ProFootballinsight.net has just released it’s first NFL Power Rankings Assessment after Week 1.  ProFootballinsight.net ranks the top five teams, and the bottom five.  Check out if your team falls on either list!

Bottom 5

32.  St. Louis Rams-  From what used to be a once mighty and powerful offense, the Rams being shut out of their Week 1 contest 28 to nada courtesy of the Seattle Seahawks makes me glad I’m not a Rams Fan.

31.  Detroit Lions-  The only reason Detroit is not at the bottom is the fact that they managed 27 points of offense last week against that Saints.  The contributing factor could be that they gave up 45 points to get those 27.

30.  Cleveland Browns-  As my favorite team, I would be lying if this was not painful for me to report.  But the fact of the matter is, Cleveland still has no offense, no run defense, and their only source of explosion is from Josh Cribbs.  I am hopeful for these issues to change, but until they do, they will be in the bottom five for quite some time.

29.  Cincinnati Bengals-  With an offense that on paper is stacked with talent, how did they manage 7 points against the Broncos?  Not that the Broncos are a bad team, well, I guess they are, but this offense is capable of far more that 7 points.  I will say that the Bengals Defense did an outstanding job minus the infamous tip allowing Brandon Stokley to steal a Week 1 win.

28.  Denver Broncos-  Yes, they did win.  Yes, they are undefeated.  And yes, they will lose to #30 on this list this week, the Cleveland Browns.  Denver squeaked by #29 on this list with a luck deflection into the hands of Brandon Stokley.  Denver’s win was less than unimpressive, but a win again this week will remove them from the bottom 5.

Top 5

5.  Minnesota Vikings-  The Vikings have the greatest running game in the league.  They have a tremendous defense as well.  If Brett Farve gets an opportunity to open up the playbook and spread the field, stopping defenses from stacking nine defenders in the box to stop Adrian Peterson, they sky is the limit for the Vikings.

4.  New Orleans Saints-  No doubting the talent on the offensive side of the ball.  Drew Brees has been playing at an unconscious level since his arrival in the N.O.  My only concern with the Saints is their allowing the Detroit Lions to drop 27 points on their Defense.

3.  New York Giants-  The Giants are again solid on Defense, and their offense will only get better as their youthful receivers gain more game experience and bond with quarterback Eli Manning.

2.  Pittsburgh Steelers-  The defending Super Bowl Champions are not number one due to the return of the 2007 Patriots.  It will be interesting to see how the Steelers cope with the loss of their defensive heart and soul, Troy Polamalu.  If they continue to win in his absence, his return could move them back to #1.

1.  New England Patriots-  They did not look like world beaters on Monday night, and Tom Brady in the first half did not look like himself.  With that said, his total domination of the late 4th quarter showed me all I needed to see.  This team is as talented as the team that tore through the league two years ago.  Their only weakness is that their defense has a lot of youth.  This defense will gel as the season goes on and barring any major injuries is my odds on favorite to reach the Super Bowl to represent the AFC.

The fifth spot in the top 5 was a very difficult decision.  The Eagles would have been a lock had Donovan McNabb not gone down with an injury.  The Dallas Cowboys should be mentioned as well, as Tony Romo and company appeared to click on all cylinders.  The Ravens looked good on offense, but gave up entirely too many points to a Matt Casselless Kansas City Chiefs team.

Check back with ProFootballinsight.net next week for the updated NFL Power Rankings.

Team logos courtesy of NFL.com

Kurt Fraschetti / ProFootballinsight.net

Kurt@Profootballinsight.net