NFL Midseason Awards

In case you missed it, last week Tyler and I talked about our NFL midseason awards. Now that most teams have actually played the full 8 games, its time to recap those (I'll do half today, half tomorrow) and look at some others to consider.

Defensive Rookie of the Year
Tony: Jairus Byrd, FS, Buffalo (32 tackle, 16 p def, 7 int)
Tyler: Brian Cushing, LB, Houston (78 tackle, 1 safety, 10 p def, 2 int, 2 ff)
SI.com's Peter King: Cushing
Others considered: none
--> This is a tw0 man race and will continue to be so until the end. At the end of the season, I have a hard time seeing anyone but Cushing coming away with it because 6 of Byrd's 7 interceptions have come in three games. If Byrd (pictured) can snag a few more before the end of the year and possibly lead the NFL in picks, however, he'll be impossible to ignore.

Offensive Rookie of the Year
Tony: Percy Harvin, WR, Minnesota (28 rec, 369 yds, 3 rec TD, 2 KR TD)
Tyler: Harvin
CBS Sport's Clark Judge: Harvin
Others considered: Michael Oher, RT, Baltimore; Mark Sanchez, QB, New York Jets; Austin Collie, WR, Indianapolis; Knowshon Moreno, RB, Denver
--> Despite the gluttony of other people to talk about, this is Harvin's (pictured) award to lose, 100%. On pace for 10 total touchdowns and 750 yards, even if Collie puts up the same numbers, Harvin will win because, after all, it's Peyton Manning throwing to Collie. Oher won't get it because he's a lineman and Sanchez won't get it unless the Jets make the playoffs. Moreno would have to have a huge second half to be under real consideration.

Comeback Player of the Year
Tony: Cedric Benson, RB, Cincinnati (198 att, 837 yds, 6 tds)
Tyler: Benson
SI.com's Don Banks: Tom Brady, QB, New England (204/310 com/att, 2364 yds, 16 td, 5 int)
Others considered: Brett Favre, QB, Minnesota; Carson Palmer, QB, Cincinnati
--> Preface here: During our show, Tyler and I said that nobody else was under consideration for this award but Cedric Benson (pictured). However, Mr. Banks of SI didn't even mention Benson when he talked about this award. I'm sticking to what I said. Yeah, Tom Brady's having a good season, but he's not playing like hes one of the top 5 QB's in the league this year. I know he didn't play after the first game last year, but before that, the man was the best quarterback in football. So, yes, a comeback from last year, but not a comeback to his career. Benson on the other hand, through 8 games, has more yards this year than any other year during his career. Here's a guy completely left for dead on a completely left for dead franchise and he - way more than Carson Palmer - has turned them into a contender in the AFC. Respectfully, this award is Benson's and Benson's only.

NFL Power Rankings 2009: Week 10

Sigh. I fail spectacularly. After that impassioned blog post about how regularly I'm going to be doing this ... I didn't. No more promises, but I will try my best. Anyway, how about that AFC? 5 of the top 7 teams, still 3 of the top 4 divisions (the NFC South's big week had to be thrown in there) and looking to win in interconference play for about the millionth time in a row. By the way, if it feels like the Steelers are better than 6th and the Cowboys are better than 8th, it's because they probably are. It's a very top heavy league though right now.

1. New Orleans Saints (last week's rank: 1; change: 0): The Saints certainly look beatable, but nobody's done it yet. Drew Brees needs to stop fumbling (he's fumbled 8 times and lost 4) or it could hurt them by playoff time.
2. Indianapolis Colts (2; 0): Oh, boy. Indy-New England. Which is not the MNF game because that's Baltimore at Cleveland. ... What?
3. Minnesota Vikings (3; 0): I graciously keep them here even though the Steelers (who beat them) are waiting a few spots behind. Their schedule is absurdly easy; it would shock me to see them not get a first round bye.
4. New England Patriots (5; +1): If NE beats Indianapolis this week, Minnesota will have to shrug it off because NE is moving into the two spot. Gee, we've never seen New England, Pittsburgh and Indy be the three best teams in the AFC this decade, have we?
5. Cincinnati Bengals (6; +1): But wait! Cry the Bengals fans. We already beat the Steelers this week; surely we are better than they! Well, for now, Bengals fans, you are. Win this coming weekend and you'll stay that way.
6. Pittsburgh Steelers (7; +1): Watching the Steelers' second half performance against the Broncos ... Well, all I'll say is this: If there's one team I would not bet AGAINST making the Super Bowl, it would be Pittsburgh.
7. Denver Broncos (3; -4): They hold onto a spot in the top 10 with trembling fingers, just praying that the pseudo-expected collapse hasn't begun. San Diego fans are snickering so loudly Josh McDaniels can hear it in his office.
8. Dallas Cowboys (9; +1): Dallas flexes its muscle and grabs sole possession of first place in the NFC East. Tony Romo rips the month of December out of his personal calendar.
9. Atlanta Falcons (11; +2): It kind of feels like last year for this team. They're good, and nobody would be surprised to see them in the playoffs, but they're not Super Bowl contenders yet.
10. Philadelphia Eagles (8; -2): I'm a bit surprised Philadelphia's offense couldn't get more going at home. They have a huge game this week at San Diego; I don't even know what it is, but I would be betting on the "over."
11. San Diego Chargers (15; +4): Everyone (well, maybe not Tyler) thought they would eventually get hot, but few thought it would be so soon. If they take care of the Eagles this weekend, there won't be any more doubters.
12. Arizona Cardinals (16; +4): Is anyone going to be surprised if they get knocked out of the first round of the playoffs? Will anyone be surprised if they go to the Super Bowl?
13. Baltimore Ravens (10; -3): The bad news for the Ravens? The division is basically out of reach. The good news? They're in the thick of the dogfight that will be the race for the 6th seed in the AFC.
14. Houston Texans (14; 0): The Texans finally get a bye (what is the point of having two teams with byes in week 10?) as they prepare to grab their first playoff berth in franchise history.
15. Miami Dolphins (13; -2): I stubbornly keep the Dolphins in my top 15 for only one more week (if they lose). That playoff spot I predicted for them looks far-fetched, but I'm telling you, still possible.
16. New York Giants (17; +1): Nothing about losing at home merits a raise of one point, but the epic failure of a certain Wisconsin football team says they have to move up one.
17. Chicago Bears (18; +1): See above.
18. New York Jets (19; +1): See above, replace "losing at home" with "having a bye."
19. Jacksonville Jaguars (20; +1): See above, replace "having a bye" with "struggling with Kansas City."
20. Green Bay Packers (12; -8): Ah, that certain Wisconsin football team. So much potential, so little reward. There's no excuse for losing to any team ranked 26-32.
21. Tennessee Titans (25; +1): I'm not even going to say it, but you know what I'm thinking. Mum is the word on this team until they pick up two more losses, then everyone can exhale.
22. Carolina Panthers (22; 0): Blast. My upset pick of the year didn't come through for me. When they were up 14-0, I have to tell you, I was feeling pretty darn good.
23. Buffalo Bills (23; 0): Is there a team that receives less publicity than the Buffalo Bills? Even with T.O, you hear nothing about them - except that they're probably going to leave Buffalo.
24. Seattle Seahawks (24; 0): They won! ... at home ... against Detroit ... clinching it in the last 45 seconds ...
25. San Francisco 49ers (21; -4): Ouch, San Fran. I don't believe in you one bit, except for Patrick Willis, Frank Gore and Vernon Davis.
26. Oakland Raiders (26; 0): It's bad enough the world has to stomach one KC-Oakland game a year, but two? Really?
27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (32; +5): Good for you, Tampa Bay. Good for you, Josh Freeman. If they can get even two or three more wins this year, they have to feel okay about their future.
28. Kansas City Chiefs (27; -1): Does anyone else think that the KC front office was listening to our show on Wednesday when we said they should release Larry Johnson?
29. Washington Redskins (28; -1): Washington could get a morale boost with a win over struggling Denver at home this weekend. Not saying it could happen, but I wouldn't be surprised.
30. Cleveland Browns (29; -1): The Browns have every single reason to win this Monday night game. The Ravens will probably play undisciplined because they're mad. The Browns are home underdogs on a Monday night, the safest bet in sports. The players are going to be playing angry because of their fans. Mangini has something to prove. If there's a perfect storm for upset, this is it. ... And they're still going to lose by 20.
31. St. Louis Rams (30; -1): I drop the Rams on their bye week just because they're really, really bad. I still can't get that safety out of my head.
32. Detroit Lions (31; -1): Sigh. The Lions. I hope you enjoyed your 6 weeks out of the cellar. I hope you don't spend the rest of the season in here.

