Don Banks NFL Power Rankings: Training camp edition - Patriots #1

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Patriots, Steelers look primed to dominate 2009 as camp begins - Don Banks - SI.com

Good article and lots of good points but his rankings have the Ravens up too high and the Raiders and Texans too low IMO

 

[jcdavey]

Patriots, Steelers look primed to dominate 2009 as camp begins - Don Banks - SI.com

Good article and lots of good points but his rankings have the Ravens up too high and the Raiders and Texans too low IMO

power rankings are pretty useless

 

[spacecrime]

Patriots, Steelers look primed to dominate 2009 as camp begins - Don Banks - SI.com

Good article and lots of good points but his rankings have the Ravens up too high and the Raiders and Texans too low IMO

Did you mean the Raiders too high?

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Did you mean the Raiders too high?

No,Actually every year there are surprise teams and the Raiders are one of mine to surprise this year,I expect the Raiders to finally have some offense to go along with a pretty good defense and win some games this year and actually push the Chargers with some competition in the division.

The Raiders arguably could very well have the best tandem of RBs in the NFL this year,The problem lies of whether the team is smart enough to start Garcia who knows how to win or take their chances with their former first round pick.

This years Raiders are last years Falcons and I expect 10-6 from them and a wild card.

 

[Frezo]

I haven't seen the Colts ranked this low in years by anybody.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

I haven't seen the Colts ranked this low in years by anybody.

The Colts should be on the verge of missing the playoffs this season - Jax,Tennessee and Houston have caught up to Indy as many have said.

Indy will go 9-7 this season is my guess

 

[JSn]

It's unsettling to see the Pats at the top of so many lists already.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

It's unsettling to see the Pats at the top of so many lists already.

Na, it's pretty much normal anymore, now the fun comes in seeing how they make it work.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

It's unsettling to see the Pats at the top of so many lists already.

It was worse in 2007 - Actually it was far worse when it came to rankings and that didn't stop the team from proving everybody right (except the damn SB that is )

It was like Secretariat against 31 three-legged dogs in the race to the title according to most media driven articles in the offseason of 2007

 

[letekro]

The Colts should be on the verge of missing the playoffs this season - Jax,Tennessee and Houston have caught up to Indy as many have said.

Indy will go 9-7 this season is my guess

This sounds like wishful thinking. This is a QB dominated league and you're talking about P. Manning v. Mssrs. Collins, Garrard, and Schaub. My money's on the colts.

 

[Frezo]

The Colts should be on the verge of missing the playoffs this season - Jax,Tennessee and Houston have caught up to Indy as many have said.

Indy will go 9-7 this season is my guess

I suppose. Dungy just didn't strike me as that good of a coach to have the Colts drop that far without him. Dungy reminds me of what Herm Edwards would be like if he starred in Brokeback Mountain.

 

[JSn]

Na, it's pretty much normal anymore, now the fun comes in seeing how they make it work.

Haha, yeah, true.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

I suppose. Dungy just didn't strike me as that good of a coach to have the Colts drop that far without him. Dungy reminds me of what Herm Edwards would be like if he starred in Brokeback Mountain.

Not only is Dungy gone but his coaching staff on the offense is now on more like advisors and won't be there for Peyton on the sidelines,If the Colts win the SB this season without some top coaches nearby gone then Peyton truly deserves it.

But I think this is the season Peyton gets his ass whooped and that OL is going to show some big holes,Mario Williams is going to have Peyton for Breakfast...twice

 

[patsfaninpittsburgh]

What's up with that Jacksonville rating?

That seems rather low.

 

[JSn]

Power rankings should only go up to 10 or 14 with a bunch of ties. Assigning a number becomes pointless after about #4

 

[bagwell368]

This sounds like wishful thinking. This is a QB dominated league and you're talking about P. Manning v. Mssrs. Collins, Garrard, and Schaub. My money's on the colts.

Indy has a thin layer of great highly paid players and a lot of much lesser players. A lot of their big players are aging. They don't have a lot of depth, and their Division is getting better. I do not know if this is the year they go down, but I have a pretty large bet that the Colts will have two .500 or worse seasons in the next 4, and I'm not worried about it.

 

[Bartmac36]

It's about time someone puts the Pats at #1...we look to be the most sound team RIGHT NOW...

 

[BigtimeColtsfans]

Indy has a thin layer of great highly paid players and a lot of much lesser players. A lot of their big players are aging. They don't have a lot of depth, and their Division is getting better. I do not know if this is the year they go down, but I have a pretty large bet that the Colts will have two .500 or worse seasons in the next 4, and I'm not worried about it.

