One week is already in the books, and if there’s anything certain about the NFL this year, it’s that nothing is certain. Buffalo and Oakland pushed “Super Bowl contenders” New England and San Diego to the brink. The Steelers played an ugly, ugly game against a good Tennessee team, and managed to pull out a victory. The defending NFC Champs got beat at home by San Francisco.
Top 5
As I discussed last year, I’m a firm believer that the champs are still the champs until proven otherwise. Hence, I came out last year with the Giants on top of my power rankings. The same remains true this year. Even though the Steelers did it in ugly fashion, they got a win that could prove to be big down the stretch in terms of tiebreakers against a very good AFC team.
They didn’t play like the second best team in the league this week, but I still believe they are the second best in the league. They got lucky against Buffalo, catching the Bills running the same cover-2 defense twice (and of course, McKelvin fumbling). Can’t say much about the way their offense played, since the Steelers offense looked pretty much the same for 90% of the game.
They showed that the loss of No-Catch-ico won’t down the passing game, and they still have one of the best running games in the league. Their defense is great, but we knew that coming in. The big factor to determine their success will be the secondary. Will it be able to hold up against teams like Philadelphia and Dallas? We’ll find out this weekend.
Was there a more impressive team than Philly this weekend? Carolina was picked by many (but not me!) to win the NFC South. The Panthers looked flat and Philly racked up enough points to take Carolina’s running game out of the equation. The question in the city of Brotherly Love now revolves around Donovan McNabb’s cracked rib and how soon he can recover. Only one week til Vick.
Too high for an 0-1 team? I don’t think so. Who else would I put here? An Indy team that barely beat Jacksonville? A Baltimore team that struggled to beat Kansas City? No, Tennessee is one of the top 5 teams in the league, and they showed it, particularly on defense, against the Steelers on Thursday night.
Just Missed: Baltimore
Bottom Five
I know Detroit has lost 18 straight games. But they played New Orleans. Did any team look as bad this week as St. Louis? They scored no points, gave up 28 to Seattle, and just looked….terrible. Can their Nov. 1 matchup with the Lions come soon enough?
Cleveland actually had a halftime lead against the Vikings. But then the Minnesota coaching staff remembered that they had Adrian Peterson and Brett Favre didn’t have to win the game for them. Peterson went ape shit on the Browns defense, including a touchdown run (his 3rd of the game) that proved why he is the best back in the league. Cleveland sucks.
Detroit comes in 3rd to last because, despite their terrible defensive effort against the Saints, their offense actually had a good day (which is more than can be said for the other two). They face 3 of the teams ranked in my “Bottom 5,” so don’t be surprised if they ring up a few wins this year. Stafford had some issues in his first start, but he will come around. Peyton Manning went 3-13 in his first year. 3 wins for Stafford would be a 300% improvement over the Lions QBs last season.
No one, except maybe Cleveland or Buffalo, is better at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory than the Cincinnati Bungles. Did their offense even play for the first 3 1/2 quarters? Did their defense remember that the game is 60 minutes? Apparently not. Hard Knocks. Pete Prisco is a joke.
I had some options here, but the young Buccaneers get the honor after falling victim to the aerial assault of the Dallas Cowboys. They couldn’t tackle, couldn’t cover, and just couldn’t stop Dallas’ offense. Their offense looked mediocre at best, and Byron Leftwich is going to get killed behind that offensive line this year. Who is Gaines Adams?
Just Missed: Buffalo
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