LEGIT SUPER BOWL CONTENDERS

1. New Orleans Saints (1) – It wasn't exactly pretty but the Saints got their ninth win in a row to extend their undefeated season. I really only see one more difficult game for the rest of the season and that will be played in two weeks against the Patriots. They should be able to beat Tampa Bay twice, Washington, Atlanta, Carolina, and Dallas. I'm definitely pulling for them since they are easily the most likeable team in this bracket from my vantage point.

2. Indianapolis Colts (2) – The Colts also remain undefeated after a huge comeback victory against New England on Sunday. Is it possible that we could have two 16-0 teams at the end of the regular season? I'm sure it is, but I don't see it happening. It should be interesting to see who falls first considering Indianapolis just passed their toughest test yet.

3. Minnesota Vikings (3) – Not surprising at all but the Vikings continued their dominant season by plowing through the Lions and it's pretty much a two horse race for home field in the NFC. Regardless of who gets it, it will be a dome team so weather won't even be a discussion for the NFC.

4. New England Patriots (4) – Yes I'm leaving New England at number four and I'll explain why. I now believe in the Bengals as a legit team. However, I'm not fully convinced that they are a Super Bowl contender yet. The only playoff experience they've had didn't exactly go to well and I just don't know how well they will play when all the chips are on the table. If the Patriots were to face the Bengals in the playoffs, I would definitely be picking New England for the experience factor.

While we're discussing the Patriots, I'll join in and be the 10,385 person to voice my opinion on the decision of Bill Belicheck. I loved it. If they get those few yards, everybody would be praising him today. Sure he showed little to no confidence in his defense by going for it, but I would like to think that he knows his team better than all the "experts" that are slamming him today. He knew he was going to give Manning more than enough time to get the winning score and he rolled the dice. It didn't work out, but I still think it was the right decision. Everybody praised Mike Shannahan last season when he went for two instead of the tie against San Diego because it worked out. If that didn't work out, people would've bashed him. It's a double standard and it's pretty annoying.

POTENTIALLY FRISKY PLAYOFF TEAMS

5. Cincinnati Bengals (6) – The Bengals are easily the best team in this bracket and I mean no disrespect by not placing them higher. I would just like to see them finish this season strong and carry that into the playoffs first. I would still be pretty surprised if they were able to beat Indianapolis or New England. I just think experience carries a lot of weight in those situations. But for the record, THANK YOU CINCINNATI!!!!

6. Pittsburgh Steelers (5) –Despite being swept by Cincinnati and really digging themselves a hole in the AFC North, Pittsburgh still controls their own destiny and is clearly in the driver's seat for a wild card berth. Does anybody remember their first Super Bowl run? They were a six seed and won all three road games leading to the Super Bowl. This is exactly why they can't be ruled out at all. Pittsburgh will still be heard from before this season comes to a close.

7. Denver Broncos (7) – Oh my Denver. At least last season the Broncos waited until the very last season to completely collapse. They were in complete control of the AFC West a few weeks ago but they stand to lose that lead this weekend when they face the number eight team on my list. The good news for them is that the playoffs wouldn't be out of the question even if they did hand the AFC West title on a platter to San Diego. Of course, that is assuming they don't continue their collapse and finally win a game.

8. San Diego Chargers (13) – The Chargers have been the complete opposite of the Broncos in the past few weeks and it's exactly why they stand a chance to take sole possession of first place this weekend. Since losing to Denver in Week Six, the Chargers have reeled off four straight victories. If they beat Denver that would make five and they would then get number six and seven in the two weeks following. To make this easier to understand, the Broncos are screwed if they lose this weekend.

9. Dallas Cowboys (8) – I'm not dropping Dallas too far after their disappointing showing in Green Bay. However, I have a keen eye on them. I mentioned last week that I'll be interested to see how Dallas plays down the stretch because this is usually the time Tony Romo and company start to falter so I wasn't completely shocked they lost on Sunday. I'm avoiding the classic overreaction that I've been known to do in the past and I'll give Dallas a second chance. They have two incredibly easy games coming up so as long as they win those, they should be fine.

