to that one, no pun intended

On second thought, I feel like I should have ranked the Buccaneers lower and the Vikings higher. Too late for that now, though.

[pitoufsd]

Fucking crazy with the giants there buddy, crazy.

[grudabor]

Fucking crazy with the giants there buddy, crazy.

Eagles were lucky to beat the Giants once this year. That team is good.

[cristmiff]

Atlanta sucks. They got to play Carolina twice and the NFC West. Biggest joke of a #1 seed ever.

[ZESINTERS]

Eagles were lucky to beat the Giants once this year. That team is good.

Not in December they're not.

[excholza]

14. St. Louis Rams: The defense will continue to improve under Spagnuolo and this Sam Bradford guy looks like he's the real deal. One question that Rams fans will be sure to ignore is how much longer Steven Jackson has as a top running back in the league.

I really hope Ken Darby isn't the backup again. Dude sucked at Alabama, sucks worse for the Rams.

[JessicaLin]

On second thought, I feel like I should have ranked the Buccaneers lower and the Vikings higher. Too late for that now, though.

the vikings should be better than the 23rd best team in the league but with an unknown qb situation who knows. they get someone like orton along with a healthy sidney rice and cedric griffin for an entire season they should be a playoff team.

[Gazeboss]

Eagles were lucky to beat the Giants once this year. That team is good.

You can't ignore how they got beat, it's awful. They got blown out by green bay, way too high.

[Grewlybreekly]

.

7. New York Giants: Justin Tuck, Matthias Kiwanuka, Osi Umenyiora, a respectable rotation at DT, and Jason Pierre-Paul in his second year and the Giants should be able to get plenty of pressure on the opposing quarterback. So who cares if their secondary has some holes? By the way, Steve Smith, Mario Manningham, and Hakeem Nicks are pretty good at WR.

Giants wont do squat again if they lead the league in turnovers. And they better get some backside help because if the pass rush is neutralized, theyll get eaten alive.

1. Green Bay Packers: The Superbowl Champions have always got to be #1, right? Aside from that, think about all the injured players Green Bay will have returning and what this team could do with even a respectable rushing attack. The team will have to make some decisions at WR and on the defense, but the Pack shouldn't be losing any superstars in the offseason.

Motivation for the Packers next year should be that the NFC has to go through Green Bay to get to the Super Bowl. And, realistically, I will be shocked if that doesnt happen.

[Sadsidioribre]

Giants wont do squat again if they lead the league in turnovers. And they better get some backside help because if the pass rush is neutralized, theyll get eaten alive.

The defense also gets a lot of turnovers. I would guess they had a positive turnover margin (or at least not the worst in the league.) That defense forced something like 35 fumbles this year. That's incredible.

Motivation for the Packers next year should be that the NFC has to go through Green Bay to get to the Super Bowl. And, realistically, I will be shocked if that doesnt happen. There are some teams that can definitely give GB a run for its money -- Minnesota could rebound, the Saints, Philadelphia with some additions on defense, the Bears if they get a new quarterback, Atlanta possibly, Dallas could rebound, and maybe even St. Louis or San Francisco gets it together.

[Arrectiff]

I've come to the realization that Troy Polamalu is the greatest player to ever grace an NFL football field. He's the sole reason USC was good in the early 2000s.


Huh? I'm not denying the guy is a great safety, but his award this year was basically a 'lifetime achievement award'. And his performance in the Super Bowl, the games biggest stage, was AWFUL. Rodgers carved him up.

[fd8IIys2]

I've come to the realization that Troy Polamalu is the greatest player to ever grace an NFL football field. He's the sole reason USC was good in the early 2000s.


Huh? I'm not denying the guy is a great safety, but his award this year was basically a 'lifetime achievement award'. And his performance in the Super Bowl, the games biggest stage, was AWFUL. Rodgers carved him up.

He was a non-factor throughout the playoffs. I have to believe that he wasn't right healthwise. And that may be his overall legacy, much like Bob Sanders. Great during those times when they are healthy.

[liontutuxx]

He was a non-factor throughout the playoffs. I have to believe that he wasn't right healthwise. And that may be his overall legacy, much like Bob Sanders. Great during those times when they are healthy.

Like I said.......not denying the guy's a great safety, and maybe moses' comment was meant to be somewhat tongue in cheek, but......best ever?

He's not even the best SAFETY ever, let alone player.

[Lymneterfeiff]

11. Chicago Bears: Chicago was probably one of the most unimpressive #2 seeds in the history of the NFL. While Mike Martz seemed to help out tremendously on the offensive side of the ball, Jay Montana showed he is just a below-average Joe.

________

I'd love to see the argument made to support this comment.

[Sadsidioribre]

11. Chicago Bears: Chicago was probably one of the most unimpressive #2 seeds in the history of the NFL. While Mike Martz seemed to help out tremendously on the offensive side of the ball, Jay Montana showed he is just a below-average Joe.

________

I'd love to see the argument made to support this comment.

You don't think your offense was more efficient / effective in 2010 as compared to 2009?

[salomal-qask]

You don't think your offense was more efficient / effective in 2010 as compared to 2009?

Total Points scored 2009: 327 (0 TD returns by Hester)

Total Points scored 2010: 334 (3 TD returns by Hester)


Yards per game 2009: 310.4

Yards per game 2010: 289.4


And the defense was superior to last year's version (IE...Giving the offense a sh*t ton more opportunity)


I'm gonna have to cue up the Billy Madison "None of us are smarter, you have earned no points and may God have mercy on your soul" on this power rankings.