That is wishful thinking. First the assistant coaches will be back, their titles have changed because of the NFL retirement and pension rules, but they are back. Caldwell has been with the team for years, and Polian has faith in him. That's good enough for me.

Also, the Colts are returning 21 of 22 starters, with only Marvin Harrison being gone. Their O line is healthy, Manning is healthy, Ed Johnson is back and they drafted Brown and Moala.

The Colts are a young, talented team. You think they're going to fall? If they didn't last year, when they had injuries out the wazoo, what makes you think it's going to happen this year? Manning is still there.

The Titans aren't going to win 13 games again. The Jags are a .500 club at best and every year the Texans, who have never won a game that mattered in their history, are going to be better than the Colts. The Texans are a trendy pick and I get that, but they aren't better than the Colts. Before the Texans it was the Jags. Remember that? From 2005 to last year, every year the Jags were going to overtake the Colts. Didn't happen. The Titans had a great year last year but the Colts aren't going into the season with a hurt QB and two rookie starters on the O line this year.

Power rankings are useless, I've seen the Colts ranked anywhere from 3rd to 10th so far this season. But anyone who thinks the Colts are done hasn't been paying attention to what Peyton Manning does and has done now for years. As long as he's back there and he's surrounded by even medium talent the Colts are a 10-12 win team. And they have much more talent than that this year.

 

[patriot lifer]

That is wishful thinking. First the assistant coaches will be back, their titles have changed because of the NFL retirement and pension rules, but they are back. Caldwell has been with the team for years, and Polian has faith in him. That's good enough for me.

Also, the Colts are returning 21 of 22 starters, with only Marvin Harrison being gone. Their O line is healthy, Manning is healthy, Ed Johnson is back and they drafted Brown and Moala.

The Colts are a young, talented team. You think they're going to fall? If they didn't last year, when they had injuries out the wazoo, what makes you think it's going to happen this year? Manning is still there.

The Titans aren't going to win 13 games again. The Jags are a .500 club at best and every year the Texans, who have never won a game that mattered in their history, are going to be better than the Colts. The Texans are a trendy pick and I get that, but they aren't better than the Colts. Before the Texans it was the Jags. Remember that? From 2005 to last year, every year the Jags were going to overtake the Colts. Didn't happen. The Titans had a great year last year but the Colts aren't going into the season with a hurt QB and two rookie starters on the O line this year.

Power rankings are useless, I've seen the Colts ranked anywhere from 3rd to 10th so far this season. But anyone who thinks the Colts are done hasn't been paying attention to what Peyton Manning does and has done now for years. As long as he's back there and he's surrounded by even medium talent the Colts are a 10-12 win team. And they have much more talent than that this year.

i think your colts will be fine this year, but i think over the years being without Dungy will takes its toll. he was always very good about sustaining a team's talent over the years. Polian's good too, but i think they'll really miss Dungy's input. he always had an eye on the future. I think the new guy will be more short-sighted.

 

[BigtimeColtsfans]

i think your colts will be fine this year, but i think over the years being without Dungy will takes its toll. he was always very good about sustaining a team's talent over the years. Polian's good too, but i think they'll really miss Dungy's input. he always had an eye on the future. I think the new guy will be more short-sighted.

Losing Dungy is a big question mark, but I've noticed around here that for years Pats fans were saying the Colts would go nowhere until "One-And-Dungy" left. Or that Dungy was the "most overrated coach ever", "an average coach with a great team", etc etc etc.

Now that he leaves suddenly Dungy was holding the Colts together around here and they're going to fall apart without him. It's Colt hate and I get it, but every team changes coaches at some point.

Like I said, Dungy leaving is a question mark, but the Colts knew this would happen and groomed Caldwell as his replacement. Caldwell knows the team and he knows the players.

Anyway, the point is anyone writing off the Colts are going to be in for a rude awakening. The D line is much improved and the O line is healthy which were their biggest problems last year. Brown and Addai are a damn good RB tandem and the receiving corp looks strong. Gonzo will have a big year and there is a fight for the 3rd spot. But Wayne, Gonzo and Clarke are a great threesome.

Seriously, the Colts are looking as good as they have in years talent wise. Dungy leaving is the only negative, and nobody knows how that's going to play out. Personally I don't think Manning is going to be affected and as long as he's playing at a top level the Colts are going to be a contender.