10. Baltimore Ravens (12) – Thankfully due to my Monday night TV schedule, I wasn't subjected to watching the first half of the Ravens/Browns game. The Ravens did eventually pull it out but they are going to need to be much better as we head towards the most important part of the season.

11. Arizona Cardinals (10) – The Cardinals are starting to get their legs under them and that is a dangerous sign for the other teams in the NFC. I still can't figure out if they are really good, just ok, a decent team that takes advantage of a bad division, or all of the above. Does that make any sense? I swear it did in my head. One thing is for sure, I won't completely rule them out come January this time around.

12 Philadelphia Eagles (9) – The Eagles are slipping further and further away as the season moves on. They really need to get it going this week or things will only get worse for Philly. It doesn't help that Brian Westbrook is probably finished for the season, but I'm thinking LeSean McCoy should be a very fine replacement for him.

13. Atlanta Falcons (11) – The Falcons have really had a rough time recently and it won't be any easier if Michael Turner is out for an extended period of time. We'll know all we need to know about Atlanta after the next three weeks are played out. If they go 3-0, they are definitely in it. If they lose even one of the two games against the Giants or Eagles, they are moving down to my mathematical bracket.

MATHEMATICALLY IN IT

14. Green Bay Packers (15) – Huge win for the Packers when they needed it most. I'm refraining from moving Green Bay up to the next bracket until I see them win on a more consistent basis. They are tied with the Eagles and Falcons for what would be one of the two wild card berths, but I can't fully trust a team that lost to the Buccaneers. Not just yet anyways.

15. New York Giants (14) – The Giants got a little help as they were off and the Eagles and Cowboys both lost. If they corrected things on the bye they should still be in good shape but they can't afford to lose this coming Sunday again.

16. Houston Texans (17) – The Texans were off but the Colts won to extend their division lead. The combination of a Colts collapse and Texans run isn't happening, sorry Houston.

17. Jacksonville Jaguars (19) – The Jags are quietly playing themselves back into playoff contention which each passing week. They should be able to handle Buffalo with a fair amount of ease this weekend. It's just a shame nobody will get to see it. Well, nobody in the Jacksonville area anyways.

18. Miami Dolphins (18) – The Dolphins pulled out a squeaker against Tampa Bay. That loss would have been crushing to any chances that they have this season, which aren't much. With the wild card looking like one of the teams sitting at 6-3 right now, Miami is going to have to pull off a long run of wins to get back into the thick of things.

19. Carolina Panthers (21) – The Panthers are making things interesting as the season goes on. I can easily see them falling just short of the playoffs though. It would probably be at that time that the Panthers would like to have one of those bad losses back, like the game against Buffalo.

20. New York Jets (20) –Ouch. Another rough outing for the Sanchize. The Jets have now lost five out of their last six games and are pretty much finished in the AFC East. They are only one game ahead of the cellar dwelling Bills and the Bills already beat them once. It should be fun to watch the Jets continually go down in flames since Rex Ryan found it necessary to run his mouth so much before the season and people were so quick to anoint the Sanchize as a Hall of Fame quarterback.

21. San Francisco 49ers (22) – The 49ers got a big win on Thursday night to keep themselves (slightly) in the race out West. They currently stand two full games behind Arizona with a chance to play them once more. If they could even their record or even cut the lead to one, it would end up being a very big game considering that they already beat the Cardinals once this season

22. Chicago Bears (16) - I still don't know why people are shocked over the struggles Jay Cutler is having. Granted the struggles the Bears are having aren't necessarily all his fault, but he is getting most of the blame since he was supposed to be the savior for Chicago. I'm thinking unless the Bears pull off two consecutive upsets in the upcoming weeks, you can officially stick a fork in their season (not that I haven't already).

23. Tennessee Titans (24) – Don't let the 41-17 score fool you. This game reminded me of a Madden game where you struggle for almost the entire afternoon to win a game you should, then grab a bunch of garbage touchdowns right at the end to pad the stats. Chris Johnson ran well as expected, but the Titans were very beatable on Sunday. I'd be more upset about the Titans owner Bud Adams flipping the Bills sideline the bird, but I pretty much did it all afternoon so I think it would be a bit hypocritical of myself.

