NFL Power Rankings: What Cellar Dweller Has Best Chance of Making Playoffs?

Unlike the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox in baseball, the NFL has no teams that can rely on its financial weight to consistently dominate the sport.

While plenty of teams certainly have the financial power to do so, the NFL is designed to support parity.

With the salary cap and the design of the annual draft, there is an element of unpredictability to each NFL season.

Since 2002—the first year eight divisions were used in the NFL—at least one team rebounded from being at the bottom of their division to winning it outright the following year.

Since 1997, at least five teams that missed the playoffs the season before made it the next year. While not all of those teams would have been cellar dwellers, quite a few obviously were.

Here are the power rankings for the teams most likely to add to this lineage in the 2011 NFL regular season.

*Teams with six wins or less are considered cellar dwellers, any more were disqualified.

1. Houston Texans

The Texans have probably topped this list for the past few years and continued to fail from September through December in spite of the optimism in August. This year, however, the Texans really have never been in a better spot to win the AFC South.

Even without Peyton Manning's neck injury, the Indianapolis Colts defense is looking so dour that they will struggle even when he returns. The Jaguars won't be scaring anyone as they continue to rely on Jones-Drew offensively and the defense hasn't taken enough strides. While the Tennessee Titans are embroiled in a dispute with their star player while they undergo simultaneous quarterback and head coach surgeries.

The addition of Johnathan Joseph and Danieal Manning to pair with their rookies in the draft will be the most recognizable changes to the defense, but Wade Philips should have the telling impact.

The offense may have some worries with Arian Foster, but there is more than enough running back depth to still have a strong running game complementing an already outstanding passing game that is boosted by the return of Owen Daniels.

2. Detroit Lions

While the Lions are in a very tough division with the reigning participants from the NFC Championship including the Super Bowl champions in their division, they have a realistic chance of making the playoffs.

The Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers have two similar issues that could prove fatal against the Lions. While the Bears have one o the worst offensive lines in the league, the Packers' line also isn't the best.

The Packers can get away with just having Josh Sitton and Chad Clifton leading the line because of Rodgers' elusiveness, but with Cliff Avril on the outside, as well as Ndamukong Suh and the incredible defensive tackle depth in Detroit inside, they will be able to disrupt the Packers offense.

The arrival of Nick Fairley may have been delayed until into the season, but that could work in the Lions favor if he boosts the team's playoff run. Mikel Leshoure is also a loss obviously, but Jerome Harrison could have a big year if given the chance.

The real difference from this season to last is a potentially healthy Matthew Stafford and better defensive help for the defensive line. Everyone knows about Stafford, but Stephen Tulloch and a number of secondary players developing as well as arriving should be huge.

3. San Francisco 49ers

If Jim Harbaugh can get even average play from his quarterback in 2011 whether that be Alex Smith or Colin Kaepernik, the 49ers can make the playoffs. The only real reason why is because that the team is playing in the weakest division in the whole league.

Expect the St. Louis Rams to be the clear favorites in the NFC West this year, but they are no guarantee considering Sam Bradford is still young and they are employing a new offense around him.

The Seattle Seahawks don't look to have a quarterback to rely on while the Arizona Cardinals overall talent isn't enough to ease Kevin Kolb into a winning team, especially with questions over Adrian Wilson's health and the loss of Ryan Williams.

Defensively, the 49ers must get over the loss of Takeo Spikes and Aubrayo Franklin. However, the addition of Aldon Smith could give them a double-digit sack star to play alongside Patrick Willis while Navorro Bowman will be looked to to step up.

Re-signing Frank Gore was crucial and gives the team a few good running backs to rely on in case the passing game struggles once again.

4. Cleveland Browns

The Browns are another team with a new head coach as Pat Shurmur takes the reigns in Cleveland. They may have only won five games last season, but there is a lot more optimism in Cleveland after those five wins than there would be in most cities as Colt McCoy showed a lot of promise as a rookie.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens may have been playing keep away with the AFC North crown over the past few years with the Bengals once or twice getting in the mix. However, this year the Bengals don't look like challenging for anything except the Detroit Lions worst-ever season title.

The Steelers look very strong, but you never know with them after a Super Bowl while the Baltimore Ravens look to have more problems than most believe such as their offensive line worries and lack of receivers with questions in the secondary also.

Shurmur is putting McCoy in the best possible position to excel this year as he showed great poise and good accuracy last year without having a strong arm. McCoy will be able to complete a lot of passes and move the chains even without a stud receiver in his West Coast Offense.

That is an offense both the Steelers and Ravens can struggle to defend which could be huge for the Browns. Phil Taylor and Jabaal Sheard will be asked to do a lot as rookies in what is a talented all-around defense.

5. Tennessee Titans

While the Dallas Cowboys and even the Washington Redskins may be better teams to make it to the playoffs. The Titans are in a better situation to take advantage of their division.

The Jaguars likely won't be competing in the division while the Colts could fall too far behind early. The Texans may be number one on this list, but should the defense not transition to a 3-4 scheme effectively early, then they will be playing catch up also.

Should the Titans get Chris Johnson back into their lineup, their offense is actually more than respectable.

Defensively they still have problems that need to be addressed, but Matt Hasselbeck is a proven quarterback that can get the best out of the players around him. Even if Johnson doesn't return, Javon Ringer could be a huge breakout player for the year as his career average is pretty high in limited opportunities.

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I also write for Irish Central and Fantasy Football Life.