32. Carolina Panthers 1-10

With every mediocre start Jimmy Clausen has, it looks more and more likely that the Panthers would draft a quarterback like Andrew Luck if given the chance with the (presumably) 1^st overall pick in the 2011 draft. Of course if Clausen wins a few games and they aren’t picking #1, they’ll keep him around, but it’s not looking good.

I was a huge supporter of Clausen coming out in 2010 and I personally hope that someone trades for him this offseason. They can get him cheap if the Panthers draft Luck and he’s still got potential. He’s had a bad rookie year, but look at what he’s had to go through. His entire supporting cast is terrible. That’s especially tough for a rookie who is just learning an NFL offense. Hopefully a team with more of a supporting cast (Arizona, San Francisco, Miami) will trade a mid-rounder for Clausen, because I think he can still be a solid signal caller with a better supporting cast.

31. Cincinnati Bengals 2-9

Did the Bengals even play this week? This team has absolutely not shown up in 6 quarters, ever since they took that big early lead against Buffalo, which they promptly blew big time. That Jets game was disgraceful. They might as well have been a college team. That’s how bad they looked.

30. Arizona Cardinals 3-8

I know you’re probably expecting me to do a write up here, but I’m just not going to. HAHAHAHAHA

It wasn’t funny. I wasn’t laughing about anything. I’m not laughing about it. You think this is funny? I take this $#!% serious! Real serious! I put my heart and soul into these Power Rankings every week. I’m just telling you right now what I do every single week! Every single week! I put my freakin’ heart and soul into this, I study my ass off! I don’t go out there and laugh! It’s not funny! Nothing’s funny to me! I don’t want to go out there and get embarrassed on the internet in front of everybody.

(In case you’re confused, watch this)

29. Detroit Lions 2-9

The Lions are Thanksgiving Day turkeys once again. They haven’t won on the holiday since 2003 and they’ve lost their last 8 Thanksgiving Day games by an average of 23.9! Tom Brady has many things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Tons of money, a supermodel wife, being a celebrity, being an NFL quarterback, 3 Super Bowl rings, playing the Detroit Lions, Deion Branch, the fact that Alphonso Smith can’t cover or tackle to save his life, you get the point. That long Branch TD against Smith was pathetic. First Smith allowed Branch to be wide open for the catch, then he got juked out three separate times on Branch’s run to the end zone. Now you see why Josh McDaniels traded a first rounder for him.

28. Buffalo Bills 2-9

You’re probably expecting me to do a write up here, but instead I’m just going to pull a Steve Johnson, drop the ball and blame God. WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME!!!

27. Denver Broncos 3-8

Last week I did a detailed overview of Josh McDaniels’ failures in his time in Denver, but still somehow have another to add after just one week. He had someone videotape a 1-6 team’s practice and still lost. I know some people will say, he didn’t knowingly have someone tape the practice. Right. So former Patriot assistant Josh McDaniels hired the guy responsible for Spygate and had perfectly good and legal intentions in doing so. Come on. At least when the Pats did it they won.

26. Dallas Cowboys 3-8

It appears the worst running back in the league, Marion Barber, is injured and will miss a few weeks. Now what terrible back will the Cowboys use to steal 10 carries away from Felix Jones? Barber is averaging a mere 3.1 yards per carry and that doesn’t even tell the whole story. Most of the time he just falls forward and gets stuffed at the line and he only has two carries of longer than 12 yards all year, in 102 attempts. It appears Tashard Choice will get Barber’s carries in his absence and not Felix Jones, but as long as it’s not Barber or Larry Johnson, the Cowboys are better off.

25. Cleveland Browns 3-8

Phew! It looked like for a while that the Browns would actually cover a 10 point spread against the Browns and make me lose my 5 unit pick. In the first half, the Browns led by double digits on several occasions and Jake Delhomme was being efficient and just letting Peyton Hillis do all the work.

 Then in the second half, Delhomme had his trademark implosion (was anyone really surprised) as he threw 2 picks, one returned for a score, as the Panthers battled back to make it a mere 1 point loss. The Panthers actually could have won that game if they didn’t miss a mid range field goal late in the 4^th.

