A time to rejoice is quickly approaching. For all of us who love football more than life itself, some great news: Training camps are starting! If there is one real good thing about hot mid-summer days, it’s watching the big boys of the NFL suit up and hit the field to get ready for another season. Here we all start 0-0, and everyone is in first place.

What the teams do with it from there is anyone’s guess, and speaking of, here is my educated guess on where all 32 teams currently stand in the power rankings. Let the great debates being as to who does not belong where. It’s all good it’s football, the ultimate forum for who knows more then who about sports. So, as I always say, sit back and relax, read and enjoy, and share your thoughts!

In order from bottom to top (In my opinion I remind you)

32. St Louis Rams: Sam Bradford will learn the hard way how to be an NFL QB, very hard. This team lacks everywhere, but they are building. How does Steven Jackson wake up every morning knowing he comes to this?

31. Cleveland Browns: After many attempts to try and move forward, they have decided to step back, rebuild, and reload. A list of failed QBs come in, and no real threats on either side, with the exception of Josh Cribbs, but it has a future.

30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Josh Freeman at QB showed flashes last year, but there are a lot of holes to fill. No big receivers and oft-injured runners lead a weak offense. Defense shows flashes, but very quick flashes.

29. Detroit Lions: To be out of the 30′s is an accomplishment. They are heading in the right direction with a good young QB, young backs, and a top 5 receiver. Defense needs to show up, but they do look better. Still 4th best in their division however, and 1 road win would be nice.

28. Buffalo Bills: The years of draft picks that “could pan out” does not seem to be working. Very little certainty at QB does not help. RB spot is also tough with 3 talented guys, but no true leader. The defense plays up at times, but when it is down, it is way down.

27. Oakland Raiders: How many NFL teams want to hear the phrase “we improved at QB by adding Jason Campbell”? None, except the Raiders. They do have good young WR prospects, but RB is an issue and the defense can’t stop the run, still.

26. Kansas City Chiefs: Arrowhead was once considered the toughest place to play in the NFL. So why did the home team go 1-7 there last year? Charlie Weis comes in as the new offensive coordinator, but there is alot to learn with this team, and it is far from great right now. Was Matt Cassel really a good choice at QB? This will be the year to tell.

25. Seattle Seahawks: Pete Carroll takes over a team with some question marks. Some big name players will start camp injured and we have no idea how long QB Matt Hasselbeck can hold up. Who is his backup? Charlie Whitehurst, with zero lifetime passes. Pete may be begging for a college job again soon. Justin Forsett at RB leads a good cast of young guys, but they are still very green.

24. Jacksonville Jaguars: Yes they beat bad teams, but looked bad against good teams. This team had its fate in their own hands last season, and quietly choked. Still no prime-time WRs, and a slow and weak defense. Maurice Jones-Drew can’t do it all, though he tries.

23. New York Giants: The first of the great debate slots here. This team just got old out of nowhere. Eli Manning forgets who his main targets are at times, and Brandon Jacobs huge size seems to be making him slower and less effective. Injuries, retirements, and player displeasure makes this team a tough sell for me to predict 7 wins. The Giants are a far cry from the Super Bowl team of a few years back.

22. Chicago Bears: Mike Martz may be in at offensive coordinator, but his system takes time to learn. The once feared defense has gotten old, and the leader, Brian Urlacher is always one injury away from walking off the field. They do, however have young, fast receivers, they just need the cocky QB to gain some focus. A lot of off-season money was spent, but not a lot of it was ground-breaking. Only if Peppers can be anything like his old self does any of it matter.

21. Washington Redskins: Very nice to add QB Donovan McNabb, but not so nice to see what he has at WR. Devin Thomas could emerge, but outside of that it’s still TE Chris Cooley and WR Santana Moss, which is not much. They spent a ton on Albert Haynesworth last year, and he has rewarded them by holding out. As always some nice names, but Mike Shanahan may be in over his head here.

