Ballot and comments from AP Pro 32 panel voter Dan Pompei of Chicago Tribune:
Week 4
DAN POMPEI (Chicago Tribune)
1. Arizona Cardinals - It's hard to believe they are the best in football, but they have beaten more good teams and answered more challenges than any other team.
2. Atlanta Falcons - A quarterback who takes great care of the football and a defense that takes it away is a lethal combination.
3. Houston Texans - Isn't it time to start calculating the Texans' magic number to clinch the NFC South?
4. Baltimore Ravens - The offense is looking really good; the defense is looking really disappointing. But somehow, the Ravens still are one of the NFL's best.
5. San Francisco 49ers - Oops. Let's give them a mulligan. Next time we count that drive into the woods.
6. New York Giants - After a rough start, they might be starting to put it together. Sound familiar?
7. Green Bay Packers - Something is missing from the Packers offense, and they might not be the team we thought they were.
8. Philadelphia Eagles - If the Eagles could take care of the football better, they might be the NFL's best team, but how much can you like a team that is on pace for 64 turnovers?
9. New England Patriots - Are the Patriots starting to look a little old, or are the replacement refs looking really bad?
10. Chicago Bears - They won't get to the top of this list unless Jay Cutler starts pulling his weight.
11. San Diego Chargers - Losing to the Falcons does not mean they still are not the class of the AFC West.
12. Seattle Seahawks - Could they be the surprise team of 2012? Russell Wilson apparently thinks so.
13. Dallas Cowboys - If Tony Romo and the offense can keep pace with DeMarcus Ware and the defense, the Cowboys can be special.
14. Pittsburgh Steelers - The absences of Troy Polamalu and James Harrison really started to show up Sunday.
15. Cincinnati Bengals - If you are a fan of points and yards, you should be a fan of the Bengals. They rack them up and give them up.
16. Denver Broncos - Peyton Manning still is dangerous, but he can't win playing catch-up all the time.
17. Detroit Lions - They are digging themselves a hole, and now they might be without Matthew Stafford.
18. Minnesota Vikings - It's starting to look like Adrian Peterson and Christian Ponder can be quite an effective combination for the Vikings.
19. Buffalo Bills - Their high scoring offense will be put to the test without C.J. Spiller.
20. Kansas City Chiefs - They are a different team with the Jamaal Charles who showed up Sunday, and they might have turned the corner against the Saints.
21. New York Jets - They won a game Sunday but they lost something more important: cornerback Darrelle Revis is out for the season.
22. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - They have excelled in various areas but are having a hard time putting it all together.
23. Carolina Panthers - Are they coming apart at the seams or just going through some early season growing pains?
24. Washington Redskins - With an injury depleted defense, it's a good thing Jim Haslett got that contract extension before the season started.
25. Oakland Raiders - Al Davis might not recognize his old team - especially with Marcus Allen a part of it.
26. Tennessee Titans - If they can pull of 13 more Music City Miracles, they can go all the way.
27. St. Louis Rams - Applications are being accepted from anyone who can block. Sam Bradford is good, but he can't do it all by himself.
28. Jacksonville Jaguars - It looks like Maurice Jones-Drew is back to full speed.
29. Indianapolis Colts - They get two weeks to stew about a loss to the Jaguars.
30. Miami Dolphins - Losing to the Jets was discouraging, but Ryan Tannehill's pluckiness has been encouraging.
31. New Orleans Saints - When you can't stop the run, a lot of other flaws show up. That's been the case in the Big Easy.
32. Cleveland Browns - Jim Brown gave Trent Richardson a boost. But what he really needs to do to help this team is to come back and play like he did in his prime.
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