An embarrassing stat, Delhomme threw a touchdown to the Panthers last week, a pick six. When he was the Panthers’ starting quarterback in 2009, he didn’t throw a single touchdown to the Panthers in 4 of his 11 starts. With Colt McCoy out for a few more weeks, we’re going to be seeing a lot more of Delhomme in Cleveland. But hey, at least it means the Browns will be drafting higher and be able to get an actual receiver.

24. San Francisco 49ers 4-7

The 49ers were 3-7 going into last week’s game with the Cardinals, then they lost a player in Frank Gore who accounted for 40% of their yards from scrimmage this season. Gore’s out for the season. With Troy Smith looking fairly mediocre, their season now rests on the back of Brian Westbrook. And still, at 4-7, they’re a mere 1 game back of the division with 3 in division games to go against St. Louis, Arizona, and Seattle. Yes, there’s still a chance this once 1-6 team who lost to the Panthers can make the playoffs.

I don’t say this very often, but Jon Gruden had a good idea. During the 49ers/Cardinals broadcast, he proposed a new rule that only teams with 8 wins can make the playoffs. If you win your division with 7 or fewer wins, you don’t make the playoffs. Instead, a 3^rd wild card team makes the playoffs and the best wild card team gets a round 1 home game rather than said 7 win team. Of course Gruden said that this rule should be changed for THIS season, which is impossible, but a half coherent thought by Gruden is a record of some sort.

23. Oakland Raiders 5-6

Is anyone really surprised? After beating the Chiefs and being in a tie with Kansas City for first in the division during the bye, the Raiders have lost their last 2 by a combined 48 points. Neither of their quarterbacks, Jason Campbell, nor Bruce Gradkowski can do anything. Darren McFadden once looked like an MVP candidate, but now has 18 carries for 16 yards in his last 2 games. Now they sit at 5-6 and look likely to miss the playoffs once again. In fact, if they lose out, they can still have their 8^th straight year or 11 or more losses. Not entirely impossible.

22. Minnesota Vikings 4-7

Following the Vikings’ win over the Redskins and the Cowboys 2-1 record in 3 games with Jason Garrett, I would not be surprised if every team in the league fired their head coach in an attempt to win next week. It seems to work. In all, seriousness, this team should have fired Brad Childress weeks ago. He was simply someone the players weren’t buying into and when they finally fired him it was too late for their season.

21. Houston Texans 5-6

The fact that Cortland Finnegan and Andre Johnson got the same fine is ridiculous. Cortland Finnegan started the fight, provoked Johnson’s response, yanked off Johnson’s helmet, what was Johnson supposed to do, stand there and take it. Finnegan’s a dirty player who absolutely tries to hurt people (he’s not very good at it because he’s tiny). Finnegan has done similar things in the past and should have been suspended. Instead, Finnegan gets the same 25K fine as Andre Johnson.

Here’s a video of the fight if you haven’t seen it. And what’s with Finnegan clapping at the end of it. Is he clapping that he just got his ass kicked or is he clapping that he was finally able to shutdown Johnson, by getting him kicked out of the game? For the record, Johnson caught 9 balls and a score against Finnegan, who is supposed to be one of the better corners in the league. Instead Finnegan is just a punk who looks like Pauly D. And even The Jersey Shore “star” was offended by the comparison. Any time someone from Jersey is offended to be compared with you, you’ve got problems.

20. Seattle Seahawks 5-6

Just when you think this is the legitimate team in the NFC West, they fall flat on their faces in back to back games, losing both by double digits, one at home to an overrated Chiefs team in a game where they just looked absolutely terrible. The MNF crew seemed to think this team was the most likely to be able to win a playoff game because they have the best quarterback.

Well, except they can’t stop anyone, their good receivers end after Mike Williams who used to be a major bust and also is often injured, and their running back Marshawn Lynch is someone I strongly considered ranking with Marion Barber and Larry Johnson as the worst running backs in the league. Lynch is averaging 3.1 yards per carry since arriving in Seattle. I have no idea why Justin Forsett isn’t starting over him. Oh, and as for Matt Hasselbeck being the best quarterback in the division, MNF Crew, meet Sam Bradford.

