brady2moss
Footballguy
looking quickly.. Eagles and B-more seem rather high and Dallas and New England seem rather low.
what do you guys think? In general I think this year is wide open.
http://mvn.com/outsider/2008/10/nfl-power-...eek-9-unde.html
1. Tennessee Titans (7-0)
The Titans needed to stay undefeated at home against the Colts in order to hold this spot, and when the Colts failed to pick up a first down on a fourth and one run, the Titans took the ball down the field to end all doubts about who has been the league's best team in the first half of the year. It was a visual changing of the guard in the AFC South.
2. New York Giants (6-1)
Last year, the Giants would never have been able to pull off that game against the Steelers. The offensive line wouldn't have been good enough, the pass rush would not have been as menacing, and Eli Manning wouldn't have thrown the ball as well as he did in the fourth quarter. But then again, these are not last year's Giants. These guys are better.
3. Philadelphia Eagles (4-3)
The Eagles get a bump now that Brian Westbrook is healthy and playing very well. The defense remains the key to success for the Eagles, but don't sleep on WR Kevin Curtis. Now that he's healthy, the Eagles actually sport a pretty good WR trio in Curtis, Desean Jackson, and Reggie Brown (once he heals). That weakness is now a strength, and Donovan McNabb has no excuse to not lead this team into the playoffs.
4. Washington Redskins (6-2)
No one expected this halfway through the Redskins season. It's a year in which the Redskins were supposed to be lucky to be sitting at 4-4 at this point, and here they are at 6-2, and 2-1 in the NFC East. A victory over Pittsburgh sends them into the bye week at 7-2, potentially in first place in football's toughest division, and more importantly, healthy for the stretch run.
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-3)
The Buccaneers lost a tough game to the Cowboys, but it's not like you can blame the defense, which is probably better than even I thought. The Bucs will do fine in games where they can protect Jeff Garcia, because passing offense is the one weakness right now in Tampa. Garcia can still get it done, but he needs a little more help, or upsets like this last game are possible.
6. Carolina Panthers (6-2)
The Panthers' nasty trend of getting killed on the road, but winning by huge margins at home came to a halt against Arizona. Trailing by two touchdowns in the second half, the Panthers rallied to take the lead and win the ball game. The offense, and Steve Smith in particular, are going to get the credit, but don't forget that the defense held the Cards to 6 points in the last quarter and a half, and the Cards are winning because of their offense.
7. Baltimore Ravens (4-3)
Coming off of two very impressive victories, I now once again think that Baltimore is the best team in the AFC North. This is not to disrespect anything that the Steelers have accomplished this year, as both defenses have been outstanding. It's becoming increasingly clear that the Colts' upset simply showed a winning formula against the Ravens: take advantage of injuries in the secondary to build an early lead, and then attack, attack, attack, until QB Joe Flacco throws the game away. In their other 6 games this season, the Ravens have managed to avoid this formula, and remember that this team almost beat Tenneessee, something that no other team has done this year. But the biggest difference between the Steelers and Ravens is that Baltimore has a very strong running game it can lean on, where as the Steelers have to rely on their QB for big plays, and that QB is being knocked around on virtually every play.
8. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2)
The Steelers' inability to protect the QB has bitten them in a few games this year: Against Baltimore, Philadelphia, and now the Giants. When the Steelers play other top ten defenses, it's night and day how their offense looks from when they play the Cincinnati's, Houston's, and Jacksonville's of the world. I expect more struggles from Roethlisberger against Washington this week.
9. Chicago Bears (4-3)
The continued development of the talent in the Bears' offense has some people in Chicago thinking Super Bowl. The Packers stand in as the lone divisional obsticle, and those games figure to be decided by a single play or two. The Bears' really needed a bye week to return some members of their secondary. With them, the Bears defense can still be fierce. Without them, you get a journeyman like Gus Frerotte throwing 3 TDs.
