By Jason Cole and Charles Robinson TOP 12 Cole rankings 1. San Diego Chargers 2. New England Patriots 3. Indianapolis Colts 4. Baltimore Ravens 5. Chicago Bears 6. New Orleans Saints 7. Philadelphia Eagles 8. Cincinnati Bengals 9. Denver Broncos 10. Jacksonville Jaguars 11. New York Jets 12. Seattle Seahawks Cole: I can't wait until all the Patriots fans tell me how stupid I am for putting the Chargers in the top spot. Why not Colts fans, you say? Indy fans are way too milquetoast to get in anybody's face. More telling is the fact that AFC teams occupy eight of the top 11 spots. That's a pretty strong eight and just about any one of them could beat the best the NFC has to offer. Robinson rankings 1. San Diego Chargers 2. New England Patriots 3. New Orleans Saints 4. Indianapolis Colts 5. Chicago Bears 6. Baltimore Ravens 7. Cincinnati Bengals 8. Dallas Cowboys 9. Denver Broncos 10. New York Jets 11. Jacksonville Jaguars 12. Philadelphia Eagles Robinson: New England's got the talent to be in the top spot, but there's no guarantee Randy Moss, Donte' Stallworth and Kelley Washington won't undermine the chemistry on offense. Starting Indianapolis in the No. 4 spot may not seem sensible, but the Colts have pressing defensive questions after losing their starting cornerbacks and a playmaking linebacker in Cato June. link for the rest -> http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ys-rankings072307&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
Putting the Chargers number one is a bit of a leap in my opinion. Team coming back to an entirely new coaching staff is going to cause at least some issues that will keep them from being top of the heap - at least for a few games.
I think most sports writers, at this point, only put a team in front of the Patriots because so many other outlets predict the Pats to go all the way.
I put the Jets in front of Jacksonville. Coaching, gives the Jets the edge. No need to bring up the 41-0 loss by the way. Things have changed.