Showing posts with label NFL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NFL. Show all posts
NFL Power Rankings – Week Three
9/29/2010 | Posted by
Devin
2. New England Patriots (5) – If I were a Patriots fan, I would be very worried about their defense. They pretty much made the Bills look great yesterday. They won't always have the benefit of facing the Bills so they might want to fix that real quick.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (10) – I'm sure some will argue that the Steelers should be in the top spot since they are one of the three remaining undefeated teams, but I'll hold off on that for just a little while. Pittsburgh's defense has looked like the best in the league for sure, their offense, not so much. I know they hung 38 points on the board last week, but they were also playing Tampa Bay. Let's not kid ourselves; the Bucs really aren't that good of a team. I'm sure the offense will improve with Ben returning from his rape suspension, but again, I'll wait and see. I'm pretty sure the two teams listed above along with the one listed below are still much better overall.
4. Green Bay Packers (2) – I hate moving Green Bay down because I think they are the best team in the NFC, if not the whole league. They lost on the road by three points to a team that benefited from 18 penalties. Some of which were awful calls. The pass interference call the Bears got in the last two minutes was an absolute joke. Jay Cutler had nowhere to throw the ball so he just heaved it up Favre style into double coverage and hoped for a penalty, which he got. All this aside, the Packers coaches also dropped the ball in the last minute. Instead of stuffing Matt Forte on the one yard line and letting Chicago bleed the clock down, they should've just allowed him to score and given Aaron Rodgers 50 seconds or more to tie the game. That is where the game was officially lost.
5. New Orleans Saints (1) – The Saints have really yet to look good in the first three weeks of the season so it was only a matter of time before they lost a close one. Luckily for them, they have four cupcakes coming up on their schedule and should be able to fix things rather quickly.
6. New York Jets (7) – Here is what I find amazing about Braylon Edwards and the lack of discipline from the Jets and the NFL. Edwards was forced to miss the first 17 offensive plays for the Jets after blowing twice the legal limit early Tuesday morning and getting a DWI. Wow, what a way to send a message to the kids who follow the game. Even more so, it's impressive on Edwards' part because he's a millionaire athlete that can afford transportation, especially since it happened New York City. You know, a city notorious for having a bazillion cabs at all times. But here is the most amazing fact. Edwards drank with Donte Stallworth the night Stallworth drove drunk and killed a man crossing the street. He literally learned nothing. How is this not getting more attention in the media?
7. Houston Texans (3) – It's very possible that the Texans bought into their own hype and fell flat on their face against their in-state rivals on Sunday. That's ok; they have the Raiders coming up this week which is the perfect bounce back situation.
8. Baltimore Ravens (8) – The Ravens won at home against the Browns. In other words, business as usual. They haven't really impressed me as much as I expected this year. It will be interesting to see how they do against Pittsburgh this Sunday. If they lose and allow Pittsburgh to start 4-0 without Ben Roethlisberger, it's uh-oh time in Baltimore.
9. Philadelphia Eagles (17) – I would have to say, this blog gives me a pretty open forum to look like an idiot. Ranking the Eagles is yet another example of that. I whined and complained when I said I was already starting Michael Vick on one of my fantasy teams in week two. Since that time, Vick has lit it up to the tune of 575 yards, five passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown and zero interceptions in the past two games. I have to be honest, I would be thrilled if he was playing for the Bills right now. Talk about a flip-flop on my part.
10. Chicago Bears (11) – I'm reluctantly moving the Bears up because I'm pretty sure they shouldn't be 3-0. They won't always get the benefit of home field refs so they should really be enjoying last night's victory. Jay Cutler was average at best and the Bears' running game was non-existent. I'm not impressed.
11. Atlanta Falcons (18) – The Falcons got a huge road win and will surely be sending their thank you cards to Garrett Hartley. If Atlanta could've mustered ONE touchdown in week one, they would be sitting at 3-0 right now.
12. Miami Dolphins (9) – So let me get this straight. Miami wins their first two games by a combined score of 29-20 against two teams with a combined record of 1-5. Then they come home and face a good team and allow Mark Sanchez to shred them 256 yards and three touchdowns. You know what we call a team like this? A pretender.
13. San Diego Chargers (6) – I can't even believe I'm putting a 1-2 team this high in the rankings. I'm giving the Bolts one more chance to prove me right. They have this habit of starting out slow before ripping off a series of wins, so I have to assume they will do the same this season. If they happen to lose in the next three weeks (Arizona, Oakland, St. Louis), I'm dropping them for the foreseeable future.
14. Cincinnati Bengals (12) – The Bengals got the win to move to 2-1 but it wasn't exactly a pretty performance. I'm not sure when exactly it happened, but Carson Palmer is looking worse as each week passes. Wasn't he elite a few years ago? What happened?
15. Tennessee Titans (14) – I know it's not normal to drop a team after a win, but at this point it's simply a numbers game. I honestly feel that the 14 teams listed above are better, regardless of what happened yesterday.
16. Minnesota Vikings (15) – While the Vikings finally ended their losing streak and into the win column, it wasn't a performance that made me think they are anywhere close to a playoff team. They beat the winless Lions at home thanks to Adrian Peterson and his 160 yard, two touchdown performance. For the season, Brett Favre has two touchdowns and six interceptions. Name me a team that can win consistently with those numbers.
17. Dallas Cowboys (21) – The Cowboys finally got a win on the road against the previously undefeated Houston Texans. Who would've seen that coming? Oh yeah, I did. Dallas still has a lot of work to do if they are going to be a playoff team but they have two weeks to build on this win before they face the Titans in their next game.
18. Washington Redskins (13) – Washington dropped the ball big time on Sunday. I wrote about it in my picks but they basically had to win the game in St. Louis (a very winnable game I might add). They are now 1-2 and have four difficult games in the next four weeks. The honeymoon might be over in Washington real quick.
19. Kansas City Chiefs (24) – I learned a few years ago when the Bills started out 4-1 not to get too hyper and overreact to good starts. This is the exact reason why I still have Kansas City at 19 in the rankings. Fact is, they've beaten three teams with a combined 1-8 record so far in the season.
20. Seattle Seahawks (20) – Sure, the Seahawks won and moved to 2-1 and first place in their division. And I really don't plan on moving them any higher. Sorry, they are an NFC West team and I refuse to give any of those teams any credit whatsoever.
21. New York Giants (16) – For two straight weeks the Giants have pretty much rolled over on Sunday. It doesn't take a genius to know that you can't win games when you lose the turnover battle 3-0.
22. Denver Broncos (19) – As each week passes, I become more and more convinced that Josh McDaniels has no idea what he is doing in Denver. But hey, don't believe me. Maybe when they start the season out 1-5 you will start listening.
23. St. Louis Rams (30) – I've been saying for the first two weeks now that the Rams really don't look that bad. They are a young team with a rookie QB learning on the job. And with all of that in mind, it's still September and they have already matched their win total from the entire 2009 season. Yes, you just read that correctly.
24. Arizona Cardinals (29) – There really isn't much I like about Arizona, except Larry Fitzgerald. I really don't even know how I bumped them up this high, seeing that they only won because the Raiders can't convert easy field goals. Nevertheless, their up in the rankings for this week (until they play San Diego next week).
25. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (22) – Thank you Tampa Bay. Because of you, Steeler fever is rampant where I live, which means I'm slowly slipping into a deep depression. For anybody that thought that Tampa Bay might be good, think again. They just made Charlie Batch look like a good QB. Yuck.
26. Jacksonville Jaguars (23) – Do you know what week I'm circling on my calendar? It's week five when Jacksonville makes a trip up to Buffalo. If the Bills play like they did on Sunday and the Jaguars play like they always do, we're looking at Buffalo's first win of the season. Book it.
27. Detroit Lions (27) – The Lions lack of running game combined with their lack of running defense is the main reason they lost this game. Detroit is making games competitive but sometimes that just isn't enough. Getting Matthew Stafford back will help, whenever that happens to be.
28. Carolina Panthers (26) – It wasn't exactly a good start to the Jimmy Clausen era in Carolina. Clausen finished 16/33, 188 yards, zero touchdowns, one interception and a 53.6 rating. I know it's one game but if that is what Carolina can expect from Clausen, then I totally understand why he dropped so far in the draft.
29. Oakland Raiders (28) – I still can't believe the Raiders lost this game. Of course, I suppose it's bound to happen when your field goal kicker goes 3/6 on the day. In an easy place to kick like Arizona, there aren't many excuses for Sea Bass on that one.
30. Cleveland Browns (31) – I'll give the Browns credit. They went on the road against one of the better teams in the league and actually had a 17-14 lead at one point. Against a top three defense in the league, Peyton Hillis ran for 144 yards and Seneca Wallace finished with 103 QB rating. There were a lot more positives than negatives for Cleveland in this game.
31. Buffalo Bills (32) – Yes, I'm moving the Bills up despite another loss to the Patriots. I'm moving them up because they finally looked like a professional football team. In the first two games, the Bills scored a combined 17 points and had 352 yards. COMBINED IN TWO GAMES. Yesterday on the road in New England, the Bills scored 30 points and had 374 yards of offense. This was due in large part to the switch at QB which really goes to show just how bad Trent Edwards is. In fact, the Bills recognized that and cut Captain Checkdown. Given the past history of the Bills, this move was actually quite a shock to most.
32. San Francisco 49ers (25) – Man, the 49ers are bad. I know they almost best the Saints at home but almost doesn't count. Truth is, the 49ers are 0-3 and have been outscored 88-38 in those three games. While winning their division is still a definite option, things aren't looking good. The team they are trailing by two games already hammered them once, 31-6. Maybe Mike Singletary isn't the great coach we all thought he was. Interesting.
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NFL Power Rankings – Week Two
9/21/2010 | Posted by
Devin
1. New Orleans Saints (1) – It won't always be pretty, but it doesn't have to be when you're the defending champs. It will be interesting to see how much they miss Reggie Bush in the next six weeks.
3. Houston Texans (6) – At one point on Sunday I thought the Texans bandwagon was veering off the road and headed for a cliff, but Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson quickly got it back on track. Houston needs to keep things in perspective but at this point; they look like the real deal, and have a handful of winnable games before their rematch with Indianapolis in Week Eight.
4. Indianapolis Colts (5) – For those people that might've thought they Colts were on the decline (Bill Simmons), they pretty much put that theory to bed Sunday night against the Giants. At one point, the Giants didn't even look like they belonged on the same field. I honestly thought Archie was going to come down on the field and ask Peyton to stop picking on his little brother.
5. New England Patriots (2) – I know the logic doesn't necessarily make sense, having the Patriots ranked ahead of the Jets even after they lost head-to-head, but hear me out. Last week I had New England at the two spot and still picked the Jets to win. The Patriots are still the better team but this game had Patriots loss written all over it. Now that the Patriots are nice and mad, they get to host the Bills in Week Three. Awesome.
