Sports Central / Original Sports Fan Commentary Since 1998

Five Quick Hits

* Congratulations to Marvin Harrison, who on Sunday became the fourth player with 1,000 career receptions.

* This week's Monday night broadcast raised the question: who is a bigger tool, Jim Belushi or Tony Kornheiser?

* Washington has four losses by three points or less. That's the sort of thing great coaching is supposed to prevent. This team could be 7-6, in the thick of the NFC playoff race.

* The Broncos were 5-1 with Matt Lepsis in the lineup. Since he got hurt, they're 2-5.

* Frank Caliendo is funny.

***

Two weeks ago, I wrote about the roles played by Chad Pennington and Brett Favre in their team's fortunes, specifically mentioning Favre's 40-point change in passer rating when his team wins. As trends like this continue to present themselves, I checked the difference for every quarterback in the league (minimum 175 attempts).

Comparing their passer ratings in wins or losses, six players had a difference of more than 40 points: Rex Grossman (54.2), Damon Huard (53.8), Favre (44.0), Mark Brunell (43.7), Pennington (42.5), and Michael Vick (41.8). It's easier to have a big disparity if you don't have a lot of wins (like Brunell) or a lot of losses (like Grossman and Huard). A large difference is also more likely if the player's passer rating is high in general. Peyton Manning (31.4) and Tom Brady (31.9) have a lot farther to fall in their bad games than Andrew Walter (8.9) does.

With the possible exceptions of Huard and Brunell, who haven't started all of their teams' games, the list is pretty much what you'd expect. In addition to Favre and Pennington, whom I'd mentioned, it's headlined by Grossman, who has been a disaster in Chicago's losses, and Vick, whose inconsistency occasionally prompts calls for Matt Schaub to play.

The three smallest differences belong to Matt Hasselbeck and David Carr, both of whom actually have higher passer ratings in their team's losses, and Carson Palmer, who almost always plays well. The Bengals win or lose based on whether or not their defense shows up; Palmer is a given.

Anyway, on to the power rankings. Brackets show last week's rank.

1. San Diego Chargers [1] — Clinched the AFC West and positioned themselves to win home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. That could be decisive in the AFC, where San Diego and Indianapolis are both 6-0 at home, while Baltimore is 5-1 and traditionally has played much better at home than on the road. It's too early to judge LaDainian Tomlinson's place in history, but he has clearly established himself as one of the greatest running backs ever to play.

2. Baltimore Ravens [2] — The defense destroyed Trent Green, sacking him five times and forcing three turnovers. The offense continued to hold up its end of the bargain, as Steve McNair had his best game of the season. Baltimore has only been held below 20 points once in the last two months. If Marty Schottenheimer's record of postseason failure has you nervous about San Diego, consider placing your AFC Super Bowl bets here.

3. Cincinnati Bengals [6] — Or here. The score doesn't do justice to the way Cincinnati dominated the Raiders. The Bengals won by 17 despite being -2 in turnovers. Not to jump on the bandwagon, but Cincy could be "this year's Steelers", getting hot at the right time and riding a wild card to postseason success. Assuming the whole team doesn't get arrested first. If Marvin Lewis really wants this to stop happening, he has to start cutting people.

4. New Orleans Saints [8] — Sunday night's game wasn't close, but it was exciting. I don't know if I've seen a game this year with more "wow" moments, from the Julius Jones TD run at the beginning right up until the end of the game. No play generated more excitement, though, than Reggie Bush's 61-yard TD reception. If Bush becomes the player everyone expects, that run is going to be in all the highlight films of his career.

5. Dallas Cowboys [3] — They're only one game up in the NFC East now, but make no mistake: this is the division's best team. The offense is better than it looked against New Orleans, and the defense is much better than it looked. It might be a good idea to start covering the fullback in the red zone, though.

6. Chicago Bears [7] — It seems safe to say that Devin Hester wrapped up all-pro returner honors on Monday night. He got some nice blocks from teammates, but Hester has good vision and his speed is incredible. The Bears did get the bad news that Tommie Harris, an early DPOY candidate, is out for the remainder of the season. That's a major blow for this defense, and it showed against St. Louis. Chicago allowed 27 points, the first time all season it has allowed 20 points or more when Grossman didn't throw an interception.

