About the Rankings:

Raider Ryan began ranking the 32 NFL teams before the first regular season games began. Teams receive credit for winning in general, and winning against tough opponents in particular. Teams are also credited for playing tough on the road, especially against strong opponents. Teams also receive credit for beating strong opponents at home.

Results and Moves:

The #1 Colts (2-0) narrowly defeated the #16 Titans (1-1) 22-20 in Tennessee, and the #2 Patriots (2-0) destroyed the #3 Chargers in (1-1) New England 38-14, raising the Patriots to the #1 position and dropping the Colts to #2. The Chargers moved to #7 with the loss and the Titans moved to #17.

The #4 Cowboys (2-0) beat the #29 Dolphins (0-2) 37-20 in Miami, moving the Cowboys to #3 and dropping the Dolphins to #30.

The #5 Bears (1-1) defeated the #27 Chiefs (0-2) 20-10 in Chicago, keeping the Bears at #5 and dropping the Chiefs to #31.

The #6 Bengals (1-1) were embarrassed by the #31 Browns (1-1) 51-45 in Cleveland, dropping the Bengals to #12 and raising the Browns to #25.

The #7 Steelers (2-0) won easily for over the #18 Bills (0-2) in Pittsburgh 26-3. The win boosted the Steelers to #4 and the Bills dropped to #27 with the loss.

The #8 Ravens (1-1) bested the #24 Jets (0-2) 20-13 in Baltimore, keeping the Ravens at #8 and sinking the Jets to #29.

The #9 Seahawks (1-1) lost to the #20 Cardinals (1-1) 23-20 in Phoenix, moving the Seahawks to #14 and the Cardinals to #13.

The #10 Broncos (2-0) narrowly escaped the #30 Raiders (0-2), winning 23-20 in OT in Denver. The win lifted the Broncos to #6 and the Raiders moved up to #28 with a strong showing in the loss.

The #11 Panthers (1-1) lost to the #17 Texans (2-0) 34-21 in Charlotte. The Panthers dropped to #15 and the Texans rose to #9.

The surprisingly lowly #12 Saints (0-2) were destroyed by the #28 Buccaneers (1-1) 31-14 in Tampa Bay. The loss dropped the Saints all the way to #20 and the win elevated the Buccaneers to #19.

The #13 Packers are now 2-0 after their 35-13 win over the #19 Giants (0-2) at Giants stadium. The Giants dropped to #24 and the Packers moved to #10.

The #14 Eagles are 0-2 after Monday night’s loss to the #22 Redskins (2-0) 20-12 in Philadelphia. The Redskins move to #18 and the Eagles fall to #23.

The #15 49ers (2-0) beat the #23 Rams (0-2) 17-16 in St. Louis. The 49ers stand at #11 and the Rams at #26.

The #21 Vikings (1-1) lost to the #25 Lions (2-0) 20-17 in Detroit. The win moved the Lions to #16 and the Vikings dropped to #22 with the loss.

The #26 Jaguars (1-1) defeated the #32 Falcons (0-2) 13-7 in Jacksonville. The Jaguars moved up to #21 and the Falcons remained at #32.

Current Rankings:

1 Patriots (2-0)
2 Colts (2-0)
3 Cowboys (2-0)
4 Steelers (2-0)
5 Bears (1-1)
6 Broncos (2-0)
7 Chargers (1-1)
8 Ravens (1-1)
9 Texans (2-0)
10 Packers (2-0)
11 49ers (2-0)
12 Bengals (1-1)
13 Cardinals (1-1)
14 Seahawks (1-1)
15 Panthers (1-1)
16 Lions (2-0)
17 Titans (1-1)
18 Redskins (2-0)
19 Buccaneers (1-1)
20 Saints (0-2)
21 Jaguars (1-1)
22 Vikings (1-1)
23 Eagles (0-2)
24 Giants (0-2)
25 Browns (1-1)
26 Rams (0-2)
27 Bills (0-2)
28 Raiders (0-2)
29 Jets (0-2)
30 Dolphins (0-2)
31 Chiefs (0-2)
32 Falcons (0-2)

