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Ahh how a year changes things ... #32 last year this time, #8 now

I know it doesn't mean anything, but it still makes me warm and fuzzy inside ... and no, that's not the leftover whiskey from yesterday talking either

I agree, we should not be above the Steelers. Until we beat them, they're better than us. Even if every player on their current roster retired tomorrow and they had to sign players from the Arena league to replace them, they're still better than us....until we prove it.

You wrote that?

Wow, I glanced at the team order before reading that you wrote this up yourself, and I pretty much agree w/ it. Good enough for March, anyway.

I think Oakland is too high and hate to say that I think Cinci is a little too low. Other than that, it's about how I'd rank it.

You actually spent time and effort to write this up? Man some of you folks are really bored.

just as good as any pro sports writer....

It's that time of the year I guess.. and with no picks until the 4th round, it's even gonna be more quiet around here...

Kardiac, nice job.

Yeah, so I got bored. But thought it'd be interesting to see how teams have changed (on paper anyway) since the beginning of free agency. I'm sure this will all change after the draft.

Great job!

As DnD said, there's not much to argue with there.

About Tampa Bay I think it's worth mentioning Cadillac.
I also think St. Louis should be ranked higher, they were destroyed by injuries last year not a lack of talent.
Not that it matters at all but the Bills have Edwards not Green.
Otherwise I thought it was a great post, thanks for putting in the effort.

Nice job, Kardiac.

Don't agree w/all of them, nor should I. However, I liked the way you rationalized your order. Good job.

Doh!! I meant Trent Edwards, not Green. And I was sure that I had proofread it several times. Oh well, now you know it wasn't done by a professional. Wait, those dolts make mistakes all the time. Sure wish I could get paid like they do. Anyway, thanks for all the props. Was hoping it could spark a little more discussion. Perhaps my rankings weren;t controversial enough. I should have put us first.

On paper our offense is better than last year, all we need to do is get a defense and experience across the board and we should be earning the top 10 spots every year.

Top 10? If our offense is as potent as (or moreso than) it was last year and the acquisitions we've made on defense pan out, then I think we should scratch the Top 5. This season will be VERY interesting.

Good post. Cannot give much controversy to the post as you gave your opinion and reasons for why you ranked as you did.
I think your rankings are pretty much into where most people, at least we Browns fans hope that we are ranked.
We all hope everything on the Browns jells and falls into place and we can climb the power rankings even higher and compete with the elite in the league, not just our division.
We as Browns fans hope we can be undefeated and in the top 5 by the middle of the season.
GO BROWNS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saw this on yahoo sports today:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=cr-rankings032408&prov=yhoo&type=lgns


Don’t believe the hype

By Charles Robinson, Yahoo! Sports Mar 24, 5:58 pm EDT

A quarter billion in potential contract dollars hasn’t bought the Oakland Raiders respect.

Despite an astronomical potential payout of more than $250 million in offseason deals, the Raiders are still bogged down in the bottom third of the league rankings. This despite adding a quartet of key players via trade and free agency – DeAngelo Hall (at a potential $70 million), Javon Walker ($55 million), Gibril Wilson ($39 million) and Kwame Harris ($14 million) – and retaining their own talent in Tommy Kelly ($50.5 million), Justin Fargas ($12 million) and Nnamdi Asomugha ($9.8 million via exclusive franchise tag).

In reality, those seven players won’t collect anything near that quarter billion in possible earnings (a sum that rivals the Gross Domestic Product of Micronesia). The lack of guaranteed dollars at the back end of NFL contracts will translate into a number maybe half that size. But at the very least, the mythical money bought the Raiders headlines.

But hype doesn’t translate when it comes to the offseason power rankings. With that in mind, this is where the league’s 32 teams stand going into the NFL draft.

1. Indianapolis Colts (13-3) – No major defections. Forget Peyton Manning and company for a moment. If healthy next year, this should be a very, very good young defensive team.

2. New England Patriots (16-0) – Fernando Bryant should be a nice little reclamation project. But losing talent in that secondary year after year is going to hurt this defense (haven’t we heard that before?).

3. Dallas Cowboys (13-3) – Zach Thomas still has something left in the tank and will help this defense in the middle of the field. Tony Romo needs to get this team over the hump, because Terrell Owens isn’t getting any younger (he turns 35 this season).

