2008 Power Rankings

[Chubbyhubby]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/powerranking?season=2008&week=0

ESPN's 2008 Power Rankings just was released this morning. The Packers are at #10 Your thoughts?

[HarveyWallbangers]

I think that's fair. The Vikings are #12. Every year, it seems like they are ranked higher in the preseason power poll than they were at the end of the previous season--except maybe the year the traded Randy Moss. The Bears are #24. The Lions are #29.

[cheesner]

We started slow last season, and became a very good team by the end. I think the Packers have not reached their peak yet. Even with the loss of Favre, the Packers will be dangerous on offense and stout on defense.

I see them and the cowgirls as being the teams to beat in the NFC. No matter how good Vikings look on paper, they find a way to F* it up. Detroit will start hot and falter again, the Bears are generally anyones guess.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Vinnie has us #8.

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=409007


NFL Power Poll: 'Spider sense' puts Giants at No. 1
By Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News

I am not a big fan of doing preseason power polls four months before the season. But that was my assignment this week, and because I know you fans love them, I turned to the world's greatest comic book heroes for inspiration.

My biggest question: Where do I put the Super Bowl 42 champion New York Giants? They surprisingly won it all as an NFC wild-card entry. They also didn't have any significant personnel losses this offseason and will go into the 2008 season with great confidence despite playing in the NFL's toughest division.

Just like the Big Apple's friendly neighborhood webslinger, I'm getting the strange feeling that the G-Men (not to be confused with the X-Men) will live up to Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee's favorite word: "Excelsior!" -- which means simply "still higher." It's also, very appropriately, the state motto of New York.

Even the fact the Giants actually play in New Jersey won't faze me. Like superhero movies at the box office, they debut on top:

1. Giants. With great power comes great responsibility as defending Super Bowl champions.

2. Patriots. Expect a more mild-mannered team, as the "S" was ripped off the undefeated juggernaut's chest in Super Bowl 42.

3. Colts. Looks like Dallas Clark "Kent" and Reggie "Bruce" Wayne will need to continue to be superheroes, especially because Marvin Harrison may have other battles to fight.

4. Cowboys. As the rumors swirl about who might play Wonder Woman, other rumors are already swirling that Tony Romo will be seen with her.

5. Jaguars. A physical running game and a hard-hitting defense? Catwoman calls that a purr-fect formula to compete for the NFL's top kitty.

6. Chargers. You won't like Shawne Merriman when he's angry.

7. Steelers. The Men of Steel's kryptonite last season was the offensive line, but some younger starters and the addition of a young power back should make them stronger.

8. Packers. How do you replace the NFL's ultimate Iron Man, who was as popular as Captain America? Good luck, Aaron Rodgers.

9. Browns. It's a bird. . . . It's a plane. . . . It's the league's best young passing game.

10. Titans. Teen Titans? OK, they're not exactly that young anymore -- you grow up quickly when you make the playoffs -- but this Vince Young-led team is on the brink of big things.

11. Seahawks. This one's easy. These Hawkmen should continue to roost in a breezy NFC West.

12. Vikings. With that Fantastic Four on their defensive front and that Flash in their offensive backfield, watch out.

13. Bills. Unlike Billy Batson, it will take more than a simple "Shazam!" for these youthful Bills to get the Captain Marvel power necessary to bring down the Pats.

14. Buccaneers. Jon Gruden's got this every-other-year thing going with the Bucs, which means he's due to make faces like the Joker this season.

15. Saints. Sure, they can pass, but they need to reactivate their Wonder Twin powers in the backfield if they are to get back to the playoffs. Enter Shaun Alexander?

16. Redskins. Wouldn't it be cool if Daniel Snyder was billionaire by day, superhero by night? OK, maybe not.

17. Eagles. Don't be fooled: Andy Reid may be built like the Kingpin, but his mind is a lot more like Professor X's.

18. Texans. This team had the makings of a sleeper as hot as the Human Torch, but injuries, combined with playing in the AFC's toughest division, have cooled that talk.

19. Bears. Even while boating, Cedric Benson was tackled by Sub-Mariner after three yards and a splash of lake.

20. Cardinals. They have as many weapons on offense as Tony Stark, but they will need to sling some people around on defense to contend for a wild card.