Past week’s rankings:

1 Colts
2 Patriots
3 Chargers
4 Cowboys
5 Bears
6 Bengals
7 Steelers
8 Ravens
9 Seahawks
10 Broncos
11 Panthers
12 Saints
13 Packers
14 Eagles
15 49ers
16 Titans
17 Texans
18 Bills
19 Giants
20 Cardinals
21 Vikings
22 Redskins
23 Rams
24 Jets
25 Lions
26 Jaguars
27 Chiefs
28 Buccaneers
29 Dolphins
30 Raiders
31 Browns
32 Falcons

But, is he really the guy who can save the once mighty Oakland Raiders from impending disaster?

JaMarcus Russell stayed out of camp and did nothing for the team up to this point, but he got his money anyway. It is yet another example of a highly-touted college QB with unproven skills hitting the jackpot, and I’m not confident that he’s worth the money. I hope he makes me eat my words.

If I was the head coach of the Raiders, Daunte Culpepper would be the starter right now, and if I was charged with making a decision about JaMarcus Russell, I would not have signed him at all.

NFL Power Ranking after Week 1 games:

The power rankings that were posted before the week #1 NFL games held up pretty well during the first week, even though week #1 was extremely disappointing for me personally. What happened to the #28 Raiders defense against the Lions and John Kitna? After all, the Raider’s defense was ranked #1 against the pass last season.

By losing at home to the #32 Lions, the Raiders dropped to #30. The win also raised the Lions from the cellar of the power rankings to #25. On paper, this looked like a very winnable game for the Raiders. The loss to Detroit foretells bad things for the 2007 season, but I’m not giving up hope after one game.

Starting at the top, the Colts proved their worth as the #1 pick by handily beating the #4 Saints in Indianapolis and the #2 Patriots looked very strong on the road against the #14 Jets. Due to those outcomes, the Saints dropped to #14 and the Jets dropped to #24.

The #3 Chargers defeated the #7 Bears in San Diego but I gave the Bears a lot of credit for virtually shutting down LaDainian Tomlinson and a potentially explosive Chargers offense. If not for a couple of costly turnovers, the Bears could easily have won this game. The Chargers stayed at #3 and the Bears were elevated to #5 based on this game.

The Bears are now the second highest ranked team in the NFC. The #8 Cowboys moved to #4 by defeating the #17 Giants, who dropped to #19.

The #12 Seahawks defeated the #26 Buccaneers in Seattle, moving the Seahawks to #9 and the Buccaneers to #28 and the #24 Chiefs looked terrible losing to the #23 Texans on the road, boosting the Texans to #17 and dropping the Chiefs to #27.

After all the Sunday action was over, there were still two games to play on Monday, and they both turned out to be very good contests. The #16 49ers defeated the #19 Cardinals and the #11 Bengals defeated the #5 Ravens stirring up the order a bit. The 49ers moved to #15, the Cardinals dropped to #20, and the Ravens and Bengals are now at #8 and #6 respectively.

At the bottom, Adrian Peterson was impressive as the #30 Falcons lost to the #27 Vikings in Minnesota. By virtue of the win, the Vikings moved to #21 and the Falcons dropped to #32.

Current Rankings:

Rankings Before Week 1 Games:

OROR

There are three men pictured above: two of the men have a realistic chance to become the Oakland Raiders opening day starter, the other still isn’t wearing a uniform.

Based on the performances of the QBs in Thursday night’s 19-14 pre-season loss to the Seattle Seahawks, Oakland Raiders head coach Lane Kiffin needs to name Daunte Culpepper as the starter. It is time for the team to focus on winning real games, and for now the Raiders have the best chance of winning if Culpepper is the starting quarterback.

It looks like Culpepper has that something extra, that energy and leadership ability that a good starting quarterback needs in order to lead his team to victory. Josh McCown may have a better grasp of the offense and a desire to defeat his former team, the Detroit Lions, but Culpepper has the best ability.

