My Power Rankings (as of 5/14/03)

[BillsCAfan]

1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers ¡V They are still at the top. The core of the team is back, but I think they might be lacking heart. The drive usually diminishes after winning the big one, look how the attitude of the pats changed from their winning season to last year. This is why I don¡¦t think they will repeat, but for now, they are champs, thus #1.

2. Philadelphia Eagles ¡V They lost some players like Douglas, Barber and Mitchell, but picked up guys like Jon Ritchie and Nate Wayne. They did lose some fire power on defense, but they have something I think the bucs no longer have, the drive to win, and they have McNabb¡Knough said.

3. Oakland Raiders ¡V I have a bit trouble putting them this high, but they kept their core together to make another run. But its only time till the fatigue of the old players will start affecting the team. They also lost some important defensive players like Adams and James, but I think Woodson will make up for that being healthy.

4. New Orleans Saints ¡V This team is up and coming. Their offense is explosive with Deuce, Brooks and Horn. They also have Pathon and 2nd year man Stalworth. They also signed Conwel from the Rams. Their defense is also much improved. They traded for Tebucky Jones, Ashley Ambrose and picked up Jonathon Sullivan. This team will challenge the Bucs this year.

5. Atlanta Falcons ¡V I think they are a team that will turn some heads this year. Their defense was above average last year, and the only glaring weakness was their receivers. Now that they got Price to go with Vick, Dunn and Duckett they will be very good. Vick will also be that much better with an extra year of experience.

6. Miami Dolphins ¡V If Jay Fiedler stays healthy and Ricky produces like he did last year, they will make a legit run at the title. Their defense has to step up like they did last year, but the December slump could jeopardize their chances. Barring injury and slumps, they are very balanced.

7. Tennessee Titans ¡V They always have a chance as long as they got McNair. Eddie George needs to step up more. Their defense was good last year, and I think they will improve. If McNair plays they are among the best in the AFC.

8. St. Louis Rams ¡V I think they are a bit underrated. I think their offense will be back on track with Faulk, Warner, Bruce and Holt getting back into the grove. Their defense will also be good enough to win, and I can see Jimmy Kennedy coming in and helping immediately.

9. New England Patriots ¡V their offense is still a little suspect with a one dimensional passing game and no running game, but their defense is scary. They made some good moves over the off-season, and they will contend as much as any other AFC team. With Harrison, Warren and Colvin coming in with Belichik running the schemes they will be very good defensively.

10. Buffalo Bills ¡V I have to put the Bills in the top 10, not just because I¡¦m a fan, but I honestly think they are among the elite of the league. Their offense will be very explosive despite the departure of Price, and their Defense is much improved. With additions of Spikes, Adams, Posey, McKenzie, Jones, Reese and the draft of Kelsey, this team has the offense and defense to win it all, but it won¡¦t be easy in the east.

11. Green Bay ¡V Brett Favre is playing, so they always have a chance. Their offense is very good with Green and Driver coming off solid season, but their defense needs to step up, especially at the LB and D-line positions.

12. Denver Broncos ¡V They had one of the best defenses early last year, but they started to wear off. I think the defense will be very good again this year. They have a lot of talent on the offense with 2nd year guys like Lelie and Portis teamed with McCaffery, Sharpe and Smith. The success of this team will be based on how well Plummer plays. He could make the Broncos into title contenders or a team that made a bad QB decision.

13. Pittsburgh Steelers ¡V Their defense will be very good with Porter, Gildon and Aaron Smith. They also picked up Polamalu who will make an impact as a rookie. The place this team will go wrong is on the offensive side of the ball. Maddox needs to prove that he wasn¡¦t a one year wonder, and their running game needs to improve whether it is with Jerome or Amos.

14. New York Jets ¡V They lost a lot of talent on this team. Loosing Randy Thomas, Morton, Coles and Hall is no easy thing to overcome. Picking up Sowell, Nutten, Conway and Brien just won¡¦t cut it to compensate for their losses. They also picked up Robertson in the draft who could be a true impact player. But no telling how Pennington will play with the loss of Coles, and whether Martin will be able to come back to play like his old self. They could be very good, but the division is very competitive, and I don¡¦t believe they are better than the teams I have mentioned ahead of them.

15. Indianapolis Colts ¡V Their offense is as explosive as ever with Harrison, Manning and James. They need to become more consistent and include the TE in more of their plays. Pollard was underused last year. Their defense is also very good, but no telling how much the loss of Peterson will affect them.

