Sunday's implosion against the Bills aside, the Patriots have earned the trust of our Around The NFL scribes. A 3-1 start and the return of Tom Brady are enough to keep Bill Belichick's roaming masterwork atop the pack. It's worth noting, though, that New England's three first-place votes (from Chris Wesseling, Dan Hanzus and Marc Sessler) were equaled by three top votes for the Broncos from Gregg Rosenthal, Kevin Patra and Colleen Wolfe. The Patriots, though, netted more second-place votes to ultimately nab the No. 1 spot. Conor Orr shied away from groupthink to name the Steelers as his first-place squad.