32. Buffalo Bills 0-5

Bye

31. Cleveland Browns 1-5

Tough to tell a lot about Colt McCoy from his first start. His stats, 23 for 33 for 281 yards, a touchdown, and 2 picks, as well as 22 yards on the ground on 4 carries, looked good, but at the same time, he only led his team into the end zone once. However, at the same time, he was facing Pittsburgh who made Matt Ryan look silly earlier this season. However, at the same time, it’s a Pittsburgh defense that might have no longer been trying at 100% with Big Ben back. However, he definitely earned another start. They need to see what he’s got, even if it’s only so I can start making more definitive statements in my Power Rankings.

30. Carolina Panthers 0-5

Bye

29. Detroit Lions 1-5

The Lions are 1-5, but at the same time they have a positive point differential (+6) and they are 2nd in the NFC in total points, all without having their starting quarterback for more than 2 quarters. Backup quarterback Shaun Hill is the 2nd quarterback to go down this season, breaking his arm last week against the Giants, but with the bye week coming up and Matt Stafford (shoulder) coming back for week 8 after the bye, that doesn’t matter a lot to the Lions. It’ll be interesting to see how they play with him out there. He’s definitely more talented and got more upside than Shaun Hill, but there’s always a chance he doesn’t capitalize on that upside. He could just as easily lead this team to a 3-13 finish as he could a 6-10 and put them in position, with a high draft pick coming up, to make a run in 2011. They’re not going to make the playoffs this season, but they still should be a very interesting watch the rest of the way, provided Jeff Backus doesn’t allow some big guy to destroy an injury prone Stafford again.

28. Oakland Raiders 2-4

After JaMarcus Russell was cut this offseason, I posted something about how sad I was that he was cut and listing potential replacements for most hillariously bad quarterback in the NFL. In there I said the following about Jason Campbell. “Why not? I happen to think Campbell will do awesome in Oakland (assuming we’re grading on a curve). He hasn’t been anywhere near as bad as people think he is and the Raiders’ scheme fits his arm well. However, maybe the Raiders’ will suck the life right out of him. Maybe they’ll let him do whatever he wants and he’ll gain 50 pounds. Plus, the Raiders are probably the only team on this list that would start an awful quarterback for long enough for it to be true comedy.” I don’t want to call myself a psychic or anything, but after Campbell went 8 for 21 for 83 yards and 2 picks in a loss to the previously winless 49ers, I’m looking pretty smart. Campbell is 51 for 91 for 509 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 4 picks this season. It could be that he’s been battling injuries, but it could also just be that Oakland sucks the life out of quarterbacks. I mean watching him this season, it’s like watching a skinnier JaMarcus Russell. And speaking of Campbell’s injuries, his knee injury this week could force Kyle Boller to start. Good times.

27. San Francisco 49ers 1-5

Time for them to beat up on crappy teams, after beating Oakland last week, they face Carolina this week. After that, they face Denver, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, and Arizona, before facing Seattle (in San Fran), Arizona, and St. Louis weeks 15-17. There’s actually still a possibility they could win this division. Or maybe, because the NFC West no longer looks like it can be won by a 6 win team, they just win enough games to take them out of the running for a quarterback in the draft and have to start Alex Smith again. How sad.

26. Jacksonville Jaguars 3-3

Once again, the Jacksonville Jaguars could not stop a quarterback. Vince young was very good in limited action before getting hurt, but he did his work in such limited action that we can not even mention him here. Kerry Collins, coming in off the bench cold, threw for 110 yards and a touchdown on 11 for 16, looking like he was 27 instead of 37. No one in this Jacksonville secondary can cover and they’ve alternated starters every game, so many times that they are really out of options. I don’t know how this team has three wins, but if they can’t stop anyone through the air, and they can’t get any better production out of David Garrard, they won’t get more than 3 more wins the rest of the way.

25. St. Louis Rams 3-3

The Rams beat the Chargers, but it’s the early season Chargers on the road and everyone else in the division won this weekend. Seattle definitely looked more impressive winning in Chicago than St. Louis did at home against the Chargers. This division might not be as bad as it originally seemed, meaning it might take more than 6 or 7 games for them to win this division. I’m still not sure this is a team that can do that.

24. Cincinnati Bengals 2-3

Bye

23. Seattle Seahawks 3-2

So much for being a bad road team, the Seahawks broke the trend and went into Chicago and beat the previously 4-1 Bears. Now, this could be just because the Bears are worse than their record shows, but with Marshawn Lynch out there running and Russell Okung out there keeping the pressure off of an almost immobile Matt Hasselbeck, this team looks like a completely different offensive bunch. Also let’s not forget that run defense, once seen as one of the worst defensive lines in football, their run defense is 2nd only to the Pittsburgh Steelers with a 2.9 YPC allowed. That defensive line also, despite it’s big size and ability against the run has 17 sacks to aid a very weak secondary.

