NFL-Team Rankings: From Cream-of-the-Crop to Most Pathetic

A seven-year-old child could probably identify the best team in the National Football League so far in 2007, but seeding the remainder of the thirty-two squads in order of their abilities might be expecting a bit much from the kid. After seven weeks of close observation, here is my ranking of the clubs in the NFL, from cream-of-the-crop to the most pathetic.

1. New England Patriots- A coach motivated by being caught cheating and a near-perfect quarterback with plenty of options has made up for a lack of a running game and a defense that doesn't inspire fear anymore. Tom Brady may eclipse the record for touchdown passes in a season by Thanksgiving at this rate.

2. Indianapolis Colts- Peyton Manning hasn't had to match Tom Brady's stats, but he could if he was asked to. The Colts defense seems improved and when both teams are healthy, there is not much separating one from the other, except perhaps home field.

3. Jacksonville Jaguars- The ability to run the ball and stop it on the other side of the line makes Jax a dangerous club, but the drop-off from the first two teams to them is like missing the first three stairs as you go down to the basement with the laundry.

4. San Diego Chargers- The addition of Chris Chambers should open things up for the running game and Tomlinson and give Philip Rivers a bonafide number one wide receiver. Now all Norv Turner has to do is stay out of the way. Big games though are not this team's forte.

5. Dallas Cowboys- Romo gives them a chance to be the best in the NFC; their secondary gives them a chance to lose any game they are in. Marion Barber needs to touch the ball more and Romo needs to make sure the other club's defensive backs touch it less for them to be a serious factor.

6. Pittsburgh Steelers- They have given up just 78 points in six games, but the new coach, Mike Tomlin, has yet to face a real crisis, so that bears watching. Still, the offense is more unpredictable and seems more explosive now.

7. New York Giants- After two games they were circling the drain, but now the pass rush is circling opposing quarterbacks like Lawrence Taylor's mythical "pack of hungry dogs." The other Manning needs to become more consistent though for them to thrive in a weak conference.

8. Denver Broncos- Jay Cutler's growing pains may eventually sink this ship, but his promise and potential cannot be overlooked. The defense needs to tighten up, as they have given up almost 28 points a contest. Coach Shanahan looks less and less like one of the greatest of all time the farther he gets from the Elway years.

9. Tennessee Titans- This club has a penchant for winning close games the past year and a half, but it desperately needs Vince Young healthy. Kerry Collins is in a good situation though, as he is a more-than-capable passer if given protection.

10. Green Bay Packers- Their fast start was just what they needed, but contrary to perception, it is their defense that is responsible, and not Brett Favre. He has brought the term "bone-headed plays" to the forefront during his career, and he will make enough of them to keep the Packers from doing too much damage in the playoffs.

11. Carolina Panthers- John Fox should be commended for winning four of his first six, especially since all those wins came on the road. A weakened division can't hurt, but having a signal caller older than most beer league softball players, and less mobile, won't be an asset.

12. Chicago Bears- This team has the coach and the players to get back to the playoffs. The intangibles that Devin Hester brings, along with Brian Griese's last chance to prove himself as a pro quarterback, will be enough. They cannot lose another divisional game if they want to make a go of things.

13. Baltimore Ravens- The defense is living off of its reputation and Steve McNair won't get through the season intact, leaving the team's fate in the hands of Kyle Boller, not a pleasant thought. They need to ride Willis McGahee more.

14. Kansas City Chiefs- Opponents can focus on Larry Johnson with Damon Huard at quarterback, but Herman Edwards's side of the ball has always been defense, and they are far superior there when compared to years past. Johnson is still good enough to make a couple game-breaking plays each contest.

15. Washington Redskins- If you told people who didn't know any better that Joe Gibbs is already in the Hall of Fame, they would also assume that Matt Millen is in as well as an executive and a player. This team wins ugly; if it were a woman it would make Roseanne Barr look like Charlize Theron.

