National Football Post Comments on Bloguin Power Rankings

Every week the Bloguin NFL blogs will rank the NFL teams 1-32. This week's merged rankings can be found here, as well at the bottom of this article.

We thought our NFL power rankings were pretty good, but we decided to ask an an expert in Joe Fortenbaugh from the National Football Post what he thought of our rankings. Previous to National Football Post, Joe worked at JB Sports, a leading agency for NFL players, so basically he has major blogger street cred. Below is his take:

What's your top 5? At the end of the year, what's a team a little off the radar you think could sneak in to the top 5?
Pittsburgh
New England
New York Giants
Baltimore Ravens
San Diego Chargers
After the way they played in Week 1, it wouldn't surprise me if the 49ers made a little noise this year.  They play tough football in a soft division.

The Vikings and the Packers were tied for 7th place. Who do you think is the better team?
A:  The Packers.  They may struggle on defense this season, but the Vikings will fold late in the year when Favre starts to feel his age.  It won't end well in Minnesota this year.

The Titans and the Saints were also tied for 11th. Who do you think is the better team?
A:  Both should be ranked higher.  The Titans are a very physical football team that lost an overtime game on the road against the defending champs.  New Orleans has the most explosive offense in the NFC.  I think the Saints will go further only because the AFC is a tougher place to play.

Most overvalued team in the rankings? Most undervalued teams in the rankings?
Overvalued:  The Jets at No. 15.  They looked impressive against the Texans, but Sanchez is going to have some trouble this year.  It won't always be that easy.

Undervalued:  San Diego at No. 9.  They are a very talented football team.  Great teams always find ways to win and that's what the Chargers did on Monday night.  This isn't college football.  It doesn't matter how much you win by.

Best division? Worst Division?

Best:  NFC East.  New York, Philly and Dallas are all tough games to play.  Even Washington has an elite level defense that will give opponents some serious problems.
Worst:  It's between both Western divisions, but I'll give it to the AFC West.  Outside of the Chargers, the other three are going to struggle big time this year.  At least the Cards and Seahawks will win some games.

Who is going to win the NFC West?
Anyone but the Rams.  The Seahawks, Cardinals and 49ers all have problems.  But you need a good quarterback and a good defense to win in the NFL, and the Cards have both.  I'll give it to them, unless Warner gets hurt.

Do the Bills deserve to jump 5 spots despite losing?
No.  Actually, they should have fallen down further.  They took a golden opportunity to win a huge football game and threw it away with two bad decisions down the stretch.  That's what bad teams do, find ways to lose.

Last team to win a game in 2009?
St. Louis.  I'm not even going to look at the schedule.  They have a long road ahead of them.

+ commentary from

Below are the Bloguin rankings in question. Rather then our commentary this time, Joe adds his own thoughts on the teams and their rankings.

1

The defending champs open up 2009 with a big win over a very good Titans team.  The offensive line is a major concern, but the league's best defense is a very nice security blanket.

2 What the Patriots did on Monday night was what all elite teams do-find a way to win.  The loss of linebacker Jerod Mayo is going to hurt this defense, but the good news is that Tom Brady will get even better than he was in Week 1.

3 A case could be made for the Giants at No. 2 after the way they physically imposed their will on the Redskins last Sunday.  This team has the deepest front seven in the NFL.

4 The Eagles looked good in Week 1, but should not be this high in the rankings.  The loss of McNabb is a killer and if the Birds had any confidence in backup Kevin Kolb, they wouldn't have signed free agent Jeff Garcia.

5 Manning and Wayne looked outstanding, but this team is going to run into some roadblocks this season.  The offensive line is suspect and the defense needs to improve.  Not sure if they will be able to hang with the elite teams in the NFL.

6 Flacco and Rice are the real deal.  If the defense can continue its streak of dominance, this is going to be one very difficult football team to beat.  The Ravens should be ranked ahead of the Eagles and Colts.  They are that good.

7 One win over a Bears team that made too many mistakes is not enough justification to have the Pack at No. 7.  The offense is outstanding, but the real key here is how the defense matches up against an elite NFL offense.

