Feb 5, 2012; Indianapolis, IN, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) in the offensive huddle against the New York Giants during the second half of Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-US PRESSWIRE

1.    New England Patriots – The Best QB in football gets you the #1 ranking.  TE Gronkowski is an awesome talent. Drafted young players to help their weak defense.

2.    New York Giants – Still the Champs until someone proves otherwise. Giants are great at restocking talent through the draft.

3.    San Francisco 49′ers – The 49er’s added Randy Moss and still have the #1 Defense in the NFL, maybe the best overall team in 2012.

4.    Baltimore Ravens -  Depends on the health of injured OLB Suggs – he is the team leader.

5.    Dallas Cowboys – Under-rated QB Tony Romo will lead the Best Offense in the NFL – Ware – Claiborne and the D are improving -  Big Year in Big D.

6.    Houston Texans – Imagine if they kept Mario Williams, that combined with Foster and Johnson, would have made them the favorite in the AFC.

7.    Green Bay Packers – Aaron Rodgers will find out you do indeed need a running game and defense in this league.

8.    Detroit Lions – Suh and the D will lead them to the playoffs again as a wildcard.

9.    Philadelphia Eagles – Eagles are over-rated as always.  Loss of OT Peters will cause Vick to get injured sooner than usual.

Oct 16, 2011; Pittsburg, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) throws a pass under pressure from the Jacksonville Jaguars during the first half of the game at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Jason Bridge-US PRESSWIRE

10.    Pittsburgh Steelers – Rebuilt the interior O-line with DeCastro, Veteran talent on defense, could surprise in the AFC.

11.    New Orleans Saints – Loss of NFC’s Best Head Coach and Vilma, too much for the Saints to overcome.

12.    Chicago Bears – Cutler must stay healthy for once, and even then just hoping for a wild card berth in a tough division.

13.    Denver Broncos – Peyton Manning will win the division, but cannot take this average Broncos team any further.

14.    Carolina Panthers – Cam is the Man.  He will win the Division and Amaze us with his play once again in 2012.

15.    Buffalo Bills – My Surprise team of 2012, could challenge New England in the AFC East. Need more plays from the Wr’s and more consistency at QB.

16.    Atlanta Falcons – Changed from a hard nosed running team to pass happy and have never been the same threat since.

See the second half of  my list, on the next page…

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Photo: ESPN

ESPN has put together a panel of their writers and analysts to put together power rankings by position. This week, they tackled the NFL’s elite pass rushers.

Cowboys outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware came in at the top of the list ahead of names like Clay Matthews, Dwight Freeney, Jared Allen and James Harrison. Check out the full list of voting results after the jump.
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