19. Washington Redskins 5-6

This team is the most boring team on the field in the league. The only time I was ever able to come up with anything interesting to say about them was after the McNabb fiasco. So I’m going to say something else about the Derek Anderson incident again.

Replays show Anderson was clearly laughing on the sideline, so Anderson clearly is in denial or has selective amnesia, but the question remains, what could Lutui have said to Anderson to make him laugh. I have a few suggestions.

“Boy, you’ve really killed Larry Fitzgerald’s fantasy value”

“Can you believe people thought we’d be competitive without Kurt Warner”

“Someone picked you up in my fantasy league and started you this week”

“I can’t believe the media hasn’t noticed you drench yourself in sludge before every game”

“Can you believe people paid to watch this game?”

18. Tennessee Titans 5-6

3 weeks ago this team was 5-3, one game back of the best record in the AFC, and had just acquired Randy Moss from the Vikings through a waiver claim. 3 weeks later, they’re 5-6. Randy Moss has 4 catches for 49 yards in 3 games, but he’s not the problem. He’s kept his mouth shut, likely in an attempt to actually be playing football next season.

Vince Young hurt his thumb, wanted to go back into the game, got angry he didn’t go back into the game, lashed out at Coach Jeff Fisher, stormed out of the locker room post-game, was placed on IR banned from team meetings. That left Rusty Smith to start against the Texans. The Texans rank 31^st in the league against the pass, but Smith still was only 17 for 31 for 138 yards, no touchdowns, and 3 picks. They can forget about the playoffs now and their only hope for a .500 season is that Kerry Collins comes back from injury soon to lead the team at quarterback.

17. Jacksonville Jaguars 6-5

The Jaguars got lucky again last week. They didn’t win, but they were able to look dominant against the Giants. People will use this as a reason for why they are legitimate contenders in the AFC South. However, the Giants are in the middle of a second half swoon right now and have multiple injuries in their receiving corps and on their offensive line. This is still a team that’s not going to be able to beat the Colts in a few weeks in a game that could decide the division. They beat the Colts earlier this year, and even that required a 59 yard field goal at the end of regulation, essentially a miracle.

16. Miami Dolphins 6-5

What a difference a week makes. One week after getting shutout at home by Chicago, they get their starting quarterback back and go into Oakland and win by multiple scores. I still think they’re out of the playoff race at 6-5, but every good game Chad Henne has is a positive. He’s been extremely inconsistent this year and there are going to be opportunities for them to get a different quarterback in the offseason. They need to decide whether or not they want to pursue that option.

15. St. Louis Rams 5-6

Deep in the pathetic abyss known as the NFC West, there’s team known as the St. Louis Rams who are actually a legitimate team. Sam Bradford really does get better every week and is putting together a rookie year comparable to Matt Ryan’s in 2008. It’s been that impressive. Ryan had more wins, but Ryan also had more of a supporting cast. Bradford’s top 3 receivers have all gone down for the year and there weren’t that many of them to begin with.

Meanwhile, Steve Spagnuolo deserves at least some Coach of the Year votes. This team had one win last year. Spags has them at 5-6 now and their defense is tied for 5^th in the league with 31 sacks. They had 25 all last year. Spags is a genius with pass rushes and has gotten the most out of Chris Long, who once looked like a bust, and James Hall who is 33 and had 4.5 sacks all last year.

14. Kansas City Chiefs 7-4

This team is really playing better in these last two weeks. I think they’re motivated by the Broncos destroying them two weeks ago and by all the hype that the Chargers are getting despite the fact that the Chiefs are in first in the division and beat the Chargers week 1.

Todd Haley is slowly learning that Matt Cassel needs a good running game to be successful and that Jamaal Charles is loads better than Thomas Jones. Charles has 1021 yards on 163 carries, while Jones has 712 carries on 176 carries. Charles is also the better pass catcher with 305 more receiving yards than Jones, so it was good to see Charles get more carries than Jones week 13 for the 3^rd time all season.

Cassel’s stats are looking great despite his mediocre arm because the defense has to fear the running game and because of Dwayne Bowe. In Bowe’s last 3 games alone he has 32 catches for 465 yards and 7 scores. That’s a decent season for some guys. In his last 7 he has 49 catches for 733 yards and a whopping 13 scores. That’s a great season for most guys. Granted Matt Cassel doesn’t seem to be even trying to throw to anyone else, but it’s still impressive.

13. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7-4

This continues to be the most predictable team in the league. Everyone they’ve beaten has a worse record than them and everyone they’ve lost to has a better record than them. The teams they’ve beaten are a combined 19-58 and the teams they’ve lost to are a combined 33-11. Makes sense to me.

12. New York Giants 7-4

Don’t let that win fool you. This team is still imploding in the second half as they normally do. The Jaguars actually dominated that game for about 2 and a half quarters before they took their foot off the gas and let the Giants come back and win it. Unless you’re new to this site, you would know that I don’t think fairly highly of the Jaguars and their fluke wins this season so the fact that the Jags dominated that game for that long is really pathetic on the part of the Giants.

They should have won that game by more than 4. Elite teams would have won that game by 7 or more. The Giants aren’t one. Blame injuries if you want, but the mistakes they made in the first half of the season, turnovers and penalties, haven’t gone away and now they’re actually hurting them.

11. Indianapolis Colts 6-5

Apparently since Peyton Manning can’t do everything, he’s terrible. At least that’s what ESPN is saying. His last 4 aren’t pretty. Let’s look at what he’s had to deal with in the last 4. An offensive line that can’t block at all, Manning’s arm is getting hit on most of his interceptions. A running game that is absolutely terrible, allowing opposing defensive fronts to focus solely on hitting Manning, a defense that can’t stop anyone, forcing Manning to have to throw at a record pace, allowing opposing defensive fronts to focus solely on hitting Manning, and when he does get time, his receiving corps are so banged up that they’re dropping passes left and right.

Also, look at his competition. In his last 4, he’s played the Chargers, Bengals, Patriots, and Eagles. Chargers game excluded (he’s always terrible against the Chargers), he hasn’t been that bad all things considered. Players are coming back for the Colts and in their last 5 they face the Cowboys, Titans (twice), Jaguars, and Raiders. They can easily go 5-0 in those 5 and finish 11-5 and streaking heading into the playoffs. They won’t be able to rest their starters in weeks 16 and 17, as was the case in 2006 when they won the whole thing. This is still a sneaky scary team.

10. Chicago Bears 8-3

I’m more sold on them after their first impressive win, beating the Eagles. However, I can’t help but feeling they would have lost that game if, Asante Samuel played and Andy Reid didn’t make stupid play calls. Samuel is not only the Eagles best shutdown corner, but he’s their best turnover forcer. Not only could the Eagles not stop the Bears passing attack, but they couldn’t take away the ball either. I have to think Samuel would have picked off Cutler once or twice.

Also, I don’t get Andy Reid’s decision to kick a field goal with 5 minutes left trailing by 15. Great, now they’re trailing by 12. It’s still two touchdowns either way you look at it. Even stupider was not even attempting an on sides kick on the following kickoff. How were they supposed to stop the Bears, get the ball back and score twice in 4 minutes?

Also, I still don’t like the combination of Cutler, Martz, and this offensive line. It still has potential disaster written all over it. What happened in that game against the Giants a few weeks ago could happen again at any time.

If they come across a good team that can shut down their run game and force them to pass more than they have had to in the past few weeks, they could be in trouble. Their offensive line is below average at best and a Mike Martz scheme requires two things to work, an offensive line that can block and a quarterback that can handle pressure and get the ball out to the open guy against a blitz rather than forcing a bad throw. The Bears have neither of those. In order to win the Super Bowl, you have to win 3 or 4 games in a row against playoff teams. I don’t think this team is capable of doing that.

9. Baltimore Ravens 8-3

The Ravens are one of several teams who have a chance to make a statement win this week, along with the Bucs and Jets. Both the Jets and Ravens have beaten the teams they are playing this week, but what has happened in between (Big Ben’s return, the Randy Moss trade, the Pats rise to 9-2 with a tough schedule) has made it such that the Ravens and Jets are still seen as inferior to the team they’ve beaten. They’ll have all the motivation needed to go out and there make a statement win. Now let’s just see if they can do that.

