It's Power Ranking time again. That makes me about as popular as that Simon guy on American Idol.

The reality is that acid-tongue bloke and I have something in common that infuriates the average fan: We tell it the way we see it.

Tony Dungy brings new energy and a new defensive approach to the Colts. (AP)

Face it, Carolina Panthers fans. Your team will play a Karaoke version of NFL football this year.

Honest, to the point ... that's the Power Rankings.

Is the formula scientific? No. Is there thought and study that goes into them? Certainly. Are they the basis for predicting the season? Hopefully.

Have they been wrong before? Definitely. Will they be wrong again? You bet.

But this first set of rankings, coming the same week all teams open training camps, serve to give you a guide, of sorts, of just where your teams stack up heading into the preseason.

These ratings, of course, will change after the preseason, based on injuries and late signings.

Do you think the Rams would have dropped down back in 1999 after Trent Green got injured and a guy named Kurt Warner stepped in as the starting quarterback? That shows the uncertainty.

Yet the passion of fans reading them is second to none. You get the feeling they would slash my tires if they could find me. Or give me one of those Sopranos-like beatings as a reminder.

Hey kid, just to let you know the Giants should be ranked higher.

It's almost scary contemplating what the Raiders faithful will be thinking when they see they are ranked 15th. They might want to hang me next to those Chucky dolls they once adored.

There will certainly be anger from those loyal Browns fans because they're ranked behind the Bengals, rating me just below Art Modell and Larry Dolan.

No matter how the teams are stacked from one to 32, there will be complaints. You almost get the feeling that if the Patriots were ranked first -- of course, they are not -- Pats fans would complain they should be higher.

As it is, the Rams enter the preseason on top of the rankings (guaranteed to put me right up there with the Yankees on the New England hate meter. The reality is that the Rams are the best team -- and were last season.

That offense is still the best, and the defense should be even better than last season. Coach Mike Martz has a new contract, which will allow him to continue to play his style and not cave to the pressures of the rest of the play-it-safe NFL.

Add it all up and the Rams should be the champs.

They should have been the champs last year, too. That's why doing these rankings is so tough.

A year ago, no one could have predicted the Patriots would win the Super Bowl. I remember seeing them in the preseason in Tampa thinking how they would struggle -- and that was with the idea Drew Bledsoe would play.

The Pats proved that anything is possible, which is why there's hope aplenty as teams open camps. Any of those in the top 25, with the right breaks, could find its way into the Super Bowl.

New England did it without a top 20 offense or defense and by scoring three offensive touchdowns in three playoff games.

Who says dreams don't come true?

So maybe all that playoff talk about the expansion Texans isn't that farfetched. Maybe they're just waiting off stage for their chance to show America that when given the chance, they can put on a show.

Maybe the Chargers are like that kid from nowhere who now has a chance to win a huge recording contract on American Idol.

And maybe I'm the Simon of the NFL: cold, cruel and brutally honest.

Some of you, and you know who you are, simply do not belong in this competition.

Maybe that's why you love the Power Rankings so much. And just remember: when the season starts, they come out every week.

Bet you can't wait.

The preseason rankings for July 24: