2009 NFL Power Rankings from NSAwins.com – Preseason Edition

NSAwins.com’s Preseason 2009 NFL Power Rankings

RK, LW, TEAM, RECORD
#1 – Pittsburgh Steelers 0-0 The best defense in the league. Bar none. The Steelers deserve to be #1 until beaten.
#2 – New England Patriots 0-0 Tom Brady and the high-powered Pats attack is back. That’s great for the regular season. But is the defense good enough to get it done in the postseason?
#3 – NY Giants 0-0 The Gmen have the best defense in the NFC and that is good enough to win the NFC East. However, the Gmen must find a go-to guy on offense to replace Plaxico Burress.
#4 – San Diego Chargers 0-0 The Chargers should coast to the AFC West title this season. Shawne Merriman returns to lead the defense and the Chargers should be a force this season.
#5 – Philadelphia Eagles 0-0 Forget about Mike Vick. He’s not that good. However, the rest of the Eagles squad is plenty good enough to make another run at the NFC title.
#6 – Indianapolis Colts 0-0 Lots of question marks in Indy, but the constant of Peyton Manning should be enough to make the Colts a threat once again come playoff time.
#7 – Baltimore Ravens 0-0 Last year was no fluke. Joe Flacco and the Ravens are for real. The Ravens have to find a way to beat Pittsburgh, however, after going 0-3 last season.
#8 – Atlanta Falcons 0-0 The Falcons offense should be one of the best in the NFL this season. It’s the defense that must improve if they want to take the next step.
#9 – Arizona Cardinals 0-0 We’ll put the Cards in the #9 spot based on talent alone. However, the Super Bowl loser “jinx” is real and overcoming that has been hard to do for teams more talented than these Cardinals.
#10 – Tennessee Titans 0-0 Kerry Collins got it done last season. It might be asking too much for him to do it again. The Titans could end up being a dissapointment this season.
#11 – New Orleans Saints 0-0 If the Saints defense can just improve enough to be “respectable”, than Drew Brees and the offense can take this team far. The Saints might be this season’s Arizona Cardinals. Keep an eye on them.
#12 – Dallas Cowboys 0-0 Wade Phillips is a clown and Tony Romo still has to prove he is a top flight QB, but the talent is there for the Boys to get back to the playoffs. Winning when they get there is another story.
#13 – Miami Dolphins 0-0 Were the Dolphins a “fluke” last season or are they building something down in South Florida? We’ll find out. Just don’t expect another AFC East title with Brady back in Foxboro.
#14 – Minnesota Vikings 0-0 We are certainly not sold on Brett Favre playing well in Minny. However, Adrian Peterson and a solid Vikings defense will be good enough to get the Vikings in the NFC playoffs.
#15 – Chicago Bears 0-0 Jay Cutler could finally be the QB the Bears have been missing. The problem is the Bears defense isn’t quite as good as it was a few years ago.
#16 – Seattle Seahawks 0-0 Expect the Seahawks to be solid in 2009 as they were ravaged by injuries in 2008. Don’t be surprised if they win the NFC West.
#17 – Buffalo Bills 0-0 The addition of TO should help an offense that has been brutal for years now. The Bills lost a lot of close games in 2008, but TO should help change a few of those “L’s” into “W’s” in 2009.
#18 – NY Jets 0-0 Jets fans are delusional if they think this team is ready to contend with the big boys in the AFC. Having said that, an AFC playoff berth isn’t too far fetched.
#19 – Green Bay Packers 0-0 Aaron Rodgers should be outstanding this season. The shadow of Brett Favre is now officially gone and we expect Rodgers to be a pro bowl player this season.
#20 – Carolina Panthers 0-0 The Panthers got exposed in last season’s NFC playoff loss to Arizona. They weren’t that good. Expect Carolina to struggle this season, as Fox has never been able to put two playoff seasons back-to-back together.
#21 – Houston Texans 0-0 Not sure when this team will finally make the “jump”. Been waiting for a couple years now. Expect the same ol’, same ol’ from this team again. Mediocrity.
#22 – Washington Redskins 0-0 This team has been a joke for years now. Don’t expect much different this season. Jason Campbell is taking this team nowhere.
#23 – Cincinnati Bengals 0-0 Carson Palmer gets the Bengals this high. Marvin Lewis hasn’t gotten the job done in Cincinnati and this could be his last season at the helm.
#24 – San Francisco 49ers 0-0 Not sold on Mike Singletary as a head coach. The whole Crabtree holdout has hurt too. Don’t expect much from the 49ers this season.
#25 – Oakland Raiders 0-0 The Raiders defense really is not that bad so that will enable them to stay competitive in most games. It’s the offense that is brutal. Until that offense improves, the Raiders will remain one of the bottom 10 teams in the NFL.
#26 – Denver Broncos 0-0 What a disaster the Broncos have been this offseason. The trade of Cutler and suspension of Marshall have made them a joke. Josh McDaniels might be in over his head.
#27 – St Louis Rams 0-0 The Rams are a far cry from their “Greatest Show on Turf” days of the early 2000’s. Expect another terrible season from the Rams in 2009.
#28 – Kansas City Chiefs 0-0 The Chiefs made the right move hiring Scott Pioli to run the show. However, it will take more than a year to get this mess of a team fixed.
#29 – Jacksonville Jaguars 0-0 It’s time for Jack Del Rio to get fired down in Jacksonville. He is simply not the answer. The Jags will be lucky to win 4 games this season.
#30 – Cleveland Browns 0-0 What were the Browns thinking hiring Eric Mangini? The Bill Belichick wannabe is nothing short of a fraud. He will have this team quitting on him by October.
#31 – Tampa Bay Bucs 0-0 This team is going to be terrible. If anyone thought getting rid of Jon Gruden was the answer to fix this team’s problems they were wrong.
#32 – Detroit Lions 0-0 When you go 0-16 you deserve to start off the rankings at #32. Having said that, don’t be surprised when the Lions win 5 or more games this season under new coach Jim Schwartz.