You hear that?  That’s the sound of NFL Training Camps opening.  OK, not yet, technically.  But this weekend.  By Monday morning, seven of the thirty-two NFL franchises will be in camp.  By August 1st, all 32 teams will have reported.

Obviously, as we see every year, a lot can happen between the start of training camp, and week one of the regular season.  Players hold out longer than expected, stars get injured, players retire, players ‘un-retire,’ you name it.

So it’s safe to assume that nobody knows what to expect from this season yet.  That hasn’t stopped Sharkey & the Man In Black from getting together on the first of many ERP Power Rankings.  Both of us made our own independent list ranking all 32 teams, then we added them together and averaged them out, to come up with the ERP Pre-Training Camp Power Rankings.

Included with each team is a little blurb from either Sharkey or the Man In Black.  Interesting to note that both of us had the exact same top ten… yet with no teams in the same position among those ten.

1. New Orleans Saints – I’m a believer in the champion is #1 until somebody beats them.  Will that somebody be Brett Favre in week one? (shark)




2. Indianapolis Colts – They still have Peyton Manning.  They still have Dwight Freeney.  They still have Reggie Wayne, if he doesn’t hold out for the season (newsflash: he won’t).  They’ll still be very very good. (MIB)




3. Baltimore Ravens – Ed Reed’s health is a question mark, but if Ray Rice & Joe Flacco continue to grow, it won’t matter, they’ll be the best team regardless. (Shark)




4. New York Jets – They won’t be surprising anyone this year, but their model (strong run game, dominant defense, opportunistic passing) is something I can get behind. (MIB)




5. Minnesota Vikings – The receivers are a year older and wiser.  Brett Favre, however, apparently doesn’t age.  He’s like Dick Clark.  Or Suzanne Somers.  Yeah, she’s like 70 and I’d still hit that.  Wait, what?  Football? (MIB)




6. Green Bay Packers – Now that they’ve adjusted to the defensive scheme switch, look for a lot of zone blitzing and more sacks.  Oh, and Aaron Rodgers doesn’t suck. (MIB)




7. Dallas Cowboys – They’re definitely a top ten team, but the beautiful memories of that Cowboys-Vikings playoff game are still swirling through my mind.  And that’s quite all right to me. (shark)




8. Patriots – As long as Tom Brady plays, they’re going to be top 10 every year.  That’s just the way it is.  As an aside, I hate Tom Brady. (Written by MIB, seconded by shark)




9. San Diego Chargers – Does anybody have any idea what to expect from San Diego this year?  AFC Champs?  8-8?  Yeah, didn’t think so.  Ryan Mathews is going to be fun to watch, though. (shark)




10. Pittsburgh Steelers – I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt that (1) Roethliberger will only be suspended for 4 games and (2) they win at least two of those games in his absence.  A shift back to the ground game could help things quite a bit. (MIB)




11. Atlanta Falcons – How many times has a team (these Falcons) been over-hyped (last pre-season), failed (last season), been forgotten about (right now), and succeeded?  Quite a bit. (shark)




12. Philadelphia Eagles – Albert Einstein said insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.  After 11 years of the Andy Reid & Donovan McNabb era, the Eagles may finally have figured that out.  Kolb is for real, and this offense is going to be explosive. (shark)




13. Houston Texans – If their schedule was easier, and they were in an easier division, and their best season wasn’t 9-7, I’d be optimistic.  But its not, and I’m not. (MIB)




14. Cincinnati Bengals – Maybe they should be ranked higher than this based on last season.  Who Dey think last year was an aberration?  This guy. (MIB)




15. New York Giants – Last year at this time, the Giants had a great running game and no receivers.  Now, Steve Smith is a Pro Bowler, Hakeem Nicks is on the verge of being a #1 fantasy WR, and the running game is no where to be found. (shark)




16. San Francisco 49ers – Much improved O-line (hopefully) could mean big things for the ground game.  Singletary might be one of the best motivators in the league. (MIB)




17. Washington Redskins – My surprise pick might not be a surprise for people who actually watched Donovan McNabb play or Mike Shannahan coach.  I have no idea why this team isn’t getting more respect. (MIB) On a side note, MIB ranked Washington 11th, while Shark had them 21st.  This was our biggest disagreement.




18. Arizona Cardinals – Anquan is in Baltimore, Antrel is in the swamps of NJ, and who knows what Kurt Warner is doing now?  It’s now or never for Matt Leinart, and the odds favor never. (shark)




19. Tennessee Titans – Chris Johnson says he wants to rush for 2500 yards this year.  I don’t think that’s going to happen, but he’s the most explosive player in the league, and he can carry Tennessee to a surprise playoff berth this year. (shark)




20. Chicago Bears – I drank the Cutler Kool-Aid last year, I’m not doing that again.  Count me among the legions who believe this is an 8-8 team that can go 4-12 or 12-4. (shark)




21. Denver Broncos – Seriously, who’s the QB going to be out there?  And when they get that settled, who’s going to protect him?  This isn’t the Mike Shannahan Broncos anymore. (MIB)




22. Miami Dolphins – I’ve heard a lot of people say Brandon Marshall (if healthy) is going to suffer playing in Miami now, as opposed to Denver.  To that, I say, is Kyle Orton really that much better than Chad Henne? (shark)




23. Oakland Raiders – A bit high, maybe, but I’m big on Jason Campbell, and their running game has been solid.  Now if they could just shore up the D. (MIB)




24. Jacksonville Jaguars – Will they do better after their disappointing 7-9 season, or get even worse?  They should have an improved pass rush, but can Jones-Drew take this much punishment and last? (MIB)




25. Carolina Panthers – Don’t tell anyone, but Matt Moore was 4-1 in December last year.  Carolina may surprise a lot of people this year, or they may fall victim to the Sharkey Curse. (shark)




26. Seattle Seahawks – They had what looks like a great draft.  Lets see if the pieces fall for them.  I wouldn’t mind seeing Pete Carroll fall flat on his face, though. (Written by MIB, seconded by Shark)




27. Kansas City Chiefs – Can Romeo Crennel and Charlie Weis be great coordinators again?  I don’t see why not.  We know they can’t be worse than they were as head coaches.  This franchise is on the rise, but there is still a lot of work to be done. (shark)




28. Detroit Lions – I wanted to rank them higher.  I think in the next few years, this will be the team with the biggest overall turnaround as far as winning and culture.  But it will take some time to get there. (MIB)




29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Improvement?  Yes.  Much improvement?  Probably not. (MIB)




30. Cleveland Browns – Count me among the Colt McCoy believers; which means absolutely nothing since Holmgren has said repeatedly McCoy won’t play this year.  Enjoy the Jake Delhomme Error, Cleveland. (shark)




31. Buffalo Bills – My cousin Chris is a big-time Bills fan.  His first child (Ethan) will be born sometime around week one of the NFL season.  I have to wonder which will happen first; will the Bills reach the playoffs, or will Ethan & I sit at a bar somewhere and watch a football game? (shark)




32. St. Louis Rams – Well, they still have Steven Jackson.  So that’s something.  If Bradford’s shoulder holds up and they let him play, they might win six games this year. (MIB)