8. Pittsburgh Steelers 8-3

The Steelers have to be thanking God after he made Steve Johnson drop that ball in overtime, which would have been the game winning touchdown. Maybe God’s just a Steelers fan. In all seriousness, that game shouldn’t have been that close. The Steelers dominated the first half, but couldn’t put it away late and it almost cost them a victory.

We saw the same thing earlier this year against the Bengals. They needed a late drop to win that one as well. Last year they lost 5 straight because they couldn’t put bad teams away late. The good news, there are no bad teams in the playoffs and unlike last year, this team is going to make the playoffs. I still like how they matchup with the best teams in the league, though I’d like their chances a lot more if the beat Baltimore this weekend and took control of a first round bye and home field in their first playoff game.

7. Philadelphia Eagles 8-3

It appears Michael Vick is human, after throwing a red zone pick late in the 2^nd quarter trailing by a mere point. That game was also a reminder that Vick’s coach is still Andy Reid and Reid is known for stupid play calls like attempting a field goal down 15 with less than 5 minutes to go and then not attempting the on sides kick on the ensuing kickoff.

If they had gone for the touchdown, made it, and converted the two, that game would have been tied at the end of regulation. It would have at least given them a shot, as would an on sides kick, but Reid chose not to give his team a chance.

6. San Diego Chargers 6-5

Before playing the Colts, I think every team should just watch the Chargers play them. The Chargers seem to be the only ones who can stop Peyton Manning. They’ve somehow perfected what the other 30 teams can barely do at all. That victory was very impressive and Peyton Manning is going to shit his pants if the Colts and Chargers meet in the playoffs. He has to be scared of this team, especially with the strides Philip Rivers has made at quarterback. Now not only can that stop Manning; they can put a ton of points on the board as well. They’d be higher in these rankings if they didn’t have a history of doing stupid stuff in the playoffs and losing

5. Green Bay Packers 7-4

Poor Packers. They’ve lost 4 games each by a field goal for a combined 12 points. In each one of those games there was a deciding moment that you can look back at and say, that’s why they lost and like in the Atlanta game, it always seems to be because they can’t run the ball at all. This is one of the worst running teams of the last few years to the point where they don’t even try that part of the game. They need to find an answer quick otherwise they could see themselves losing a close playoff game by a field goal.

4. New York Jets 9-2

Their last impressive win was a week 4 24 point win over Buffalo. Since then, they haven’t beaten anyone with a winning record and only one team by double digits, the Bengals last week, a game that was closer than the scoreboard read. Elite teams don’t do that. That being said, if the beat the Pats this week, none of that will matter.

3. New Orleans Saints 8-3

Having scored 30+ in their last 3 and on a 4 game winning streak, this team is heating up at the right time to make another Super Bowl run. If they can avoid shooting themselves in the foot like they did constantly against the Cowboys as they almost blew a 17 point lead, they can go far. Another week with a healthier Reggie Bush will help. Bush made the bulk of the team’s big mistakes in that one as he didn’t look back into game speed yet after missing 8 games.

2. Atlanta Falcons 9-2

I don’t think there’s any doubt this is the best team in the NFC right now. They’ve lost twice, but both to good teams, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Their wins, however, are impressive, beating the Saints in New Orleans, the Rams in St. Louis, the Buccaneers, the Packers, and the Ravens. It looks like more of a sure thing that they get homefield, as their last 5 are all winnable games, at a Tampa Bay team that hasn’t beaten anyone, at a Carolina team that is terrible, at a Seattle team that is terrible, at home against New Orleans where they just don’t lose, and then Carolina again. If this team gets home field, they’ll be dangerous as Matt Ryan’s only lost at home once in his career, in 20 games.

1. New England Patriots 9-2

Beat Pittsburgh: Check

Beat Baltimore: Check

Beat Indianapolis: Check

Beat San Diego: Check

Beat NY Jets: TBD

Needless to say, huge game for the Pats this weekend as they not only try to prove they are in fact the best team in the league, but as, if they lose, they’ll probably have a road playoff game in the first round.

