It’s getting tougher and tougher, isn’t it? I’m glad the people who actually vote for these categories can do it at the end of the season, but they can’t possibly have this much fun trying to pick the winners from week to week. With that, here are our Week 8 power rankings…..

MVP Power Rankings

1. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts—Manning’s stats have been consistent all season, but the fact that his Colts are now 5-2 and firmly in place to win another AFC South crown and possibly much more, you just can’t ignore him.

2. Tom Brady, New England Patriots—With or without Randy Moss, Brady gets it done, and he has less to work with now than he has in a while. Not to mention, he has to carry a less-than-stellar (by New England standards) defense this year.

3. Clay Matthews, Green Bay Packers—Matthews now leads the NFL with 10 sacks through seven games, and he has 27 tackles, one stuff, one forced fumble and one pass deflected. More than that, he helped pitch a shutout of the Jets last week. The dude is just sick.

3 (tie). Roddy White, Atlanta Falcons—Go outside. Throw a football up in the air as high as you can throw it. Before you watch the ball hit the ground, Roddy White will have appeared out of nowhere to catch it. That’s how good this dude is.

Honorable mention: Ahmad Bradshaw, New York Giants; Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers; LaDainian Tomlinson, New York Jets; Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers; Osi Umenyiora, New York Giants; Arian Foster, Houston Texans; James Harrison, Pittsburgh Steelers; Jerod May, New England Patriots, Brandon Lloyd, Denver Broncos; Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions

Coach of the Year Power Rankings

1. Raheem Morris, Tampa Bay Bucs—Last season, the Bucs were 3-13 and just flat-out awful. This season, they have almost doubled their win total through seven games (5-2) and Morris has them believing they are the best team in the NFC. It doesn’t matter if he’s right, it just matters that they believe, and thanks to Morris, it looks like they do.

2. Todd Haley, Kansas City Chiefs—If the Chiefs win Sunday against the Raiders, they and their fans can start talking about an AFC West title. Just like Morris, this comes after an awful 2009 campaign (4-12).

3. Tom Coughlin, New York Giants—I’m sorry to continue to back my guy, but even though the Giants had a bye last week, it’s still incredible that Coughlin brought his team from 1-2 and dead in the gutter to the class of the NFC (sorry, Raheem) with four straight convincing wins.

Honorable mention: Tom Cable, Oakland Raiders; Jeff Fisher, Tennessee Titans, Pete Carroll, Seattle Seahawks;; Rex Ryan, New York Jets; Andy Reid, Philadelphia Eagles, Steve Spagnuolo, St. Louis Rams; Bill Belichick, New England Patriots; Mike Smith, Atlanta Falcons; Tom Cable, Oakland Raiders; Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers

Rookie of the Year Power Rankings

1. Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams—The kid is putting up average numbers (1674 yards, 11 TDs, 8 picks), but the Rams are a respectable 4-4 and challenging for a division title, and they are led by this dude. Who would have thought?

2. Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions—This rather large man is just a beast—a man-beast if you will—in the middle. When was the last time the Lions had a guy like that? And he’s leading all linebackers in the NFL with 7 sacks.

3. Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys—Yeah, the Cowboys aren’t very good this year. But this kid is one reason to watch them play.

Honorable mention: Jahvid Best, Detroit Lions; Max Hall, Arizona Cardinals; Rolando McClain, Oakland Raiders; Jermaine Gresham, Cincinnati Bengals

Another No. 1 team falls and more shakeup in the top-5. At least things are starting to shake out as we head into the second half of the season.

As always, let’s get nasty, Ricky.

Check out Week 8′s Power Rankings

1. Indianapolis Colts
Previous Week: 2
I knew there was a reason I left the Colts at No. 2. Houston’s secondary is brutal, but Peyton Manning put on a clinic Monday night. Only he could turn Jacob Tamme into a star overnight.