16. New York Giants ¡V They came on real strong at the end of the year and made a legit playoff run that was cut short because of a bad call. I think they will be able to make a run, but will have to get over the Eagles. Their special teams will be much more stable with the additions of Hollis and Mitchell.

17. San Francisco 49ers ¡V I think this team is overrated. Garcia and Owens will always give fans something to cheer about, but Hearts lost a step last year and don¡¦t know if he¡¦ll get back to form. Their defense has some holes at LB and CB. I think firing Mooch will come back to haunt this team. This is my candidate for disappointment team of the year.

18. Kansas City Chiefs ¡V I would have put them higher, but Holmes status devalues the whole team. If Holmes comes back healthy this team is top 10 IMO. They already had a great offense, but a few other WR would help. They improved their defense with additions like Barber and Holliday, and I think they can make a serious run, but only if Holmes can come back healthy. I know they picked up Johnson in the draft, and while he¡¦s good, he¡¦s no Holmes

19. Baltimore Ravens ¡V Their defense will be very scary with Lewis, Suggs, Boulware, McAllister, Reed and McCrary. They also bolstered their receiving corp. with Sanders and Robinson. Jamal Lewis also came back very strong, but the only real weakness I see is the QB position. Redman hasn¡¦t really proven anything to me, and as much potential Boller has, he¡¦ll have some adjusting to do in the league. They might make a run at the playoffs if they get some consistent play from Redman. With that team, Redman can play the part of Dilfer: not to win games, but not to lose games, in that case they should be fine.

20. Washington Redskins ¡V I don¡¦t know what to expect with from the Redskins and their new look. They definitely have the talent to be very good, but until they actually use all that talent on the field, I don¡¦t think they will be as productive as the money spent on the ¡§renovations.¡¨

21. Jacksonville Jaguars ¡V I think they made some good moves in the off-season. I think new head coach Del Rio can bring new light to the team and get them winning again. The additions of Peterson and Douglas are huge for the defense, as well as retaining Darius. They also picked up Jermaine Lewis who should help the special teams. Taylor should come back and hopefully stays healthy. Brunell will be the success or the failure of this team, and hopefully the pick up of Leftwich won¡¦t affect his morale.

22. San Diego Chargers ¡V They lose Seau, but I think that was a good move for the chargers. They saved some cap and got rid of a player who was coming to the end of his career. The pickup of Boston was huge and should greatly help Brees and Tomlinson. They still have Wiley on the defense with Edwards, and recently added Sammy Davis and Drayton Florence with their first 2 picks in the draft to their backfield to play with Jammer. I think this spot is the worse they can do. I envision them being top 15 by beginning of the season.

23. Seattle Seahawks ¡V I think this team could easily jump to top 15 or 10. Hassleback came on really strong by seasons end. Alexander is a stud RB, and Darrel Jackson and Koren Robinson make a good receiving corp. Their defense will also be much improved with the addition of Norman Hand and Okeafor. They also drafted stud CB Trufant to team with Springs to make a very good CB duo. This team definitely has potential to turn some heads.

24. Cincinnati Bengals ¡V I think this team will surprise people this year. Marvin Lewis has made a statement that he¡¦s calling the shots and he¡¦s made some really good decisions, except for letting Spikes go, but he had no choice (I don¡¦t mind much either ƒº). Bringing James, Thorton, Hardy, Powell will improve the defense tremendously. They also had a excellent draft, picking up 1st round projected players in their first 4 rounds with Palmer, Steinbach, Washington and Weathersby. I have never so impressed with this team. They will make a run at .500 IMO and will be contender in 2004.

25. Minnesota Vikings ¡V They have a good core of players. Culpepper, Moss and Bennett on offense makes them very explosive. They signed Claiborne and drafted Williams to play along side Hovan. If this team wants to be good, they can, but they have motivation issues.

26. Carolina Panthers ¡V I think Delhomme is a good QB that will start by the beginning of the year IMO. The addition of Davis will also make the offense flexible and they addressed their line problems by picking up Gross in the draft. However, their offense doesn¡¦t excite me too much. Dyson and Proehl might make a good group of receivers with Smith and Muhammed. Carolina¡¦s defense was also top notch last year, and will be very good again this year. This is another team that could easily jump to top 15 IMO.

27. Dallas Cowboys ¡V They definitely addressed their CB needs with Newman, and with Roy Williams they have a dominating backfield. Their run defense was always very good and I¡¦d expect the same this year. Their offense is horrible IMO. Galloway and Bryant make a good duo, but who will throw to them? I¡¦m not sold on Hutch or Carter, but maybe Parcells will be able to get something out of one of them. Their running game is also lacking, which is weird cuz Parcells loves to run the ball.

