2. Indianapolis Colts (4-0)
Right now Peyton Manning is playing at a level above just about every other quarterback in the NFL. He seems like he’s in another world. And if you saw the game two Monday Nights ago you saw an impressive Colts Defense swarm and attack the Cardinals’ Kurt Warner. They played strong, physical football and have been more than good enough to let Peyton Manning take over games with his arm.

3. New Orleans Saints (4-0)
This team is downright scary. They’re the most complete team in the NFL right now. Now they need to prove that they can continue this streak of dominance. The past two weekends the Bills and the Jets have proved that Drew Brees is indeed a mere mortal, but the Saints responded by showing that right now they are the deepest team in this league. Gregg Williams is making this defense click and the past two weeks they’ve really carried the team. On offense, when Pierre Thomas went down, Mike Bell provided rushing between the tackles. When Bell went down, Pierre Thomas returned the favor. Oh and then there’s this guy Reggie Bush.

4. New York Giants (4-0)
Steve Smith and Mario Manningham have gained stardom in New York after four impressive games. Smith in particular has become one of the best young wide receivers in the NFL. Eli Manning has made some mistakes early but has delivered when it has mattered most. The defense has played well in two games after the G-Men were gashed by the Dallas running game, albeit against two teams with a combined 0-8 record. But like the Ravens, the Giants face a tough schedule. After their next game against the Raiders, the Giants have games against New Orleans, Arizona, Philadelphia (2), San Diego, Atlanta, Denver, and Dallas. Combined record: 19-9.

5. Baltimore Ravens (3-1)
Jim Harbaugh’s team has taken off under the leadership of Joe Flacco in his second year under the helm. Flacco seems ready to take on the status of an elite quarterback and carry this Ravens offense. And with the emergence of Ray Rice as a “factor back” and the apparent return of Willis McGahee, it looks like he will have a strong supporting cast. Is the Ravens defense the team’s greatest concern right now? A tough upcoming schedule will show just how far this team can go.

Tier 1.a.
6. Philadelphia Eagles (2-1)
See description of Saints above. No offense to Kevin Kolb, who has been very solid in Donovan McNabb’s absence, but if no. 5 hadn’t been hurt in the huge NFC showdown between the Eagles and the Saints how big a game could that have been? And with the Eagles getting healthy coming off their bye week is their a more exciting team in the NFL?

7. New England Patriots (3-1)
Tom Brady is back ladies and gentlemen. And as the season continues he’s only going to get stronger. With Wes Welker back in the slot and Fred Taylor finding early success with the running game, don’t be surprised if this team starts climbing up the list quickly as other teams above them start to lose.

8. New York Jets (3-1)
There may not be a better defense in the NFL right now. They’ve now held Tom Brady and Drew Brees out of the endzone in the past three weeks. Rex Ryan has this team believing they can go as far as they want. If Sunday was any indicator, Mark Sanchez will have to take care of the football for that to be a possibility.

Wake Up Calls
9. Atlanta Falcons (2-1)
Is it just me or does it feel like this team has a lot to prove this weekend against the 49ers? The ‘09 Falcons haven’t clicked on offense yet the way they were expected to and a match up with a physical San Francisco team will be a good indicator of where this team is.

10. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-2)
Maybe a couple early scares is exactly what this team needs right now. But they were pretty impressive on Sunday night. Strangely they’re struggling to put pressure on the quarterback, but the Steel Curtain seemed back in business and I’d expect this team to return to dominant form, especially if the offensive line can spring Rashard Mendenhall like they did the other night.

11. Green Bay Packers (2-2)
This team has some major concerns upfront on its offensive line and to an extent in its secondary as well. Favre looked a bit like he was taking an exacto knife to this defense and the O-Line gave up 8 sacks to a nasty Vikings defense. Despite these problems, the Pack is still one of the most talented in the league and I’d be surprised if they don’t come back reinvigorated after the bye week. A relatively soft schedule doesn’t hurt either.

Muddled Middle
12. Denver Broncos (4-0)
Play somebody. I dare you. I double dare you. Oh that’s right, the Patriots come into town this weekend. As you can tell, I don’t believe in the Broncos early season success. In my opinion they have yet to play a top 15 team in the NFL. Now it’s true that you can only win the games that you have on the schedule, but I need to see Denver win some big games before I crown them a contender. A brutal upcoming schedule will help determine the status of this team.