10. Green Bay Packers (4-3)
The Packers have rebounded from a early October swoon, and an upset loss to the Atlanta Falcons to pull right back into contention in the NFC North. The strength of the Packers is still their passing game, and Aaron Rodgers has stepped right in for Brett Favre with no serious dropoff. The Packers haven't been as lucky to avoid injury as they were last year, but once they get healthy, they'll be a force in the playoffs -- if they can hold off the Bears.
11. Arizona Cardinals (4-3)
With this loss to the Panthers, the Cardinals have still yet to win on the road. Luckily for them, they have more wins at home than any other team in the division has. The Jets loss might have been fluky, but Arizona should not be ashamed of losses to Washington and Carolina, though they really have to find a way to close out a better team when you have a 14 point lead.
12. Miami Dolphins (3-4)
The best team in the AFC East is the Dolphins?! I really think so, and despite the record, I really don't think it's that close. The Dolphins were dealt the toughest part of their schedule in September and October -- and started off 0-2 -- but since Week 3, the Dolphins are 3-2 with wins over the Pats, Bills, and Chargers, all playoff contenders in the AFC. It's about time that Chad Pennington starts getting respect, because he's having a career year on a team he's been on for all of 2 1/2 months.
13. Buffalo Bills (5-2)
I think if you were to take Trent Edwards off the Bills, you would have a below average team. Of course, as long as Edwards is healthy, the Bills will be in the hunt for the AFC East title. There's not a lot else to say about Buffalo: They're forgettable on defense, and not great at pounding the football. It's just nice for this franchise to have a Franchise QB after so many years of messing around with the Rob Johnson's, Drew Bledsoe's, and JP Losman's of the world.
14. New Orleans Saints (4-4)
Drew Brees is having an MVP type season. It's more amazing when you consider that the Saints offense ranks near the top of the NFL without a viable rushing threat. Reggie Bush, who entered Week 8 6th in the NFL in receptions, goes out with an injury, and all Brees did was torch the Chargers for an obscene number of points. Give some credit to the run defense. It's keeping the Saints in games and allowing Brees to make those game-changing plays.
15. Atlanta Falcons (4-3)
Can't say that the Falcons are who we thought they were any longer. The power of the running game has keyed a fast start to Matt Ryan's career as the Falcons rank near the top of the NFL in total offense. The defense is a work in progress, and the Falcons lucked into at least one of their wins, but even against the great teams like the Eagles, the Falcons are keeping it competitive. They've come a long way since the Petrino era.
16. San Diego Chargers (3-5)
The defense in San Diego reached new lows against the Saints, so Ron Rivera will take over at calling the defensive plays. It's hard to criticize a team that is averaging better than 8 yards every time it drops back to pass, best in the NFL, but the Chargers need to force turnovers or something or it's going to continue to put it's offense in an impossible position.
17. Minnesota Vikings (3-4)
With the disappearance of Adrian Peterson, it's easy to ignore what the Vikings' D is doing for this football team (well, except the Chicago game). This team's problems lie on offense, but more critically on special teams. Never in a season have I seen a team lose so many points on special teams. It's not K Ryan Longwell, it's the Punting and Punt Coverage teams that are to blame. Still, if Peterson gets hot, the Vikings will be a team to beat in the second half of the season.
18. Indianapolis Colts (3-4)
The Colts played very well against the Titans, but Peyton Manning just isn't going to get the type of pass protection this year he needs in order to play like Peyton Manning. I think this is going to be the proverbial "down year" when we look back next year and he's tearing up records and wonder exactly what went wrong. There is no level of comfort in the Colts offense. That's not to say it hasn't been good, but when you take the current Colts offense and combine it with the current Colts defense, you have a below average team.
19. New England Patriots (5-2)
Sorry, but I'm just not buying what the Pats are selling. At this time last year, I wrote that the Detroit Lions were likely a fluke. The Lions, you may remember, ran out of the gate to a 6-2 start. All 6 of the 07 Lions' wins were against teams who would finish the year under .500, and the only victory by more than 10 points was a thrashing of the Denver Broncos at home in October. The QB was playing poorly, and the most telling thing was this: the Lions got KILLED on the road against the two decent teams they played that year at that point: Washington and Philadelphia. Fast forward to 2008, and the Patriots are off to a hot start. Yet, they have not played the Bills, their only impressive victory was an October home thrashing of the Broncos, both the Rams AND the Chiefs nearly beat them, and the most telling thing, the Patriots were CRUSHED by the two best teams they played: Miami and San Diego. The Patriots are in big trouble when they play the Steelers, Dolphins, Cardinals, and Bills, and if the Colts expose them this week, it's all over. Don't let the record fool you, this is a must-win game for the Patriots.
