2009 NFL Barometer: Week 1

Welcome back to the NFL Barometer. This week rankings have been submitted by Dan Lambskin, RWLongy4, Indibuck and FatFoot, as well as myself. It will be very interesting to see how closely this initial ranking matches the rankings in Week 17 — my guess is that we won’t even be close. Unsurprisingly, the defending champion Pittsburgh Steelers debut at the top, with the Tom Brady-led Patriots coming in second. The Giants are the highest-rated NFC team at #4. Will Steelers-Giants be the eventual Super Bowl? Only time will tell. For this first edition of Barometer, the change column will reflect the change for the team from last year’s final edition.

Rank	Change	TEAM	Avg Rank	D Z	D N	R W	I B	F F
1		Pittsburgh Steelers	1.8	4	1	1	1	2
The defending champs always have a target on their back. Let’s see how they handle the Titans in Week 1.
2		New England Patriots	2	2	2	3	2	1
Welcome back, Brady. Getting the poster boy back under center puts them in the driver seat for the AFC East crown.
3		San Diego Chargers	3.6	1	5	2	7	3
A huge bump up for an 8-8 team, San Diego is a popular expert pick for a Super Bowl appearance.
4		New York Giants	4.6	3	3	5	4	8
No Plaxico, no problem. The fifth spot here makes them the Cafe favorite for the Super Bowl from the NFC.
5		Philadelphia Eagles	5	7	6	4	3	5
All the additions (McCoy, Maclin, Vick) make this a dangerous offense, but can the defense keep up their end?
6		Indianapolis Colts	6.4	5	7	6	5	9
Gone is Marvin Harrison, but that may be a good thing. How will the run defense hold up this year?
7		Green Bay Packers	7.2	8	8	8	8	4
The Packers are getting a lot of love, especially since they finished 22nd last year with the same team.
8		Carolina Panthers	9.2	12	4	10	9	11
Has Jake Delhomme gotten past that awful playoff game? Jonathan Stewart is already banged up. Not a good sign.
9		Minnesota Vikings	9.4	19	9	7	6	6
Add Brett Favre, and Minnesota fans are dreaming of a Super Bowl. However, this is a shell of the old Favre.
10		Chicago Bears	11.4	11	15	12	12	7
The addition of Jay Cutler has the Bears up seven spots from the end of last year. The NFC North will be interesting.
11		Baltimore Ravens	12.4	16	10	9	10	17
If Joe Flacco takes a step forward, it will be up the defense to weather the loss of Rex Ryan and Bart Scott.
12		New Orleans Saints	12.8	10	13	14	13	14
New Orleans is up a couple spots, but success will depend on the development of the defense.
13		Atlanta Falcons	13.4	13	12	13	17	12
Despite the addition of Tony Gonzalez, we’re predicting a bit of a slip, raking the Falcons five spots lower from 2008.
14		Dallas Cowboys	13.8	14	16	15	11	13
T.O. is gone, and a low-hanging jumbo-tron has arrived. This promises to be another weird season in Dallas.
15		Tennessee Titans	14.2	6	18	18	14	15
They started last season 10-0, but we only like them for the last playoff spot in the AFC.
16		Arizona Cardinals	14.2	20	14	11	16	10
The NFC champions debut squarely in the middle of the Barometer — curious, unless you know the team.
17		Jacksonville Jaguars	15	17	11	16	15	16
We’re predicting a jump to the middle of the pack for the Jags, presumably behind a reborn running game.
18		Miami Dolphins	17.2	9	20	19	19	19
From the playoffs to #18, it’ll be a surprise to see a repeat. Don’t count on Bill Parcells.
19		Houston Texans	19	15	19	25	18	18
A lot of teams love the Texans as the 2009 sleeper, but we’re not seeing it. Another 8-8 season maybe?
20		Washington Redskins	20	21	17	17	22	23
Washington and Houston flip places this year, essentially meaning we see no progress from either team.
21		New York Jets	20.6	22	21	20	20	20
The Mark Sanchez show debuts this week in Houston. Imagine what hype a road win in his first game would cause.
22		San Francisco 49ers	23	18	23	26	23	25
I ranked them low, but I actually like them as a sleeper. I think they could take the NFC West crown this year.
23		Seattle Seahawks	23	26	22	22	21	24
Like the Texans, we’re not seeing a step forward this year. To a man, we all have the Seahawks in the bottom 12.
24		Cincinnati Bengals	23.2	23	25	23	24	21
The Bengals are another interesting sleeper this year, but they play in a tough division to break through.
25		Buffalo Bills	24.4	30	24	21	25	22
One of three teams to fire their offensive coordinator right before the season. It’s telling the other two are below.
26		Tampa Bay Buccaneers	26.4	27	26	27	26	26
No deviation from the Cafe on the Bucs — we all have them 26th or 27th. They’re just not that good.
27		Denver Broncos	27.4	25	28	30	27	27
Take a decent team, trade away their best player, lose the long-time coach, and see what happens.
28		Kansas City Chiefs	28.4	24	29	29	30	30
Take a terrible team and do the same as above (Broncos), and you might actually have something.
29		Oakland Raiders	29	29	27	28	29	32
No word on whether news is true that Al Davis tried to trade away a 2011 1st for Darrell Green.
30		Cleveland Browns	29	31	31	24	28	31
Congrats Brady, you’re the starter! Now, get through a season with this supporting cast. Good luck.
31		Detroit Lions	30	28	32	31	31	28
It’s safe to say they won’t go 0-16 again. In fact, we don’t think they’re the worst team in the NFL. Progress!
32		St. Louis Rams	31	32	30	32	32	29
Let me introduce you to the league’s worst team. I actually think Spags might be able to turn it around.

(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)  Loading ... Want to see your own fantasy wisdom published? Check out the Cafe's Pencil & Paper section!