Division Rankings: With the Bucs being the biggest movers this week, the NFC South catapults itself into the top 3. The AFC North remains in the lead, and that shouldn't change too much this week unless Cleveland pulls the Baltimore upset. I broke the NFC North/AFC West tiebreak because the NFC North had the best team between the two.
1. AFC North (last week: 1): 13.50 average rank amongst the four teams
2. AFC South (3): 14.00
3. NFC South (6): 14.75
4. AFC East (2): 15.00
5. NFC East (4): 15.75
6. NFC North (5): 18.00
7. AFC West (7): 18.00
8. NFC West (8): 23.00

NFL Power Rankings 2009: Week 9

After I failed to post the rankings last week, I'm back at it. You're still going to hate my Miami ranking, but I'm telling you, the Dolphins are dangerous. There was actually some shake-up on the back end this week, too, so don't stop reading after number 10. Oh, and the "last week" and "change" categories are actually talking about last week. Remember, I had them done, but couldn't get them up here. So, here we go ...

1. New Orleans Saints (last week's rank: 1; change: 0): They've been living on the edge the past two weeks, but still managing to win nonetheless. The defense isn't great, but with that offense, it doesn't need to be.
2. Indianapolis Colts (2; 0): Many other teams with they were in the position where a "bad game" consists of beating a desperate, motivated team without playing that well.
3. Minnesota Vikings (7; +3): The Vikings leapfrog three teams with byes with their impressive win in Lambeau. Is you-know-who's arm going to hold out?
4. Denver Broncos (3; -1): This is a temporary one point fall, but don't you get the feeling this is only the beginning of the deluge?
5. New England Patriots (4; -1): By the end of the next four weeks (games against Miami, Indianapolis, New York Jets and New Orleans), it's not unrealistic to think New England could be at the top of these rankings.
6. Cincinnati Bengals (5; -1): The Bengals are 1-4-1 coming off of bye weeks under Marvin Lewis. If they make it 1-5-1 this week, the 2009 Bengals doubters will return in full force.
7. Pittsburgh Steelers (6; -1): Denver didn't look very good against Baltimore, but Pittsbugh fans would be foolish to think that going into Denver on a Monday night will be an easy win.
8. Philadelphia Eagles (9; +1): Philadelphia's "A" game is better than anyone else in the league's "A" game. They don't bring it consistently during the regular season, but it's something to watch for come playoff time.
9. Dallas Cowboys (10; +1): I hate to be that guy, but it's no surprise Dallas is moving up in the top 10: it's November, not December.
10. Baltimore Ravens (14; +4): That was a season-saving victory against the Broncos this week. Now they just need another one in Cincinnati.
11. Atlanta Falcons (11; 0): On NFL GameDay Final on the NFL Network, Deion Sanders said that Joe Flacco is starting to leave Matt Ryan behind. After watching the Falcons-Saints game, I think I believe him.
12. Green Bay Packers (12; 0): There's no need for them to be upset about their 4-3 mark after week 8. If they win the games they're supposed to win (starting this week at Tampa Bay), they'll be fine.
13. Miami Dolphins (15; +2): Ted Ginn, Jr. What a game. It's great to see guys get bounce-back games like that. Maybe Miami's running game will have one against New England this week.
14. Houston Texans (18; +4): See "Stat of the Week 3." I really, REALLY, can't wrap my head around that.
15. San Diego Chargers (19; +4): An average ranking for an average team. 4-0 against sub-.500 teams, 0-3 against +.500.
16. Arizona Cardinals (13; -3): Arizona, I just don't understand. As the rest of the NFC West continues to be terrible, I suppose their bad losses don't matter that much, though.
17. New York Giants (8; -9): And the Giants get dropped into the bottom half of the league. Their defense hasn't been showing up and their offense isn't good enough to compensate.
18. Chicago Bears (20; +2): The Bears hope that their blowout against Cleveland got them back on track, and wasn't just an abberation because it was against Cleveland.
19. New York Jets (16; -3): And now New York fans are starting to feel a little bit of the pain Baltimore fans have felt for the past four years ... Just shut up, Bart Scott.
20. Jacksonville Jaguars (17; -3): That was a bad loss for Jacksonville to take. How could Maurice Jones-Drew only get eight carries in that game?
21. San Francisco 49ers (21; 0): Alex Smith played fairly well in San Francisco's tough loss to the Colts. Their defense sure played tough, tough.
22. Carolina Panthers (23; +1): Don't look now, but the Panthers are 3-4. You don't want your team to face them when they have their running game going.
23. Buffalo Bills (22; -1): Buffalo could have made a big statement against Houston, but they didn't. It's a shame Trent Edwards can't ever seem to stay healthy.
24. Seattle Seahawks (25; +1): Yea, they moved up one after losing by double digits to Dallas. I couldn't stomach Oakland being above them.
25. Tennessee Titans (30; +5): I respect Jeff Fisher for pulling the plug on Kerry Collins and I respect Vince Young for - at least temporarily - seeming to get it all together. I respect the Titans organization in general.
26. Oakland Raiders (24; -2): Donovan McNabb has 1/6 of the number of pass/catches to himself as Russell to Heyward-Bey.
27. Kansas City Chiefs (27; 0): I'll be sick if Larry Johnson gets another chance. Jamaal Charles has promise and should be playing.
28. Washington Redskins (29; +1): They get moved up one A) because the Browns are the Browns and B) because there's a resemblance of talent there that gives you a fleeting suspicion they could play better after their bye.
29. Cleveland Browns (28; -1): What good will firing your GM during the middle of the season possibly do? Someone find me this answer.
30. St. Louis Rams (32; +2): Their victory was overshadowed by one of the dumbest plays I have ever seen in professional football.
31. Detroit Lions (26; -5): Oh, Lions. You better pray Tampa goes winless or else you'll take your usual perch back.
32. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (31; -1): Dumbest call I've ever seen that I knew was going to be the dumbest call I would ever see when it was made: Jon Gruden, during the preseason, saying the Bucs would win 9 games.

Division Rankings: Woah! After three NFC divisions took numbers 1-3 a few weeks ago, this week, it's thee AFC divisions. There are a bunch of big interconference games the next few weeks that will be bound to shake this up.
1. AFC North (last week: 1): 13.00 average rank amongst the four teams
2. AFC East (3): 15.00
3. AFC South (6): 15.25
4. NFC East (2): 15.50
5. NFC North (4): 16.00
6. NFC South (5): 16.50
7. AFC West (7): 18.00
8. NFC West (8): 22.75

Last Week's Power Rankings:

As promised, here's a brief overview of the power rankings I had assembled from last week that never got up here. I hate to post these right after Tyler puts the work into an actual post, so please scroll down.

Anyway, the top 10 was as follows:
1. New Orleans Saints
2. Indianapolis Colts
3. Denver Broncos
4. New England Patriots
5. Cincinnati Bengals
6. Pittsburgh Steelers
7. Minnesota Vikings
8. New York Giants
9. Philadelphia Eagles
10. Dallas Cowboys

The bottom 10 ... eh. You don't care about the bottom 10. Anyway, the "bye" question really comes in this week, with numbers 4, 5, and 6 all not playing. Minnesota certainly looked very good and had a great win at a good Green Bay team, but does that win make them better than the Steelers - who they just lost to - or the Bengals - who had beaten the Steelers? So you have to look at it that way. Meanwhile, Denver could fall a lot. Not really fair considering their one loss was on the road to a truly desperate team, but such is life. Everyone's still rooting for them, but I'm not sure anyone had their heart into rooting for the Broncos 100%.

Other teams I may not know what to do with this week:
13. Arizona Cardinals: All of a sudden, the Giants win doesn't look so great, does it?
18. Texans: If the playoffs started today, the Texans would be in them.
23. Carolina Panthers: They're 3-4, which means - assuming Atlanta loses tonight - they're a game back in the loss column behind other NFC playoff "contenders."

All this and more tomorrow.

NFL Power Rankings 2009: Week 7

Oh, baby. We had some movers and some shakers this week, from the top to the (almost) bottom and virtually everything in between. The division rankings have been completely turned upside down. This week also marked just about the first week that you have to factor in fluke games: We know by week 7 Oakland is not better than Philadelphia, nor is Buffalo better than the Jets. Comment and tell me what you think ...

1. New Orleans Saints (last week's rank: 3; change: +1): I said last week that the Saints would leapfrog the Colts if the Saints took down the Giants, and boy did they ever fulfill there. You didn't take Drew Brees in the first round of your fantasy draft why?
2. Indianapolis Colts (2; 0): With games at St. Louis, home against San Francisco and home against Houston, you think Indy is already looking forward to week 10 against the Patriots or what?
3. Minnesota Vikings (4; +1): They're just as lucky as they are good, but you have to be both to be a successful team in this league. Brett Favre has turned Sidney Rice into a star.
4. Denver Broncos (5; +1): Forget doubting whether they're good or not. It's time to start thinking whether they're actually the best defense in the NFL. They're playing like it.
5. New York Giants (1; -4): Obviously, it's no easy task to come into New Orleans and win, so the loss is no surprise. I am a bit taken aback by how easy the Saints made it look, though.
6. New England Patriots (8; +2): Make no mistake. Keith Bulluck is a bad, bad man. Bill Belichick should have thought about that before putting Tom Brady in to start the second half.
7. Atlanta Falcons (9; +2): Their defense is playing just good enough to win games with that great offense of theirs. The playoffs - albeit probably as a wild card - are definitely in sight.
8. Chicago Bears (10; +2): Yeah, I know. They lost. As everyone else around them crumbled, I respected their tough loss on the road during prime time the most.
9. Cincinnati Bengals (7; -2): I don't think the loss to Houston told us anything about this Bengals team that we didn't already know. Of course they're still the Bengals. It will need to take a few more bad losses for me to believe they're not good this year, though.
10. Pittsburgh Steelers (11; +1): They've quietly won 3 in a row and they definitely don't look like they've hit their stride yet. They're clearly the favorites in the North this year.
11. Philadelphia Eagles (6; -5): The Eagles are going to be playing a game this coming week very similar to the one this past week: against a weak opponent (Washington) with a lot to prove after lots of criticism the previous week. Hopefully they don't overlook this one.
12. Green Bay Packers (17; +5): They have to make sure not to overlook Cleveland before the you-know-who reunion part II.
13. Miami Dolphins (13; 0): Their game against New Orleans this week will be fascinating to watch. If they get down early, how much (if at all) are they going to abandon their incredible running game?
14. Baltimore Ravens (14; -2): Is Frank Walker the worst player in the NFL? No? You think Chris Carr is?
15. Dallas Cowboys (16; +1): They have a chance for a huge statement game this week against Atlanta. I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up being one of the games of the week; Dallas, off their bye, should come out fired up.
16. San Francisco 49ers (18; +2): The beneficiaries of a bye week, San Fran gets bumped back into the top half. Who would have thought them and Arizona may actually have an interesting division title race?
17. Arizona Cardinals (19; +2): They can definitely turn some heads if they play with - they don't even have to win - the Giants this weekend. Everyone wrote them off after their 1-2 start but they're 3-2 now.
18. New York Jets (18; -4): Hmm, I don't look so dumb now for having the Jets at 14 last week. With the run support he was getting, a bad performance by Mark Sanchez would have won that game. It just so happens he turned in a God-awful performance.
19. Jacksonville Jaguars (21; +2): They have to feel pretty good going into their bye week at 3-3. If they can keep flying in under the radar, they are certainly a playoff sleeper.
20. Houston Texans (22; +2): Like Jacksonville, the division title is out of reach this year. There's a sixth spot in the playoffs begging for someone to claim it, though.
21. San Diego Chargers (16; -5): Division race over? You would have to think so. I fully expect them to make a late-season charge into a crowded AFC wild card race, however. (Sense a theme?)
22. Carolina Panthers (23; +1): The invisible line has been moved! The Panthers still lead the pack of "so terrible I should be competing for the number one pick" teams but this week they're at 22! Who's the addition to the pack? ...
23. Seattle Seahawks (20; -3): It's Seattle! Sorry, when you lose by 20+ at home to a division rival that's not even that good, you belong in here. I don't care what you did to Jacksonville the previous week.
24. Buffalo Bills (28; +4): You know, at 2-4, the Bills are only a game out of a playoff spot 6 games into the season. Just saying.
25. Oakland Raiders (29; +4): You know, at 2-4, the Raiders are only a game out ... Okay, no I really take it too far this time. If the Raiders make the playoffs I will quit being a football fan.
26. Detroit Lions (24; -2): You forgot just how bad the Lions were last year until you watched them with Daunte Culpepper back in, didn't you? What's that? You didn't watch the Packers-Lions game? ... Yeah, me neither.
27. Kansas City Chiefs (30; +3): Remember when people were talking about the Chiefs being a sleeper team with Matt Cassel as their quarterback?
28. Cleveland Browns (27; -1): Things aren't looking up when your quarterback goes 9 for 24 and it's considered a vast improvement over the previous week.
29. Washington Redskins (25; -4): Jim Zorn, you're being humiliated. End it.
30. Tennessee Titans (26; -4): The Titans have played worse in every single one of their games so far this year. Which was the fluke? Last season or this one?
31. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (31; 0): How come I can name 3 quarterbacks and 3 runningbacks on this team, but a total of 3 other players on the rest of the squad?
32. St. Louis Rams (32; 0): Fine, I lied. They're not better with Kyle Boller as their quarterback. Do you think they've already conceded the game against Indy this week because they're thinking about Detroit the following week?

Division Rankings: Wow, what a logjam in the middle. One team with a 15.00 average and three others with a 15.25. I broke the tie by giving the division with the best team the highest ranking, and down from there. As such, the NFC now has the best three divisions in football. It is tough to argue ...
1. NFC North (last week: 2): 12.25 average rank amongst the four teams
2. NFC East (1): 15.00
3. NFC South (5): 15.25
4. AFC East (4): 15.25
5. AFC North (3): 15.25
6. AFC South (6): 17.75
7. AFC West (7): 19.25
8. NFC West (8): 22.00

The Runningback Class of 08 Making Its Presence Felt

Last year, Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco got most of the talk about NFL rookies, and deservedly so.
Both took struggling teams and turned them into playoff teams at the most important position in the NFL.

The rookie runningbacks did pretty good for themselves too, though.

Steve Slaton was 6th in the league in rushing yards, with Matt Forte and Chris Johnson right behind him at 7th and 8th, respectively.

This year, things are looking up even more.

Chris Johnson (pictured, left) is the only one in the top 10, but second year runningbacks are scattered across the top 40. Ray Rice is 14th. Felix Jones is 16th. Matt Forte is 20th. Rashard Mendenhall is 26th. Kevin Smith is 27th. Jonathan Stewart is 31st. Steve Slaton is 36th. Once Darren McFadden gets out of Oakland, he's going to be a player in this league. Don't sleep on Kansas City Chief Jamaal Charles, either.

While that may not overwhelm you, keep in mind the NFL is almost exclusively a runningback by committee league, and these guys are still not even midway through their second season. For some, like Rice and Mendenhall, it's not even that because of injuries during their rookie season. Most of these guys, and again I point to Rice and Mendenhall, along with Jones, Choice and Stewart, were brought in to be the change of pace back who will eventually replace back "1" of their two-back system.

There are certainly a lot of great young quarterbacks in this league, but there's a lot of good young runners, too.

NFL Power Rankings 2009: Week 6

The power rankings were actually pretty easy this week; a lot of things seemed to fall into place. The huge mover was the Jets, who I still had optimistically high after their showing against New Orleans. I could have kept them ahead of the Dolphins on the premise of a completely fluke win, but watching that game last night, the Dolphins looked every bit the team that the Jets did. Hope you enjoy ...