2. Pittsburgh Steelers
Previous Week: 1
I could have dropped the Steelers further down but I think they were due for a loss. They were fortunate that Big Ben’s fumble two weeks ago in Miami didn’t cost them a loss and they were beat by a desperate Saints team on the road last Sunday. It was bound to happen.

3. New York Giants
Previous Week: 5
This team didn’t do anything last week so it may be unjustified to move them ahead of the Patriots. But before compiling the rankings this week I asked myself, “Would the Giants beat the Patriots this Sunday on a neutral field?” I think you have my answer.

4. New England Patriots
Previous Week: 4
Statistically this is an average team – even below average, actually. They rank 25th in total defense and 24th in total offense and yet they’re 6-1 and are currently atop the AFC East. To me, that speaks volumes about Bill Belichick’s ability to make in-game adjustments and this team’s refusal to beat itself.

5. New York Jets
Previous Week: 3
How does this team prep for two weeks to face the Packers and not manage to score a single point at home? Inexcusable.

6. Baltimore Ravens
Previous Week: 6
We’re going to find out a lot about this Ravens team over the next two weeks. They host a Dolphins team this Sunday that has been outstanding on the road and then they travel to Atlanta to play a Falcons squad that has only lost one game at the Georgia Dome when Matt Ryan starts.

7. Green Bay Packers
Previous Week: 10
I don’t feel entirely good about moving the Packers up this far after only one win, but it was a big win so they deserve it. To shut out the Jets on their home turf when New York had two weeks to prepare was impressive. The game plan Dom Capers put together was outstanding.

8. Philadelphia Eagles
Previous Week: 8
Much like the Ravens, the Eagles will be tested over these next four weeks. They host the Colts on Sunday, play at division rival Washington next week, are home against the Giants in Week 11 and are then at Chicago in Week 12. Hope Mike Vick is ready.

9. Atlanta Falcons
Previous Week: 9
I personally think that the Bucs’ season up to this point has been a mirage but the Falcons better not overlook them this Sunday. Not with the two teams having the same record and the Saints jumping back into the NFC South race with a win last week.

10. New Orleans Saints
Previous Week: 11
Huge win for the defending champs last Sunday, although I’m not ready to have them skyrocket up the rankings yet. That loss to the Browns two weeks ago still smells of something awful.

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Raise your hand if you can figure out this NFL season. Yeah, that’s what I thought. A few hands went up in Pittsburgh, a couple in New England, and a few more in New York/New Jersey. Choosing players and coaches who might be in line for postseason awards is even more difficult to grasp, but we’ll give it another shot here….

MVP Power Rankings

1. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts—His team is 4-2 and a contender in the tough AFC. But more than that, Manning leads the NFL with a 103.4 QB rating—319.3 yards per game passing, 13 touchdown passes and just 2 picks. The guy is once again dominant, and he’ll continue to make life miserable for opposing coordinators.

2. Roddy White, Atlanta Falcons—The Falcons are 5-2 and one of the top teams in a wide-open NFC, and this guy is probably the biggest reason why. He busted on to this list by catching 11 passes for 201 yards and 2 scores against Cincinnati last Sunday—a whopping 18.3 yards per catch. I’m really not sure how you defend this dude, who keeps making us open our mouths wide with some acrobatic grabs and pure athleticism.

3. Ahmad Bradshaw, New York Giants—Don’t look now, but the NFL has a new leading rusher (708 yards). He’s short (listed as 5’9” but probably more like 5’8” with a heel lift), and extremely hard to bring down. Now that he’s healthy and listed as the starter for the 5-2 Giants, Bradshaw is taking over, running behind a good O-line, but also making plays happen in the open field himself, and making guys twice his size miss. If he could only just stop fumbling (four times in seven games)….

Honorable mention: Clay Matthews, Green Bay Packers; Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers; Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles; LaDainian Tomlinson, New York Jets; Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers; Osi Umenyiora, New York Giants; Arian Foster, Houston Texans; James Harrison, Pittsburgh Steelers; Jerod May, New England Patriots

Coach of the Year Power Rankings

1. Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers—Sure, the Steelers got lucky with that fumble-non-recovery thing against Miami last week. But Mike Tomlin has his team ranked at or near the top in everyones’ power rankings. The man knows how to win, no matter who is under center—but with Big Ben there, and with a healthy Polamalu and another defender (James Harrison) who almost retired because the league told him to stop hitting guys so hard, there isn’t a doubt anywhere that the Steelers will go deep into the postseason.