13. San Francisco 49ers (3-1)
See Denver. Shaun Hill, much like Kyle Orton in Denver, has done a good job taking care of the football, allowing above average running games and defenses to win physical football games. Despite their success thus far, the 49ers would do well to get Michael Crabtree in uniform as soon as possible to help out this offense.

14. San Diego Chargers (2-2)
When this defense decides it wants to help its offense win some games this team can be very dangerous. The Chargers have two losses to tough teams, but this team needs to decide if they can be elite with the core they have now or if they’ll be a perennial tease year in and year out. Elite teams find a way to win games. Elite teams don’t escape from Oakland with wins. Elite teams come together right now and turn things around. Only time will tell.

15. Chicago Bears (3-1)
Do the Bears have a lot of talent? Yes. Do they let lesser teams hang with them for an absurd amount of time? Without a doubt. Like the Chargers, this team needs to decide just how good they want to be. Unlike the Chargers, they play in an unforgiving Division. They have yet to play a game where they are close to reaching their potential. If they have too many more games like this it may be a long road back in this Division.

16. Arizona Cardinals (1-2)
Don’t be fooled by the slow start. No team in the NFL is underperforming more than the Cardinals are right now. Look for Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald to get back on track in Houston this weekend.

17. Cincinnati Bengals (3-1)
This team seems  to have everything they need to be a good NFL team; a pro-bowl caliber quarterback, a veteran, talented running back, and a disruptive defensive line. They came away with two big wins, first in Green Bay and then against the Steelers the next week. In fact, they’re a last second Brandon Stokely miracle touchdown catch away from being undefeated themselves. But I can’t buy into this team yet. Not when they need overtime to barely beat the Browns.

18. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-2)
Jacksonville is coming off of two division wins in which they averaged 34 points a game. Over the next five weeks the Jags play four teams with a combined record of 1-15. It wouldn’t be too surprising for this team to be 6-2 heading into what could be a crucial game against the Jets in the Meadowlands. Stay tuned, this team could be quietly climbing up the rankings.

19. Dallas Cowboys (2-2)
If there’s a team in the NFL that should be panicking right now it’s this one. They have all the talent in the world and just two wins against two teams that have yet to win to show for it. Without a doubt they can compete with the best teams in the league, but can they beat those teams? Certainly not right now.

20. Houston Texans (2-2)
The Texans offense has found its stride after the week 1 debacle with the Jets. Unfortunately this team looks like the only way it wins football games is when it scores last. While exciting on offense, the Texans need to turn things around on defense if they don’t want to finish they year as a middle of the road team.

Dazed and Confused
21. Seattle Seahawks (1-3)
While the return of Matt Hasselbeck this weekend gives the Seahawks faithful renewed hope, the Hawks have a long way back to contention. The Seahawks need to get healthy – and fast. Playing in a weak NFC West always helps, but if this team is looking to return as the class of the West, it needs to start this weekend at home against Jacksonville.

22. Miami Dolphins (1-3)
The Dolphins have had a rough start to the 2009 campaign. But three straight losses to playoff teams aren’t the Dolphins major concern. Miami suffered a critical blow in a loss to San Diego when they lost Chad Pennington for the rest of the season. Ronnie Brown and the Dolphins prolific running game will pick up some of the slack, but losing Pennington may kill the Dolphins chances this season.

23. Tennessee Titans (0-4)
This team needs to continue to run the football. The Titans are second in the NFL right now with 5.5 yards per carry, but have just 99 attempts (21st). With Kerry Collins continuing to struggle, Jeff Fisher needs to put the rest of this season in the hands of LenDale White and Chris Johnson.

24. Carolina Panthers (0-3)
This team has fallen farther than any other team last year. Much like the Titans, the Panthers need to rediscover their identity as a football team which led them to 12 wins last season. This team is a smash mouth football team that had the third most rushing yards in the NFL last season. So far this season only the Arizona Cardinals have attempted fewer rushes than Carolina. With the combination of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan, it’s hard to imagine the Panthers will stay away from the ground game much longer.

25. Detroit Lions (1-3)
Almost anything is a success coming off an 0-16 season and by and large, that’s what the first four games have been for Detroit. After snapping a 19 game losing streak against the Redskins, they hung tough for half a football game in Chicago. Now the Lions need to start playing four full quarters of football. Regardless, things are looking up in Detroit.