20. Carolina Panthers: Young and inexperienced QBs and some big losses on defense hurts. Still tough at RB, but at WR Steve Smith seems to be hurt way more than healthy. Going 0-4 against the AFC does not help a bit either. This may finally be John Fox’s swan song as coach.

19. Tennessee Titans: Having the best RB in the game is a help for sure. Having a mess at QB and no star WRs does not. The Titans have some good players on defense, but the offense is a different story. You never really know which team will show up. Despite a hot run at the end last year, they are still a .500 club.

18. Miami Dolphins: Adding Brandon Marshall is huge to help young QB Chad Henne. Losing LB Channing Crowder for the year is brutal for the defense. This season will tell what we have here, a big time club, or an also-ran. The Wildcat offense could take a step back if Ronnie Brown is not healthy. If anything the Dolphins will be exciting.

17. San Francisco 49ers: Can Alex Smith be a successful quarterback? The Niners have a good group of players coming of age, and a good coach in Mike Singletary. A 5-1 division record sure does help their chances of making the playoffs this year. If this is not the year for San Fran, next year should be.

16. Philadelphia Eagles: The Kolb Era begins, and he has the talent to work with on offense. The defense has some holes but they added some help at LB and the D line. Andy Reid and his coaching staff will prove their worth this year, good or bad. It is a make or break year for the future of this team.

15. Atlanta Falcons: Head coach Mike Smith makes this team work hard and they get good results. Matt Ryan needs to stay healthy and he has good WRs and RBs at his disposal. The Falcons also benefit from a division with some suspect teams. Could easily be another 10+ win season.

14. Denver Broncos: We heard it all about Kyle Orton at QB, no proven RBs etc. but Josh McDaniels is making believers out of his team. The Broncos have an improving defense and can move the ball on the ground. Only question is how smart of a move was it to trade Brandon Marshall? They do have some speed, and will need to figure out how to use it quick.

13. Arizona Cardinals: Kurt Warner may have retired, but this team still has top receivers and improving RBs. Last season the defense showed they can make big plays and score off of turnovers. A lot of the success rest on Matt Leinart at QB, but I think he has enough talent to play a shorter more slow paced offense, and the talent to move the ball.

12. New England Patriots: Still around from the glory days: Tom Brady at QB, Randy Moss at WR and the clever Bill Belichick at coach. Gone from those days is a defense they can trust, and veteran leaders. The defense is younger now, but has some good looking players, but it is not putting fear into many opponents. Moss is in a contract year, as is Brady, which should make it interesting. As always the RB position is a week-to-week guess. They also start the year without Mr. Everything, Wes Welker.

11. Houston Texans: Yes, the Houston Texans! Patience may finally pay off for head coach Gary Kubiak and company this year. Matt Schaub showed that he can run a big time offense. Andre Johnson is the best WR in the game and at RB rookie Ben Tate will help the load. Some good compliments at other skill positions and a nice defense with young playmakers make this the deepest Texans team in the franchise’s history. I don’t feel I’m going out a limb when I say this team should make the playoffs.

10. Pittsburgh Steelers: No Big Ben to start the year at QB does pose a problem, but the Steelers style is going back to the smash mouth ways of old. A big bruising RB in Rashard Mendenhall as well as big tight ends and some speed in WR Mike Wallace make the Steelers look promising. Of course we cannot look past the still very tough defense. Some will pass on this team, but they may be sorry.

9. Cincinnati Bengals: Last year does not seem to be a fluke to me. The defense got better each week, and they have found some new blood on offense to make plays. The addition of WR Antonio Bryant can only help Chad Ochocinco stay productive, and with some luck Carson Palmer can start airing out again. The AFC Central is becoming the best division in football, so I give high praise to its defending champs.

8. Green Bay Packers: Aaron Rodgers is looking like the real deal, and they have a great supporting cast. RB Ryan Grant looked more like the Grant of a few years back and found some pep in his step again. Late in the season the 3-4 defense started to find its way, and now will be that much more matured. The Packers will have to find a way to beat the Vikings to have better success, but they look good coming in.