1. New York Giants (last week's rank: 1; change: 0): Ho hum, a 37 point win by the Giants. There are a lot of great teams in the league, but starting here is as good of a place as any.
2. Indianapolis Colts (2; 0): I haven't seen a lot of the Colts this year, because they always play in primetime against teams I know they're going to crush. Have they clinched the South already?
3. New Orleans Saints (3; 0): Sorry Colts fans. If the Saints beat the Giants this week in what could be the game of the year so far, the Saints are taking the top spot.
4. Minnesota Vikings (4; 0): Brett Favre has been known to be egregiously confident in his arm. He'll throw it anywhere. That could either translate to a Viking blowout victory this week or a multiple interception day for Ed Reed. Based on the Ravens play this week, the former is more likely.
5. Denver Broncos (8; +3): After hating on Josh McDaniels earlier this summer, he's making me eat my words. I find myself rooting for him more every week.
6. Philadelphia Eagles (9; +3): Donovan sure looked rusty after missing a few weeks, didn't he? (sarcasm) They have one of the fastest wide receiving corps ever.
7. Cincinnati Bengals (13; +6): A truly impressive 3-0 sweep of the AFC North the past three weeks. Carson Palmer is playing some of the best fourth quarter ball you will ever see.
8. New England Patriots (6; -2): New England is really good, but didn't it just look like Denver wanted that game a bit more?
9. Atlanta Falcons (11; +2): That was a beat-down. Atlanta played like it used the bye week very well. With only one loss, they're obviously right in it for the NFC South race.
10. Chicago Bears (10; 0): NBC's getting a good one on Sunday night. Chicago-Atlanta should be a great, high-scoring game.
11. Pittsburgh Steelers (14; +3): They move up three not for how they played against Detroit but for how much better they instantly become now that Troy Polamalu is back.
12. Baltimore Ravens (7; -5): Cam Cameron's lack of mid-game adjustments has crippled the offense two weeks in a row. He gameplans as well as anyone. He's being outcoached during the game, though.
13. Miami Dolphins (20; +7): This is a completely different team with Henne as their quarterback. I still think last year's 11-5 was a fluke because they had Chad Pennington, but with a strong-armed quarterback back there now, it looks like the playoffs are realistic again.
14. New York Jets (5; -9): This is absolutely the pick that most experts would disagree with me the most. They're 3-2, but they've lost 2 in a row, and they lost the first one because of their offense and the second because of their defense. They don't look like the team that beat New England in week 2.
15. San Diego Chargers (15; 0): Not to make too much of a game in mid-October, but who knew that the Denver-San Diego matchup on Monday night would mean 10 times more to San Diego than Denver?
16. Dallas Cowboys (16; 0): They go into the bye week scratching their heads as to why they needed overtime to beat the Chiefs. They have to love getting an extra week to prepare for Atlanta.
17. Green Bay Packers (17; 0): They have must-wins against Detroit and at Cleveland before they "welcome" back you-know-who.
18. San Francisco 49ers (12; -6): Ouch. That was about as humbling of a loss as there is. It's going to be a long bye week for them.
19. Arizona Cardinals (21; +2): You had to love watching Fitzgerald on one side of the ball and Andre Johnson on the other. In the end, though, the Cardinals defense won the game.
20. Seattle Seahawks (23; +3): If you believe MVP actually means the most valuable player to his team, Peyton Manning would obviously win the award. Matt Hasselebeck might be number two.
21. Jacksonville Jaguars (18; -3): In a savage beating, the Jags (number 21) lose by 41 to the Seahawks (number 20). There should really be more separation than this, but they already beat Houston and then you get into Carolina and Detroit. It gets thin down here.
22. Houston Texans (19; -3): Deion Sanders may not make sense most of the time, but you have to agree with him here: Why was Andre Johnson not on the field for either the 3rd and 1 or 4th and 1 at the end of the game?
23. Carolina Panthers (24; +1): Draw an imaginary line between 22 and 23. The 10 worst teams in the league - starting here at Carolina - are all fantastically awful.
24. Detroit Lions (25; +1): In fact, they're so bad that you can lose by 8 at home to a team without its best player and move up one.
25. Washington Redskins (26; +1): In fact, they're SO bad you can lose to an 0-3 team and still move up one.
26. Tennessee Titans (27; +1): They're 0-5. They've lost their past two games by a combined 42 points. And they're not one of the six worst teams in this league.
27. Cleveland Browns (29; +2): You know what else gets you a promotion down here? Completing two passes in a game!
28. Buffalo Bills (22; -6): Tyler, I'm fascinated to hear your defense for Trent Edwards after this week.
29. Oakland Raiders (28; -1): Have you read the allegations on Tom Cable? Oh, only in Oakland. (quote is almost at the bottom of the page)
30. Kansas City Chiefs (30; 0): Will Washington give Kansas City their first win of the season, too?
31. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (31; 0): I love football. A lot. And you would actually have to pay me to willingly watch the Panthers-Bucs game this weekend.
32. St. Louis Rams (32; 0): Insert Rush Limbaugh joke here.

Division Rankings: The AFC East took a hard fall this week, going 1-3 (including a loss to the Browns.) The rest stayed the same, with the exception of an NFC South/AFC South flip flop.
1. NFC East (last week: 1): 12.00 average rank amongst the four teams
2. NFC North (3): 13.75
3. AFC North (4): 14.25
4. AFC East (2): 15.75
5. NFC South (6): 16.50
6. AFC South (5): 17.75
7. AFC West (7): 19.75
8. NFC West (8): 22.25

The Wild AFC North

Coming into this season, most people predicted the following for the AFC North: the Ravens and Steelers battling for 1st place all season, led by their elite defenses. The Bengals would finish 3rd but play decently and the Browns would finish in 4th, like usual.

5 weeks in, the only prediction that is looking accurate is the fact that the Browns are one of the worst teams in the NFL.

Right now, the Bengals are in first place in the AFC North after beating the Ravens in Baltimore. Yes, in Baltimore. One of the toughest places to win the NFL. They're now 4-1 and would be 5-0 if not for a fluke hail mary. The strangest part of it is that the Bengals have done it behind a 9th-ranked defense (points-wise). This past weekend, they shut down the explosive Ravens offense. They held Joe Flacco to 186 yards passing on 22 completions. The Ravens rushing game was neutralized and they forced turnovers at key moments. And, oh yea, Carson Palmer led yet another last-second, game-winning drive.

The Bengals are looking legitimate right now. They have a good defense, a good running game, and a clutch quarterback. It's early, but you have to respect a 4-1 record and a road win at Baltimore.

Behind them, the Ravens and Steelers are facing some pretty big issues. Both teams are 3-2. Both teams' offenses are showing serious signs of being elite. The big problem for both teams? The defense. Yes, the defense. For the two teams that take pride in having a defense at the top of the league, it's a surprise to see both teams so beatable.

A close examination of both defenses shows that the secondaries of each team are terrible. The Ravens are giving up passing yards like crazy and even gave up a 100-yard rusher for the first time since a Bush was in the White House. Their rush defense is the same it's always been: elite. But they're 25th against the pass. It's a problem area and the Ravens know it. Is it because of Rex Ryan jumping ship? Is it just poor players? The pass rush not getting there quick enough? Whatever it is, the Ravens must fix it soon. They play the Vikings this weekend and have a brutal schedule the rest of the year.

The Steelers are in a similar situation. They're only 14th against the pass, but they're struggling on third down and are still giving up some big plays - especially in the fourth quarter. Since week one, the defense has collapsed in the fourth quarter. Their stats don't look too bad at first glance because they played so well in the first three quarters against Chicago, San Diego, and Cinciannti. But in the fourth quarter of those games, they gave up tons of yards and against the Bears and Bengals, they lost the game in the final seconds due to poor defense. This past Sunday against Detroit, they had tons of sacks and even had an interception, but still gave up tons of yardage and overall was unimpressive. Luckily, Lamarr Woodley and James Harrison combined for 4.5 sacks and were able to hold off a late Lions comback.

But still, the trend is troubling. In key moments, the Steelers defense is giving up big plays and not creating turnovers. Statistically, they're the 5th best defense in yards against. But any Steelers fan will tell you that there are problems. The root of the problems? Two words: Troy Polamalu. The last four weeks have shown just how important he is to that defense. Without him, the secondary is average at best. They have no depth at safety. Without him, they have to drop Woodley into coverage much more to make up for all the ground Tyrone Carter can't cover in Polamalu's place. Without him, they lose their biggest playmaker and turnover machine.

Luckily for the Steelers, Polamalu comes back next week to face the Browns. If he's 100% healthy, the Steelers defense could return to form, which would mean bad, bad things for the NFL. Their offense is lighting teams up through the air (Ben Roethlisberger leads the NFL in completion % at 73.5%) and they may have found a decent running back in Rashard Mendenhall. Still, they have a lot of questions to answer. Will Polamalu be healthy? Will the defense step it up in the fourth quarter? Can Ben keep it up? Is Mendenhall for real?

No matter what, the matchups between the Ravens and Steelers will be very, very interesting. Even if they are shootouts. And even if they are for second place in the AFC North.

National Media Siding with Ravens

I'm in a journalism class where we have to set up a weekly blog. The purpose of said blog is to blog about something - anything - media-related. Naturally, my topic is how the media views the Ravens. I thought I would shamelessly promote the latest article here. http://tonyherman.org/

It's actually pretty interesting because the last time the Ravens played the Patriots in 2007, the Ravens had a lot to say about the officials then, too. After that game, everyone outside of Baltimore was just telling the Ravens to shut up. This time it's a different story.

