In the season's first edition of Cat Scratch Reader's Power Rankings, the elite teams and the bottom-feeders were pretty clear cut. There are a lot of questions in the middle of the pack, though, so let's see how the Panthers fared!
RANK | TEAM | COMMENT | PREV | TREND |
1 | San Francisco 49ers | The Niners are loaded and well coached. The champs fell, so they move up by default after a hard fought win against a very good Packers team. | N/A | N/A |
2 | Denver Broncos | The Broncos dominated the reigning champs, but lets face it: the Ravens are not the Ravens we saw in the Super Bowl and Peyton had revenge on his mind. That energy will be hard to replicate every week. | N/A | N/A |
3 | Seattle Seahawks | The Panthers faced the Seahawks at the perfect time, and couldn't capitalize. They will only get stronger as their injured starters trickle back in. And bank it, Russell Wilson's identity will be defined by 4th quarter heroics. | N/A | N/A |
4 | New Orleans Saints | Sean Payton is back and this team is hungry. Rob Ryan is turning that laughingstock defense into a passable unit, who held the explosive Falcons to 25% conversions on 3rd and 4th down. | N/A | N/A |
5 | Houston Texans | We knows who their defense is. They will bounce back from a first half drubbing by San Diego. The impressive thing was how they stormed back from 21 down to win in the second half. | N/A | N/A |
6 | Green Bay Packers | Hard to rate a team so high after a loss, but it WAS to the 49ers, and Aaron and Jordy look to be getting their rhythm back. That should scare folks. | N/A | N/A |
7 | Atlanta Falcons | Roddy White wasn't at full strength, and that changes this team immensely. It’s a high ankle sprain so may take a little while to heal, but when he returns they will bounce back to form. | N/A | N/A |
8 | Chicago Bears | It is REALLY hard for me to put a Cutler-led team this high. Add in Mr. Glass, AKA Matt Forte, and this is a team I think is destined for another letdown. | N/A | N/A |
9 | New England Patriots | Tom Brady and Bill Belichick will keep this team floating on the edge of elite, even with a rapidly declining roster. Don't expect them to climb much higher, though. There is a LOT of talent above them on this list. | N/A | N/A |
10 | Cincinnati Bengals | The Bengals are better than this week's performance. I'm giving them a mulligan, but it will be interesting to see how Andy Dalton rebounds. | N/A | N/A |
11 | Baltimore Ravens | THE CHAMP IS HERE!! THE CHAMP IS… what? Wow that was ugly. All that preseason hoopla about how they have reloaded on defense looks like just that, at the moment. Also, do you think they regret letting Anquan Boldin get away? | N/A | N/A |
12 | Indianapolis Colts | Weak division, good coaching, overperforming young roster. It is hard not to put them this high on the list. | N/A | N/A |
13 | Dallas Cowboys | Tony Romo DIDN'T choke away an NFC East game in the last few minutes? Must not be November yet. Or maybe it is just something about rib injuries. | N/A | N/A |
14 | St. Louis Rams | I have been saying this for a while: keep an eye out for the Rams. That defense is TOUGH. It will be hard to pull away in a tough division, but they should hang around the middle of the pack barring some devastating turn of events. | N/A | N/A |
15 | Philadelphia Eagles | The Chip Kelly offense gave us fits in the preseason, and continued this week against the Redskins. It'll be figured out soon enough, but the Eagles are going to be tough to beat for the first month of the season at least. | N/A | N/A |
16 | Detroit Lions | This is the hardest team in the NFL to rank. Elite talent at several key positions; ZERO discipline. They could be playoff contenders of bottom-dwellers with ease. So I put them dead in the center. | N/A | N/A |
17 | Miami Dolphins | That defense is good, and Tannehill is better than a lot of people want to give him credit for. If they had a running back to lean on they could be very good. | N/A | N/A |
18 | New York Giants | I hope you don't have David Wilson on your fantasy team. I foresee him getting his notice of release from the doghouse at the reading of Tom Coughlin's will. | N/A | N/A |
19 | Tennessee Titans | Hey, a road win against the Steelers is worth something, even if the Steel Curtain has been drawn. More on them later… | N/A | N/A |
20 | Carolina Panthers | I'm a homer, so what? We played an elite team to the wire in an opener as perennially slow starters. I am guardedly optimistic at the moment. | N/A | N/A |
21 | Kansas City Chiefs | Alex Smith is no Montana, maybe not even Trent Green. But he is a better QB than the Chiefs have had in several years and his supporting cast is enough to make them a team to fear in a very weak division. | N/A | N/A |
22 | Washington Redskins | The classic Catch-22. RGIII's superstar status makes him unbenchable, but honestly, that leg is not ready and Cousins probably gives them the best chance to win right now. | N/A | N/A |
23 | Minnesota Vikings | "It's a team sport." Tell that to a team whose ENTIRE hopes for the season rests on 16 healthy games from the most injury-plagued position on the field. Without Adrian Peterson, this team is probably dead last. | N/A | N/A |
24 | San Diego Chargers | Don't trust Philip Rivers. Just don't. And that running game… *shudder* | N/A | N/A |
25 | Buffalo Bills | Hey, it was a very good first showing for a new-look team with a rookie QB and a ton of young wide receivers. The defense isn't too shabby either. But you gotta pull your way out of the doghouse with a few good wins in a row. | N/A | N/A |
26 | Pittsburgh Steelers | This team is reeling. It would be folly to count Mike Tomlin and Ben Roethlisberger out yet, but that roster is depleted. | N/A | N/A |
27 | Arizona Cardinals | That defense was supposed to be good, but didn't represent themselves well against St. Louis. It will be interesting to see how they bounce back. | N/A | N/A |
28 | New York Jets | I am not giving this team ANYTHING just yet. They are still terrible until they beat a team who doesn't play like the professional sports version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. | N/A | N/A |
29 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Ladies and Gentlemen, meet the professional sports version of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde. | N/A | N/A |
30 | Cleveland Browns | They aren't called the Browns for nuthin'. Chud has a lot of work to do, and nary a quarterback to do it with. | N/A | N/A |
31 | Oakland Raiders | At least they aren't dead last! That honor belongs to: | N/A | N/A |
32 | Jacksonville Jaguars | THESE GUYS!!! (Is any explanation really needed?) | N/A | N/A |