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Our four esteemed ESPN.com panelists spent hours breaking down film of those preseason finales to come up with this week’s Power Rankings. And fans of the New York Giants won’t be happy with the results. For no apparent reason (other than the third preseason game) the voters dropped them from 16th to 19th in this week’s rankings.



NFC West blogger Mike Sando has brought transparency to the voting process with his weekly “How the voters voted” entry. This allows you, the valued reader, to channel your anger in the appropriate direction — toward Hall of Famer John Clayton. Now let’s take a team-by-team glance at how the Beast teams stack up in the all-important Power Rankings, which are devoured by NFL owners and general managers. As we speak, it’s likely that Giants GM Jerry Reese has assigned someone to hang a copy of the rankings in the team’s locker room.



Dallas Cowboys: No. 4 — This is right where the Cowboys were in the last edition of the ESPN.com Power Rankings a few weeks ago. Clayton, who has championed the NFC East’s cause in my sad absence from the voting process, had the Cowboys ranked second overall. But he was canceled out by the cruel votes of AFC bloggers Paul Kuharsky and James Walker.



Philadelphia Eagles: No. 15 — Apparently someone actually liked what the Eagles accomplished in the preseason since the panel moved them up two spots from the previous rankings. Perhaps the Stacy Andrews trade empowered the voters to embrace this offensive line. Kuharsky has fallen hard for quarterback Kevin Kolb and this offense with a No. 11 ranking, but the young man from the AFC North, Walker, had the Eagles at an appalling 18th. Please send your notes of encouragement to the AFC North “comments” section.



Washington Redskins: No. 17 — I’ve recommended that each panelist have his voting rights suspended until next Tuesday for making this error in judgment. And it was noted Skins apologist John “The Professor” Clayton leading the way with a 14th-place vote. The Redskins and Packers made the biggest leap from the previous rankings.



New York Giants: No. 19 — Did you guys see this coming? The panel dropped the Giants three spots based on their preseason performance. I have the Giants going to the Super Bowl, so someone’s obviously wrong. At least Walker was in the ballpark with a No. 16 ranking, but Mike Sando showed Tom Coughlin’s men no respect with a No. 21 ranking. I’ve used every one of Sando’s databases to try and figure out his reasoning. At this point, I’ve come up empty.



Thoughts? Concerns?

ESPN.com released its Week 1 Power Rankings Tuesday, which is always guaranteed to spark debate.



Here is how the AFC North fared:



Baltimore Ravens



Cumulative ranking: No. 6



Walker’s ranking: No. 3



Pre-camp ranking: No. 5



Analysis: I’m puzzled how the Ravens dropped one spot with our panel since July. I voted Baltimore two places higher this time after being impressed with this team in training camp and the preseason. Although I still have concerns about the secondary, I do like that cornerbacks Lardarius Webb and Fabian Washington are getting healthy. General manager Ozzie Newsome also has been proactive, trading for cornerback Josh Wilson and signing receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh. The voting for Baltimore was all over the place. I had the Ravens at No. 3 for example, and ESPN.com senior writer John Clayton put them out of the top 10 at No. 11.



Cincinnati Bengals



Cumulative ranking: No. 12



Walker’s ranking: No. 11



Pre-camp ranking: No. 11



Analysis: The Miami Dolphins jumped the Bengals to put them at No. 12 entering the regular season. I dropped the Bengals one spot also — from No. 10 to No. 11 — because I’ve been impressed with the San Diego Chargers this preseason. AFC South blogger Paul Kuharsky continues to bring down Cincinnati’s average. But he does feel a little better about the Bengals this time, voting them No. 18 when he entered camp rating Cincinnati No. 19. He explained his reasons here. The Bengals will find out how good they are early with back-to-back games against the New England Patriots and Baltimore.



Pittsburgh Steelers



Cumulative ranking: No. 18



Walker’s ranking: No. 19



Pre-camp ranking: No. 19



Analysis: I’m not sure how Pittsburgh’s ranking went up. From what I’ve seen in training camp and the preseason, I have less confidence in Pittsburgh’s offense without Ben Roethlisberger now than I did six weeks ago. But the Steelers jumped one spot to No. 18. I really like this Pittsburgh team at full strength and would easily vote the Steelers in the top 10. But without Roethlisberger, the offense will be very limited. Dennis Dixon is now the Week 1 starter against the Atlanta Falcons, who come in as the No. 7 team in our rankings.



Cleveland Browns



Cumulative ranking: No. 29



Walker’s ranking: No. 29



Pre-camp ranking: No. 28



Analysis: Jake Delhomme‘s solid preseason didn’t do much for Cleveland’s power ranking. The Browns dropped a spot from ESPN.com’s pre-training camp Power Rankings. Delhomme has eased some concerns in Cleveland by completing 79 percent of his passes and taking care of the football. But he still has to prove himself, starting now in the regular season. The Browns will travel to play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

Mailbag: The Pittsburgh Steelers gave Ben Roethlisberger too many snaps during the preseason and failed to protect Byron Leftwich, so now they have the inexperienced Dennis Dixon.

