Welcome back, NFL!  As a sort of appetizer, here’s your preseason version of the Power Rankings.

As always, the beginning of the year’s rankings carry over from last year’s regular season, before the playoffs.

Enjoy and hope this whets your appetite for some football!

Won-Loss Record and Season Opening Ranking in parentheses

1  Denver Broncos (0-0) (2) – No one really believes a retooled Broncos team will front run for long, but they start at the front.

 

2. Carolina Panthers (0-0) (1) – “Getting off up the runner up mat” can be one of the hardest tasks in sports.

 

3 Seattle Seahawks (0-0) (4) – For my money, they’re #1 coming in.

 

4  Cincinnati Bengals (0-0) (7) – Shoulda, woulda, coulda…at some point it’s enough that they didn’t.

 

5 New England Patriots (0-0) (T-5) – Enough of a challenge from below?

 

6 Arizona Cardinals (0-0) (3) – Injuries got them last year, but not the ones you would have thought?  Has the expiration date on this team run out.

 

7 Green Bay Packers (0-0) (12) – This is the year they come out and run start to finish.

 

8 Pittsburgh Steelers (0-0) (8) – Can the offense to die for outscore their own defense?

 

9 Oakland Raiders (0-0) (15) – One of the “new young turks” this season.

 

10 Minnesota Vikings (0-0) (9) – Will benefit from a fading bottom half of the North.

 

11 Kansas City Chiefs (0-0) (T-5) – Hard to tell what’s left in the tank.

 

12 Buffalo Bills (0-0) (14) – Better than they played last year.

 

13 New York Jets (0-0) (10) – Not as good as they played last year.

 

14 Jacksonville Jaguars (0-0) (26) – If all those upgrades work out. . .

 

15 Indianapolis Colts (0-0) (20) – Is Luck gonna be Luck?

 

16 New York Giants (0-0) (18) – Someone’s gotta win this division.

 

17 Baltimore Ravens (0-0) (25) – Would it shock anyone if they come out like gangbusters?

 

18  Dallas Cowboys (0-0) (28) – Is Tony Romo that valuable?

 

19 New Orleans Saints (0-0) (17) – Isn’t Drew Brees?

 

20 Washington RacialSlurs (0-0) (13) – Doomed to the fate of all past NFC East winners.

 

21 Houston Texans (0-0) (11) – Tired of waiting for them to show up.

 

22 Atlanta Falcons (0-0) (19) – Window officially closed?

 

23 Detroit Lions (0-0) (16) – We miss Megatron already.

 

24 San Diego Chargers (0-0) (31) – Injury bounce back is inevitable.

 

25 Tampa Bay  Buccaneers (0-0) (23) – Hope is a good thing.

 

26 Philadelphia Eagles (0-0) (22) – Off to an epic failure start.

 

27 Los Angeles Rams (0-0) (21) – Phew.  Good thing no one in LA pays attention to football.

 

28 Miami Dolphins (0-0) (24) – House of cards folds now.

 

29 Cleveland Browns (0-0) (T-29) – Impossible not to be better.

 

30 Chicago Bears (0-0) (27) – The endless cycle.

 

31 San Francisco 49ers (T-29) – Blaine Gabbert?

 

32 Tennessee Titans (32) (0-0) – The injury prospects look bleak.