I don't know why but I've done it on specific weeks every year for the last four, (4 and 5 included) but I tend to skip weeks every now and then.
(1) 1. Green Bay Packers (5-0): Rushing for under 100 yards a game? Giving up nearly 300 passing yards alone per game? No problem when you have Rodgers, right?
(2) 2. New England Patriots (4-1): The Patriots are a glass cannon that can't afford to make mistakes, but they make them so rarely that they just make it look too easy sometimes.
(3) 3. Baltimore Ravens (3-1): The Ravens haven't lost a step and are still a defense to fear, but they can't let down their guard after their early bye even if the AFC North looks rather mediocre right now.
(4) 4. Detroit Lions (5-0): Detroit is fourth in the league in points scored and tied for second in fewest points surrendered (not counting teams that just had their bye), but they still don't have a marquee win to solidify their legitimacy.
(5) 5. New Orleans Saints (4-1): The Saints are quietly showing the NFL that a flawed team that knows how to perform is more dangerous than a highly talented one that doesn't.
(10) 6. Buffalo Bills (4-1): The Bills defense has given up over 400 yards a game, but their turnover ratio is an amazing 16-5 in their favor. They haven't proved they're here to stay, but they're getting close.
(9) 7. Washington Redskins (3-1): All Washington needs to do is hold the status quo and they have a very reasonable shot at the playoffs with several other teams seemingly imploding early in the season.
(13) 8. Oakland Raiders (3-2): The Raiders are a legitimate threat for the first time in what feels like ages. Statistically they're not even that good, but they seem to be finding ways.
(12) 9. San Diego Chargers (4-1): The Chargers seem horribly flawed with how they can barely beat bad teams (The first three against teams who were winless until two played each other week 4). Do they know how to win or is their opposition just that bad?
(11) 10. Dallas Cowboys (2-2): The NFC East is wide open for the Cowboys if they can keep themselves from imploding, but visiting New England even after a bye is a tough task for any team.
(6) 11. Houston Texan (3-2): Is this the same old, inconsistent, never knowing how to win when it really matters Texans team as always? They are top 12 in many key statistics, yet are only 3-2. Can their instability survive the loss of Mario Williams?
(17) 12. Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2): The Steelers found some desperately needed offense when they mangled the Titans, but they need to sustain it if they even dream of making the playoffs.
(20) 13. San Francisco 49ers (4-1): Its about time they get some credit. The 49ers seem poised to run away with the west and are quietly building a decent team, but they need a real quarterback before that can happen.
(8) 14. Tennessee Titans (3-2): The Titans have played two good games and three terrible ones, and have the worst rushing yardage in the entire league. They are confusing and its hard to figure out who they really are.
(7) 15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-2): A young team that laid one of the biggest eggs of any team all season and could already be fighting for its life this week. The failures in their own division have to end if they're going to go anywhere.
(14) 16. New York Jets (2-3): The Jets have dug themselves an early hole with their utter lack of a running game on either side of the ball. They usually find their way eventually, but in a very strong AFC, "eventually" may not be good enough.
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Never underestimate the power of stupidity in numbers. ~War13104 Never stoop to the level of idiots. They will drag you down and beat you with experience.
(21) 17. Cincinnati Bengals (3-2): Andy Dalton is quietly having an alright and currently winning season while the flashier and more controversial Cam Newton is still getting all the attention despite being 1-4.
(15) 18. New York Giants (3-2): Mental mistakes are killing this team just as much as injuries, if not more. This is a perennial problem for the Giants that just isn't getting better.
(19) 19. Chicago Bears (2-3): Chicago is doomed because the Packers and Lions are just that good, but they both give up well over 400 yards a game and barely net over 300. That combination is toxic and wears down a team quickly.
(22) 20. Cleveland (2-2): Another seemingly ho-hum season of mediocrity for the Browns. Their wins are against opponents with a combined 0 wins all season.
(18) 21. Philadelphia Eagles (1-4): The Eagles are a mess with a turnover machine quarterback the league has figured out, some of the worst tackling you'll ever see, and also some of the worst team chemistry. Going 1-5 into their bye week would be a disaster they can't overcome.
(16) 22. Atlanta Falcons (2-3): The Falcons have no heart whatsoever and are playing some terribly uninspired football. Why do they already seem to have simply given up?
(29) 23. Kansas City Chiefs (2-3): Rallying to beat the Colts is probably just a bad team beating on another bad team, but there's a chance it could spark something out of them.
(23) 24. Carolina Panthers (1-4): They do absolutely nothing but throw the ball because they can't do anything else, and their defense gets killed by good teams any time the game is on the line, but they're still entertaining to watch.
