Chicago Tribune Power Rankings
 

Dan Pompei On the NFL

6:37 p.m. CDT, September 3, 2012
1. Packers: The addition of Cedric Benson could give the Packers a dimension they lacked.

2. Giants: They are a little beat up at cornerback, but their pass rush should be able to compensate while they get healthy.

3. Patriots: Questions about the running game have not been cleared up heading into the season, but this still is one fine football team.

4. Ravens: The offense should be better than ever, but the Ravens still need to figure out how to replace linebacker Terrell Suggs.

5. 49ers: This team is so solid all-around that it's difficult to envision them not being highly competitive.

6. Steelers: Losing guard Dave DeCastro was a blow for the Steelers, but they have dealt with offensive line injuries well in the past.

7. Texans: Everyone expects them to be good. But with a little luck, they can be better than that.

8. Bears: This team needs Brian Urlacher not only to be on the field but also to play like he did in 2011.

9. Chiefs: The more you see of this team, the more you like it.

10. Lions: Matthew Stafford and the Lions receivers might be able to pass for 800 yards against the Lions secondary, which is both comforting and disturbing to Lions fans.

11. Falcons: This team has flown way under the radar through the preseason, but that might not last long.

12. Saints: With defensive end Will Smith suspended for four games and Aaron Kromer feeling his way as interim head coach, the Saints could get off to a rocky start.

13. Eagles: The heat is on Andy Reid, but he usually responds pretty well in such situations.

14. Bengals: If the Andy Dalton-to-A.J. Green combo is better this year than last, the Bengals will be for real.

15. Broncos: Now that we can be reasonably sure Peyton Manning can still tear the heart out of a defense, there is good reason to believe in this team.

16. Chargers: They have had some tough injuries early, but the Chargers can get through them if their defense plays as well as it can.

17. Panthers: This Panthers offense is starting to look like it can be very scary for opposing defenses.

18. Raiders: It might take some time for new coach Dennis Allen's program to start hitting on all cylinders, but there is some talent here.

19. Titans: Quarterback Jake Locker has looked good so far — let's see if he can keep it up when the games mean something.

20. Cowboys: Tony Romo could be in for a big season — if his offensive line can keep him upright.

21. Jets: Looks like the defense is going to have to be awfully good to offset the shortcomings of the offense.

22. Buccaneers: This team will go as far as quarterback Josh Freeman takes it. Questions remain as to whether or not he can recapture his 2010 form.

23. Seahawks: They are taking a gamble on rookie quarterback Russell Wilson, but they still can turn to Matt Flynn if Wilson struggles.

24. Colts: No question this team could be better than initial projections. Andrew Luck is ready now.

25. Redskins: RG3 looks like he's ready to make plays, but he might not have enough help around him.

26. Cardinals: With John Skelton starting at QB, the Cardinals' ceiling may be limited.

27. Bills: It remains to be seen if Mario Williams can be Reggie White II. The Bills need to pick it up on offense to give Williams pass rush chances.

28. Rams: Early line on the Rams: better, but not yet where they want to be.

29. Vikings: Christian Ponder needs to have Adrian Peterson healthy and running hard.

30. Jaguars: Maurice Jones-Drew came back in the nick of time, but this team still has some issues.

31. Browns: There is a lot of inexperience on the Browns roster, and that could make for a long season.

32. Dolphins: Trading cornerback Vontae Davis and starting rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill tells you about the direction of this team.

dpompei@tribune.com

Twitter @danpompei

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports...2697186.column

LMAO.

Preseason games blacked out in Chicago.

OUR TIME!!!!

TO THE FAIRY BOAT

HO HO HOOOOO SHIT!!!!!! BOOM!!!

http://i.minus.com/iOyPRozLCMeKt.gif

Obviously he hasn't seen much.

can I be co captain of the Eiffel tower fairy?

absolutely

what a tard...

F'N A Cotton.

Dan must have seen a different Chiefs team in preseason than the one i saw.

To the dingy!

Raiders are way too high.

:LOL:

LMAO He looks goofy as hell; but that kid is groovin'!

Dan Pompei is smoking crack.

Amusing

Dan Pompei is regarded as a moron by a lot of people, so, yeah.

Thanks for polluting another thread with your drivel Clay, bravo.


Guy picks the Chiefs to be decent, whatadumbass

I can accept people around here being pessimistic about the Chiefs, because let's be honest....there hasn't been a whole lot of "positive" in the past 20 years.

...but you come off as someone who wants the team to lose just to prove you were right about whatever drivel you happen to be spouting off at the time on an Internet forum.

Probably just the first half of the first preseason game.

The usual suspects will be along shortly to shit on this positive thread...whoops too late.

I think he shorted the Bills, but otherwise, the list looks okay.

The Chiefs have a pretty good team. They are packed on offense and if Flowers and DJ get healthy sooner rather than later, it's a kick ass defense.

The only thing around here is that people have swallowed the doom pill because Hali got suspended and DJ has an ankle thing. We were still talking up this defense even when Flowers wasn't playing all preseason long.

