NFL standings: Preseason

OK. I wanted to sort of track the development of the NFL season. Since it kicks off tonight, I better hurry.

Using ESPN.com's Power Poll as my launching point, here are the top 8 teams in each division …

And here are the bottom eight teams in each division …

Once we've played about 4 games, I'll begin ranking the teams according to wins and losses instead of the outrageous conjecture that has overwhelmed the college football scene.

Of course, you know the rules: The top 6 teams in each division make the playoffs at the end of the year. I'm guessing the top half of each division will compete for those 6 spots and the bottom half will be out of contention pretty quickly, give or take a team.

And I would like to compare the preseason power poll numbers with the end-of-the-regular-season results.

But I'd also like to test a few hunches …

I bet that one team from the bottom half of the preseason rankings in each conference will rise out of nowhere to compete for a playoff spot.

I bet that one team from the top half of the preseason rankings in each conference will inexplicably plunge into mediocrity (or worse). (And, because I'm doing this, I'm betting it will be the Cowboys.)

I bet that by the time the season is halfway over, we will have a pretty clear picture of who will make the playoffs, with only seeding to be determined over the last half of the season.

I bet that by the time I post the next NFL standings, I'll have corrected the spelling of "Jaguars." I can't say I'm gonna post the standings every week, but I bet I'll get pretty excited about it after a few weeks.

Oh yeah, my picks to make the playoffs?

NFC: Cowboys, Saints, Packers, 49ers, Giants and … the Lions (my out-of-nowhere team).

AFC: Colts, Ravens, Jets, Bengals, Chargers (no surprises there) and … Texans.