My NFL Week 18 Powre Rankings: We Are The Champions Edition

My NFL Week 18 Powre Rankings: We Are The Champions Edition
M.D. Wright
12.30.08

These are basically playoff rankings, but teams that are in the playoffs are not necessarily going to be ranked higher than teams that missed out. For instance, the Patriots were 11-5 and missed the playoffs. A 9-7 Dallas team also missed the playoffs.

1. New York Football Giants. Even ESPN said it (but had them ranked 2nd?); the Giants are the best team in the NFL.

2. Tennessee Titans. The Titans will be a tough out; but it is REQUIRED for me to say every week: KERRY COLLINS IS THEIR QUARTERBACK. AND VINCE YOUNG IS THE BACKUP RIGHT NOW. REMEMBER THIS. They will NOT win with either one of those guys.

3. Indianapolis Colts. No one wants to face these guys. They ended the season with a very impressive 9 game winning streak over a plethora of playoff-bound teams.

4. Baltimore Ravens. They are rolling right now. Ed Reed is the Defensive Player of the Year, in my book.

5. Pittsburgh Steelers. If Roethlisberger can't play (unlikely he will miss the game) Leftwich is no dropoff in any regard. I still don't fully respect them.

6. Carolina Panthers. Showed vulnerability against a terrible defence on Sunday. They are extremely happy they won that game and didn't have to start the playoffs on the road. They're nearly unbeatable at home (although Atlanta can, and most likely will be the team playing them there -- and can beat them there).

7. Atlanta Falcons. The Fulcons are going to be a tough out also. They're playing well at every level on both sides of the ball.

8. Miami Dolphins. What a turnaround. They have a tough game vs. Baltimore to start the playoffs, however.

9. New England Patriots. You reap what you sow.

10. Philadelphia Eagles. The Iggles are wildly inconsistent. They can beat ANYONE and BADLY, and lose to anyone the same way.

11. San Diego Chargers. WATCH. OUT. They looked like THE Chargers from last year.

12. Minnesota Vikings. The jury is still out on young Tarvaris.

13. Houston Texans. Watch out for these guys next year. Seriously calling for them to win 10 or 11.

14. Arizona Cardinals. They have to right their ship QUICKLY, because they did not finish the second half of the season playing good football.

15. New York Football Jets. Firing Mangini should help them. If Favre is healthy, he MAY have one more round left in the barrel, but much CB Kerry Rhodes says, he has to be 100% into it; he can't come in half-heartedly.

16. Chicago Bears. Naming Kyle Orton as their starting QB for next year is odd. They really need to draft or obtain a GOOD free agent QB for the first time in their history.

17. Dallas Cowboys. What a mess. These guys weren't the most talented team or the best team like people said. Not in 2007 (New England) and DEFINITELY not this year (NY Giants), they are the best THEATRE (and I don't even care to see/hear it) in the NFL however.

18. Tampa Bay Buccaneers. What a collapse. Jon Gruden is SO overrated. He only won that Super Bowl because Tony Dungy had built that team and Gruden just held the steering wheel so they wouldn't off into the ditch. He's done absolutely SQUAT in six years since.

19. New Orleans Saints. They are what their record says they are (8-8, .500).

20. San Francisco 49ers. Expect them to challenge Seattle and Arizona for the NFC West next year. Seriously. Singletary is the man for that job.

21. Denver Broncos. Does the Shanahan firing help them?

22. Washington Redskins. I think they are getting old/battered at the absolute worst-possible positions.

23. Buffalo Bills. The Chargers owe them Rolexes or something.

24. Green Bay Packers. They avoided losing to the Lions; and I think they'll win 9 or 10 next year after addressing the defence.

25. Oakland Raiders. Will Al finally step out of the way and let Cable coach this team?

26. Jacksonville Jaguars. I think they will bounce back next year, but only if Jack Del RIo is gone.

27. Cincinnati Bengals. Well, they finished the season strong (3-0) after starting slowly (1-11-1).

28. Cleveland Browns. Cromeo got fired, so did Phil Savage. What a train wreck. They have too much talent for this.

29. Seattle Seahawks. I am not sold on Jim Mora. But their fans are. We'll see.

30. Kansas City Chiefs. Herm has one more year to fix this mess and get the team into the playoffs or he's gone. Larry Johnson is likely out of there.

