With the Steelers heading into their bye at 4-1, we’re feeling pretty good right now. However, there are some other teams out there that aren’t feeling so well. Like Houston.
With the season a quarter of the way in the books, here’s the latest rundown on who’s hot and who’s not.
McDonalds Five
I’m Lovin It
I’m Lovin It
New York gets the nod once again this week for the top spot based not only on their thorough shellacking of Seattle, but also for having a tougher strength of schedule than Tennessee. I have a feeling that the Giants-Redskins rematch is going to be a bit more spirited than their first game where both teams were still shaking off the rust. The Giants get the Browns and 49ers before coming to Pittsburgh at the end of October.
Is it at all worrisome that Keith Bullock and Courtland Finnegan got into a fight during last week’s game? We’ll see if Jeff Fisher is able to keep his defense together. They played strong against a good Baltimore defense and scored when it counted. They have a bye this week and then Kansas City after that (which is like another bye) before their big showdown with Indy. Even though they’re up two games, losing that one to Indy would put their division title hopes in jeopardy as they have Green Bay, Chicago and Jacksonville after the Colts.
Of all the teams left on our schedule, I think Washington scares me the most. Jason Campbell is coming into his own and is having a year that could land him in the Pro Bowl. Clinton Portis is running great, and this past week’s performance against Philly was just the latest example. Antwaan Randle El struggled to catch the ball, but threw a touchdown pass. Once Jim Zorn starts getting funky with the playbook like that, watch out. We ain’t seen nothin yet.
I said last week that I wasn’t sure if the Steelers were a top 5 team. After their statistical domination of Jacksonville (holding their dual-headed rushing attack to 38 yards), I feel a lot better about putting the Steelers up here. Look at what they were able to do against Jacksonville with 4 starters out of the lineup. The Steelers had a chance to put the game away twice in the third quarter, but couldn’t convert. But they came back in the 4th quarter when it mattered. Good teams win games in the clutch. Good teams win close games.
DeAngelo Williams had a great game with 3 touchdowns, but that was just a slow delay of the inevitable: Jonathan Stewart is the real deal. But for right now, their two-RB style is working out. With Steve Smith back in the lineup, the offense is starting to hit its stride and Mushin Muhammad has reemerged at the ripe age of 35 to show he can still play. Carolina gets the nod over Dallas here because of Dallas’ struggles to close out Cincy (one of my bottom 5) and Carolina’s total domination of Kansas City. They have a big showdown this weekend with Tampa Bay for the division lead.
Just Missed: Dallas Cowboys
Is it 2009 yet?
Five teams that want to put this season behind them
Is Houston the worst team in the league? No. But they get the honroary nod at the bottom of my Power Rankings this week for their utter collapse against Indy. This team had high hopes coming into this season, but they are 0-2 in close games. They get Miami, Detroit, and Cincinnati the next three weeks, so they have the potential to get out of the basement. However, even if they had won just one of their close divisional games, they would be in position to make a run at .500 again this year. Now, we might just get to see the Futility Bowl Part I when they play Detroit in 2 weeks.
Let’s face it. This is the worst team in the league. Their defense is last in the league in every category, so they promote their defensive coordinator (Jim Haslett) to head coach. If it can count as a moral victory going into their bye, the Rams scored a season high (14 points) and gave up a season low (31 points) against Buffalo in Week 4. After spending their first round picks the last two years on defensive linemen (Adam Carriker, DT-Neb; Chris Long, DE-VA), it might be time to start scouting offensive linemen. Their second half of the season with Arizona and San Francisco twice, Miami and Atlanta is starting to look a little harder. If they keep this up, they have a legit shot at 0-16.
Matt Millen is fired, the team has “thier best week of practice this year” and gets trounced by the Bears. John Kitna got benched and Kyle Orton threw for over 300 yards. At least when they threw the ball all over the place, the offense was competitive. Their average loss is by 20.25 points and their season low in points allowed is 34. Not only is the offense not scoring, the defense can’t stop anyone. If they don’t beat Houston in 2 weeks, there might not be another team on their schedule they can beat. Is it Drew Stanton time yet?
They drop 31 points on the Broncos then get shut out by Carolina? Wow. Matthew Stafford better like wearing red. Everyone knew they were going to be bad, but this bad? Trade rumors are swirling around LJ. Even though Herm Edwards convinced the front office of his plan, he may have to do some more convincing if they keep this up. They get Oakland, Miami, and Cincinnati 3 of the last 5 weeks for Futility Bowls II, III, and IV. Bad news for KC: if they win more than one of those games, they might not get a top 5 pick. Their 1 win already has them pegged for the #3 pick.
This team is proving what we already knew. The last few years were flukes. This was an overachieving team. Chad Johnson doesn’t show up in big games. Housh is their best receiver and he’s looking for the first ticket out. They are trying to become a power football team with a pass-blocking O-line. Their defense is awful. They hung around the last two weeks against Dallas and the Giants. To their defense, they have played the league’s hardest schedule thus far. They get the Jets and Steelers before a showdown at Houston which could be a tiebreaker for a top 5 pick in the spring. How long until they fire Marvin Lewis? Anyone want to put odds on them signing Michael Vick when he gets out of prison?
Just Missed: Seattle Seahawks
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