The Maryland Sports Blog

21. Denver Broncos- When will Tim Tebow start at quarterback? Will he ever be a good NFL quarterback? The sooner the Broncos get the answers to these questions, the better off they will be.  They lost a lot of pieces on offense so it will be interesting to see how they do.

22. Pittsburgh Steelers- I like quarterback Dennis Dixon, but all the draft “experts” said the Steelers did not have a good draft. They traded away a Superbowl MVP wide receiver. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is suspended for the first four-to-six games. Whether or not they can they recover from that… I don’t know.

23. Oakland Raiders- They got rid of quarterback JaMarcus Russell over the offseason which is a big plus. They have slowly gotten better; they have talent now. They just need consistency which will not be easy to find when the organization itself is such a mess.

24. Jacksonville Jaguars- They are rebuilding, but are still better than some of the other bottom feeder teams.

25. Washington Redskins- I know I will take heat for having this team so low but comparing them to national power rankings it is not that far off. They may have a new coach and quarterback, but the offensive line is terrible. Check out my video on the quarterback Donovan McNabb trade here I explain why the offensive line will let them down.

26. Buffalo Bills- They have good running backs but they have yet to address the quarterback situation.

27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Quarterback Josh Freeman will have the opportunity to prove why he was a first round draft pick. They also have some good young talent on defense.

28. Seattle Seahawks- This team did not age well, a lot of old players that are past their prime. They have spent money on wide receivers that never seem to stay healthy.

29. Cleveland Browns- Looking at the list of quarterbacks for the Browns it is hard to see how they will beat anybody.  They lack talent on all sides except special teams.

30. Kansas City Chiefs- Another team that is lacking in places, it is hard to find good things to say about teams this far down in the power rankings.

31. Detroit Lions- They have a good young quarterback in Matt Stafford but will the surrounding team hurt his development?

32. St. Louis Rams- The consensus worst team in football. They have had a lot of high draft picks the past few years but the overall quality of their team is just terrible.

Here some of the winners of the Twitter contest. Shout outs for guessing the right spot for teams in my last NFL power rankings.

11. New England Patriots- The defensive line is a concern for the Patriots. Look for Tom Brady to have a better season than he did last year. The star wide receivers might be getting older but Randy Moss still has something left in the tank.

12. Atlanta Falcons- Matt Ryan has shown that he can be a top quarterback in the NFL. Two games against the Saints will be tough but this could be a playoff team.

13. Houston Texans- I rate them higher than other publications because they have a quarterback that can get it done. In a quarterback driven league that proves big. They also have wide receivers and a solid pass rush.

14. San Fransisco 49ers- If they can get consistent play out of their quarterback they should be a solid team. The defense plays tough and they got weapons on the offense that could hurt even the best teams.

15. New York Giants- When comparing teams I always look at the quarterback first and last. The Giants might be the last team in these rankings that have a solid quarterback,  and the talent around him is not bad either.

16. Miami Dolphins- They made improvements in the offseason by bringing in wide receiver Brandon Marshall, and they have a good coaching staff that has them playing hard every game.

17. Tennessee Titans- They got one of the best running backs in the game. Chris Johnson can change the game at any moment. There are concerns with quarterback Vince Young, a reason they are at 17.

18. Chicago Bears- Real wild card with quarterback Jay Cutler. If Julius Peppers comes to play this could be an okay team, but they play in a very hard division.

19. Carolina Panthers- The quarterbacks are really going down hill from here… Matt Moore and Jimmy Clausen in a QB battle.

20. Arizona Cardinals- The reason I have this team so low is the quarterback situation. Matt Leinart and Derek Anderson have not proven anything to me. They lost a lot of talented players this offseason.

1. New Orleans Saints- Drew Brees is one of my favorite players to watch, they can score whenever they want. I can’t take the Superbowl champs out of the top spot.

2. Indianapolis professional football team- Peyton Manning makes any team a contender. He makes his wide receivers look better than they really are. It will be interesting to see this team after two years without Tony Dungy.

3. Baltimore Ravens- Yeah I might be a little bit of a homer but football is run up front and I expect big things out of Terrence Cody, pairing him with Haloti Ngata; the defense will be much improved. Adding Anquan Boldin to the offense will make them lethal.

4. Green Bay Packers- They have an elite quarterback and a solid defense. The offensive line needs improvement and they need more out of their running backs, but when you throw as much as they do running does not look so big.

5. Minnesota Vikings- Quarterback Brett Favre looks like he is coming back. Assuming that he is fully recovered, he should have another big year. Adrian Peterson needs to hold on to the ball better if the Vikings are going to go to the next level.

6. New York Jets- Filled a lot of holes with troubled players, some of which will not start the season. Corner backs are elite on this team so scoring points against this team will be tricky.

7. Dallas Cowboys- The two media darlings are back-to-back, this team finally learned how to play late in the season. The offense is explosive in the running and passing game, but quarterback Tony Romo still makes bad passes.

8. San Diego Chargers- Elite quarterback in Phillip Rivers, top flight wide receivers. Defense is solid, and when it is not, Rivers puts up numbers.

