NFL Power Rankings: Which 2010 Disasters Are 2011 Contenders?

Every year there are redemption stories—and quite the opposite. Last year's Kansas City Chiefs are this year's Detroit Lions.

There is also parity in the NFL that hasn't been seen in years. With that said, and after an up-and-down Week 3 for many of the top teams, here are the new power rankings. 

No. 32: Kansas City Chiefs

Not a difficult pick for the worst of the worst here. While Matt Cassel and the Chiefs did peform relatively well in the sencond half Sunday, at least compared to their first two weeks, they fell up short against the Chargers to fall to an ugly 0-3. 

Don't sleep on this team because they are not the worst team in the league and could cause trouble when hey get everything figured out. Todd Haley and Cassel will get this team turned around. Unfortunately, an 0-3 start has given them what is likely an impossible hole to climb out of. 

No. 31: Minnesota VIkings

Very nice work, guys; 20-point leads sure are fun to play with—unless Donovan McNabb is the quarterback. 

A lot of the credit for the Vikings' Week 3 collapse should be given to Calvin Johnson and his insane abilities, but the Vikings are not blameless here. With a 0-3 start, there is only one team in the NFL worse than them right now. 

30. Seattle Seahawks

Hey Seabirds, how is Tarvaris Jackson treating you? 

Not everything you hoped and dreamed for?

If that's the case, then you are delusional. The Seahawks may have won Sunday, but it was an ugly way of doing so, only managing to put up 13 points against a Cardinals team that surrendered over 400 yards to Cam Newton just two weeks ago.  

29. Indianapolis Colts

The Colts played much better this week against the Steelers, which is why they are not further down this list, but they still lost and are 0-3. This is an unfamiliar number for Colts fans. 

What the Colts have to look forward to is that Curtis Painter should take over the starting job, and everyone involved will be better off for it. 

28. Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins are 0-3. 

In the AFC East, that is a death sentence. 

Tony Sparano may soon be out of a job. The only thing keeping the Fins off the bottom of this list is Brandon Marshall's ability to make any and all quarterbacks look like Pro Bowlers. 

27. Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos are bad. 

The defense hasn't been able to stop much, and the Kyle Orton-led offense has looked anemic at best. Knowshow Moreno (wait, is that not his name?) has continued his invisibility. I hear he was selected for jury duty. 

Unless the Broncos are employing the "suck for luck" strategy, it would be prudent for the horses to see what they have in Tim Tebow, unless they genuinely don't want to start him ever. 

26. Jacksonville Jaguars

The first of the two rookies falls here. Blaine Gabbert's first career start just happened to come against Cam Newton, and on a field that looked more like a swamp than a multi-million dollar stadium. 

With that said, he did not play very well, but who would standing in six inches of water?

So that leads us to the other swamp warrior.

25. Carolina Panthers

Cam Newton is only here because he won his first career game Sunday. He didn't exactly get to his career passing average, but going for 400-plus yards three weeks in a row is rather tough. 

The fault with the Panthers lies with the porous defense, and that is not going to change any time soon.

24. Cincinnati Bengals

Andy Dalton has looked solid; unfortunately, rookies have games where they throw for 157 yards and two interceptions like he did Sunday. 

No one expects the Bengals to do anything this year, but if they can solidify Dalton's position, they can move forward and shore up their other woes—something they have been unable to do in the past few years. 

23. Arizona Cardinals

After falling 13-10 to the Seahawks, the trade for Kevin Kolb will be even more heavily scrutinized. 

If anything, the Cardinals should be losing shootouts. If the redbirds cannot put up points with their questionable secondary, it is going to be a long season, and they will be at the bottom of this list before long. 

22. St. Louis Rams

As much as it pains me to put a team this talented this low in the power rankings, their 0-3 record has forced me to do so. 

Steven Jackson and Sam Bradford will get things turned around before long, and in the NFC West, they are never out of the hunt. The one thing the Rams have going for them is they faced a relative gauntlet in their first three weeks, going against the Eagles, Giants and Ravens. 

21. Tennessee Titans

The Titans are 2-1, and Matt Hasselbeck had a great game, but Kenny Britt is now out for the year and the Broncos are going to make a lot of teams look good. 