28. Chicago Bears ¡V The addition of Kordell will make things exciting for the Bears, but I don¡¦t know how much it will actually help them. The A-Train has to come back strong, but he might have been a one year wonder like Antowain was with the Bills. They also lost Colvin on defense, which will hurt. I don¡¦t see this being a good year for them.

29. Cleveland Browns ¡V If I had to chose a team that had the worst off-season, it would be the Browns. They cut Rudd, Holmes and Miller from their defense. Let Akins leave, and have added limited talent to their team. Their draft was ok, but nothing impressive. They have two good QB and William Green started to come on late in the season, but I just don¡¦t see this year being their year. I think the Bengals might even sweep them.

30. Houston Texans ¡V well 2nd year as a franchise will be a better year than the first, but don¡¦t expect to have a home town super bowl. Texans made some good picks in the draft and picked up some good FA players, but are still a year or two away from contending.

31. Detroit Lions ¡V Mooch will need some time to turn this team around. They definitely have the building blocks with Harrington and Rogers. They also have Hakim and Schroeder, but Stewart is to inconsistent. Their defense is anything but impressive. They lost Claiborne, and didn¡¦t really pick up any impact players. Tough year for them this year, but I have faith in Mooch, but Millen has got to go.

32. Arizona Cardinals ¡V Last and definitely least. They have had a pourous off-season. They let Plummer go, they let Boston go, they couldn¡¦t pick up Colvin, they couldn¡¦t pick up Holliday, and blew their chance to get Suggs. They added Jackson and Emmitt, but its going to be a long season boys.

[Predaphin]

Nice Assesment but Raiders and Bills are too high....

[finfan54]

The new Orlean saints are going to suck. that is the only thing you are way off on. and maybe on Philly too. everyone was talking philly last year including me, and Philly blew it. mcnabb is proving as he did in college, that he cant win the big one. and i am a syracuse fan.

[finfan54]

Originally posted by WCoastFin
Nice Assesment but Raiders and Bills are too high....

Oh yeah the raiders too, if ever their was a team to be called old, it is the faders. we own the raiders. if we go 12-4, which is very possible now, just has to be proven, we will have the best chance to go all the way. sorry, i am a homer but i call it like i see it. i think the top five are like this:

Tampa
Dolphins- once brian griese is a fin
Denver- if plummer shows how good he is suppose to be under shannahan.
Philly
Green Bay

[Clumpy]

Dolphins are too high

[minus]

Originally posted by clumpedplatelet
Dolphins are too high

Your high....

I agree with the everything except the Saint ..

[zach13]

I think that this list is better than the ESPN rankings.
But, I think that the Giants will pass the Eagles this year, Oakland will fade, and Atlanta is ranked way too high.

[rafael]

Good job! I think NO is way too high but the rest is well thought out.

[Dolphan-B]

Very nice and well thought out power poll. Better than most of the dreck put out by the press. I agree with you basic breakdown of the AFC Beast teams relative to one another, but....

Buffalo could be better than NE this year.

Oakland's offense has been exposed.

The Eaglets were overrated last year and have lost ground since then.

The Jets will dwell in the cellar this year as Pennington comes down to earth like Brady did after his first partial season. I don't see an offensive weapon to worry about on that team.

The Aints will find a way to lose.

[PhinBeck]

Nah the bills are good were they are, may end up higher. As much as I hate it they are a scary team this year. Their offense was very good last year and defense is very much improved on paper. Losing price hurts but watch out for Reed, he is no slouch. The question will be how many strides has their defense taken.

[Clumpy]

Dolphins are still too high

[Justasportsfan]

Originally posted by clumpedplatelet
Dolphins are still too high

WCF didn't have the fins at no. 1 ? Even when the fins lost to the Patriots he had the fins rated no. 1 the next week.

[wahwee]

I think you did a great job! Here's my insight:

Teams that are going to impress:

Jax- unless Brunell has a bad attitude from the Leftwich draft, I think Jax could contend for the AFC South title with the Titans

Balt.- Redman is going to play well and the defense is going to be great again.

Carolina- will make waves and cause the NFC south to be the 2nd toughest div. in the NFL (to the AFC east)

Teams that will disappoint:

SF-great call on the 49ers. Mooch was undervalued, and I think Owens may implode this year.

Oak-tough division with a rootipoo offense = missing playoffs

Atl- a step back since Price will falter, but next year, they'll be great

[FinsGoToGuy]

BillsCAfan

You sure have a lot of spare time


great job

[WharfRat]

Good job.... well thought out....
I agree with most of it too... but this really belongs in General NFL....