7. Jacksonville Jaguars [13] — I thought they would probably beat the Colts, but not by 27. The Jaguars out-gained Indianapolis on the ground by over 340 yards. Jacksonville is 5-1 this season against teams with winning records, 3-1 against 6-7 teams, and 0-3 against Washington and Houston. Their remaining games are against good teams, so Jacksonville probably belongs in the top 10.

8. Miami Dolphins [12] — I see other power rankings with Miami around 20th, but they're 5-1 since the bye, including blowout wins against the Bears and Patriots. With all due respect to Chicago and Baltimore, Miami might — repeat, might — have the best defense in the NFL. On Sunday, the Dolphins sacked Tom Brady four times and held him to 78 yards on 25 attempts.

9. New England Patriots [5] — Brady can't win by himself. Neither could Dan Marino or John Elway in the 1980s. Neither could Warren Moon in the 1990s. Neither can Peyton Manning. The Patriots still have a strong defense, but if they don't get Brady some more weapons — and I know they tried in this year's draft — then New England is going to fare about the same way those other guys did.

10. Indianapolis Colts [4] — Three straight losses on the road, and they still can't stop the run. Can you see Indy beating the Chargers or Ravens on the road this postseason? I can't. If the Colts draw Jacksonville or Cincinnati in the wild card round — which seems likely — it could be one and done, again.

11. Buffalo Bills [15] — Aaron Schobel's three sacks against the Jets moved him into a tie for the NFL lead. Schobel has had double-digit sacks in three of the last four seasons, and he's consistently been one of the league's top pass rushers since joining the Bills in 2001. I didn't pick Schobel for my Pro Bowl team this year, though I did the previous two seasons. Voting ends soon, and if you haven't voted yet (or just plan to again), you should give Schobel serious consideration.

12. Tennessee Titans [14] — There are a lot of rookies playing well right now: Mark Anderson, Reggie Bush, Marques Colston, Devin Hester, Maurice Jones-Drew, DeMeco Ryans, and so on. But if I was building a team from this year's draft, my first pick — with severe misgivings on the Bush front — would be Vince Young. Quarterbacks like him don't come along very often.

13. New York Jets [11] — It's all or nothing here. The Jets, in their losses, are defeated by an average of more than 14 points. They win by an average of more than 10. This team is 7-6, so these aren't fluke numbers here.

14. Pittsburgh Steelers [17] — Most years, Willie Parker would be a Pro Bowl lock and an all-pro candidate. If the Steelers can pick up a big back in the Jerome Bettis mold, to split carries with Parker, they'll continue to have a productive running game for a long time.

15. New York Giants [18] — That four-game losing streak doesn't look so bad now. Defeats against the Bears and Cowboys were never cause for shame, and road losses against the Jaguars and Titans look a lot better than they did two or three weeks ago. The Giants have a pretty tough schedule over the last three weeks, so don't mark them down for the playoffs just yet.

16. Seattle Seahawks [10] — Over the last two or three seasons, a good general rule is that no good team should lose to anyone in the NFC West, except last year's Seahawks. This year's Seahawks have lost, in the last four weeks, to both Arizona and San Francisco. Are we really supposed to believe this is an elite team, capable of competing with teams like the Bears, Saints, and Cowboys in the playoffs? I don't think so, but I'll believe it if they beat San Diego in two weeks.

17. Kansas City Chiefs [9] — It's apparent at this point that Herman Edwards probably cost Kansas City a playoff spot by benching Huard. Green is 2-3 as starter, with an 82.7 passer rating. Huard was 5-3 with a 97.6 rating. The Chiefs have two three-point losses with Green at the controls, and their tough remaining schedule makes a playoff run unlikely. The idea that a player can't lose his job to injury is sort of noble, but it's really stupid. If Herm Edwards managed the Yankees, Lou Gehrig goes back to the bench. If he coached the Patriots, Tom Brady's sitting behind Drew Bledsoe. You never bench the hot hand until he stops being hot.

18. Philadelphia Eagles [19] — Couldn't stop Ladell Betts. The Eagles were outgained by 150 yards and lost the time of possession battle by more than 15 minutes. They won with a defensive touchdown, and by forcing Washington to settle for field goals instead of TDs. Jeff Garcia had another good game, and his passer rating this season is higher than Donovan McNabb's was.

