1. Patriots - It's mostly about the coach. Sure Brady is pretty good, too.

2. Steelers - Kind of by default. Pats and Steelers are a tier apart in the AFC ... and no one in the NFC looks all that elite right now.

3. Panthers - Except maybe these guys. No where near as convincing as Pats and Steelers, and someone's gotta win the NFC. 

4. Texans - Other than the obvious exception of not being defending champions, what do they do worse than Denver? Do people really believe Siemian would have started over Osweiler if they had the choice?

5. Broncos - Just finished proving that defense still wins championships, and the defense is still real; but free agent losses should mean a slight step back.

6. Bengals - Struggled with this one, as Cincy's never been able to deliver in the clutch. But unlike the next team, they're not injury-ridden ...

7. Vikings - The NFC race *could* have been interesting this season. But at some point Sam Bradford will be Sam Bradford. Maybe AP will come back soon.

8. Cardinals - Their top ten resume is basically just whipping Tampa Bay and inertia from last year. Looked horrible all preseason. Looked flat week 1. Not a fan of having them this high, but someone has to top the middle-of-the-pack muddle.

9. Jets - Nice defense. Lost by a point to the Bengals, which is worth ... something I guess.

10. Giants - The NFC Least drives this ranking. Not convinced they could consistently beat the 5 teams ranked below them, but someone gets a playoff ticket out of the division and they seemed best positioned.

11. Packers - Uninspiring play so far. Years of consistently fielding good teams and a "quality loss" to the Vikings keep them from plummeting too much.

12. Chiefs - Similar to the packers, but with fewer years of fielding good teams. 

13. Eagles - More NFC Least boosting. The Bears and Browns are certainly both bottom five teams (and some might even argue 31 and 32), so don't count me on the "Wentz is amazing" train just yet. Look for Pittsburgh to humiliate them. But they're 2-0 and that counts.

14. Ravens - Beating bottom ten teams by less than a touchdown isn't impressive, but it's still 2-0.

15. Colts - They need their corners back desperately. This ranking assumes that happens soon. Real soon. 

16. Seahawks - Still get unfair ref treatment for their constant mugging of receivers, but gimpy Russell Wilson has shown their O can't move without him.

17. Chargers - I want to put them higher, but they keep losing their playmakers to injury. Rivers is the man, though.

18. Falcons - They won, so I gotta put them ahead of ...

19. Raiders - They won, so I gotta put them ahead of ...

20. Saints - Week 2 started to show that maybe they could do something on defense.

21. Bucs - How did this team beat the Falcons? Looked atrocious in week 2. Speaking of which ...

22. Jaguars - Writing them off entirely is an overreaction to a bad week 2 loss. It was a road game blowout. These things happen from time to time. At least it wasn't to a bottom-third team. Looked OK vs the Packers.

23. Titans - Beating Detroit by 1 isn't an enormous statement, but it is enough to get them ranked over ...

24. Lions - Looked good against the Colts. Then looked crappy against the Titans. But Indy's corners are ravaged, so I have to discount their win over Indy a little.

25. Cowboys - Mediocre rookie QBs usually look good for several games. This team is an O-Line, but at least they have something. And an overrated WR.

26. Dolphins - Ugh, from here down it's not good. Another year, another "this team has so much promise" failure to show.

27. 49ers - Blowout win over the Rams has them ranked higher than their 30ish ranked talent deserves.

28. Rams - Still haven't scored a touchdown. Probably aren't this good, but beat the Seahawks, which earns a little separation from the dregs below.

29. Bills - They were in both games. They fired the wrong coach, and that's not going to help in the locker room. Hopefully this time the league learns the Ryan brothers are pretty terrible.

30. Washington - Bad. Really bad.

31. Bears - Worse.

32. Browns - Let me know how getting rid of all your talent when you're already a bad team works out for you, Cleveland.

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