September 29th, 2011, Thursday
My Football Power Rankings
(Thru Week three)
My Football Power Rankings
(Thru Week three)
It does not take a rocket scientist to tell you that at the moment the Packers are the best team in the league. While there are a couple of nice 3-0 stories out there, let’s not start jumping on any bandwagons for the moment. The Packers still have Aaron Rodgers, Greg Jennings, and Jermichael Finley to boast perhaps the league’s most lethal passing attack (ranked 8th in the league), along with a ferocious defense led by All-Pro linebacker Clay Matthews Jr. Last week’s demolishing of the Bears should be a testament as to how good the champs are and that they are the best until proven otherwise.
A lot of us wanted to start anointing the Patriots as the league’s best, after all with Brady, all those yards, and all the those points, but then again that is why they play the game. And on Sunday we learned a great fact about the Patriots, there are two sides to every team; an offense and a defense. Apparently this season the Patriots only have one side.
My Rankings do include a couple of up-and-comers that are making noise and starting to attract attention; and deservedly so. The Bills are off to an impressive 3-0 start and when you add the win over New England it is hard not to consider them a Top-10 team. Like the Bills, the Lions are starting to roar, but before we let them claw their way to the top, week 4 will present a nice test for the motor city boys when they meet Dallas.
Perhaps the biggest move on my board is the big fall the Bears have taken with consecutive losses and poor performances. They look like a team that is in a free-fall and with the Panthers up next, they better hope they can land softly, because their schedule is about to get very difficult with the Lions, Eagles, and Chargers coming up over the next several weeks.
Week 4 should begin to separate the boys from the men and really start to paint the picture of who the real contenders are and who are the pretenders looking for a place to hide;
My Rankings (Week 3)
1. Green Bay Packers (3-0): You remain the best perched at the top until someone can come along and knock you off. The Packers have a few holes here and there, but they are loaded with talent and are able to make up for any deficiencies.
2. New Orleans Saints (2-1): After falling to the champs in week one, the Saints have done what has become expected of them, win and score a ton of points; 70 points the last two weeks.
3. San Diego Chargers (2-1): They narrowly survived laying a huge egg on Sunday with a 20-17 win over the Chiefs. They had better be more prepared this Sunday at Qualcomm Stadium when they face a desperate 0-3 Dolphins team.
4. Baltimore Ravens (2-1): The Ravens rebounded nicely in week 3 with a most decisive and dominant road win over the winless Rams. Flacco was sharp and defense was tenacious.
5. New England Patriots (2-1): The Pats hit a speed bump on Sunday that sent them skidding as they fell to the Bills in a shootout. The Pats have all kinds of problems to address on the defensive side that apparently a prolific offense can’t hide. They could stumble again this week on the road against the Raiders.
6. New York Jets (2-1): After their strong start, the Jets took one on the chin in week 3 and got lost in the black hole. The Raiders shredded the Jets run defense for nearly 200 yards on the ground on their way to a 34-24 victory. The Jets will face another tough test this week against the Ravens.
7. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-1): It was not the most impressive win on Sunday night against the Colts, but it still counts. The Steelers struggled with the run against Indy on their way to their second win in a row, but will face a much more balanced Texans attack in week 4; a three-peater could be tough.
8. Dallas Cowboys (2-1): It took another heroic effort from quarterback Tony Romo and the Cowboys offense, but this Sunday against the Lions they may need a lot of good luck as well. The Lions will definitely be in the mood for some barbeque (ribs) when the Boys arrive!
9. Detroit Lions (3-0): It’s not the highest ranking I have seen, but the Lions have yet to really play a meaningful opponent; the Vikings and Chiefs are 0-6 combined. The week one win over the Bucs (2-1) was nice, but this week against the Cowboys is a real test.
10.Buffalo Bills (3-0): An impressive win over the Patriots yes, but it's just one game. While their offense looks great, they do have some holes of their own to fix on defense.
11. Houston Texans (2-1): The Texans still have the look of a contender despite their loss to the Saints (a lot of teams are going to lose to the Saints) and this week at home against the Steelers they have a real chance to make a move in the AFC.
12. Philadelphia Eagles (1-2): This dream must reside somewhere on Elm Street, because it has the makings of being a chilling nightmare. The offense appears out of sync and the defense, in particular seems to be playing in a daze. They may as well be, surrendering four touchdowns last Sunday and a total of eight this season; ties for the most allowed. They could be the next to fall hard, if they don’t get the defense corrected and Vick protected.