21. Panthers. In the "Oliver" Queen City, the bull's eye is squarely on the coach and the general manager if they don't get the team back on target. The problem is, Green Arrow doesn't miss much.

22. Broncos. Only Mike Shanahan knows the secret identity of Denver's latest feature back.

23. 49ers. Will Mike Martz be Mandrake the Magician and suddenly transform the Niners' offense into a competent unit? Depends on what's under the hat of Alex Smith.

24. Bengals. They sound like tigers the Phantom might have been friends with, but will Chad Johnson end up being "The Ghost Who Walks?"

25. Jets. Green Lantern, aka Wayne Chrebet, is long gone, but they've power-ringed themselves some nice free-agent additions.

26. Rams. Who's dressed in yellow and blue and ready to continuously claw after quarterbacks? Chris Long.

27. Raiders. Faster than a speeding bullet? Then Al Davis has already drafted you.

28. Lions. At this point, Sheena looks a lot more menacing in the jungle.

29. Chiefs. Unlike Apache Chief, shouting "Inyuk-chuk" won't suddenly make KC huge; Herman Edwards knows it takes good draft picks to eventually stand tall again.

30. Ravens. Even the mystical powers of their demonic DC namesake won't keep them finishing last in a tough AFC North.

31. Falcons. They've made some big changes, but this team is about as relevant to the 2008 Super Bowl picture as Samurai is to the Super Friends.

32. Dolphins. Communicating via Aquaman, the Tuna tells me he still has plenty of grocery shopping to do.

[LL2]

I agree that 10 seems fair. If Favre came back the Packers would've been top 5, so they are being generous considering the big unknown at QB.

[sheepshead]

Lower the better, we dont't need A-Rod reading this stuff.

[DonHutson]

Vinnie has us #8.

I agree with this. There's no justification for putting us behind Cleveland and Seattle.

[red]

seems kinda crappy to me. we ended at #3 or #4 last season

and brett wasn't all this team had going for it

one time, a long time ago. a legend named joe montana had his historic run end with his original team. his former team replaced him with some guy named steve young. the team didn't miss a beat

it is possible for life after favre to be almost as good as life with favre

plus 4 of the top 5 teams are from the afc? yawn. seems some people are forgeting that the nfc was crowed the champions last year

[vince]

seems kinda crappy to me. we ended at #3 or #4 last season
I know its the off-season and nothing's really happening, but nothing could possibly be more meaningless than offseason power rankings.

The Packers were consistently ranked 23 and lower this time last year.

[RashanGary]

I think 10 is fair. I'm with the concensus here that the Packers are going to have to get better in their run game and answer questoins at DL and QB before they can be considered elite.

They might be better though. There were more perceived questions answered last off season than total questions this off season.

[Charles Woodson]

Vinnie has us #8.

I agree with this. There's no justification for putting us behind Cleveland and Seattle.

I agree, i think 8 would be a better ranking for us.. theres just no reason for seattle to be ranked above us

[chain_gang]

I don't see any major issues with the rankings, the only team I really don't agree with in the top ten is Cleveland. Cleveland was a surprise team no doubt, but look at who they played last year, the AFC East and the NFC West. Other than the Pats and the Seahawks, the non-divisional games were cupcakes, and their own division wasn't the greatest last year either, other than the steelers, who beat them twice. The thing about the Browns is they had a hot couple of months early in the season riding the hot hand of Derek Anderson, the second half of the year Anderson fizzled, and so did the Browns. In fact in the month of hear are Derek Anderson's stats for the month of December,

5games, 86 completions, 162 attempts for a 53.1 comp %. 7tds and 8ints, QB rating of 66.6. That won't get you into the playoffs, and they made be better this year, but with their schedule there going to have to be great, because they don't play teams in the AFC East and NFC West this year, they have the NFC East and AFC south.

I just don't see the browns being improved enough to be ranked in the top 10. I think they're going to be the big droppers in the year, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Cleveland being ranked 20th or lower at the end of the year.

[BallHawk]

New York shouldn't be #1. I know, I know, they won the Super Bowl but anybody that says the Giants have a better chance to win the SB than the Patriots is crazy. The Patriots are huge favorites.

