Five Quick Hits
* I absolutely do not understand how teams that limp into the MLB playoffs always win their first series.
* I hate NBC's pre-game song, which seems to last about eight minutes, even more than that tired Hanks Williams, Jr., crap on MNF.
* Terrell Owens is scared to get hit. I've never seen a receiver pull up from so many catchable balls.
* Lots of injuries this week, but none that I saw of what is becoming one of the most common ways for players to be hurt: defenders giving themselves concussions with monster hits. Guys, taking care of your head is way more important than getting on "Jacked Up".
* NFL Network has terrible analysts. Especially Jamie Dukes.
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We're only a third of the way through the season, but people are already starting to talk MVPs, and a name you'll hear a lot is Donovan McNabb's. Besides being a great player, McNabb remains one of the classiest guys in the league, refusing to get caught up in the drama that accompanied this week's game against the Cowboys.
While McNabb and Brian Westbrook — in that order — key Philadelphia's offense, which ranks first in the league, this is a complete team. The defense is full of stars, many of whom had big games against Dallas, and don't forget special teams. Everyone knows David Akers, who has been one of the NFL's best kickers for years now, but the Eagles also have incredible kick coverage. Andy Reid and his special teams coaches, John Harbaugh and Ryan Segrest, deserve credit for that.
Good offense is nice, and good defense is nice, and good special teams are nice, but the best teams have all three. One or another can only get you so far, and balance wins a lot of ballgames. On to the power rankings. Brackets show previous rank.
1. Chicago Bears [1] — Lead the NFL in points scored per game and points allowed per game. They've won four of their five matchups by more than 25 points. Lovie Smith was a top coordinator for years before he got his chance as a head coach, but teams kept taking guys like Dennis Erickson and Norv Turner instead. Chicago's defensive coordinator, Ron Rivera, interviewed for head coaching jobs with a number of teams last winter, but no one hired him. A lot of owners and general managers should be kicking themselves right now, because they made a big mistake passing on these guys.
2. Indianapolis Colts [2] — This is not the same team that opened last season 13-0. The Colts finally had a good day rushing the football, but poor run defense continues to plague them. On Sunday, Indianapolis allowed Travis Henry his first 100-yard rushing game in three years, and the Colts are the only team with a winning record to allow 100 points this season.
3. Cincinnati Bengals [3] — The division is up for grabs. With Pittsburgh vulnerable and Baltimore unable to generate points, the defending AFC North champs are probably still the team to beat. Cincinnati is already 2-0 in the division, including a win at Pittsburgh. The next three games, however, are all against opponents from the NFC South.
4. Philadelphia Eagles [5] — Three straight games with over 30 points, but they're still not running well and only converted two of 12 third downs against the Cowboys. As sensational as McNabb has been, this team is built on its defense. The Eagles are the strongest team in the NFC East right now, and they look very similar to the Philadelphia teams that made four consecutive NFC Championship Games.
5. San Diego Chargers [6] — Converted more than half their third downs against Pittsburgh. That tells you not only that the Chargers used LaDainian Tomlinson and Michael Turner effectively to set up third-and-short, but also that Philip Rivers made some plays on third-and-long. San Diego's defense may be the best in the AFC, with Jamal Williams and Shawne Merriman already looking like Pro Bowl locks.
6. Denver Broncos [9] — Tatum Bell had a nice game, Javon Walker made some plays, and no one doubts the defense. But the Broncos don't look like they can throw the ball. Mike Shanahan clearly had very little faith in Jake Plummer against the Ravens, and when he did throw, Plummer often seemed to make poor decisions or bad throws. The Ravens can make opposing offenses look bad, but Denver's problem clearly goes beyond that.
7. Baltimore Ravens [4] — Last season, the Ravens went 0-8 on the road. So far this year, they're 2-1, but those victories came against 0-4 Tampa Bay and the 1-4 Browns. Until further notice, this team still has trouble away from home, and the offense still stinks. It ranks 29th in yards per game, and Steve McNair is averaging under 200 yards through the air, with more interceptions than touchdowns. Honestly, I'm afraid I have Denver and Baltimore overrated.
8. Seattle Seahawks [7] — Coming off the bye, they have a key division game at 4-1 St. Louis. Two years ago, a loss against the Rams sent Seattle into a tailspin that culminated in a first-round playoff exit at home against the Rams, the third time they'd beaten the Seahawks that season. The Week 6 game is in St. Louis, and a win is critical for Seattle.
