NFL Week 8: Power Rankings

NFL Week 8: Power Rankings
M.D. Wright
10.22.08

Not much has changed in the Top 5, but there is some maneuvering taking place after a few "upsets" this past weekend. I WILL be putting the Giants back on top, because after all, Kerry Collins is the Titans' QB. I say he is going to do them in with at least 2 INT this weekend. Mark my words.

BTW, is there a such thing as an upset in the NFL anymore?

1. New York Football Giants. Granted, they have not looked great the past two weeks, but aside from a fluky blocked field goal, the Giants dominated the 49ers. BTW, I just saw an ad on ESPN2 for NFL Blitz II, and Lawrence Taylor (aka the best defensive player ever in the NFL) was in it. He looks like he can still play in the NFL and he's going to be 50 next year!

2. Tennessee Titans. If they cannot score 20 points even at will now, I cannot put them at #1 now -- nor at the end of the season. They had a great defense in 1999 and the team with the better offense won (albeit only by one yard). That's the difference between them and the Giants right now. Oh yeah, KERRY COLLINS IS THEIR QUARTERBACK.

3. Buffalo Bills. Their only loss came against a very good Cardinal team that people still think is the 1990 Phoenix Cardinals (ask Tony Romo).

4. Pittsburgh Steelers. I put them here because I am not convinced they will be able to 1) run the ball against the Giants this week or 2) stop the Giants' running game.

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They are a complete team. Not great at all, but they get the job done.

6. Washington Redskins. Jason Campbell still has not thrown an INT, but he was not great against Cleveland. Will Portis continue this streak of running the ball for 100 yards and leading the NFL in rushing? LB Marcus Washington has MORE than lost a step -- causing LB London Fletcher to clean up his messes. This was exposed in both their losses and an unnecessarily close game vs. Cleveland on Sunday.

7. Carolina Panthers. I would put them higher, but Jake Delhomme is alot like Eli Manning; prone to lay a rotten egg in any game with no warning as he did against Tampa Bay in Week 6. With their two-headed running game and excellent WR/TE trio, there is no reason the Panthers should have trouble moving the ball. However, every other game or every third game Delhomme blows up inexplicably -- Tampa was not as dominant as the score indicated in their loss.

8. Arizona Cardinals. I have been telling people since LAST YEAR (and I have the emails and blog posts to prove it) to watch out for the Cardinals' defense. SS Adrian Wilson (FROM?!?!?! High Point, NC) is a stalwart, and now that he is 100%, their safety tandem is one of the best, if not THE best in the league. Their linebackers are all active and make plays all over the field. Their defensive line, anchored by nose tackle Darnell Dockett (FROM?!?!?! Florida State) made Tony Romo go crying to Jessica Simpson. Oh, and the offense is the second best in the NFC. They would be higher, but Warner is much like Delhomme and their two losses prove it. Are they due for another this week? They play in Charlotte and these two teams couldn't be more evenly matched.

9. Atlanta Falcons. I have to put them here. They haven't lost to any bad teams and they're suprisingly good.

10. Jacksonville Jaguars. Their record doesn't reflect it, but they are solid. Aside from a sloppy loss to Pittsburgh, they have played reasonably well.

11. Green Bay Packers. More smoke and mirrors, although Rodgers IS playing very well.

12. Chicago Bears. The Bears looked great on Sunday, but they have to put two or three great games together to get back in the top 10.

13. Baltimore Ravens. Throw the record out again. They are very good when they do not ask Flacco to do too much. They are more than capable of winning games strictly with defense and McGahee and Rice in the backfield. It is when McClain gets too many touches and Flacco is imitating Tom Brady that the Ravens get in trouble.

14. Philadelphia Eagles. I hate this team so much. It pains me to even put them this high. However, they are winning; somehow. We will see how they measure up in two weeks.