20. Cleveland Browns (3-4)
The Browns defense is dragging the Browns offense into mediocrity. It's impressive when you think about it. I think this might be the highest point the Browns reach this season, but it looks like the defense has the pieces it needs to be successful in the future, and if you combine that with a Brady Quinn led offense and a rebound season from the offensive line and WR Braylon Edwards, you could have a team that could be mentioned with the Patriots, Steelers, and Colts next season.
21. Houston Texans (3-4)
Houston has played very, very well since returning home in Week 5. If they can win at Minnesota this week, we could hear the Wild Card mumbles: the Texans currently trail in the Wild Card race by a single game (NYJ, Baltimore). After we finally give Chad Pennington his credit, how about a little credit for QB Matt Schaub? We'll see if Dunta Robinson's return can ignite another late-season push.
22. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-4)
The Jags defense is not becoming of a playoff team's. There's a lot of good things to like about the Jaguars this season, but it appears that (like the Browns), the Jags are a talented team caught in a transition year. QB David Garrard was a big reason that the Jags won 11 games last year, and he's transitioning to an offense that focuses around him. The Jaguars defense is transitioning from a run stopping unit to a pass rushing unit. The Jaguars are relying heavily on rookie DEs Derrick Harvey and Quentin Groves to provide the pass rush, but like most of the things on this team, it's a work in progress. The Jags figure to return to the league's elite in 2009.
23. Denver Broncos (4-3)
The Broncos flat out need Jay Cutler to play well in order to win games. When Cutler is careless with the football, the Broncos cannot beat any team, which includes the Kansas City Chiefs. They just aren't a very well rounded football team. When Cutler is hot, they can run off victories in the same manner in which they started the year: 3-0. I expect the Broncos to rebound from this now that they are past the bye week, but if they don't they won't even be able to win the forgettable AFC West.
24. St. Louis Rams (2-5)
The Rams almost held off the Patriots, but got beaten on a last minute fade pass from Matt Cassell. WR Donnie Avery's breakout has really helped Marc Bulger improve his overall level of performance. Bulger has been a great QB in the past, and part of his problem seems to be a lack of trust in his guys. A guy like Avery could go a long way towards extending Bulger's career. Chris Long looks like a beast well deserving of MVN's top grade in this year's draft.
25. Dallas Cowboys (5-3)
The Cowboys will avoid going into the bye with a losing record thanks to a nice upset victory over Tampa Bay, but remember that the matchups in this one strongly favored Dallas. Tampa lacks the vertical passing game that you need to attack the Cowboys where they are weak, in the secondary. The Cowboys offense was only able to muster 13 points, and at least 4 of those were a gift from Tampa thanks to penalties. Right now as it stands, Giants over Cowboys seems like the lock of the week.
26. New York Jets (4-3)
Another team that has managed to avoid playing good football is the Jets. They've already won as many games as last year, but the season has not gone according to plan. A trip to Oakland is supposed to be a win, but it wasn't for the Jets. Teams are supposed to walk through Kansas City at home, but the Jets needed Brett Favre's heroics to beat them. New England beat them at home by a safe margin and remember how the Chargers blew them out? At some point, the Jets offense needs to have another setting besides "Leon Washington" or 6-10 will be their fate.
27. Seattle Seahawks (2-5)
There is hope for the Seahawks! Now, to take that all away, it appears that Matt Hasselbeck's back injury might be worse than was originally feared. The 'Hawks have a pretty brutal schedule to finish, so they could be in contention for the top pick, which would really help them in the future. (The author of this article in no way condones the act of tanking to get a better draft pick.)
