ESPN just released their first power rankings of the year, and quite frankly, I can't say how bad of a job they did better than Odin's Eye did. So I wont. But it got me thinking about which teams were going to burst onto the scene this year and shock everybody, and there were many to chose from.

I thought of the Houston Texans, with their high power offense led by Matt Schaub, Andre Johnson, and Arian Foster, but then I thought of their defense. I thought of the San Francisco 49ers, but then I remembered that they have a very lacking offense with a unproven Alex Smith at QB. I thought of the Seattle Seahawks and Tavar-, but then I spit my lasagna on the screen of my computer and had to go get some napkins; but none of these would do, cause I had already made up my mind, and I'm very stubborn.

After the jump, you'll find out who I think is this years surprise team, and it is not the Detroit Lions.

Obviously, it's the Minnesota Vikings. I decided to go with the Oakland Raiders.

The Oakland Raiders actually didn't play that bad last year but finished 8-8 overall, missing the playoffs despite being 6-0 in division. They had good overall play on defense last year (11th) and replaced Asomugha with seasoned veteran Ricky Manning, so I don't see much changing for them defensively. On the other side of the ball, I expect them to trust Jason Campbell a little more in his second year as their QB, and Darren McFadden will have another great year. Here's a look at their schedule :

• Week 1 : @Denver
• Week 2 : @Buffalo
• Week 3 : vs. New York Jets
• Week 4 : vs. New England
• Week 5 : @ Houston
• Week 6 : vs. Cleveland
• Week 7 : vs. Kansas City
• Week 8 : BYE
• Week 9 : vs. Denver
• Week 10 : @San Diego
• Week 11 : @Minnesota
• Week 12 :  vs. Chicago
• Week 13 : @Miami
• Week 14 : @Green Bay
• Week 15 : vs.Detroit
• Week 16 : @Kansas City
• Week 17 : vs. San Diego

Pretty dang managable. All of the playoff caliber teams they play at home with the one exception being Them. This schedule could easily bring them the 10 wins needed to get into the playoffs, and could just as easily give them more. That's who I think will surprise the football world this year.