16. Seattle Seahawks- They are middle of the pack, but they are in a division so inept offensively that they couldn't lose it if they just showed up without a game plan every week, which sometimes appears to be the case. Shaun Alexander is far removed from his days as one of the NFL's best backs.

17. Tampa Bay- They are hard to describe, playing just good enough to win some weeks or just bad enough to lose others. Jeff Garcia is a solid addition, but they have little room for error on offense, meaning turnovers are more costly to them than most clubs.

18. Detroit Lions- Offensively they have many weapons, but defensively they bring knives to gunfights. However, despite giving up 171 points in seven tilts, they are 4-2. How long before that evens out?

19. Philadelphia Eagles- Team with a quarterback who now seems like he doesn't want to be there and a coach with so many distractions that he's just trying to hold things together from week to week. Perhaps Terrell Owens wasn't the main problem when he was on this team. At least then they were relevant.

20. New Orleans Saints- The one team on this roster that is ranked in the lower echelons that could have the wherewithal to move up much higher. The awful 0-4 start is a big obstacle to overcome, but not as big as what the city has had to face. Expect them to make a run but fall valiantly short.

21. Houston Texans- The happy days of September have given way to reality. They can score but can't stop anyone, meaning that 8-8 would be a big steppingstone to better years ahead.

22. Arizona Cardinals- The football equivalent of the Chicago Cubs, except their curse isn't as quaint as the one involving a goat. Kurt Warner could do good things if he stays in one piece, but Edgerrin James has been exposed as the huge beneficiary of playing with Peyton Manning. Still, in their division they will be a factor.

23. Cincinnati Bengals- A coach on the hot seat with no answers, Marvin Lewis will return to the sidelines somewhere as a coordinator after this disappointing year is complete. Carson Palmer simply can't keep up with the porous defense that allows other teams to outscore his offense.

24. Cleveland Browns- The emergence of Derek Anderson as a passer is nice, but it now makes it look as if the Browns wasted a first rounder on Brady Quinn, who had to be pretty good if Notre Dame is this bad without him.

25. Buffalo Bills- A seemingly snake-bit team, from the terrible injury to tight end Kevin Everett to a devastating loss to the Cowboys on Monday Night Football, the Bills still play hard and with heart, which can sometimes overcome a lack of talent, and luck.

26. Minnesota Vikings- The running of Adrian Peterson has been impressive, but all you need to know about this putrid is that trailing Dallas by ten on the Cowboy 45 with five minutes to go, Coach Bad Childress punted. Almost every other team in the league would kill to have this good of a defense, but it is wasted here.

27. San Francisco 49ers- Another offense that you can't write home about, unless it is to say "Get me out of here!" Frank Gore is showing signs of life, but the rest of this moribund squad is as dead as George Washington.

28. Oakland Raiders- They have a defense that should request being able to play both ways. They can't run the ball and make their fans wish they would be absorbed into the "Black Hole." Al Davis is another Hall of Famer that could have his bust taken out of Canton.

29. Atlanta Falcons- Mike Vick will be safer in prison if he is put into the general population than he would be playing behind this offensive line. It's a good thing owner Arthur Blank also is the head of Home Depot, because there is a lot to fix here.

30. New York Jets- Their soft schedule last year fooled everyone into thinking that finally a Bill Belichick disciple was a mini-genius. Chad Pennington will finish the year on the bench, and the beating that awaits them when they go to New England could be of epic proportions.

31. St. Louis Rams- "The Greatest Show on Turf" has morphed into "My Mother, The Car", with the worst start in franchise history making people in Los Angeles glad the team left town. The surest thing this season is that after it there will be a new coach in St. Louis.

32. The team that went undefeated in 1972 could realistically go winless 35 years later, while the Patriots equal their accomplishment of not losing a single game. Now the old members of that Dolphin team simply open the champagne either to celebrate a Miami first down or to drown their sorrows.