28. Oakland Raiders (2-5)
Another oh-for week for the AFC West means the Raiders return home with a chance to take the division that no one wants to win. Yeah, they still have to win two divisional games on the road, but again, if everyone in the division tanks to get a better draft pick, the Raiders have a fighting chance to win the division! (The author still does not condone tanking.)
29. Detroit Lions (0-7)
The Lions are a better team with Dan Orlovsky under center than with Jon Kitna, and there appears to be building blocks on the defensive line. I got to see this team play live this weekend, and I saw a team that was much better than I was expecting to see. The offensive line's critical errors still outnumber good blocks, but the Lions do have talented youth on the DL. If they can get someone in the front office to give them direction, the Lions will be competitive with the same nucleus that is currently winless. Now, with the exception of Leigh Bodden, no one in this secondary should be in football. Holy crap that unit is pathetic.
30. San Francisco 49ers (2-5)
The two game winning streak of the 49ers is so far in the past that this team feels like it's winless. J.T. O'Sullivan managed to somehow underachieve everyone's expectations. The pass defense is still having a good year, but it's not like it matters. When you turn the ball over like this offense does, why would anyone ever throw on you?
31. Kansas City Chiefs (1-6)
At least the Chiefs' veterans went hard this week as the Chiefs nearly shocked the Jets (although it was the Jets, so maybe we shouldn't have been shocked). The youth on defense continues to play up to expectations, but the youth on offense is a long way away. Tyler Thigpen will not leave the NFL before he plays a single decent NFL game. Good for Tyler.
32. Cincinnati Bengals (0-8)
When you go a half-season without a single win you pretty much deserve to be last in everyone's power rankings, but the Bengals (like last years Dolphins) impressed a lot of people with some close calls against great teams early on. Now that the injuries are piling up, it's probably time that we consider the possibility that the Bengals will go 0-16. Their best defensive rookie is injured, their QB is out, and they never had a RB to begin with. TJ Houshmandzadeh is having a nice year, but that's the only nice thing we can say about the Bengals at this point. That, and a rebound might come next year when everyone is healthy.
what do you guys think? In general I think this year is wide open.
http://mvn.com/outsider/2008/10/nfl-power-...eek-9-unde.html
1. Tennessee Titans (7-0)
The Titans needed to stay undefeated at home against the Colts in order to hold this spot, and when the Colts failed to pick up a first down on a fourth and one run, the Titans took the ball down the field to end all doubts about who has been the league's best team in the first half of the year. It was a visual changing of the guard in the AFC South.
2. New York Giants (6-1)
Last year, the Giants would never have been able to pull off that game against the Steelers. The offensive line wouldn't have been good enough, the pass rush would not have been as menacing, and Eli Manning wouldn't have thrown the ball as well as he did in the fourth quarter. But then again, these are not last year's Giants. These guys are better.
3. Philadelphia Eagles (4-3)
The Eagles get a bump now that Brian Westbrook is healthy and playing very well. The defense remains the key to success for the Eagles, but don't sleep on WR Kevin Curtis. Now that he's healthy, the Eagles actually sport a pretty good WR trio in Curtis, Desean Jackson, and Reggie Brown (once he heals). That weakness is now a strength, and Donovan McNabb has no excuse to not lead this team into the playoffs.
4. Washington Redskins (6-2)
No one expected this halfway through the Redskins season. It's a year in which the Redskins were supposed to be lucky to be sitting at 4-4 at this point, and here they are at 6-2, and 2-1 in the NFC East. A victory over Pittsburgh sends them into the bye week at 7-2, potentially in first place in football's toughest division, and more importantly, healthy for the stretch run.
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-3)
The Buccaneers lost a tough game to the Cowboys, but it's not like you can blame the defense, which is probably better than even I thought. The Bucs will do fine in games where they can protect Jeff Garcia, because passing offense is the one weakness right now in Tampa. Garcia can still get it done, but he needs a little more help, or upsets like this last game are possible.