2. Tom Coughlin, New York Giants—I’m gonna be a homer here, but you can’t not give credit to a coach who brings his team off of life support after three games, and then has them on top of the NFC by winning four straight. This, despite a team that ranks near the bottom of the NFL with a minus-five turnover differential—thanks to 10 fumbles lost and 11 picks. And also despite all those Bill Cowher rumors a month ago. The bottom line? The players have his back, and the defense is now playing lights-out under first-year coordinator Perry Fewell.

3. Jeff Fisher, Tennessee Titans—At some point you just have to bring Fisher, the longest tenured NFL coach, into the conversation, because he brings his team to play every week. Last season, the Titans started 0-6 and ended up 8-8 and almost in the playoffs. This year, his feisty bunch is 5-2 and in first place in the AFC South. They’re never out of any game no matter who is at QB, and Chris Johnson hasn’t even begun to catch fire yet.

Honorable mention: Pete Carroll, Seattle Seahawks; Raheem Morris, Tampa Bay Bucs; Todd Haley, Kansas City Chiefs; Rex Ryan, New York Jets; Andy Reid, Philadelphia Eagles, Steve Spagnuolo, St. Louis Rams; Bill Belichick, New England Patriots; Mike Smith, Atlanta Falcons.

Rookie of the Year Power Rankings

1. Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys—I’m just glad my Giants won that game on Monday night, because this dude almost stole the show all by himself with three touchdowns—2 receiving and 1 on a punt return. He’s ridiculously explosive and has all-around scary talent. I mean, is it too early to call Dez a future Hall of Famer? Probably, but in 15 years, don’t forget that I just said that.

2. Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions—Opposing offenses were able to breathe easy last week with this beast on bye. Today, Donovan McNabb will get to know him a bit better.

3. Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams—Even last week in a losing effort, two of Sam’s 13 completions were for touchdowns, and he’s on pace for 20 TD tosses. Not bad for a rookie.

Honorable mention: Jahvid Best, Detroit Lions; Max Hall, Arizona Cardinals; Rolando McClain, Oakland Raiders; Jermaine Gresham, Cincinnati Bengals

Thanks to a controversial finish in Miami, the Steelers retain their spot at the top for one week. After that, however, it’s pure, unadulterated chaos, as usual.

Let’s get nasty, Ricky.

Check out Week 7′s Power Rankings

1. Pittsburgh Steelers
Previous Ranking: 1
The NFL says that the officials in the Pittsburgh-Miami game got the call right on Big Ben’s fumble at the goal line. I think that’s crap, but it doesn’t change my opinion that this is currently the best team in the league. That may change with a loss to the Saints this Sunday though.

2. Indianapolis Colts
Previous Week: 2
We’ll see how the Dallas Clark and Austin Collie injuries play out before moving the Colts from this spot. With the Texans coming to town on Monday night, we’re about to learn a lot about this Indy team.

3. New York Jets
Previous Week: 2
The Jets are fortunate to get a banged up Packers team at home while coming off a bye this Sunday. Now they have to take advantage of it and keep pushing forward.

4. New England Patriots
Previous Week: 4
Not a very dominating performance out in San Diego last week, but wins are the only thing that matter. Good teams take advantage of the gifts that opponents give them, which is exactly what the Pats did last Sunday. That said, they’re fortunate not to have blown a double-digit fourth quarter lead.

5. New York Giants
Previous Week: 7
There’s no doubt the Giants need to cut down on the turnovers (they’re averaging about 34 a game right now), but they’re dominating teams right now. Romo or no Romo, after the two early interceptions on Monday night, the Giants were in complete control. This is your favorite in the NFC East from here on out.

