NFL Power Rankings: Pre-Season Edition

The NFL Regular Season starts this Thursday with the Kick-off game in Green Bay featuring the Saints and the Packers. It’s a tough test right out of the gate for the reigning Super Bowl champions as New Orleans has reloaded on defense and their high-powered offense will be as good as ever. It’s a marquee match-up featuring two of the NFC’s power teams and two of the league’s best quarterbacks.

With the season starting this week, I wanted to go on record with a power ranking list of all 32 NFL teams. This list is put together based on who I think could beat the teams listed below them on a regular basis … not on star power, not on past results. Who could beat who, in my opinion. Here goes …

NFL POWER RANKINGS (as of Sept. 4)

1.       Green Bay – The Super Bowl champs are No. 1 until somebody beats them.

2.       New England – The Hoodie adds Ocho and Albert. AFC Superpower remains strong.

3.       Philadelphia – The Dream Team needs solid line play and linebackers to step up.

4.       New Orleans – Brees is still one of the best, and the D has been addressed.

5.       Pittsburgh – Big Ben, Troy and James are back. Watch out AFC.

6.       New York Jets – Rex’s mouth never stops. The O is key to repeating.

7.       Atlanta – Julio Jones adds to the Falcons’ offensive firepower.

8.       San Diego – If the Chargers get the special teams figured out, watch out.

9.       Baltimore – The defense is aging but still tough. Flacco continues to develop.

10.   Houston – If Wade fixes the defense, the Texans will finally make the playoffs.

11.   Indianapolis – Peyton’s neck issue pushes them down the list.

12.   Dallas – Romo is back; the offensive line and secondary will be key to improvement.

13.   Kansas City – Charles is ready to break out, and the D is improving.

14.   St. Louis – 4-0 pre-season has this team believing; Rams likely win the NFC West.

15.   Chicago – Cutler has to rebound in order to keep up with division foes.

16.   New York Giants – G-Men are battling the injury bug. Eli has to cut the interceptions.

17.   Detroit – If Stafford stays healthy and the D fulfills the hype, a wildcard is probable.

18.   Tampa Bay – A young, talented team takes a mini-step back in a tough division.

19.   Oakland – Raiders need to win games outside the division this year.

20.   Arizona – Kolb is a major upgrade, but the defense has big holes.

21.   Cleveland – Colt McCoy is the real deal and Hillis repeats, but weapons are needed.

22.   Tennessee – CJ2K returns to form after a holdout, but the defense continues to slip.

23.   Buffalo – Gailey gets the offense rolling, but a tough division keeps them down.

24.   Minnesota – McNabb is better, but he's not enough to overcome major defections.

25.   San Francisco – Love Harbaugh and Willis, but they may be in the Luck sweepstakes.

26.   Seattle – For the life of me, I cannot figure out the Tavaris Jackson signing.

27.   Miami – Henne gets one more chance. Brandon Marshall hopes he delivers.

28.   Jacksonville – Gabbert will be under center by Week 8. See ya, Jack Del Rio.

29.   Washington – Shanahan’s Last Stand in DC … Beck will not be enough to save him.

30.   Carolina – Cam struggles with big-league coverage; the D keeps them in games.

31.   Denver – Orton survives Tebow-mania, but the defense cannot improve fast enough.

32.   Cincinnati – Mike Brown strikes again. The Bungles return.

Here are ESPN's pre-season rankings, too.

I’d love to see your rankings. Tell me where and why my list is all messed up.

Until next time, thanks for reading.

Steve