The Titans are not as good as their 2-1 record suggests. 

20. Cleveland Browns

Did I mention there is parity in the league this year?

The Browns are 2-1 and got to that point without the help of Madden cover guy Peyton Hillis, who was out with strep throat. 

Colt McCoy had a good game, but remember, they were going against the Dolphins. With more solid play, the Browns could easily move up this list, but it is hard to give them too much credit this early. 

19. San Francisco 49ers

Yes, the 49ers are 2-1, but as long as Alex Smith is the quarterback and they continue to put up just 13 points on the maligned Bengals, they will not get much love from me. 

This is also the team that tried to give up a big lead against the Seahawks in Week 1. I love the defense in San Fran, but the Alex Smith-led offense is not pretty. 

18. Chicago Bears

Da Bears have become Da beaten in over the last two weeks. Granted, those games are against the past two Super Bowl winners. If the O-line is not sorted out, Cutler might not make it to the bye week in one piece. 

Roy Williams has also failed to do anything that might resemble production. Also, playing in the division with the Packers, a 1-3 record will be hard to make up over the course of the season. Call me crazy, but I don't think there will be many Ls handed to Aaron Rodgers' pack this season. 

17. Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons should not be this low, but other than a win over the Eagles due mainly to an injured Michael Vick, this team has not looked good. 

Matt Ryan has been hit too frequently, and the defense has not been able to stop anyone. 

This team will win shootouts over the course of the season because Roddy White, Julio Jones and Michael Turner is one of the best trios in the NFL. Oh yeah, and the first-ballot Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez. 

Unfortunately, if the defense doesn't get sorted out, they will have trouble competing in the NFC South. 

16. Washington Redskins

While Rex Grossman has looked like the Florida Gators vision in the first two weeks, he came back down to Earth on Monday against the Cowboys. 

Neither offense looked pretty, but they looked worse than the Cowboys. He also ended the game with a fumble—a microcosm of Grossman's career. 

Don't let their 2-1 start give you too much hope people of Washington. 

15. Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles should get two places on this list: with Vick and without Vick. 

With Vick, they have looked unstoppable at times. Without Vick, which they have in the latter portion of both losses, they have looked dreadful. 

Against the Giants, Mike Kafka threw two interceptions and missed his receivers by a lot on both. If Vick cannot stay healthy, it will be a long season for the Iggles.

Why did they sign Vince Young again? is he alive?

14. Dallas Cowboys

I did not intentionally put three NFC East teams in a row here, but this shows the parity better than anything else. 

The Cowboys may have won Monday night, but it was an ugly win, and that is putting it nicely. Tony Romo gutted out another victory, but one has to wonder how long that trend can continue.

I guess one thing to take away is they finally found a kicker. Unfortunately, a new center may be on the menu. Six field goals won't be the answer in many games. 

13. Oakland Raiders

This is a honorable mention for my first disaster to contender pick. Unfortunately, since they won eight games last year, they don't fall into the disaster category. 

After Sunday's win over the Jets, however, they are a contender. All that speed they've been stockpiling seems to have come to the forefront and Darren McFadden is looking like a premier running back. 

I didn't realize a Rex Ryan defense could be made to look that bad against the run.

12. San Diego Chargers

After putting up a ton of points against the Patriots, many thought the Chiefs would be put to sleep early Sunday. 

This did not happen. The Chargers did win, but they probably ruined the spread for many on the gambling circuit. This game showed that the Chargers have a lot of work to do with the offense, and I think they are missing Darren Sproles a great deal.

11. New York Jets

Yes, I put the Jets two spots higher than the team that beat them Sunday, but that is because they are the better team. They are more well-rounded, deeper and more experienced, which will show in the bounce-back game this week. 

This is the type of team that follows up bad losses with big wins. It is an important quality for teams to have in the NFL. 

Mark Sanchez has a broken nose; good for him.

10. Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers won Sunday, but after their blowout loss in Week 1 and the way they beat the Colts, they are at the tail-end of the top-10. 

The offense looked useless against a Colts defense that has been lit up the first two weeks, and they allowed Curtis Painter to drive down the field in the fourth quarter to tie the game. 