6. San Diego Chargers (7) – I was in and out of the Chargers and Jaguars game but I swear every time RedZone cut it for an update, they were showing another turnover by either team. The score indicates a huge blowout but it was a lot uglier than that. The Chargers have some work to do.
7. New York Jets (9) – I was very impressed with the catch the slouch had on Revis Island. Of course, Revis immediately cried about his hamstring and ran off the field. Those seeds were planted early enough in the week though, so we pretty much all saw that one coming. Assuming his injury is legit, he deserves it for skipping out on training camp and all of the preseason.
8. Baltimore Ravens (4) – The Ravens are going to drop out quickly if they can't muster some sort of competent offense. Joe Flacco has been downright awful in the first two games. I chalked the first game up to him facing the Jets tough defense, but I'm not sure what his excuse was for yesterday. Throwing four interceptions is expected from someone like Brett Favre, not so much from Flacco. Through the two games, Flacco has one touchdown, five interceptions and a 41.2 rating. That is actually worse than Trent Edwards, if you can believe that.
9. Miami Dolphins (12) – Miami benefitted from Favre being Favre on Sunday, despite their best efforts in losing the game. The highlight for me had to be Tony Sparano wearing sunglasses for a game being played in the dome. We'll find out a lot about the Dolphins in the next two weeks and if they are for real or not. I still have my doubts.
10. Pittsburgh Steelers (15) – Pittsburgh is in the perfect situation right now. They'll be looking at 3-1 or even 4-0 when Ben Roethlisberger returns, but his replacement(s) have been so mediocre that he'll still be welcomed back with open arms. I'm pretty much in sports hell right now.
12. Cincinnati Bengals (19) – Cincy got a big win on Sunday and now have a real good shot at running off three straight wins at the very least and having a nice 4-1 start to the season. This is all despite Carson Palmer's attempt to play like absolute crap even with Chad Ochocino and T.O. lining up for him. And here I thought he would be a decent sleeper in fantasy for my backup QB spot.
13. Washington Redskins (13) – I almost feel bad for the Redskins, who basically lost the game on a hokey timeout by Houston. I hate how they can call the timeout as the ball is being snapped, but hey, I guess rules are rules. Washington still finds themselves tied for first place so they aren't in bad shape by any stretch. They might want to look at their pass defense though.
14. Tennessee Titans (10) – The Titans had every chance in the world to win the game on Sunday and still found a way to lose. Tennessee turned the ball over seven times and still had a shot at the end of the game to tie. This was a textbook example of simply giving away the game. Awful effort by the Titans.
15. Minnesota Vikings (8) – Speaking of awful, Brett Favre ladies and gentlemen! His four turnovers yesterday were directly responsible for the loss and the Vikings 0-2 start. Favre has started the season off with one touchdown, four interceptions and a 56.1 rating. It's good to see things back to normal for the NFL's interception king.
16. New York Giants (11) – Granted I feel asleep for a bit of the first, second, third and fourth quarter; I never once saw a moment when the Giants were in the game. Their defense was chewed up by Peyton and the Colts' running game. I'm hoping the Giants and their fans are enjoying the Perry Fewell era so far.
17. Philadelphia Eagles (21) – The Eagles let Detroit hang around way too long and got chewed up by Jahvid Best and Shaun Hill, but they still got the win and should be encouraged by Michael Vick. Seeing that Vick is a free agent at the end of the season, they might want to consider trading him before the deadline to cash in on their investment. Of course, they'll need to know for sure that Kevin Kolb is healthy and not going to suck first.
18. Atlanta Falcons (20) – The Falcons took their opening day loss out on the lowly Cardinals to the tune of 41-7. Before we get too excited, please remember, they only beat up on Arizona. Their first real test will come next week at New Orleans.
19. Denver Broncos (23) – Wow. I hope Denver enjoyed their victory next week because the next four games are against Indianapolis, Tennessee, Baltimore and the Jets. That has 1-5 written all over it.
20. Seattle Seahawks (16) – Yesterday's loss to Denver was so predictable. After their opening day blowout of San Francisco, people were piling on Seattle, almost forgetting that they are still an NFC West team. I'll be shocked if anything better than 7-9 wins that division. I wish the Bills could make the switch.
21. Dallas Cowboys (14) – After seeing the Cowboys for the first two weeks, I'm fully convinced that people picked them for the Super Bowl strictly because they are hosting it this year. They have looked awful so far and I'm not sure if they'll get any better.
22. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (26) – Since Tampa Bay was expected to be one of the worst teams in the league, I couldn't be more thrilled with the fact that they are 2-0 to start out the season. I'm pretty sure the Bills won't even get two wins, so that is just one less team competing with them for the first overall pick.
23. Jacksonville Jaguars (18) – With a handful of QBs playing horribly yesterday, David Garrard did his best to get into the action by playing like his usually horrendous self. Sometimes I'm baffled how the NFL, the most elite football league on the planet, can't even find 32 good QBs to start for each team. It's amazing.
24. Kansas City Chiefs (28) – What I said about Tampa Bay goes just as well for Kansas City. I just glanced at their upcoming schedule and realized they play Buffalo on Halloween. Talk about scary.
25. San Francisco 49ers (24) – All is not lost with the 0-2 start by the Niners assuming seven wins takes the West. To their credit, they lost in the last seconds to the top team and basically only lost because they repeatedly shot themselves in the foot with turnovers.
26. Carolina Panthers (25) – That took a long time. The Jimmy Clausen era is already set to begin this week. Kudos to Carolina for pulling the trigger early.
27. Detroit Lions (27) – I've gotta hand it to the Lions, even with them sucking, at least they are putting points on the board and keeping the games relatively close. If they are going to disappoint the fans, at least give them a show first. Jahvid Best has pretty much wrapped up the offensive rookie of the year award after only two weeks.
28. Oakland Raiders (29) – It's only two weeks into the season and Jason Campbell was already benched. Remember when I wanted Buffalo to trade for him? Yikes. Maybe I should stop talking.
29. Arizona Cardinals (22) – If Larry Fitzgerald needs any advice on what it's like to play for a garbage QB, I'm sure he can give Lee Evans a phone call. At least Fitz had the opportunity to play with Kurt Warner before being bombarded with garbage.
30. St. Louis Rams (30) – I need the Rams to get a win or two so that Buffalo can lock up the first overall pick. Luckily they do play in the NFC West so there is plenty of opportunities to get a win. At least there is promise in St. Louis with Sam Bradford. Must be nice.
31. Cleveland Browns (31) – I honestly see three wins at best for Cleveland this season, which isn't good news for the Bills. Luckily one of those three wins is against Buffalo so not only will it give Cleveland the victory, but also in the tie-breaker in the scenario where they both finish with the same record. Of course, that would be assuming that the Bills can even must one win at this point. And that leads us to….
32. Buffalo Bills (32) – I was watching an episode of Family Guy this weekend, the one with the android Miley Cyrus destroying all of Quahog. At one point, the Evil Monkey runs out and says, "Ms. Cyrus, I ask you to stop what you're doing. I don't just mean this, I mean everything: the show, the music--it's all just awful."
That about sums up my feeling on the Bills right now.
(Additional post-Edwards benching note: I give 10/10 stars to Chan Gailey for this move. Fitzpatrick isn't necessarily an upgrade, but Gailey recognized that Edwards was horrendous the first two games and made the decision quickly. This is a decision that would've taken Dick Jauron weeks or a decision he wouldn't have made it all. Cheers to being on the Chanwagon.)
NFL Power Rankings – Week One
9/14/2010 | Posted by
Devin
Before I get to the rankings, I have a question about the ESPN attendance numbers that they post. Where do they come up with these figures? Honestly, can someone tell me?
They have Philadelphia at 102.3%. How is that possible? Were people crawling in under the gates and standing in aisles the whole time? How can something be 102.3% full? They also have both Buffalo and Pittsburgh listed at 94.8% and 97.9%. I know for a fact that both games were sold out. I also know for a fact that Pittsburgh NEVER has empty seats in Heinz Field. Seriously, where do these numbers come from?
Alright, my rant is over. Now to the rankings.
1. New Orleans Saints (1) – The Saints struggled at times Thursday night against the Favres, but the game wasn't as close as the 14-9 score would indicate. Take back a dropped touchdown pass and a couple of easy missed field goals and the game could've easily been 27-9 at the very least. As always, defending Super Bowl champs + undefeated = top spot in the rankings no matter what. I know, it's a faulty formula. I don't care.
3. Green Bay Packers (3) – The Packers could've been much better in their win against Philadelphia and I have no doubt they will be this Sunday against Buffalo. With crap for linebackers in Buffalo, I fully expect Aaron Rodgers and Jermichael Finley to eat the Buffalo defense alive. Good times.
4. Baltimore Ravens (9) – The Ravens defense is crazy good. I know Joe Flacco and the offense struggled, but they won't be facing the Jets defense every week either. The Ravens are no doubt the favorite to win the AFC North and nothing I saw on Monday night can convince me otherwise. They're only going to get better.
5. Indianapolis Colts (2) – The Colts finally fell to Houston and their head-to-head record against the Texans dropped to 15-2. I fully expect the Colts to bounce back though. I know it's tempting to jump on the Texans bandwagon but let's hold off on that for a little while. To the Colts this was just another game; to the Texans it was much more. I know I have the Colts still ranked above the Texans and one game in September won't force me to change it….yet. In other Colts news, Bob Sanders is hurt again. Shocking.
6. Houston Texans (13) – Houston takes a huge leap in the rankings but as I said before, let's relax a little bit before booking their plane tickets to Dallas. They still have 15 more games including another against Indianapolis. I've seen the Bills crush the Patriots at home 31-0 so I know almost better than anybody that opening day victories don't always translate to regular season success.
7. San Diego Chargers (6) – I'd like to thank the Chargers for already giving me a loss in my eliminator pool. On the positive side for the Chargers, the Chiefs only won by a touchdown and had two big plays, something that might not always happen every Sunday. I have no doubt the Chargers will bounce back and eventually reclaim the division again.
8. Minnesota Vikings (5) – Take it as a sign of things to come this season for Minnesota. This isn't going to be a fairy tale season like last year. Brett Favre is old and he'll show his age this year. They could very well finish under .500 if they play like they did on Thursday.
9. New York Jets (8) – I know I've been saying this over and over again, but I'll continue to say it until everyone finally admits it. Mark Sanchez sucks. He is a liability to an otherwise good Jets team. The games they won last year (they only went 9-7!) were games won on the ground. The games they lost last year were lost through the air. He isn't good. People need to stop pretending that he is.
10. Tennessee Titans (15) – The Titans/Raiders was the game I should've picked in my eliminator pool. For some reason I was tricked into thinking the Raiders would be improved and Chris Johnson wouldn't run all over them. I've learned from my mistakes.
11. New York Giants (16) – In what could've been the most frustrating thing about Sunday, I randomly benched Hakeem Nicks for Devin Aromashodu. The difference between the two was a staggering 17 points. Luckily my team cruised to an easy win or I'd be kicking myself today as I write this.