6. Baltimore Ravens
Previous Week: 5
It looked like the Ravens had already gone into their bye last week against the Bills. There’s no excuse to give up 34 points to Buffalo at home, but John Harbaugh and Co. will get things straightened out this week.

7. Tennessee Titans
Previous Week: 11
If Kenny Britt can stay out of Jeff Fisher’s doghouse long enough to stay on the field, then he gives the Titans what they’ve been desperately searching for in terms of a deep threat. This team is starting to play with a little more consistency from week to week and is now an under-the-radar contender in the AFC.

8. Philadelphia Eagles
Previous Week: 8
It’ll be interesting to see how Michael Vick performs coming off his injury. Kevin Kolb did his job to keep the Eagles afloat while Vick was out, but now it’s time to turn it up a notch because the Giants are rolling. I didn’t move the Eagles down this week after a bad second half in Tennessee because this is still the same team that absolutely dominated the Falcons two weeks ago.

9. Atlanta Falcons
Previous Week: 9
Although they let the Bengals back into the game after building a 24-3 lead, it was impressive to watch the Falcons reinsert their foot on Cincinnati’s throat in the fourth quarter. Their offense also found the vertical passing game for one of the first times all year and Michael Turner bounced back after a poor outing in Philadelphia two weeks ago. The bye week comes at a great time for this team, as injuries are starting to mount.

10. Green Bay Packers
Previous Week: 10
The Packers hold onto their top-10 ranking after beating the Vikings, although they have another tough outing this week in East Rutherford. The Jets will be coming off their bye and it’s scary to think about what Rex Ryan will drum up in terms of a pass rush while game planning to face Aaron Rodgers.

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Every week we have different candidates here, because the 2010 NFL season has been wacky. And that’s okay, as it makes ranking MVP, Coach of the Year and Rookie of the Year candidates more fun. Anyway, here we go….

MVP Power Rankings

1. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts—Okay, so Philip Rivers and Kyle Orton have more yards per game, but they play for 2-4 teams. Manning’s Colts are 4-2, and check out these numbers through six games—1916 yards, 67.3 completion percentage, 319.3 yards per game, 13 touchdowns (leads NFL) and just 2 interceptions, for a QB rating of 103.4. As usual, Manning sort of defines what the term MVP is all about.

2. Clay Matthews, Green Bay Packers—I heard someone on NFL Network the other day call Matthews the “best defensive player in the NFL.” Not bad for a linebacker in his second year, who was selected after 25 other players in the 2009 draft. Anyway, Matthews has 9 sacks to lead the NFL, and 21 tackles through five games…and the Packers sorely missed him last Sunday in a loss to Miami when Matthews sat out with a hamstring injury.

3. Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers—We’re leaving Antonio on here this week because he left the game against the Rams last Sunday with an ankle injury, leaving Philip Rivers without his favorite target. And then the Chargers lost the game. To the Rams. Gates only had 2 catches for 12 yards in that one, but on the season he still has 31 receptions for 490 yards and 7 TDs (which leads all tight ends and receivers).

Honorable mention: Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles (thanks to Kevin Kolb’s performance last Sunday, Vick got bumped off the list); LaDainian Tomlinson, New York Jets; Brandon Lloyd, Denver Broncos; Kyle Orton, Denver Broncos; Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers; Osi Umenyiora, New York Giants; Arian Foster, Houston Texans

Coach of the Year Power Rankings

1. Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers—If you start the season without your star quarterback for four games, and have the likes of Charlie Batch, Dennis Dixon, and Byron Leftwich at the helm, coming out of that 2-2 would be a huge moral victory. Well, Tomlin came out of that stretch 3-1 and it could have been 4-0 if not for that last-gasp drive by Joe Flacco and the Ravens a few weeks ago. Of course, the D led by a healthy Troy Polamalu and hard-hitting-to-a-fault James Harrison, has helped, but let’s give Tomlin some huge and well-deserved props here.

2. Steve Spagnuolo, St. Louis Rams—Has anyone noticed that the Rams are 3-3, having already equaled their win total from 2008 and 2009 combined. And they’re giving up less than 19 points per game after allowing 27 per game last year—something that has much to do with the Rams’ defensive whiz of a coach.

3. Tom Coughlin, New York Giants—How do you go from the scorching hot hot seat to a coach of the year nomination? Ask Tom Coughlin, who the New York media had being replaced by Bill Cowher a few weeks ago when they lost badly to the Colts, and then beat themselves badly in a loss the Titans at home. The Giants rallied around Coughlin and squashed the previously unbeaten Bears, then crushed the upstart Texans in Houston 34-10, before not allowing the dreaded trap game against Detroit ruin his team’s winning streak. So from 1-2 to 4-2, and tied with the Eagles for the division lead. That’s why Tom Coughlin is on here.

Honorable mention: Pete Carroll, Seattle Seahawks; Raheem Morris, Tampa Bay Bucs; Todd Haley, Kansas City Chiefs; Rex Ryan, New York Jets; Andy Reid, Philadelphia Eagles

Rookie of the Year Power Rankings

1. Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions—Suh leads all NFL defensive tackles with 5 sacks, and he also has 21 tackles through six games, plus an interception—a pretty rare feat for a DT. Is there any doubt that this young big man is the real deal?

2. Jahvid Best, Detroit Lions—Injury may have slowed Best down, but how about the fact that to go along with 249 rushing yards, Best has 31 catches for a league-high 285 receiving yards among running backs. That’s 534 all-purpose yards through six games.

3. Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams—He’s way down the list of quarterbacks stat-wise, but Bradford is averaging 226 yards per game and has 7 TD passes. We’ll let the 8 picks slide for now, because let’s face it—the kid is helping to lead the Rams to respectability.

Honorable mention: Max Hall, Arizona Cardinals; Rolando McClain, Oakland Raiders; Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys; Jermaine Gresham, Cincinnati Bengals

Two teams in the top 5 fall from last week, while the Packers continue to slide and the Giants continue to climb.

Let’s get nasty…

Check out Week 6’s Power Rankings

1. Pittsburgh Steelers
Previous Week: 1
After shaking off the rust in the first half, Big Ben threw three touchdowns in his return to action last Sunday. If he’s already playing at the top of his game, this is the team to beat for the foreseeable future.

2. Indianapolis Colts
Previous Week: 2
That wasn’t a very convincing performance in Washington on Sunday night, but a win is a win in the NFL. That said, something tells me the Jets will be moving into this spot within the next couple of weeks.

3. New York Jets
Previous Week: 4
The Jets certainly didn’t dominate the Broncos last weekend and they were bailed out by Renaldo Hill’s pass interference call inside the 5-yard line in the closing minutes. But it’s never easy for East Coast teams to travel cross-country and beat the Broncos in Denver. Yet, that’s exactly what Rex Ryan’s team did.

4. New England Patriots
Previous Week: 7
Tom Brady wasn’t sharp until late in the Pats’ win over the Ravens, but he was efficient when it mattered most. Deion Branch isn’t Randy Moss, but he proved on Sunday that he doesn’t need to be in order to help New England win.

5. Baltimore Ravens
Previous Week: 3
Tough loss for the Ravens in New England last Sunday. I wouldn’t say they dominated the Pats for most of the game, but they were definitely in control. In the end, they got Tom Brady’d.

6. New Orleans Saints
Previous Week: 8
I guess the Saints answered the question of whether or not the Bucs were for real. That’s the performance everyone has been waiting for out of this team.

7. New York Giants
Previous Week: 11
I held off bringing the G-Men back into the top-10 until they proved they could stop beating themselves with costly turnovers. They’ve done that over the last three weeks and they might be the most confident team in the NFC right now.

8. Philadelphia Eagles
Previous Week: 10
The Eagles’ win on Sunday over the Falcons was one of the most dominating performances I’ve seen from a team against a playoff-caliber opponent. The only blemish on an otherwise perfect day was the injury sustained by DeSean Jackson. Get better soon, DeSean.