9. New England Patriots [10] — Tom Brady still isn't putting up big numbers, and his 82.6 passer rating is a career-low, but he isn't making mistakes, either. Brady has only one interception in his last three games, and with New England's defense playing well, his most important job right now is to avoid sacks and turnovers. The passing game will need to be a weapon if the Patriots are going to be a factor this postseason, but at the moment they're playing smart football and winning with defense.
10. New York Giants [12] — The defense has struggled this season, but it was dominant on Sunday, holding Washington to 86 net passing yards. Tiki Barber had a good game on the ground, and the coaches effectively exploited Washington's injury-depleted secondary. At 2-0 in the NFC East and with two of their toughest non-division games out of the way, the Giants should be fairly pleased with their early-season results.
11. Jacksonville Jaguars [11] — Playing without Marcus Stroud, they still turned in arguably the most dominant defensive performance of the 2006 season. The Jags' pass defense was especially impressive, tallying six sacks, three interceptions, and only 71 passing yards allowed. Jacksonville would be ranked in the top 10, except that Mike Peterson, probably the best middle linebacker in the NFL, is out for the season, and that's a big loss for this team.
12. Pittsburgh Steelers [8] — Some people will be upset that I've ranked the 1-3 Steelers ahead of the 4-1 Saints and Rams, but look at the schedules they've played. Pittsburgh has a must-win game at home against Kansas City in Week 6, and fans will be watching Ben Roethlisberger very closely. The Steelers played well for a half on Sunday night, but came out totally flat after the break, and Big Ben in particular made some costly mistakes. The defense still looks good, but the offense — which lost some key contributors this offseason — doesn't seem to have any rhythm or identity.
13. Atlanta Falcons [14] — John Abraham should be back soon, making an already-strong defense even more dangerous. Great defense and a strong running game is a reliable formula for success in the NFL, but if they want to be serious contenders, at some point the Falcons need to develop a passing attack. Right now they rank 31st in passing yards, behind everyone but Oakland, and Michael Vick's passer rating is below 70, trailing J.P. Losman, Jon Kitna, and Daunte Culpepper.
14. New Orleans Saints [13] — Here's why I have the 4-1 Saints rated near the middle of the pack: they've only played one really good game. The Saints were terrific against Atlanta on MNF, but they've been ordinary in their other four games, with a loss at Carolina and three close wins against bad teams.
15. Minnesota Vikings [15] — Nice defensive performance against the Lions, with five sacks, five takeaways, and only 16 rushing yards allowed. This team could give people some real trouble around playoff time if the offense gets more explosive. Chester Taylor had a season-high 123 rushing yards against Detroit, and Brad Johnson isn't going to make a lot of mistakes, but the offense still lacks a real playmaker.
16. Dallas Cowboys [16] — It's easy to point fingers at Drew Bledsoe, and after his four-turnover performance against the Eagles, he deserves them. But let's not forget that Dallas also had a special teams turnover and allowed McNabb to pass for 354 yards, with two TDs and no interceptions. Tony Romo can't fix those things.
17. Kansas City Chiefs [17] — Solidly middle of the road, losing to good teams and winning against bad ones. Damon Huard has been impressive while Trent Green is out, but what happened to KC's running game against the Cardinals? Chiefs running backs combined for just 38 yards and a 2.0 average, with no rushing first downs. I don't know the last time Kansas City didn't have a first down on the ground, but I'm guessing it was around 1962.
18. Carolina Panthers [18] — Beat Cleveland despite going 0-for-11 on third downs. On first and second down, however, the Panthers were effective, as DeShaun Foster posted a season-high rushing total and Jake Delhomme recorded his third consecutive game with a passer rating over 90. Carolina has two tough AFC North road games coming up.
19. St. Louis Rams [22] — Beat the Broncos and lost to the 49ers. Those games cancel each other out. In the other three, they've beaten the Cardinals, Lions, and Packers by a collective average of four points. Those teams are 2-13, combined. Compare that with New Orleans, whose victories have come by an average of nine points against teams who are a combined 5-13. If the Rams beat Seattle in Week 6, though, they'll make the top half of the rankings.
