N8Dogg's Week 1 Power Rankings

2008 NFL Season
*week 1 rankings reflect those made on 9/3/2008 before any NFL games were played

The Elite:
1. New England (0-0)
2. San Diego (0-0)
3. Dallas (0-0)
4. Jacksonville (0-0)
5. Indianapolis (0-0)
6. Pittsburgh (0-0)
7. Seattle (0-0)
8. Green Bay (0-0)
9. Philadelphia (0-0)
10. NY Giants (0-0)
I always hate doing the rankings in the first 4 weeks or so. They get so jumbled and the final result is so different. But it's still fun so here they are! New England is still #1. If you go back and replay the Super Bowl over and over, the Pats would win the next 2,000 times. There is no way the Giants win that game again. Therefore, the Patriots are still the best. This s finally the year that Jacksonville overtakes Indy. Indy has a lot of injuries. They did last year too, but this year it bites them. Green Bay is still a playoff team. Brett Favre did a LOT last year, but he had way too much help for the Packers to not come out strong again.

The Hopefuls:
11. Minnesota (0-0)
12. Tampa Bay (0-0)
13. Tennessee (0-0)
14. New Orleans (0-0)
15. Cleveland (0-0)
16. Washington (0-0)
17. Carolina (0-0)
18. NY Jets (0-0)
19. Buffalo (0-0)
20. Houston (0-0)
21. Arizona (0-0)
22. Denver (0-0)
Usually the talent level of this section drops off around 16 or 17. But this is the beginning of the year, and any of these teams can find themselves in the elite this season. Some too will fall to the wannabes. I can too easily see Minnesota in the top 5 if AP stays healthy and they sort out trouble at QB. New Orleans is a team to watch as well as the Jets. Both have top NFL quarterbacks and both of those guys can and have performed greatly. I want to bring up Houston. They will (probably) take last in their division, but they are not a bad team. They can't beat Indy, Jacksonville and Tennessee, however.

The Wannabes:
23. Detroit (0-0)
24. Cincinnati (0-0)
25. Chicago (0-0)
26. Baltimore (0-0)
27. San Francisco (0-0)
28. Oakland (0-0)
29. Miami (0-0)
30. Kansas City (0-0)
31. St. Louis (0-0)
32. Atlanta (0-0)
This part is the hardest for me. I probably relied on last year too much when ranking these teams. Someone will step up and most of these teams should rise at least a bit by the end of the year. I noticed that a big problem for the wannabes is lack of quarterbacks. The top 10 has guys like Brady, Romo, Manning(x2), Hasselbeck, etc. You know, top tier QBs. But the bottom here finds guys like Orton, Flacco, O'Sullivan, Russell, Pennington, Croyle, Ryan, etc. You know, Guys who suck, or at least are unproven. Teams like Kansas City or Atlanta are in rebuilding years and a rise would be surprising if not improbable. One team to watch here is St. Louis. With a healthier team and a new contract for Steven Jackson, they might manage a few more than 3 wins!

I made picks but I won't have them posted for this week. Look for them coming in week 2!