NFL Power Rankings: Steelers, Saints up; Bolts down
1. Patriots (9-0) (1): Even when they’re not nearly at their best, they still beat the Colts on the road. Only a series of injuries or a colossal sequence of bad breaks stands between them and 16-0.
2. Colts (7-1) (2): Like Tony Dungy said afterward, “Up 10 points in the fourth quarter, we let ‘em off the hook.” No worries, though. We’ll see another Colts-Patriots matchup in the AFC Championship.
3. Cowboys (7-1) (3): Six days after signing a huge contract, Tony Romo slices and dices the Eagles’ defense on the road. A win at Giants Stadium on Sunday, and the Cowboys will be overwhelming favorites to win the division.
4. Steelers (6-2) (6): Goodness gracious. The Steelers were great on Monday nights at home with Bill Cowher. They were fantabulous last night under rookie head coach Mike Tomlin. That was one butt-kicking we witnessed against the punchless Ravens.
5. Packers (7-1) (4): Every week, we keep wondering whether they’re really this good. And every week, Brett Favre keeps reminding us that they are.
6. Giants (6-2) (5): Six straight and a week off to bask in the glow. Now the season is on the line on Sunday afternoon at Giants Stadium against Big D. Our early feeling on this one: Dallas wins. But like Bill Parcells always says: We reserve the right to change our mind.
7. Titans (6-2) (9): LenDale White might be better than Reggie Bush.
8. Lions (6-2) (10): Jon Kitna is one of the most remarkable stories of the season.
9. Saints (4-4) (14): No one is hotter than Drew Brees, who has 11 TDs and only 1 INT in the Saints’ four-game winning streak.
10. Jaguars (5-3) (8): Jags’ defense comes up empty in the Big Easy.
11. Buccaneers (5-4) (15): Layup win over mediocre Cardinals keep Bucs on top in NFC South. Might not be for long, though, the way the Saints keep playing.
12. Browns (5-3) (17): Derek Anderson is one of the other remarkable stories this year. Where the hell did this kid come from? And why didn’t Jamal Lewis play like this last year in Baltimore?
13. Chiefs (4-4) (13): Larry Johnson is down for at least a week.
14. Chargers (4-4) (7): So much for the Chargers’ resurgence in recent weeks. This team was not ready to play – especially defensively – against Adrian Peterson’s Vikings.
15. Bills (4-4) (22): NKR is right. There really is a lot to like about this Bills’ team. A very resilient group, especially with all the injuries.
16. Seahawks (4-4) (11): Seahawks blow fourth-quarter lead in Cleveland and go belly-up after bye. Shaun Alexander is dinged. Only saving grace is that they’re in the worst division in football.
17. Redskins (5-3) (16): This is a very mediocre team that just barely finds ways to be other very mediocre teams.
18. Ravens (4-4) 18): Steve McNair looks like he’s near the end.
19. Panthers (4-4) (12): No David Carr. No Vinny Testaverde. On to 2008!
20. Vikings (3-5) (25): Adrian Peterson is the best running to come along since LaDainian Tomlinson. Just ask LT. He saw firsthand on Sunday. Still a quarterback issue in Minny, though.
21. Texans (4-5) (23): Sage Rosenfels does just enough to keep the Texans afloat until Matt Schaub is ready to return.
22. Eagles (3-5) (20): This team is falling apart. Will Andy Reid take the fall?
23. Bears (3-5) (21): After a bye week, Da Bears visit Oakland, which is very nice this time of year … if you’re into wine country. Football? Blecch.
24. Broncos (3-5) (19): We’d like to put ‘em lower, Lance, but as you can see from the teams below, even the Broncos aren’t that bad. It’ll all feel a lot better with a win over the Chiefs on Sunday. Another loss, and the freefall continues.
25. Cardinals (3-5) (24): Kurt Warner is just not good enough any more to shoulder the full-time load.
26. Bengals (2-6) (26): Thank goodness Chad Johnson is ok. That’s about the only good news coming out of Buffalo after the Bengals screwed up another one.
27. Falcons (2-6) (29): As bad as things were in Atlanta after Bobby Petrino unloaded popular defensive tackle Grady Jackson, a win over the Niners mad everything feel a whole lot better.
28. Raiders (2-6) (28): You and I know it’s time for JaMarcus Russell. Lane Kiffin would love to put him in there, but the coach insists the kid just isn’t ready yet.
29. 49ers (2-6) (27): An abysmal record isn’t the worst part. No first-round pick next year is that part that really hurts. They traded it away to the Patriots, who already had a first-round pick taken away in the VideoGate scandal. But the 49ers’ pick might end up being a top 5, so who cares?