(28) 25. Seattle Seahawks (2-3): It was a rare road win for a Seattle team who did well to capitalize on mistakes, but the NFC West is just dreadful when this 2-3 mess of a team with a busted QB is in second.
(26) 26. Denver Broncos (1-4): Tim Tebow's coming in, folks, but can he really be the wonder boy for an entire four quarters, not to mention an entire season? Denver has a long way to climb and it could be years before they are relevant in any way.
(32) 27. Minnesota Vikings (1-4): They figured out how to win a game, but they're still in disarray, made a lot of bad moves, and are in a division with two of the best teams in the league. Suck for Luck, anyone? They need a lot of help. A single offseason probably won't fix them either.
(25) 28. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-4): The Jaguars boosted their average points per game from 9.75 to 11.8 points per game by scoring a whopping *20* in their loss to the Bengals, passing the Rams by .3!
(24) 29. Arizona Cardinals (1-4): Their lack of killer instinct and raw talent overall has killed what felt like what could have been a rare positive season
(27) 30. Miami Dolphins (0-4): The Dolphins spent their bye week scratching their heads and trying to figure out exactly what's gone wrong aside from their quarterback. "Unfortunately" for them, they'll probably rack up a few wins eventually and not even have a top 5 pick.
(31) 31. Indianapolis Colts (0-5): The Colts aren't even a *terrible* team, they just have no direction and absolutely no idea how to win a game without Manning. They could easily be 3-2 now but their minds work against them.
(30) 32. St. Louis Rams (0-4): Last in points scored per game, and 2nd to worst in points given up per game; This is really all you need to know about the Rams right now. Their schedule is tough but it can only excuse so much failure.
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Never underestimate the power of stupidity in numbers. ~War13104 Never stoop to the level of idiots. They will drag you down and beat you with experience.
I can see I'm going to continue to be annoyed by lack of Seahawks respect over the last two weeks. They didn't just capitalize on Giants mistakes, they forced them. The Giants were totally outplayed in spite of the Seahawks having a lot of their own mistakes.
From: Paratroopa1 | #006 I can see I'm going to continue to be annoyed by lack of Seahawks respect over the last two weeks. They didn't just capitalize on Giants mistakes, they forced them. The Giants were totally outplayed in spite of the Seahawks having a lot of their own mistakes.
The last two INTs were both flukes and neither were Eli's fault, despite the media going crazy about his "3 interceptions".
The one off of Nicks especially to basically end the game was one of those fluke plays you see every now and then. Off his hand,off another guy's head, and *right* into that guys arms.
Also as for the Steelers, I just can't see anyone below them who deserves to be ranked higher.
There are a few teams that feel "too high" to me, but I think its just because the best teams in the league are just that good.
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Never underestimate the power of stupidity in numbers. ~War13104 Never stoop to the level of idiots. They will drag you down and beat you with experience.
From: UItimaterializer | #008 I don't get how the Dolphins are so bad. They threaten 0-16 and stay crap, the Lions go 0-16 and they're the best d-line in the league 3 years later.
That's not true. The Dolphins made the playoffs the year after they went 1-15, and they were fairly decent the next year, although they didn't make the playoffs.
A lot of it just isn't having a QB who's worth a crap. Pennington was a better QB than people gave him credit for, even with his lack of arm strength.
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I was actually a bit shocked that Eli got unlucky on the interception at the end of the game, since he's basically had a horseshoe crammed up his ass the entire season. I don't normally get mad about fluke plays in football, but I felt like there was some kind of karmic injustice going on when he threw that one pass into extremely tight double coverage that just deflects off the Seahawks defender's hand in precisely the right way for it to wind up in Cruz's hands for the TD.
It's inaccurate to say the game-sealing interception was not Eli's fault, though. That ball was a little bit ahead of Cruz. It was unlucky that it got deflected off of his hand the way it did and ultimately end up in Browner's hands, but the pass was not a good pass.
I feel like the Saints are getting bizarrely overlooked, like there's no real buzz over them right now. But they are really, really f***ing good. This is a team virtually unchanged two years removed from a Super Bowl victory. Their only loss so far is to the best team in the league.
TheConductorSix | Posted 10/11/2011 7:12:00 PM | message detail | quote typical rankings with the Patriots way too high.
How can you have the league's worst defense #2?
When you have the league's best offense.
And I mean, putting the Pats below the Ravens, Saints and Lions is understandable, but putting them below the 49ers and Steelers mean you're just being a contrarian for the sake of it.
From: TheKnightOfNee | #018 Except that game they didn't win.
Well, that's where you give the Buffalo Bills some credit!
And of course, they ran the clock down to virtually nothing on the 1 yard line when they could've scored an easy TD because they didn't want the Pats offense to get back on the field.