What a great Sunday of NFL action. It seems like this season that any one team can beat any other team on any given Sunday. Even Indy and Kansas City got close to winning this week.
Rank (Last Week)
#1 (1) Green Bay Packers (3-0) The Packers are the class of the NFL right now. Even with their sub-par defense they continue to win every week. Somehow they are still underrated.
#2 (6) New Orleans Saints (2-1) With a solid home win against the young, up-and-coming Texans, the Saints are still as explosive an offense as any in the league. If they can get their running game going behind the best interior o-line in football, they are going to be tough to beat.
#3 (7) Baltimore Ravens (2-1) The Ravens looked impressive in their two wins and disappointing in their road loss. Consistency is key for this team.
#4 (9) Detroit Lions (3-0) Detroit has outscored their opponents 101-46 so far this season, and proved last week by coming back from down twenty at halftime, that no opponent's lead is ever safe.
#5 (12) Buffalo Bills (3-0) The surprising Bills are 3-0, and as we promised last week, if they could remain unbeaten after hosting the Pats that they would vault up in the rankings. Here they are.
#6 (2) New England Patriots (2-1) This is a big four-spot drop for the explosive Patriots, but the Bills were able to expose quite a few of their short comings. We think the Patriots will bounce back, but another tough road trip out to Oakland may see the Pats falling again.
#7 (4) Houston Texans (2-1) There is no shame in losing to the Saints on the road. There is in only getting five red zone TDs in 16 tries. This young team can bounce back big with a home test against the Steelers.
#8 (16) Oakland Raiders (2-1) That last second loss to the Bills is not looking so bad now. Oakland has the league's best ground game and can pound you to death while controlling the clock with RunDMC and Michael Bush. Can they handle a pissed off Patriots team at home and continue to climb the rankings?
#9 (5) New York Jets (2-1) The Jets looked good coming back against the Cowboys, then dominated the Jags, but ran into a huge road block out in Oakland. They have a big road test this week at Baltimore and can not afford to lose any ground to the Pats and Bills.
#10 (11) San Diego Chargers (2-1) How does a team barely win at home against the worst team in the league and still move up a spot? Too many teams ahead of them looked even less impressive. There is still a lot of uncertainty for one of our Super Bowl contenders in the AFC. We have a feeling they are either moving on up once they hit their mid season stride that they usually do, or falling way down if they can not.
#11 (15) Dallas Cowboys (2-1) The Cowboys are just a few plays away from being another 0-3 team, but Romo and Garret have found a way to get this injury depleted young group to find ways to win, even after finding a way to lose in week one. Another big test at home with the Lions coming in. (When is the last time anyone said that?)
#12 (10) Chicago Bears (1-2) How is a team under .500 this high up? Because their two losses came to the best two teams in the NFL. The Bears are not as bad as their record (well, their O-line might be). Jay Cutler is going to be key to their success and his protection, both from the offensive line and Mike Martz play calling, could be their downfall.
#13 (17) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-1) The jury is still way out on the Buccaneers. They are 2-1 so far and are tied with the Saints for the division lead, but they have been far from as impressive so far as New Orleans. A young coach and young core of players are the recipe for a few mistakes and inconsistency, but can they learn from them and make a playoff push?
#14 (18) New York Giants (2-1) Once again the Giants are only going to go as far as their defensive line and QB will take them. They are severely depleted on defense, but their pass rush has been a bright spot so far. They handled the "Dream Team" in Philly and knocked Vick out of the game for the second straight week. Eli Manning is an MVP when he protects the ball, but more often that not he does not. A road win at Arizona might vault them into the top ten next week.
#15 (3) Philadelphia Eagles (1-2) Giant dip this week for the Eagles (pun intended?). Luckily they host the 49ers this week, but then again, they broke Tony Romo's rib and punctured his lung. Chances Vick finishes the game this week?
#16 (13) Washington Redskins (2-1) Slight drop for the Redskins this week. (My best Dennis Greene voice) "They are who we thought they were!" Except that 'Skings defense under Haslett. They are young, athletic and legit.