7. Baltimore Ravens: Ray Rice proved his worth, and now QB Joe Flacco has a WR worth throwing too in Anquan Boldin. The defense still shows it can find the ball, but safety Ed Reed needs to put contract squabbles behind and be on the field. This looks like a team that will be well coached and the mix of vets and up-and-comers may finally be perfected. This is a AFC championship contender for sure.

6. New York Jets: Adding more pro-bowlers to an already great secondary was huge. They also added talent on offense in Santonio Holmes, but a suspension will keep him off the first 4 weeks. The Jets have arguably the best offensive line in football, which will help new starting RB Shonn Greene flourish. Coach Rex Ryan has this team poised and QB Mark Sanchez showed as a rookie last year that he is ready for center stage. This Jets team looks formidable in the AFC and should take the crown of division champs away from the Patriots.

5. New Orleans Saints. It is always very hard to repeat as Super Bowl Champs, so I knock the Saints down a peg or 2. They still have a great offense and serviceable defense, but everyone wants to take out the champs, so it will not come easy. The health at RB remains crucial to the success of this team.

4. Minnesota Vikings: yes I am basing this on Brett Favre’s return and his ability to play as he did last year. Adrian Peterson now has fresh legs in the big rookie Toby Gerhardt to back hm up, and we all know how tough this defense is. One play either way could have sent this team to the Super Bowl last year, and they have a lot of talent. Only thing in the Vikings’ way is roster certainty. It should be a big year.

3. San Diego Chargers: Even Norv Turner can look like a good coach, huh? They did have another playoff meltdown last year, but Philip Rivers shows he can be a leader. L.T. is no longer here, so now they go back to speed at RB and they have the size at WR. This team needs to play 60 minutes of defense every week to be huge. I have them here at 3, but as always the Chargers are the most capable team of dropping 20 spots easily.

2. Indianapolis Colts: Scary when you think that Peyton Manning may have found 2 more quality options at WR. Reggie Wayne is still tops and now Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie have stepped up. 2 skilled RBs and the game’s best tight end help too. Defense is always the question here, but it still has good speed and does not get killed deep. This team remains the gold standard of the AFC until a team comes around to prove otherwise.

1. Dallas Cowboys: It may not sit well with many, but the Cowboys are ready to field a very talented team. It is hard to find a weakness. Good WRs with speed and size, 3 very good RBs and a defense packed with great players. Owner Jerry Jones has to be thrilled at the possible year this team can have. It mostly lies on QB Tony Romo to play like he has the potential to do, and the sky is the limit. Going into camp this team has to be a Super Bowl favorite, if not really close. It pains me personally, but I think the Cowboys are back!

If you’d like to hear anything else from me on topics or ideas I can be reached at phillyphan1971@yahoo.com

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It has been four seasons since an NFL betting team other than the San Diego Chargers have claimed the top spot in the AFC West, and heading in to 2010-11, it doesn’t appear as though there are any legitimate contenders to end that streak.

This year will be very different in California however, as for the first time in a decade running back LaDainian Tomlinson will not be leading the charge in Qualcomm Stadium. After nine years of record-setting production, age and future salary cap concerns kept the Chargers’ all-time leading rusher from resigning long term with the club, causing Tomlinson to take his talents to the Big Apple where he is now employed by the New York Jets. The move completes the transition from a rushing-based offense to an air-it-out attack, a change that was inevitable given the talents of quarterback Phillip Rivers and his receivers. Vincent Jackson, Malcolm Floyd, and tight end Antonio Gates are all taller than 6’4 with speed to burn, and rarely does a ball thrown in any of their directions touch the ground.

