3rd and Long Power Rankings

Well, it's Friday afternoon and I have some free time, so I decided to share my NFL Power Rankings. Let's get right into them...

1. New England Patriots- This one is a no-brainer. The Pats are historically good. Tom Brady is probably going to put up the best numbers of his career. Watch out for them.

2. Indianapolis Colts- Defending champs. Enough said. They have Peyton and an improved defense. They host New England in Week 9. Should be interesting.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers- No NFC team yet. Have you seen this new offense they're running? Pretty impressive. More 4 and 5 wide receiver sets and Willie Parker and Ben Roethlisberger look spectacular. Kudos Mike Tomlin. The defense is still good. Keep an eye on them. They may sneak up on some people.

4. Dallas Cowboys- Definitely the best team in the NFC. Tony Romo is costing Jerry Jones more money every week. The running back duo is looking great and T.O. looks like 2005 Philadelphia T.O. New offensive coordinator Jason Garrett is bringing Jason Witten into the offense very nicely. The defense looks kind of soft but no worries...IT'S THE PHILLIPS' 3-4!

5. Seattle Seahawks- I don't know what is about this team I like, but I think they're good. I love the experience of Hasselbeck and Alexander and the chemistry Hasselbeck and Deion Branch are developing is fun to watch. They may not dominate, but I think they can cruise to the playoffs out of the NFC West.

6. Baltimore Ravens- This defense is still the best in the league. McGahee was a nice addition and McNair will be back soon. Keep an eye on KR Yamon Figures...very explosive.

7. Green Bay Packers- 3-0. Crazy huh? Favre looks 27 not 37. They're winning without a decent running game. Spectacular young defense.

8. San Diego Chargers- Who would have thought they would be 1-2? They still have loads of talent. LT will step it up and Rivers will improve. If they can get some momentum, watch out.

9. Philadelphia Eagles- I know they're 1-2, but they are still in my top 10. McNabb is well on his way to being 100% and Brian Westbrook is extremely versatile. Still have a good defense. This is an interesting squad.

10. Jacksonville Jaguars- I like this team a lot. The offense needs to show some improvement and the wide receivers need to step it up. The defense is good. Quick, athletic and full of playmakers. It's tough to win in the AFC.

11. Denver Broncos- I know they've struggled so far this year and they'll probably get beat Sunday, but I still think they have a shot to win their division. Cutler is experiencing a learning curve, but he'll straighten it out. Good D.

12. Cincinnati Bengals- If they had anything that resembled a somewhat competitive defense, they would be in the top 5.

13. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- This team is surprising me. The offense is fairly explosive. Jeff Garcia and Joey Galloway have evidently found the fountain of youth or HGH.

14. Tennessee Titans- Vince Young is a winner. This team can sneak up on a lot of people. I like their chances at contending for the wild card.

15. Chicago Bears- Defense wins championships, Rex Grossman loses football games. Brian Griese can drive the Bears bus to the playoffs.

16. Carolina Panthers- The race in the NFC South could turn out to be interesting. Looks like we'll get to see David Carr Sunday...hmmm.

17. New York Giants- They should be 0-3. This team is dysfunctional. Bill Cowher in 2008?

18. Houston Texans- $48 million well spent. Matt Schaub is turning this franchise around. Improved defense. Looks like they could win 7 or 8 games this year.

19. Washington Redskins- Interesting team. Jason Campbell has some potential. Defense isn't looking too bad. They should be 1-2.

20. New York Jets- Thomas Jones has been unimpressive, but he has a good chance to turn it around around this week against the Bills. They would be a wild card team in the NFC.

21. Detroit Lions- Crazy good offense. Amazingly horrendous defense. Kitna will probably surpass 5000 yards this season.

22. New Orleans Saints- The biggest disappointment in the league. It's beginning to look like last year was a fluke. No Deuce. This could get ugly.

23. Minnesota Vikings- Pretty talented defense. Some issues on offense, but Adrian Peterson looks very good.

24. St. Louis Rams- The O line is banged up as well as Bulger and Jackson. The defense needs to step it up. If they start 0-4, they're done. Another big disappointment.

25. Arizona Cardinals- Who's the QB? I think it was a bad idea to bench Leinart at the end of last week's game. Boldin looks great.

26. Miami Dolphins- Ronnie Brown is the only bright spot on this team. Please bench Trent Green and bring in John Beck.

27. San Francisco 49ers- This team has a lot of potential, but they are not performing up to it thus far. We'll see...

28. Oakland Raiders- They look decent and they've won a game. LaMont Jordan looks good. Looks like Culpepper is going start Sunday. It was ironic that they won last week on a last second timeout to ice the kicker considering that's how Denver beat them in Week 2.

29. Atlanta Falcons- Hopefully Byron Leftwich can learn the offense and playbook quickly...

30. Buffalo Bills- J.P. Losman is hurt. Good or bad? You tell me. By the way, his backup went 1-11 last year in college.

31. Cleveland Browns- Hey, they beat the Bengals.

32. Kansas City Chiefs- Money well spent on LJ...46.6 ypg.

Those are my rankings as of right now. Let me know what you think. I'll try to update every week if I can.

Peace,

3rd and Long