12. Miami Dolphins (12) – Granted I didn't see any other early game on Sunday, but I'm willing to say that there isn't a team that looked worse while getting the win than the Dolphins did. The Bills were horrendous in every sense of the word and still, they were only down by three in the fourth quarter. That says a lot about the Dolphins. There is no way they are finishing better than third in the AFC East. Chad Henne has done nothing to show me that he should be a starting QB in the NFL.
13. Washington Redskins (14) – I wasn't overly impressed with the Redskins but they got the win and that's all that counts. Not a bad way to start the Shanahan/McNabb era in D.C. I'll be interested to see how they handle Houston in Week Two. It will go a long way in showing whether either team is ready to take the next step.
14. Dallas Cowboys (4) – The Cowboys really looked bad on Sunday night. That couldn't have made Jerry Jones happy since he's somehow convinced everyone that the Cowboys will be playing a home Super Bowl game.
Again, Tony Romo crumbled in a "big" game (I put it in quotes because it's only opening day, but a national TV audience qualifies as big) and looked awful. I know he isn't a terrible QB but at some point he's gonna have to play well when it counts.
15. Pittsburgh Steelers (19) – Some fans in Pittsburgh might have been hoping for the Steelers to rape the Falcons, but alas, they barely pulled it out in overtime. To their credit though, if they can muster 2-2 or even better without Roethlisberger, the Steelers will be in good shape for the rest of the season.
17. Chicago Bears (22) – The Bears got a gift win on Sunday. Pretty sad state of affairs in Chicago when they need to win by a technicality at home against Detroit. Jay Cutler threw for 372 yards which reaffirmed the fact that he's a glorified fantasy QB and nothing more.
18. Jacksonville Jaguars (25) – Apparently David Garrard played very well in the Jaguars victory over the Broncos. It's such a shame that nobody was there to see it.
19. Cincinnati Bengals (11) – By the time the Bengals decided to play some football, the Patriots were already up 31-3. I'm no football expert but I think the Bengals better settle down with all the Super Bowl talk if that's the best they've got. There are lots of good teams in the AFC, not just New England.
20. Atlanta Falcons (10) – The Falcons were given a gift when Pittsburgh announced they were starting Dennis Dixon and still found a way to look bad in the loss. It won't get any easier for Atlanta this week as they face Arizona at home. Wait, never mind, it's going to get much easier for Atlanta this week as they face Arizona at home.
21. Philadelphia Eagles (17) – Kevin Kolb had a pretty rough start in Philly but it was to be expected when opening up against the Packers. I must admit, Michael Vick put up some pretty good numbers when he got on the field exclusively. Amazing that he can't be a full-time starter and Trent Edwards can. Vick will most likely get the start this Sunday against Detroit and if he plays well and gets a victory, look out, ESPN will be stirring up a huge QB controversy in Philly. It's always fun when it's not your team.
22. Arizona Cardinals (23) – The Cardinals squeaked out the win against the lowly Rams. Good times in Arizona. They're gonna love the Derek Anderson era.
23. Denver Broncos (20) – I try to not overreact after one week but I'm starting to get the feeling that Josh McDaniels is going to drive the Broncos into the ground. He's already made some questionable decisions and if Denver can't win a game against Jacksonville, I don't know if they'll even be over .500 this season.
24. San Francisco 49ers (18) – Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that the 49ers were supposed to be improved this year. From everything I saw on Sunday, there is no way they're winning the NFC West. Then again, it's only one week and it can be easily corrected, but it isn't looking good for the Niners. Especially since they have the Saints coming to town next week with a few extra days to rest and prepare. This one is gonna be ugly.
25. Carolina Panthers (21) – I haven't seen the injury report but it looks like the Jimmy Clausen era is going to start sooner than expected in Carolina. Now will be the time to see if everybody screwed up by letting him drop so far or if it was warranted and the Panthers wasted a draft pick. I'm sure the Bills fans will take notice either way.
26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (28) – The Buccaneers are a bad team but a win is a win. Beggars can't be choosers and I know the Bucs fans won't be complaining about starting the season out 1-0.
27. Detroit Lions (27) – I refuse to drop the Lions since they should've won on Sunday. Saying that Calvin Johnson didn't have that touchdown is a total joke. And honestly, if anybody argues that point, they deserve to have bad things happen to them.
28. Kansas City Chiefs (30) – Forgive me because I slept through the majority of this game (yes, I'm getting old), but it seemed like the Kansas City crowd was a ridiculous level of loud on Monday night. Either that or I had my TV turned up way too loud. Every time I woke up and caught pieces of the games, it seemed like I was waking up because the crowd was in full force. Is it possible that Arrowhead is back to being a dominating home field advantage for the Chiefs? All they need know is Christian Okoye to come back and they're all set.
29. Oakland Raiders (26) – Same old Raiders. They didn't even look like they belonged on the same field as Tennessee. Luckily for them they have St. Louis at home this Sunday. If they can't win that game, they'll be competing with Buffalo and Cleveland for the top spot in next year's draft.
30. St. Louis Rams (32) – Thanks to the Red Zone Channel and a pretty shaky afternoon schedule, I saw a large majority of the Rams/Cardinals game. Not only were the Rams not as bad as I expected, but Sam Bradford looks like he's going to be the real deal. He'll have his struggles but he looked like he belonged. His numbers will no doubt suffer this season since the Rams refuse to employ any NFL caliber receivers, but once he has those, he's gonna be a good one.
31. Cleveland Browns (31) – I know this might come as a shock to you, but Jake Delhomme had a 2:1 interception to touchdown ratio on Sunday. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
32. Buffalo Bills (29) – That took a long time. One week. That's all it took and I'm absolutely disgusted with the Bills. Listen, I knew the Bills were going to be bad this season. I didn't think they would be first overall pick bad, but I most definitely thought they were going to be under .500 bad. But what the Bills did on Sunday take my expectations and run them over like an innocent pedestrian in Grand Theft Auto. Trent Edwards couldn't have been worse if he was literally wearing a skirt and throwing the ball left handed. Along with Edwards, the Bills offensive line (if you want to even call them that) was worse than a high school team's line. What a joke. I'm already counting down the days till hockey season. I've also started scouting Jake Locker. I'm dead serious.
What We Learned in Week 1
9/13/2010 | Posted by
Scott Lunn
With all but the Monday Night games in the book, let's take a look back at what we've learned in Week 1. We will focus on the Bills as always, but try to hit up all the games around the league as well. My goal is to make this a weekly column, but that of course depends on the cooperation of my 4 month old daughter with giving me some time to write. So with all that being said, let's get this show on the road. Perhaps a word of warning first though… those with a weak stomach may want to look away, I'm afraid any discussion I have regarding the Buffalo Bills is going to get ugly.
Miami Dolphins - 15 @ Buffalo Bills - 10:
- A few weeks back I predicted the Bills would go 3-13 this season and I was told by most that I was being far too critical and there was no way they would be that bad. When asked my reasoning for such low expectations, I explained my thought process pretty succinctly. The offense is simply not any better than it was last season. This breaks down into 4 parts generally speaking. Part #1 is the biggest part, and generally the reason for any team's success or failure. We have NO quarterback! I don't care which member of the 3 headed monster of Edwards/Fitzpatrick/Brohm is behind the center, they aren't adequate NFL starters. But more on that in a minute. Part #2 is that we lost Terrell Owens and Josh Reed at receiver. Neither did anything amazing for us last year, but what we have remaining is certainly not better. Lee Evans goes back to being double teamed and not having a chance of getting open most of the time, and Roscoe Parrish is forced to step up and be a number 2 wideout after hardly playing offense at all last year. Now our woefully underwhelming QBs have even less options to attempt to get the ball to. Part #3 is the offensive line. While I think that given time, this group will come around and prove themselves slightly less than awful, they've got a ways to go as of yet. Right tackle is still a massive concern and the left is only slightly better. This lack of a solid line gives our lousy QBs little time to pass, etc, etc, you get the point. Finally, Part #4 is the Running Backs. Now, before you say it, yes they clearly are the strength of our offense. I agree with that 100%. We have 3 serviceable backs that can share the load and bring unique skills to the table. The issue is the first 3 parts of this equation. Teams have no reason at all to respect our passing game and can stack the box against the run all day long, thus negating the one weapon we seemingly have. Alright, now that my long winded ramble on why I have such a negative outlook this season is out of the way, let's get to the actual game itself.
Trent Edwards' stat line reads as follows: 18/34 for 139 yards and a touchdown. Guess how many other quarterbacks in the league had a superior day… The answer would be most all of them. With the exception of Jake Delhomme in Cleveland, Matt Moore in Carolina, and maybe Matt Schaub (whose team still beat the Colts!) in Houston, Edwards' numbers were worse than most anybody else in the league. On top of that, subtract one drive (yes, generally I hate that type of analysis, but it just shows that there really only was one good drive for Buffalo in this game) and Edwards was 11/27 for 48 yards. I don't think I need to say much else about that.- Those 3 solid running backs that are supposed to anchor our offense? Spiller had 7 carries for 6 yards, Lynch had 3 for 13, and Jackson had 4 for 19. Add that up and you have 14 carries for 38 yards. This will get us nowhere fast.
- Buffalo had 166 yards of total offense. I don't even want to count the number of individual players who accounted for more than that throughout the league.
- It's not ALL terrible. The defense played a solid game today. Mia- mi is at best an average offense, but the Bills still contained them for the most part. Giving up 13 points (I can't hang that safety on them) should be enough to get you a win more often than not, but again, with this abysmal offense, anything short of a shutout seems like it might not be good enough.
Yet another new coaching staff does not automatically equate to greatness. The single most common rebuttal I got when explaining my forecast for the season was that Chan Gailey and company were going to turn things around. I know it's only one week in and it takes some time, but that's exactly my point! It's only one week, it's going to take a LOT of time. Especially given the talent they have to work with. I saw nothing on the offensive side of the ball that looked any more imaginative than when Dick Jauron was in charge. I will say that the conversion to the 3-4 defense seems to be going more smoothly than I expected.- Perhaps I'm nit picking because I'm still so annoyed that we wasted a #8 overall pick on him, but Donte Whitner makes me want to scream. On multiple occasions today I watched him tackle a receiver AFTER giving up a first down on the play, and then stand over them and talk trash. This explains why he's better at Twitter than at football. He actually blocked me from his Twitter account for saying that to him last year too.
- Dolphins fans… Congrats, but don't go getting too excited. You beat the Bills, but not by much, and you didn't look very good at all in doing so. With the weapons this team has on offense now, expectations should be much higher for them.
- In case you didn't fully grasp all those things I just said, let me put it to you bluntly. This was a mediocre Dolphins team, at home, in Week 1, which means extra time to prepare. How do you think we're going to fare at Green Bay and then at New England the next two weeks?