If Hali was active, this place would be going bonkers about how we were going to ass rape the Falcons.

Chiefs are better than the Lions, Falcons, and Saints?


Not buying that

Lions got secondary and RB problems. Their offensive line sucks, though Reiff has looked good this preseason. I don't think that they are better than the Chiefs.

Falcons...eh. Their offensive line isn't great, their RB's are just adequate and their defense is suspect. No, I don't think that they are better than the Chiefs.

Saints are done this year. Get back to me in 2013.

They all have better Qb's than KC, which allows them to make up for those things.

Not really.

You've got to have balance.

And Matt Ryan hasn't impressed me as much as the national media wants me to believe. He's Phil Rivers Jr. at this point.

And for all the accolades that everyone keeps heaping on Peyton Manning, his little brother, who, by all standards, is an inferior QB, has more Super Bowl wins.

Matthew Stafford and Drew Brees are good enough to beat teams with no defense.


Balance? Bullshit.


Look at the Pats, Saints, Lions, Giants Packers of last year.

I would like us to win the Super Bowl this year, actually.

Not only would it be awesome, but it would prove my gut instincts about Cassel in 2009 were correct.

I'm pretty sure I was wrong, though, and he will make the same mistakes he's made every season for the last four seasons this season.

Pigs may fly, though.

****ing brilliant.

Chanting!!!

We're #8, We're #8.....BOOYAHH!!!

Even if it isn't true, has a nice..wait we can't even dream of being better than #8?

Has someone done a thread yet on what the Chiefs final record will be?

So we're ahead of the team that blew us out by 40 last year? Yeah, makes sense

The problem is that the Chiefs are a paper tiger at this point. The individual talent is there. It just that they have yet to show that they can perform at a high level on a regular basis.

32. Dolphins: Trading cornerback Vontae Davis and starting rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill tells you about the direction of this team.

The Dolphins traded Tannehill?

Somebody has been smoking front yard grass

It's somewhat questionable sentence structure but read it again. It's a compound sentence with an implied subject.

[The Dolphins] trading cornerback Vontae Davis and [the Dolphins] starting rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill tells you about the direction of this team.

heh, its funny....the national media seems to be higher on the Chiefs this year than most people around here......and yet you guys always scream that we dont get enough love.


The Irony....

It seems that with Pioli in charge we get too much love, compare that to the Marty years when we were ridiculed around the media...It just doesn't make sense.

It all revolves around Cassel.

The national media LOVES Cassel for the most part. Even NFLN guys with local ties (aka Trent Green) think Cassel is a playoff-caliber QB.

By contrast, most of us here think Cassel is crap.

That, and that alone, accounts for the difference in the overall evaluations of the team.

We want to like the guy, but he just doesn't have it.

They also respect a Head Coach that has won 5 Super Bowls over his coaching career. Not sit around going lol Club Romeo, fatass, Browns, I could call a better defense....etc.

No we were not.

those are midgets

Well, hes already proven he can lead a team to the playoffs.....WIn a game......thats a different story.

They have a ton of respect for Romeo AND Pioli, solely because of their association with the Patriots and their SB rings.

That being said, neither Romeo nor Pioli have won ANYTHING in their current roles and 1 of them (Romeo) was an abject failure in his previous attempt at his current role.

In other words, they're getting by quite a bit on reputation alone when it comes to the national media.

Belicheck was a failure before Tom Brady as well, maybe not a total failure but a failure nonetheless.

Could you imagine this team, with Matthew Stafford leading the charge?

I used to think that, but its sort of a misconception. At least Belichek had made the playoffs and won a playoff game in his first stop. Then his team got lost when it was anounced they were moving.

RAC……not so much….

Really? By that measure so was Bill Belichick who before coaching the Browns to a 36-44 record had done nothing but ride Parcel's coat tails to some SB's as a defensive coach.

He had 1 wining season in Cleveland in 5 years. We can make excuses for BB but Romeo gets no benefit?

Oh, im willing to give him the benefit…I just don’t have a lot of confidence in him. But we shall see.

The national media wasn't in love with BB until AFTER he won in New England.

I actually remember his stint in Cleveland, and yes, the prevailing though of him when he left was the IDENTICAL to what I said about Romeo just now.

Who is making excuses for BB?

He failed in Cleveland. He succeeded (understatement) in New England.

Romeo failed in Cleveland. TO THIS POINT, he's getting by on his reputaton as a defensive coordinator.

That's neither false nor unfair. He has yet to prove he deserves otherwise.

I think we need the Ozark boater fail as a gif to use in lieu of "To THe Ship"

I think everyone believes there is a lot of talent on this team outside of the QB position. If you look at a team like SF, if a team devoid of QB talent can play well and the QB plays well enough, they can be good. I just don't think that Cassel is going to be able to pull off the playoffs again.

RAC got a lot of respect for how the Chiefs closed out the year. And yes Pioli is still living on his Pats rep. I don't think they are as much a part of media expectations as the team themself. Add back in the parts we lost last year and its 2010 all over again.

That's why i said not a total failure but he didn't succeed BTB but rather ATB.