4. San Diego Chargers (11-5) – Other than Michael Turner, all of the free agent losses will be replaced with better talent internally. And quietly, linebacker Derek Smith could turn out to be one of the steals of the offseason.

5. Jacksonville Jaguars (11-5) – It remains to be seen whether Jerry Porter can be the No. 1 wideout that the Jaguars seem to think he is. And Jacksonville better hope that parting ways with Marcus Stroud and Bobby McCray doesn’t come back to haunt the franchise.

6. Cleveland Browns (10-6) – The additions of Shaun Rogers, Corey Williams, Donte Stallworth and Rex Hadnot should make the Browns far better. Anything less than competing at the top of the AFC is a disappointment.

7. New York Giants (10-6) – Giants fans seem to think last season’s Super Bowl win translates into automatic success in 2008. But the division is still brutal, and some players tend to slack off the year after getting a ring. Don’t be surprised if turmoil returns again with a slow start.

8. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6) – Mewelde Moore was an underrated pickup and should do very well in this offense. But until some of the young linebackers blossom, this defense won’t be consistent.

9. Seattle Seahawks (10-6) – Julius Jones’ star will rise again with Seattle. But make no mistake, time is running short for building blocks like Matt Hasselbeck and Walter Jones. If Seattle can’t get it done this year, a period of transition looms.

10. Green Bay Packers (13-3) – The pressure is on Aaron Rodgers to show he can keep the offense at an elite level, and Justin Harrell has some shoes to fill, too. And how long before Al Harris and Charles Woodson hit the cornerback wall that arrives in the early to mid 30s?

11. Tennessee Titans (10-6) – Other than adding Algae Crumpler, this offense doesn’t look any better than last season. And it was worrisome to see so many serviceable players depart in the offseason (Antwan Odom, Travis LaBoy, Chris Brown, Jacob Bell and Randy Starks).

12. New Orleans Saints (7-9) – It’s time for Reggie Bush to show he’s more than an over-hyped third-down back. And if that defense can get the most out of some good offseason additions (Jonathan Vilma, Dan Morgan, Bobby McCray and Randall Gay), that unit could be vastly improved.

13. Houston Texans (8-8) – There wasn’t much noise in the offseason, so improvement will have to come from a lot of the talented younger players who made strides down the stretch. But free agent pickup Chris Brown could be a very, very good player in this zone blocking scheme.

14. Washington Redskins (9-7) – This was undoubtedly the most underwhelming offseason ever under Dan Snyder. But maybe that’s a good thing. Where this team goes hinges on what Jim Zorn can do with Jason Campbell, plain and simple.

15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7) – A lot of money was spent in the offseason on a lot of aging veterans who appear to be on the downside of their careers. But does anyone really expect guys like Warrick Dunn, Marques Douglas and Jeff Faine to turn this into an NFC powerhouse?

16. Philadelphia Eagles (8-8) – The Asante Samuel pickup was a splash, but it’s going to take the development of the young guys in the front seven (Brodrick Bunkley, Chris Gocong, Omar Gaither, etc.) to move this franchise back into the NFC elite.

17. Minnesota Vikings (8-8) – Madieu Williams and Bernard Berrian were quality pickups, even if they were overpriced. But Bryant McKinnie is in trouble again, and there still isn’t an answer at quarterback, so this still looks like a middling team.

18. Arizona Cardinals (8-8) – Larry Fitzgerald’s jacked up contract translated into a pretty mundane offseason. The losses of Bryant Johnson and Calvin Pace outweigh the addition of Travis LaBoy. And Matt Leinart is going to feel a lot of pressure to perform this season.

19. Buffalo Bills (7-9) – The Bills could be a playoff team with the return of Paul Posluszny and the additions of Marcus Stroud and Kawika Mitchell. But you have to be able to score to advance in the AFC, and Trent Edwards has a lot of development ahead.

20. Denver Broncos (7-9) – The additions of Boss Bailey and Marlon McCree didn’t blow anyone away. What Mike Shanahan needs is some significant pass rushing contributions from 2007 draft picks Jarvis Moss and Tim Crowder.

21. St. Louis Rams (3-13) – Just getting through training camp healthy would be big step forward for this team. Josh Brown gives some consistency in the kicking game, and the defense has some nice young talent on the line. But a healthy offense is pivotal.

22. New York Jets (4-12) – Alan Faneca, Jesse Chatman and Calvin Pace are all respectable additions. The jury is still out on Damien Woody, Kris Jenkins and Bubba Franks. But if Kellen Clemens can’t turn the corner, the Jets are in for another long season.