Minnesota – 9 @ New Orleans – 14:
- Brett Favre looked less than 100% and in need of a #1 receiver. Visanthe Schiancoe is clearly his primary target and losing Sidney Rice hurts them a lot. He can't stretch the field too well with what they currently have. Adrian Peterson needs to carry the ball a hell of a lot more than 19 times as well, just ask him and he'll tell you.
- The Saints offense looked far less impressive than last season, but the weapons are all still there. Give them a week or two and I think you'll see them back in full swing. The NFC South is most certainly still there's for the taking.
Cleveland – 14 @ Tampa Bay – 17:
- Jake Delhomme is in a new city, but not much else changed. After putting the Browns out in front, he threw a costly interception that was almost immediately turned into points for the Bucs. I'm already dreading the annual Futility Bowl between Cleveland and Buffalo later this season.
- Tampa didn't exactly look like world beaters either and mostly benefited from opening up against the lowly Browns at home. Josh Freeman is still developing and if he can continue to play steadily for Tampa, they have a chance to steal a few games this year.
Cincinnati – 24 @ New England – 38:
- Carson Palmer's numbers look really impressive, but that's due to the fact that they were well behind early on and aired it out all through the 2nd half. A lot more was expected out of the Bengals coming into this season, and they're going to have to shore up their defense quickly if they want to be amongst the teams at the top of a very competitive AFC North.
- The Patriots stepped on the gas from the start and didn't look back. I expected this team to struggle to be around the 9-10 win mark this season, but that is not what they showed today. Their offensive potency reminded me of the season before Tom Brady went down, and quite frankly, that disgusts me a little bit. Let's hope it was just extra time to game plan heading into the start of the season.
Indianapolis – 24 @ Houston – 34:
- Is there any better matchup for fantasy purposes than the twice a year Colts/Texans showdown? Personally, I have 9 roster spots across 3 teams tied up with players from these two teams, and I can't wait until they play again in Week 8.
- Did I mention I have both Peyton Manning (40-57, 433 yards, 3 TDs) and Arian Foster (231 yards and 3 TDs) on the same fantasy team? They combined for 81 points and if I hadn't left Austin Collie on my bench, that would have been another 31!
Seriously, if by some ridiculous chance nobody has Arian Foster in your league, you better hope you have the #1 position for the waiver wire come tomorrow morning. How else can you explain Matt Schaub having a terrible day (9/17, 107 yards, a TD and an INT), Andre Johnson being practically invisible (3 catches for 31 yards), and the Texans still beating the Colts with relative ease? Houston just put that division on notice and I firmly believe their playoff drought finally ends this year.
Denver – 17 @ Jacksonville – 24:
- Jacksonville actually sold out a game and all it took was hometown hero Tim Tebow coming to town to do it. I hope those folks really enjoyed seeing his 2 carries for 2 yards!
- Jacksonville used a solid all around performance from their offense and what looked to be an improved defense from a year ago to knock off a Denver team that looks to be searching for an identity. Too bad they'll be right back to a half empty, half tarped off stadium for the rest of the season soon enough.
Atlanta – 9 @ Pittsburgh – 15:
- Thankfully I didn't see much of this one as it appeared to be bowling shoe ugly. Pittsburgh's usually stout defense shut down Michael Turner, and while it gave up a fair amount of yards to Matt Ryan and Roddy White, it didn't let them into the endzone.
- The Steelers on the other hand couldn't muster much offense themselves with Dennis Dixon filling in for the suspended Ben Roethlisberger. It wasn't until Rashard Mendenhall broke off a 50 yard touchdown in overtime that the Steelers looked like they had anything going on with the ball in their possession. They are going to struggle through the first 4 weeks, but luckily for me, I can't stand them, so that's a good thing.
Oakland – 13 @ Tennessee – 38:
- JaMarcus Russell may be 300+ pounds and sipping on some syrup elsewhere now, but the Raiders are still the Raiders. Jason Campbell didn't appear to be the answer in game #1 as the Raiders were bowled over by the Titans.
- Chris Johnson on the other hand, is also still Chris Johnson. He picked up where he left off last season with a 142 yard, 2 TD day. Coupled with Vince Young still looking like a passable NFL QB, it was enough for the Titans to roll to the easy win. I would suggest things might be more difficult moving forward when they face the Steelers next week.
Carolina – 18 @ New York Giants – 31:
- The Panthers shut the door on the old Giants Stadium last season by hanging a 41-9 loss on Eli and company, but they failed to duplicate their effort in opening the new building in the Meadowlands.
- Eli Manning coupled his 3 interception day with 3 TD passes, all to Hakeem Nicks to help propel his Giants past a Panthers team that enters the Matt Moore era.
- Speaking of Moore, he didn't do much to show everybody why the Panthers handed the reigns over to him and ushered Jake Delhomme off to Cleveland, as he had 3 interceptions of his own on the day. As somebody who lives in North Carolina and hears more about the Panthers than he'd ever care to, I have to think John Fox's seat is somewhere between magma and nuclear this season.
Detroit – 14 @ Chicago – 19:
When is a touchdown not a touchdown? That's the question that stands out after watching the end of this game. Calvin Johnson now realizes that in order to be credited with touchdowns from now on, he needs to catch the ball, land on the ground, stand up, run to the locker room, and change into his street clothes… all without letting go of the football. Seriously, if that wasn't a completed catch, I'm not sure I know what is anymore. The Lions got hosed and no "interpretation" of the rule is going to change my mind about that.- Jay Cutler likes to chuck the ball around a lot, that hasn't really changed. He did manage to limit himself to just one interception to go with his 372 yards and 2 touchdowns in this one though. Matt Forte may have found his niche as a receiver out of the backfield as well, as he put up big numbers predominately as a pass catcher.
- The Lions would seem likely to improve their record again this year, though it now very much depends on the severity of Matt Stafford's reinjured shoulder. The Bears on the other hand, don't seem at all likely to improve from last season to me. In fact, I think they might even be down a bit. Either way, they are definitely not going to be looking at the postseason.
Arizona – 17 @ St. Louis – 13:
- To all those people who drafted Larry Fitzgerald in the 1st or 2nd round of their fantasy drafts… You did realize the guy that kept him from getting double teamed is now in Baltimore, and the future Hall of Fame QB who threw the ball to him is getting ready for Dancing with the Stars right? He did grab a late touchdown today, but I expect his numbers to be well down this year with Derek Anderson distributing the ball. Though if Steve Breaston continues to put up numbers like he did today, perhaps that will ease the pressure of Anquan Boldin heading east.
- I mentioned to a few people over the last week that I had this strong feeling that St. Louis was going to be a fair bit better than most people expected. I really think this team has the ability to win 5-6 games this year and that Sam Bradford is going to be a damn good quarterback once he has some weapons to throw to. He struggled a bit today, but still looked good for starting his first career NFL game. The severe lack of receivers he has to choose from is going to cost him some development this year though.
Green Bay – 27 @ Philadelphia – 20:
- Those that own Aaron Rodgers in fantasy leagues have to be holding their collective heads after Week 1. Rodgers was projected as a Top 3 QB, and in some cases # 1 or 2, by virtually every outlet I saw. 188 yards, 2 TDs and 2 INTs is probably not the output expected by most of those that took him in Round 1 or 2. The Packers will need better if they expect to win the NFC North, as many have predicted them to do.
- Injuries marred this game as several players including Ryan Grant of Green Bay and Kevin Kolb of Philadelphia both left early on. It'll be interesting to see how quickly both come back, as they are both a large part of the offense for each team.
- Michael Vick got put on full display as a quarterback rather than a novelty once Kolb went down. He didn't do too badly either for that matter. Going 16/24 for 175 yards and a TD through the air, coupled with 103 yards on the ground, Vick has some wondering just what will happen when Kolb returns from his concussion. Vick certainly displayed far more accuracy than I can ever recall him having when he was a full time QB in Atlanta.
San Francisco – 6 @ Seattle – 31:
- Well… either a lot of folks greatly over estimated how good the 49ers would be this year, or a whole lot of folks greatly underestimated how good Seattle was going to be.
- Matt Hasselbeck looked more like the guy who lead his team to Super Bowl XL than the injury prone QB we've seen the last few seasons. His numbers weren't staggering, but he certainly did a solid job.
- Mike Singletary was wearing a large cross pendant on a chain that was in full display all game long. I couldn't help but wonder how long it would take the NFL to tell him that this was some sort of violation of the dress code policy. If it were the NBA, David Stern would already be calling for a check.
- Pete Carroll starts off his NFL coaching career at 1-0… wait, what's that you say? He's done this before? He's actually now 34-31 as an NFL head coach after stints with the Jets in 1994 and the Patriots from 97-99.
Dallas - 7 @ Washington - 13:
- Can we just toss a coin in the NFC East already? All four of these teams are pretty much the same. It would save us from hearing about them endlessly for the next 16 weeks, since ESPN is infatuated with this division.
- Hmm, turns out the Cowboys aren't so wonderful after all? I think the offensive line has a lot of work to do before this team lives up to its hype. I also think that if they don't, Wade Phillips can join me to collect his unemployment check.
- Donovan McNabb didn't do much to prove why the Eagles should have kept him. Sub 50% completion percentage and only 171 yards. It's a good thing for him the Cowboys made so many mistakes, or he'd be under heavy fire this week.
General Notes from around the NFL:
- Home Teams are 11-3 so far during Week 1, while last year they went just 8-8.
- Does anybody test kickers for steroids? 6 different kickers hit from 50+ yards with 3 more connecting from 49.
- Can you guess which team is dead last in Yards as well as Time of Possession amongst those that have played in Week 1 already? That's right, YOUR Buffalo Bills!
NFL Pre-Season Power Rankings
9/06/2010 | Posted by
Devin
2. Indianapolis Colts – The Colts are the most boring team on this list. All they do is win; year in and year out. Of course as Scott told me in our fantasy draft, watch this be the year that Manning finally goes down with an injury. You know, since I spent $49 of a $200 cap on him in our auction draft.
3. Green Bay Packers – I really like the Packers this year. A lot. Aaron Rodgers showed me a ton last year and they are only going to get better as an overall team. On a side note, am I the only one who cracks up every time he does his 'championship belt' celebration? It's hilarious.
4. Dallas Cowboys – I think it's safe to say that Wade Phillips has a pretty good grasp on the defense in Dallas. If there is one thing Wade is good at, it's defense. And punt catching. On the other side of the ball, Dallas has a real opportunity to unleash an elite offense upon the NFL. They have the good quarterback, two good running backs, a handful of good receivers and an elite tight end. It also looks like they could have Kim Kardashian in the press box.
5. Minnesota Vikings – As if there was any doubt, the Wrangler God will be gracing us with his presence for a 20th season. Anybody that actually believed he was going to retire should also check the mirror to see if 'moron' is written across their forehead. Favre signed a two year deal with the Vikings last year so coming back was a 100% certainty for this season. The only reason it took so long to make his "decision" was because he wanted to see how much training camp he could skip out on. Plus he loved the attention of his teammates begging him to come back and stroking his ego a little more. Among other things, the Vikings missing the playoffs this season is on my list of things that would make this season a success in my eyes.