6. Carolina Panthers (6-2)
The Panthers' nasty trend of getting killed on the road, but winning by huge margins at home came to a halt against Arizona. Trailing by two touchdowns in the second half, the Panthers rallied to take the lead and win the ball game. The offense, and Steve Smith in particular, are going to get the credit, but don't forget that the defense held the Cards to 6 points in the last quarter and a half, and the Cards are winning because of their offense.
7. Baltimore Ravens (4-3)
Coming off of two very impressive victories, I now once again think that Baltimore is the best team in the AFC North. This is not to disrespect anything that the Steelers have accomplished this year, as both defenses have been outstanding. It's becoming increasingly clear that the Colts' upset simply showed a winning formula against the Ravens: take advantage of injuries in the secondary to build an early lead, and then attack, attack, attack, until QB Joe Flacco throws the game away. In their other 6 games this season, the Ravens have managed to avoid this formula, and remember that this team almost beat Tenneessee, something that no other team has done this year. But the biggest difference between the Steelers and Ravens is that Baltimore has a very strong running game it can lean on, where as the Steelers have to rely on their QB for big plays, and that QB is being knocked around on virtually every play.
8. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2)
The Steelers' inability to protect the QB has bitten them in a few games this year: Against Baltimore, Philadelphia, and now the Giants. When the Steelers play other top ten defenses, it's night and day how their offense looks from when they play the Cincinnati's, Houston's, and Jacksonville's of the world. I expect more struggles from Roethlisberger against Washington this week.
9. Chicago Bears (4-3)
The continued development of the talent in the Bears' offense has some people in Chicago thinking Super Bowl. The Packers stand in as the lone divisional obsticle, and those games figure to be decided by a single play or two. The Bears' really needed a bye week to return some members of their secondary. With them, the Bears defense can still be fierce. Without them, you get a journeyman like Gus Frerotte throwing 3 TDs.
10. Green Bay Packers (4-3)
The Packers have rebounded from a early October swoon, and an upset loss to the Atlanta Falcons to pull right back into contention in the NFC North. The strength of the Packers is still their passing game, and Aaron Rodgers has stepped right in for Brett Favre with no serious dropoff. The Packers haven't been as lucky to avoid injury as they were last year, but once they get healthy, they'll be a force in the playoffs -- if they can hold off the Bears.
11. Arizona Cardinals (4-3)
With this loss to the Panthers, the Cardinals have still yet to win on the road. Luckily for them, they have more wins at home than any other team in the division has. The Jets loss might have been fluky, but Arizona should not be ashamed of losses to Washington and Carolina, though they really have to find a way to close out a better team when you have a 14 point lead.
12. Miami Dolphins (3-4)
The best team in the AFC East is the Dolphins?! I really think so, and despite the record, I really don't think it's that close. The Dolphins were dealt the toughest part of their schedule in September and October -- and started off 0-2 -- but since Week 3, the Dolphins are 3-2 with wins over the Pats, Bills, and Chargers, all playoff contenders in the AFC. It's about time that Chad Pennington starts getting respect, because he's having a career year on a team he's been on for all of 2 1/2 months.
13. Buffalo Bills (5-2)
I think if you were to take Trent Edwards off the Bills, you would have a below average team. Of course, as long as Edwards is healthy, the Bills will be in the hunt for the AFC East title. There's not a lot else to say about Buffalo: They're forgettable on defense, and not great at pounding the football. It's just nice for this franchise to have a Franchise QB after so many years of messing around with the Rob Johnson's, Drew Bledsoe's, and JP Losman's of the world.
14. New Orleans Saints (4-4)
Drew Brees is having an MVP type season. It's more amazing when you consider that the Saints offense ranks near the top of the NFL without a viable rushing threat. Reggie Bush, who entered Week 8 6th in the NFL in receptions, goes out with an injury, and all Brees did was torch the Chargers for an obscene number of points. Give some credit to the run defense. It's keeping the Saints in games and allowing Brees to make those game-changing plays.
