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    2009 NFL Power Rankings – Pittsburgh Steelers Remain No. 1

    Monday, July 20, 2009, 09:20 AM EST [NFL]

    First, I would like to say it feels good to be back on the Fox Sports Page.  I had a nice vacation fishing in Canada for a couple weeks.  Unfortunatley, my vacation started July 1st, or the same day that the updates finished for Fox Sports.  This has been my first opportunity to post since returning.  I hope everyone is enjoying there summer. 

    Training camps are fast approaching and I decided to rank the teams for the first time this offseason.  The rankings feature a familiar team at the top of the list. These rankings are a reflection of the success teams experienced in 2008, combined with the moves they made in free agency and in the draft.

     alt1. Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4) – The Steelers are the defending Super Bowl Champions and feature the best defense in the NFL. They did not make a huge splash in free agency, but they also did not lose any key contributors from last year’s team. Pittsburgh will be a force in the AFC, especially if the offense regains its 2007 form, when it was ninth in the NFL in scoring offense. In 2008, the Steelers ranked 20th in scoring offense and still won the Super Bowl. 

    2. New England Patriots (11-5) – The Patriots, who are one year removed from a 16-0 regular season that saw them finish within three points of a perfect season, did quite well to go 11-5 without their quarterback and 2007 MVP Tom Brady last season. If Brady comes back at anything close to full strength, and the six draft picks from the second and third round can contribute this year; the Patriots will have an excellent chance to be the best team in the AFC.

    3. Philadelphia Eagles (9-6-1) – These are probably the highest expectations the Eagles have had since they entered the 2004 season when they acquired free agent receiver Terrell Owens. This could be the year for head coach Andy Reid and QB Donovan McNabb to finally win that elusive Super Bowl. They added WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy in the draft, and veteran free agents OTs Jason Peters and Stacey Andrews to the offensive line. The defense is still very strong, and if RB Brian Westbrook and McNabb can stay healthy on offense, this team is in prime position to make another deep postseason run.

    4. New York Giants (12-4) – The Giants used free agency to add DT Rocky Bernard, DE Chris Canty and LB Michael Boley to their already talented defense that ranked fifth in points allowed last season. The Giants are a wide receiver away from being the clear cut favorite in the NFC, evidenced by the struggles that QB Eli Manning and the offense had in December without WR Plaxico Burress. If first-round pick Hakeem Nicks can have a breakout rookie season, the Giants could easily be playing February football.

    5. Carolina Panthers (12-4) – The Panthers had a dominant ground game in 2008 rushing for 2,437 yards and a league-high 30 touchdowns. They managed to keep DE Julius Peppers on the team in 2009 with the franchise tag. The biggest question is whether QB Jake Delhomme at 34-years old still has the talent to take this team on a deep playoff run. He has not put up the numbers he did from 2003-2005, when the Panthers were one of the best teams in the NFL. His poor play against Arizona was a major reason why the Panthers did not win a playoff game in 2008. Delhomme does not have to be great with that explosive running game they have, but he must play more consistently in 2009 if the Panthers want to win the very tough NFC South and advance deep in the playoffs.

    To view the other NFL team's rankings please visit www.fantasypros911.com/2009-nfl-power-ra...

    3.7 (5 Ratings)
    [ 11 comments ] Leave a Comment

    I Love it but it is going to be a tough year. Everyone is going to bring thier A game when they play us.

    steelerinMS
    August 27, 2009
    09:47 AM EST

    thumbs up

    IRJohnzan
    August 22, 2009
    05:17 PM EST

    1steelerfan1 - Thanks for the post. I think the Steelers may end up having a better regular season record this year, but may not win the Super Bowl. They have a much easier schedule with the NFC North and AFC West on their schedule.

    Lot of good teams in the AFC and the Steelers are right at the front. It is going to be another brutal year as so many good teams beat up on one another.

    The Steelers escape some of those games in the regular season, but it will be a big challenge for them to beat those teams to get to February football.

    StreetCred
    July 21, 2009
    01:26 PM EST

    As a Steeler's fan....I like it! Brady has alot to prove this year, (whether he's the same guy). Should be very interesting to see. But, as they say in Steeler Nation.....#7 is on the way.

    1steelerfan1
    July 20, 2009
    08:41 PM EST

    Bolt_Backer_21 - Thanks for the comments. The Chargers were one of the harder teams for me to rank. With the way Rivers played last year I see him as a possible MVP candidate this year and the Chargers winning 11-13 games.

    They beat a very good Colts team in the playoffs and played the eventual champion Steelers tough in the playoff game. On the flip side, they were 8-8 last year in arguably the worst division in football.

    I gave them the benefit of the doubt given there body of work since 2006 and the injuries they had last year, but I just couldn't see putting them any higher.

    I'm interested to hear from Ravens, Colts, and and Dolphins fans whose teams won more games in 2009, but there teams are ranked lower. There's just too many deserving teams to have in the top ten, no matter how objective I tried to be.

    StreetCred
    July 20, 2009
    05:30 PM EST
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