2008 NFL Power Rankings: Week 1

By N-F-L Correspondent Darren Farinas

1. Dallas Cowboys – Undoubtedly the most loaded/talented team in football. Whether or not the coaching staff can put everything together is another story, but so far, this team is REALLY living up to expectations.

2. New Orleans Saints – The Saints are definitely back this season. With so many weapons on offense and Reggie Bush apparently back in action after a sophomore slump, there is no reason that this team cannot take the NFC South.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers – Who saw this coming? Willie Parker was a total monster against the Texans, running for 138 yards and three touchdowns. With Brady out for the season, the Steelers could quickly become the favorites of the AFC.

4. New York Giants – The Giants did the Redskins dirty in the same way they will all season: with defense. This is a tough, hard-playing and DURABLE team; the Giants have a good backup at nearly every position on the field. Expect them to play tough from the beginning to the end of the season.

5. Green Bay Packers – Aaron Rodgers clearly picked up a few tricks of the trade from watching Brett Favre play ahead of him all these years. He put up good numbers against a TOUGH defense. The Pack will be in the playoff hunt this entire season, make no mistake about that.

6. Philadelphia Eagles – McNabb may have had a magnificent game, but keep in mind that they played the Rams, which is nothing special. Regardless, the Eagles may finally have a star wideout in DeSean Jackson that they haven’t had since trading T.O. to the Cowboys. A lot of “experts” made a big deal out of the Birds at the start of the season, and they could very well be right.

(Editor's Note: As an avid Eagles fan and reader of the site pointed out, T.O. was, in fact, released by the Eagles and signed with the "Cowgirls". Good lookin' out, won't happen again.)

7. Denver Broncos – Talk about a statement game. Jay Cutler is back for the 2008 season in full force after his diabetes situation in the offseason. Rookie Eddie Royal has given this explosive offense an even deeper roster. The Broncos could easily (and surprisingly) give the Chargers a run for the AFC West.

8. Buffalo Bills – This team has been poised to win. We could all see it a year ago when Trent Edwards and Marshawn Lynch were leading the offense as rookies. More experience and more talent, along with the best special teams in the league, will allow the Bills to make a run at their division.

9. Tennessee Titans – If you need proof that a team can win without a good quarterback, look at the Titans. Rookie RB Chris Johnson WILL lead this team’s offense back to the playoffs, and they’ll more than likely make a push for the Super Bowl if this keeps up.

10. Chicago Bears – A friend of mine said Matt Forte wouldn’t be any good. I’ve never heard a worse prediction in my life. If the Bears make a run at the NFC North they’re going to do it their old-fashioned way: with a good running back and with defense. Sounds like the Bears of old, doesn’t it?

11. Indianapolis Colts – Are we sure we were watching THE Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night? There’s no way they keep this up all season. Peyton Manning will find his rhythm, and the Colts will be back to their usual selves within the next couple of games.

12. San Diego Chargers – Did they really lose at home to the Panthers? Talk about an upset special. With Shawne Merriman out for the season and the shock of a loss to Carolina lingering, expect things to get worse for the Chargers before they get better, especially with the impressive Denver Broncos staring them in the face for Week 2. However, this team is too talented to not bounce back from the loss of one game and one player.

13. New England Patriots – Never before has the NFL seen a team go from a Super Bowl contender to a question mark as quickly as the Patriots (i.e. 6 minutes into the first quarter of the regular season). But Brady replaced a great quarterback in 2001 when he led the Pats to the Super Bowl; could Cassel do the same? We’ll see what happens when a quarterback who hasn’t STARTED a game since high school takes the field against the Jets on Sunday.

14. Carolina Panthers – This team couldn’t be a bigger question mark. Jake Delhomme was excellent, but was his team’s miraculous win over the Chargers on the last play of the game a good sign of the direction this team will be going in, or just a fluke?

15. Jacksonville Jaguars – What goes for the Colts also goes for the Jags, at least this week. The Jags played a Titans team that plays their division rivals hard every time they come face to face. Considering the emotional trauma Jacksonville has faced with the Richard Collier dilemma in the last week, they, too, will bounce back and return to their old selves soon enough.

16. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – The Bucs played a hard game against a high-powered offense in the Saints. Will they bounce back? Who knows? At least for next week it depends on the health of quarterback Jeff Garcia, who the offense will need to be able to compete for the division title.

