New England Patriots: Power Rankings Place Pats as Best Team in AFC

After a near five-month long lockout, the NFL is back and it's back in a big way. 

Free agency has come and gone and now we're sitting at the end of training camp, creeping closer to the first preseason game—which means ESPN has released its first NFL Power Rankings. 

How did the Patriots fair? Were they placed correctly? How does the rest of the AFC East stand?

Here are my thoughts on New England's placement in ESPN's power rankings.

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The Second Best Team in the NFL

Believe it or not, ESPN's panel of experts have ranked New England as the second best team in the NFL, behind none other than the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Green Bay Packers. 

All in all, I 100 percent agree with this. 

The Patriots are definitely in a great spot to succeed in 2011, but should not be ahead of the reigning champions—the Packers will remain at the top until someone knocks them off, it's plain and simple. 

Top Team in the AFC

Many may argue this, but New England is definitely in a better spot to succeed than the Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets and Baltimore Ravens, on paper at least.

New England did dominant the NFL last year, as Bill Belichick's team posted a league best 14-2 record, significantly better than the Super Bowl champions Green Bay Packers who finished at 10-6.

The Patriots have the best coach in the game, the best quarterback in the game, one of the most dynamic receiving corps and a young and athletic defense—New England is a force to be reckoned with.  

New England Is 5 Spots Ahead of the New York Jets

I know this doesn't please New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan, especially after their dominating playoff victory over the Patriots back in January. 

However, the Jets should not be ranked ahead of New England—they have too many holes defensively, such as rebuilding their defensive line. 

New York comes in at seventh, which is somewhat low for Mark Sanchez and the Jets. New York definitely is going to have a winning record in 2011 and will compete with New England for the AFC East crown—I'm not sure how the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints rank higher than the Jets. 

It Will Be a Two-Team Race in the AFC East

Who would have guessed it? The Patriots and Jets will dominant the AFC East and compete for the divisional crown. 

The Buffalo Bills are simply heading nowhere but down and the Miami Dolphins look to be stuck between a rock and a hard place. The Dolphins have no true quarterback, unless Chad Henne can play at a high level and they have lost their top two offensive weapons in Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams—despite replacing them with rookie Daniel Thomas and the injury-prone Reggie Bush. 

The Pats and Jets should sweep the Bills and Dolphins and will likely split their two games with each other—2011 could be a race for the ages. 

Why Is New England Ranked so High?

How can you not love what Bill Belichick and Patriots are doing?

New England posted a league best 14-2 record last season and have done nothing but improve this offseason.

Belichick has brought in two big-name players, Chad Ochocinco and Albert Haynesworth, at extremely low-risk deals but both offer high rewards if they work out. At anytime if either of them step out of line or simply don't produce, New England can easily cut ties in a matter of seconds—the Patriots are not obligated to hold onto either of them.

New England's obvious weakness last season was its defense and how young and inexperienced it was. Well, New England's secondary is gladly welcoming back Leigh Bodden, who missed the entire 2010 season but was the team's best cornerback in 2009. He'll likely start opposite of Devin McCourty to create one of the league's top corner tandems.

As New England's secondary emerges as the defense's strength, the Patriots pass rush still appears to be an issue. However, the recent additions of Shaun Ellis, Mark Anderson, Andre Carter and Albert Haynesworth should bolster the team's ability to put pressure on the quarterback.

Conclusion: New England's Season Should End in Indianapolis

If everything works out the way it should, there is no reason why the New England Patriots won't reach Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis. 

New England is primed to win now and needs to win now as Tom Brady's window at quarterback gets smaller and smaller every year. 

With the transactions made this offseason, it comes off that the Patriots are doing whatever it takes to improve and end their seven-year Super Bowl drought.

The Patriots have the league's best player in Tom Brady and the league's best coach in Bill Belichick; whenever those are together, they'll always be a contender.