ESPN Power Rankings...Pats #2

[Sivy]

I would put the Pats at #3 behind the Steelers and Giants and I would also put the Colts at #10. They wont be as good without Dungy.

why the giants? What have they done to get better? Just because they one the fluke bowl 2 years ago doesnt mean that have the power to be good for a long time like some teams.

 

[TriplecHamp]

why the giants? What have they done to get better? Just because they one the fluke bowl 2 years ago doesnt mean that have the power to be good for a long time like some teams.

They get their best player and pass rusher back. They signed Rocky Bernard, Michael Boley and Chris Canty. That pass rush is going to be disgusting. The only question mark for them is how their receivers will play.

 

[Sivy]

My rankings would be as follows

1. Patriots
2. *** everyone else

 

[PatsFanSince74]

When the Pats were the Champs, I always expected them to be ranked #1 until they were knocked down by their play on the field. Same rule applies now as far as I'm concerned. Nice motivation for our guys.

 

[Patriots2001]

By the end of the year the Pats will be #1 or maybe sooner

 

[jcdavey]

I don't get the Colts ranking, IMHO. I would put the Ravens, Chargers, and Titans above them.

Besides that, no problem with the Steelers at 1 and us at 2. OT, but the Steelers schedule this year is a joke...if they went 16-0 I wouldn't be the least bit suprised.

chargers for sure

titans they split with , and ravens the colts killed

but they never act like my chargers are better than the colts, not even head to head....weird lol

 

[jcdavey]

What's weird is everyone had the Steelers at 1 except Pasquarreli - who had them at 9. I could see people putting the Steelers in the top 3 or top 5 behind other teams but ninth? Maybe Len's just looking for some attention.

len may be expecting them to have a dip like they did last time they won the sb

but that is some big disrespect to a sb champ

 

[Deus Irae]

len may be expecting them to have a dip like they did last time they won the sb

but that is some big disrespect to a sb champ

Yes, it's almost as if he realizes that the Steelers weren't all that good last year.

 

[BigtimeColtsfans]

The Steelers "weren't that good" last year?

They absolutely crushed your Pats and won the SB. How much better do they need to be?

You guys sure do put a lot of stock in preseason rankings. I buy all the preseason guides, last year, I believe one had the Colts vs the Cowboys, one had the Chargers vs the Cowboys and I honestly don't remember the other one, but none of them had Steelers VS Cardinals.

Preseason "power polls" and predictions do not mean crap. They mean nada.

And not trying to troll here, but I just thought I'd bring a dose of reality to this thread:

You all are constantly talking about the Pats going undefeated or being disrespected for not being "ranked" number one or whatever.

When is the last time the Pats actually won anything? 2004? That was a while ago.

Why shouldn't the Pats have to prove themselves just like the rest. The Pats have their fair share of ?????'s coming into the season, that's for sure.

It's always the same around here though. If anyone doesn't think the Pats are #1 it's "bulletin board material" (the Pats must have a huge bulletin board lol if they actually post all this stuff) and the Colts are always through lol.

 

[jmt57]

I think the Steelers get the #1 Ranking because they didn't lose a lot of free agents. They lost 2, McFadden and Washington. Washington is not a huge loss, McFadden could be. But other than that, they have the 20 of 22 starters back, they have the entire coaching staff back, they have some guys coming off injury that can make them better, and did pick up a couple free agents for depth and experience on the roster. They did lose Leftwich as a very capable Back up QB, but Batch is back, and unless Ben face plants a car again, Batch is good enough to win a game or two along the way.

Also, the schedule is not as "bad" as last years. We draw the Titans and Dolphins instead of the standard Colts and Pats because you guys thought it would be fun to let someone else win it all this year I guess. Neither of you held up your "win the division" part of the bargain to get the Steelers vs Colts vs Pats regular season round robin that most of us have become accustomed to.

Alot of the posters have the Giants highly ranked, and I tend to agree. They could be very good even with the loss of Plax because they get guys back off injury and drafted for depth at WR. Not sure if it'll be good enough, but then again the NFC East isn't that great with Washington still without a QB and with Philly a Jeckle and Hyde team that is one McNabb injury away from a 4 win season. I question them being so high.

I'm most interested in seeing how the Pats Defense performs this year with the loss of Vrabel. He was a real leader on that D so its going to be interesting to see how the Pats do on that side of the ball. On your offense, if Cassell can score points with that O, we alll know darn well that Brady will score points. That shouldn't be an issue and the Taylor pick up is very interesting too. That guy still has gas in the tank and I'm of the opinion that the Jags made a huge mistake getting rid of him and going with Jones-Drew as their go to guy.

Anyway, power rankings are what they are, fun at this time of year.

Mine would be as follows:
Steelers
Patriots
Giants
Panthers
Chargers
Colts
Titans
Ravens
Cowboys
Vikings

Quick Edit, We lost Foote too but he wanted out anyway because he wasn't going to be the starter with the progress Timmons has made at the Linebacker position. I didn't count him. My mistake.

Kudos to Dino 6 Rings for being a stand up guy and not throwing Pats fans under a Steeler bus. It's really too bad there are not more NFL fans that have the guts to be objective when outnumbered by loud homers on their own team's site, or more fans like Dino (and a few others that visit here) that can get in to an intelligent discussion about football and offer a new perspective and viewpoint from an opponent's eyes.


Dino's exact words - on a Steelers fan forum: "Here's my exact post on a Patriots site that drew some pretty solid Comments from the real football fans."


Steelers Fever Forums



Thanks for sticking to your principles Dino.

 

[bagwell368]

In my opinion, the Super Bowl champion should be ranked first heading into the pre-season. Because things don't change until the regular season starts.

