The best teams on paper heading into training camp:

[hawkeye]

1. Vikings: I thought they were the most talented team on paper last season, and nothing has changed to make me think otherwise. So yes, I’m assuming what you are assuming about No. 4.

2. Ravens: If they were healthier last season, they might have given the Colts a run for the AFC title. An offense on the brink added Anquan Boldin, a red plus receiver.

3. Cowboys: There are some underachievers on this team, but the talent is very strong, almost across the board.

4. Packers: If the cornerbacks don’t start playing old, the Packers should have strong talent at every position on the field.

5. Chargers: The talent level isn’t quite what it was a couple of years ago, but the Chargers could be a better team.

6. Jets: Mike Tannenbaum has assembled an all-star roster. Now let’s see if they can play well together.

7. Colts: This is a team that plays better than its talent because Peyton Manning lifts up everyone around him.

8. Saints: There are quite a few teams with more talent on defense than the Saints, but the New Orleans offense makes up for it.

9. Bengals: Some really gifted reclamation projects like Antonio Bryant, Cedric Benson and Tank Johnson put this team in the upper echelon of talent.

10. Falcons: This team has a lot of young talent that could look better in January than it does in July.

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/NFP-Sunday-Blitz.html

[stoned_jc7]

Only teams I see as somewhat questionable are the Bengals, who played way over there head last season, and possibly the packers. They did improve, and the defense is very good. O line is questionable, but as I said, they did improve.

Other notables are the Giants, Pats, steelers...?

[nolafan33]

Lol at the Saints being at #8. Take the red and black glasses off and be realistic. The Saints made improvements this year after winning the Super Bowl, there much better than #8.

[BirdFan33]

Only teams I see as somewhat questionable are the Bengals, who played way over there head last season, and possibly the packers. They did improve, and the defense is very good. O line is questionable, but as I said, they did improve.

Other notables are the Giants, Pats, steelers...?

No such thing as playing "over there heads"(whatever that means)If you mean that they were not as good as appears, you are wrong. that team is loaded with talent and i am a firm believer in the fact that you are as good as your record shows...that and they were undefeated within the division

[Carter]

I don't agree with that order at all.

As much as I dislike the Saints, you can't seriously consider a Super Bowl winning team that got better to be the 8th best team on paper.

And the Colts are 7th?

The Vikings are a Brett Favre injury away from being irrelevant in the race... which you could also say about the Saints and Drew Brees, except that Brees plays about as smart of QB play as can be. You don't see Brees getting plowed too often, whereas Favre took some beatings pretty regular... especially in the playoffs.

[mcsupersport]

Only teams I see as somewhat questionable are the Bengals, who played way over there head last season, and possibly the packers. They did improve, and the defense is very good. O line is questionable, but as I said, they did improve.

Other notables are the Giants, Pats, steelers...?

Giants???? Are you joking?? Have you seen the way they have played the last few years??

Steelers??? Big Ben maybe out 6 games, plus all the line issues from last year, and up and down play??

Pats, well hard to discount the Pats with Brady, but they just were not their same ol' self last year.

[mcsupersport]

1. Vikings: I thought they were the most talented team on paper last season, and nothing has changed to make me think otherwise. So yes, I’m assuming what you are assuming about No. 4.

2. Ravens: If they were healthier last season, they might have given the Colts a run for the AFC title. An offense on the brink added Anquan Boldin, a red plus receiver.

3. Cowboys: There are some underachievers on this team, but the talent is very strong, almost across the board.

4. Packers: If the cornerbacks don’t start playing old, the Packers should have strong talent at every position on the field.

5. Chargers: The talent level isn’t quite what it was a couple of years ago, but the Chargers could be a better team.

6. Jets: Mike Tannenbaum has assembled an all-star roster. Now let’s see if they can play well together.

7. Colts: This is a team that plays better than its talent because Peyton Manning lifts up everyone around him.

8. Saints: There are quite a few teams with more talent on defense than the Saints, but the New Orleans offense makes up for it.

9. Bengals: Some really gifted reclamation projects like Antonio Bryant, Cedric Benson and Tank Johnson put this team in the upper echelon of talent.

10. Falcons: This team has a lot of young talent that could look better in January than it does in July.

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/NFP-Sunday-Blitz.html

1) Saints, SB champs didn't lose major components.

2) Ravens, on paper they are still good, will depend on their D.

3)YUCK, Cowboys, if they play up to their potential.

4) Colts, can't discount Manning, but depends on their D.

5) Falcons, up and coming, good players coming back who were hurt, and still had winning season last year.