6. San Diego Chargers – The biggest thing standing in the way of the Chargers winning the AFC West yet again is the status of Vincent Jackson. They just traded for Patrick Crayton so things aren't looking good on the Jackson front. Otherwise, San Diego is looking pretty good. Phillip Rivers continues to improve and the offense as a whole should be much better since they upgraded their running back situation by drafting Ryan Matthews and ridding themselves of LaDanian Tomlinson's corpse. Then again, Norv Turner is still the coach of this team so anything is really in play.
7. New England Patriots – No attempted reverse jinx here, New England is winning the AFC East this season. People just seem to forget about them because they aren't on HBO trying to name off all their illegitimate children and crowning themselves as the Super Bowl champs yet, but the Patriots are still pretty good. Just in case anybody forgot; Brady, Moss and Belicheck are still on the team.
8. New York Jets – I have the Jets still in the top 10 despite my mean spirited words above, but I don't have them winning their division and I most definitely don't have them winning the Super Bowl. They'll grab a wildcard spot and make the playoffs, but they won't make it past the second round this time around. I have several theories as to why this will happen but I'd rather not waste all my material before the season even starts. Let's just say the biggest thing holding them back rhymes with franchise.
9. Baltimore Ravens – The Ravens and Packers facing each other in the Super Bowl this year has a nice ring to it, but I doubt it happens. Mostly because 99.9% of preseason Super Bowl predictions never pan out. I do hope Baltimore Runs the AFC North though. Mostly because it would mean Pittsburgh isn't winning it, which is on my short list that was first mentioned in the Minnesota section.
10. Atlanta Falcons – Assuming the Saints fall a little bit, which I fully expect, Atlanta could very well swoop in and take the division. I think it's safe to say it's between those two teams to begin with, so I don't think this is much of a stretch. Without doing an ounce of research, I'd have to think that Matt Ryan will be much better this season than he was last season. Most times players dip a little bit during their second year and then show improvement in the third year.
12. Miami Dolphins – Either I'm overrating the AFC East or minus Buffalo, it's one of the hardest divisions in the NFL. The biggest question mark I see for the Dolphins is Chad Henne. At times last season Henne looked really good, others he looked like a pile of crap. My guess is he'll look just fine because he has two good running backs to lean on, which is always a huge help for young quarterbacks.
13. Houston Texans – Is this the year Houston finally makes the playoffs? Probably not, but I sure hope so. There is something I like about Houston and it's about time they get to the playoffs and reward their fans with a little success.
14. Washington Redskins – I like the Redskins to make a run at the playoffs this season. Donovan McNabb is not only a good QB, but he will no doubt have something to prove to the fans and organization in Philly. Combine that with Mike Shanahan getting back on the sidelines and fans in Washington can finally be optimistic heading into football season.
15. Tennessee Titans – I'm not crazy on the Titans this season but I'm not sure I ever really am. One season they do good with Vince Young. The next season he sucks and Kerry Collins lights it up. The next season Collins sucks and Young lights it up. It is literally a QB carousel in Tennessee and to be honest, it's pretty annoying.
16. New York Giants – I gotta be honest, I don't know a ton about the Giants this season. I know that with blood gushing from his head, Eli Manning looked pretty tough and not like the dorky kid down the block who gets his lunch money stolen. I also know Perry Fewell is the new defensive coordinator. That last comment isn't exactly a positive note.
17. Philadelphia Eagles – I'm hesitant to put Philly near the top 10 just yet. I know people seem to think Kevin Kolb will make the transition just fine, but I'm a tad more hesitant. The guy has roughly two games under his belt and is now the starter in Philly, a town that doesn't exactly give their players time to develop. Kolb may very well light things up, I'm not saying he won't, but I could also see him struggling and losing confidence quickly as his own fans throw batteries at him and boo him off the field.
18. San Francisco 49ers – For the first time since my early youth, I feel that the 49ers should be the favorites to win their division. Ok, maybe it hasn't been that long, but it sure feels that way. Ever since making Mike Singletary the head coach, it seems like the 49ers continue to made moderate improvements. With Kurt Warner retiring in Arizona and the Seahawks and Rams still being awful to mediocre at best, the time is right for San Francisco to make their move towards the postseason.
19. Pittsburgh Steelers – The Steelers finished 9-7 last season which is great by Buffalo standards, but disappointing by Pittsburgh standards. It was a rough year for Ben Roethlisberger, both on the field and in the bathroom stall. Their schedule doesn't do them any favors as their first four games are against Atlanta, Tennessee, Tampa Bay and Baltimore. They could easily be 1-3 heading into the bye week and it's almost guaranteed with Dennis Dixon being the starter during Big Ben's suspension. I thought Dixon wasn't too horrible, but he was horrendous in the preseason. But who knows, maybe the Steelers respond to all the adversity and actually get better. It would most certainly ruin my season.
20. Denver Broncos – The Broncos made potentially the biggest splash in the draft when they took Tim Tebow in the first round, despite already having Kyle Orton and Brady Quinn on the roster. While Brady Quinn is a new level of bad, Kyle Orton is serviceable and seemed to play well in Josh McDaniel's system last season. McDaniels showed a lot of trust in Orton so it was surprising to see them acquire two additional quarterbacks this offseason. It will definitely be interesting to see how they work Tebow into the offense. There is no way they wasted a first round pick simply on some depth at QB. Although waste + first round pick + depth at QB = Brady Quinn.
21. Carolina Panthers – The Panthers finally ditched Jake Delhomme and handed the keys to the offense over to Matt Moore. While I mocked Moore quite a bit in my rankings last season, he played very well in the final four games and he will be worth watching. In those final four games, the Panthers went 3-1 and Moore threw for 829 yards, eight touchdowns and zero interceptions. The only thing not going for Moore this season is the potential short leash he may be on after the Panthers grabbed Jimmy Clausen in the draft.
22. Chicago Bears – I'm not sure what to make of Chicago. They were supposed to improve last season when they ditched Kyle Orton for Jay Cutler, but they didn't. You start to think about it and wonder why, then you realize, oh yeah, Jay Cutler sucks.
23. Arizona Cardinals – Arizona returns as defending NFC champs and I would gladly hand them the title this season, if it wasn't for the retirement of Kurt Warner. Not only does Arizona lose a potential Hall of Fame QB, but they are replacing him Derek Anderson, who actually beat out Matt Leinart for the starting job. Combine that with the subtraction of Anquan Boldin and you see where I'm going with this. I'm not saying it's impossible for Arizona to take the division again, wait, yes I am.
24. Seattle Seahawks – One of the more peculiar moves this offseason was Seattle giving up on Jim Mora Jr. after one season and luring Pete Carroll away from USC. Then we saw all the trouble USC was in and it made perfect sense. I could see the Seahawks being competitive in the division if Matt Hasselbeck stays healthy. Ah, the advantages to playing in the NFC West.
25. Jacksonville Jaguars – I'm pretty sure the biggest news of the offseason for the Jags was their half empty stadium getting new naming rights. EverBank Field. Good times in Jacksonville.
26. Oakland Raiders – Getting rid of JaMarcus Russell and the purple drank for Jason Campbell was an immediate upgrade for the Raiders. I also liked their decision to draft Rolando McClain in the first round. For once the Raiders did the right thing when drafting instead of the insane thing. Al Davis must've forgotten that the draft started on a Thursday night this year.
27. Detroit Lions – I like the direction the Lions are heading; too bad they are in the same division as two of the best teams in the league. Regardless, they have their franchise QB in Matthew Stafford and he has plenty of weapons in Calvin Johnson, Nate Burleson, Kevin Smith and Jahvid Best. Adding Ndamukong Suh and Kyle Vanden Bosch will also no doubt improve their defense quite a bit.
28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – The Bucs were another team I could have probably listed below Buffalo, but I didn't want to risk moving the Bills too high before we see just how bad they'll be in real games. But the Bucs…I don't know. They weren't any good last year and I'm not exactly sure what they've done this past offseason to improve significantly. The first two rounds should improve their defense a great deal, but that still doesn't help them put points on the board. Nor does it help the fact that their Head Coach has one more year of head coaching experience than I do.
(Note: I wrote the above paragraph before the last three preseason games were played and C.J. Spiller truly showed off what he can do. I stand behind the above paragraph even more now. 7-9.)
30. Kansas City Chiefs – I don't know what to make of Kansas City just yet. They were a four win team last season and I doubt Thomas Jones is going to change that significantly. Their running game will no doubt be one of the better ones in the league, but they also still have Matt Cassel as their starting QB. His 69.9 QB rating last season wasn't exactly tops in the league. Funny how opinion of him changes when he isn't throwing to Randy Moss and Wes Welker.
31. Cleveland Browns – The Browns appear headed in the right direction with Mike Holmgren taking his position in the front office. They traded away Brady Quinn and might have stolen Colt McCoy in the third round, both of which are good moves. Potentially, we'll see on the McCoy front. Unfortunately, they also acquired Jake Delhomme to be their starting QB this year. Delhomme is awful...just awful.
32. St Louis Rams – The Rams might be headed in the right direction now that they hopefully have their franchise QB, but it will still take a long time. And who knows, will Sam Bradford even be the franchise QB that they hope? I would think so but drafting a QB first overall is always risky, unless that QB has the name Peyton Manning.
NFL Power Rankings: Week 16
12/29/2009 | Posted by
Devin
With only one week remaining, I decided to scrap my bracket style for the power rankings. Instead they are broken up into two groups. Playoff bound or potentially playoff bound teams, and teams that are officially eliminated. So without any further rambling, have at it.
1. San Diego Chargers (4) – With a Christmas day thrashing of the Titans in Tennessee, the Chargers won their 10th straight game and clinched the second seed in the AFC. This is the one AFC team that the Colts do not want to face in the playoffs. Last season, an 8-8 Chargers team defeated the 12-4 Colts in the playoffs. The year before that, the Chargers beat the Colts in Indianapolis in the divisional round. If there is one team that seems to have the Colts number, it's the Chargers.
2. Indianapolis Colts (2) – The Colts suck. Ok, so they are pretty good, but I'm still highly disappointed in them for pulling their starters. They had a chance at history and gave it up to "save themselves" for the Super Bowl. Terrible decision. Absolutely horrid. They are already getting a week off for the wild card round, but apparently that isn't enough. I loved how Tony Dungy defended them for the decision. It's like he completely forgot all the times he pulled a similar stunt and the Colts choked in the playoffs. Never mind the fact that the year they won the Super Bowl, the starters played through Week 17.