NFL Power Rankings 2009: Week 5

My bad for not posting too much other than power rankings lately. I have a few ideas lined up for the week to do about one a day until next Tuesday. Here's hoping I can actually get to it. Without further ado, the quite difficult week 5 power rankings (I really felt like a prisoner to my own rules this week; you'll see):

1. New York Giants (last week's rank: 1; change: 0): There just aren't many holes in this team. In what could be a crowded NFC championship race, they have just as many weapons as anyone.
2. Indianapolis Colts (2; 0): While Brett Favre and Drew Brees are getting all the hype, Peyton Manning's having a career year. That's saying something.
3. New Orleans Saints (3; 0): You can really just label them "1c." They've won with passing, running, and now defense. Darren Sharper is the free agent acquisition of the year.
4. Minnesota Vikings (6; +2): If Brett Favre's arm actually does hold up this year, the NFC is in trouble.
5. New York Jets (5; 0): Ugh. Just two weeks ago, the Jets beat the Patriots. Since then, I think New England has gotten their groove back and the Jets' suspect offense has been discovered. Nonetheless, ranking laws are ranking laws.
6. New England Patriots (7; +1): They're just so good at maintaining time of possession. They always could with their short passing game; now they have that and a running game.
7. Baltimore Ravens (3; -4): Things are looking up in Baltimore when you can play a mistake-plagued, horrid-luck game and still come within a drop of winning at Foxboro.
8. Denver Broncos (9; +1): The offense isn't anything special. Overrated. At this point in time, I don't think we can say the same thing about the defense.
9. Philadelphia Eagles (8; -1): The bye week really screws with you doesn't it? I feel like the Eagles haven't played in a month. They have a great chance to be 5-1 heading into their showdown with the Giants.
10. Chicago Bears (14; +4): After the ugly beginning in Green Bay, Chicago has won a quiet 3 in a row. The less you hear about Jay Cutler, the better this team is doing.
11. Atlanta Falcons (12; +1): They took the bye week to hopefully improve their run defense. Huge game at San Francisco this week.
12. San Francisco 49ers (15; +3): Good teams dominate inferior opponents in all three phases of the game. The 49ers did that to the Rams.
13. Cincinnati Bengals (13; 0): I let the Bears and 49ers leapfrog them because of how inept they looked at times against the Browns. They need to learn to play four quarters of football.
14. Pittsburgh Steelers (17; +3): Speaking of playing four quarters of football, it's not like the Steelers to give up all of those late points. The mojo of this team isn't there right now.
15. San Diego Chargers (10; -5): I knew they were horrid against the run, but that was just embarrassing.
16. Dallas Cowboys (11; -5): All of a sudden the Cowboys have gone from the team with all the talent in the world that couldn't get it done to a team that's just not that good.
17. Green Bay Packers (16; -1): The defense isn't that good. Ryan Grant doesn't look that good. The offensive line just looks bad. Aaron Rodgers is the only thing keeping this season from being a disaster.
18. Jacksonville Jaguars (19; +1): The Jags rebounded nicely from 0-2 with 2 wins against divisional opponents. It'll take a lot to catch Indy, though.
19. Houston Texans (20; +1): The Texans played like they were supposed to stomp the Raiders, and they were. This week's game at Arizona may be fun to watch.
20. Miami Dolphins (24; +4): Fantasy note: If Ricky Williams is a free agent in your league, take a look at his numbers. I think you'll be surprised.
21. Arizona Cardinals (21; 0): They needed the early bye about as much as anyone could. With the way San Francisco is playing, they're going to need to turn it around soon.
22. Buffalo Bills (18; -4): That was ugly. Both scoring only 10 against Miami and giving up 38 to Miami are not good things.
23. Seattle Seahawks (23; 0): You gotta feel bad for Matt Hasselbeck and the Seahawks. The NFC West race would be a lot more fun with him in it.
24. Carolina Panthers (25; +1): Perhaps I'm too nice to Carolina, but I just think they have too much on offense to be that bad this season.
25. Detroit Lions (26; +1): Not that I condone giving up 48 points in a game, but I'm bitter at Tennessee, so they get the bump up despite the loss.
26. Washington Redskins (28; +2): You do realize they get Carolina and Kansas City the next two weeks, right? They could be 4-2 at that point. Unless they beat Philadelphia after that, they stay down here.
27. Tennessee Titans (22; -5): Tennessee, I can't rank on talent alone. You're down here with the dredges of the league because you started playing like them.
28. Oakland Raiders (27; -1): Is there anyone in the NFL you would want to play for less than the Raiders?
29. Cleveland Browns (32; +3): Derek Anderson gives them a better shot at winning than Quinn does, that's for sure. Derek Anderson is really, really bad, by the way.
30. Kansas City Chiefs (29; -1): If I'm Todd Haley, I'm convincing my guys this is the week they get in the win column. They're not better than Dallas, but they'll probably play harder.
31. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (30; -1): Fun fact: The Bucs have dropped one spot for the third week in a row. Does this mean the Rams are getting lucky this week?
32. St. Louis Rams (31; 0): They're playing Minnesota. I highly doubt this is the one.

And, of course, the division rankings. Only one change this week: the AFC North and AFC South flip flop.
1. NFC East (last week: 1): 13.00 average rank amongst the four teams
2. AFC East (2): 13.25
3. NFC North (3): 14.00
4. AFC North (5): 15.75
5. AFC South (4): 16.50
6. NFC South (6): 17.25
7. AFC West (7): 20.25
8. NFC West (8): 22.00

NFL Power Rankings 2009: Week 4

There was a lot less movement this week, although we did have one double digit move. Sorry, Pittsburgh, enough's enough. The NFC North made the biggest move of the week, not because they did anything really special, but because I didn't realize the Bengals were actually good when I dropped the Packers so far last week and because there are so, so many bad teams in this league that I had to reward the Lions. With no other introduction needed ...

1. New York Giants (last week: 1; change: 0): That was about as dominant as it gets. They play in too tough a division to feel too comfortable up here, though.
2. Indianapolis Colts (2; 0): Don't you get the feeling when watching Peyton Manning throw to Pierre Garcon that Marvin Harrison's entire career was completely overrated?
3. Baltimore Ravens (3; 0): The gauntlet begins. It doesn't get too much tougher than at New England, home against the suddenly potent Bengals and then at Minnesota three weeks in a row.
4. New Orleans Saints (4; 0): They face maybe the best defense in the league this week with the Jets. If they score at will on them, then the rest of the league will take notice.
5. New York Jets (5; 0): You think they have swagger now? Imagine if they beat the Saints in New Orleans.
6. Minnesota Vikings (8; +2): Brett Favre ... Touche.
7. New England Patriots (9; +2): Atlanta's a good team, so that was a good win. The Patriots need Wes Welker because Joey Galloway isn't working out.
8. Philadelphia Eagles (10; +2): How used does Jeff Garcia feel? They bring him in in case the Kolb experiment didn't work out. It did. Kudos to him for proving everyone wrong.
9. Denver Broncos (15; +6): Eh. They're probably too high. At some point, though, you have to reward wins. I still can't believe how well their defense is playing.
10. San Diego Chargers (12; +2): Philip Rivers is a step below Brees/Brady/Manning, but I do believe he is the top of the second tier of quarterbacks in this league.
11. Dallas Cowboys (13; +2): Conservative Tony Romo just can't last, can it? Either way, they have a heck of a ground game there.
12. Atlanta Falcons (6; -6): A little tough for dropping a hard fought game at New England, but there's a strong crop of 2-1 teams out there. They'll be in the battle for the postseason at the end.
13. Cincinnati Bengals (19; +6): Cedric Benson. What a story. This team wants to win, and it shows.
14. Chicago Bears (14; 0): None of their games seem convincing. I image they'll be hanging around the mid-teens for most of the year.
15. San Francisco 49ers (11; -4): There is absolutely no shame in how they lost that game. Vernon Davis is playing like never before.
16. Green Bay Packers (21; +5): No, they don't deserve to be up 5 for beating the Rams. In retrospect, they didn't deserve to drop double digits for losing to Cincinnati. This is a compromise.
17. Pittsburgh Steelers (7; -10): They have issues. Fourth quarter collapses on defense. Lack of pressure on the quarterback. Patchy offensive line play. Questionable playcalling. That being said, they'll still make the playoffs.
18. Buffalo Bills (16; -2): You already know my thoughts on the T.O. situation. What's more interesting to me is how they incorporate Marshawn Lynch.
19. Jacksonville Jaguars (26; +7): It gets really, really muddled down here. This won't be the first leapfrog between the 19 and 26 spots.
20. Houston Texans (17; -3): Houston being mediocre is about as predictable as Oakland being bad.
21. Arizona Cardinals (18; -3): It's hard to consider a season when you get to the Super Bowl to be a fluke, but unless they put this bye week to good use, I think we can do just that.
22. Tennessee Titans (22; 0): They're not playing good defense, and they definitely don't have the offense to be compensate.
23. Seattle Seahawks (23; 0): Kudos to this team for playing hard with Seneca Wallace at quarterback. It just seems like this isn't Seattle's year for the second consecutive time.
24. Miami Dolphins (24; 0): Can we talk for one second about the fact the Ravens - because they were in second place in the North last year - play the combined 5-1 Patriots and Colts this year while the Steelers play the combined 0-6 Titans and Dolphins?
25. Carolina Panthers (25; 0): You know there are some bad teams in this league when the Panthers are 25th here.
26. Detroit Lions (32; +6): You knew and I knew they weren't the single worst team in the league, but I had to keep them there until they won. I think this is more like it.
27. Oakland Raiders (27; 0): I broke my own rule last week. I just realized that I dropped the Raiders 2 spots in my rankings when they beat the Chiefs. I notice nobody complained.
28. Washington Redskins (20; -8): Albert Haynesworth. Brian Orakpo. Clinton Portis. Santana Moss. Chris Cooley. LaRon Landry. These are good players. How are they so bad?
29. Kansas City Chiefs (28; -1): Their offense is bad, but their defense is worse. A lot worse.
30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (29; -1): Have they not noticed that this whole rookie quarterback/rookie coach thing seems to be working? Why is Josh Freeman not playing?
31. St. Louis Rams (31; 0): I'm telling you, they have a better chance to win with Kyle Boller playing than Mark Bulger.
32. Cleveland Browns (32; 0): They just make consistently bad decisions. Hmm, I kind of want to write a post about that now.