I do not. We had a better FA and draft haul then they did. We also have the '07 MVP coming back, and they don't.

Respect is one thing. Blindness is another.

 

[Angry Man]

When is the last time the Pats actually won anything? 2004? That was a while ago.

So I guess a 16-0 regular season means nothing to you eh? Or all the records made in 2007?

 

[Underoath]

First of all, I never said where the Patriots should be slotted in the rankings - I'm not an expert, and I did not give my opinion.

Your comment on the 2007 season? What's that about?

My comment is very simple, mgteich - I DO NOT think that the SB winner should be ranked first based on the fact that they won the Super Bowl LAST YEAR.

If they are the best team, then they should be - However my comment was directed to the poster who said, "The Steelers should be ranked no 1 because they are the reigning champs".

I NEVER mentioned the Patriots.

Different season - Different rankings.

I'll never understand the entitlement that the Super Bowl winner gets in the next season. They can loose their entire offensive line and have a horrible draft and we still have to choose them as the no. 1 team based on what they did last year?

I don't get it - Help me understand this thinking. If it's respect, that's not fact based.

I think the head coach of the Steelers said it best when asked about next year hours after winning the Super Bowl - Mike Tomlin doesn't believe in repeats. In today's NFL, Tomlin says there can be no such thing because no two teams are exactly the same.

Completely agree. And first of all I just want to say that there is no such thing as "experts." Their opinion is somehow more valid than mine because they're on TV, or write a weekly column, in which they have nothing to write so they bash the Patriots and BB?

I digress. If we're choosing rankings based off of past winners, why are the Steelers better than the Patriots. Despite losing the Superbowl two years ago, the Pats were still essentially the best team, going 18-1. We still have the core of that team (Brady, Moss, Welker, Maroney [new addition in Fred Taylor,] Light, Mankins, Koppen, Wilfork, Seymour, Warren, A. Thomas, Bruschi, [addition of Mayo.] The only real question seems to be our secondary, regardless of who plays the 2nd outside linebacker position. But even if our secondary is average, I think this team can still go at the very least 14-2.

P.S. - The rankings right now mean absolutely nothing.

 

[mgteich]

Both the giants and the steelers are as good as they have been in past years. I don't understand why the patriots would be #1 because they didn't win the 2008 Super Bowl.

Completely agree. And first of all I just want to say that there is no such thing as "experts." Their opinion is somehow more valid than mine because they're on TV, or write a weekly column, in which they have nothing to write so they bash the Patriots and BB?

I digress. If we're choosing rankings based off of past winners, why are the Steelers better than the Patriots. Despite losing the Superbowl two years ago, the Pats were still essentially the best team, going 18-1. We still have the core of that team (Brady, Moss, Welker, Maroney [new addition in Fred Taylor,] Light, Mankins, Koppen, Wilfork, Seymour, Warren, A. Thomas, Bruschi, [addition of Mayo.] The only real question seems to be our secondary, regardless of who plays the 2nd outside linebacker position. But even if our secondary is average, I think this team can still go at the very least 14-2.

P.S. - The rankings right now mean absolutely nothing.

 

[NEPatriot]

I'm not really into power ranking much. I want to see another ring in this season.

 

[Doctor DDS]

I do not buy that the prior Superbowl winner should be number 1 until they get beaten. Does that mean Arizona should be number 2? The playoffs do not necessarily determine who the best team is. (If Arizona had beaten the Steelers no one would have belived they were the best team last year and no one would have them at number 1 pre-season) The rankings should be based on who would be favored on a neutral field as of this moment. I do not have a problem with the Steelers being number 1 but I also would feel confident if they were playing week 1 as I have yet to see them slow down Brady.

 

[State]

1. Steelers
2. Giants
3. Philly
4. Pats

Indy is far back, even behind the Bolts. The defense still lacks the physicality and its offense has regressed, esp. along the O-line.

Between you and me I think the Giants will be a force to be reckoned with this year, along with Philly. Those two teams had great offseasons.

Ellis Hobbs will be returning punts for TD's and blanketing all receiver 5'8" and under.

Brady has a reconstructed knee. We'll have to be a little patient with him. He may be a god, but he's not superman.

 

[State]

This has probably been posted before, but Len Pasquarelli bends over backwards to make the case NE tops over Pittsburgh in the rankings.

I don't know. In past years, even with a healthy Brady, Pittsburgh has been a tough match up for us.

Steelers or Pats as No. 1? The guy arguing counter isn't the best analyst I've read, that's for sure.

I don't think Pasquarelli gives enough credit to Pittsburgh's defense, and he's too optimistic about our O-line. It's good, but not dominant against elite front 7's like Pittsburgh's or the Giants'.

That's why I'm so pumped about the fourth game in the season against the Ravens. That'll tell a lot.

 

[BigtimeColtsfans]

So I guess a 16-0 regular season means nothing to you eh? Or all the records made in 2007?

Congrats on going 16-0 in the regular season and 2-1 in the PS.

 

[feldspar]

#2?? wtmff?

this kind of disrespect is just the motivation this team needs.

How about a little humility to go with that disrespect and motivation?

Number 2 is disrespect? How high and mighty of you.

Did the Steelers disrespect the Patriots when they won the Super Bowl last year? Or the Giants the year before...the Colts before that...the Steelers before that? Honestly, the Patriots aren't unbreakable. They are up there on the list for sure at this point, but they aren't necessarily the best team. Ask yourself how much you would be willing to bet that they win the Super Bowl this year. How about your testicles; would you be willing to bet those? Uh-huh. Ain't no sure thing out there.