30. Jets (1-8) (30):
31. Rams (0-8) (31): No, we didn’t forget to put a comment in for the Jets. We’ve simply run out of synonyms for awful. Rams stink, too, but at least they didn’t lose on Sunday. They had a bye.
32. Dolphins (0-8) (32): Judy the Dolphins fan has implored us to remove the Dolphins from this list altogether. She insists the Dolphins aren’t a real NFL team anyway, so why rank them? She does have a point.
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Comments (25)
I opened this site with the hopes of complaining that the Steelers were too low once again. But you clearly have come to your senses. They are the 3rd best team in football and by the end of the year, the rankings will show it. Mike Tomlin for coach of the year! By the way, Joey Who?
The NFL should institute a European soccer tradition and relegate the 'Fins, Rams and Jets to the NFL World League (or whatever this year's name for that League is). Judy would be thrilled.
Charlie Weis and Eric Mangini are a combined 2-16 this year!! Who would have thought Romeo Crennel would be the best of the bunch to come out of NE?!
Thank god someone is smart enough to put the Steelers ahead of the Packers. They practically squeak by every week while the Steelers are blowing out teams. If the Steelers actually played them it wouldn't even be a close game.
This is disturbing news indeed. I can't remember a Power Rankings with the first comment actually agreeing with what we have to say and not using the word "jerk," "idiot" or "moron" for emphasis. This day will go downhill quickly, I fear.
I'm too much of a lady to use words like that ;)
Lettuc3, Don't give old man Glauber too much credit.. the only reason he ranks the Steelers as high as he does is because Big Ben and I are here to keep him honest. :-)
(Bob, satisfied now? I couldn't bring myself to call you "jerk," "idiot" or "moron" so "Old Man" is going to have to do) :-)
I was anxious to read what you guys had to say about the Jets, but you left them out. They have a first down at Washington 42 yard line and cant move any closer for a field goal attempt? The jets have been pulling the same exact crap for many, many years.
Alright, here's a complaint and it's against the whole batch of you sportswriters. Why do you all refer to yourselves as 'we'? Do you write your columns with some other mystery people? Your name is on the column, why not just refer to yourself as "I"? Really, why is this practice so common? We don't get it.
"Our early feeling on this one"...from your Giants entry. "...actually agreeing with what we have to say" from your blog comment above. Who are the other people I'm agreeing with?
There, does that help your day at all?
Bob, your article in today's paper skewering Tannenbaum was on the mark for the most part, but the criticism of the Kenyon Coleman signing is not. He is actually doing a good job for them this season, probably their best defensive lineman, he is a good fit as a 3-4 end. Using his sack total to knock him is wrong, in the 3-4 the lineman don't post high sack totals, those should be coming mostly from your linebackers, Richard Seymour is a pro bowl end in New England playing the 3-4, he averages about 6 sacks a year.
I just assumed it was the "royal we", as befitting Bob's obvious nobility.
(Note to Bob: I accept Visa and Paypal, but will settle for pizza)
The Steelers should be at #3. No way they lose to the Packers at a neutral site...or even at Lambeau.
I think the only team with a realistic shot at breaking up the Pats' perfect season is Pittsburgh.
no comments for the Jets?
Can someone just euthanize the Broncos? I think I'd rather watch Rosie's new show.
Steelers should not be ahead of the Packers. That is crazy, their record is worse and they lost to Denver a team the Packers beat.
If they played, Ben would be running for his life--I doubt it would even be close.
Reality,
Now that's a misnomer if there ever was one!
Farve and the Packers find a way to win - that's to their credit, but they lost to lowly Chicago and have one all but two of their games by a touchdown or less. The Steelers may have lost to Denver by 3 (a team the Packers beat by 6) But five of their six wins have come by three touchdowns or more!
No way the Packers beat the Steelers on a neutral site RHRN.
Black N Gold:
Amen.
steelers would kill both dallas and green bay any week
I put the Steelers ahead of the Packers!
Ok to all you steelers fans lets look at your win. First off you need to ask yourself why are the ravens so good? Simply their defence is amazing. But then you look at the raven defence that night: missing three corners, and safety haveing to come off with an injury. There was no chance of them stopping the passing game. Hell if any other descent team could go against a third string secondary, they would get 201 passing yards too. At least the packers, who wehn against a healthy and impressive chiefs defense managed to put 354 yards. Still on the ravens defence. Look at the running game stats, where the ravens were healthy. The Ravens held 2.3 YPD. Im not trying to say that pits is bad, but simply trying to explain that you cant put these guys ahead of the packers simply because they beat a beaten and broken ravens team.
Then to the offence: McNair comming off a groin and back injury, along with 4 line men, 2 tight ends, all having had a rescent injury. Even if majority of these players played, they obviously weren't at their best.