22. Denver Broncos 2-4

This team is simply way too one dimensional to win games against good teams. They can beat up on bad teams all they want with Kyle Orton leading this high powered offense charge, but against teams like the Jets and the Ravens, they need to be able to play defense and run the ball to win. However, because of their weak schedule, they’ll have plenty of chances to beat up on bad teams (starting with Oakland this week) with their amazing passing game and get some wins. If San Diego never rebounds and Kansas City continues losing, that could win this team the division with about 8 or 9 wins, so they’re not completely out of it.

21. Arizona Cardinals 3-2

Bye

20. Dallas Cowboys 1-4

Poor red zone conversion rate, poor takeaway to turnover rate, high level of penalties, that’s how a talented team like the Cowboys can be 1-4 even when on paper their players are playing pretty well. This team just continues to shoot itself in the foot and Wade Phillips is the reason why. Sloppy defense also always stems from a lack of leadership and discipline in the locker room and the fingers must be pointed to Wade Phillips for that. And it’s not like he has a strong track record to keep him in there. He has one playoff win in 5 years with one of the most talented teams in the league.

19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3-2

The question around this team going into this week was were they ready to take on the Saints and beat them in a game that mattered (with potential playoff implications) and the answer was a fairly resounding no, after they lost 31-6. They just aren’t on that level yet with all the holes in their defense, especially missing Tanard Jackson at safety. The Saints beat them deep all game. Josh Freeman is a good quarterback, but with no defense and no running game, they aren’t going to beat good teams (similar to the Broncos). Cadillac Williams has rushed for 190 yards and 0 scores on 75 carries this season (2.5 YPC), just like Larry Johnson for the Chiefs last year, but just like Todd Haley with Johnson, Raheem Morris refuses to see what any of their backups can do in a starting role.

18. Kansas City Chiefs 3-2

I’m moving the Chiefs up even after their loss to the Texans because they really showed me a lot in that game. In fact, betwen their 10 points loss to the Colts and their 4 point last second loss to the Texans, they showed me more that suggests they can win their division than anything in their first 3 wins, all against crappy teams (combined record 4-14). They played both the Colts and Texans tough. They showed good defense in the Indy game and pretty good offense in the Houston game until the 4th quarter and they showed they can exploit bad secondaries against Houston. San Diego is playing badly still and if they lose to the Patriots, it might be time to make Kansas City the favorite in that division.

17. Chicago Bears 4-2

I definitely think their 3-0 start was a fluke, almost as much as the Chiefs’ was. They beat Detroit on a stupid call. They beat Dallas who is much worse than we thought they were. They also beat Green Bay, who was 2-0 at the time, but they committed 18 penalties and effectively started their slide, which is still in progress. Now teams have adjusted and figured out how to beat Jay Cutler and Mike Martz, blitz them. Cutler can’t get the ball out quickly out of a 7 step drop because he takes so long to make reads. Martz has to adjust, something he has never been willing to do, and go to more 3 and 5 step drops to limit the amount of time, or run more with Matt Forte and Chester Taylor. Cutler has been sacked 15 times in his last 6 quarters. That can’t happen. 

 

16. Miami Dolphins 3-2

This team is 3-0 on the road. That’s the good news. The bad news, they’ve yet to win at home. It might be just because the combined record of their home opponents is 9-2 and their road opponents are a combined 5-12, but that’s not a good sign either. They have to be able to beat good teams. They get Pittsburgh at home this week, giving them a chance to beat their first team at home and beat a good team.

15. Houston Texans 4-2

They won last week, but I’m moving them down. They really looked bad defensively. Their offense was amazing once again leading yet another comeback win, but they gave up 31 points to the Chiefs and made Matt Cassel look like Joe Montana, 20 for 29 for 201 yards 3 touchdowns and no picks. They may be 4-2, but they have the 2nd most points allowed this season, only behind Jacksonville. Their pass defense is also 2nd worst only to Jacksonville with a YPA allowed of 8.2. Good teams don’t do that.

14. Washington Redskins 3-3

I’m not sure if this team is for real as a contender, but I am sure they play a lot of close games. They have only played one game that was decided by more than 6 points this season and they’ve gone into overtime twice. At least unlike last season, when they went 3-10 in games decided by 10 or less. Having a legitimate quarterback like Donovan McNabb certainly helps you with that.

13. Minnesota Vikings 2-3

They’re not all the way back into it, but if they beat Green Bay this week, something they did 2 times last season, they’re 3-3 and right back into the mix of things in the NFC North with two slumping teams, Chicago and Green Bay.

