1. New Orleans Saints – The Saints finished last season as champions so they get the top spot by default, but I fully expect them to drop once the season starts. For one, they will be dealing with the Super Bowl hangover which has plagued recent champions. Two, Drew Brees is on the Madden cover, which isn't good for the overall karma of the team. Three, no more Kim Kardashian in the press box.

2. Indianapolis Colts – The Colts are the most boring team on this list. All they do is win; year in and year out. Of course as Scott told me in our fantasy draft, watch this be the year that Manning finally goes down with an injury. You know, since I spent $49 of a $200 cap on him in our auction draft.

3. Green Bay Packers – I really like the Packers this year. A lot. Aaron Rodgers showed me a ton last year and they are only going to get better as an overall team. On a side note, am I the only one who cracks up every time he does his 'championship belt' celebration? It's hilarious.

4. Dallas Cowboys – I think it's safe to say that Wade Phillips has a pretty good grasp on the defense in Dallas. If there is one thing Wade is good at, it's defense. And punt catching. On the other side of the ball, Dallas has a real opportunity to unleash an elite offense upon the NFL. They have the good quarterback, two good running backs, a handful of good receivers and an elite tight end. It also looks like they could have Kim Kardashian in the press box.


5. Minnesota Vikings – As if there was any doubt, the Wrangler God will be gracing us with his presence for a 20^th season. Anybody that actually believed he was going to retire should also check the mirror to see if 'moron' is written across their forehead. Favre signed a two year deal with the Vikings last year so coming back was a 100% certainty for this season. The only reason it took so long to make his "decision" was because he wanted to see how much training camp he could skip out on. Plus he loved the attention of his teammates begging him to come back and stroking his ego a little more. Among other things, the Vikings missing the playoffs this season is on my list of things that would make this season a success in my eyes.

6. San Diego Chargers – The biggest thing standing in the way of the Chargers winning the AFC West yet again is the status of Vincent Jackson. They just traded for Patrick Crayton so things aren't looking good on the Jackson front. Otherwise, San Diego is looking pretty good. Phillip Rivers continues to improve and the offense as a whole should be much better since they upgraded their running back situation by drafting Ryan Matthews and ridding themselves of LaDanian Tomlinson's corpse. Then again, Norv Turner is still the coach of this team so anything is really in play.

7. New England Patriots – No attempted reverse jinx here, New England is winning the AFC East this season. People just seem to forget about them because they aren't on HBO trying to name off all their illegitimate children and crowning themselves as the Super Bowl champs yet, but the Patriots are still pretty good. Just in case anybody forgot; Brady, Moss and Belicheck are still on the team.

8. New York Jets – I have the Jets still in the top 10 despite my mean spirited words above, but I don't have them winning their division and I most definitely don't have them winning the Super Bowl. They'll grab a wildcard spot and make the playoffs, but they won't make it past the second round this time around. I have several theories as to why this will happen but I'd rather not waste all my material before the season even starts. Let's just say the biggest thing holding them back rhymes with franchise.

9. Baltimore Ravens – The Ravens and Packers facing each other in the Super Bowl this year has a nice ring to it, but I doubt it happens. Mostly because 99.9% of preseason Super Bowl predictions never pan out. I do hope Baltimore Runs the AFC North though. Mostly because it would mean Pittsburgh isn't winning it, which is on my short list that was first mentioned in the Minnesota section.

10. Atlanta Falcons – Assuming the Saints fall a little bit, which I fully expect, Atlanta could very well swoop in and take the division. I think it's safe to say it's between those two teams to begin with, so I don't think this is much of a stretch. Without doing an ounce of research, I'd have to think that Matt Ryan will be much better this season than he was last season. Most times players dip a little bit during their second year and then show improvement in the third year.

11. Cincinnati Bengals – The Bengals were looking good until they slowed down last December and completely fell off the cliff in the first round. I guess it's to be expected for the franchise in general. Then again, I'm a Bills fan who hasn't seen playoff football for a decade now, so who am I to throw stones? For the record, I'm now a fan of Terrell Owens and I think he's going to light it up in Cincinnati this season. Or at least I hope so.