9. Atlanta Falcons
Previous Week: 5
When a team starts 4-1 and has as much talent as the Falcons, not many people get fixated on how that team won those games. When a team travels Philly, allows Kevin Kolb to throw for over 300 yards and then gets dominated in every phase of the game, people start throwing the term “overrated” around when two of said team’s wins were courtesy of a missed field goal and a fluke fumble. The Falcons still have a lot to prove.

10. Green Bay Packers
Previous Week: 6
Three weeks ago the Packers were sitting atop these rankings as the clear-cut best team in football (in my eyes, anyway). But an ugly Monday night loss to the Bears and 40,034 injuries later, this team is on the verge of dropping out of the top-10.

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We’ll officially name this week: The week were Anthony starts from scratch because the Packers are a walking infirmary and I don’t trust the Colts as far as I can throw them.

There are always a couple of weeks where you have to start from scratch and because there is no clear-cut team in the league right now, this is one of those weeks.

Let’s get nasty!

Check out Week 5′s Power Rankings

1. Pittsburgh Steelers
Previous Week: 4
Do I really believe the Steelers are the best team in the NFL? I don’t know, maybe. Their secondary is still a concern and I wonder if they’ll ditch the run now that Big Ben is back, but this team has the best front seven in football and managed to win three out of four games with Dennis Dixon and Charlie Batch. So yeah, I guess they’re the best team right now. I guess.

2. Indianapolis Colts
Previous Week: 2
Peyton Manning was completely held in check for four quarters by a vastly improving Kansas City defense, but kudus to Indy’s run defense for finally showing up. Their second half effort allowed the Colts to win on a rare off day by Peyton.

3. Baltimore Ravens
Previous Week: 3
The Ravens win over the Broncos last Sunday was more impressive than you think. They were coming off two straight divisional games, including an emotional last-minute victory over the Steelers in Pittsburgh and had to face a non-divisional opponent at home. I thought for sure we would see a letdown from this team, but instead they put together a rather complete victory.

4. New York Jets
Previous Week: 7
Last year, the Jets relied on their running game and defense to win games and held their breath hoping Mark Sanchez wouldn’t screw things up. This year, they’re still running the ball well (LaDainian Tomlinson looks G.R.E.A.T.) and playing good defense, but now Sanchez is no longer a liability. He’s really making strides in his second year.

5. Atlanta Falcons
Previous Week: 5
Don’t expect this team to blow opponents out every Sunday because it’s not going to happen. They love to methodically wear teams down and then break their backs in the fourth quarter when the games on the line. And as of right now, Mike Smith’s squad is executing that strategy to perfection.

6. Green Bay Packers
Previous Week: 1
It’s not the loss to the Redskins that causes this team to drop – it’s the number of injuries that continue to pile up. Morgan Burnett, Nick Barnett, Ryan Grant, Jermichael Finley, Clay Matthews and now Aaron Rodgers may miss this week? Not good.

7. New England Patriots
Previous Week: 8
We’ll see what kind of team this is without Randy Moss. The Deion Branch acquisition helps solid, but he can’t do what Moss can do on a field. It’ll be interesting to see whether or not Bill Belichick changes his offensive approach (i.e. switching to more two-tight end sets instead of going three-wide) from here on out.

8. New Orleans Saints
Previous Week: 6
I’ll say it last week and I’ll say it again: The Saints are just going to have to get by until they can get healthy. They repeatedly shot themselves in the foot last Sunday in Arizona and it cost them a win against a team that was starting an undrafted rookie QB. This team needs Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas back soon.

9. Chicago Bears
Previous Week: 10
Major kudus to Mike Martz, Matt Forte and the defense in last Sunday’s win against the Panthers. The Bears could have accepted their fate with Todd Collins at quarterback and they didn’t. Instead, they put together a complete game and dominated an opponent that didn’t belong on the same field as them. Now here’s to hoping no Chicago fan has to endure another snap of Collins the rest of their lives.