12. San Diego Chargers 2-4

Still waiting to see if they’re going to start playing better or not. They do every year, but I think they could be running out of time. They need to beat New England this weekend at home, somewhere they’re played very well this season, or else I think they’re done, or at least no longer the favorites.

11. Tennessee Titans 4-2

They Titans looked very good last week winning their first back-to-back games of the season and looking very good in all facets of the game, even with their backup quarterback in there. It might have just been because the Jaguars absolutely stink, but they do have the makings of a team that could be a very good team this season. We’ll learn a lot more about them this week against the Eagles, who are also 4-2.

10. New York Giants 4-2

The Giants have an opportunity to but the dagger in the Dallas Cowboys this week. If they win, the Cowboys, who are probably already dead, but just to be sure, would be 1-5 and 3.5 games back of the division, losing the tiebreaker. If they win, they could be only 1.5 back with a tiebreaker over the Giants and only 1-1 in the division, in position to potentially go on a run with some luck.

9. Philadelphia Eagles 4-2

I really hope this team sticks with Kevin Kolb the rest of the way. Kolb and Vick are both 2-0 in games they’ve both started and finished, but Kolb beat San Francisco and Atlanta. Vick beat Detroit and Jacksonville. Their stats, Vick is 38-65 for 575 yards, 5 touchdowns, no picks. Kolb is 44-60 for 579 yards, 4 touchdowns and 1 interception. Very similar stats, very similar records, but Kolb is younger, Kolb was though more highly of before the season, and Kolb is under contract for longer.

8. Green Bay Packers 3-3

The Packers really missed Clay Matthews last week. They didn’t get a single sack on Miami, who conversely had 5 sacks on Green Bay’s suddenly crumbling offensive front. Matthews, who has 8.5 on the season already, has only 4 fewer than the rest of the team and most of teams are because defenses are so occupied “trying” to stop him. Once he’s back and healthy, they’ll be a different team. If they get other key players back, they could still make a run at it if they can click late in the season. They’re still a talented team.

7. Atlanta Falcons 4-2

In his career, Matt Ryan is 8-12 on the road and 14-1 at home, including post season, with that one loss coming in 2008 by 4 in Atlanta. He needs to become a better road quarterback before this team can go all the way, but you see how good of a team they are at home and if they can get a high seed, either 1 or 2, very possible with the way the NFC is turning out right now, they could win it all. They’re definitely still in it, even after a loss to Philly in Philly.

6. Baltimore Ravens 4-2

In the AFC, the Jets have beaten the Patriots who have beaten the Ravens who have beaten the Jets. The Ravens have also beaten Pittsburgh, the other top AFC team, but that was at home without Big Ben and Baltimore does have 2 losses (New England and lowly Cincinnati). They make a lot of mental mistakes, though they are built like a champion with their amazing defense.

5. New Orleans Saints 4-2

It appears that loss to Arizona was the wake up call they needed. After playing it close in all 4 of their first 3 games, going 3-1, still respectable, the lowly Cardinals beat them. After that, they woke up and realized that had to play much better, scoirng 31 without Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas, and holding Josh Freeman and the Bucs to 6 points, even without Tracy Porter.

4. New England Patriots 4-1

Deion Branch’s 9 catches against the Ravens were the most by him since the last time he was with the Patriots. He definitely is comfortable in this scheme with Tom Brady throwing to him. They may not have Randy Moss as a deep threat anymore, but their intermediate game is as good, if not better than it’s ever been with Welker, Branch, Hernandez, Edelman, Tate, etc. That’s going to allow Brady to be conservative and not have to force it deep to Moss, part of the reason he struggled last season.

3. New York Jets 5-1

The Jets goal this season was the have the best record in the league. Right now, they do, going on a 5 game winning streak after that pitiful 1 point loss to open the season against the Ravens. However, I still need to see more out of Mark Sanchez before I can declare them favorites. He’s getting close though, even though he did throw his first 2 interceptions of the year against Denver last week, in a win. He did lead the game winning drive, but a penalty helped him in a huge way. 

2. Indianapolis Colts 4-2

Remember the Colts were 2-2 and everyone thought they were dead. 2 games later, they look like potential favorites in the AFC. It’s funny how much 2 wins can change things early in the season, even two wins they were supposed to win. Or maybe most media members just overreact to records and don’t think about facts. They’re now one of the best teams in the AFC record wise and do you really want to bet against Peyton Manning. I didn’t think so.

1. Pittsburgh Steelers 4-1

Their defense didn’t look 100% last week, but that just could have been because they played their hearts out for 4 games without Big Ben and saw last week, with Ben back, and the Browns in town, as a nice rest. We’ll see how everything clicks, defense, running game, Big Ben, this week in Miami, against a Dolphins team they shouldn’t overlook.