The rest of the league
• Atlanta Falcons (1-2)
• New York Giants (2-1)
• Oakland Raiders (2-1)
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-1)
• San Francisco 49ers (2-1)
• Washington Redskins (2-1)
• Cleveland Browns (2-1)
• Tennessee Titans (2-1)
• Chicago Bears (1-2)
• Arizona Cardinals (1-2)
• Jacksonville Jaguars (1-2)
• Carolina Panthers (1-2)
• Seattle Seahawks (1-2)
• Denver Broncos (1-2)
• Cincinnati Bengals (1-2)
• St. Louis Rams (0-3)
• Minnesota Vikings (0-3)
• Miami Dolphins (0-3)
• Indianapolis Colts (0-3)
• Kansas City Chiefs (0-3)
A lot of us wanted to start anointing the Patriots as the league’s best, after all with Brady, all those yards, and all the those points, but then again that is why they play the game. And on Sunday we learned a great fact about the Patriots, there are two sides to every team; an offense and a defense. Apparently this season the Patriots only have one side.
My Rankings do include a couple of up-and-comers that are making noise and starting to attract attention; and deservedly so. The Bills are off to an impressive 3-0 start and when you add the win over New England it is hard not to consider them a Top-10 team. Like the Bills, the Lions are starting to roar, but before we let them claw their way to the top, week 4 will present a nice test for the motor city boys when they meet Dallas.
Perhaps the biggest move on my board is the big fall the Bears have taken with consecutive losses and poor performances. They look like a team that is in a free-fall and with the Panthers up next, they better hope they can land softly, because their schedule is about to get very difficult with the Lions, Eagles, and Chargers coming up over the next several weeks.
Week 4 should begin to separate the boys from the men and really start to paint the picture of who the real contenders are and who are the pretenders looking for a place to hide;
My Rankings (Week 3)
1. Green Bay Packers (3-0): You remain the best perched at the top until someone can come along and knock you off. The Packers have a few holes here and there, but they are loaded with talent and are able to make up for any deficiencies.
2. New Orleans Saints (2-1): After falling to the champs in week one, the Saints have done what has become expected of them, win and score a ton of points; 70 points the last two weeks.
3. San Diego Chargers (2-1): They narrowly survived laying a huge egg on Sunday with a 20-17 win over the Chiefs. They had better be more prepared this Sunday at Qualcomm Stadium when they face a desperate 0-3 Dolphins team.
4. Baltimore Ravens (2-1): The Ravens rebounded nicely in week 3 with a most decisive and dominant road win over the winless Rams. Flacco was sharp and defense was tenacious.
5. New England Patriots (2-1): The Pats hit a speed bump on Sunday that sent them skidding as they fell to the Bills in a shootout. The Pats have all kinds of problems to address on the defensive side that apparently a prolific offense can’t hide. They could stumble again this week on the road against the Raiders.
6. New York Jets (2-1): After their strong start, the Jets took one on the chin in week 3 and got lost in the black hole. The Raiders shredded the Jets run defense for nearly 200 yards on the ground on their way to a 34-24 victory. The Jets will face another tough test this week against the Ravens.
7. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-1): It was not the most impressive win on Sunday night against the Colts, but it still counts. The Steelers struggled with the run against Indy on their way to their second win in a row, but will face a much more balanced Texans attack in week 4; a three-peater could be tough.
8. Dallas Cowboys (2-1): It took another heroic effort from quarterback Tony Romo and the Cowboys offense, but this Sunday against the Lions they may need a lot of good luck as well. The Lions will definitely be in the mood for some barbeque (ribs) when the Boys arrive!
9. Detroit Lions (3-0): It’s not the highest ranking I have seen, but the Lions have yet to really play a meaningful opponent; the Vikings and Chiefs are 0-6 combined. The week one win over the Bucs (2-1) was nice, but this week against the Cowboys is a real test.
10.Buffalo Bills (3-0): An impressive win over the Patriots yes, but it's just one game. While their offense looks great, they do have some holes of their own to fix on defense.
11. Houston Texans (2-1): The Texans still have the look of a contender despite their loss to the Saints (a lot of teams are going to lose to the Saints) and this week at home against the Steelers they have a real chance to make a move in the AFC.
12. Philadelphia Eagles (1-2): This dream must reside somewhere on Elm Street, because it has the makings of being a chilling nightmare. The offense appears out of sync and the defense, in particular seems to be playing in a daze. They may as well be, surrendering four touchdowns last Sunday and a total of eight this season; ties for the most allowed. They could be the next to fall hard, if they don’t get the defense corrected and Vick protected.
The rest of the league
• Atlanta Falcons (1-2)
• New York Giants (2-1)
• Oakland Raiders (2-1)
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-1)
• San Francisco 49ers (2-1)
• Washington Redskins (2-1)
• Cleveland Browns (2-1)
• Tennessee Titans (2-1)
• Chicago Bears (1-2)
• Arizona Cardinals (1-2)
• Jacksonville Jaguars (1-2)
• Carolina Panthers (1-2)
• Seattle Seahawks (1-2)
• Denver Broncos (1-2)
• Cincinnati Bengals (1-2)
• St. Louis Rams (0-3)
• Minnesota Vikings (0-3)
• Miami Dolphins (0-3)
• Indianapolis Colts (0-3)
• Kansas City Chiefs (0-3)
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