It's that time of year!  Football season!  I don't have much of a preamble except to say that there are a great many middle of the pack teams this season, which means that we shouldn't see as many double digit spreads as in years past.  Witness this week where 7 is the biggest spread.  Not exactly an easy Survivor Pool week.  Best of luck with your picks this year.  Here are the preseason rankings.  The rankings do not take into account schedule but instead judge each team against all others in the league.

32.  Buffalo Bills

C.J. Spiller is about all of the good news coming out of Buffalo and he's not that spectacular.  On the bright side it gets brutally cold in the winter and this is still a team yet to recover from 4 Super Bowl losses.  Trent Edwards to the rescue.

31.  St. Louis Rams

There is a slim chance Sam Bradford has a great season a la Matt Ryan.  On that off chance I'm keeping the awful Rams out of the cellar . . . for now.

30.  Cleveland Browns

To quote ESPN's James Walker, "this team lacks talent across the board."  Couldn't have said it better myself. 

29.  Tampa Bay Buccaneers

I think Brett Favre might be older than Josh Freeman and Raheem Morris combined.  The defense is a far cry from that of the 2001 team.

28.  Kansas City Chiefs

The offense could be reasonable but the defense will be horrible.  I'll take the opponents and the over in KC games.

27.  Detroit Lions

The defense will get slightly better with Suh but the secondary will still get lit up.  Stafford should be better with seasoning and I love Calvin Johnson and Jahvid Best.  They'll still be very pedestrian for a couple of years though.

26.  Seattle Seahawks

Pete Carroll:  Exposed.  It's the new reality show coming to Seattle.  As if the city hadn't suffered enough.

25.  Oakland Raiders

Jason Campbell is a huge upgrade but that's not saying much.  The defense will keep the Raiders in some games but there are still some pieces missing.

24.  Jacksonville Jaguars

Maurice Jones-Drew's health is already a concern.  Not the right way to start your season.

23.  Carolina Panthers

Matt Moore wasn't good enough to start for the mighty UCLA Bruins consistently but he's good enough for the Panthers.  Key stat for the Panthers if they're to have success:  YAC.

22.  Denver Broncos

Similar set of problems on offense with little home run power.  The defense isn't quite good enough to compensate.

21.  Chicago Bears

How many more unproductive seasons until Jay Cutler is labeled a bust?  I wonder if he dreams about throwing interceptions.

20.  Tennessee Titans

It's amazing how much the defense has fallen as a unit.  The Titans will have to win some high scoring games.  Vince Young's a winner, but he's not a miracle worker.

19.  Arizona Cardinals

Here's hoping Derek Anderson returns to some kind of form.  The Cardinals could climb these up the ladder here if he does.  It's not like he's lacking weapons.

18.  Washington Redskins

Donovan McNabb makes them relevant but don't forget this team was 4-12 last year and that they play in the NFC East.

17.  Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins and their wacky formations won't catch anybody off guard.  Chad Henne could struggle this season.

16.  New York Giants

Questionable on defense and at the O-line now.  The Giants always seem to overachieve but Eli Manning will have to be better than pedestrian if that's to happen.

15.  New York Jets

The most overrated team in football.  You can't be an elite team in the NFL without a QB.

14.  Houston Texans

Arian Foster looks like the real deal and I've been sold on Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson for a while.  Now if only they didn't have to play defense.

13.  Philadelphia Eagles

Before we anoint Kevin Kolb as the second coming, why don't we see if he can play in the regular season? 

12.  Pittsburgh Steelers

4 games is a lot, but I'm higher on Dennis Dixon than most.  The Steelers will return to the bruiser team they once were and Polamalu will make the defense elite once more

11.  San Francisco 49ers

I love everything about them this year, except Alex Smith. 

10.  Cincinnati Bengals

This is a very underrated defensive unit.  But it's easy to go unnoticed when two reality shows play on the other side of the ball.

9.  New England Patriots

What's next for Tom Brady?  Justin Bieber haircut?

8.  San Diego Chargers

No LaDainian and no Vincent Jackson.  They could climb these rankings if Mathews and Floyd prove themselves. 

7.  Minnesota Vikings

There are a lot of question marks on offense with the injuries that have plagued the Vikes.

6.  Atlanta Falcons

In case you forgot from last season, I'm really high on this team.  Matt Ryan is legit and their running game is even better. 

5.  Dallas Cowboys

There is a lot of pressure on the Cowboys and while Dez Bryant will be the Offensive POY, I haven't seen the Cowboys respond well under pressure since the days of Jimmy Johnson.

4.  Green Bay Packers

Nothing not to like.  As much press as the offense gets, the defense was the stronger unit last season.

3.  Baltimore Ravens

Flacco will enter into the elite and this team tops my list of Super Bowl sleepers.

2.  Indianapolis Colts

Ho hum, another year as AFC favorites.

1.  New Orleans Saints

I'm not moving them from here until they give me reason to do so.  Who dat!

WEEK 1 PICKS

New Orleans -5 vs. Minnesota
Carolina +7 at New York Giants
Miami -3 at Buffalo
Atlanta -2.5 at Pittsburgh
Tampa Bay -3 vs. Cleveland
Detroit +6.5 at Chicago
Cincinnati +4.5 at New England
Denver +2.5 at Jacksonville
Indianapolis -2 at Houston
Oakland +6 at Tennessee
Green Bay -3 at Philadelphia
San Francisco -3 at Seattle
St. Louis +4 vs. Arizona
Dallas -3.5 at Washington
Baltimore +2.5 at New York Jets
San Diego -4.5 at Kansas City