2011 NFL Power Rankings: Week 5


I actually have commentary on all 32 teams!

As always, the season goes by too fast. Here we are already with players wearing pink. Only 3 months left. As a Dolphins fan, I am already looking forward to the draft. Thankfully I have NFL Sunday Ticket so I can choose to watch some good football for a change when Miami is sputtering in the Red Zone and kicking field goals all game.

1. (1) Green Bay Packers (4-0). It is good to see a great team go into an overmatched opponents house and completely take care of business. The champs are clearly the class of the NFL right now. It is a shame we don't get to see them go up against the Lions until Thanksgiving. For the first time I can ever remember, the Lions might actually be hosting an important game that day.

2. (2) Baltimore Ravens (3-1). Not sure how you can explain Joe Flacco going 0-14 at one point. Even stranger, you can make a case he still played "less worse" then Mark Sanchez. The Ravens defense was their best offense, and Baltimore has taken care of business twice following their loss to the Titans, which suddenly doesn't look so bad right now.

3. (3) New England Patriots (3-1). The Pats took care of business against a good team, as another youngster is stepping up for them on offense. Stevan Ridley looks like a find, as he ran for tough yards all day long.

4. (4) New Orleans Saints (3-1). No one is really talking about the Saints, but they are playing great on offense, with Darren Sproles being possibly the best free agent pickup. And for fantasy fans, it is good to see a preseason sleeper actually exceed expectations. Jimmy Graham is a monster. I picked him up in one league but am pissed I drafted Dallas Clark over him in another.

5. (6) Detroit Lions (4-0). Wow. The Lions have now won every way possible this year. They have the biggest blowout this year and now a miraculous comeback. The defense, which has been among the NFL's worst this decade, is even making plays. There is nothing fluky about this start. They have now won 8 regular season football games in a row. I have no reservations whatsoever with ranking them this high.

6. (7) Houston Texans (3-1). The Texans should have won their game by about 20 points, but no one tries to lose games like the Texans. Eight penalties in the first half is unacceptable, but this team has the worst talent to brains ratio of any team in the NFL.

7. (10) New York Giants (3-1). Every time you think the Giants are dead and Tom Coughlin is on his way out of the door they roar back with some solid wins. This win wasn't exactly solid, as they couldn't run the ball and make Chris Wells look like Walter Payton, but any time an East Coast team can win on the West Coast or vise versa, it is a solid win.

8. (9) Buffalo Bills (3-1). I won't penalize the Bills too much for this loss. They were coming off an emotional high against the Patriots and teams usually suffer a letdown following a game like that. They were in control before a great comeback by the Bengals.

9. (14) San Diego Chargers (3-1). The Chargers finally played a game where they were in control the whole way through and didn't make any devastating mistakes. Playing my hapless Dolphins will do that to you. For once San Diego is off to a fast start.

10. (8) New York Jets (2-2). I'm a Dolphins fan so I hate to come to the defense of a Jets player, but I think the Sanchez hate is a little out of control. That's what the media and fans do though, especially if you play in New York. Quarterbacks don't enter their prime until their late 20's, and the fact that a 24 year old quarterback steps up his game come playoff time is pretty impressive. I'll take him on my team any day. I don't blame him. I blame a defense that has trouble getting to the quarterback and a running game that is totally inept. But hey, it's easier just to blame the quarterback. On Mike and Mike this morning they were talking about the success of guys like Dalton, Bradford and Newton. Um...you do realize those guys have won a total of 3 games this year, right? Okay, more then enough Jets defending.

11. (19) Tennessee Titans (3-1). Quick, who has allowed the fewest points in the NFL this year? And which quarterback has the fourth highest passing rating in the league? That would be the Titans and Matt Hasselbeck. The Titans are playing pretty well, but I'm not buying it yet. Three of their opponents have been horrible and they caught the Ravens when they were still celebrating a victory over the Steelers. The schedule is pretty easy, so I would not be surprised at all if they winded up winning this division.

12. (5) Pittsburgh Steelers (2-2). I did not feel comfortable putting the Steelers this high in my rankings. I will be sure to drop them quite a bit this week. They don't look very good at all. The defense looks old and slow and is allowing teams to run all over them. And the offensive line is allowing opposing defenses to treat Big Ben like he treats college blonde chicks.

