Training camps are opening in a month or so and the cooler talk is starting to get heavy. Here are my rankings for the NFL teams from top to bottom.  

The Top 10

1. New England Patriots – The coaching losses of coordinators Charlie Weis (Notre Dame and Romeo Crennel (Cleveland Browns) are big but this team has plenty of talent and experience and grabbing David Terrell is a nice too!
2. Pittsburgh Steelers – This team lost Plaxico Burress but the defense is nasty and Jerome "The Bus" Bettis is back for one more run.
3. Philadelphia Eagles – Will Terrell Owens be a distraction for the team or will the idea of the long season with a lot of expectations do them in?
4. Indianapolis Colts – After going crazy on defensive draft picks in this years NFL draft can the Colts stop the great teams when it counts most?
5. Carolina Panthers – This team did more with terrible injuries and just missed the playoffs.   This year Steven Smith returns to partner with Keary Colbert on offense and the defense is always stout and Kris Jenkins will return.
6. Baltimore Ravens – The team added some great free agents like Samari Rolle on defense and Desmond Mason on offense.   Tight end Todd Heap needs to stay healthy and be that safety valve quarterback Kyle Boller needs.
7. New York Jets – A missed field goal from the recently departed Doug Brian cost them last season but quarterback Chad Pennington will be health and the defense lead by Dewayne Roberson and Jonathan Vilma in the middle will continue its play.
8. Atlanta Falcons – The Falcons' Michael Vick will have another year under his belt in the "West Coast" offense and the defense and special teams will be improved with the addition of Ike Reese
9. Minnesota Vikings – This team lost Randy Moss but Daunte Culpepper will be more vocal and play at an MVP level.   The defense added Darren Sharper and Sam Cowart to an already improved defense. The team will show more poise and will have more confidence, as they should remember what it took when they beat division foe Green Bay in the frozen Lambeau Field last playoffs.
10. San Diego Chargers – This is a young team and their offensive horses LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates are only getting better.   The defense added Shawne Merriman at linebacker and will look to shutdown teams in the wide open AFC West.

The Rest of The Bunch

1. Seattle Seahawks
2. Jacksonville Jaguars
3. Denver Broncos
4. Dallas Cowboys
5. Kansas City Chiefs
6. Green Bay Packers
7. Houston Texans
8. Washington Redskins
9. Buffalo Bills
10. Cincinnati Bengals
11. Detroit Lions
12. St. Louis Rams
13. Tennessee Titans
14. Oakland Raiders
15. Cleveland Browns
16. Arizona Cardinals
17. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
18. Chicago Bears
19. New Orleans Saints
20. New York Giants
21. Miami Dolphins
22. San Francisco 49ers

Any questions, comments, suggestions email Clayton at clayton@geoclan.com.