15. New Orleans Saints. Aside from a very bad loss on Sunday, they aren't as bad as 3-4. I am one of the minority who believes they will play more sound football WITHOUT Reggie Bush. Running the ball is the best way to eliminate some of the eye-popping/game-changing turnovers that have killed the Saints in all their losses.

16. Houston Texans. I believe after their homestand is over, they'll be back in the thick of it.

17. New England Patriots. The old guys are falling by the wayside due to injury. They are about to get exposed in the coming weeks. The fall that many predicted was coming immediately after Brady was injured is on the horizon.

18. Denver Broncos. That already porous defense just got alot worse with their best player on that side of the ball, Champ Bailey and his brother Boss, out for six weeks and the rest of the season, respectively. Offensively, they are going to be in every game, but they cannot stop anyone. They may not be ranked higher than this again this season.

19. Dallas Cowboys. They are falling fast, but they will be alright once Romo comes back. The problem is, they could be 4-5 and no easy games in sight with Tampa, New York Giants and Redskins on deck.

20. San Diego No-So-Super Chargers. Inexplicable loss on Sunday. Tomlinson is injured. He might not be healthy all season, and if that is the case, they are not going to make the playoffs.

21. New York Jets. The Jets are what their record says they are. AVERAGE.
22. Indianapolis Colts. They can't run the ball (Addai) nor stop the run. They'll stay here until they figure it out.

23. Minnesota Vikings. Confusing how Gus Frerotte KILLS their chances to win with FIVE turnovers on Sunday (4 INT) when they only lost 48-41 -- yet the fans boo Tavaris Jackson lustily for the slightest mistake. Frerotte SINGLEHANDEDLY killed their chances to win Sunday. Brad Childress, should he lose his job, better go down with the guy who he chose the man the ship in the first place, if he's going to go down at all -- not with a washed-up has-been!

24. Oakland Raiders. I really believe the Raiders are going to be better... next year. But they are turning the corner offensively. JaMarcus Russell still looks raw (bad).

25. Cleveland Browns. Braylon Edwards should play for the Seattle Seahawks, he'd fit right in with them with all those dropped passes. Along with Derek Anderson's awful play, it's amazing they were able to 1) beat the Giants and 2) even have a chance at beating a Redskins team that DID NOT overlook them. They are insane... in a bad way -- as exemplified by their foolish suspension and fine of TE Kellen Winslow for TELLING THE TRUTH when asked. I don't get it. The Browns will never win anything else again.

26. Miami Dolphins. No more Wildcat! No more Wildcat!

27. Cincinnati Bengals. I keep saying the Bengals aren't that bad (0-7). But that was when Carson Palmer played. Ryan Fitzpatrick looks overwhelmed to even play club football at UNCG.

28. San Francisco 49ers. I said last week that Mike Nolan might lose his job if they lost Sunday. They did. And he lost his job. Singletary gets a pass for the rest of the season. Anything above 5 wins total this year is a bonus for SF.

29. St. Louis Rams. These past two weeks are aberrations: they won basically due to the bounce of the ball against Washington and due to the circus that is known as the Dallas Cowboys -- where their trapeze artist fell off the rope with no net. They were supposed to win that game. I said they would. Let's not get carried away and lift them TOO FAR out of the cellar.

BTW, I finally gave up on Steven Jackson in Fantasy two weeks ago, the trade goes through, effective Week 7 -- what does he do? 160 yds and scores at will? Go figure fantasy football.

30. Seattle Seahawks. They are historically bad. Injuries or not. I couldn't even sit through the first half of their game on Sunday night after witnessing Seneca Wallace miss WIDE OPEN WRs with jump passes that skipped in front of the receivers as if Donovan McNabb threw the passes...

31. Kansas City Chiefs. Herm Edwards and Larry Johnson will be gone by season's end. Their starting QB Brodie Croyle is out for the year. They are going to go 1-15.

32. Detroit Lions. People say there are no winless teams in the NFL. We are witnessing the first team to do it in 32 years. They are NOT going to win a game this year... unless the refs cheat.