Ian’s Week 10 Power Rankings

Tennessee escaped their first defeat once again, dodging a bullet in Chicago. The Bears completely shut down their running game, but Kerry Collins did it through the air to bring home the win. Another big day for the defense. They’re definitely the best team in the AFC and if they can get through Jacksonville and the Jets, they’ll be 14-0 going into their games against Pittsburgh and Indy to close out the season.

After winning it all, the Giants are determined to prove it wasn’t a fluke and that they really are the best team in the NFC. They’ve been playing some great football and they are the best team in the league right now. Their defense does a great job creating turnovers and getting pressure and their offense is balanced and dangerous. They can play with anyone and they’ll be playing in late January once again this year.

Jake Delhomme throws 4 interceptions in a game. You would think this would spell certain doom for this team. There were two reasons it didn’t. #1- they were playing Oakland. #2- they have a solid running game. DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart have combined to form one of the best two-back tandems in the league. Stewart leads the team with 5 touchdowns, but Williams has been seeing the load of carries as of late, and he has excelled. They are playing well on defense, and get another freebie against Detroit this week before a division showdown against Atlanta that could be for the division title.

Kurt Warner is gunslinging all over the place for the Whizard of Az. Anquan Boldin has scored in every game he’s played. This is an explosive offense that got even better when Tim Hightower replaced the Edge. They’re running away with their division and should gain even more breathing room after they beat Seattle this week. Their luster will be tested against Philly and the Giants the next two weeks and we’ll find out how good this team really is.

“He’s the man, the man with the Midas touch.” As much as I don’t like Belicheck, he’s done a heck of a job gameplanning without his top 2 running backs and MVP quarterback. New England’s win over Buffalo last week put them back in the driver seat in the AFC East. A big matchup against the Jets this week decides who gets the inside track to the division title. Having the easiest schedule in the league is helping them out. They get a rematch against a streaking Miami team next week before Pittsburgh comes to town in a game that might determine the bye in the AFC.

Just Missed: Washington Redskins

Or so should be their motto. They need to believe in something right now as they’re sitting at 0-9 with no teams left that have a losing record. If they’re going to win, they’re going to pull a big upset. Playing Daunte Culpepper might give them the best chance to win right now, but Drew Stanton is their future. They need to give Stanton a shot to see if he can cut it, or they should start watching Matthew Stafford film.

They’re probably playing the worst football of anyone in the league right now. But their two wins keep them out of the bottom spot. If you want to know what’s wrong with this team, it’s the cryptkeeper that runs the front office. Like Bond’s first adversary, he goes through henchmen faster than people can step forward.

Herm Edwards knew this was going to be a rebuilding year. You have to give this team some credit though. They’re fighting their hearts out. They’ve played some very close games lately and you have to think that if the ball hand bounced a few different ways, this team could be battling for a division title. Do I mean that this team is good enough to win the division? No. But the AFC West is so bad that the 5-4 Broncos are in first place.

Their stagnant offense comes off their bye week to face three of the top defenses in the league in Philly, Pittsburgh and Baltimore. Their games against Cleveland and Kansas City to end the season will have huge draft pick implications. If Cincy and KC both end up 1-14 going into their end-of-the-season matchup, we could see an essential “playoff” for the #1 overall pick. That might be all these fans have going for them.

As in what they’re getting beat out of them. The gloss of a new coach is wearing off and their insufficiency on the O-line is really showing up. They need to draft new linemen, because these guys just aren’t getting it done. We all know Bulger and Steven Jackson (when healthy) can make plays. But when there’s nowhere to run and Bulger is under constant pressure. With the offense going nowhere, it exposes their below-average defense to opposing offense who have just been tearing them apart.

Just Missed: Seattle Seahawks