10. Philadelphia Eagles
Previous Week: 11
For at least one week, Kevin Kolb put a cork in his critics. But will Michael Vick return to face his former team this Sunday? You know he’s going to try and do everything he can to face the Falcons.

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Week 5 comes with a realization that there isn’t a clear-cut best team in the league right now.

My top team in Week 4, the Colts, lost to the last-place Jaguars last Sunday thanks to a Josh Scobee 59-yard field goal. Despite their record, the Packers are a mess, the Ravens don’t give me that we’re-the-best-team-vibe and the Saints have injury issues.

So while I’ve moved the Packers back into the top spot, just know I’m not entirely convinced they’re the top team in the league. Right now, no team has established themselves as the best.

Let’s get nasty…

Check out Week 4’s Power Rankings

1. Green Bay Packers
Previous Week: 2
One would have thought that after their embarrassing loss to the Bears on Monday night last week that the Pack would come out and steamroll the Lions. But as fellow TSR contributor and Green Bay fan John Paulsen said to me after the game, this team lacks that killer tenacity. Regardless, they moved back into the top spot after a one-week hiatus.

2. Indianapolis Colts
Previous Week: 1
I wrote it before the season and I’ll write it again now: the Colts are going to have issues stopping the run all season. They’re weak up the middle defensively and they’ll continue to struggle against any team that can establish the run.

3. Baltimore Ravens
Previous Week: 4
It’s never easy to march into Pittsburgh and knock off the Steelers. It’s even harder to look good while doing it, so I’m not going to knock the Ravens for having to pull out a win in the final minute. This isn’t college football, where teams get style points for wins. That was a hard-fought win, Baltimore.

4. Pittsburgh Steelers
Previous Week: 3
Even though the loss to the Ravens last Sunday stings, Mike Tomlin has to feel good that his team went 3-1 without Ben Roethlisberger. Even though everyone in Pittsburgh is excited for his return, it’ll be interesting to see how rusty Big Ben is next week. The Steelers’ bye couldn’t have come at a more perfect time.

5. Atlanta Falcons
Previous Week: 5
You could have seen that letdown coming from a mile away. The Falcons were coming off a huge emotional win over the Saints in New Orleans and were taking on a winless 49ers team at home. Thanks to Roddy White’s outstanding hustle, the Falcons were fortunate to walk out of the Georgia Dome with a victory last week.

6. New Orleans Saints
Previous Week: 6
I thought about dropping the Saints down after they struggled last Sunday with the lowly Panthers, but this is one banged up football team right now and Carolina has always given them trouble for one reason or another. The Saints just have to get by with what they have until they can return to full strength.

7. New York Jets
Previous Week: 7
The Jets are already making me look bad for predicting them to finish third in the AFC East. What a display of domination they put on in Buffalo last Sunday and who says L.T. is finished? It’s great to see him at the top of his game again.

8. New England Patriots
Previous Week: 11
Holy special teams, Batman – what a performance in Miami. Congratulations to Tom Brady for his 100th career win. Even though it’s fun to root against the Patriots because of their success, let’s not overlook the fact that Brady is a self-made player.

9. Houston Texans
Previous Week: 9
Considering the Texans were without Andre Johnson and benched Arian Foster for the first quarter, it was impressive that they still scored 31 points. I realize it was against the Raiders, but Bruce Gradkowski has breathed life into that team and it was good to see that Houston didn’t falter against an inferior opponent on the road.

10. Chicago Bears
Previous Week: 10
I’ve been awfully hard on the Bears so I’m going to give them a mulligan this week. Even though they still probably would have lost given how bad Jay Cutler was playing, they didn’t have a chance once Todd Collins entered the game. And whom else am I going to put here? Dallas? The Giants? This is a worse spot than No. 1.

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There were a lot of movers and shakers in the power rankings this week and we could have a lot of moving parts next weekend too with a couple of big-time match ups (none bigger than the Steelers and Ravens this Sunday in Pittsburgh).

