Month: September 2013

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 2013 Week 2 NFL Power Rankings (#24)

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I said before the season that I didn’t think Josh Freeman would last the season in Tampa Bay. I’m even more confident in that now. This week, they took his captaincy away. That’s incredibly rare. I’ve never heard of that happening. Quarterbacks aren’t always a captain on a team, but once a player is captain, he usually stays captain as long as he’s with the team. On top of that, he struggled mightily against the Jets in an eventual loss, completing just 15 of 31 for 210 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. He’ll have better games, but the Buccaneers coaching staff didn’t draft him and they just seem fed up with his inconsistency. Mike Glennon will see a few starts.

Week 1 Studs

LT Donald Penn

CB Darrelle Revis

Week 1 Duds

QB Josh Freeman

RB Doug Martin

LG Gabe Carimi

RG Davin Joseph

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Minnesota Vikings: 2013 Week 2 NFL Power Rankings (#25)

stevenlourie 2013 NFL Power Rankings, 2013 Week 2 NFL Power Rankings, Uncategorized, Vikings

All of the sharps predicted an improvement from the Lions and a decline from the Vikings, to the point where the Lions were 5 point favorites week 1 and had a higher over/under win total. The Lions’ 10 point victory over the Vikings is making those sharps look pretty smart. The Vikings simply cannot rely on Adrian Peterson to rush for 2000 yards again. He looked great on his first carry from scrimmage week 1, taking it to the house for 78 yards, but he gained just 15 yards on his other 17 carries. 93 rushing yards total isn’t bad, but he surpassed that 10 times last season.

Week 1 Studs

WR Jerome Simpson

RE Jared Allen

LE Brian Robison

Week 1 Duds

QB Christian Ponder

LT Matt Kalil

RG Brandon Fusco

LOLB Chris Greenwood

MLB EJ Henderson

SS Jamarca Sanford

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Indianapolis Colts: 2013 Week 2 NFL Power Rankings (#26)

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I thought the Colts would be improved over last season (in talent, not record), but barely beating the Raiders, after winning 7 games by 7 points or less against 7 win or worse teams last season, doesn’t inspire any confidence. Andrew Luck looked good, completing 18 of 23 for 178 yards and 2 touchdowns, while rushing for another 39 and a score on 6 carries, and he could be on his way to a much improved 2nd season in the league, though it’s tough to tell against a defense like Oakland. However, both their defense and their offensive line looked just as bad as it was last season, despite all the money they spent. That’ll keep them from having a winning season if they don’t turn it around. They can’t continue to bank on Luck pulling wins out of his ass.

Week 1 Studs

QB Andrew Luck

LE Ricky Jean-Francois

SS La’Ron Landry

Week 1 Duds

LT Anthony Castonzo

LOLB Bjoern Werner

MLB Kelvin Sheppard

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Buffalo Bills: 2013 Week 2 NFL Power Rankings (#27)

stevenlourie 2013 NFL Power Rankings, 2013 Week 2 NFL Power Rankings, Bills, Uncategorized

The Bills are one of several teams that blew leads against superior opponents this week and this one has to hurt the most, not just because it was the Patriots, but because they were the only team this week to win the turnover battle and lose the game. Winning the turnover battle is not something you can count on, especially for a team like the Bills, so you have to capitalize when it happens.

Week 1 Studs

None

Week 2 Duds

RB CJ Spiller

RG Colin Brown

DT Marcell Dareus

MLB Kiko Alonso

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San Diego Chargers: 2013 Week 2 NFL Power Rankings (#28)

stevenlourie 2013 NFL Power Rankings, 2013 Week 2 NFL Power Rankings, Chargers, Uncategorized

I had the Chargers playing the overrated Texans close, as the Texans were playing in a very late game for them (from Central time) and they were missing both Antonio Smith and Ed Reed, so I’m not surprised by the final score. However, the Chargers have to be kicking themselves for letting a win slip away like that in a season where wins will still be hard to come by. After blowing a 24-0 halftime lead against the Broncos last year, blowing a 28-7 lead against the Texans has to be bringing back Vietnam flashbacks for this team. And this time around, they can’t blame Norv Turner. I don’t buy the notion that quarterbacks suddenly become worse just by the quarter changing to the 4th, but Philip Rivers’ 12 touchdown to 16 interception ratio in the 4th quarter since 2011 is concerning.