3. New Orleans Saints (1) – The Saints wrapped up the number one seed this past week thanks to Minnesota's loss in Chicago. . After last week I wondered if it was a good thing that they lost their game and could now focus on the Super Bowl, but now I'm not so sure. Since their Week 12 victory over New England, the Saints have been anything but spectacular. They beat both Washington and Atlanta by the skin of their teeth and followed it up with these two losses. To summarize, it's been a full month since the Saints have played well. That isn't exactly a recipe for success when heading into the playoffs.
4. Philadelphia Eagles (5) – I knew this Week 17 matchup against Dallas would be an important game. Granted I thought a playoff spot would be up for grabs, but it's still a big game nevertheless. The winner of this game will determine the NFC East champion, which also means the winner gets to host a playoff game in the wild card round. Even more interesting, if Philly and Arizona win their game, that sets up another Dallas/Philadelphia and Green Bay/Arizona matchup in the playoffs. Has there ever been a time when both NFC wild card games were the same matchups as Week 17?
5. Minnesota Vikings (3) – It was nice to see Minnesota actually show up on Monday Night Football instead of mailing it in. Ahem, that was sarcasm. In the event of a New Orleans/Minnesota matchup in the NFC Championship, at least it will still be indoors. That has to be good news for Old Man Favre.
6. New England Patriots (10) – The Patriots took back the AFC East throne after loaning it out to Miami last season by beating Jacksonville in a laugher. Literally. Randy Moss was laughing hysterically on the sidelines during the game. How does that feel Jacksonville? Eh, who cares?
7. Dallas Cowboys (9) – Dallas has proved me and plenty of other football fans wrong with their last two December victories. In fact, I think it's safe to say we can put that argument to rest. Next step, actually winning a playoff game.
8. Cincinnati Bengals (6) – The Bengals finally clinched the AFC North with a victory over Kansas City. Now it's just a matter over whether they get the three or four seed in the AFC. Either way, they are hosting a home game in the wild card round, so the game this Sunday night is somewhat meaningless for them.
9. Green Bay Packers (12) – The Packers also clinched a playoff spot this past Sunday and as highlighted above, might be facing Arizona in consecutive weeks. It presents an interesting situation. Seeing that they will definitely be on the road in the first round, do they even try at Arizona? With a chance to play Arizona twice, I would assume that they don't want to give anything away by playing all out.
10. Arizona Cardinals (7) – I'm so tempted to pick against Arizona once the playoffs roll around, but the memories of last season are still vividly ringing in my head. I couldn't be more excited for playoff football to begin. Ok, I'm lying. I would be more excited if the Bills were actually participating.
11. Baltimore Ravens (11) – Despite handing the game to Pittsburgh, the Ravens are still in a 'win and in' scenario this Sunday. Seriously, have you ever seen a team just serve the game on a silver platter and still only lose by three? It was absolutely amazing. They have the Raiders in Oakland this week, which has proven to not be a totally easy game, but it should be a game they can win, especially with a playoff spot on the line.
12. New York Jets (18) – Like Baltimore, the Jets also control their own destiny. I know I've been harsh on the Sanchise and Rex Ryan this season, but I really hope they pull this one out. I know you're probably wondering how I can root for the Jets to win and make the playoffs when my team is a division rival, but if you knew me you would understand completely.
13. Pittsburgh Steelers (16) – The Steelers have done their best to rally late in the season, but their hopes are still slim. If Pittsburgh loses, they are finished.
14. Denver Broncos (8) – Unlike the Steelers, the Broncos have done their best to crap away a good season. They were clearly in the driver's seat a few weeks ago and now need a ton of help to make the playoffs.
15. Houston Texans (20) – Houston is also still alive, but needs quite a bit of help to make the playoffs. Regardless, at least their fans have something to cheer for in Week 17. It must be nice.
16. Miami Dolphins (13) – It's nice to see Miami playing their best ball when the playoffs are on the line. Oh well, they are still in it, although barely, and the only thing they can control this Sunday is their game against Pittsburgh.
17. Jacksonville Jaguars (15) – The Jags had the playoffs clearly in their sights until they decided to lay down and die the past three weeks. Nobody wanted to see them in the playoffs anyways so this was probably the best case scenario for all football fans.
Instead of copying all the playoff scenarios into the rankings, I felt it would be easier (and more proper) to just like the page from ESPN that clearly highlights all the scenarios for Week 17. Read and enjoy! And now without further ado, the best the worst.
18. Tennessee Titans (17) – The Titans had a slim chance at the playoffs until they got throttled on Christmas night by San Diego. I still give them credit for bouncing back from a 0-6 start and playing the way they did down the stretch. Chris Johnson needs only 128 yards in the final game against Seattle to reach 2,000 for the season. In fact, he only needs 234 to surpass Eric Dickerson for the most rushing yards in one season. If I'm the Titans, I'm giving Johnson the ball as many times necessary to help him get the record. When there is nothing else to play for, might as well make the season memorable.
19. Atlanta Falcons (19) – The Falcons creamed the Bills this past Sunday, which isn't saying much, but at least they haven't totally given up on their season. A healthy Matt Ryan is probably the difference between the Falcons being out of it and the Falcons preparing for the playoffs. If they win this Sunday at Tampa Bay, they will at least finish 9-7 and have back to back winning seasons.
20. Carolina Panthers (23) – Jake Delhomme's job is officially in jeopardy, or at least it should be. Matt Moore has been impressive in the past two weeks, and even more impressive, the Panthers have handled the Vikings and the Giants. While the Giants won't be in the playoffs, they could've been if it wasn't for Carolina. In other news, John Fox and his staff were informed that they will be back in 2010, which rules out Bill Cowher coming to Carolina (if he is planning on coaching next season for sure).
21. New York Giants (14) – The Giants have been a huge disappointment this season. So what better way to cap off a wildly inconsistent year than getting blown out at home by Matt Moore and the Panthers, in the final home game in Giants Stadium for the Giants. Maybe the Jets can at least make the closing of the stadium a little more memorable next week.
22. San Francisco 49ers (21) – Barring some kind of miracle, the 49ers should be able to beat St. Louis this week and finish the season 8-8. While it wasn't good enough for the postseason, it is an improvement over 7-9 last season and should fill Niners fans up with some hope. They will definitely need a new QB this offseason but that might be all they need seeing they still play in the NFC West.
23. Chicago Bears (24) – Sometimes I love fantasy football and other times I hate it. Heading into Monday night, I was leading our very own Scott Lunn 86-85, with each of us having one player left. Scott had Minnesota's defense and I had Chicago tight end Greg Olsen. Somehow, Cutler actually played like a good QB and even hit Olsen for a touchdown ensuring me of the victory. This is why I love fantasy football. Normally I would've had no interest in this game, instead I watched with a great deal of interest.
24. Cleveland Browns (29) – The Browns have really come on as of late. I realize their last two wins were only against the Chiefs in Kansas City and the Raiders at home, but that is something Pittsburgh couldn't do this year. Speaking of that, the Browns are actually on a three game winning streak when you include their Thursday night victory over the Steelers in Week 14. It's almost like that win was enough to get a little momentum going. Unfortunately for Browns fans, this might be enough for Eric Mangini to remain the Head Coach for at least next season.
25. Oakland Raiders (27) – The Raiders should finish this season 5-11 which isn't very good, unless you consider the amount of dysfunction that they have faced this season. Did I mention that JaMarcus Russell was their starting QB for over half the season too? So as you can see, it's actually been a pretty solid season for the Raiders. In other news, while the Bills have gone 53 games with having a 300 yard passer, both Bruce Gradkowski and Charlie Frye have done it this season with the Raiders.
26. Buffalo Bills (22) – How bad was the Bills game in Atlanta? I got up and started doing household chores once halftime hit. They were literally so bad that I couldn't stomach it. Of course I had the game on in the background so I was at least following it somewhat, but there was no way I could justify wasting a Sunday afternoon watching that game when I had other things that needed done.
On the positive side of things, I was somewhat pleased with Brian Brohm in his first NFL start. When you factor in that he has only been a member of the Bills for a few weeks and hadn't even practiced with the first team until a few days before the game, he played quite well. And shall I even mention the offensive line he had protecting him? He did throw two interceptions, but I'll argue all night and day that the first one wasn't his fault. It could've been easily avoided if a certain wide receiver gave at least a 2% effort to break up the pass. Despite his mailing it in on that play, Terrell Owens did surpass 1,000 receptions for his career for that I say, congrats T.O.
27. Kansas City Chiefs (28) – I had the Chiefs a little higher, but even I couldn't rank them ahead of Buffalo. I mean, the Bills actually got one of their wins against the Chiefs, so yes, they are that bad. I'll be highly interested to see what they have planned for the draft this spring. Do they grab a QB or do they hope that Matt Cassel somehow reverts back to his Patriot form? Unless the Chiefs plan on bringing Randy Moss and Wes Welker into town, I don't see that happening.
28. Seattle Seahawks (25) – The Seahawks have pretty much mailed it in for the season. I wondered aloud before the season why Seattle didn't show any interest in signing Michael Vick and now I'm wondering about that even more. It's apparent that Matt Hasselbeck has seen better days. I'd be shocked if he was starting for Seattle next season.
29. Washington Redskins (26) – Speaking of mailing it in, the Redskins have been outscored 62-12 at home in the past two weeks by the Giants and Cowboys. Now I know both of those teams are much better than Washington, but still, they are a division rival. Shouldn't those games be a little closer? I'm fairly certain that Mike Shannahan will be the next coach of the Redskins. So ummm…good luck with that Mike.
30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (31) – Tampa Bay shocked the football world yesterday with their win in New Orleans. Not only did they grab their third win of the season, they may have completely altered the landscape of the NFC playoff picture. We'll know more after next week but Minnesota is sending many thank you cards out to Tampa Bay right now.
31. Detroit Lions (30) – Well this has been a typical season from the Lions. I'd like to comment more on their game against the 49ers, but until I checked the box scores, I wasn't even sure the game was played.
32. St Louis Rams (32) – Not that the Rams will have to try, but they really should tank this last game and ensure themselves of the number one pick. I'm sure they have a ton of needs to address this offseason, but there is no way they can pass up Ndamukong Suh.
1. San Diego Chargers (4) – With a Christmas day thrashing of the Titans in Tennessee, the Chargers won their 10th straight game and clinched the second seed in the AFC. This is the one AFC team that the Colts do not want to face in the playoffs. Last season, an 8-8 Chargers team defeated the 12-4 Colts in the playoffs. The year before that, the Chargers beat the Colts in Indianapolis in the divisional round. If there is one team that seems to have the Colts number, it's the Chargers.
2. Indianapolis Colts (2) – The Colts suck. Ok, so they are pretty good, but I'm still highly disappointed in them for pulling their starters. They had a chance at history and gave it up to "save themselves" for the Super Bowl. Terrible decision. Absolutely horrid. They are already getting a week off for the wild card round, but apparently that isn't enough. I loved how Tony Dungy defended them for the decision. It's like he completely forgot all the times he pulled a similar stunt and the Colts choked in the playoffs. Never mind the fact that the year they won the Super Bowl, the starters played through Week 17.
