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Training camp 2009 is almost here, and the NFL news is still cluttered with typical soap opera type nonsense, I figured it would be a good time to start my annual rankings. I will rank teams in each division by several position category. Of course, some teams are close enough at certain position to go either way, and some of you may simply think higher of your team's players or coaches than is realistic. BTW, I am NOT ranking the entire division (that will be done in my preseason preview), just by positions. I will start with the AFC Conference.

AFC EAST: New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets

Quarterbacks:

1. Patriots: Tom Brady (presumably) healthy...as if he was mobile anyways.

2. Dolphins: Chad Pennington one of the league's most under-rated QB.

3. Bills: Trent Edwards struggled as 2008 season progressed.

4. Jets: It will be interesting going from a 39 year old QB to a rookie.

 

Running Backs:

1. Bills: Marshawn Lynch should bounce back. Fred Jackson is a solid backup.

2. Dolphins: Ronnie Brown had a career year. Ricky Williams grateful to have a career.

3. Patriots: Signing Fred Taylor was nice, but how much will they even need him?

4. Jets: All of Thomas Jones' criticism about Farve, he will miss him come September. 

 

Pass Catchers:

1. Patriots: Randy Moss and Wes Welker. Enough said.

2. Bills: Who will be the #1 receiver, T.O. or Lee Evans???

3. Dolphins: Davone Bess may not be a system receiver after all.

4. Jets: This group was not very impressive BEFORE Laveranues Coles left.

 

Offensive Line:

1. Patriots: 6^th best rushing team in NFL with a group of average RBs (and no Brady).

2. Jets: Alan Faneca was missing piece to young but talented line.

3. Dolphins: Jake Long looks like the real deal.

4. Bills: Clearly their weakest area.

 

Defensive Line:

1. Patriots: One of division's three 3-4 defenses. By far the best line.

2. Jets: Kris Jenkins anchors very good line. Shaun Ellis great at end.

3. Bills: Rookie Aaron Maybin expected to free up Aaron Schobel on edge.

4. Dolphins: DL still work-in-progress.

 

Linebackers:

1. Patriots: What will Jerod Mayo do for an encore?

2. Jets: Calvin Pace + Bart Scott = scary duo. Now if Gholston contributes....

3. Dolphins: Jerry Porter + Jason Taylor = scary duo (five seasons ago).

4. Bills: Paul Posluszny is solid. Not much else.

 

Defensive Backs:

1. Jets: Darrelle Revis and Lito Sheppard best combo. Kerry Rhodes is future star.

2. Patriots: Reloading with youth (Brandon Merriweather, Darius Butler, Patrick Chung).

3. Bills: 13^th in pass defense in 2008, but only 10 ints.

4. Dolphins: Can rookies Vontae Davis and Sean Smith help improve 25^th pass defense?

 

Special Teams:

1. Jets: Leon Washington (25.6 avg, TD). Larry Izzo pickup will help coverage team.

2. Bills: Moorman one of best punting inside 20. Kick and punt return TD.

3. Patriots: Kicking solid (36 of 40 FG), but who will return kicks???

4. Dolphins: Top ten draft pick (Ginn) should not be primary kick-returner.

 

Head Coach:

1. Patriots: Do I really need to explain???

2. Dolphins: I know the Tuna got the players, but someone had to coach them.

3. Jets: A first year head coach, but has a lot to work with on defense (his forte).

4. Bills: This will probably be Dick Jauron's last season.

 

AFC NORTH: Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens

Quarterbacks:

1. Steelers: Mostly a game manager, but Big Ben does have two rings.

2. Bengals: Two years removed from knee surgery, Palmer could be #1.

3. Ravens: Another good game manager who will get better.

4. Browns: As the old saying goes, "if you have two QBs, you have none."

 

Running Backs:

1. Ravens: Three runners deep (Ray Rice, Le'Ron McClain, Willis McGahee).

2. Steelers: Rashad Mendenhall returns to complement "fast" Willie Parker.

3. Bengals: Can Cedric Benson finally live up to college hype?!

4. Browns: Three straight 1,000 seasons for Lewis. Not convinced he will make four.

 