A quarterback that I haven’t even mentioned is Andrew Walter. Walter was the primary starter in 2006, leading the team to 2 wins with 3 TD and 13 INT. Lane Kiffin already stated that Walter isn’t being considered for the starting QB, trade rumors have started in the past couple of days, and Walter could easily be cut when and if overall #1 pick JaMarcus Russell signs a contract.

Concerning Russell, I’d really like to see the Raiders take a stand and not even sign the kid at all. I don’t believe that committing all of that money to an unproven player is a good move for the Raiders at this time. Let’s go with the players we have and JUST WIN BABY!

The team from the United States won the World Championship of American football 23-20 over two-time defending champion Japan in the gold medal game on Sunday, August 26, 2007 at Todoroki Stadium in Kawasaki, Japan.

This is the first time the team from the U.S. participated in the tournament and it makes sense that they emerged victorious. It is a great thing that this type of tournament is expanding the fan base for American football and perhaps in the future more Japanese fans will develop an interest in the game.

This is something that will become a regular weekly feature. With no further adieu, here are my current NFL power rankings from 1 to 32. Do you agree or disagree?

1 Colts
2 Patriots
3 Chargers
4 Saints
5 Ravens
6 Broncos
7 Bears
8 Cowboys
9 Eagles
10 Steelers
11 Bengals
12 Seahawks
13 Panthers
14 Jets
15 Bills
16 49ers
17 Giants
18 Rams
19 Cardinals
20 Packers
21 Jaguars
22 Titans
23 Texans
24 Chiefs
25 Redskins
26 Buccaneers
27 Vikings
28 Raiders
29 Dolphins
30 Falcons
31 Browns
32 Lions

The Raiders better come to play on Friday night. I don’t care if these games mean anything or not, I think it is important for the Raiders to develop a taste for winning now so the players can compare the feeling they have after a victory to that which overcomes them after a loss. After 14 of them in the regular season last year, it’s a taste the team needs to get out of their mouths for good!

The JaMarcus Russell thing not withstanding, I’m very confident about this offense, and the leadership of Lane Kiffin on the sideline and Daunte Culpepper on the field. Dare I say 8-8? OK, the Raiders may not perform as well as I would like this season but there’s nowhere to go but up from last year’s debacle.

I agree with the commentators who say that the pre-season is way too long, I’m ready to start the games yesterday. Good luck on Friday!

The Raiders were unable to pull out the pre-season game against the San Francisco 49ers the other day, but the QBs played OK. Does anyone believe that JaMarcus Russell would be a huge improvement over Daunte Culpepper?

If the NFL veterans and the NFLPA start to look at the current state of things, there is going to be a change in the collective bargaining agreement. Some guys bust their asses for years and never receive the kind of money many of the first round draft picks want, and receive coming directly out of college. Is that fair? Is it fair that the guys who played before the money exploded to such outrageous levels have an insufficient pension fund?

I don’t care if the Raiders sign JaMarcus Russell or not. I don’t think he will add a great deal to the present team. I’m a Raiders fan and I will back the players on the field!

Fans of the Oakland Raiders know that the #1 overall NFL draft pick in 2007, JaMarcus Russell hasn’t signed a contract with the team yet and has already missed training camp. That’s too bad for JaMarcus Russell because whether or not he realizes it, the team probably doesn’t even need him now, although the Raiders would love for him to sign and join the team.

Daunte Culpepper, Josh McCown and Andrew Walter all performed well in the Raiders first pre-season game. All three of these QBs are capable and Culpepper could be outstanding once he learns the Raiders offense better.

At this point the Raiders should let Mr. Russell sit out the season if a contract can’t be reached. NFL draft picks, especially first rounders make way too much money anyway: when these men don’t perform up to the levels that they did in college, the money is wasted and the teams that signed the players lose some ability to acquire other players via free agency. The NFL salary cap makes sure of that.

If Russell does sign (for $30 million guaranteed or whatever) I sure hope he performs. It looks like a wasted draft pick to me right now.