23. Chicago Bears (8-8) – Rex Grossman and Cedric Benson are still huge weaknesses on offense, not to mention the line. And Marty Booker and Brandon Lloyd aren’t going to scare any of the contenders in the NFC. At least the defense retained Lance Briggs and should be healthy in 2008.

24. Oakland Raiders (4-12) – DeAngelo Hall and Nnamdi Asomugha give the Raiders a nice veteran tandem at cornerback, and Gibril Wilson should be a serviceable safety. But all eyes are on JaMarcus Russell, who should like Drew Carter as a deep threat.

25. Cincinnati Bengals (7-9) – Antwan Odom was a nice little addition, but there wasn’t much else that moved the needle in free agency. The failure to land Shaun Rogers or Dewayne Robertson hurt. Growing headache Chad Johnson should be dangled for more defensive line help.

26. Carolina Panthers (7-9) – D.J. Hackett and Landon Johnson should be two very solid veteran additions. But the offseason departures (Kris Jenkins, Dan Morgan, Drew Carter, Justin Hartwig, DeShaun Foster and Mike Wahle) make this feel like a team in transition.

27. Detroit Lions (7-9) – A handful of aging players on the decline (Chuck Darby, Brian Kelly and Dwight Smith) aren’t going to transform a bad defense. The Lions should still be able to score some points, but there are no signs of pulling out of mediocrity.

28. San Francisco 49ers (5-11) – If Alex Smith is healthy (and that’s a titanic “if”), Mike Martz should be able to get some mileage out of this offense. Particularly with the additions of Bryant Johnson and Isaac Bruce. But when is Mike Nolan’s defense going to turn a corner?

29. Baltimore Ravens (5-11) – Steve McNair looked like he was done last season, and drafting a quarterback in the first round isn’t going to help this franchise in the short term. Elements of the defense are getting old. It looks like time for a multiyear rebuild.

30. Kansas City Chiefs (4-12) – With a free agency period that netted some serviceable veterans (Devard Darling and Demorrio Williams), the draft is going to be important. Could Herm Edwards be angling for Matt Ryan to buy himself some more time to rebuild?

31. Miami Dolphins (1-15) – I’d rather have Bill Parcells coaching my team than sitting in the front office and tinkering with the roster. Too bad he has the No. 1 pick in a flat draft. Don’t count out Vernon Gholston in that spot.

32. Atlanta Falcons (4-12) – Michael Turner and Erik Coleman were both nice pickups, but this franchise is in total rebuilding mode. You get the feeling the whole Michael Vick debacle is going to hang over this franchise far, far beyond this decade.

I think its funny that the Super Bowl champion NYG are ranked 7th.

Why is it funny? Lots of changes happen every off season. How many teams have won the Superbowl back to back or even made it back to the game?

I agree with Jules...they were a 10-6 team...same as us, who had a great playoff run.....so I find it perfectly reasonable to see them ranked at number 7

Just the fact that the team that finished at the top of the heap the last season is relegated to the bottom portion of the top-ten. With a team that didn't even make the playoffs ranked ahead of them.

While it's fun to see us up there, until those new defensive players show what we're expecting on the field and we get the results we all know we need to see, I gotta go with the title of the article:

Don't believe the hype.

I like reading that we are near the top, it's sure beats reading how bad we are.

But let's hope it translates on the field.

All in all I can wait for the season, I'm hoping for a nice long hot summer!!

Quote:

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I agree. I got sick of hearing about how terrible we were...and in all fairness, we were. But it got to be like chinese water torture.

Now, I love hearing how we're contenders for the AFC crown. I can never hear that enough.

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I know, it really sucked that we were that bad, there were times I down right ingnored the paper, sportscenter and turned the channel off the news when sports came on.

Hopefully that's behind us and we can be a dynasty like team and be a top the AFC north more times than not in the next 15 years.

Glad to see the Browns ranked in the top 10. By seasons end, the Browns will be within the top 5 and the Steelers will be lower than 15. This is the season that the "expansion franchise" tag gets put to rest.

I'd put the Giants in the top 5, I don't know where specifically but,

Eli has shown that he is the leader of that team, and should translate to their main problem, the Receivers who had a hard time holding onto the ball last year. If they have confidence in their QB they have confidence in themselves. The defense still has their main leader in Strahan so whomever they lost it really won't be terrible.