San Diego won 11 straight games to end the regular season at 13-3 in 2009-10, but a loss to the Jets in the playoffs was proof that while the offense has arrived, head coach Norv Turner’s troops will have to be much better on the defensive side of the ball. The keys to better defending will be the ability to replace departed defensive tackle Jamal Williams in the middle, while creating a more consistent pass rush, which is where former Pro Bowler Shawne Merriman will have to rebound as early as the NFL betting preseason.

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The Denver Broncos finished second to the Chargers a year ago, missing out on the betting postseason for a fourth straight year despite finishing .500. The fact that head coach Josh McDaniels was able to keep his team above a losing record despite being in his first year with the team, and the considerable turnover that took place, is a testament to that he was ready to make the leap from coordinator to top dog. McDaniels and company will be hard-pressed just to maintain their eight-win mark in 2010-11, especially considering they dropped 13 spots in offensive rankings from 2008 to 2009, and lost top receiver Brandon Marshall and top tight end Tony Scheffler.

The Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs have combined to average just 4.0 betting NFL wins per season over the past three years, and while both have made changes that on paper seem to be for the better, it is hard to project either being much better in 2010-11. The Raiders finally cut ties with former first overall pick quarterback Jamarcus Russell, replacing him with former Washington Redskins’ starter Jason Campbell. Owner Al Davis and company feels this is a team on the verge of something special, but as has been the case with this franchise over the years, it will have to be proven on the field. The Chiefs will be in year two of the Todd Haley/Matt Cassell experiment, but with a lack of major upgrades to the roster this past offseason, it will be difficult for this team to be much better than the one that lost seven of their first eight games en route to a 4-12 season a year ago.

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We are two rounds and eight games down in the NFL playoffs. Once again the NFL saved a weekend of lackluster games with a fantastic Sunday finale. Who would have thought that the San Diego Chargers and the New York Jets would provide the most intrigue on a weekend that featured the New Orleans Saints, Arizona Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, and Indianapolis Colts?

Arizona Cardinals vs. New Orleans Saints - As an NFL fan, this game was a bit of a disappointment. Like many, I was fooled last week into believing that the Cardinals may be a team of destiny. After shredding arguably the best defense in the NFC, the Cardinals marched into New Orleans and were less competitive with the Saints than either the Detroit Lions or the Washington Redskins during the regular season.

The headline of this game was the coming out party for Reggie Bush. After a disappointing NFL career, Reggie Bush finally did what anyone that watched him at USC expected him to do in the NFL. Bush was a game-changer this weekend and became the nuclear weapon on a team full of weapons. Bush made life a lot easier for the Saints by returning an 83-yard punt for a touchdown as the Cardinals just watched him flash by them en route to the end zone.

Many skeptics were concerned about the way the Saints finished the season. After winning 13 games in a row, the Saints were losers of their last three. Taking a page out of the New England Patriots book, the Saints couldn’t have opened the game any worse. Tim Hightower broke off a 70-yard touchdown run on the Cardinals first offensive play. Unlike the Patriots, the Saints were able to rebound and counter the touchdown with 21 points of their own in the first quarter.

The game just kept getting uglier for the Cardinals. Kurt Warner was nailed and was taken out for a few series. Cardinals’ defensive players Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Antrel Rolle each left the game due to injuries. The Cardinals were inept on both sides of the ball. It was pure and total domination by the New Orleans Saints.

Drew Brees said something interesting after the game. When asked about coming into the game with three losses, he said it was part of their plan that nobody would understand who didn’t play on the team. That was a very interesting statement to me, which has been surprisingly ignored by most of the media. If that was truly the plan, that may be one of the biggest high risk-high reward plans in NFL history. Regardless, the Saints will host the Vikings next week and look better than ever returning to the NFC title game for the first time in several years.

Ironically most of the talk following this game centered on Kurt Warner. Warner will play the role of Brett Favre this season as the quarterback who may or may not retire. Warner has said that it will be a fast decision. Warner has one year left on his contract. I think this guy is the ultimate competitor. Remember, unlike a lot of NFL star quarterbacks Warner started his career late. So as wealthy as Warner is, one more year would mean a lot more to him financially than most quarterbacks. Warner also had years where he made backup QB money. I think between the finances and the way he went out in New Orleans, he comes back to finish out his contract with less drama than Favre.

