Peter King has his Fine Fifteen, ESPN has its own composite power rankings, and the legendary Dr. Z’s weekly power rankings were a must-read until he was stricken silent by a stroke last year. So, why can’t TBL get in on the fun? Here’s the first installment of the 2009 NFL in-season power rankings:

1. Pittsburgh Steelers (1-0): They weren’t firing on all cylinders, but any time the defending champions open the year by defeating a team that finished 13-3 and demolished them the prior season, to not have them in the top spot would be this.

2. New York Giants (1-0): Hakeem Nicks! He’s out two weeks! After a workmanlike victory over an underrated Redskins team, the NFC favorites head to Dallas to piss all over Jerra’s new big screen and take control of the NFC East.

3. Philadelphia Eagles (1-0): Despite the rib injury heard ’round the world, the Eagles destroyed Carolina and their Jim Johnson-less defense didn’t miss a beat, with five takeaways from Jake Delhere’stheball. Maybe all the fuss over the losses of Stewart Bradley and Brian Dawkins was overblown? In other news, how long before someone makes the first McRib joke?

4. Indianapolis Colts (1-0): Like death and taxes, the Colts narrowly defeated the Jags. The familiar? The Colts moved the ball up and down the field at will and their Pro Bowl defensive end tandem harassed David Garrard into short throws all game. The unfamiliar? Uncharacteristic red zone miscues and guys like Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon playing the No. 2 WR position.

5. New England Patriots (1-0): You watched last night’s escape - Brady’s back, but he has a few kinks to work out. He still has Randy Moss and Wes Welker to throw to and his offensive line came around after a dismal first half, yet the team’s – as of 2007 – trademark deep ball was virtually non-existent. Other trouble spots: the offensive line still noticeably struggles with speed rushers and the interior defensive line created little to no push and was bamboozled by screens. Not to overreact (too much), but is it time to rethink that Richard Seymour trade?

6. Tennessee Titans (0-1): The defending AFC South champs went on the road – on Defending Champion Night – and came closer than any visiting team since the Colts in 2004 to stealing a victory in the league’s annual competitively-imbalanced kickoff extravaganza. Their defensive front held up well without Albert Haynesworth, although most of their pressure was coming from the edge and not the middle, where Big Al used to wreak havoc.

7. San Diego Chargers (1-0): The San Diego offense may be a Wall-E-like machine on paper, but last night the Chargers’ biggest weapon was Darren Sproles returning kickoffs. Not the kind of opener they were looking for. Also, the Raiders ran for nearly 100 yards on the Charger defense in a little more than a quarter last night. That’s a glaring weakness that, if not shored up, will allow teams to limit the possessions of Rivers and Co., keep games tight and could result in close losses that could sink San Diego’s playoff seed.

8. Baltimore Ravens (1-0): Holy Flacco, Charm City’s got itself a QB! The often mocked, acne-riddled Delawarean threw for 300 yards and three TD’s against the Chiefs, by far his best day as a pro. The downside? What the eff are the Ravens doing throwing the ball 40+ times?

9. Minnesota Vikings (1-0): If they can win every week with Brett Favre only putting the ball in the air 21 times, they certainly will. But there will come a time when there’s eight in the box on every down and five yards an attempt won’t get it done. What happens then? Tune into ESPN or NFL Network and listen to them ponder breathlessly.

10. New Orleans Saints (1-0): Wow, um, six TD passes is pretty impressive. Even if it was against the Lions. Further evidence the Saints were playing the Lions: Mike Bell ran for 143 yards on 28 carries. Lost in all the Drew Brees hoopla was the fact the much-maligned Saints’ defense held the Lions to less than 240 total yards and 1.7 yards per rush. And before you say, “Well, they were behind, they had to abandon the run,” note that they ran it 33 times. Still, it WAS the Lions …

11. Green Bay Packers (1-0): Future NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers had his share of problems against the Bears’ defense Sunday night. He seemed flustered that he had no one playing right tackle, the Bears’ inside LB’s were shooting the guard gaps and the normally-reliable Donald Driver was having issues holding onto the ball. No matter. Rodgers collected himself and made the game-winning throw to Greg Jennings. You might say his performance was Big Ben-esque.

12. Atlanta Falcons (1-0): The Falcons won 2009’s “Which One Was a Fluke?” matchup with the Dolphins, thanks mostly to an opportunistic defense that forced four Dolphins turnovers and held the Fins scoreless until a garbage-time TD pass from Chad Pennington. If the Falcons and Saints defenses both make a jump this year, the NFC South race could get mighty interesting. Not interesting enough for Fox to ever assign Buck and Aikman to call a game, but interesting all the same.

13. Dallas Cowboys (1-0): Meet the new, 100 percent more Romo-friendly America’s Team. Roy Williams and Patrick Crayton performed just fine without T.O. as the Cowboys crushed the Bucs behind a banner yards-per-attempt day from the most famous EIU Panther. Maybe all the Cowboys really needed was for the Giants and Eagles to steal all their headlines.