12. Miami Dolphins – Either I'm overrating the AFC East or minus Buffalo, it's one of the hardest divisions in the NFL. The biggest question mark I see for the Dolphins is Chad Henne. At times last season Henne looked really good, others he looked like a pile of crap. My guess is he'll look just fine because he has two good running backs to lean on, which is always a huge help for young quarterbacks.

13. Houston Texans – Is this the year Houston finally makes the playoffs? Probably not, but I sure hope so. There is something I like about Houston and it's about time they get to the playoffs and reward their fans with a little success.

14. Washington Redskins – I like the Redskins to make a run at the playoffs this season. Donovan McNabb is not only a good QB, but he will no doubt have something to prove to the fans and organization in Philly. Combine that with Mike Shanahan getting back on the sidelines and fans in Washington can finally be optimistic heading into football season.

15. Tennessee Titans – I'm not crazy on the Titans this season but I'm not sure I ever really am. One season they do good with Vince Young. The next season he sucks and Kerry Collins lights it up. The next season Collins sucks and Young lights it up. It is literally a QB carousel in Tennessee and to be honest, it's pretty annoying.

16. New York Giants – I gotta be honest, I don't know a ton about the Giants this season. I know that with blood gushing from his head, Eli Manning looked pretty tough and not like the dorky kid down the block who gets his lunch money stolen. I also know Perry Fewell is the new defensive coordinator. That last comment isn't exactly a positive note.

17. Philadelphia Eagles – I'm hesitant to put Philly near the top 10 just yet. I know people seem to think Kevin Kolb will make the transition just fine, but I'm a tad more hesitant. The guy has roughly two games under his belt and is now the starter in Philly, a town that doesn't exactly give their players time to develop. Kolb may very well light things up, I'm not saying he won't, but I could also see him struggling and losing confidence quickly as his own fans throw batteries at him and boo him off the field.

18. San Francisco 49ers – For the first time since my early youth, I feel that the 49ers should be the favorites to win their division. Ok, maybe it hasn't been that long, but it sure feels that way. Ever since making Mike Singletary the head coach, it seems like the 49ers continue to made moderate improvements. With Kurt Warner retiring in Arizona and the Seahawks and Rams still being awful to mediocre at best, the time is right for San Francisco to make their move towards the postseason.

19. Pittsburgh Steelers – The Steelers finished 9-7 last season which is great by Buffalo standards, but disappointing by Pittsburgh standards. It was a rough year for Ben Roethlisberger, both on the field and in the bathroom stall. Their schedule doesn't do them any favors as their first four games are against Atlanta, Tennessee, Tampa Bay and Baltimore. They could easily be 1-3 heading into the bye week and it's almost guaranteed with Dennis Dixon being the starter during Big Ben's suspension. I thought Dixon wasn't too horrible, but he was horrendous in the preseason. But who knows, maybe the Steelers respond to all the adversity and actually get better. It would most certainly ruin my season.

20. Denver Broncos – The Broncos made potentially the biggest splash in the draft when they took Tim Tebow in the first round, despite already having Kyle Orton and Brady Quinn on the roster. While Brady Quinn is a new level of bad, Kyle Orton is serviceable and seemed to play well in Josh McDaniel's system last season. McDaniels showed a lot of trust in Orton so it was surprising to see them acquire two additional quarterbacks this offseason. It will definitely be interesting to see how they work Tebow into the offense. There is no way they wasted a first round pick simply on some depth at QB. Although waste + first round pick + depth at QB = Brady Quinn.

21. Carolina Panthers – The Panthers finally ditched Jake Delhomme and handed the keys to the offense over to Matt Moore. While I mocked Moore quite a bit in my rankings last season, he played very well in the final four games and he will be worth watching. In those final four games, the Panthers went 3-1 and Moore threw for 829 yards, eight touchdowns and zero interceptions. The only thing not going for Moore this season is the potential short leash he may be on after the Panthers grabbed Jimmy Clausen in the draft.