Pass Catchers:

1. Steelers: After the TD winning catch in the Super Bowl, how could they not be #1???

2. Bengals: Coles is no Houshmandzadeh, but he's not bad either.

3. Ravens: Derrick Mason's near the end, but Mark Clayton is solid.

4. Browns: No WR dropped more balls the last two seasons than Braylon (not even T.O.).

 

Offensive Line:

1. Ravens: Addition of Matt Birk and rookie Michael Oher upgrades already good line.

2. Steelers: Honestly, the rest of division is interchangeable.

3. Browns: Only gave up 24 sacks despite QB situation.

4. Bengals: Gave up 51 sacks in spite of QB situation.

 

Defensive Line:

1. Steelers: Already great front three adds rookie DT Evandor Hood to mix.

2. Ravens: Not as good as Steelers, but Haloti Ngata makes them respectable.

3. Bengals: The addition of Tank Johnson should make things interesting.

4. Browns: Shaun Rogers made Pro Bowl, but still does not fit defense.

 

Linebackers:

1. Steelers: Defensive Player of Year in group. The rest are pretty good, too.

2. Ravens: Still have Ray-Ray and Terrell Suggs. Losing Bart Scott could hurt.

3. Bengals: Having two star USC linebackers has to count for something, right?

4. Browns: In case you hadn't noticed, there seems to be a common theme here.

 

Defensive Backs:

1. Ravens: Too close to call at safety, CBs are slightly better. Only slightly.

2. Steelers: Nothing to be ashamed of here.

3. Bengals: Young CB duo (Leon Hall and Johnathan Joseph) are up and coming.

4. Browns: At least they are opportunistic (23ints in 2008)

 

Special Teams:

1. Browns: Josh Cribbs one of few bright spots on dismal team.

2. Ravens: One of best kicker/punter duo in AFC.

3. Steelers: They cannot be the best at everything.

4. Bengals: Decent kicker. Below average punter/return team.

 

Head Coach:

1. Steelers: Youngest coach to ever win Super Bowl.

2. Ravens: Young coach already a master motivator.

3. Bengals: This will be a made or break year for Marvin Lewis.

4. Browns: I STILL do not understand the logic in hiring Mangini.

 

AFC SOUTH: Indianapolis Colts, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans

Quarterbacks:

1. Colts: Until the day Peyton retires.

2. Titans: Kerry Collins is past prime, but solid. Vince Young better mature quickly.

3. Texans: Schaub is solid, but fragile. Replaced Rosenfel with Orlovsky???

4. Jaquars: Will we see 2007 or 2008 Garrard?

 

Running Backs:

1. Titans: Chris Johnson and Lendale White best duo in AFC.

2. Texans: Steve Slaton may be every down back after all.

3. Jaguars: Can Jones-Drew carry weight with Fred Taylor gone?

4. Colts: How long before rookie Donald Brown replaces slumping Addai?

 

Pass Catchers:

1. Texans: Andre Johnson best receiver in AFC.

2. Colts: Reggie Wayne has been #1 option for couple of seasons. Who will be #2?

3. Titans: Will 2009 be Justin Gage's breakout year?

4. Jaguars: Signing Torry Holt helps. Rest of receivers in rehab (literally).

 

Offensive Line:

1. Titans: Excellent run-blockers, lead by Kevin Mawae.

2. Colts: Allowed only 14 sacks with two first year starters playing guard.

3. Texans: Still allow too many sacks (32), but much improved from David Carr era.

4. Jaguars: Their guard situation did not pan out as well as Colts'.

 

Defensive Line:

1. Colts: Two double-digit sack artists. And that was BEFORE the influx of 300lb DTs.

2. Texans: Mario Williams is having the last laugh.

3. Titans: Will not be as dominate without Haynesworth.

4. Jaguars: Whatever happened to those DEs drafted to pressure Manning???

 

Linebackers:

1. Texans: Former DROY (Ryans) leads group, including FA Cato June.

2. Titans: Keith Bulluck still plays like a man on a mission.

3. Colts: Gary Brackett solid. The rest are very young, but talented.

4. Jaguars: Similar makeup as Colts.

 

Defensive Backs:

1. Titans: Will they still be good without Haynesworth wrecking havoc up front???

2. Colts: Bob Sanders leads underrated secondary.

3. Jaguars: Good corners. Talented young free safety.

4. Texans: Would be higher if Dunta Robinson could stay healthy.

 

Special Teams:

1. Titans: Rob Bironas can kick a mile away a hundred times a game. Actually, he does.

2. Texans: Excellent kicker (Kris Brown) and punt returner (Jacoby Jones, 2TD in 2008).

3. Jaguars: Disappointing 2008 for normally reliable Scobee.

4. Colts: Long time punter left. Vinatieri not as clutch of late. No return game to speak of.

 

Head Coach:

1. Titans: Longest tenured coach in NFL.

2. Texans: Quietly building divisional challenger.

3. Jaguars: Another AFC coach on hot seat.

4. Colts: Seven straight double-digit win seasons, tough act to follow for a new coach.

 

AFC WEST: Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos, San Diego Chargers, Oakland Raiders

Quarterbacks:

1. Chargers: How does a QB lead conference in TDs and NOT make Pro Bowl???

2. Broncos: They would be at this spot with Cutler.

3. Raiders: This spot has more to do with Garcia than Russell.

4. Chiefs: Now we will see what Cassel looks like without Moss and Welker.

 

Running Backs:

1. Raiders: Justin Fargas and Darren McFadden should make potent one-two punch.

2. Chargers: Tomlinson is ready to prove critics wrong. We'll see.

3. Broncos: Knowshon Moreno will get opportunity to shine.

4. Chiefs: Larry Johnson is upset. Again.

 

Pass Catchers:

1. Broncos: Even with Brandon Marshall's suspension looming, still plenty of options.

2. Chargers: Could end up over taking Broncos soon.

3. Raiders: Not that their receivers are any good...

4. Cheifs: ... but losing Tony Gonzalez hurts.

 

Offensive Line:

1. Chargers: Big, tough, physical line.

2. Broncos: Will be interesting if they continue cut-bloc... Err, I meant "zone-blocking".

3. Raiders: Finally found a position for Robert Gallery...at guard.

4. Chiefs: This line needs a lot of work.

 

Defensive Line:

1. Chargers: Ranks with Patriots' and Steelers' front three.

2. Raiders: Being at this spot liken to being a genius among idiots.

3. Chiefs: May have drafted Tyson Jackson too high. Said same about Mario Williams.

4. Broncos: Who is even on their D-line???

 

Linebackers:

1. Chargers: Shawne Merriman is back!

2. Raiders: Thomas Howard and Kirk Morrison are young and talented.

3. Chiefs: Mike Vrabel's arrival will help talented Derrick Johnson.

4. Broncos: Recent FA additions not enough to keep them out of basement.

 

Defensive Backs:

1. Raiders: It begins with Nnamdi.

2. Broncos: A healthy Champ and a rejuvenated Brain Dawkins would do wonders.

3. Chargers: Secondary fell off (bad) in 2008.

4. Chiefs: In rebuilding mode.

 

Special Teams:

1. Raiders: Seem to score more on special teams (5 TDs) than on offense.

2. Chargers: Return game is enough to have them here. Kicker pretty good, too.

3. Broncos: Matt Prater efficient kicking beyond 50 yards (5 of 6 in 2008).

4. Chiefs: Punter is solid, for all the action he gets during games.

 

Head Coach:

1. Chargers: His teams under-achieve...Norv Turner here by default.

2. Chiefs: Can Todd Haley fix what Herm Edwards couldn't?

3. Raiders: Tom Cable coaching? Al Davis is crazier than given credit for.

4. Broncos: Hope McDaniels' coaching skills is MUCH better than personnel skills.