15. Atlanta Falcons (4-3)
Can't say that the Falcons are who we thought they were any longer. The power of the running game has keyed a fast start to Matt Ryan's career as the Falcons rank near the top of the NFL in total offense. The defense is a work in progress, and the Falcons lucked into at least one of their wins, but even against the great teams like the Eagles, the Falcons are keeping it competitive. They've come a long way since the Petrino era.
16. San Diego Chargers (3-5)
The defense in San Diego reached new lows against the Saints, so Ron Rivera will take over at calling the defensive plays. It's hard to criticize a team that is averaging better than 8 yards every time it drops back to pass, best in the NFL, but the Chargers need to force turnovers or something or it's going to continue to put it's offense in an impossible position.
17. Minnesota Vikings (3-4)
With the disappearance of Adrian Peterson, it's easy to ignore what the Vikings' D is doing for this football team (well, except the Chicago game). This team's problems lie on offense, but more critically on special teams. Never in a season have I seen a team lose so many points on special teams. It's not K Ryan Longwell, it's the Punting and Punt Coverage teams that are to blame. Still, if Peterson gets hot, the Vikings will be a team to beat in the second half of the season.
18. Indianapolis Colts (3-4)
The Colts played very well against the Titans, but Peyton Manning just isn't going to get the type of pass protection this year he needs in order to play like Peyton Manning. I think this is going to be the proverbial "down year" when we look back next year and he's tearing up records and wonder exactly what went wrong. There is no level of comfort in the Colts offense. That's not to say it hasn't been good, but when you take the current Colts offense and combine it with the current Colts defense, you have a below average team.
19. New England Patriots (5-2)
Sorry, but I'm just not buying what the Pats are selling. At this time last year, I wrote that the Detroit Lions were likely a fluke. The Lions, you may remember, ran out of the gate to a 6-2 start. All 6 of the 07 Lions' wins were against teams who would finish the year under .500, and the only victory by more than 10 points was a thrashing of the Denver Broncos at home in October. The QB was playing poorly, and the most telling thing was this: the Lions got KILLED on the road against the two decent teams they played that year at that point: Washington and Philadelphia. Fast forward to 2008, and the Patriots are off to a hot start. Yet, they have not played the Bills, their only impressive victory was an October home thrashing of the Broncos, both the Rams AND the Chiefs nearly beat them, and the most telling thing, the Patriots were CRUSHED by the two best teams they played: Miami and San Diego. The Patriots are in big trouble when they play the Steelers, Dolphins, Cardinals, and Bills, and if the Colts expose them this week, it's all over. Don't let the record fool you, this is a must-win game for the Patriots.
20. Cleveland Browns (3-4)
The Browns defense is dragging the Browns offense into mediocrity. It's impressive when you think about it. I think this might be the highest point the Browns reach this season, but it looks like the defense has the pieces it needs to be successful in the future, and if you combine that with a Brady Quinn led offense and a rebound season from the offensive line and WR Braylon Edwards, you could have a team that could be mentioned with the Patriots, Steelers, and Colts next season.
21. Houston Texans (3-4)
Houston has played very, very well since returning home in Week 5. If they can win at Minnesota this week, we could hear the Wild Card mumbles: the Texans currently trail in the Wild Card race by a single game (NYJ, Baltimore). After we finally give Chad Pennington his credit, how about a little credit for QB Matt Schaub? We'll see if Dunta Robinson's return can ignite another late-season push.
22. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-4)
The Jags defense is not becoming of a playoff team's. There's a lot of good things to like about the Jaguars this season, but it appears that (like the Browns), the Jags are a talented team caught in a transition year. QB David Garrard was a big reason that the Jags won 11 games last year, and he's transitioning to an offense that focuses around him. The Jaguars defense is transitioning from a run stopping unit to a pass rushing unit. The Jaguars are relying heavily on rookie DEs Derrick Harvey and Quentin Groves to provide the pass rush, but like most of the things on this team, it's a work in progress. The Jags figure to return to the league's elite in 2009.