17. Minnesota Vikings – If not for a special teams slipup in the 2nd half, the Vikings could have potentially beat Green Bay on Monday night. If Tavaris Jackson can play for the Vikings this season the way David Garrard did for the Jags last year, this team will make the playoffs with ease.

18. Cleveland Browns – The Browns may have played arguably the best team in the NFL on Sunday, but their offense looked completely out of touch. If this offense isn’t rolling in the next three weeks then Derek Anderson is going to be looked at as a one-year wonder. Brady Quinn is lying in wait…

19. New York Jets – Let’s be honest with ourselves; while most people WANT Favre to do well, he REALLY had an average (by his standards) game against a team that, last year, went 1-15. Gang Green has a lot more to prove before we can call them a serious playoff contender.

20. Arizona Cardinals – the Cards put up a good effort against a clearly weak 49ers team. Fortunately for them, the entire NFC West is weak. It’s sad but Arizona could potentially win their division with as low as a 7-9 record.

21. Seattle Seahawks – Hey Holmgren, don’t you think retirement was a better option? After a 34-10 romp on your team at Buffalo, you’re probably regretting your decision.

22. Washington Redskins – They couldn’t have looked more lost. However, we saw the Giants struggle with a coaching transition (Steve Spagnuolo) last season, and look where they ended up. The Redskins could possibly do the same.

23. Atlanta Falcons – Matt Ryan had a great debut as the successor to Michael Vick and Michael Turner has already broken the rushing record for the Falcons. But does it really matter when they beat a Detroit Lions team that is likely to be 4-12 or worse this season?

24. Baltimore Ravens – The Ravens may have won their home opener with two rookies leading the offense (Joe Flacco and Ray Rice), but the Bengals barely put up a fight. Flacco had a good start to the season, but he won’t get away with a 38 yard rushing touchdown ever again.

25. Miami Dolphins – The Dolphins won’t make the playoffs this year, but they’re looking better just with Chad Pennington as their quarterback. This team will develop throughout the season, especially with Coach Pennington on the field to correct the young team’s every play.

26. Kansas City Chiefs – The Chiefs likely make their biggest impact of the season by bashing Tom Brady’s knee. It’s a shame that future Hall-of-Fame TE Tony Gonzalez is on such a poorly constructed team. But it’s not as if the Chiefs were expected to do anything this season; with over a dozen draft selections back in April, they are clearly focused on rebuilding their entire team for the long-term.

27. Houston Texans – They’re poised to continue to be the bottom-feeders of their division once again this season. With a poor defense (besides Mario Williams and DeMeco Ryans) and a lack of a running game, the Texans are a one-dimensional team in a division that is too deep to give them an opportunity at a playoff chance. Don’t even look at the fact that they scored 17 points on the stalwart Steelers D; only 3 of them came before the 4th quarter, when Pittsburgh was already up 35-3 (a.k.a. garbage time).

28. San Francisco 49ers – J.T. O’Sullivan may be the best option the 49ers have at quarterback, but that’s not really saying much. With the exception of Frank Gore, this team is a mess. They’re going to need to revamp from top to bottom or they’ll be the Dolphins of the NFL in two years.

29. Oakland Raiders – This was not the debut that JaMarcus Russell and Darren McFadden had in mind. It seems as though the Raiders are looking at yet another year of horrendous football. Things won’t get better until Al Davis sells this franchise and let’s someone with half a brain take over and salvage it.

30. Cincinnati Bengals – The Bengals were expected to win against the Ravens. What do they deliver? 99 passing yards and an interception from Carson Palmer? 65 yards on the ground? Besides a completely inept offense, the defense played as it always has: like crap. Ocho Cinco should have been persistent on pushing for that trade, since anywhere BUT Cincy would have been a better option.

31. Detroit Lions – The perennial bottom-feeders of the NFC North will definitely remain there this year. I don’t care who is playing who; NO TEAM should be down 21-0 after the FIRST QUARTER.

32. St. Louis Rams – Speaking of being the Dolphins of the NFL, the Rams are looking to be the bottom feeders of the entire league NOW. I can hear it already: “For the first pick of the 2009 NFL Draft, the Saint Louis Rams select….”