More NFL: The best teams in football

I: After the Patriots, who's the best team in football?


S: Tough call. Very tough. I would have said Indy, but their defense is not nearly as good as last year now that it actually has to worry about the rush since the Colts can't manage the clock with their terrible running game. Plaxico Burress abused their cornerbacks last night. A more accurate passer than Eli would have torn them apart with Tiki and Mike Jacobs running wild like that.

The steelers looked really good. Willie Parker might be the real deal. Their secondary has to be the best or top five at least. Good coach, good kicker, QB who, while an idiot off the field, has a level head on it.

What's your take?


I think it's wide open. I think the Pats are the best team because all of these other teams have so many question marks. In other years, this Pats team would not be the best - not with that receiving corps and apparently bad O-Line (I expected a good O-Line, we'll see).

I think there are a few incredibly important players in the NFL to determine who the best squad is.

Jamal Lewis - If he's a top RB again, with that defense and good-enough QB, they could be a top 3-5 team again.

Rex Grossman - Again, with that defense, a decent, healthy year out of Grossman means Chicago is a top team.

Willie Parker - You touched on it.

Mike Vick - Atlanta could represent the NFC with a good year from Vick.

Drew Bledsoe - Am I wrong? He was bad yesterday. If he's good, that team wins a lot of games. It's them, Carolina, and Chicago as the only defensive powers of the NFC. And Dallas' skill positions are as good as they get in that conference. It's on Drew.

So, what are my power rankings?

1. New England
2. Pittsburgh
3. Baltimore
4. Chicago
5. Indianapolis


The jury's still out on Grossman. He took advantage of a very very bad Green Bay defense, which is why it's too early to make any solid judgments. Philly looked sharp, but it was against the Texans. Chad Pennington (CHAD PENNINGTON!) threw for 319 yards, but against the Titans.

I'm buying what you're selling about Michael Vick. The Falcons have an underrated defense and a very, very good running game that abused the Carolina defense. Vick turned in a very good game and on any one down he's the guy I'd least like to, or most like to depending on your point of view, see with the ball in his hands. If he can make good decisions and accurate passes, he's going to the Superbowl.

I'm not sure if I'd give the Patriots number one in the power rankings. They struggled against a God-awful Buffalo team. There is no one for Brady to throw to. Good thing we have the extended preseason with the Bills and the Jets to kick things off, and good thing we have an easy schedule and crappy division, but we really to shape up come playoff time. While I don't think anybody can outcoach Belicheck in a single game, if you don't have the personnel to execute what he preaches then its a moot point.