2006 NFL Power Rankings
By: Q.
Smyth
Monday,
September 4th, 2006 - Page updated at 9:00am
Senior Editor For WagerOnFootball.com
Sportsbook Review
NFL
week 1 2006 power rankings
Each week during the heart of
the NFL season, and once or twice during the NFL Preseason,
we'll gather the troops around the roundtable and
hash out the NFL Power rankings. We check out the
stats, looks at the records, and, most importantly,
we take a close, close look at the heart of each team.
We encourage you to come back each week and see how
the NFL Power Rankings have changed. NFL Power Rankings
will be updated by Friday every week. Be sure to visit
our home page for more articles and NFL analysis.
Its with this knowledge that we can then deliver to
you The NFL Power Rankings!
With the NFL preseason
behind us, it's time to check in with the Week
1 NFL Power Rankings.
Wager
On Football's 2006 NFL Power Rankings |
|
This week's NFL Power rankings were determined
by a poll of WageronFootball staff -- writers
Q. Smyth, D. Bachman, and M. Pool. |
News of Ben Roethlisberger's emergency appendectomy
came down a few hours before the Week 1 edition
of the NFL Power Rankings was due for publication
- giving us a bit of time to consider this latest
setback for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Traditionally,
the defending champions get to start the following
season in the rankings' top spot, but with everything
that's happened to Roethlisberger and the Steelers,
could this tradition continue? We're going to
leave them at No. 1 for Week 1. However, a poor
effort behind Charlie Batch against the Miami
Dolphins on Thursday night and we're fully prepared
to make a change.
So who's waiting in the wings in case the Steelers
stumble badly? A pair of NFC teams, the Seattle
Seahawks and the Carolina Panthers, sit in spots
No. 2 and No. 3 in the Week 1 rankings, while
the always-contending (and always-disappointing)
Indianapolis Colts come in at No. 4. We fully
expect the Colts to take over the top spot in
the rankings at some point this season, but
their string of playoff failures has us less-than-excited
about their 2006 campaign. Rounding out the
initial Top 5 are the Denver Broncos, with the
New England Patriots just behind them in spot
No. 6.
| NFL
Pre Season Power Rankings: |
Last
Week's Power Rankings >> |
| |
Rank |
Team |
|
2006 NFL Power Rankings
- Comments |
| |
1 |
|
|
Start at the top because
of their Super Bowl win, but they really
need to settle Roethlisberger's lingering
health woes. |
| |
2 |
|
|
Still
smarting over their loss to the Steelers
in the big game last season. Panthers will
be a big challenge in the NFC. |
| |
3 |
|
|
Breezed through the preseason
with a perfect 4-0 record. Trendy 'experts'
pick to win the Super Bowl this season. |
| |
4 |
|
|
Everyone's
tired of all the Colts hype. Until they
win the Super Bowl, not many will be too
impressed with their feats. |
| |
5 |
|
|
Jake Plummer is hearing
Jay Cutler's footsteps, but The Snake will
get a chance to lead the Broncos again this
year. |
| |
6 |
|
|
Carson
Palmer looked great in his return to the
field. The team hopes he continues to look
that way all season long. |
| |
7 |
|
|
Suffered through injury
after injury last year, and have had to
deal with the Deion Branch situation in
the preseason. |
| |
8 |
|
|
Terrell
Owens has been a distraction? Shocking.
However, the Cowboys did end up going 3-0-1
in the preseason. |
| |
9 |
|
|
Have a lot riding on the
health of Daunte Culpepper. Hoping to build
on the hot stretch they had last December. |
| |
10 |
|
|
Need to
shake off last year's playoff disaster.
Could Eli start taking some of the spotlight
away from brother Peyton? |
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11 |
|
|
Would need the Colts to
slump in order to pick up a division title
this season. Doesn't seem like that will
happen. |
| |
12 |
|
|
Largely
overlooked despite their good record last
season. Could take a backseat to the Panthers
again in 2006. |
| |
13 |
|
|
Yes, the defense is going
to be good (again). But it wouldn't kill
them to start scoring some TDs here and
there. |
| |
14 |
|
|
Had an
0-4 record over the exhibition schedule,
scoring just 27 points and allowing 104
over those four contests. |
| |
15 |
|
|
T.O. is no longer around,
but the team still gets questions about
him. Need a hot start to truly move on this
year. |
| |
16 |
|
|
They parted
ways with Drew Brees, now they have to hope
that Philip Rivers can perform for them
in the pocket. |
| |
17 |
|
|
Lagging behind both the
Panthers and the Buccaneers in the NFC South.
Michael Vick needs to be huge this year. |
| |
18 |
|
|
Steve
McNair gives their offense some hope, but
they're also stuck in the same division
as the Steelers and Bengals. |
| |
19 |
|
|
They won't be taking any
more boat trips, but they should be competitive
if Brad Johnson continues to play well. |
| |
20 |
|
|
All eyes
will be on Larry Johnson this season as
he tries to prove that last year's rushing
numbers were no fluke. |
| |
21 |
|
|
Yes, they're a dark horse.
But until the Cards are actually winning
football games we won't believe in their
hype. |
| |
22 |
|
|
Falling
behind the Seahawks in the division is one
thing, but if they fall behind the Cards
this year it could get ugly. |
| |
23 |
|
|
No. 23 on this list might
end up being their high-water mark. No one
expects the Lions to do very much this season. |
| |
24 |
|
|
If Bush
and the Saints are good this year, and the
Texans remain bad, expect Houston management
to get an earful. |
| |
25 |
|
|
Aaron Brooks is the new
quarterback, so we suppose we have to limit
our expectations for the Raiders this season. |
| |
26 |
|
|
Could
Vince Young be the starter in Tennessee
by the end of the season? The Titans might
not have another choice. |
| |
27 |
|
|
If the Ravens improve as
expected, the Browns could find themselves
getting throttled by all their division
opponents. |
| |
28 |
|
|
Expect
to see another hundred stories speculating
about Brett Favre's future this year, especially
if the Packers stink. |
| |
29 |
|
|
A resurgent Saints team
would be a feel-good story, but Brees, Bush
don't have much to work with in the Big
Easy. |
| |
30 |
|
|
J.P. Losman
will be on a short leash in Buffalo, especially
if they find themselves behind the Jets
in the standings. |
| |
31 |
|
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Time is running out for
Chad Pennington. An injury or a poor performance
could get him sent to the bench quickly. |
| |
32 |
|
|
Alex Smith
needs to prove all of the haters wrong this
season, or he'll find himself mentioned
alongside Ryan Leaf. |
Previous Weekly
NFL Power Rankings
Week: Pre
Season | 1
| 2
| 3
| 4
| 5
| 6
| 7
| 8
| 9
| 10
| 11
| 12
| 13
| 14
| 15
| 16
| 17
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