9. Philadelphia Eagles- May not have a proven quarterback but they have all the pieces in the offense.

10. Cincinnati Bengals- They are talented on offense and defense, but they are also their own worst enemy. They have more players get in trouble than any other team.

It’s never too early to start breaking down the NFL and what everyone think’s they’ll do. I sat down and analyzed the teams and created my power rankings:

1: New Orleans Saints- The top spot is dedicated to the defending champs. They have an offense that can score at will.

2: Indianapolis professional football team- Reggie Wayne is having a tiff with the Colts ownership, which could potentially be something to watch.

3: Baltimore Ravens- Call it a hometown vote if you want, but the Ravens addressed all but one of its weaknesses this offseason…the cornerbacks. New additions to the defense should greatly help out the corners though, like Sergio Kindle and Terrence “Mount” Cody.

4: New York Jets- The sudden media darling of the AFC, they have a defense that is just plain scary. Revis and Cromartie are going to make opponent’s passing game rather difficult. Oh, did I mention they have Ladanian Tomlinson now, too? Or Santonio Holmes?

5: Minnesota Vikings- I have to preface this by saying if Brett Favre doesn’t play next year, this goes way down. They have a strong receiving corps and a defense led by now mullet-less Jared Allen that keeps them in almost every game.

6: Dallas Cowboys- Miles Austin has blossomed working with Tony Romo, and the addition of Dez Bryant combined with Jason Witten and Marion Barber in the backfield will allow the Cowboys to score…often.

7: Green Bay Packers- Aaron Rodgers is proving he can slice and dice even the best defenses.

8: San Diego Chargers- It should be interesting to see how the Chargers function with no Tomlinson to rely on. Ryan Mathews has some big shoes to fill for the Southern CA faithful.

9: Cincinnati Bengals- Giving Carson Palmer another reliable target opposite Ochocinco in Antonio Bryant and having two reliable corners have the Bengals in position to potentially sweep the AFC North again.

10: New England Patriots- A lot of questions for this team remain after being embarrassed in the wildcard round by Baltimore. Gone are the reliable names on defense, and the only reason I ranked them as high as I did was the fact that they still have Tom Brady and Wes Welker.

11: Atlanta Falcons- Matt Ryan is blossoming into a fine young quarterback, and a few additions to the defense through the draft have the Falcons poised to rival the Saints in the NFC South.

12: Houston Texans- The Brian Cushing controversy is certainly distracting, but this club has done nothing but improve each year. After barely missing the playoffs last year, what can we expect from the Texans this year?

13: San Francisco 49ers- Singletary added two O-Linemen during the first round of the draft, so the quarterback in SanFran will have all day to find Michael Crabtree.

14: Washington Redskins- I absolutely love the upgrade from Campbell to McNabb. Watch out for the Redskins, folks.

15: Denver Broncos- Here’s hoping for Josh McDaniel’s sake that Tebow doesn’t pull a Brady Quinn for Denver.

16: New York Giants- The G-Men are still wishing Plaxico Burress didn’t shoot himself.

17: Miami Dolphins- Adding Brandon Marshall gives Chad Henne a lot of potential for success in a division that contains the Jets and Patriots.

18: Pittsburgh Steelers- They lost their best all-around receiver in Santonio Holmes, and Roethlisberger’s own idiocy will make the first month of the season rough for the Steelers.

19: Arizona Cardinals- Two major pieces of the offensive puzzle are missing: Warner and Boldin. Can Fitzgerald carry the offense solo? I doubt it.

20: Carolina Panthers- Matt Moore did go 3-1 as a starter after Delhomme was pulled. DeAngelo Williams is also a perennial threat.

21: Philadelphia Eagles- I still don’t understand why they were so hellbent on ditching the quarterback that took them to countless NFC Championships and Super Bowl 39. Kevin Kolb?? Give me a break.

22: Tennessee Titans- We thought Vince Young turned a corner. Then he punched that guy in the face. I don’t know if he has what it takes mentally to be an NFL quarterback.

23: Seattle Seahawks- Pete Carroll is about to begin round 2 of coaching in the NFL. And he has a team with a lot of potential that also plays in the weakest division in professional football.

24: Jacksonville Jaguars- Name another offensive starter beside Garrard, MJD or MSW. I bet you can’t…and that’s not good for the Jags.

25: Chicago Bears- Nothing to be excited about in Chicago apart from the signing of Julius Peppers.

26: Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Tampa fans are overly excited about Gerald McCoy. And with good reason…he’s a beast.

27: Cleveland Browns- Mike Homgren is building a Cleveland team that could be something to watch in a few season from now. But as for right now, they’re still at the bottom.

28: Detroit Lions- Motor City has caught Suh fever. I’m thinking 5 wins is doable for the Lions this year.

29: Kansas City Chiefs- Eric Berry is going to be exciting to watch in the NFL.

30: Buffalo Bills-The Terrell Owens experiment in Buffalo is over. The Bills are back to square 1.

31: Oakland Raiders- Jason Campbell is a major upgrade over JaMarcus Russell.

32: St. Louis Rams- It’s Sam Bradford’s team…let’s see what he does with it.