Finally you have to look at the conditions. On a rainy day in steelers territory, theres bound to be problems. Steve McNair, a man who has a hard grip was bound to have troubles, alond with his back and groin problems. Then you factor in the home field advantage, and the odds are completely towards the steelers.
Now say this game were played on a sunny day, and with a healthy ravens team(i would say a healthy steelers team too, but they had virtually no injuries), this game could have gone either way.
Now i will admit, Pits. has an outstanding defence, and made some incredible plays monday, but that was expected. If Ben didnt pick that young inexperienced ravens secondary apart, it would have been a disappointment.
As a Packer fan, I will admit that the top teams in the NFL are in the AFC. But the good news for NFC teams, you only have to beat one of the teams one time to be World Champions.
It is true that Green Bay beat Denver and Denver beat Pittsburgh, but I also know that it doesn't logically mean Green Bay would beat Pittsburgh.
I agree with your rankings Bob, and am glad to see the Giants below the Pack! Life is normal when the Steelers, Packers, Giants, Cowboys are all having solid years.
Alright, lets break this down. By stats thats is.
QB-Pack hands down
RB-Steelers hands down
WR Core-Steelers have more BIG name players, but Green Bays' are way better
TE-Push,they both suck
O-Line-Steelers, yet some reason Green Bay still seems to be throwing the ball better that PITTSBURG
D-Line-Statistically Green Bay. They havent allowed over 22 points n a game this year, Pittsburg has(to sorry teams)
Linebackers-no decision Green Bay has AJ Hawk,Nick Barnett,and Brady Poppinga, the steelers have James Farrior and who????
Secondary-I'll just say this, CHARLES WOODSON,AL HARRIS, and NICK "the hitstick" COLLINS.
Truth is, Green Bay is a better team. A win is a win so stop griping about how the pack is sliding them in, it doesnt matter. A win is a win, and the pack have more than the steelers. End of subject. If you wanna argue, gimme a call anytime, 361-218-7239.
The name's Gary
Texaspacker... Gotta love a FAN!
I'll give you credit for that... but drinking that Packers Kool-aid has seriously effected your judgment!
Let's take Monday night for example... you know, the game you surely must have MISSED.
Big Ben threw for five touchdowns in the first half. How many [i]YEARS[/i] has it been since Farve threw five touchdowns in a game, let alone a half?
Farve this year: 13 Touchdowns, 8 Int's
Big Ben's year: 20 Touchdowns, 6 Int's
But the real tell-tale that you don't have a clue is that Farrior isn't even the Steelers best LB. I find it hilarious that you don't even know who James Harrison is...
On Monday Night 9 Tackles, 1 assist, 3.5 sacks... And NFL defensive player of the week honors.
The Steelers have the best LB's in the league (no surprise to anyone who's been more than a casual football fan in the last 30 years). The linebacking core is so deep that Timmons and Woodley (two guys who will be household names in the next couple of years) can't even get on the field.
Bottom line, the Packers have found a way to squeak past the competition, while the Steelers dominate.
By the way... who's Pittsburg(sic)?
Am I wrong or did the Steelers and Ravens BOTH play in the rain on Monday night? Am I wrong or did the Steelers NOT fumble in that very same rain storm? Stop using the weather as an excuse for James Harrison causing fumbles. How many times was Big Ben wrapped up in the backfield and somehow find a way to escape (much like McNair used to do)? Good defenses give their offenses short fields to work with. Hey, Ravens, how about stepping up like the great defense you think you are and hold someone to a field goal once in awhile?
Sorry, but injuries are no excuse for poor play in the NFL. Perhaps Bohler should have been on the field instead of a QB recovering from a groin pull. And let's not forget that Pittsburgh's best DL, Aaron Smith, has been out with an injury. If he plays, maybe the Ravens' offensive stats are just that, MORE offensive.
Stop whining about weather and injuries........they can only play the games that are scheduled where they are scheduled. But at the end of the season, the team that makes it out of the AFC for the SB will only be playing, at BEST, the fourth best team in the NFL.
Just wondering if anyone called that number or not?
Karl.. yeah, it was the home office of the Bad Cheese Anonymous (aka. a support group for Delusional Packers fans)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkqT42G7Ffo&feature=PlayList&p=58979C0AC331A42B&index=55
Well Black N Gold, do keep in mind that Green Bay is the youngest team in the NFL excluding Brett Favre. That is enough to say for the entire subject. A team whos average age is 24.6 years old, and they're 7-1. You failed to realize that. And another thing, 80% of BIG Bens TD's came from the redzone. Brett has out thrown BIG Ben when it comes to yards. Brett gets them down the field, thats all that matters. Oh yea and your right, I didnt watch the Ravens Steelers game, I dont have time to watch them, it's called a job. But you look at Green Bay, they have beaten 4 of the teams that are in the TOP 10 NFL teams this year.