6) Bengals, have good talent, depends on Egos.

7) If Farve plays and isn't too hurt or gets hurt, the Vikes.

8) Patriots, will see if they return to form once Brady has full time to recover.

9) Jets, they have a future.

10) Chargers, good QB, and decent RB, will depend on if they can play up to potential or choke again.

[The Red Stallions]

Giants???? Are you joking?? Have you seen the way they have played the last few years??

Steelers??? Big Ben maybe out 6 games, plus all the line issues from last year, and up and down play??

Pats, well hard to discount the Pats with Brady, but they just were not their same ol' self last year.

This is on paper, it has nothing to do with how they have played the last few years.

The Giants have some talent on their team, their defense is still pretty dang good and their young WR's are only going to get better.

The steelers are LOADED with talent on both sides of the ball, their defense is scary good with Troy P. and Harrison. Mendenhall is coming out and Big Ben is still a good QB

And the Pats, well we all know who they have

[dvt5045]

shouldn't the Jets be number 1? they loaded up this offseason just to fail in my opinion.

[Libid21]

Lol at the Saints being at #8. Take the red and black glasses off and be realistic. The Saints made improvements this year after winning the Super Bowl, there much better than #8.

A saints fan with 6K posts on a Falcons forum? Who's wearing the red and black glasses? Either that or you're a troll bro. gtfo

[Jp7833]

Lol at the Saints being at #8. Take the red and black glasses off and be realistic. The Saints made improvements this year after winning the Super Bowl, there much better than #8.

What fans and analysts alike seem to agree upon is that the Saints defense, which relied on a high number of turnovers and flair last year couldnt possibly be the same. Lets face it, while you have some players with a lot of skill is on your defense, last year was a huge fluke as far as your defensive dominance went. It was all unreal pics and lucky plays. But hey ya'll still have rings. Anyways, lets face facts. God must have really wanted to give ya'll something back as an apology for Katrina. I think #8 is a fair ranking for the Saints. A lot has to go right for ya'll to win. Just like last year.

[nolafan33]

What fans and analysts alike seem to agree upon is that the Saints defense, which relied on a high number of turnovers and flair last year couldnt possibly be the same. Lets face it, while you have some players with a lot of skill is on your defense, last year was a huge fluke as far as your defensive dominance went. It was all unreal pics and lucky plays. But hey ya'll still have rings. Anyways, lets face facts. God must have really wanted to give ya'll something back as an apology for Katrina. I think #8 is a fair ranking for the Saints. A lot has to go right for ya'll to win. Just like last year.

The Saints emphasized turnovers on defense since day 1 of offseason workouts. Sure, there was luck involved (luck is always involved, every sport, every team) but most of it was because of hard work and players with the right mindset.

Will they create as many TO's as they did last season? IDK, maybe, maybe not. But it certaintly wasn't a fluke. I've never been one to believe that flukes last over a 19 game schedule, that just isn't realistic thinking.

Edited July 18, 2010 by nolafan33

[mcsupersport]

This is on paper, it has nothing to do with how they have played the last few years.

The Giants have some talent on their team, their defense is still pretty dang good and their young WR's are only going to get better.

The steelers are LOADED with talent on both sides of the ball, their defense is scary good with Troy P. and Harrison. Mendenhall is coming out and Big Ben is still a good QB

And the Pats, well we all know who they have

It all comes down to how you rate talent on paper. The last year played HAS to factor into how you rate current talent. Just because they have a NAME, doesn't make them talented. Eli Manning is a poor QB when compared to his brother or Brady. The Defense of the Giants has greatly fallen off last year indicating to me lack of talent(Old talent maybe?), even with their NAMES. You can't just say their young receivers are so good, because they didn't play SO GOOD last year. You have to take into account how they played last year, not just give them some arbitrary "Greatness" because they play on the New York Giants.

Pittsburgh talent can't be much better than all the ones listed, otherwise THEY wouldn't have been so poor in so many games last year. YES Pittsburgh is good, but nowhere near as good as a few years ago. I look at Pitt, NY, and NE in light of last year and rate their current level of talent as lower than those I put on my list.

I refuse to rate people better than others simply because they had a good team 3-4 years ago.

[nobkowski]

The ain'ts should be a couple of places higher. And because of all the "ifs" with our defense, I don't know where to put

our falcons. If not for the ifs, we could be top five.

[texasbirdfan]

Luckiest team in sports plays where I live. The 'Boys are due to have some bad karma dealt there way especially in the injury category- nothing Phillips or Jerry can do at that point. On paper I see them more at 10th.....