13. (16) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1). I wasn't a fan of Tampa Bay at all last year but they won 10 games. I am even less of a fan this year but here they are, sitting at 3-1. I'm not putting them in my top ten. That's all I got on them.

14. (11) Oakland Raiders (2-2). The Raiders had a chance to win this game until Jason Campell threw one of the worst interceptions in NFL history. Same ole Raiders, who will probably finish 8-8 again this year.

15. (12) Dallas Cowboys (2-2). I just can't figure out this one. Why are the Cowboys flinging the ball around when they are up by 24 points? Ahh well, we get to laugh at Tony Romo for another week.

16. (13) Philadelphia Eagles (1-3). Speaking of laughing at NFC East teams, who doesn't love to see self proclaimed "Dream Teams" struggle? The Heat rebounded to have a nice season and I think the Eagles will too, but the offensive line and defense is very worrisome. Especially the secondary, who is giving up a bunch of big plays.

17. (15) Washington Redskins (3-1). No, I am not putting the Redskins in my top ten. Rex Grossman is horrible and they could have lost to the Rams if the receivers could actually do that one thing they are paid to do. Don't get me wrong, I love the running game and the defense is good, but Grossman is Grossman.

18. (17) Atlanta Falcons (2-2). Read what I said about the Giants. This was a solid win, even though the defense has given a pathetic effort so far this season. Remember when Deunta Robinson was a good cornerback? Me neither.

19. (18) Chicago Bears (2-2). Devin Hester doing what he does best. Which is now better then any other player in NFL history. Why on earth do teams still punt to him?

20. (22) San Francisco 49ers (3-1). The Niners are a big comeback by the Cowboys away from being 4-0. Of course, I do not buy this start at all. Alex Smith is terrible. But thanks to this pathetic division, the Niners could be going to the playoffs anyway.

21. (27) Cincinnati Bengals (2-2). Proof that the preseason means nothing. Andy Dalton looked absolutely terrible but has been pretty good the first four games of his career.

22. (20) Cleveland Browns (2-2). Colt McCoy managed to complete 40 passes even though his receivers stink. I wasn't a huge fan of the trade they made with the Falcons as much as others. I thought having an impact receiver like Julio Jones would have made much more of a difference.

23. (21) Carolina Panthers (1-3). Rivera must have lost his fantasy game last week, because he decided to throw and throw with Netwon a ton again, even though the running game played fantastic. But at least Cam got big time yardage again.

24. (24) Minnesota Vikings (0-4). At least the Vikings only blew a 4 point lead this time. Progress.

25. (25) Miami Dolphins (0-4). The Dolphins aren't awful, but red zone deficiencies continue to cripple this team. They can move the ball but have had to settle for 8 field goals their past three games. That may have been okay a decade ago, but not in today's pass happy league.

26. (26) Arizona Cardinals (1-3). The Cardinals are still my pick to win this division. Like the Rams, they have a brutal early season schedule.

27. (29) Indianapolis Colts (0-4). The Colts will take some lumps but are much better off with Curtis Painter as their starting quarterback. Still a terrible team though.

28. (23) St. Louis Rams (0-4). I feel for Rams fans. The team has tried to upgrade the offensive line and receiver group with multiple first and second round picks, but so far only Roger Saffold has been a success. If they are not careful Sam Bradford could end up like David Carr, who's body and mind was pounded into submission and his career ruined before it could get started.

29. (28) Denver Broncos (1-3). Denver fans love them some Tim Tebow. After having to suffer through all of those Denver Nugget "thugs" for years, they want to root for the clean cut white boy. Problem is he is not good and the Broncos will be horrible with or without him starting.

30. (31) Seattle Seahawks (1-3). The Seahawks have one of the best home field advantages in football so I was not surprised that they almost stole a victory against the Falcons. Tarvaris Jackson wasn't the worst QB in NFL history for one week.

31. (32) Kansas City Chiefs (1-3). Even with a win the Chiefs have still been outscored 126-49 this year.

32. (30) Jacksonville Jaguars (1-3). No team has been more dreadful then the Jaguars, who have only scored 39 points in four weeks. Jack Del Rio has often gotten this team to play three times better then their talent level, but we all know three times zero equals zero.

Jonathan Carrano

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