Baltimore Ravens at Indianapolis Colts - Very rarely do all number one NFL seeds make it out of the divisional round with wins. I picked the Baltimore Ravens to be that team to pull off the upset. Boy was I wrong!

There isn’t a whole lot to say about this game. The Colts looked better than they have in months. The Colts were on fire and unstoppable on both sides of the ball. It is funny to me that every year around this time that the critics always say how terrible the Colts rushing defense is coming into the playoffs, yet most of the time they do just fine. The Colts held a team to three points that just scored 33 the week before. The Colts held one of the best rushing teams in the league to 87 rushing yards total. This is not the same turnstile rushing defense that Indy has taken with them into the postseason in past years.

The Ravens just had nothing on offense. I like the Ravens a lot. However, this is a team that is old on all sides of the ball. Some of these guys may play great during the regular season, but I don’t think they can sustain that level of play in weeks 18 and 19 in January. I hate to say it but I see a couple of transition years for the Ravens before they get back here. As great as Ray Rice is and will be, he can’t do it alone. Even the great Barry Sanders couldn’t do it himself.

Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings - If there was a main-event going into this weekend’s games, this was it. The Dallas Cowboys were the hottest team in the NFC and looked unstoppable. The Vikings have struggled off and on in recent weeks and looked like a team that would be taken apart by Romo and the Dallas offense. I wrote in my blog last week that as great as the Cowboys looked recently, most of their wins came against teams that were nowhere near as good as the Vikings. Well, I was right about something this week.

As much as I hate blowouts, I love seeing the Cowboys get blown out. If there is anything better than seeing the Cowboys get blown out, it is hearing them whine about it like a bunch of babies. Keith Brookings and Wade Phillips look like the biggest babies in football today after complaining about the Vikings running up the score. I guess they had no problems with the Cowboys scoring a touchdown last week in the third quarter when they were up 27-7 on the Philadelphia Eagles right?

All of the talk when Brett Favre signed with the Minnesota Vikings was whether he could last a full season. Not only has he lasted, he has gotten better as the season progressed. Favre threw four touchdowns yesterday. How big is that? Brett Favre had never thrown four touchdowns in a playoff game in his entire career. Favre is also the oldest NFL quarterback to win a playoff game. Keep in mind that unlike Drew Brees or Peyton Manning, Favre never sat in his final regular season game. Like him or not, what the guy has done this season is just simply remarkable.

Lost in all of the Favre talk was the terrible job by the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys actually had some shots in the first half of the game. However, the Vikings rushed and confused Tony Romo throughout the game thus containing the offense. Romo was never able to get comfortable and looked skiddish as the game moved on. The old postseason mistake-prone Tony Romo came to Minnesota as Romo coughed up the ball several times for a total for four turnovers between fumbles and an interception. I don’t think I have ever seen a defense get into the head of a quarterback like what the Vikings did to Romo.

Like the other NFC game, the story here is more about the losers than the winners. Once again head coach Wade Phillips will find himself on the hot seat. Better coaches have gotten fired for worse in the NFL. Phillips has a team option for next year that is in limbo right now. Jerry Jones has said all season that he would wait until the season was over to evaluate the coach. It will be very interesting to see if their rout at home last week will save his job.

Tony Romo will also enter the 2010-2011 NFL season with more criticism than ever. As much as people like to say he has gotten rid of the December-January jinx, he really hasn’t. Winning one post season game in five years against the Philadelphia Eagles at home while nice, is nothing that will get him into the Hall of Fame. I don’t think that the Cowboys make any kind of change next year. However, I think anything less than an appearance in the NFC title game next season will be enough to get Jerry thinking about the following season. Now that is a lot of pressure for a quarterback!