Division Rankings
1. NFC East (last week: 1): 12.00 average ranking amongst the four teams
2. AFC East (2): 13.50
3. NFC North (6): 15.50
4. AFC South (5): 15.75
5. AFC North (3): 16.25
6. NFC South (4): 17.75
7. AFC West (7): 18.75
8. NFC West (8): 22.50

Don't Get Too Excited About Week 3

Week 3 in the NFL was a sensational one ... that is already being way too sensationalized. Brett Favre is 28, not 38! The defending champs are no more! Tom Brady is great again! Drew Brees is a schlub, but Pierre Thomas will carry New Orleans all the way! (Okay, nobody's said that, but after what Brees didn't do for my fantasy team this week, I'm bitter.) Here's a few things to keep in mind when sifting through your NFL stories this week.

The NFC North looked strong at 4-0 this week ... But most divisions could do that with 3 games against the NFC West and 1 against the Redskins.

Titans and Dolphins apologists will tell you at 0-3, all is not yet lost. They're wrong. The Dolphins have to catch up to two AFC title contenders in their division and the Titans have to go 12-1 to catch up to the perennial 12-win Colts. Some food for thought for Tennessee fans: your schedule hasn't been that though. Neither the Steelers nor the Texans have a win outside of their game against you.

ESPN is going to try all week to convince you Terrell Owens is on the verge of a major breakdown in Buffalo. I don't like T.O. (pictured, right), but his press conference after the Bills' loss to the Saints made me angry, and not towards him. Terrible, terrible journalism. I've never heard so many loaded questions in my life.

Darrius Heyward-Bey is already being labeled as a colossal first round bust. For where he was taken in this year's NFL Draft, Heyward-Bey has been and will continue to be a bust. However, everyone knew that ahead of time, so is it fair? Did Heyward-Bey come out and say he was the best wide receiver in the draft? Or was he just a late first round prospect that the Raiders stupidly took at number 7? You already know this answer. Having the single worst starting quarterback in the NFL can't help his chances either.

Image source: http://media.photobucket.com/image/Terrell%20Owens%20Bills/Blainorama/terrell-owens2.jpg

NFL Power Rankings 2009: Week 3

Wow. After week 2 knocked gave 4 of the top 6 teams in the rankings losses, week 3 is looking quite different. A lot of teams fell what may seem a disproportionate amount based on their week 1 performances (but won anyway), and a lot of teams rose based on the fact I'm a lot more sold on them 2 weeks in than 1. So, without further ado ...

1. New York Giants (last week: 3; change: +2): To beat two divisional rivals in the first two weeks is huge. Eli Manning has finally proven to the doubters he's an upper echelon quarterback.

2. Indianapolis Colts (4; +2): The run defense looks horrid, but they're 2-0. They're one of the few teams in the league you're never going to want to bet against.

3. Baltimore Ravens (7; +4): ESPN and Peter King's number one team, the Ravens scored a huge win cross country in San Diego. They need to improve their pass defense, though.

4. New Orleans Saints (13; +9): The way they manhandled a stout Philadelphia defense was certainly eye-opening. What happens on defense when they're not facing Jake Delhomme or Kevin Kolb?

5. New York Jets (14; +9): They talked the talk, and then walked the walk. Mark Sanchez is going to be a great player in this league.

6. Atlanta Falcons (10; +4): In the same boat as the Saints. We know what they have offensively. Their defense has yet to be tested (until this week at New England).

7. Pittsburgh Steelers (1; -6): They need to be better offensively in just about every way. Don't sleep on the Steelers-Bengals game this weekend.

8. Minnesota Vikings (12; +4): Perhaps they're better than this, but their first two opponents (the Browns and the Lions) will have a combined total of 4 wins this year, so I can't take them seriously yet.

9. New England Patriots (2; -7): We knew they didn't have any leadership on defense. It's truly stunning how different of a quarterback Tom Brady is this year.

10. Philadelphia Eagles (5; -5): They reside here for a little bit. Once McNabb comes back, they will climb back up the rankings.

11. San Francisco 49ers (17; +6): Well, they certainly got Frank Gore going, and he showed why, when healthy, he's a top 5 running back in this league. I still can't believe Shaun Hill is quarterbacking a 2-0 team.

12. San Diego Chargers (6; -6): Philip Rivers can definitely throw the ball. It's too bad their linebackers can't tackle anybody and their coach can't coach anybody.

13. Dallas Cowboys (8; -5): I hate to pile on, but has Tony Romo ever won a game of any significance? Their running game looked great, though.

14. Chicago Bears (16; +2): Hmm. As you see, I don't know what to do with the Bears. They could just as easily be 2-0 as 0-2. Matt Forte's been awfully quiet this year.

15. Denver Broncos (23; +8): I know, I know. They played the Bengals and the Browns. That being said, the defense is playing hard and fast, and Kyle Orton has a sort of moxie about him, no?

16. Buffalo Bills (24; +8): They're a Leodis McKelvin fumble away from 2-0. Trent Edwards can sling the ball around, but most impressive is the way Fred Jackson's been running.

17. Houston Texans (26; +9): So there's the offense we remember from last year. They're going to hang around this spot all year because we also saw the defense from last year again.

18. Arizona Cardinals (18; 0): What can be said about Kurt Warner that hasn't already been said? How is 24 for 26 even possible?

19. Cincinnati Bengals (27; +8): They're one of the flukiest plays ever away from being 2-0 themselves. That was an impressive win at Green Bay. If they can beat Pittsburgh this week, look for them to soar up these rankings.

20. Washington Redskins (20; 0): They may have one of the worst offenses I have ever seen in my entire life. It's a good thing their defense will keep them in a lot of games.

21. Green Bay Packers (11; -10): The rare double digit move. You can't consider yourself to be a top half team in this league with losses like that. The offensive line is horrid.

22. Tennesee Titans (9; -13): I will probably never have a team move 13 spots one way or the other ever again. I just thought they could pull it together to win at Houston, and I recognize that Houston has a good offense. I was still stunned to see all the missed assignments.

23. Seattle Seahawks (15; -8): I really shouldn't have had them as high as 15 after week 1 anyway. Losing Matt Hasselbeck really hurts (wow, shocker of the week).

24. Miami Dolphins (22; -2): It looked like they didn't show up for week 1 because they were too busy getting prepared for week 2. And they still lost. What does that say?

25. Carolina Panthers (21; -4): Good to see Jake Delhomme have a "normal" game again. Now we're just faced with the conclusion that he's not that good.

26. Jacksonville Jaguars (19; -7): Not that I was 100% sure the Jags were going to win, but they really got tossed around by the Cardinals. It's only week 3, but they need to turn things around in a hurry.

27. Oakland Raiders (25; -2): Heading into the last drive of the game, JaMarcus Russell had 3 completions. That's an astonishing statistic.

28. Kansas City Chiefs (29; +1): They've been in two games in a row, but haven't figured out how to win yet. I like some of the players on this team, especially Dwayne Bowe.

29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (28; -1): Similarly to how Shaun Hill keeps winning and you don't know why, Byron Leftwich just keeps losing and you're not sure why. Of course, he really doesn't have much around him.

30. Cleveland Browns (30; 0): They're certainly bad enough to be the worst team in the league.

31. St. Louis Rams (31; 0): At least they were competitive this week.

32. Detroit Lions (32; 0): I'm not sure I would bet against the Lions this week. I'm being serious, too.

Division Rankings! (Sorry, I forgot these last week.)

1. NFC East (average rank: 11.0): As usual, they sit perched atop the division rankings. Having 3 upper echelon teams helps.

2. AFC East (13.5): The Pats and Dolphins fall a bit, but the ascent of the Bills and Jets more than makes up for it.

3. AFC North (14.75): They probably won't get too much above this no matter what because the only place the Browns are destined to go is down.

4. NFC South (16.0): Two real good teams, two real bad teams. We'll see if the Panthers can turn things around, because the Bucs probably won't.

5. AFC South (16.75): Definitely the division with the most potential for upward movement.

6. NFC North (18.75): My brutal ranking of the Pack contributed to this. They definitely have a lot more room to go up than down, too.

7. AFC West (20.5): And here come the western divisions. The AFC (buoyed by Denver's rise) gets the slight nod this week.

8. NFC West (20.75): I do think they're a better division than the AFC West, but the numbers don't lie.

Quick Correction

On Wednesday's show, I said Keyshawn Johnson made his inflammatory remark toward Raven wide receivers during ESPN's "Sunday NFL Countdown." I was wrong, it was during a conference call on ESPN earlier that day. My bad.