8 The Vikings will impress some people early in the season with a solid defense, excellent offensive line and outstanding running game.  However, they are not the 8th best team in the league.  Favre will be exposed in November and December

9 The Bolts are a better football team than the No. 9 ranking indicates.  It wasn't pretty against Oakland, but just like with the Patriots, great teams find ways to win.  If they can take down Baltimore this Sunday in SoCal, the Chargers will be in the class of the AFC.

10 The offense looked explosive and the defense was surprisingly good in their win over Miami.  However I'm not so sure the Falcons are a better football team than the Titans or Saints.

11 The Titans are a much better football team than these rankings reflect.  An overtime road loss against the defending champs shouldn't have knocked them down.  They are still the best team in the AFC South.

12 With the exception of some special teams blunders, the Saints looked amazing in Week 1.  Yes, it was against the Detroit Lions, but this offense is going to be tough for anyone to slow down.  New Orleans should be ranked higher.

13 Romo and company looked very good against a lousy Tampa Bay defense.  The real test for Big D comes on Sunday night.  If the Cowboys can knock of the G-men, they will begin to get some respect.

14 Matt Hasselbeck and Julius Jones were impressive, but it came against the lowly St. Louis Rams.  Until the Seahawks show they can win games against quality opponents, they should be ranked lower.

15 Rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez led the Jets to a shocking upset at Houston in Week 1.  But the Texans are a soft football team that showed no heart.  New York will have their ups and downs as Sanchez experiences the normal growing

16 Big problems in the Windy City as the Bears went in to Lambeau and lost-not just the game, but their start middle linebacker, Brian Urlacher.  Things do not look good as the Monsters of the Midway host the Steelers this weekend.
17 Poor start for the defending NFC Champs as they were beaten up by a physical San Francisco team.  The Cards could be facing more problems in Week 2 as they head to Jacksonville.  Prior to the playoffs, the Jags were 0-5 east of the Mississippi in 2008.

18 Ranking the Bills at No. 18 is way too high.  Good teams find ways to win, bad teams find ways to lose.  That is exactly what Buffalo did in Foxboro on Monday night as the squandered a golden opportunity to knock off their hated division rivals.

19 Great start for Mike Singletary and company as the Niners took down the Cardinals in Week 1 by playing physical football.  Another win over a division rival this weekend (Seattle) and the Bay Area faithful may have something to cheer about this season.

20 Think owner Jerry Richardson is rethinking that decision to extend quarterback Jake Delhomme for over $40 million?

21The Dolphins are ranked too low as they lost a road game in Week 1 to a solid Atlanta football team. The Dolphins have a dependable defense and a respectable running game.

22
Jason Campbell and the offense may be shaky, but boy can this defense play some football.  That alone should have the 'Skins ranked higher.

23 The Jags played Indy tough but it was not meant to be.  They don't have any time to lick their wounds as the defending NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals come to town in Week 2.  This could be the case of a decent football team that starts off 0-2 because of a tough schedule.

24 Wake up, Houston.  You just dropped a must-win in Week 1 to a rookie quarterback and now have to hit the road to play the Titans.  This is a soft football team that looks lost.

25 No. 25 is right where the Broncos should be.  They got lucky in Cincinnati and now head home to play the lowly Browns.  However, if this defense puts up another strong showing, it will be time to bump the Broncos up the charts.

26 This defense is downright terrible.  I'd say they should be ranked lower, but the teams below the Bucs are even worse.

27 Bad teams find ways to lose football games.  Period.

28 The Chiefs gave the Ravens everything they could handle for four quarters, but it wasn't enough.  The Raiders are a more talented football team, but that does not make them better.

29 Nice try, Oakland.  You had a chance to end the streak against the hated Chargers and you blew it.  This is right where the Raiders belong.  Above the Browns and below the Chiefs.

30 They were physically manhandled by the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1.  This is a bad defense and an offense that lacks playmakers.  Yes, I know that Braylon Edwards is still in Cleveland.

31 This is the worst team in football.  They should be ranked below Detroit.

32 It's a rebuilding project in the Motor City, so you can't expect to see immediate results.  But one thing is for certain, the Lions looked like an organized team against the Saints on Sunday.  That is a huge improvement on last year's disgraceful season.

Special thanks to Joe for chiming in. Hopefully we see him next week!