Let’s get nasty…

Check out Week 3’s Power Rankings

1. Indianapolis Colts
Previous Week: 2
The Colts didn’t dominate the Broncos by any stretch of the imagination on Sunday, but that was no less an impressive victory. They were coming off a quasi-must win on Sunday night and had to travel cross-country to play in a tough environment. Good win.

2. Green Bay Packers
Previous Week: 1
I don’t know whether to rip the Packers for that horrendous display last night or remark how impressive it was that they still had a chance to win a game after committing 18 penalties. Either way, that was some ugly football.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers
Previous Week: 10
I have to admit, I thought the Steelers would get caught looking ahead to their game with the Ravens this weekend when they took on the Bucs. Obviously I’m not that bright.

4. Baltimore Ravens
Previous Week: 4
I’m starting to think I have this team rated too high, but then again the Ravens haven’t played a complete game yet. Their offense struggled the first two weeks and their defense took a step back last Sunday against the Browns. I think when this team puts it all together it could dominate, but we haven’t seen it yet.

5. Atlanta Falcons
Previous Week: 13
Yes, there loss to the Steelers in overtime was ugly. But there aren’t many offenses that look good against Pittsburgh’s defense. Matt Ryan stepped up in a huge way on Sunday in the win over the Saints. It may have been his finest performance to date.

6. New Orleans Saints
Previous Week: 3
Tough loss for the Saints, who were a Garrett Hartley chip shot away from 3-0. At least fans can take comfort in the fact that Drew Brees and Sean Payton won’t rest until they iron out their issues.

7. New York Jets
Previous Week: 10
I’m not the biggest Mark Sanchez fan, but there’s no doubt he’s been impressive the past two weeks. He’s found a solid weapon in tight end Dustin Keller.

8. Philadelphia Eagles
Previous Week: 9
I’m still waiting for Michael Vick to take a game off (he’s been prone to in the past), but I have nothing but positive things to say about his game to this point. He’s been spectacular.

9. Houston Texans
Previous Rank: 5
The Texans learned a valuable lesson this week in that playoff hopefuls can’t take weeks off. They just didn’t show up against the Cowboys.

10. Chicago Bears
Previous Week: 15
The Bears are the greatest team alive – period. Bear Down, Chicago Bears.

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I gave the Cowboys and Vikings a mulligan after their opening week performances, but I wouldn’t be able to look myself in the mirror if I ranked them in the top 10 again this week.

So I dropped them sons of bitches like a Ryan Grant fantasy owner.

Let’s do this…

Check out Week 2’s Power Rankings

1. Green Bay Packers
Previous Week: 1
No letdown for the Pack last week at home against the Bills. Their defense held Buffalo scoreless in the second half and Aaron Rodgers rebounded from a shaky Week 1 performance to throw two touchdown passes. Although…Brandon Jackson only rushed for 2.6 yards per carry? Ayeeh.

2. Indianapolis Colts
Previous Week: 2
I didn’t want to drop the Colts too far down after their loss to the Texans in Week 1 and I’m glad I didn’t. That was child’s play for Peyton and the defense on Sunday night against the Giants.

3. New Orleans Saints
Previous Week: 4
The Saints’ offense seems to lack the explosiveness it had last season and now Reggie Bush is out for six weeks with a leg injury. Still, Drew Brees and company are 2-0 and did well not to dump that game last night in San Francisco.

4. Baltimore Ravens
Previous Week: 3
It’s a little jarring that Joe Flacco looked so bad against a defense that Tom Brady absolutely shredded in Week 1, but give credit to Cincinnati’s defense for stepping up. Flacco and the Ravens will get back on track this weekend against the Browns.

5. Houston Texans
Previous Week: 7
The Texans were about five minutes away from the media crucifying them for being their inconsistent selves. But what a performance by Matt Schaub, who put the game on his shoulders and willed Houston to a victory in Washington. If he plays even half as well as he did last weekend then the Texans are going to win a lot of ballgames.

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