Power Rankings: Seriously now, any great teams out there?

Updated Oct. 31

Do you ever look around the league on a Sunday and ask yourself this question:

Are any of the 32 teams really that good?

Mike Shanahan and his Broncos came up short to the Colts. (US PRESSWIRE)

Eight weeks into the regular season, I did that Sunday night. The Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts are both unbeaten, but the Bears have beat up a lot of bad teams and the Colts would have trouble stopping me running into the gut of their defense.

The Patriots made a strong statement Monday night in beating up the Vikings, but their two most-impressive victories are that one and another on the road against the Bengals, which is a team we are still trying to figure out.

I don't think anybody's ready to anoint any of those top three teams in the CBS SportsLine.com Power Rankings as Super Bowl champs just yet.

Take a look at the rest of the rankings, particularly the top, and there are teams with issues as well. In the top 10 we have a couple of teams with offensive questions (Ravens, Broncos), one (the Saints) we're still not sure about, and another (Jaguars) that was blown out by the Texans two weeks ago.

We have questions, questions and more questions.

The Atlanta Falcons are a perfect case in point.

Two weeks ago, they were coming off a horrific game in which the New York Giants went into Atlanta and dominated them. That set off a firestorm of sorts. Some wondered if the end was coming for coach Jim Mora. Mike Vick's passing skills were roasted all over the league and Vick questioned the play-calling and some of his receivers.

Here we are two weeks later and Vick has morphed into Steve Young. Vick's pin-point passing has carried the Falcons to two big victories, one over the Steelers, and then Sunday on the road against the Bengals.

The 5-2 Falcons are tied atop the NFC South with the Saints, and the doom and gloom of three Sundays ago seems a long time ago.

They're flying high. But are they really that good? If they don't knock Ben Roethlisberger out in the game with the Steelers, they might have never stopped them. And who knows where they'd be?

So, I ask again, are any of these teams really that good?

We know the bad teams. That's obvious to all, with Arizona the bottom feeder of the bunch. The clock is ticking on Dennis Green. In the spirit of Halloween, they need eggs thrown at them (see, that's what I remember from my Halloweens as a youth).

The rest of the bad teams stand out as well, sort of like that apple in your bag of Halloween candy. But nearly halfway through the schedule for all 32 teams, we still have no idea if any of the teams at the top are that good.

The next month should help sort that out since several of the top 10 teams play each other. The Bears have road games against the Giants and Patriots, and the Colts play at the Patriots.

Then again, come December, we might be asking the same question I asked myself Sunday night. Are any of these teams really that good?

Or are they just masquerading as one?