26. Buffalo Bills (1-3)
The Dick Jauron era appears to be coming to a close in Buffalo. After being named the Head Coach of the Buffalo Bills, Jauron has had three straight 7-9 seasons and now, another slow start may have doomed him. After playing a competitive game in New England, the Bills have all but flopped. A game against the lowly Browns may get them back on track, and the return of Marshawn Lynch can’t hurt but they have a long road back.

27. Washington Redskins (2-2)
This team maybe .500, but when you have two wins against the St. Louis Rams and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by a combined total of 5 points, it doesn’t matter what your record is – you have problems. In two years, with largely the same supporting cast, this team has gone from a dangerous playoff contender, to a disaster from an organizational standpoint. The Redskins have a lot of question going forward, with both personnel and from a managerial standpoint.

Knocked Out
28. Kansas City Chiefs (0-4)
This team has a lot of young talent, both on offense and on defense. What’s apparent however, is that this team has not bought into first year Head Coach Todd Haley’s system and his sporadic, public emotional outbursts on the sidelines have been met with a lot of negative media attention. When your team is 0-4, the last thing you need is to create more negative attention.

And speaking of negative attention from the media directed at 0-4 coaches…

29. Oakland Raiders (1-3)
The Raiders have been atrocious on offense. They’re last in the NFL in total offense, have a quarterback with a 42.4 rating and just lost Darren McFadden to a knee injury. To make matters worse, their head coach is being investigated by the NFL into an alleged fight he had with an assistant coach.

30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-4)
Tampa appears to have some of the pieces to the puzzle in place. They have three running backs, all of whom have been successful at the NFL level, an emerging cover corner in Aqib Talib, and a talented wide receiver Antonio Bryant. Now they need to figure out both who their signal caller of the future will be and that small problem of how to stop other teams on offense.

31. Cleveland Browns (0-4)
This team has looked miserable through the first four weeks of the season and the only reason why they’re not 32 is because they have two quarterbacks who are starters in the NFL. Surrounded by the right players, Derek Anderson has shown what he can do (earn a spot in the Pro Bowl) and Brady Quinn certainly isn’t lacking for talent. But other than a lone bright spot in Mohamed Massaquoi, this team has had an abysmal start to the 2009 season.

32. St. Louis Rams (0-4)
This team needs help at almost every single position on the field. They have top picks in Chris Long and Jason Smith at Defensive End and Left Tackle respectively and a pro-bowl caliber running back in Steven Jackson, but after those three, are looking to improve at virtually every other position on the field.

Burress is being sent to prison on accounts of criminal possession of a weapon, after carrying a pistol in a night club that was unregistered in the state of New York or New Jersey. He previously had a license to carry a concealed weapon in Florida, but that license had expired.

Burress narrowly avoided tragedy. The gun slipped out of his pants where it was stowed, hit the floor and fired, hitting him in the leg. Not only could the bullet have hit him in the femeral artery had it been shot a few inches higher, but it also came very close to hitting a security guard at the club. So while the only injuries in this crime were relatively minor ones to Burress, disaster was very close.

But what I want to point out is that from a legal standpoint, Burress’s crime wasn’t that great. There were no fatalities or injuries to anyone besides the perpetrator, so the lone crime is criminal possession of a weapon. And what really matters is that had Burress not been famous, he would not have faced nearly the prison time or punishment that he has to undergo now. New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg made a point that he wants to crack down on illegal firearms in the city and that they were going to pursue convicting Burress in full force. But like I said, had he not been so famous, his sentence wouldn’t have been nearly as great.

Normally we see the opposite problem. Athletes use their wealth to either hire the best lawyers to get themselves out of a jam, or use it to strike a plea bargain with a victim to lessen their punishment (i.e. Donte Stallworth). This time, it worked against the athlete. And hearing the reports, I actually felt quite a deal of sympathy for him, hearing how he asked permission to return to his family to say goodbye one last time, it reminded me that this man who did a stupid, stupid thing, was still a person, just like you or I. Obviously the nature of our legal system (which relies on funds so heavily) will never allow this, but what I would hope is that athletes and celebrities should be treated like the rest of us, facing no less penalty and no greater than anyone else.