#17 (14) Atlanta Falcons (1-2) We are having a tough time giving up on the Falcons, and this is probably higher up than they deserve after their performance thus far. They just have too much talent, especially on offense, but their defensive liabilities are showing far more than they did last season.
#18 (8) Pittsburgh Steelers (2-1) The Steelers probably would not have dropped this far if that last second win against a bad team would not have happened in prime time (see Chargers above). The biggest problems for the Steelers came to light first in the Ravens game and even more so against the lowly Colts. Their line is inconsistent and depleted by injuries, they can not protect Big Ben or get the run game going, and they have serious trouble away from the friendly confines of Hines Field. Not a good time to be traveling to Houston where they have a young, athletic defensive line and Wade calling in blitzes.
#19 (21) San Francisco 49ers (2-1) The Niners are over .500 and if not for a Captain America lead comeback, they would be undefeated. San Fran has beat the teams they should beat so far and lost to the better team. If they can go in and win at Philly, they can really jump up.
#20 (24) Tennessee Titans (2-1) We are still not sold on the Titans, especially with CJ2K still under 100 yards on the season, and now that Kenny Britt is out for the season. That was an impressive win at home against the Ravens, but that opening loss to the Jags is looking worse and worse. They travel to Cleveland this week, and who would have thought one of those teams is gonna come away 3-1?
#21 (19) Arizona Cardinals (1-2) The Cardinals are probably still the best team in their abysmal division out west, and a few teams better than the Seahawks are gonna lose up in Seattle, but 1-2 is a good sized hole to be in, especially with the Giants coming to town. 1-3 is looking more and more realistic.
#22 (26) Cleveland Browns (2-1) No team has benefited more from the schedule makers thus far than the Cleveland Browns. They have played three bad teams and beat two of them so far. And this week they are hosting the inconsistant Titans. Once again, I can not believe one of those teams is going to be 3-1 after that game.
#23 (20) Jacksonville Jaguars (1-2) Jacksonville is not very good, and most likely they will just continue to fall in the rankings, but they did play well in that monsoon at Carolina with a rookie QB starting his first game. Plus they get to host the Bengals this week, so they can potentially double their win total.
#24 (25) Denver Broncos (1-2) This is probably the highest the Broncos will be in the rankings, especially with having to travel to Green Bay this week. Kyle Orton can still do some things and their defense is young and hungry, but they are way overmatched this weekend, and have at least two better teams in their division.
#25 (28) Minnesota Vikings (0-3) We keep wanting to put the Vikings higher, but they keep blowing double digit leads. One more and we will have to supplant KC as the worst team in the league. Ironically enough they head to Kansas City this weekend.
#26 (23) Carolina Panthers (1-2) The Panthers offense looked solid in two losses, and anything but in their one win, but the weather may have had a big part in that. Thye travel to Chicago to face a Bears team that is better than their record and tough at home. Look for Cam to have to wait another week to get his second win. Interesting side story to that game, the returns of Ron Rivera and Greg Olson to the Windy City.
#27 (27) St. Louis Rams (0-3) We had such high hopes for the Rams this season, but injuries and a tough schedule have prevented a win thus far. Luckily they play in a division in which an 0-3 team is not out of it.
#28 (22) Cincinnati Bengals (1-2) The Bengals, unlike the Browns, did not benefit from their cupcake early schedule. It is only going to get tougher as the season goes. Do not sleep on this team for the Andrew Luck Sweepstakes.
#29 (30) Indianapolis Colts (0-3) The Colts get to move up a spot this week because of the effort they made against Pittsburgh, especially on defense. They get another chance to impress in primetime this week when they travel to Tampa Bay on Monday night.
#30 (31) Seattle Seahawks (1-2) Seattle would be a much better team if they were able to play all 16 games at home where they are infinitely better. Unfortunately, half their games are on the road and they still have Tavaris Jackon at starting QB.
#31 (29) Miami Dolphins (0-3) No problem with losing to the Patriots or Texans, but that loss to the Browns vaults the Fins to the bottom and puts Sparano on the hot seat.
#32 (32) Kansas City Chiefs (0-3) Valiant effort against the Chargers last week, but the Chiefs are still the bottom feeders. They have a chance to prove us right or wrong this week by hosting the 0-3 Vikings.
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