31. St. Louis Rams. They are not going anywhere quickly.

32. Detroit Lions. I really do believe if the Lions draft wisely and pick the right free agent(s), they can win 8 or 9 next year. They were a 7 win team last year that was on their way to winning 10 before the bottom fell out.

ESPN's NFL Week 18 Power Rankings: Wild Card Edition

1 (1) Titans 13-3-0 Coach Jeff Fisher earned the right to play his backups and play vanilla in Indianapolis. (PK)
2 (2) Giants 12-4-0 I know they've lost three of four, but the Giants are still the best team in the league. (MM)
3 (4) Steelers 12-4-0 No one needs a bye week more than QB Ben Roethlisberger. (JW)
4 (3) Panthers 12-4-0 Kicker John Kasay came through to save the division title and the No. 2 seed. That gives a banged-up defensive front some time to heal. (PY)
5 (5) Colts 12-4-0 Can the league's hottest team go to San Diego, beat the Chargers a second time and avenge last season's playoff ouster? (PK)
6 (6) Ravens 11-5-0 Although the Ravens are the No. 6 seed, they like their chances against anybody. (JW)
7 (7) Falcons 11-5-0 The Falcons closed the regular season on a three-game winning streak. That's plenty of momentum, and a road playoff game at Arizona is at least winnable. (PY)
8 (9) Dolphins 11-5-0 The Dolphins pulled off an unprecedented turnaround by beating the Jets to clinch the AFC East title. (TG)
9 (8) Patriots 11-5-0 The Patriots deserved better. They're only the second 11-win team in NFL history not to make the playoffs. (TG)
10 (11) Vikings 10-6-0 The first home playoff game in eight years awaits the Vikings this weekend. (KS)
11 (15) Eagles 9-6-1 What an amazing turn of events Sunday. This team will be dangerous in January. (MM)
12 (16) Chargers 8-8-0 Forget the regular season. The Chargers are in the playoffs and are mighty dangerous. (BW)
13 (19) Cardinals 9-7-0 Only the Lions, Rams, Broncos and Chiefs allowed more points this season. (MS)
14 (10) Cowboys 9-7-0 Jerry Jones will stay the course with a "changed" Wade Phillips. Much rejoicing in the land. (MM)
15 (13) Bears 9-7-0 Coach Lovie Smith needs to take apart his defense before he can put it together again. (KS)
16 (12) Buccaneers 9-7-0 If the Jets and Cowboys weren't in such big markets, people around the country would be talking about Tampa Bay's collapse. As it is, folks in Florida are griping about a team that went from 9-3 to missing the playoffs. (PY)
17 (14) Jets 9-7-0 The nosedive continued even after Sunday's final gun. The Jets need a new coach and maybe a new quarterback. (TG)
18 (21) Texans 8-8-0 Despite the big finish, the Texans have a lot of roster revisions to do. (PK)
19 (17) Saints 8-8-0 Drew Brees threw for 5,000 yards, but it didn't really matter. You must at least be able to run a bit and play some defense to reach the playoffs. (PY)
20 (23) 49ers 7-9-0 The Niners are lamenting that Monday night defeat at Arizona. (MS)
21 (18) Redskins 8-8-0 The hot start is a distant memory. This team has a lot of questions to address heading into 2009. (MM)
22 (20) Broncos 8-8-0 It will be a long, cold winter in Denver as the Broncos chew on their historic collapse. (BW)
23 (22) Bills 7-9-0 For the third straight season, the Bills finished 7-9. How inspiring. (TG)
24 (24) Packers 6-10-0 The Packers will look for help on both lines this offseason. (KS)
25 (25) Jaguars 5-11-0 Last year, the Jaguars made a big trade up to No. 8 in the draft. This time, the Jags earned it all on their own. (PK)
26 (27) Raiders 5-11-0 Are the Raiders on their way up? Well, two wins to end the season won't hurt the Raiders' psyche. (BW)
27 (29) Bengals 4-11-1 A season-ending three-game winning streak provides a ray of hope for 2009. (JW)
28 (26) Seahawks 4-12-0 The Seahawks need to find a pass rush in a hurry. (MS)
29 (28) Browns 4-12-0 The Browns will start from scratch for the fourth time in 10 years. (JW)
30 (30) Chiefs 2-14-0 A season of change is upon us in Kansas City. (BW)
31 (31) Rams 2-14-0 The Rams need to become more physical on both sides of ball. (MS)
32 (32) Lions 0-16-0 Are the Lions actually pushing continuity after finishing 0-16? (KS)