3. New Orleans Saints (1) – The Saints wrapped up the number one seed this past week thanks to Minnesota's loss in Chicago. . After last week I wondered if it was a good thing that they lost their game and could now focus on the Super Bowl, but now I'm not so sure. Since their Week 12 victory over New England, the Saints have been anything but spectacular. They beat both Washington and Atlanta by the skin of their teeth and followed it up with these two losses. To summarize, it's been a full month since the Saints have played well. That isn't exactly a recipe for success when heading into the playoffs.
4. Philadelphia Eagles (5) – I knew this Week 17 matchup against Dallas would be an important game. Granted I thought a playoff spot would be up for grabs, but it's still a big game nevertheless. The winner of this game will determine the NFC East champion, which also means the winner gets to host a playoff game in the wild card round. Even more interesting, if Philly and Arizona win their game, that sets up another Dallas/Philadelphia and Green Bay/Arizona matchup in the playoffs. Has there ever been a time when both NFC wild card games were the same matchups as Week 17? 5. Minnesota Vikings (3) – It was nice to see Minnesota actually show up on Monday Night Football instead of mailing it in. Ahem, that was sarcasm. In the event of a New Orleans/Minnesota matchup in the NFC Championship, at least it will still be indoors. That has to be good news for Old Man Favre.
6. New England Patriots (10) – The Patriots took back the AFC East throne after loaning it out to Miami last season by beating Jacksonville in a laugher. Literally. Randy Moss was laughing hysterically on the sidelines during the game. How does that feel Jacksonville? Eh, who cares?
7. Dallas Cowboys (9) – Dallas has proved me and plenty of other football fans wrong with their last two December victories. In fact, I think it's safe to say we can put that argument to rest. Next step, actually winning a playoff game.
8. Cincinnati Bengals (6) – The Bengals finally clinched the AFC North with a victory over Kansas City. Now it's just a matter over whether they get the three or four seed in the AFC. Either way, they are hosting a home game in the wild card round, so the game this Sunday night is somewhat meaningless for them.
9. Green Bay Packers (12) – The Packers also clinched a playoff spot this past Sunday and as highlighted above, might be facing Arizona in consecutive weeks. It presents an interesting situation. Seeing that they will definitely be on the road in the first round, do they even try at Arizona? With a chance to play Arizona twice, I would assume that they don't want to give anything away by playing all out.
10. Arizona Cardinals (7) – I'm so tempted to pick against Arizona once the playoffs roll around, but the memories of last season are still vividly ringing in my head. I couldn't be more excited for playoff football to begin. Ok, I'm lying. I would be more excited if the Bills were actually participating.
11. Baltimore Ravens (11) – Despite handing the game to Pittsburgh, the Ravens are still in a 'win and in' scenario this Sunday. Seriously, have you ever seen a team just serve the game on a silver platter and still only lose by three? It was absolutely amazing. They have the Raiders in Oakland this week, which has proven to not be a totally easy game, but it should be a game they can win, especially with a playoff spot on the line.
12. New York Jets (18) – Like Baltimore, the Jets also control their own destiny. I know I've been harsh on the Sanchise and Rex Ryan this season, but I really hope they pull this one out. I know you're probably wondering how I can root for the Jets to win and make the playoffs when my team is a division rival, but if you knew me you would understand completely.
13. Pittsburgh Steelers (16) – The Steelers have done their best to rally late in the season, but their hopes are still slim. If Pittsburgh loses, they are finished.
14. Denver Broncos (8) – Unlike the Steelers, the Broncos have done their best to crap away a good season. They were clearly in the driver's seat a few weeks ago and now need a ton of help to make the playoffs.
15. Houston Texans (20) – Houston is also still alive, but needs quite a bit of help to make the playoffs. Regardless, at least their fans have something to cheer for in Week 17. It must be nice.
16. Miami Dolphins (13) – It's nice to see Miami playing their best ball when the playoffs are on the line. Oh well, they are still in it, although barely, and the only thing they can control this Sunday is their game against Pittsburgh.
17. Jacksonville Jaguars (15) – The Jags had the playoffs clearly in their sights until they decided to lay down and die the past three weeks. Nobody wanted to see them in the playoffs anyways so this was probably the best case scenario for all football fans.
Instead of copying all the playoff scenarios into the rankings, I felt it would be easier (and more proper) to just like the page from ESPN that clearly highlights all the scenarios for Week 17. Read and enjoy! And now without further ado, the best the worst.
18. Tennessee Titans (17) – The Titans had a slim chance at the playoffs until they got throttled on Christmas night by San Diego. I still give them credit for bouncing back from a 0-6 start and playing the way they did down the stretch. Chris Johnson needs only 128 yards in the final game against Seattle to reach 2,000 for the season. In fact, he only needs 234 to surpass Eric Dickerson for the most rushing yards in one season. If I'm the Titans, I'm giving Johnson the ball as many times necessary to help him get the record. When there is nothing else to play for, might as well make the season memorable.
19. Atlanta Falcons (19) – The Falcons creamed the Bills this past Sunday, which isn't saying much, but at least they haven't totally given up on their season. A healthy Matt Ryan is probably the difference between the Falcons being out of it and the Falcons preparing for the playoffs. If they win this Sunday at Tampa Bay, they will at least finish 9-7 and have back to back winning seasons. 20. Carolina Panthers (23) – Jake Delhomme's job is officially in jeopardy, or at least it should be. Matt Moore has been impressive in the past two weeks, and even more impressive, the Panthers have handled the Vikings and the Giants. While the Giants won't be in the playoffs, they could've been if it wasn't for Carolina. In other news, John Fox and his staff were informed that they will be back in 2010, which rules out Bill Cowher coming to Carolina (if he is planning on coaching next season for sure).
21. New York Giants (14) – The Giants have been a huge disappointment this season. So what better way to cap off a wildly inconsistent year than getting blown out at home by Matt Moore and the Panthers, in the final home game in Giants Stadium for the Giants. Maybe the Jets can at least make the closing of the stadium a little more memorable next week.
22. San Francisco 49ers (21) – Barring some kind of miracle, the 49ers should be able to beat St. Louis this week and finish the season 8-8. While it wasn't good enough for the postseason, it is an improvement over 7-9 last season and should fill Niners fans up with some hope. They will definitely need a new QB this offseason but that might be all they need seeing they still play in the NFC West.
23. Chicago Bears (24) – Sometimes I love fantasy football and other times I hate it. Heading into Monday night, I was leading our very own Scott Lunn 86-85, with each of us having one player left. Scott had Minnesota's defense and I had Chicago tight end Greg Olsen. Somehow, Cutler actually played like a good QB and even hit Olsen for a touchdown ensuring me of the victory. This is why I love fantasy football. Normally I would've had no interest in this game, instead I watched with a great deal of interest.
24. Cleveland Browns (29) – The Browns have really come on as of late. I realize their last two wins were only against the Chiefs in Kansas City and the Raiders at home, but that is something Pittsburgh couldn't do this year. Speaking of that, the Browns are actually on a three game winning streak when you include their Thursday night victory over the Steelers in Week 14. It's almost like that win was enough to get a little momentum going. Unfortunately for Browns fans, this might be enough for Eric Mangini to remain the Head Coach for at least next season.
25. Oakland Raiders (27) – The Raiders should finish this season 5-11 which isn't very good, unless you consider the amount of dysfunction that they have faced this season. Did I mention that JaMarcus Russell was their starting QB for over half the season too? So as you can see, it's actually been a pretty solid season for the Raiders. In other news, while the Bills have gone 53 games with having a 300 yard passer, both Bruce Gradkowski and Charlie Frye have done it this season with the Raiders.
26. Buffalo Bills (22) – How bad was the Bills game in Atlanta? I got up and started doing household chores once halftime hit. They were literally so bad that I couldn't stomach it. Of course I had the game on in the background so I was at least following it somewhat, but there was no way I could justify wasting a Sunday afternoon watching that game when I had other things that needed done.
On the positive side of things, I was somewhat pleased with Brian Brohm in his first NFL start. When you factor in that he has only been a member of the Bills for a few weeks and hadn't even practiced with the first team until a few days before the game, he played quite well. And shall I even mention the offensive line he had protecting him? He did throw two interceptions, but I'll argue all night and day that the first one wasn't his fault. It could've been easily avoided if a certain wide receiver gave at least a 2% effort to break up the pass. Despite his mailing it in on that play, Terrell Owens did surpass 1,000 receptions for his career for that I say, congrats T.O.
27. Kansas City Chiefs (28) – I had the Chiefs a little higher, but even I couldn't rank them ahead of Buffalo. I mean, the Bills actually got one of their wins against the Chiefs, so yes, they are that bad. I'll be highly interested to see what they have planned for the draft this spring. Do they grab a QB or do they hope that Matt Cassel somehow reverts back to his Patriot form? Unless the Chiefs plan on bringing Randy Moss and Wes Welker into town, I don't see that happening.
28. Seattle Seahawks (25) – The Seahawks have pretty much mailed it in for the season. I wondered aloud before the season why Seattle didn't show any interest in signing Michael Vick and now I'm wondering about that even more. It's apparent that Matt Hasselbeck has seen better days. I'd be shocked if he was starting for Seattle next season.
29. Washington Redskins (26) – Speaking of mailing it in, the Redskins have been outscored 62-12 at home in the past two weeks by the Giants and Cowboys. Now I know both of those teams are much better than Washington, but still, they are a division rival. Shouldn't those games be a little closer? I'm fairly certain that Mike Shannahan will be the next coach of the Redskins. So ummm…good luck with that Mike.
30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (31) – Tampa Bay shocked the football world yesterday with their win in New Orleans. Not only did they grab their third win of the season, they may have completely altered the landscape of the NFC playoff picture. We'll know more after next week but Minnesota is sending many thank you cards out to Tampa Bay right now.
31. Detroit Lions (30) – Well this has been a typical season from the Lions. I'd like to comment more on their game against the 49ers, but until I checked the box scores, I wasn't even sure the game was played.
32. St Louis Rams (32) – Not that the Rams will have to try, but they really should tank this last game and ensure themselves of the number one pick. I'm sure they have a ton of needs to address this offseason, but there is no way they can pass up Ndamukong Suh.
NFL Power Rankings – Week 14
12/15/2009 | Posted by
Devin
LEGIT SUPER BOWL CONTENDERS
1. New Orleans Saints (1) – The Saints escaped Atlanta with another tight victory and are now three away from the perfect regular season. In my not so professional opinion, their final test is this Saturday against Dallas; otherwise it should be smooth sailing. I haven't researched all the tie-breaking scenarios, but they do need to keep on playing since they don't have home field throughout the playoffs sealed yet. A win this week and a Minnesota loss would seal the deal on that though. On a somewhat alarming side note, the Saints haven't had a 100 yard rusher since Week Three in Buffalo. They may need some kind of a running game once the playoffs roll around.