New York Jets vs. San Diego Chargers – I apologize to New York Jets fans. I called the Jets a fraudulent team a few weeks ago. In looking back, if it wasn’t for the Colts sitting their starters, the Jets would not have made the playoffs. At the same time, it doesn’t matter how you get there, it matters what you do when you get there. In retrospect, a team like that can sometimes be the most dangerous team in the playoffs.

I like Marvin Lewis a lot, but how do you not give Rex Ryan Coach of the Year? The guy has turned this team into a defensive juggernaut andshut down some of the most explosive offenses in the NFL this season. On top of that, as a rookie head coach he took a team with a rookie quarterback to the playoffs. This isn’t a team that had Bubby Brister quarterbacking last season. He took a team that had Brett Favre at quarterback further with a suspect rookie quarterback. On top of even that, he lost his x-factor Leon Washington and didn’t miss a beat. I loved his father and I have become a huge fan of Rex Ryan.

Oh to be a San Diego Chargers fan today. If the Cowboys were the hottest team in the NFC, the Chargers were the hottest team in all of football. The Chargers rolled into the playoffs winning eleven straight. Not only that, but the Chargers beat some good teams and came back from losing situations to do so. Philip Rivers looked to be playing the best ball of his career. Even the coaching brilliance of Norv Turner couldn’t stop this team…until yesterday.

It was as if I closed my eyes and woke up to see Andy Reid coaching the Chargers. The overall ranked fifth best offense in the NFL was shut down for most of the game yesterday. The Chargers had no answer for Darrelle Revis or the crazy blitzing scheme of the Jets. At one point Philip Rivers threw back to back interceptions in the game. The Jets kept it close all game long and wound up sealing the deal with a Shonn Greene 53-yard touchdown run.

I can’t talk about this game without mentioning the kicker. In one of the biggest shockers of the weekend, Mr. Automatic Nate Kaeding missed three field goals yesterday. While I wouldn’t get too crazy about missing a 57-yard attempt , he missed two easy chip shots. Obviously by looking at the final score, even just making one of those field goals would have made this a different game. However, in the end it is up to the team and the coach to pick things back up and compensate for his inability to make these shots. A team as explosive as the Chargers who were shut down to just 14 points can only put so much blame on their kicker.

There hasn’t been a team as hot for three straight weeks as the New York Jets. The book on beating the Jets is simple. Teams need to score and score big all game long. Rex Ryan loves to keep games close and wear teams down with the rushing attack. That is exactly what happened here. The Chargers had a hot second-quarter but only managed to put seven points on the board. That isn’t enough separation when you are playing the Jets. Blame the missed field goals all day long, but the running back and quarterback were just awful yesterday for the Chargers.

Like the Cowboys, Norv Turner entered the season on the hot seat. Reportedly, Turner had been assured a few weeks ago that he would get an extension. If you are a Chargers fan, you have to put this loss on the coach. Turner had no answers for Ryan’s defense and looked more confused as the game played out. Marty Schottenheimer was fired by the Chargers for losing to the Jets in almost the same scenario a few years back. Even more like Turner, Schottenheimer was first told he’d be back but wound up leaving the organization. San Diego has a very good team here, but their coach just hasn’t gotten it done.

There will also be talk about the future of LaDainian Tomlinson. L.T. is due a healthy roster bonus coming up. L.T. was held to just 24 yards on the ground yesterday. L.T. has gotten his touchdowns this season, but most of them have been short runs. L.T. is not going to be breaking off big runs anymore. I do think he will get a shot with another team, but I would be very surprised to see him back with the Chargers.

I couldn’t think of a worst scenario for the Colts. I will talk more about this game later in the week, but this is the kind of a game that can beat a team mentally. It is real simple. If the Colts wouldn’t have sat their starters, they would be playing someone else next week. Hey, if they beat the Jets than none of that matters. If they don’t, they will be second-guessing themselves for their rest of their lives. The NFL Gods will be rooting for the Jets next Sunday.

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