14. Seattle Seahawks (1-0): Matt Hasselbeck’s back held up well enough for him to complete 70 percent of his passes for three TD’s and Orange Julius ran for 117 yards on 19 carries (or 55 on 18, whichever) in a Ram battering. With the Cardinals falling at home to the 49ers, the NFC West is there for the taking.

15. Arizona Cardinals (0-1): Super Bowl hangover? Sure looked like it, as the Cardinals’ vaunted deep passing game was nowhere to be seen in the desert as Shaun Hill outdueled Kurt Warner down the stretch. At least the Cardinals run defense shut down Frank Gore. It’s all about the small victories.

16. Washington Redskins (0-1): If you take away Jason Campbell’s two costly turnovers, the Redskins played the Giants fairly even. Wait, what, you can’t take that kind of stuff away? Get outta here with your s-t-a-t-s.

17. San Francisco 49ers (1-0): So, the 49er defense, led by the best all-around linebacker in football, went into Arizona and knocked the Cardinals’ decrepit QB around for four quarters, waiting for Shaun Hill to lead them to victory. And, shockingly enough, he did. The 49ers have the look of one of those surprise 11-5 teams.

18. New York Jets (1-0): Viva Sanchez! You’ve heard enough about this team by now, right?

19. Chicago Bears (0-1): Jay Cutler won’t be as bad as he was Sunday night every week, but the disconnect with his wideouts, the forced throws and the back-foot mechanics are worrisome. The loss of Urlacher hurts them a bit, but the future Hall of Fame candidate is replaceable at this stage of his career.

20. Denver Broncos (1-0): Has there already been a Mile High Miracle? Probably. And, yeah, they don’t really play at Mile High anymore. But still, when that scrappy slot receiver snatched that ball out of the air and streaked down the field, millions of out-of-shape hamstrings were strained when they suddenly jumped off the couch.

21. Buffalo Bills (0-1): They were supposed to be Tom Brady’s “welcome back” sacrificial lamb, yet they were a Leodis McKelvin miscue (one of several mental errors) from going into Foxboro and putting any and all 16-0 redux talk to rest. Dick Jauron seems like a nice guy and his players always play hard for him, but at this point his faults as a tactician and the undisciplined atmosphere he creates can no longer be ignored. Jauron needs to go. Like now.

22. Jacksonville Jaguars (0-1): The Jags, judging from one game, look to be somewhere in between last year’s 5-11 mess and 2007’s playoff team. Tra Thomas better get healthy in a hurry, because starting two rookie tackles for an extended period of time can only end with Luke McCown under center.

23. Miami Dolphins (0-1): Anyone else get the feeling Parcells wants to go back in time and sign with the Falcons, instead?

24. Cincinnati Bengals (0-1): Brandon Stokley delivered a nice one of these to the Bengals and their fans with his last-minute miracle catch.

25. Oakland Raiders (0-1): The Black Hole came out on fire last night, pushing San Diego around for three quarters. The Raiders have a potentially great running game with Bush and McFadden, their young wideouts might be better than advertised and the acquisition of Richard Seymour seems to have sparked their defense. Their QB is still struggling to attain serviceable status, but at least their top-10 drafted WR is in uniform. That’s more than the other Bay Area team can say.

26. Houston Texans (0-1): Eventually, when the media start proclaiming them the “team on the rise” like they want to do every year, the Texans are just going to ask them to shut the hell up and leave them alone. Outside of a 500-lb. man’s toilet, you won’t see many turds bigger than the one the Texans dropped Sunday.

27. Kansas City Chiefs (0-1): Missing their $60 million singer, the Chiefs went on the road and put a scare into the Ravens before crumbling in the fourth quarter. Not a bad start for the Pioli/Haley regime, but when’s the last time a Ravens QB threw for three TD’s on a secondary? Might be something to look at.

28. Carolina Panthers (0-1): “We’re 0-1 with Jake as our quarterback.”

29. Cleveland Browns (0-1): It was close for a while, right? The Mangina era began promisingly with an early lead, before giving way to a blowout and Velvet God steamrolling his way to the end zone three times (wearing a shirt, at least). But Brady Quinn took care of the ball and we had a Braylon Edwards sighting. There’s hope here.

30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-1): There were a few positives for the Bucs in their home thrashing by the Cowboys. Cadillac Williams ran for 97 yards on 13 carries and Byron Leftwich was an efficient 25-for-41 for 276 yards and a TD. Their secondary, on the other hand, looks like this [Ed. Click that link at your own risk. It's disgusting.]

31. St. Louis Rams (0-1): They were shut out on opening day, and a missed 37-yard field goal attempt was the closest they got to scoring all day. The tank for the number one overall pick starts now.

32. Detroit Lions (0-1): Michael Irvin mentioned Sunday night how the Lions “never stopped fighting.” Good for them. That spirit combined with a roster stocked with suck might get them two wins this season. And maybe Ndamukong Suh!