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The NFL will officially kickoff its march to New Orleans for Super Bowl XLVII on Wednesday night when the Dallas Cowboys travel to the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants.

We, at The Times-Picayune, are kicking off our march today with the release of our Week 1 NFL power rankings, where the Giants - until they lose - will remain No. 1.

The top teams in our weekly rankings offer few surprises, as the Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens all figure prominently on the list.

Who Dats might not be happy with the New Orleans Saints' No. 8 ranking, but the Saints have some proving to do after a tumultuous offseason and massive scheme changes on defense.

Anyway, enough with the chatter, here are the rankings:

Rankings, (last week), team, record,

1. (--) New York Giants 0-0 We're not sure they're the best team. But until someone beats the reigning Super Bowl champs, they'll remain No. 1.

2.(--) Green Bay Packers 0-0 Packers still have enough talent to play in the Super Bowl.

3. (--) New England Patriots 0-0 Pats have the type of schedule and QB that could easily give them the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

4. (--) Baltimore Ravens 0-0 The defense is getting old, but QB Joe Flacco appears ready to take the next step.

5. (--) San Francisco 49ers 0-0 The additions of Randy Moss and Mario Manningham should have a major impact.

6. (--) Houston Texans 0-0 The Texans again are an early season sexy pick to contend for the AFC crown.

7. (--) Philadelphia Eagles 0-0 Philadelphia flopped a year ago. But the Eagles remain one of the most talented teams in the NFL.

8.(--) New Orleans Saints 0-0 Until Saints defenders master Spagnuolo's defensive schemes, they'll remain outside top 5.

9. (--) Pittsburgh Steelers 0-0 The Steelers enter the season with an unsettled offense and some aging veterans on defense.

10. (--) Detroit Lions 0-0 Detroit should take another step toward closing the NFC North gap between them and the Packers.

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