2. Indianapolis Colts (2) – On the flip side, the Colts do have home field wrapped up throughout the playoffs so expect them to play some preseason ball for the final three weeks. Huge mistake if you ask me. Imagine the Colts resting the starters enough that Jacksonville gets a win this Thursday, which would basically give them a ticket to the playoffs, and then suffering some sort of upset loss in the second round to the hands of those same Jaguars. Crazier things have happened.
3. Minnesota Vikings (3) – Brett Favre was right, the Vikings did defeat the Bengals rather convincingly, but I'm not sure if that means Minnesota is a great team. They did nothing spectacular on offense and basically relied on the defense to shut down Cincinnati, which isn't exactly the hardest thing to do. They need to keep on playing well to have a shot at the number one seed in the NFC, but unfortunately will lose out on that because New Orleans most likely isn't going to lose two out of their next three games.
4. San Diego Chargers (5) – The Chargers are getting promoted to this bracket after winning their eighth straight game on Sunday. With Cincinnati's loss on Sunday, the Chargers now have a one game lead for the second seed in the AFC. They also face the Bengals this Sunday so they can clinch that second seed with a victory and a Patriots loss to Buffalo. Assuming they get the second seed and a first round bye, it sets up the inevitable matchup against Indianapolis in the AFC championship. If I'm a Colts fan, that is the scariest thing imaginable right now. The Chargers are definitely Super Bowl material right now.
POTENTIALLY FRISKY PLAYOFF TEAMS
5. Philadelphia Eagles (7) – With their fourth straight victory, the Eagles move up again in
6. Cincinnati Bengals (4) – I'm starting to lose faith in the Bengals. They still have a pretty good hold on their division, but a first round bye went out the window this week when they lost in Minnesota. They could vault themselves back into the discussion with a win in San Diego this Sunday, but I'm not counting on it. Their magic number is still one for the AFC North crown so they should eventually get it sometime in the next three weeks. I'm guessing Week 16 against Kansas City as the magic day.
7. Arizona Cardinals (6) – So with a chance to clinch the division on national TV against a division team, the Cardinals give up seven turnovers in an ugly loss. This isn't exactly a good sign heading into the playoffs, unless they are trying to trick everyone again like they did last year.
8. Denver Broncos (9) – Denver moves up after a loss, but mostly because Dallas lost again. Denver gave Indianapolis a somewhat competitive game but I'm not sure if it was ever in doubt. Even after losing, they still have a firm grasp on the fifth seed in the AFC with two sure wins out of three remaining on the schedule. It would take a completely epic collapse for them to not be in the playoffs which is something I definitely wasn't saying before the season started.
9. Dallas Cowboys (8) – Dallas fell all the way to the sixth seed after Sunday's loss, but their only real competition are the Giants since the rest of the NFC pretty much sucks. The bad news is they were swept by the Giants this year and that could really come back and haunt them. If the Giants take care of business against a woeful Redskins team Sunday and the Cowboys lose Saturday night in New Orleans, they will officially be on the outside looking in. While that would be an epic disappoint for Dallas, it might be good in the long run as it would most likely spell the end of the Wade Phillips era.
10. New England Patriots (10) – The Patriots beat Carolina in unconvincing fashion. There is some real trouble in New England these days but it would still take quite a bit for them to completely miss the playoffs. How bad are things for New England right now? I am actually optimistic that Buffalo can beat them this Sunday, and the Patriots are a team that has completely dominated this division series this decade.
I'm not going to pile on Randy Moss for quitting on his teammates and sulking like a teenage girl this past week, but I have to wonder if the honeymoon is over for Moss and the Patriots. For all the T.O. bashing that goes on, at least he is still trying on a bad Buffalo team. I'm sure he would kill to be playing for a division leader right now.
11. Baltimore Ravens (11) – The Ravens took care of business on Sunday but would still be out of the playoffs if they started today. Luckily for them, they don't. They have two winnable games in the next three, with the Steelers being the only tough game remaining. And to be honest, I'm being nice by saying the game against Pittsburgh will be tough.
12. Green Bay Packers (13) – It may have been ugly but Green Bay got their fifth straight win and now have a stranglehold on the fifth seed in the NFC. Interestingly enough, they play the Cardinals in Arizona in Week 17 and that might be the exact matchup we get in the first round of the playoffs. If that is the case, I see the Week 17 game being a backup filled snoozer unless Green Bay needs to win to get in. The thought of a Minnesota rematch in the playoffs literally has my drooling on my keyboard.
13. Miami Dolphins (17) – The Dolphins win against 
14. New York Giants (14) – Like a sure thing, I move the Giants into this bracket and they lose again to further push their playoff chances out the window. Like I said last week though, I refuse to move them out of this bracket for the rest of the season. Mostly because they are definitely still in the race. Like noted above in the Dallas section, they have a somewhat easy win coming up against Washington, while Dallas is facing the best team in the league. If things made sense and went the way they should go, the Giants will actually have the sixth seed by this time next week.
15. Jacksonville Jaguars (18) – Jacksonville is still in the playoff the picture after losing to Miami; however the lead is getting slim. In fact, they are tied with Miami and Baltimore at 7-6 and Miami now has the all valuable head-to-head tie-breaker. With Denver pretty much coasting to the five seed and Baltimore having a somewhat easy road to the six seed, I am thinking Jacksonville pretty much needs to win out to make the playoffs.
MATHEMATICALLY IN IT (BUT REALLY OUT OF IT)
16. Pittsburgh Steelers (15) – I didn't want to move Pittsburgh into this bracket but I really had no choice. They need quite a few teams to lose and they need to win out to even sniff the playoffs right now. Their final three games on the schedule are all against teams with a winning record, two of which are in the thick of the AFC playoff race. It's not out of the question that things fall into place and they squeak in, but it isn't looking good. Assuming they were to miss the playoffs, I think the losses against Kansas City, Oakland, and Cleveland can be directly to blame. You need to take advantage of those easy games on the schedule.
17. Tennessee Titans (15) – I'm dropping the Titans down even further because even though they won, they playoff chances seemed to have gotten worse. I didn't realize this before, but all seven of their losses came within the AFC which is a killer when it comes to tie-breakers. Granted they are 3-0 against the NFC West this year, but um, that isn't saying a whole lot besides the one win against Arizona. I suppose this is where I should mention that the win against Arizona was a last minute miracle finish and the Cardinals were without Kurt Warner.
18. New York Jets (19) – Is it possible for Rex Ryan to win and just show a little bit of class? The only interview clip I saw on ESPN was him shoving it in the face of the media for saying the "J-E-T-S Jets Jet Jets are a M-E-S-S". This just in Rex, a win against Tampa Bay doesn't exactly mean you're a great team. Need I remind you that the Bills also beat Tampa Bay? Oh wait, the Bills also beat the Jets too. On a very interesting side note, I read this morning in the AFC East blog on ESPN that Mark Sanchez has pretty much single handedly kept the Jets out of the playoffs to this point. In summary for those who don't want to click on the extra link, the Jets are first in the NFL in rushing offense and first in total defense, yet are on the outside looking in. Why is that?
19. Atlanta Falcons (16) – The Falcons lost their second straight game which put them at 6-7, and remarkably enough, are still very much in the NFC playoff picture. Then again, the Bills could still win the AFC East and I could still win the lottery.
20. Houston Texans (20) –Houston got another late season win when it was just too late for them to do anything worthwhile. For me personally, I'm hoping they win out so Gary Kubiak can keep his job for at least one more season. The less teams vying for a Head Coach this offseason, the better.
21. San Francisco 49ers (21) – With their season on the line, the 49ers responded with a convincing win against the division leading Cardinals. The Niners still need plenty of help to see to get to the playoffs, but with last night's win, they are definitely in the discussion.
22. Buffalo Bills (22) – The Bills got their fifth win of the season in Kansas City, but it was incredibly painful to watch. Just ask the 25,000 fans who actually showed up for the game. On a positive note, rookie safety Jairus Byrd got his league leading ninth interception and the Bills had a solid day on the ground from both Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch. On a negative note, Ryan Fitzpatrick looked brutal again and further confirmed that he is nothing more than a decent backup. If I were calling the shots, Brian Brohm would get the start in the final two weeks. The Bills really need to see what they have in the kid before they hit the offseason. There will be limited options in free agency and the draft, so it would be nice to know if they have a decent QB already on the roster or they need to go get someone.
23. Carolina Panthers (23) – The Panthers have a brutal finish to the season and could be looking at 5-11 once everything is said and done. That doesn't bode well for John Fox but I'm hoping the Carolina front office gives him the benefit of the doubt and lets him stay for at least one more year. Is it his fault that Jake Delhomme got injured and Matt Moore is starting? Is it his fault Jake Delhomme sucks when playing? Is it his fault that Jake Delhomme got a massive contract extension after destroying the Panthers in the playoffs last year?
BOTTOM OF THE BARREL
24. Chicago Bears (24) – The Bears are not a good team.
25. Seattle Seahawks (25) – Neither is Seattle. They did so a solid job in allowing Matt Schaub to go off for fantasy owners at the perfect (or not so perfect if you were against him) time.
26. Washington Redskins (27) – The Redskins are worse than the two teams above, which isn't saying a whole lot. But hey, Daniel Snyder has tons of money so a big name coach will definitely want to coach there.
27. Oakland Raiders (26) – I should've known that the Raiders would follow up a big road win with a total crapfest at home. It's what they do these days.
28. Kansas City Chiefs (28) – Matt Cassel is horrendous. I was never really impressed with him when I watched him New England, but of course he looked good because of all the weapons he was surrounded with. Without those weapons in Kansas City, he is definitely showing why he was a seventh round draft pick. Good things the Chiefs didn't overreact in the offseason and give him a big contract extension before watching him play more games without Randy Moss and Wes Welker.
29. Cleveland Browns (32) – Congrats to Cleveland for finally beating Pittsburgh after 12 consecutive losses. This might even be a rivalry again if this keeps up.
30. Detroit Lions (31) – I know having Detroit doesn't make a whole lot of sense because they got absolutely manhandled in Baltimore, but it's really a case of the two teams below them actually being worse. Yes I know St Louis beat them in a head to head matchup, but that doesn't always tell the whole story.
31. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (29) – I really have no idea how they will settle this tie for the first overall pick. Do they actually follow tie-breaker procedures or do they flip a coin? If they flip a coin, it's going to be a nerve racking flip to see who gets Ndamukong Suh.
32. St Louis Rams (30) – I read some brief talk about St Louis being a possible destination for Michael Vick once Philadelphia releases him in the offseason. I'm not sure what to make of that. I've kind of warmed up to the thought of Vick playing in Buffalo. If anything else, games might be more exciting. Plus he is an experienced QB that has won in the league to a certain extent, something the Bills haven't had behind center since Drew Bledsoe. Hypothetically speaking, if the Rams and Bills were to offer Vick a similar deal and he had to choose, can anybody think of any reason why he would pick the Rams? I can't.
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