Ben Roethlisberger will need to make plays if the Steelers expect to follow up last year's Super Bowl appearance.

9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

If you haven't figured it out already, Josh Freeman is the real deal. The Bucs finally took a win over the Atlanta Falcons, and LeGarrete Blount will continue to bowl over defenders. 

The NFC South will come down to Bucs-Saints this season.

8. Houston Texans

What the Texans proved Sunday was that they still haven't completely gotten the defense figured out. They played well over the first two weeks, but after 40 points being hung on them, there are several questions that still need to answered. 

The Texans have a scary offense, and Arian Foster isn't even playing. When they get him back, they will be on par with the best units in the league. Andre Johnson is fighting with Calvin Johnson for the best receiver in the league mantle. 

Wade Phillips needs to sort the defense out going forward. 

7. New York Giants

The Giants proved a lot of doubters wrong Sunday.

They have no receivers. Enter Victor Cruz.

They can't stop Michael Vick. Break his hand (or at least fool the doctors).

Eli Manning isn't good enough: 16-23, 254 yards, four touchdowns.

The defense also forced three interceptions (two from Mike Kafka) and stopped the Eagles on several key short yardage plays. The Eagles may have played badly, but the Giants deserve credit for how they played as well—in Philadelphia, no less.

6. Detroit Lions

This is my first disaster to contender pick. 

The Lions fell into a 20-0 hole to the Vikings Sunday, but Megatron himself (Calvin Johnson) and Matt Stafford led them all the way back to win in overtime. The defense has also lived up to expectations, with the defensive line anchoring the unit. 

This team has a quiet seven-game winning streak dating back to last season. 

5. New Orleans Saints

This is another team that will win shootouts. 

Drew Brees and the Saints were a score better than the Texans Sunday, but if the defense is not better, they will not have a successful season. If a team has to score 40 points to win, they will not be winning very often. 

The Saints' Super Bowl win was predicated on forcing turnovers. They need to get back to that. If they can, they will have a chance to win in 2011. 

4. Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens have looked extremely good to start the season. 

Ray Rice finally has the backfield to himself and is making hay. Joe Flacco now has some receivers to throw to, and he can rely on the defense to put him in good scoring position. 

This team will be in the running for the No. 1 seed in the AFC all year. 

3. New England Patriots

Tom Brady and Wes Welker are making opposing defenses look silly. Rob Gronkowski also has five touchdowns already on the young season. 

They are as impressive an offensive unit as can be seen in the league. 

The defense, not so much. 

They looked weak against the Chargers last week, as they allowed the Bolts back into the game late, and they also looked awful as they allowed the Bills to come all the way back and kick a game-winning field goal. 

Brady also matched his 2010 number with four interceptions. The only good thing coming out of this loss is that all of the 16-0 fanaticals can finally quiet down. 

2. Buffalo Bills

No, your eyes are not deceiving you. 

This is the top pick for disaster to contender. They are this year's Kansas City Chiefs. 

Fred Jackson has been the cream of the crop, now sitting at fourth in the league in rushing yards. He also had the big catch that brought the Bills down to the one-yard line late against the Patriots to set up the game-winner. 

This, all without mentioning Ryan Fitzpatrick. The only member of the Harvard Crimson to ever start in the NFL has shown he can stand with the best of them. They could fall back, but the comeback against the Patriots showed the type of grit most didn't think they possessed. 

Yes, they came back against the Raiders last week as well, but the Raiders and the Patriots are completely different beasts. 

1. Green Bay Packers

The Packers are defaulted at No. 1 until they lose. This is how it works every year. 

It also happens that the Packers are the most consistent team in the NFL. They have yet to be really pushed. 

The Saints played them well, but they were playing from behind the whole game. The Bears didn't really give them much trouble. 

The Panthers exposed them on defense, with Cam Newton going for over 400 yards, but they seem to pick it up when they need to. For example, a play from the one-yard line with Mark Ingram begging to get over the goal line. 

Aaron Rodgers is the most confident man in the world. He may not be the most interesting, but I do hear he likes Dos Equis.