For all those our there like me who thought it seemed like the NFC was better than the AFC this year for the first time in a long time, you would be right. The NFC currently leads the AFC with 97 wins compared to 94. I bet if you looked back at the stats over the last 10 years that wouldn't be the case very often.
Anyway, this week I will give my rankings along with my prediction for each team's final record.
Onto the rankings:
1. New York Giants (15-1) - I just don't see anyone beating these guys the rest of the regular season.
2. Tennessee Titans (13-3) - The Jets revealed vulnerabilities, and even though they crushed the hapless Lions on Turkey Day, I think they will accumulate 2 more losses this season.
3. Tampa Bay Bucs (11-5) - Still not totally sold on these guys, but with their current record I think they squeak their way to the division title.
4. Indianapolis Colts (12-4) - Favorable schedule the rest of the way, and I think they will take down the Titans in week 17 since the game will be meaningless for Tennessee.
5. Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4) - I think Dallas will come to Heinz Field and defeat them, but they will come back strong against Baltimore and Tennessee.
6. Dallas Cowboys (11-5) - Tony Romo is up there with Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and Brian Westbrook in terms of value to his team. If he gets hurt again they are done.
7. Carolina Panthers (10-6) - Very inconsistent and I think they could beat or get beat by any team week to week.
8. New York Jets (11-5) - Who is their QB if Favre goes down or retires next year? That's right, Kellen Clemens. Let's hope those things don't happen.
9. Baltimore Ravens (10-6) - Have a great shot of making the playoffs, but with Joe Flacco running the show, they probably will be 1 and done...at least this year.
10. Atlanta Falcons (10-6) - Who would have thought they would go from 4 wins to 10 wins after losing their franchise QB? Not I.
11. Arizona Cardinals (8-8) - I think they will falter down the stretch, culminating with Mike Holmgren and the Seahawks ending his tenure with a big victory over the Cards in a game where Matt Lienart will likely be starting.
12. Denver Broncos (10-6) - No team has been more up and down this season, except maybe the Packers, on this poll than the Broncos. This is partially due to me always believing they were better than their record, and partly because they play a 0-0 defense. Random stat of the day: 7 - the number of times Jay Cutler has been sacked this year, compared to 33 on Roethlisberger. Maybe all teams should adopt zone blocking?
13. Washington Redskins (9-7) - Started out 6-2 in their first 8 games and will likely finish 3-5 in their last 8. Rookie head coach Jim Zorn will get consideration for coach of the year.
14. Minnesota Vikings (10-6) - They are peaking at the right time and built for cold, late season weather - albeit they will most likely play in their dome in the first round of the playoffs, then in a warm weather city Dallas/Carolina/Tampa Bay/Arizona in the second round, but they may end up facing the Giants in the NFC Championship.
15. New England Patriots (10-6) - Down but not out. Cassel looked average if not below average against the best defense in the league - but that was the best defense in the league. Will need help to make the playoffs, though - who would have thought I'd be saying that before the season started?
16. New Orleans Saints (9-7) - Losing Reggie Bush and Colston was a tough break for this team, but I have a feeling the Reggie Bush injury woes are far from over. I see Brian Westbrook II in his future.
17. Chicago Bears (8-8) - Defintely exceeded most people's expectations, but seriously how long did you think they could last on top of their division with Kyle Orton and a rookie running back?
18. Miami Dolphins (9-7) - From 1 win to 9 wins. Very impressive, and they are a defensive star and young QB prospect away from being a serious contender.
19. Philadelphia Eagles (8-7-1) - The tie may come back to haunt them, but I doubt it. I don't see them making the playoffs even with that win.
20. Green Bay Packers (9-7) - The Pack continue to break my heart almost every other week. Everytime you think they will coast to the division title, they put up a stinker like the last 2 weeks. Maybe I should wait to invest in an Aaron Rodgers jersey...
21. San Diego Chargers (7-9) - Ouch. No way Norv Turner comes back next year. On the bright side, I think they will beat the Broncos in week 17 in a revenge game where Denver plays exactly 1 starter.
22. Buffalo Bills (8-8) - 8 wins is largely a product of an easy schedule. In the NFC East, I think they go 4-12, maybe.
23. Houston Texans (6-10) - They are better than this record, but 6 wins is 6 wins.
24. Cleveland Browns (5-11) - Too much to even say about this team, but their GM is pretty darn entertaining. He actually emailed a Browns fan who was criticizing him to "go root for Buffalo-f*&% you"
25. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-12) - How did this even happen?