NFL Power Rankings 2009: Week 2

Sorry about the little delay here. If you were looking for the AL Division races post, it came up on blogger before the power rankings post, so check it out here. Sorry about the font issues with that one, by the way. But anyway, here are week 2 power rankings. You will notice one thing immediately: I, 100%, will not drop a team if they won their game. That means the Steelers, Patriots, Ravens and Chargers, among others, can breathe a little easier after some obvious flaws were shown in week 1. The mark of a good team is 1) to be able to win games despite your flaws, and 2) to be able to learn from your mistakes and correct them for the next week. So, if the problems persist and any of those teams fall because of them, we could see significant droppage. With that made-up word, I give you week 2.

1. Pittsburgh Steelers (last week: 1; change: 0): With Santonio Holmes emerging as a star in this league, Pittsburgh will be able to get away with throwing the ball more. It's not going to do anything for Big Ben's health, though.

2. New England Patriots (2; 0): Their defense, as we thought, isn't too much. That being said, the offense is only beginning to click. By the end of the year, they'll be consistently putting up 30+ again.

3. New York Giants (3; 0): If Ahmad Bradshaw can continue being effective (he put up pretty good numbers against what will be a very good Redskins rush D), the Giants shouldn't even notice Derrick Ward is gone.

4. Indianapolis Colts (4; 0): Sure, the win against Jacksonville wasn't the prettiest of things, but the Colts were slow out of the gates last year, too. They have Peyton Manning.

5. Philadelphia Eagles (5; 0): It's a shame McNabb got hurt. I don't care what the experts are saying, it's competitive instinct to go diving into the end zone there.

6. San Diego Chargers (6; 0): Analyzing LaDainian Tomlinson's ability/role in San Diego's offense is befuddling. It doesn't do him any favors that Darren Sproles is a heck of a football player.

7. Baltimore Ravens (7; 0): Which team are they? The team that's top 3 in the league in both offense and defense? Or the team that was tied with a 2-14 team at home with 3:00 left in the game? You'll find out in San Diego this week.

8. Dallas Cowboys (9; +1): Tony Romo appears happy and comfortable. It will be interesting to see if Patrick Crayton can continue to shine behind Roy Williams.

9. Tennesee Titans (8; -1): They played tough and almost won a game they weren't supposed to win. The Kerry Collins jokes need to stop. He's effective enough to be a top-half QB in this league.

10. Atlanta Falcons (10; 0): If they can get that kind of performance from their defense consistently, Atlanta will be in the NFC title race. I just don't think they can.

11. Green Bay Packers (11; 0): The Bears put up some points, but I still liked what I saw in the Packers defense. Aaron Rodgers to Greg Jennings is a beautiful thing.

12. Minnesota Vikings (16; +4): Okay, my bad. I got too focused on you-know-who. I apologize to Adrian Peterson for not respecting his preposterous abilities.

13. New Orleans Saints (17; +4): He scores 6 TD's and Drew Brees gets up to the podium and starts talking about all of their missed opportunities. This Philly game could get real interesting.

14. New York Jets (21; +7): Tied with the team below them for my biggest jump of the week. Rex Ryan is going to take this rookie coach with rookie qb thing and run like the wind with it.

15. Seattle Seahawks (22; +7): 28-0 is 28-0 no matter who you play against. Matt Hasselbeck is confirming what a few people forgot; when he has some weapons around him, he's a darn good quarterback.

16. Chicago Bears (12; -4): To still be in that Packer game considering everything in that game is remarkable. They have a real opportunity against Pittsburgh with Polamalu out.

17. San Francisco 49ers (23; +6): There aren't many teams in the NFL who are doing more with less than the 49ers. Mike Singletary gets his guys to play as hard as anyone.

18. Arizona Cardinals (13; -5): Oh, dear. Warner started to look old and their play was generally uninspired. With Seattle and San Francisco stepping up, Arizona will have to do the same if they want back in the playoffs.

19. Jacksonville Jaguars (18; -1): Nothing wrong with losing a close game to the Colts. It's games like those, though, that the Jags just never seem to be able to pull out.

20. Washington Redskins (19; -1): If the Redskins were down 4 to the Eagles with 3:00 left and the ball, would you feel confident Jason Campbell could lead them down the field? Me neither.

21. Carolina Panthers (14; -7): Ouch. If Delhomme struggles mightily again this week, we can officially start to say that one game has ruined the career of an otherwise good NFL quarterback. Not much reason for optimism around Carolina.

22. Miami Dolphins (15; -7): They probably don't deserve this drop, but I was discouraged by their game against Atlanta. Turner was ineffective, Elam missed two fgs, but the Dolphins still couldn't make things real interesting. Not good.

23. Denver Broncos (26; +3): Who wouldn't rather be lucky than good? Cincinnati's offense should be okay this year, so that was a real good sign for Denver's defense.

24. Buffalo Bills (25; +1): Oh, Buffalo. You really do find ways to lose games like none other. Well, not quite as bad as Cincinnati but still. Fred Jackson, by the way, looks terrific.

25. Oakland Raiders (27; +2): I don't believe I'm exaggerating for a moment when I say the Raiders 1) have one of the three worst starting quarterbacks in the NFL, and 2) would compete with the Chargers to make the playoffs if they had even an average quarterback.

26. Houston Texans (20; -6): There is absolutely no excuse for this team not to score 20+ every single week. Disappointing doesn't even begin to describe week 1.

27. Cincinnati Bengals (24; -3): Words can't begin to cover what Bengals fans must have felt Sunday night. A bigger issue: How did their finally healthy offense only put up 7 on the Broncos?

28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (28; 0): A surprisingly game Bucs team did what they could against Dallas. They just ... can't do much.

29. Kansas City Chiefs (29; 0): The Chiefs took advantage of every opportunity they were given on Sunday. They will have to continue to do so to scratch out a few wins this year.

30. Cleveland Browns (30; 0): Half of me wants to scold the Browns for not being able to tackle. The other half of me wants to thank the Browns for all the good times I've had at their expense.

31. St. Louis Rams (31; 0): Simply put, they're the worst team in the league. I want to put them at 32 but ...

32. Detroit Lions (32; 0): Then I look at the stat of the week.

NFL Power Rankings 2009: Week 1

Oh, it's that time again. POWER RANKINGS. Yes, in caps. There's a few surprised thrown in the bag here, especially when you look down at division rankings. Comments, both good and bad, are of course appreciated.

1. Pittsburgh Steelers: They return basically the same team that won the Super Bowl ... and might be better. With their schedule, they have the best chance in the league to go 16-0 (but still unlikely).

2. New England Patriots: They have a few questions on the defensive side of the ball after this week, but any Tom Brady-led team will usually be in the top 3.

3. New York Giants: Don't forget how good of a season they had last year. They could have the best defense in the NFC.

4. Indianapolis Colts: Donald Brown should get the running game going again, and they should put up more points because of it.

5. Philadelphia Eagles: They could be in the running with the Patriots and Saints for the best offense in the league. A historically stout defense could be a weakness this year, though.

6. San Diego Chargers: Enough talent to be in the top 3. Will it all actually come together this year?

7. Baltimore Ravens: They don't need a huge year out of Mark Clayton/Demetrius Williams/Kelley Washington. They just need them to stretch the field.

8. Tennesee Titans: It will be hard to duplicate their success from last year with a quarterback who's only gotten older and minus their best defensive player.

9. Dallas Cowboys: Tony Romo needs the playoffs this year to be taken seriously as a top-flight NFL quarterback.

10. Atlanta Falcons: Plenty to love about their offense, but their lack of defensive leadership (losing Keith Brooking and Lawyer Milloy) is troublesome.

11. Green Bay Packers: Aaron Rodgers may have the best fantasy year of any quarterback in the league. Will the transition to 3-4 on defense work?

12. Chicago Bears: Gave up a ton, but are counting on Cutler to pay huge dividends this year. To go all the way, though, they will need a better defensive performance than last year.

13. Arizona Cardinals: I had them as the 12th best team out of 12 heading into the postseason last year. I guess I don't learn from my mistakes.

14. Carolina Panthers: Seemingly way too low for a team with a first round playoff bye last year. The NFC South is too tumultuous to think they will duplicate that success.

15. Miami Dolphins: If the Dolphins are successful this year, it will be because Pat White has revolutionized the already revolutionary Wildcat.

16. Minnesota Vikings: I don't believe in Brett Favre. At all. At least Tavaris Jackson could scramble.

17. New Orleans Saints: My pick to win the NFC South at the end of the year. There's a lot to like about their defensive improvements.

18. Jacksonville Jaguars: A common sleeper pick for the postseason this year. David Garrard is a better quarterback than he is given credit for being.