20. New York Jets [20] — Embarrassed against Jacksonville, but they've had four reasonably impressive games, beating the Titans and Bills and giving the Patriots and Colts all they could handle. The Jets have a very soft schedule for the next few weeks, and should go into their bye week at 5-3. I say they have another off week at some point and it's 4-4 instead.
21. Buffalo Bills [21] — The receiving corps is Lee Evans, and everyone else. Evans has a third of the team's receptions this year (28), almost as many as all the other wide receivers combined (39), and more than all of the running backs and tight ends (18). I don't know if J.P. Losman doesn't have any other weapons or is just afraid to use them, but the offense can't be successful leaning this heavily on Willis McGahee and Evans. The situation is similar to Washington, where the offense continues to be Clinton Portis and Santana Moss.
22. Washington Redskins [19] — The team as a whole, and Mark Brunell in particular, have had two good games and three bad ones, without much middle ground. I'm inclined to regard the bad Washington as the real one. One good game was against Houston, taking advantage of a weak opponent, and the other, against Jacksonville, was probably a bit of a fluke.
23. Miami Dolphins [23] — Their only win was at home against the Titans, and I would move them significantly lower in the rankings if there were room, but everyone from this spot down is truly awful. I do think Nick Saban made the right move by going with Joey Harrington at quarterback, at least for now.
24. Tampa Bay Buccaneers [26] — Ranking an 0-4 team outside the bottom quarter of the league does not make me happy, especially since I've expressed pessimism about Tampa's remaining schedule, but there's at least potential here. Bruce Gradkowski had an impressive starting debut, and the offense turned in its best performance of the season, but the Bucs' once-great defense has been a disappointment so far, ranking near the bottom of the league in both sacks and interceptions.
25. Green Bay Packers [24] — Everyone talks about Brett Favre, but this team's biggest problem is its defense, which ranks 31st. The Packers have played two top offenses (Chicago and Philadelphia), but they've also given up big numbers against teams with mediocre offenses (Detroit and St. Louis). Green Bay is already in a soft part of its schedule (November looks like 0-4 waiting to happen), so there's not a lot of room for optimism.
26. Arizona Cardinals [25] — Matt Leinart looked good in his first NFL start, but Larry Fitzgerald was injured in the loss, and will miss a minimum of two weeks. That's a major loss for the Leinart and the Cardinals, and will put added pressure on Anquan Boldin and Bryant Johnson, the latter of whom needs to step up in Fitzgerald's absence.
27. Cleveland Browns [27] — Haven't scored 20 points on anyone but Oakland. The Browns passed 43 times on Sunday, versus 21 handoffs, despite that Carolina never led by more than two touchdowns. Charlie Frye had his worst game of the season, with three turnovers and a 49.9 rating. Reuben Droughns should be healthy after the bye, and he needs to be more involved in the gameplan.
28. San Francisco 49ers [28] — The Battle of the Bay came down to turnovers. In a fairly equal game — Oakland probably had the edge, honestly — San Francisco was +4 in turnovers, and that will win almost every time. Frank Gore led the team in rushing and receiving yards, and Alex Smith threw three TD passes, but the Niners' hero was cornerback Walt Harris, who grabbed three interceptions.
29. Detroit Lions [29] — They've been in every game (except against the Bears, but that doesn't count at this point), but can't win. The defense has been terrible, ranking 28th in yards allowed, and the Lions have given up 141 points this season, more than anyone but San Francisco. Over the last four weeks that figure is even worse, with an average of 33 points allowed.
30. Houston Texans [30] — I know I said this last week, but I can't get over their schedule. The Texans play on the road in four of their next five games, and six of the next eight. In Weeks 9-13, they go to Jacksonville, New York (twice), and Oakland. That's about 11,000 miles (round-trip) in five weeks, with games in three different time zones.
31. Tennessee Titans [32] — Averaging 12 points per game, better than only the Raiders. Vince Young had some success running the ball, but somehow managed to average just three yards per pass attempt, which is so bad I don't have an adjective strong enough to describe it. The defense, minus Albert Haynesworth, did a nice job of limiting Peyton Manning and his receivers.
32. Oakland Raiders [31] — On a weekend in which several QBs had successful starting debuts, Andrew Walter was the exception. That's the way this season is going for the Raiders, who have lost to two bad teams and gotten blown out by two good ones. I feel bad for Art Shell, even though this is partially his fault.
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