Giants Ranked Third In First-Ever AP Pro32 Rankings
NEW YORK (WFAN/AP) — The New York Giants have been ranked third, behind the Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots, in the first-ever AP Pro32 NFL power rankings, a new pro football version of the AP Top 25 college football and basketball polls.
Once the NFL season starts, the AP Pro32 rankings will be updated weekly.
Green Bay, coming off a 15-1 season that ended in disappointment, received 374 points from a panel of 12 sportswriters and broadcasters who regularly cover the league. The Packers got five first-place votes, as did the Giants, who beat Green Bay on their way to a Super Bowl win over the Patriots last season.
But New York finished third behind New England in the voting, 369 points to 362. The Patriots earned two first-place votes.
"The Packers were the best team in the NFL every week last year except two," said voter Dan Pompei of the Chicago Tribune. "They will often be the best team every week this year."
In the debut poll, the Patriots were projected to dominate the AFC, according to the voters; New England was not ranked lower than third by any of them.
"Bill Belichick loaded up on defense in the offseason to give Tom Brady some much-needed help on the other side of the ball," said voter Bob Glauber of Newsday, who rated the Patriots second overall.
As for the Giants, well, they are the defending champions, right?
"Great clutch quarterback, superb pass rush, and motivated to prove they are better than last year's 9-7 regular season," was why voter Clifton Brown of Sporting News placed the Giants atop his rankings.
There were some naysayers, though. New York came in as low as sixth on two ballots.
"It's easy to forget that the G-Men almost didn't make the playoffs last season until a late push," said voter Alex Marvez of Foxsports.com. "Let's see if being defending NFL champions provide early-season motivation."
The Giants' AFC counterpart, the New York Jets, are ranked 17th in the poll.
"Boom or bust for Mark Sanchez," said Glauber, who ranked the Jets 16th. "Boom means Tim Tebow stays in shadows. Bust? Well, get ready for a New York-sized circus."
Finishing off the top five were San Francisco (336 points) and Baltimore (315), which edged Houston by one point.
Peyton Manning's presence in Denver lifted the Broncos into the top 10. His former team, however, couldn't have been any lower, ranking 32nd and getting five last-place votes.
Yes, the Colts are starting over, and none of the voters saw them making much headway this year.
"In full-blown rebuilding mode," is how voter Pat Kirwan of SiriusXM NFL Radio and CBSSports.com put it. "It may not be pretty in 2012, but it will pay dividends in 2013."
The other bottom feeders were Minnesota at 29th, Cleveland at 30th, and Jacksonville at 31st. The Jaguars received three last-place votes, with the others going to Miami (two, but ranked 27th overall), and Cleveland.
"Without Maurice Jones-Drew, this punchless club would go 0-16," voter Ira Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune said.
Of the dozen teams that made the playoffs last season, 10 were selected by the panel to be in the top 12 again. Only Atlanta at No. 13 and Cincinnati at No. 14 were bypassed, replaced by Philadelphia (eighth) and Chicago (tied for 11th with Detroit).
The Eagles impressed two voters so much that they placed them fourth overall.
"A hot team that nobody wanted to see in the playoffs last year," said voter Cris Collinsworth of NBC Sports.
But Collinsworth noted that offensive tackle "Jason Peters' loss is a concern."
The Pittsburgh Steelers are ranked at seventh in the poll.
"Steelers back on top of the AFC North again," said voter Clark Judge of CBSSports.com
What do you think of the new AP Pro32 Rankings? Sound off in the comments section below...
(TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
