So I'm sitting here nerding out over my power rankings spreadsheet and I can't help but think about how things are shaping up and where I think they are going. I decided to take a quick glance at the numbers after the Sunday games of week 7 and take a poke at who I think makes the playoffs. Because I think the future of the playoff races is too close to call, I'm going to list my top seven seeds (instead of 6) for each conference.

AFC

1. New England Patriots
2. Baltimore Ravens
3. Houston Texans
4. Oakland Raiders
5. Pittsburgh Steelers
6. Buffalo Bills
7. New York Jets

Notes:

The first four seeds would be division winners. Baltimore and Pittsburgh should be a pretty tight race in the AFC North. I'm going to put my money on Oakland taking the weak AFC West with nobody really having records good enough to contend for a playoff spot. Denver is terrible, San Diego is looking for an excuse to lose and I just don't think KC has it. Even with the injury to Jason Campbell likely to sideline him for the rest of the season and the ugly showing Sunday against Kansas City, I still say Oakland takes it. Give Carson Palmer the bye week to get settled in and I just think he's stronger and will be more consistent than Cassel. If you're a huge fan of Cassel and Kansas City and don't think Oakland has a chance, check this (http://mule.he.net/~budsport/pub/killer.php) out. It may make you think a little more about the Chiefs' chances.

All this being said, I'm saying the Bills are in. I think they're probably the most underrated team in the NFL right now. They have a tough schedule, are beating tough teams and are definite wild card contenders at the very least. They have already beaten New England once (as well as Oakland, Kansas City and Philly) and they are 4th in rushing right now. I wouldn't call Ryan Fitzpatrick a league MVP, but he's consistent enough for my taste. The real tell will be after they face off with the Jets. Then we can see how they fair in the rest of their division math ups.

I also have a hard time counting out the Jets. Consistency doesn't seem to be Rex Ryan's strong suit, but he knows the game despite what you think about his alleged "bravado". At the end of the season, if Baltimore takes their division, look for a close race between the Jets, Steelers and Bills.

NFC

1. Green Bay Packers
2. San Francisco 49ers
3. New Orleans Saints
4. Dallas Cowboys
5. Detroit Lions
6. Atlanta Falcons
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Notes:

I think anyone would be remiss at this point to not predict that Green Bay gets home field advantage. The 49ers and Saints may be up for debate, however. With a much stronger quarterback and the rest of the talent on the Saints, I think most people would place them over the 49ers, but I'm taking a different stand. The Saints have not shown any consistency and I think Harbaugh brings a lot of other intangibles to the table in addition to his expertise as a head coach. Has he had time to prove himself in the NFL yet? No. But he sure has made one hell of an impression after his first 6 games. Also, don't forget that the 49ers have had a slightly tougher schedule according to the strength of schedule calculations (0.52 versus 0.43) and they also currently have one fewer losses than the Saints who were recently handed a loss by Tampa Bay and barely squeaked past the 2-and-5 Panthers.

The NFC East is a train wreck of mass casualties emptying all of their bodily contents on the tracks. The Eagles are 2 and 4, the Redskins are awful and the Giants don't deserve their record. Note that the Giants and the Redskins have had the easiest and second easiest schedules in all of the NFL thus far and haven't been able to do anything remarkable with that. The Cowboys are now right on the heels of the Giants and there's no way the Giants are going to hold out. Cowboys will take their division.

I think the Lions at this point should be considered an easy wild card pick. I think the Falcons are stronger than the Bucs despite what any other numbers may say.

And there you have them. Those are my premature playoff picks for the 2011 season.