King of the pre-preseason rankings

Since summer is almost here, it seems like it’s about time for some NFL preseason power rankings…

Ah, Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Peter King, right on time.

Pete prefaces his column by saying that not much has changed since the last time he did power rankings in April (way to hook ’em King).

Anyway, he’s got the Colts first, which isn’t really a surprise. The rest of his top 10:

2. New England (another shocker)

3. San Diego (we know how disrespected LT felt. He’s so fired up, he might actually win a playoff game this year)

4. New Orleans (with the comeback magic probably waning, we’ll see how good the Saints really are)

5. Chicago (the Chicago Bears? We must have been watching different Super Bowls Petey)

6. Denver (a perennial favorite to make power rankings lists throughout the season and then lose to the Colts in the first round of the playoffs)

7. Baltimore (we saw how well that “defense wins championships” things worked out last year in the playoffs. and how mobile Steve McNair still is)

8. Philadelphia (if McNabb can stay healthy…no, seriously. if he can only stay healthy)

9. Seattle (as a balding, pasty white guy, i’m fairly sure Matt Hasselbeck is never going to lead a team to anything. we want the ball and we’re going to win)

10. St. Louis (well, at least it’s a surprise)

A few things stick out from this list. First, Peter King is smoking some serious stuff if he thinks the Bears are the fifth best team in the NFL (best in the NFC).

Now I’ve got no hate for the Bears. However ugly it was, they did their thing last year and made it to the Super Bowl. That’s impressive, no matter what. But that was last season.

What happened this offseason? Did they make some key additions at quarterback no one knows about? Actually, the only thing of note the organization did was shift Devin Hester to offense (which is probably going to negatively affect his kick returns).

In addition, the Bears have what we in the biz call a “tough schedule.” After traveling to San Dieago for the first game of the year, Chicago comes home for the Chiefs and Cowboys. The Chiefs obviously aren’t that tough with no QB, but the Monsters of the Midway could be 0-3 heading to Detroit. The team also has road trips to Philly, Seattle and D.C., and will welcome the Giants, Saints and Broncos to the Windy City. They could easily go 9-7.

Secondly, although it’s no surprise that King picked the Colts, can they really be the best team in the NFL right now? They lost a lot of talent in the offseason, including Cato June and Mike Doss. And like the Bears, they also have a difficult schedule. The Titans are improved, but probably not enough to challenge the Horse. The Colts will make the playoffs sure, but I don’t know how anyone could say they are the best team before even playing a game.

In a few weeks (when the season is within shouting distance), we’ll make our own set of predictions about division winners and how the playoffs will shake out. Until then, keep your eyes on those power rankings.