26. San Francisco 49ers (5-11) - How long will Shaun Hill be a starting QB? If he's anything like the past SF QB's since Steve Young, not long.
27. Kansas City Chiefs (2-14) - Have some building blocks for the future, but not many.
28. Seattle Seahawks (4-12) - Too little too late for these guys. They are a much better team now than they were in week 1, but this just wasn't their season.
29. Oakland Raiders (3-13) - If they had Detroit's offense and Detroit had Oakland's defense, maybe they would combine for more than 3 wins...Their secondary is above average so that's at least something to brag about. They had enough good players to drop one of the leading INT cornerbacks.
30. Cincinnati Bengals (2-13-1) - Unlike the Eagles, the Bengals don't have to worry to much about what would of happened had they won that game...
31. St. Louis Rams (2-14) - After a few promising weeks, they are back in the cellar. Can you believe they beat the Cowboys?
32. Detroit Lions (0-16) - 4 games left to try to win one...even if they do they probably will get the #1 draft pick...unless they trade it away for another overratted young WR.
PLAYOFFS
AFC
1. Titans
2. Steelers
3. Jets
4. Broncos
5. Colts
6. Ravens (in the 2nd tiebreaker over the Patriots)
NFC
1. Giants
2. Bucs
3. Vikings
4. Cardinals
5. Cowboys
6. Panthers (in the 5th tiebreaker over the Falcons)
MVP Watch
1. Kurt Warner
2. Drew Brees
3. Adrian Peterson
4. Tomy Romo
5. Michael Turner
6. Peyton Manning
7. Jay Cutler
8. Aaron Rodgers
9. Philip Rivers
10. Eli Manning
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6 comments:
Philip Rivers ranked over Eli for MVP voting? Poppycock. I would say Eli is like 5th in the running. His numbers would be a lot better if he didn't have a mack truck lining up behind him. Some might say this makes things easier for him, I say "don't hate".
I'm hoping for a Jets-Giants superbowl. Or all-Manning. Or, if the Giants don't make it, and the planets align... just... so: Jets-Packers. Something to add an extra layer of intrigue beyond the normal festivities (though the Jets-Giants thing wouldn't be cared much about outside the tri-state area).
I think everyone would care if the Jets made it because of Favre. Colts/Giants would be interesting as well.
And maybe Eli should be ahead of Rivers, but who knows. Kurt Warner is going to win either way.
I didn't really look at the MVP watch, though I have to say my top 4 would be 1.Warner 2.Peterson 3.Brees 4.Eli Manning
I don't know why I picked just the top 4, but run with it. I have a bone to pick with your power rankings. Ok, now I know the Colts beat us, but you know that won't happen again, especially if Ben gets hurt in the 1st quarter or something because DENNIS DIXON would own that defense. Who, by the way i feel should be our goal line QB, but it's too late and i'm too tired to reference the reasons behind it, so the majority of this rant is just going to be ingorant...well...ranting. Now, I believe that the Steelers will win out, the only test we have really will be Dallas this weekend, and our defense is too good to get beat consistently from a team that is just starting to get back some chemistry. So, the only feasible explanation for your w/l record for the steelers is if we lose to cleveland because all our starters are rested for the playoffs, that's the only scenario i see stopping the steelers from winning out.
Back to the placing of power rankings. I don't see how the titans can be seen asthe number 2 team in the NFL anymore. The steelers are better in every intangible in the game; more rounded offense but with a dominating running game, defense, coaching, special teams with the most accurate kicker in the NFL over the last like 3 years. If you site records, again I have to disagree because people keep ranking the chargers in the top 15 even though they're going to end up with a losing record and miss the playoffs. So that's all, i've got nothin left right now is 2:20 in the am, and i'm tired, g'night!
The Steelers aren't better than the Titans until the beat them, and I think the Cowboys stand a good chance of winning this week. Even if the Steelers win, it will be difficult to rattle of 3 more wins against decent teams (excluding Cleveland obviously). Seems like everyone loves Eli for MVP, but seriously they have one of the top defenses and the best running game in the league right now. I agree Eli is valuable, but he is not the most valuable to his team as are some other top candidates, i.e. Peterson.
Offord...i have no problem with your rankings. I think the Steelers will beat the Cowboys, but lose to the Ravens.
Kern...seriously, get off the Dennis Dixon train.
FYI, if my predicted records held true (which they won't), I would have exactly TWO correct from my preseason records predictions...that is pretty awful.
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