1st ESPN Power Rankings of the Season

[tclg]

I think the dolphins can be very good if they get a competent started at QB

[Icness]

I don't think there's 2 teams worse than the Dolphins. The aging defense is even older, they have no QB, their OL is the worst in football, and their WR corps is in the bottom 5 or so even if Ginn is a solid #2 right away. Nick Saban killed that team and it's going to take years to recover, and a rookie head coach is not a good start.

That "aging" D was top-5 last year and has the reigning DPOY on the roster.

You're kinda under-selling that. Just a bit.

I think they're going to look an awful lot like last year's Raiders, only the Miami DBs aren't as good as what OAK's were. The D will keep them in a lot of games, special teams might steal a win or two, but that offense is potentially as bad as any we've seen in a non-expansion team in a long time. Or Culpepper could come back, they catch lots of breaks and they claw up to 6-7 wins. They do get to play BUF twice and they also get winnable roadies at HOU, WAS, and CLE--all in the first 6 weeks.

[The Rondo Show]

I'm not as sold on the Patriots as most people. Sooner or later they're going to make a mistake with all of their character reaches, and with all the characters on that squad and zero depth at some very key positions, I think there's a lot of potential potholes. No question they're extraordinarily talented though.

Where do they have zero depth at?
QB, sure...but when is the last time Brady missed a game (and the team you want at #1 doesn't have any depth there, either)?

RB; depth looks fine to me. Faulk is an excellent 3rd down/receiving back, Morris is a pretty damn good and underrated backup as well (IMO).

WR; they are just loaded with depth there. Welker is an awesome #3/slot receiver. Caldwell was the #1 WR on the Patriots last year and they weren't far away from winning a Super Bowl (we all know whoever won the AFC Championship game was winning it all). Gaffney came up huge in the playoffs, Jackson didn't do much good last year but he has tons of talent, Brown is a nice #5 guy with how versatile he is.

TE; pretty decent here. Watson has been a minor disappointment (for me, anyways...I expected a huge year last year) but he is still a solid receiving TE. David Thomas doesn't have Watson's athleticism, but he has magnets for hands and looked pretty promising last year (albeit in a small sample size). Brady sucks at receiving, but he is a very good blocking TE.

O-Line; maybe a weakness in depth here. O'Callaghan was pretty good for a rookie picked in the 5th round. Mankins, Koppen and Neal are all very good lineman. Matt Light just sucks.

D-Line; just an amazing young top 3 of Warren-Wilfork-Seymour and Green is a pretty damn good pass rusher off the bench himself. D-Line is fine for depth.

LB's; 5 quality linebackers. How many teams can say that? Seau was a huge surprise last year and a beast against the run. He will not have to be in on passing downs this year, either.

DB's; pretty damn good depth here as well- assuming Samuel isn't dealt a la Branch by Week 2. Samuel, Hobbs, Gay, Meriweather, Wilson, Harrison, Sanders. That is pretty good depth, IMO.

Maybe it is me being a homer, but I really believe the Patriots are actually one of, if not the deepest team(s) in the league. I can see you not liking them as much as most because of the players with "character problems" they've brought in and you don't think it'll work (I don't agree, but we'll see what happens) but I do not see how depth is a problem with the Patriots at all.

[Darth Celtic]

pats should be 1, but bears at 5 is interesting. I'd put them 4.

[UTMCretin]

Luh-mao over the the McGahee comment.

Well, the "stud" line might be a stretch, but I still think he'll do better than Lewis.


BTW, anyone else catch that line about the Vikings being the best offense in the NFC North? I know there's really no competition, but come on

[Darth Celtic]

?? against jackson? I mean, any defense playing the vikings is going to put like 10 in the box to stop the run.