Week 1 Studs

ROLB Dwight Freeney

LOLB Jarret Johnson

FS Eric Weddle

Week 1 Duds

RT DJ Fluker

RG Jeromey Clary

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New York Jets: 2013 Week 2 NFL Power Rankings (#29)

stevenlourie 2013 NFL Power Rankings, 2013 Week 2 NFL Power Rankings, Jets, Uncategorized

The Jets won week 1, but no team that won was closer to losing. Lavonte David’s penalty was the difference between a near impossible 62 yard field goal and a makeable 47 yard field goal. I’m not trying to take anything away from the Jets, whose defense did a great job of shutting down Doug Martin and confusing Josh Freeman, but they’re still going to have a tough time winning games going forward.

Week 1 Studs

RT Austin Howard

DT Damon Harrison

Week 1 Duds

LT D’Brickashaw Ferguson

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Cleveland Browns: 2013 Week 2 NFL Power Rankings (#30)

stevenlourie 2013 NFL Power Rankings, 2013 Week 2 NFL Power Rankings, Browns, Uncategorized

I thought the Browns would be competitive with the Dolphins on the strength of their front 7 and their offensive line, but Brandon Weeden’s poor performance made that impossible, as he completed 26 of 53 for 289 yards, 1 touchdown, and 3 interceptions. Their secondary also did not look good. Joe Haden was great as always, shutting down Mike Wallace, but Haden’s value is minimized because opponents can just throw away from him and pick on other defensive backs with ease. Brian Hartline torched them for 114 yards and a touchdown on 9 catches.

Week 1 Studs

LT Joe Thomas

RE Desmond Bryant

MLB D’Qwell Jackson

Week 1 Duds

QB Brandon Weeden

RB Chris Ogbonnaya

RT Mitchell Schwartz

LG John Greco

RG Oneil Cousins

WR Greg Little

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Jacksonville Jaguars: 2013 Week 2 NFL Power Rankings (#31)

stevenlourie 2013 NFL Power Rankings, 2013 Week 2 NFL Power Rankings, Jaguars, Uncategorized

The Jaguars were essentially shut out in their opener, only scoring on a safety. Kansas City is a tough defense, but the fact is that Blaine Gabbert remains one of, if not the worst starting quarterbacks in the NFL. He completed just 16 of 35 for 121 yards and 2 interceptions without a score, but even worse is that just 22 of his yards came through the air. The rest were after the catch. Gabbert is out with an injury and will be replaced with the slightly superior Chad Henne this week as the Jaguars head to Oakland for what will be one of their best chances to win a game and one of the least interesting games of the season. The Jaguars started Gabbert because they wanted to evaluate him further, but his injury isn’t allowing them to do that, though they might have seen enough after week 1.

Week 1 Studs

None

Week 1 Duds

QB Blaine Gabbert

DT Roy Miller

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Oakland Raiders: 2013 Week 2 NFL Power Rankings (#32)

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The Raiders kept it close with the Colts and could have won. However, the Colts had 7 wins by 7 or less against 7 win or worse teams last season, so that’s not as impressive as it seems. The Colts just aren’t as good as they seem. Even the 2-14 Chiefs played them within a touchdown last season. The Raiders’ week 1 performance doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t be the worst team in the NFL, as so many predicted. Terrelle Pryor was a weapon on the ground, with 112 rushing yards against a Colts defense that seemed unprepared for a running quarterback, but he didn’t move the ball through the air well, even against a weak Indianapolis secondary.

Week 1 Studs

RT Tony Pashos

DE LaMarr Houston

DT Vance Walker

Week 1 Duds

LT Khalif Barnes

LG Lucas Nix

DT Pat Sims

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