[Captain Falcon]

I actually think the saints defense is pretty good. I'd say they have one of the top ten defensive line units in the NFL. Ellis and Smith are both very good. Hargrove is pretty good and so is Brown.

Their linebacker unit is basically middle of the NFL.

And defensive backs..... I would say they are #2 in the league in that area.

There is no such thing as a fluke in the NFL when it comes to a whole season. They earned those turnovers. Not a fluke.

[illest_will]

Lol at the Saints being at #8. Take the red and black glasses off and be realistic. The Saints made improvements this year after winning the Super Bowl, there much better than #8.

paper talent doesn't relate to what happens on the field. the Vikings were probably a better team, on paper, than us in 98, but we still beat them.

[ltstorm2]

paper talent doesn't relate to what happens on the field. the Vikings were probably a better team, on paper, than us in 98, but we still beat them.

Our fanbase must have been stronger that year.

[illest_will]

I actually think the saints defense is pretty good. I'd say they have one of the top ten defensive line units in the NFL. Ellis and Smith are both very good. Hargrove is pretty good and so is Brown.

Their linebacker unit is basically middle of the NFL.

And defensive backs..... I would say they are #2 in the league in that area.

There is no such thing as a fluke in the NFL when it comes to a whole season. They earned those turnovers. Not a fluke.

it's harder to justify passing against a team that gives no passing yards or TDs than a team that gets INTs...the Bengals defense was INT happy the year they got in the playoffs in 05 I believe, when Carson got hurt on like the first play. next year, their pass defense was in the league average with the same unit. think about Revis, he had as many INTs as Grimes, but i don't think anyone here will justify thinking Grimes is in the same league as Revis.

[illest_will]

Our fanbase must have been stronger that year.

yeah, i was concentrating on beating the Vikings and willed the Falcons to a win. i just messed up and played a basketball game the day before instead of drawing pictures of the Falcons beating the Broncos, we would've won the SB. my fault guys

[Farmer2]

1. Vikings: I thought they were the most talented team on paper last season, and nothing has changed to make me think otherwise. So yes, I’m assuming what you are assuming about No. 4.

2. Ravens: If they were healthier last season, they might have given the Colts a run for the AFC title. An offense on the brink added Anquan Boldin, a red plus receiver.

3. Cowboys: There are some underachievers on this team, but the talent is very strong, almost across the board.

4. Packers: If the cornerbacks don’t start playing old, the Packers should have strong talent at every position on the field.

5. Chargers: The talent level isn’t quite what it was a couple of years ago, but the Chargers could be a better team.

6. Jets: Mike Tannenbaum has assembled an all-star roster. Now let’s see if they can play well together.

7. Colts: This is a team that plays better than its talent because Peyton Manning lifts up everyone around him.

8. Saints: There are quite a few teams with more talent on defense than the Saints, but the New Orleans offense makes up for it.

9. Bengals: Some really gifted reclamation projects like Antonio Bryant, Cedric Benson and Tank Johnson put this team in the upper echelon of talent.

10. Falcons: This team has a lot of young talent that could look better in January than it does in July.

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/NFP-Sunday-Blitz.html

1. Saints - yeah I don't like them either, but they are the defending champs and probably got a little better.

2. Colts - 18 makes any team a contender automatically.

3. Packers - Year under their belt in the 3-4. OL issues should be resolved.

4. Ravens - as long as aging D holds up and kicker is resolved.

5. Falcons - I'm a homer, what can I say.

6. Vikes - Tons of talent, but can #4 stay healthy and keep from reverting back to ints.

7. Pats - They are the freaking Patriots for crying out loud.

8. Chargers - They may finally get some competition in the division. (this time from the Raiders)

9. Cowboys - They always have tons of talent, who cares.

10. Jets - Sanchez is way overrated, and building through FA has backfired before.

[sharky]

1) Saints, SB champs didn't lose major components.

2) Ravens, on paper they are still good, will depend on their D.

3)YUCK, Cowboys, if they play up to their potential.

4) Colts, can't discount Manning, but depends on their D.

5) Falcons, up and coming, good players coming back who were hurt, and still had winning season last year.

6) Bengals, have good talent, depends on Egos.

7) If Farve plays and isn't too hurt or gets hurt, the Vikes.

8) Patriots, will see if they return to form once Brady has full time to recover.

9) Jets, they have a future.

10) Chargers, good QB, and decent RB, will depend on if they can play up to potential or choke again.

I really have to put the Jets in the top five, just for their defense alone.