The Defending Champs are No. 1
Welcome to the preseason edition of the Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings. Each Tuesday starting in two weeks, you can look forward to our composite rankings, as well as a bit of insight and analysis about each of the 32 teams. Starting with Week 1, you can also look forward to analysis on the movements and trends among the teams.
The rankings are determined by simply taking the average of each of the contributors here at The Cube. For the preseason edition, we have rankings from myself, Gideon, Mickey and Walker.
The top of the preseason rankings were nearly unanimous, with defending champion Pittsburgh receiving three of four first place votes. The New England Patriots received the other, but surprisingly it was from Walker and not Boston-homer Gideon. The bottom of the rankings were easily unanimous, as 0-16 Detroit received 32s from all four of us.
The only consistent theme of the preseason rankings was disagreement. More than half the teams (17) had a gap of seven or more in the rankings, while eight teams had a gap of double digits. Of those eight teams, seven were in the NFC and seven involved our good buddy Walker.
Green Bay Packers (14) – Mickey 4, Gideon 18
Minnesota Vikings (13) – Walker 4, Mickey 17
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (13) – Walker 14, Gideon 27
Houston Texans (11) – Mickey 11, Walker 22
Seattle Seahawks (10) – Jacob 19, Walker 29
San Francisco 49ers (10) – Gideon 20, Walker 30
Arizona Cardinals (10) – Walker 6, Gideon 16
New Orleans Saints (10) – Jacob 10, Walker 20
On the divisional side, the NFC led the way, with the North ranking first with an average score of 7.81, followed closely by the East with an 8.75 average. The AFC West was in a class all by itself at the bottom, coming in with an average rank of 22.06. Second to last was the NFC South at 18.81.
All the backup data for our rankings can be seen here. Without further ado, onto the rankings.
1. Pittsburgh Steelers – The defending champs will have a difficult start to their title defense, facing Tennessee, Chicago and San Diego in the first month of the season.
2. New England Patriots – Tom Brady’s return will not be an easy one, as the Pats face five of last season’s top 10 defenses this year.
3. Indianapolis Colts – New coaching staff, new faces, same Peyton Manning. Look for the Colts to thrive this year.
4. New York Giants – Eli got a lot of money, but who is he going to throw the ball to? Giants will still rely on their running game even with the departure of Derrick Ward.
5. San Diego Chargers – A .500 record might be good enough to win this division for a second straight year. Led by the new $93 million man, Philip Rivers, the Chargers should have an easy path to the postseason.
6. Baltimore Ravens – Will QB Joe Flacco suffer a sophomore slump? May not matter with a three-headed monster in the backfield.
7. Philadelphia Eagles – Even with the addition of Michael Vick, opponents shouldn’t overlook Philly’s rookie weapons Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy. This could be a dangerous offense.
8. Tennessee Titans – Will the defense be able to succeed without Albert Haynesworth in the middle? Can the offense make up for his departure?
9. Carolina Panthers – Will Jake Delhomme be able to put that dreadful postseason loss in the rearview mirror. He might not need to if the Panthers’ RBs can stay healthy.
10. Chicago Bears – Da Bears finally have their QB, but he can’t do it all by himself. Chicago needs production from their RBs and TEs to make up for the lack of a WR corps.
11. Arizona Cardinals – Last year’s NFC Champs are still getting no respect. Was 2008 a fluke? Only Kurt Warner can say for sure.
12. Minnesota Vikings – Brett Favre Brett Favre Brett Favre Brett Favre Brett Favre Brett Favre Brett Favre. Wait, there are other players on this team?
13. Atlanta Falcons – The addition of TE Tony Gonzalez should help Matt Ryan improve in his second season. Questions of Michael Turner’s durability shouldn’t worry Falcons fans.
14. Green Bay Packers – Will the addition of Dom Capers and a switch to the 3-4 defense be enough to remedy Green Bay’s woes? Don’t count on it.
15. New Orleans Saints – An 8-8 finish last season gives the Saints a last place schedule this year. If they can take advantage of facing Detroit and St. Louis, they could make a return to the postseason.
16. Miami Dolphins – Coming off a 10-win turnaround, the Dolphins face a first place schedule in 2009. Will they have enough firepower?
17. Dallas Cowboys – The Boys let go of TO this offseason, so the biggest newsmaker in Dallas right now is the scoreboard.
18. Houston Texans – Will this finally be the year Houston finishes above .500? Texans are banking on an upgraded defense to do so.
19. Washington Redskins – Owner Dan Snyder spent a great deal of money this offseason. Is this the year the spending actually pays off?
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – With a solid defense as always and another three-headed monster at RB, the main question down in Tampa is the QB situation. Does Leftwich finally get it together? When do they play rookie Josh Freeman?
21. Jacksonville Jaguars – David Garrard finally has a true No. 1 receiver to throw to. May be a few years past his prime though.
22. New York Jets – New coach Rex Ryan has named rookie Mark Sanchez as the starter at quarterback. Can’t be worse than Favre.
23. Buffalo Bills – Will Terrell Owens’ arrival in Buffalo be any different than his last few stops?
24. Seattle Seahawks – The biggest addition to Seattle this offseason isn’t TJ Houshmanzadeh, but coach Jim Mora and offensive coordinator Greg Knapp.
25. San Francisco 49ers – Will Michael Crabtree play for Mike Singletary and company this year? Will it make a difference?
26. Denver Broncos – New coach Josh McDaniels has dealt with enough drama to last a decade, and he hasn’t coached a regular season game yet. Things aren’t pretty in the Mile High City.
27. Cincinnati Bengals – Carson Palmer’s health is the key to the Bengals’ season. That and OchoCinco’s foot.
28. Cleveland Browns – Will it be Brady Quinn or Derek Anderson under center? Does it matter?
29. Kansas City Chiefs – Is Matt Cassel the answer? Hard to see a great deal of success with no weapons outside Dwayne Bowe.
30. Oakland Raiders – Even with lots of exciting weapons on offense, the biggest news out of Raiders camp is a fight between members of the coaching staff.
31. St. Louis Rams – The rebuilding continues, and the offensive line is a great place to get started.
32. Detroit Lions – One win in 2009 would be an improvement.
NFL Season is almost here…time for some Preseason Power Rankings http://bit.ly/NvB8F
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