23. Denver Broncos (4-3)
The Broncos flat out need Jay Cutler to play well in order to win games. When Cutler is careless with the football, the Broncos cannot beat any team, which includes the Kansas City Chiefs. They just aren't a very well rounded football team. When Cutler is hot, they can run off victories in the same manner in which they started the year: 3-0. I expect the Broncos to rebound from this now that they are past the bye week, but if they don't they won't even be able to win the forgettable AFC West.
24. St. Louis Rams (2-5)
The Rams almost held off the Patriots, but got beaten on a last minute fade pass from Matt Cassell. WR Donnie Avery's breakout has really helped Marc Bulger improve his overall level of performance. Bulger has been a great QB in the past, and part of his problem seems to be a lack of trust in his guys. A guy like Avery could go a long way towards extending Bulger's career. Chris Long looks like a beast well deserving of MVN's top grade in this year's draft.
25. Dallas Cowboys (5-3)
The Cowboys will avoid going into the bye with a losing record thanks to a nice upset victory over Tampa Bay, but remember that the matchups in this one strongly favored Dallas. Tampa lacks the vertical passing game that you need to attack the Cowboys where they are weak, in the secondary. The Cowboys offense was only able to muster 13 points, and at least 4 of those were a gift from Tampa thanks to penalties. Right now as it stands, Giants over Cowboys seems like the lock of the week.
26. New York Jets (4-3)
Another team that has managed to avoid playing good football is the Jets. They've already won as many games as last year, but the season has not gone according to plan. A trip to Oakland is supposed to be a win, but it wasn't for the Jets. Teams are supposed to walk through Kansas City at home, but the Jets needed Brett Favre's heroics to beat them. New England beat them at home by a safe margin and remember how the Chargers blew them out? At some point, the Jets offense needs to have another setting besides "Leon Washington" or 6-10 will be their fate.
27. Seattle Seahawks (2-5)
There is hope for the Seahawks! Now, to take that all away, it appears that Matt Hasselbeck's back injury might be worse than was originally feared. The 'Hawks have a pretty brutal schedule to finish, so they could be in contention for the top pick, which would really help them in the future. (The author of this article in no way condones the act of tanking to get a better draft pick.)
28. Oakland Raiders (2-5)
Another oh-for week for the AFC West means the Raiders return home with a chance to take the division that no one wants to win. Yeah, they still have to win two divisional games on the road, but again, if everyone in the division tanks to get a better draft pick, the Raiders have a fighting chance to win the division! (The author still does not condone tanking.)
29. Detroit Lions (0-7)
The Lions are a better team with Dan Orlovsky under center than with Jon Kitna, and there appears to be building blocks on the defensive line. I got to see this team play live this weekend, and I saw a team that was much better than I was expecting to see. The offensive line's critical errors still outnumber good blocks, but the Lions do have talented youth on the DL. If they can get someone in the front office to give them direction, the Lions will be competitive with the same nucleus that is currently winless. Now, with the exception of Leigh Bodden, no one in this secondary should be in football. Holy crap that unit is pathetic.
30. San Francisco 49ers (2-5)
The two game winning streak of the 49ers is so far in the past that this team feels like it's winless. J.T. O'Sullivan managed to somehow underachieve everyone's expectations. The pass defense is still having a good year, but it's not like it matters. When you turn the ball over like this offense does, why would anyone ever throw on you?
31. Kansas City Chiefs (1-6)
At least the Chiefs' veterans went hard this week as the Chiefs nearly shocked the Jets (although it was the Jets, so maybe we shouldn't have been shocked). The youth on defense continues to play up to expectations, but the youth on offense is a long way away. Tyler Thigpen will not leave the NFL before he plays a single decent NFL game. Good for Tyler.
32. Cincinnati Bengals (0-8)
When you go a half-season without a single win you pretty much deserve to be last in everyone's power rankings, but the Bengals (like last years Dolphins) impressed a lot of people with some close calls against great teams early on. Now that the injuries are piling up, it's probably time that we consider the possibility that the Bengals will go 0-16. Their best defensive rookie is injured, their QB is out, and they never had a RB to begin with. TJ Houshmandzadeh is having a nice year, but that's the only nice thing we can say about the Bengals at this point. That, and a rebound might come next year when everyone is healthy.
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