Just stop it.

I love, love, love, love, love, love, love, the National Football League…with the notable exception of three things:

1. The NFL Scouting Combine – It’s the world’s worst meat market. This event still blows my wig off. I’m going to judge talent by how someone plays against other high-end competition; not by how someone performs in a pair of shorts. Want to know the value of the NFL Scouting Combine? Mike Mamula. Tom Brady.

2. NFL Labor Negotiations – You know what’s boring? Lawyers, CBAs, and lockouts. I loathed every second of last year’s lockout. I was reduced to writing about the perils of owning vs. renting a home on this blog as a result.

3. Power Rankings – Seemingly, every media outlet has their own set. Who should I believe? CNNSI? ESPN? The Huffington Post? The Bleacher Report? Arnold’s Sports Blog? Does it matter? Why are the Lions #9 on one poll and #16 on the other? How am I suppose to make sense of all this? The concept of power rankings is so 1994 to me. In fact, when I was a sophomore in high school, you know what I used to do in study hall? I had my own NFL journal and created power rankings. I used to write about the games and come up with mathematical equations to figure out who was the best because I didn’t fully understand the game yet. I was about two steps away from being casted in a Revenge of the Nerds sequel. No wonder I was girl repellent in ’94.

Power rankings is the one that gets in my craw. The concept of being “the best team” is outdated. It’s about what team matches up the best on that particular day. Upsets are more likely because opponents leave no stone unturned to win a game.

Robert Griffin III, playing in his first regular season game as an NFL quarterback, strutted into the Superdome last Sunday and dropped a 40-point sledgehammer on the Saints, who where a play away from going to the NFC title game and two years removed from winning a Super Bowl.

That sums up today’s NFL. Myths (rookie quarterbacks can’t produce early in their careers) and other old ways of football thinking are going by the boards.

Remember, five of the last seven Super Bowl champions played on wild card weekend. All of these gonzo power rankings couldn’t tell me that. Watch games. Figure out who you like and decide from there.

Why are people wasting their time trying to figure out whether the Jacksonville Jaguars stink more than the Cleveland Browns?

Here is what you need to know.

If your team can’t pressure the opposing quarterback and isn’t hitting a total of 51 between the number of completed passes and rush attempts from their offense, they’ll probably lose.

So, take that.

We need to focus on other things besides power rankings.

How about someone figure out why the Oakland Raiders can’t properly snap a football to Shane Lechler?

Anyways, in case you’re curious, the best team in football after Week 1?

The San Francisco 49ers.