Tag: NFL Power Rankings (Page 6 of 8)

      2009 NFL Power Rankings: Week 9

      November 4, 2009 /

      Here’s how I see things 1-32 in the NFL after eight weeks in the books:

      1. New Orleans Saints (7-0)
      The Saints have the most balanced offensive attack in the NFL, have been a more aggressive and opportunistic defense under new coordinator Gregg Williams and are off to their best start in franchise history. There is a lot of season left, but this team has a Super Bowl-feeling about them.

      2. Indianapolis Colts (7-0)
      I don’t know if the 49ers necessarily laid out a blueprint on how to stop Peyton Manning and the Colts, but they at least showed how to contain the potent Indy offense for four quarters.

      3. Minnesota Vikings (7-1)
      I bet Brett Favre and Jared Allen wish they could play the Packers every week, because they’ve owned Green Bay in two games this season.

      4. Denver Broncos (6-1)
      Teams always learn more from losses than they do wins, so it’ll be interesting to see how Josh McDaniels and his coaching staff adjusts heading into Monday night against the Steelers.

      5. New England Patriots (5-2)
      We’ll see what kind of team the Pats are over their next five games: vs. Miami, at Indy, vs. the Jets and at New Orleans. Is Tom Brady back to his usual self or did he just benefit from putting up outrageous numbers against two bad teams in the Titans and Bucs the past two games?

      6. Cincinnati Bengals (5-2)
      The Bengals should be fresh coming off their bye, but they face two opponents in the Ravens and Steelers in the next two weeks that are looking to avenge losses to Cincinnati earlier in the season. Can the Bengals at least earn a split to stay atop the AFC North?

      7. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2)
      The Steelers are feeling good after beating the Vikings two weeks ago and then getting Week 8 off. But they travel to Denver and then host Cincinnati the next two weeks, so we’ll see whether or not their record isn’t just a byproduct of facing bad teams like the Titans, Lions, Browns and the ever-inconsistent Chargers.

      8. Dallas Cowboys (6-2)
      Wade Phillips’ defense is starting to do a better job of creating turnovers and getting pressure on the quarterback. In the Cowboys’ last two games, they’ve racked up five takeaways and seven sacks. It’s no surprise that Dallas won both of those games and they’ll need more of the same when they travel to Philadelphia on Sunday night.

      9. Philadelphia Eagles (5-2)
      What an impressive win last Sunday as the Eagles thumped the Giants in every facet of the game. Can they do it again this week in another big divisional test?

      10. New York Giants (5-3)
      I don’t know what to make of this team – are they suffering from injuries or have the last three weeks been the norm? To date, the G-Men only have one win against a winning team, which came in Week 2 against the Cowboys. Their four other victories came against the Redskins, Bucs, Chiefs and Raiders. Yikes.

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      2009 NFL Power Rankings Week 8

      October 28, 2009 /

      Here’s how I see things 1-32 in the NFL now that seven weeks are in the books.

      1. New Orleans Saints (6-0)
      Considering they gave up 34 points last week, it would be easy to assume that the Saints defense didn’t play well. But it was actually Drew Brees that allowed the Dolphins to jump out to a 24-3 halftime lead with all the turnovers he had. Credit Sean Payton for not abandoning the run and getting away from his game plan despite the early deficit.

      2. Indianapolis Colts (6-0)
      The Colts continue to feast on bad teams, as they blew out the Rams in St. Louis last Sunday. But they’ll get a couple of decent challenges from their next four opponents: 49ers (or maybe not considering how overrated Mike Singletary’s team now looks), Texans, Patriots and Ravens.

      3. Denver Broncos (6-0)
      It’s amazing how this team continues to be underdogs week after week. Despite being undefeated and facing an opponent that has lost three straight, the Broncos are 3-point underdogs at the Ravens this Sunday. Something tells me Josh McDaniels wouldn’t have it any other way.

      4. New England Patriots (5-2)
      I’m not overlooking the fact that the Patriots absolutely demolished two bad teams the past two weeks. But I’m also not going to overlook how comfortable Tom Brady seems in the pocket again.

      5. Minnesota Vikings (6-1)
      Why Brad Childress decided not to use Adrian Peterson more in those final six minutes on Sunday is beyond me. Brett Favre shouldn’t be attempting 51 passes in a game unless it’s a blow out and the Vikes need to throw to get back into it.

      6. Cincinnati Bengals (5-2)
      Any lingering doubts about whether or not the Bengals could put their home loss to the Texans in Week 6 behind them were erased once they scored their fourth touchdown of the first half against the Bears. What a season Cedric Benson is having.

      7. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2)
      This hasn’t been an overly impressive team through the first seven weeks of the season, but the Steelers always have a knack for making their opponents look really bad on Sundays.

      8. Arizona Cardinals (4-2)
      This may be a little high for the Cardinals, but I can’t force myself to rank them below the Giants after their impressive win last week in East Rutherford. There’s a lot to like about this Cardinals team right now: They’re playing well defensively, their offense is starting to get into a rhythm and Beanie Wells is even showing potential in the running game. ‘Zona is once again the team to beat in the NFC West.

      9. New York Giants (5-2)
      The Giants are who we thought they were: An injury-riddled team that is going to have to battle some tough opponents over the next couple weeks to stay afloat in the NFC East.

      10. Dallas Cowboys (5-2)
      If the Cowboys can play with the same intensity, focus and determination every week as they did last Sunday against the Falcons, they’ll have no problem making the playoffs. I swear the Dallas players thought it was the Super Bowl with how they got up for Atlanta.

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      NFL Week 7 COY Power Rankings

      October 25, 2009 /

      Okay, so we can finally separate Josh McDaniels and Marvin Lewis after the former beat San Diego to reach 6-0 and the latter lost a tough home game to Houston. Here is our current power rankings for NFL Coach of the Year:

      1. Josh McDaniels, Denver Broncos—Seriously, 6-0? The schedule keeps getting tougher, but it doesn’t seem to faze this team or their confident coach. Dude is a mini-Belichick, the first “offspring” to be worthy of that title.

      2. Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints—After beating the Giants to reach 5-0, we can start talking about the very real likelihood of the Saints reaching the Super Bowl for the first time, and this guy is a big reason why. It’s still amazing that he managed to pay his defensive coordinator a quarter mil of his own cash to lure him, but it seems to have been worth it.

      3. Jim Caldwell, Indianapolis Colts—Just like his QB, you can’t fault Caldwell for the bye week.

      4. Brad Childress, Minnesota Vikings—Now 6-0, there should be no question that Childress did himself and the city of Minnesota a huge favor bringing back #4. He sure wasn’t going to be 6-0 with Tarvaris Jackson, was he?

      5. Mike Smith, Atlanta Falcons—A tough win against the Bears, and this team is not fading any time soon. Really, the Falcons and Saints are two of the best teams in the NFC and it should be interesting when they meet.

      Honorable mention: Tom Coughlin, Giants; Bill Belichick, Patriots; Marvin Lewis, Bengals

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, NFL

      2009 NFL Power Rankings: Week 7

      October 21, 2009 /

      Here’s how I see things 1-32 in the NFL now that the first six weeks of the season are in the books.

      1. New Orleans Saints (5-0)
      As of right now, I don’t see how any team in the NFC can walk into the Superdome and beat the Saints on their home turf. Drew Brees is the early-season MVP and Gregg Williams has transformed New Orleans’ defense overnight.

      2. Indianapolis Colts (5-0)
      Outside of maybe Miami, the Colts haven’t been tested by a formidable foe. But they’ve done what they’re supposed to do: Crush bad teams. They’ll crush another one this week in the Rams.

      3. Minnesota Vikings (6-0)
      The way the Ravens moved the ball at will on the Vikings’ defense in the fourth quarter on Sunday is troubling, but nobody can stop Brett Favre and Adrian Peterson right now…except maybe the Steelers, that is. Minnesota gets another huge test this weekend in Pittsburgh.

      4. Denver Broncos (5-0)
      I see an offensive growing under Josh McDaniels, which is a bad sign for future opponents. What a great special teams effort by Eddie Royal on Monday night.

      5. New York Giants (5-1)
      Sunday proved that the Giants have to get healthy on defense. They can get away with not having several defensive starters against teams like the Redskins, Bucs, Chiefs and Raiders, but the Saints made them look like a JV squad.

      6. Atlanta Falcons (4-1)
      The Falcons weren’t overly impressive on Sunday night, but their defense rose to the challenge. They forced two red zone turnovers, completely shut down the Bears’ running game and held Chicago to only 14 points. It looks like Mike Smith’s young defense is starting to come together.

      7. Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2)
      The Steelers played a sloppy game on Sunday, but Ben Roethlisberger continues to make plays vertically in the passing game and now that Troy Polamalu is healthy, Pittsburgh’s defense is almost back to form.

      8. New England Patriots (4-2)
      Sure, the Titans are a bad football team. But Tom Brady finally looked like Tom Brady again on Sunday and New England’s defense turned in its best effort of the season.

      9. Cincinnati Bengals (4-2)
      I think the Bengals’ loss to the Texans on Sunday will actually do them more good than bad. The players may have started to read their own press clippings and now Marvin Lewis can remind his team that they have a long way to go.

      10. Chicago Bears (3-2)
      The Bears missed so many opportunities to earn a victory Sunday night in Atlanta that I would need a calculator, a ruler, an abacus and a stiff drink to total all of them up. The offensive line better start gelling soon or else Chicago’s running game is going to be non-existent all season.

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      2009 NFL Power Rankings: Week 6

      October 13, 2009 /

      Here’s how I view things 1-32 after five weeks of NFL action:

      1. New York Giants (5-0)
      The G-Men didn’t suffer a letdown against the Raiders last weekend and Eli Manning didn’t appear to be slowed by his foot injury. The Giants will now get their biggest test of the year this week: A road trip to New Orleans.

      2. Indianapolis Colts (5-0)
      The Colts carved up opponents in the first five weeks of the season and now have the bye week to rest up before making a run at the top seed in the AFC.

      3. New Orleans Saints (4-0)
      A win over the Giants this Sunday will prove that the Saints are the best team in the NFC. Drew Brees and company is well rested, but the Giants have one of the best defenses in the league and will challenge New Orleans from start to finish.

      4. Minnesota Vikings (5-0)
      Everything is working out swimmingly right now for the Vikings. Opponents are still stacking the box in efforts to stop Adrian Peterson and Brett Favre is beating teams with his accuracy through the air. The Vikes’ defense has played great thus far, but the Ravens will test them this Sunday.

      5. Denver Broncos (5-0)
      After earning a fluke win against the Bengals in Week 1 and notching two gimmies against the Browns and Raiders in Weeks 2 and 3, respectively, the Broncos showed their meddle in wins over the Cowboys and Patriots. This team is legit.

      6. Philadelphia Eagles (3-1)
      The Eagles may possibly have the easiest first half schedule of anyone in the NFL. With wins over the Panthers, Chiefs and Bucs already in the books, the Eagles will take on the Raiders and Redskins in the next two weeks. They better notch two more victories because after they play Washington in Week 7, Philly faces a daunting second half schedule that features the Giants (twice), Bears, Falcons, Chargers, 49ers, Cowboys (twice) and Broncos.

      7. Cincinnati Bengals (4-1)
      The Bengals have beaten playoff-caliber teams virtually every week and the amazing thing is that they should be undefeated right now had they not allowed a fluke TD to the Broncos in Week 1. And much like Denver, this Cincy team is for realsies.

      8. Atlanta Falcons (3-1)
      The Falcons absolutely destroyed a good 49ers team last week and it all started up front with the offensive line. Atlanta’s front five gave Matt Ryan excellent protection so he could carve up San Fran’s defense and also gave Michael Turner ample running room. The Falcons have a tough stretch of games coming up, but if Mike Smith’s team continues to play as well as it did last week, then Atlanta will hold strong.

      9. Chicago Bears (3-1)
      The Bears return to the scene of their most heart-breaking loss of the 2008 season this week when they travel to Atlanta to take on the Falcons. Think Lovie Smith’s defense will cover the out route this time if Matt Ryan needs a big completion along the sidelines with the game on the line? Jay Cutler won in Atlanta last year as a member of the Broncos and his current team is well rested after having their bye last week. Chicago will be well prepared.

      10. Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2)
      Troy Polamalu and Willie Parker are set to return for the Steelers this week, although defensive end Aaron Smith could miss the next three months after he has surgery to fix a torn rotator cuff. While Smith’s loss will be felt, getting Polamalu back is huge.

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