BOTTOM OF THE BARREL

24. Seattle Seahawks (25) – Seattle gave Arizona a game for a little bit before finally slinking back down and losing yet another game. While Seattle isn't out of it technically, they actually are. They are 1-3 in their (crappy) division and with a three game deficit already, it would take an epic collapse by Arizona to not win the division this year.

25. Buffalo Bills (23) – Even though I knew the Bills are a terrible team, I still had them in the above bracket because I thought they did just enough to always be "in the hunt" or "mathematically in it", like they have been in every year of the Dick Jauron era. It's probably a good thing the Bills lost the game though, since it means the odds increase of both Jauron and Edwards being gone after this season. With every win they gain some credibility back, so it's better for the future if they continue to get rolled over on Sundays.

And just a little side note about the game on Sunday. I mean this with all my heart; Rich Gannon is by far the worst commentator that has ever done an NFL game. The guy is so incredibly biased and his opinions are terrible. Almost everything he says is the complete opposite of the truth. For instance, Trent Edwards "lit it up" against New England in Week One. WHAT?? He did? I must have missed something. Coming from a guy who didn't even understand the basic rules of NFL overtime earlier this season, I feel insulted when he gets his know-it-all attitude going and tries to educate everybody on the game of football. My favorite part when he does a game is when he slams a quarterback for a mistake and points out every little thing a player did wrong. Maybe he forgot about his impressive Super Bowl performance. You know, the game where he threw five interceptions and got completely shellacked by the Buccaneers. Remember that Rich?

And one more side note. If Jairus Byrd doesn't win the Defensive Rookie of the Year, I will have officially lost faith in the system. This kid is amazing.

26. Washington Redskins (31) – I wrote about it in my picks and it happened, the classic trap game for the Broncos and a big win for the Redskins. Washington isn't going anywhere but for at least one week they can stake their claim to a solid victory against a team with a winning record. They can also be proud that they just about finished off anybody that was remaining in any eliminator leagues.

27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (27) – The Bucs almost won and got their second straight victory in the Josh Freeman era. However, usually the bad teams find a way to still lose the game and the Buccaneers did just that on Sunday. After taking a 25-23 lead with 1:14 left on the clock, they allowed Miami to come right back down the field and win the game with only 10 seconds remaining. I've seen it a million times which watching the Bills. I believe the term is snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

28. Kansas City Chiefs (28) – In their first game since releasing Larry Johnson, the Chiefs got the win and improved their record to 2-7. The biggest highlight from the day was a 44 yard touchdown run by Jamaal Charles as he finished the day with 103 yards. For all of you fantasy owners that picked up Kolby Smith early Sunday morning, that must really suck for you.

29. Oakland Raiders (26) – Sometimes I feel like I'm especially hard on certain players when they don't always deserve it. In the case of JaMarcus Russell, he completely deserves it. After playing horrendously bad against the Chiefs earlier this season and someone still winning the game, Russell was determined to not only play bad this past Sunday, but also make sure that the Raiders lost the game too. His line from the game is as follows. Nine for 24, 67 yards, zero touchdowns, zero interceptions, and a 45.8 QB rating. He is jaw dropping bad. If he isn't playing in the UFL next season, I will have lost a little more faith in the NFL.

30. St Louis Rams (29) – Read what I wrote below about the Lions and you'll see what I mean when you look at the Rams/Saints game. I didn't think St Louis would stand a chance with the Saints but they at least hung in the game and made things interesting for the fans involved. When your team is as bad as the Rams are, a good honest effort is about all you can ask for.

31. Detroit Lions (30) – The game against the Vikings was one of those games where you knew Detroit didn't even stand a chance. Even so, usually those games are close for at least a half while Detroit puts a scare into Minnesota and all those people who bet on the Vikings or picked them outright to win. However, the Lions couldn't even pull that one off on Sunday. From the moment the clock hit 1:00, it was my impression that the Lions were already losing and they weren't even in the game. Granted I didn't watch the game, but I never for a second thought it was even in doubt.

32. Cleveland Browns (32) – 13 for 31, 99 yards, zero touchdowns, two interceptions, and a 23.5 QB rating. Ladies and Gentleman, the 22^nd overall pick of the 2007 draft from Notre Dame, Brady Quinn!!