Power Rankings
Current		Team	Previous
	1	Patriots · Trends	11
	They get Tom Brady back. They have the deepest team in the league. Oh, and they have the best coach. Add it up, and it's no wonder they are Super favorites.
	2	Steelers · Trends	1
	The champions are loaded again and will be in the thick of it come playoff time. They didn't do much to improve their offensive line, though, which has to be a concern.
	3	Colts · Trends	7
	Peyton Manning is back healthy again, so they are a real contender again. The addition of Donald Brown to the running game will give it more explosiveness. The key will be the return to health of major defensive players.
	4	Cardinals · Trends	2
	They've done some nice things in the offseason, including adding corner Bryant McFadden and drafting Beanie Wells to carry the football. They will be a playoff team again and maybe they'll finish in Miami.
	5	Eagles · Trends	4
	They've had a wonderful offseason, adding key players like tackles Jason Peters and Stacey Andrews and loading up in the draft with speed and quickness. They will be tough to stop on offense.
	6	Giants · Trends	5
	They fortified the defense with some key free agents and added a speed receiver in Hakeem Nicks to the passing game. Tom Coughlin will have this team in the playoffs again.
	7	Titans · Trends	6
	They haven't done a lot, and losing Albert Haynesworth will hurt. The other thing is their division is tough. They also have to get more big plays from their passing game.
	8	Ravens · Trends	3
	Joe Flacco will be better in his second season as a starter and that defense will once again be among the best. They do have to take their passing game up a notch.
	9	Falcons · Trends	9
	It's all about the defense for the Falcons. Adding Tony Gonzalez makes the offense complete and the draft was loaded with defensive picks to help the other side. They aren't going away.
	10	Saints · Trends	19
	This is another team that has improved its defense in the past four months in terms of talent. Now new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams has to bring it all together.
	11	Chargers · Trends	10
	This is still a deep, talented team. If Philip Rivers continues to develop, the Chargers will easily be the class of the AFC West.
	12	Texans · Trends	17
	The Texans have a lot of important pieces in place. As long as Matt Schaub can stay healthy, they might be ready to make a real playoff push.
	13	Panthers · Trends	8
	They will be the same team: Run heavy and play tough defense. Is that enough? Jake Delhomme has to play better.
	14	Bears · Trends	18
	Getting Jay Cutler is the steal of the offseason. He makes them a real playoff threat. Yes, I do believe that.
	15	Cowboys · Trends	14
	They have talent, but something just seems to be off. I don't think they're as good as the Eagles or Giants in their own division, which is why they are down this low.
	16	Bengals · Trends	24
	Getting Palmer back makes them dangerous and the defense will be better around him. I like the Bengals as a sleeper team. I really do.
	17	Vikings · Trends	13
	Quarterback. It's all about the quarterback. Whether it's Sage Rosenfels or Tarvaris Jackson, that position has to be better. Words of advice: Stay away from that guy named Favre.
	18	Packers · Trends	23
	The move to a 3-4 under new coordinator Dom Capers will be one to watch closely. If that side of the ball plays better, Aaron Rodgers might get them to a playoff game.
	19	Bills · Trends	22
	Can Terrell Owens make them a playoff team? That might be stretching it, but they will be better on offense.
	20	Seahawks · Trends	28
	New coach Jim Mora takes over a veteran team that was hurt by injuries last season. They need to keep Matt Hasselbeck healthy. If they do, they will push the Cardinals.
	21	Jets · Trends	16
	How long does it take to get Mark Sanchez ready? If he's what they think he is, they will be better than expected. If not, it's a redshirt season and they will win six games.
	22	Buccaneers · Trends	15
	Who plays quarterback? Whoever it is has to be better than what they had last season. There are also some age concerns on defense. New coach Raheem Morris faces a challenging first season.
	23	Redskins · Trends	25
	They're the fourth team in a four-team division. That will make it tough to win eight games.
	24	Jaguars · Trends	26
	They've made some nice moves to fix the offensive line, and now it's time for the offense to do more. The defense also needs young players to step up, especially end Derrick Harvey.
	25	Broncos · Trends	20
	They're excited about Kyle Orton. I'm not. I think he's OK. They better hope the defense plays better than a year ago or it won't matter who quarterbacks the Broncos. I do like Knowshon Moreno.
	26	Dolphins · Trends	12
	They are the step-back team this season. But in 2010, look out. I think Chad Henne will take over at some time this season.
	27	49ers · Trends	21
	It's all quarterback with the 49ers. Can Shaun Hill or Alex Smith get the job done? If not, they'll stay down here all year long.
	28	Raiders · Trends	27
	It's all about JaMarcus Russell. If he plays an entire season to the level of expectations, the Raiders will be better. I think he can. But they have other issues.
	29	Chiefs · Trends	29
	They landed their quarterback in Matt Cassel and have added a few players to help, but new coach Todd Haley faces a big task in getting this offense to play like his Arizona unit did.
	30	Browns · Trends	30
	New coach Eric Mangini will build this team the way he wants it. But one has to wonder if that's a good thing considering his Jets history.
	31	Rams · Trends	31
	The Rams were a disaster last year. New coach Steve Spagnuolo has a lot of work to do. They're at least a year away.
	32	Lions · Trends	32
	They have their franchise quarterback to build around, and Jim Schwartz will do a good job, but there's a lot of work still to be done.