22. Chicago Bears – I'm not sure what to make of Chicago. They were supposed to improve last season when they ditched Kyle Orton for Jay Cutler, but they didn't. You start to think about it and wonder why, then you realize, oh yeah, Jay Cutler sucks.

23. Arizona Cardinals – Arizona returns as defending NFC champs and I would gladly hand them the title this season, if it wasn't for the retirement of Kurt Warner. Not only does Arizona lose a potential Hall of Fame QB, but they are replacing him Derek Anderson, who actually beat out Matt Leinart for the starting job. Combine that with the subtraction of Anquan Boldin and you see where I'm going with this. I'm not saying it's impossible for Arizona to take the division again, wait, yes I am.

24. Seattle Seahawks – One of the more peculiar moves this offseason was Seattle giving up on Jim Mora Jr. after one season and luring Pete Carroll away from USC. Then we saw all the trouble USC was in and it made perfect sense. I could see the Seahawks being competitive in the division if Matt Hasselbeck stays healthy. Ah, the advantages to playing in the NFC West.

25. Jacksonville Jaguars – I'm pretty sure the biggest news of the offseason for the Jags was their half empty stadium getting new naming rights. EverBank Field. Good times in Jacksonville.

26. Oakland Raiders – Getting rid of JaMarcus Russell and the purple drank for Jason Campbell was an immediate upgrade for the Raiders. I also liked their decision to draft Rolando McClain in the first round. For once the Raiders did the right thing when drafting instead of the insane thing. Al Davis must've forgotten that the draft started on a Thursday night this year.

27. Detroit Lions – I like the direction the Lions are heading; too bad they are in the same division as two of the best teams in the league. Regardless, they have their franchise QB in Matthew Stafford and he has plenty of weapons in Calvin Johnson, Nate Burleson, Kevin Smith and Jahvid Best. Adding Ndamukong Suh and Kyle Vanden Bosch will also no doubt improve their defense quite a bit.

28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – The Bucs were another team I could have probably listed below Buffalo, but I didn't want to risk moving the Bills too high before we see just how bad they'll be in real games. But the Bucs…I don't know. They weren't any good last year and I'm not exactly sure what they've done this past offseason to improve significantly. The first two rounds should improve their defense a great deal, but that still doesn't help them put points on the board. Nor does it help the fact that their Head Coach has one more year of head coaching experience than I do.

29. Buffalo Bills – Both ESPN and CNNSI had the Bills ranked 31 in their respected rankings. Now although I'm a bit of a homer, I just don't see them being that bad. Last season was one of the worst in recent memory and the Bills still managed to win six games. Now you're telling me they will be worse? How so? They have a new GM and coach, both of whom seem to know which direction they want to take the team. In fact, the new regime has already shown that they won't be running camp the way Dick Jauron did, which would signal an improvement in that respect. Chan Gailey is an offensive coach which bodes well for the Bills, despite their lack of QB. It will be a losing season for sure, but not in the bottom two teams in the league. Or so I hope.

(Note: I wrote the above paragraph before the last three preseason games were played and C.J. Spiller truly showed off what he can do. I stand behind the above paragraph even more now. 7-9.)

30. Kansas City Chiefs – I don't know what to make of Kansas City just yet. They were a four win team last season and I doubt Thomas Jones is going to change that significantly. Their running game will no doubt be one of the better ones in the league, but they also still have Matt Cassel as their starting QB. His 69.9 QB rating last season wasn't exactly tops in the league. Funny how opinion of him changes when he isn't throwing to Randy Moss and Wes Welker.

31. Cleveland Browns – The Browns appear headed in the right direction with Mike Holmgren taking his position in the front office. They traded away Brady Quinn and might have stolen Colt McCoy in the third round, both of which are good moves. Potentially, we'll see on the McCoy front. Unfortunately, they also acquired Jake Delhomme to be their starting QB this year. Delhomme is awful...just awful.

32. St Louis Rams – The Rams might be headed in the right direction now that they hopefully have their franchise QB, but it will still take a long time. And who knows, will Sam Bradford even be the franchise QB that they hope? I would think so but drafting a QB first overall is always risky, unless that QB has the name Peyton Manning.