19. Atlanta Falcons [22] — Shut down the Buccaneers, and I know Michael Vick is a special, exceptional athlete, but there just isn't a passing game here, and teams that can't throw cannot compete at the highest level.

20. Carolina Panthers [16] — When I criticized Jake Delhomme last week, I didn't mean they should start Chris Weinke. And I certainly didn't mean they should have him throw 61 times. The Panthers' ground game is ineffective, but how can you ask your backup QB, who hasn't seen serious action in four years, to come in and throw 60 passes? That's a failure on the part of the coaching staff.

21. Denver Broncos [20] — Jay Cutler had a decent second half, but he was atrocious in the first, looking like he had no place under center for an NFL team. The Broncos, who are supposed to be invincible at home, are now 3-3 in Denver. A forgiving schedule means they might still contend for the playoffs, but there's not a team in the race that wouldn't love to get a home game against Cutler and the Broncos in the wild card round.

22. Minnesota Vikings [25] — Sadly, the Vikings are a very serious wildcard contender. Minnesota hasn't beaten a decent team since Week 7, and it's lost to several bad ones along the way (49ers and Packers), but the remaining schedule, while not a cakewalk, keeps them in the hunt. The run defense here is something special, and if the Vikes sneak into the postseason, that's where the credit should go.

23. Cleveland Browns [21] — Romeo Crennel is an intelligent man, and I'm sure he knows that the Browns can't win with 18 rushing yards and no rushing first downs. They have had injury problems on the offensive line, but there is simply no way that Reuben Droughns, who rushed for over 1,200 yards each of the last two seasons, should be having such a miserable season.

24. Arizona Cardinals [31] — Ranked outside the bottom quarter of the league for the first time this season. They've won two in a row and three of the last four. Matt Leinart is playing well, with a 93.9 rating in the last two weeks. The Cardinals have offensive playmakers in place, and what they need to do this offseason is to dramatically upgrade the offensive line. Arizona should use its first-round draft pick on an offensive lineman, and in free agency, pursue the best lineman the same way it pursued Edgerrin James last year.

25. Green Bay Packers [26] — Close the season with three games against division opponents, and the one to keep your eye on is Week 16, at home against Minnesota. It's a Thursday night game, and it could impact the NFC playoff picture.

26. Washington Redskins [23] — With the exception of Tomlinson, has any running back been better over the last three weeks than Betts? Maybe Larry Johnson, and the two have something in common: they're being overworked. Joe Gibbs ran Clinton Portis into the ground, and now he's doing the same thing to Betts. In Kansas City, Johnson is on pace to challenge the NFL record for carries in a season. That's how guys get their careers shortened. Where are T.J. Duckett and Michael Bennett?

27. San Francisco 49ers [24] — It's been more than two months since the 49ers scored more than 20 points in a game, but they've given up at least 30 for two weeks in a row. New Orleans has a great offense, so that was understandable, but the Niners made Favre look like, well, the old Brett Favre, and Donald Driver just torched them.

28. St. Louis Rams [28] — Remember when this team was 4-1? Well, now they're 5-8. The Rams' offensive line was overwhelmed against Chicago's rush. St. Louis committed double-digit penalties for the second week in a row, including five on the offensive line alone. I'm not sure why Jeff Triplette's officiating crew felt that the Bears needed their help. The penalties seemed legit, but those two bad calls at the end of the first half — the fumble that wasn't and the inexplicable idea that Isaac Bruce was tackled in bounds — were pretty shady.

29. Houston Texans [29] — Not counting the Jaguars, whom they inexplicably swept, the Texans haven't beaten anyone but Oakland since Week 4. The team is 28th in both total offense and total defense.

30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers [27] — They've been outscored by 148 points this season, worst in the league. They're 0-6 on the road, joining the Raiders as the only teams without a road win. They went 0-6 in their division. The Bucs are a very, very bad football team.

31. Oakland Raiders [30] — Look, the defense is very good, but if you can't score, you can't win. And the Raiders can't score. They haven't topped 14 points in a game since October. That's seven games ago.

32. Detroit Lions [32] — This franchise has existed for over 75 years and played over 1,000 games. In Sunday's loss to Minnesota, though, Mike Martz's offense recorded the lowest rushing total in franchise history, -3 yards.