[b bulldog]

I don't think the Pats will even make the SB this year, my pick from the AFC is San Diego. I think Dallas will win it all and I think the Giants will be a 9 or 10 win team.

[red]

New York shouldn't be #1. I know, I know, they won the Super Bowl but anybody that says the Giants have a better chance to win the SB than the Patriots is crazy. The Patriots are huge favorites.

and the pats were the huge favorite all last year and in the superbowl

and they lost

[woodbuck27]

Not bad to be at the top to start but how great was the Favre factor last season? HUGE!

Lot's of changes to come. For some reason I like Dan Diego this season to win the Super Bowl. Time to stop just knockin' on the door.

[MadtownPacker]

Vinnie has us #8.

I agree with this. There's no justification for putting us behind Cleveland and Seattle.How is that? The Browns and Seattle both have stability at QB.
especially Seattle. I think #10 is fair and somewhat generous. Unless the defense is shutdown good games will ride on ARod's arm.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Vinnie has us #8.

I agree with this. There's no justification for putting us behind Cleveland and Seattle.How is that? The Browns and Seattle both have stability at QB.
especially Seattle. I think #10 is fair and somewhat generous. Unless the defense is shutdown good games will ride on ARod's arm.

Seattle is fair. Cleveland? I'm not so sure. I'm not convinced Derek Anderson isn't a one year wonder. He had a pretty low completion percentage (56%) for a breakout year, and he also threw 19 interceptions. That was with Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow staying healthy and catching everything in sight. Those guys are good, but have had durability issues in the past. I'm not convinced Brady Quinn is any more ready to lead his team than ARod.

[Bretsky]

Vinnie has us #8.

I agree with this. There's no justification for putting us behind Cleveland and Seattle.How is that? The Browns and Seattle both have stability at QB.
especially Seattle. I think #10 is fair and somewhat generous. Unless the defense is shutdown good games will ride on ARod's arm.

Seattle is fair. Cleveland? I'm not so sure. I'm not convinced Derek Anderson isn't a one year wonder. He had a pretty low completion percentage (56%) for a breakout year, and he also threw 19 interceptions. That was with Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow staying healthy and catching everything in sight. Those guys are good, but have had durability issues in the past. I'm not convinced Brady Quinn is any more ready to lead his team than ARod.

The number IMO is about right

I assume you feel Seattle is fair because they played in free agency......or because there is a solid assumed dropoff from Favre to AROD ??

Because IMO Seattle's draft was decent but not spectacular

[HarveyWallbangers]

I assume you feel Seattle is fair because they played in free agency......or because there is a solid assumed dropoff from Favre to AROD??

Partly because of the dropoff at the QB position. Also, I think we had more good breaks than bad breaks last year. The schedule ended up easier than I thought, we won some close games, and we had very few injuries. Talent-wise, I think we were more like a 11-5, maybe 12-4 team. I think going to ARod makes us more of a 10-6 team.


Because IMO Seattle's draft was decent but not spectacular

Not basing it off that at all. I won't begin to predict how good a team drafted at this point.

I also think Seattle will be a little better. They get Marcus Tubbs back. They added Lawrence Jackson to go with Patrick Kerney and Darryl Tapp. I do think Mike Wahle was a good pickup for them. At least, for this year it will be a good move. If they can keep Deion Branch healthy, that should help their receiving corps.

[Bretsky]

I assume you feel Seattle is fair because they played in free agency......or because there is a solid assumed dropoff from Favre to AROD??

Partly because of the dropoff at the QB position. Also, I think we had more good breaks than bad breaks last year. The schedule ended up easier than I thought, we won some close games, and we had very few injuries. Talent-wise, I think we were more like a 11-5, maybe 12-4 team. I think going to ARod makes us more of a 10-6 team.


Because IMO Seattle's draft was decent but not spectacular

Not basing it off that at all. I won't begin to predict how good a team drafted at this point.

I also think Seattle will be a little better. They get Marcus Tubbs back. They added Lawrence Jackson to go with Patrick Kerney and Darryl Tapp. I do think Mike Wahle was a good pickup for them. At least, for this year it will be a good move. If they can keep Deion Branch healthy, that should help their receiving corps.


I agree; Seattle did make some nice free agent moves to upgrade their roster as well so on paper they look to be better than last year.