19. Washington Redskins: Optimism abounds in D.C. - again. I think nothing about their offense, but I think Brian Orakpo will be the defensive rookie of the year.

20. Houston Texans: Will this be the year? They have a young, talented front seven on defense, but the secondary could be a liability.

21. New York Jets: Rex Ryan runs a high risk, high reward defense. It works when you have two future hall of famers playing up the middle. Memo: Jenkins/Scott/Rhodes does not equal Ngata/Lewis/Reed.

22. Seattle Seahawks: I think the world of Matt Hasselbeck, and I love the Houshmandzadeh signing. The offensive line is beyond bad, though.

23. San Francisco 49ers: Talent abounds in every position except for quarterback ... the most important position.

24. Cincinnati Bengals: If Palmer is healthy, Cincy could make some noise this year. They need him upright, though, because they won't be able to run the ball.

25. Buffalo Bills: Questions abound. TO's health? New offensive coordinator? How will the holdout affect Maybin? Are they moving to Toronto?

26. Denver Broncos: Their defense didn't get much upgrading, and they downgraded significantly at quarterback.

27. Oakland Raiders: Essentially wasted 2009 and 2011 first round choices on a second round talent and a guy they should have traded a third rounder for. Thanks Oakland.

28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: They may be able to run the ball between Cadillac, Graham and Ward ... but that's about it.

29. Kansas City Chiefs: With Cassel in, they could win a few games. Without Cassel, they may be number 32.

30. Cleveland Browns: No running game. No quarterback. Scant receivers. No defensive line. No secondary. At least they have Joshua Cribbs.

31. St. Louis Rams: The Rams - with Sam Bradford - will be a team to watch ... next year.

32. Detroit Lions: They just didn't do much to a defense that gave up 30+ points 11 times last year.

And, of course, the division rankings ...

1. NFC East: 9.00

2. AFC South: 12.50

3. AFC North: 15.50

4. AFC East: 15.75

5. NFC South: 17.25

6. NFC North: 17.75

7. AFC West: 22.25

8. NFC West: 22.50

Lots of Screwy NFL Things

The NFL season officially begins in 10 days when the Tennessee Titans travel to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field. The only NFL talk going on right now should be preview-related; you know, who's going to the Super Bowl, who's winning MVP, all that nonsense that nobody can really predict (yes, sadly, including us) but try to anyway.

So why, every time you turn on your TV, is there another NFL storyline?

A few of the odd ones:

Brett Keisel signs an extension with the Steelers. I'm not one to challenge the Steelers front office; they have amassed 6 Super Bowls and I work at Burger King. It just seems that with their extensive list of 2010 free agents (Willie Parker, Casey Hampton, Hines Ward, Ryan Clark, William Gay, Dan Sepulveda), the Steelers would go out of their way to resign an average defensive end on the downside of his career.

And now Brett Keisel (pictured, left) is going to go to the Pro Bowl.

Ravens put Samari Rolle on the PUP list to start the season. At first glance, odd? No. Then you remember Samari Rolle was actually a free agent this offseason. The Ravens are stacked at cornerback - a recent SI article called their talent at the position "embarrassingly deep" - with starters Fabian Washington and Domonique Foxworth, ex-starter Frank Walker, nickelback Chris Carr and highly touted third round pick Lardarius Webb. Rolle hasn't even practiced yet. Sources close to the team are wondering whether he's going to play at all. So how does that merit the $3 million he's earning this year?

Brandon Marshall, the entire NFL world thinks you're a joke. Josh McDaniels, you're really not far behind. In suspending Brandon Marshall (pictured, right) for a puny 14 days, all McDaniels is doing is keeping him out of preseason and training camp - which nobody wants to go through anyway. Suspend the guy the entire season or trade him for a second round pick to some desperate time. How can you start a guy who basically boycotted training camp merely because he didn't want to be there? It would have been better if he didn't show up. Instead, he's there walking, batting down passes thrown to him, punting balls handed to him. He's six years old, and he gets a slap on the wrist.

Broncos: You're going to be terrible. Kyle Orton is an awful, awful quarterback. I still maintain you got the better end of the Jay Cutler deal - first round draft picks in the NFL are huge. That being said, this year ain't it. Develop Eddie Royal more. Brandon Stokley is serviceable. So is Jabar Gaffney. Point being: your receivers aren't that bad anyway, but it wouldn't matter if Randy Moss and Larry Fitzgerald were lining up for you, anyway. You would still be bad. Crack down on Marshall.

Now that that rant is done, Osi Umenyiora walks out of Giants camp because of a dispute with his defensive coordinator? I think I speak for everyone when I say ... please, please just let the NFL season start so we can have games to talk about.

Image Sources:

http://www.epicathlete.com/images/bodyImage_coachesKeisel.gif

http://www.roblongshow.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/brandon_marshall_blog1.jpg

Since We've Been Gone ...

You know, summer is one of those times of year that's always so conflicting. School's out; yay! Baseball season is being dominated by the Yankees and Red Sox; boo! We're going to the beach; yay! Your sole source of NFL news is about your team's seventh string running back; boo! ... And so it goes. This summer, however, has been quite an exciting one for the sports world. Here's a brief recap of what you've missed if you haven't seen a minute of ESPN since school ended.

Brett Favre announced he was coming back. But then everyone thought he was going to retire because of his arm. But then he made it clear he was coming back ... and then announced he was retiring for good. Finally, it's clear he's coming back for good (or at least until his arm gives way in week 6). The winners during this situation: the 13 teams on the Vikings' schedule. Brett Favre (pictured, left) is a joke. He can't throw the ball accurate more than 30 yards in the air,

and at this stage in his life, makes poorer decisions than ever. The losers during this situation? Everyone else. The Vikings, for having to put up with this distraction all summer. The fans, who used to be very pro-Favre around America, and now hate the guy. Sage Rosenfels and Tavaris Jackson. One of those guys thought he was going to be the starting quarterback of a Super Bowl contending team this fall. That same guy is about to be a third stringer. Brad Childress, perhaps the biggest goat of all, who has admitted that he will sell his soul to the devil and abandon his team for a risky player. And, of course Favre. Brett, you're still going to the hall of fame; I just don't know whos going to be there to support you.

Elsewhere in the NFL, draft picks are showing why their teams drafted them. Except Michael Crabtree, because he thinks he deserves top three, not top ten, money because he feels he was a top three, not top ten, player. Oh, and Andre Smith, because who honestly thought the Bengals' organization could do anything right? Oh, and Tyson Jackson, because people are still wondering why the hell the Chiefs took him.

In the NBA, Shaq and LeBron are now together ... And every single fair-weather NBA fan in the entire world has become a Cavs fan, because you have no sense of humor at all if you dislike both of those players. I'm proud to say one of the very few predictions I got right last year was predicting LA would go all the way and win the NBA championship, and I made that prediction because of how much better LA was inside than Cleveland. Of course, I didn't realize that the Magic were that much better inside than Cleveland, too. If the big Shaqtus (pictured, right) has anything left in the tank, this should put Cleveland over the hump.

Of course, baseball is still in progress, and things are starting to get good, so there will be more on that soon. Maryland football is about to start up their regular season, and even though they're not supposed to be good, there will be more on that soon, too. And Maryland basketball is still months away, but they're supposed to be really good, so it's never too soon to start thinking about them either.

James Harrison, You Astound Me

Don't worry, it's going to go into the "explosive comments" section soon, but what James Harrison (pictured, left) said the other day has stupefied me enough so that I'm going to write a post on it. So, if you haven't heard it, here it is ...

So, James, rumor has it you're not going with your fellow Steelers to the White House. Why?

"If you want to see the Pittsburgh Steelers, invite us when we don't win the Super Bowl. So, as far as I'm concerned, he would have invited Arizona if they had won, so, I mean, maybe in the next four or five years, maybe year six when we don't win it I guess, I mean we're probably going to try to run for four or five years, get 10 or 11 rings ... no, but really, I don't feel the need to actually go, I don't feel like it's that big a deal to me."

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Are you serious right now? The man is refusing to go visit the President of the United States because he feels he deserves a special invitation. Winning the Super Bowl wasn't enough; he thinks the Steelers deserve special treatment. HE'S NOT GOING TO SEE THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES BECAUSE OBAMA WOULD HAVE INVITED ARIZONA IF THEY WON. 

You know, there are a lot of socially conscious professional athletes in all sports, so I'm not going to throw NFL players in general under the bus ... but come on. This is astounding. This is immature. This is pompous. This is just plain stupid.

And it's sad, because I respected Harrison a lot - until the Super Bowl. Then, there was the footage of him sucker punching a Cardinals player who was already on the ground. Now, this. I'm a Ravens fan first, but a football fan in general as a close second, so this makes me angry, because it reflects poorly upon the NFL. Very, very poorly. 

(Photo Credit: www.postchronicle.com)