New England Patriots at New York Jets

This is what we know. The Patriots barely squeaked out a win against the average Buffalo Bills and the Jets (especially Mark Sanchez) impressed against a favored Texans team in Houston. But to me this matchup is a no-contest. If you looked closer at the Bills game, the Pats all but dominated in every category except points, indicating the match was somewhat of an anomaly, or a warmup, you could say. And while Sanchez was good against the Texans, he made a number of rookie mistakes that weren’t capitalized on by the Houston defense. Prediction: New England.

Cleveland Browns at Denver Broncos

Not a pretty matchup. Neither team was good last week, despite Denver winning on a fluke play at the end of the game. There’s nothing really good to say about the Browns, nor is there to say about the Broncos. Ultimately, I like Brady Quinn better than Kyle Orton (anyone is better than Kyle Orton) so if he can get over the altitude, the game is his. Prediction: Cleveland.

Baltimore Ravens at San Diego Chargers

This one could really go either way. With the Chargers getting their annual first-game jitters out of the way you might think Philip Rivers could lead the Chargers to victory, but with LT declining (it’s happening) one might not be so sure. Willis McGahee was good last week, and that could help out Joe Flacco. Really  though, it’s a toss up. Prediction: Baltimore.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Chicago Bears

The spread on this game right now is only favoring the Steelers by three, and quite frankly I can’t understand why. They’re obviously the better team (especially with Brian Urlacher down for the Bears) and Jay Cutler was bad for the Bears last week. Take out that blown coverage on Devin Hester that went for a TD and he was very bad. The Bears defense will still be good without Urlacher, but not as good ast the Steelers’. Prediction: Steelers

New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys

While my personal bias is going to play in here, I like the Giants’ chances. Well kinda. I give them a 55/45 shot. But considering it’s in Dallas and how well the Cowboys played last week, that’s pretty good. The key for the Giants is figuring out that receiving core. I think Steve Smith is going to step it up, but if he doesn’t Hixon will have to. Eli can’t just throw to Kevin Boss. The Cowboys have a similar problem, with Roy E. Williams probably not having the talent of a number one receiver. Prediction: Giants.

Upon evaluating Eli’s body of work since he made his much anticipated debut into the NFL as the number one overall pick in 2004, I have no doubt that Giants general manager Jerry Reese has spent his money wisely by locking up Eli with this massive long term deal. In a time when teams have had trouble just finding someone to line up under center week in and week out, Eli has done everything that any team could possibly ask for out of its franchise quarterback, especially one who has been under as much scrutiny as Eli has for his entire career.

Though his frustratingly erratic play and mediocre numbers would say otherwise, Eli has proven to be a model of consistency ever since he became the Giants’ full time starter in 2005.  Over that stretch, he has started every game (71 consecutive games and counting), won two NFC East titles, and made the playoffs every season. Despite his ho-hum demeanor and frazzled facial expressions when adversity strikes, Eli has also shown that he is without a doubt one of the best two-minute quarterbacks in the game today. When the clock is ticking and the Giants are in need of a score, Eli has more often than not stepped up, made clutch plays, and led his team to victory.  Having watched him for his entire career, I can say that certainly Eli has the same clutch playmaking ability we have come to associate with brother Peyton, Tom Brady, and Brett Favre. The game seems to slow down for Eli when he is in the no-huddle offense that requires him to make quick decisions.  To prove my point, there is no need to look further than the 2007 playoffs.

Who could possibly forget how Eli led the Giants to one of the most improbable championships in the history of sports after winning three straights road playoff games as the underdog and then toppling the heavily favored juggernaut that was the 2007 New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII with a playoff run and two-minute drill for the ages?  This alone justifies the Giants’ decision to break the bank for their quarterback. He has withstood all of the lofty expectations that come with being a Manning, the pressure from the ferocious New York media, and even criticism from his own teammates, when Tiki Barber openly questioned his leadership abilities, referring to the way he ran offensive team meetings as “laughable.”

Eli Manning is a stud who has delivered the goods and will certainly continue to do so. Not many other NFL quarterbacks can say the same. He has met every challenge that has faced thus far in his five-year career and found success. Only his play and the Giants’ record this season will tell how Eli will produce under yet another obstacle in his career: the replacement of his top two weapons, Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer, with a group of receivers that does not have a clear cut go-to guy quite yet. After all, Eli’s numbers faded and so did the Giants after Plaxico shot himself in the leg at a New York nightclub. Just like other major New York athletes can attest, just ask A-Rod, Eli might as well get used to hearing his contract mentioned in association with everything he does for the rest of his career.