Mailbag: The Pittsburgh Steelers gave Ben Roethlisberger too many snaps during the preseason and failed to protect Byron Leftwich, so now they have the inexperienced Dennis Dixon.

Mailbag: The Pittsburgh Steelers gave Ben Roethlisberger too many snaps during the preseason and failed to protect Byron Leftwich, so now they have the inexperienced Dennis Dixon.

ESPN.com’s NFL Power Rankings heading into Week 1 were released Tuesday.



Here are my thoughts on how the AFC West teams fared in the rankings:



San Diego Chargers



Power Ranking: 8



My Power Ranking range: 5-8



Why: The Chargers showed in the preseason that they are well oiled and ready to be a contender again regardless if Vincent Jackson and Marcus McNeill are holding out.



Denver Broncos



Power Ranking: 22



My Power Ranking range: 25-28



Why: I think this ranking may be just a tad high. But it’s not a terrible spot.



Oakland Raiders



Power Ranking: 24



My Power Ranking range: 24-26



Why: The Raiders are right where they should be heading into the season. If they start winning, they can make a pretty good march up the rankings.



Kansas City Chiefs



Power Ranking: 27



My Power Ranking range: 25-28



Why: Can’t complain with this spot, either. The Chiefs have some proving to do.

Here are ESPN.com’s NFL Power Rankings heading into Week 1, which typically make for lively debate. I’m one of four panelists, with John Clayton, Mike Sando and James Walker.



Here’s how the AFC South fared:

• 1st — Indianapolis, high vote first, low vote second
• 14th — Houston, high vote 12th, low vote 15th
• 16th — Tennessee, high vote 14th, low vote 19th
• 25th — Jacksonville, high vote 24th, low vote 26th

As for teams where I strayed by at least five slots from the rest of the pack:

• Cincinnati is 12th, and I have the Bengals 18th, five spots lower than anyone else. I’m just not a believer in the Bengals as more than a one-year wonder.
• Philadelphia is 15th, and I have the Eagles 11th, five spots higher than anyone else. I like Kevin Kolb and I like the idea of an Andy Reid team with young talent.

Darrelle Revis is on the practice field for the New York Jets, a day after the All-Pro cornerback signed a four-year deal that ended his 36-day holdout.

Get a load of this.



ESPN.com’s regular-season Power Rankings came out Tuesday. Three AFC East teams bunched together at Nos. 9, 10 and 11. What’s more, they were rated among the top six teams in the conference, suggesting the AFC East deserves three playoff teams.



The New York Jets and New England Patriots slipped from the previous poll in July, while the Miami Dolphins climbed two spots.



They’re all rated lower than the best team from the other three divisions, but the second-best team from those divisions are rated lower.



If that hierarchy holds, then the AFC East would earn both wild-card berths. That’s doubtful, but an accomplishment I’ve considered legitimately possible since last year’s playoffs.



Let’s a take look at the division through the eyes of our four Power Rankings voters: senior writer John Clayton, NFC West blogger Mike Sando, AFC South blogger Paul Kuharsky and AFC North blogger James Walker.



9. New York Jets

• Previous rating: 7
• Final 2009 ranking (regular season): No. 12
• My take: The Jets have been my favorite to win the AFC East for the past seven months, but I have to agree with the panel. Confidence in my prediction has been shaken by quarterback Mark Sanchez‘s lukewarm summer, but reaching accord with cornerback Darrelle Revis was monumental.

10. New England Patriots

• Preseason rating: 9
• Final 2009 ranking (regular season): No. 10
• My take: Seems about right for now. There’s a multitude of questions on defense. Will they be able to generate a pass rush? Will their cornerbacks be good enough without Leigh Bodden? Do they have enough leadership? But it’s hard to think of the Patriots being outside the top third of the NFL as long as they have Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.

11. Miami Dolphins

• Previous rating: 13
• Final 2009 ranking (regular season): No. 21
• My take: The Dolphins are the AFC East’s X-factor. They have uncertainty on both sides of the ball, including a quarterback who’s still establishing himself, running backs with age/injury concerns and unstable cornerback play. The addition of receiver Brandon Marshall and inside linebacker Karlos Dansby are huge, though.

31. Buffalo Bills

• Previous rating: 31
• Final 2009 ranking (regular season): No. 24
• My take: Throughout last season I criticized the panel for rating the Bills way too high. Now I disagree with how little credit the Bills are getting. Sando and Clayton each ranked the Bills the worst team in the NFL. Kuharsky saved them from being on the bottom of the Power Rankings by pegging them at a robust 30. My prediction for the Bills this year is five or six victories. That would place them much higher than 31st.

Donovan McNabb says his sprained ankle won’t keep him from starting for the Washington Redskins on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.