2010 NFL Picks

2009 NFL Picks

By Chris Hansen

Duds

Jason Campbell

(+6/-7)

Overall -1

Old habits may die hard for Campbell. The Titans found and used a tell in Campbell’s game. He tips pass plays by sinking and sliding away from center just before he snaps the ball. This was the case in Tennessee and at various points last year. This puts the offensive line at an disadvantage, as they begin their rush as soon as Campbell sinks. The offensive line is put as a disadvantage and this group of offensive lineman aren’t very good to begin with. Correctable, but a very poor habit.

Cooper Carlisle

(+0/-8)

Overall -8

Carlisle was the worst of the offensive lineman. Even Mario Henderson held his ground in pass protection better. He was blown into the backfield by the bull rush, blitzers just went around him and on more than one occasion Carlisle just blocked the wrong player. In some cases Carlisle would disengage his blocker to help out Langston Walker, leaving his man to pressure Campbell. It would be hard to imagine Daniel Loper or rookie Bruce Campbell doing worse.

Tyvon Branch

(+3/-5)

Overall -2

Tyvon was directly responsible for 21 of the 38 points the Raiders surrendered Sunday. He bit on the play action pass leaving Nate Washington open for the long touchdown. He also missed a tackle in the hole on Chris Johnson on the 76-yard touchdown run and was fooled on play action again and lost track of the tight end for an easy flip pass touchdown from Vince Young. He happened to make a few plays as well, but it was a horrible game for Branch. One he wishes to soon forget.

Mario Henderson

(+0/-3)

Overall -3

Most fans were irate when Mario Henderson allowed a strip sack of Jason Campbell in the first quarter. Jacob Ford blew by Henderson who was slow to get off the line of scrimmage. Henderson was lucky to touch the defender down while he complained to officials that Ford was offsides. Reality was Henderson got off the ball slow and the defender got an excellent jump thanks to Campbell’s subtle tell.

In the end, Mario struggled with the speed rush most of the game and didn’t make any good plays to redeem himself. It wasn’t nearly as bad as previously suspected and he improved significantly later in the game.

Langston Walker

(+1, -4)

Overall -3

He had trouble with speed, was pushed around by the bull rush and consistently allowed the Titans into the backfield. He had one excellent run block that sprung McFadden for a few extra yards, but one decent play is not enough to forgive his transgressions.

Jared Veldheer

(+1/-4)

Overall -3

When four of the duds are on the offensive line things aren’t going well. A bad snap, two penalties are enough to doom any center. Since Veldheer was playing his first game at center in a long time and it was his first NFL game, he gets a pass. He did do some solid run blocking which was a significant improvement over Samson Satele.

Studs

Richard Seymour

(+8/-1)

Overall +7

At least the Raiders are getting great play out of their 2011 first-round pick. Seymour was absolutely mashing the excellent Titans offensive line. Seymour was a big reason why the Raiders contained Chris Johnson well early. It come as no surprise that Seymour was  held on Chris Johnson’s 76-yard touchdown run. His lone poor play coming when he was blocked out of the hole on Javon Ringer’s 15-yard touchdown.

Darren McFadden

(+10/-1)

Overall +9

What a great day for Darren McFadden. He use his speed, he stiff armed defenders and made them miss. McFadden even ran over smaller defenders in route to 150 total yards. He dropped an easy dump off pass for Campbell, but had a great day. This is the player the Raiders thought they drafted three years ago.

John Henderson

(+4/-1)

Overall +3

It gets harder to find studs after the first two, but Henderson was clogging up running lanes on just about every snap he played. A great addition to the Raiders defense should pay dividends as the season progresses.

Stanford Routt

(+4/-1)

Overall +3

Routt had tight coverage and came up in run support the entire game. He played to expectations for once. The Raiders will be looking for Routt to continue his solid play.

Complete Grades

Cartwright (+1/-0)

Houston (+1/-0)

Scott (+2/-2)

Gallery (+1/-2)

Murphy (+1/-1)

Eugene (+1/-3)

Z. Miller (+1/-1)

Kelly (+1/-1)

C. Johnson (+0/-1)

Shaughnessy (+2/-1)

Alford (+1/-1)

Asomugha (+1/-0)

Loper (+1/-0)

Heyward-Bey (+1/-0)

Huff (+2/-4)

Wimbley (+1/-1)

Barnes (+0/-1)

Groves (+2/-3)

McClain (+5/-5)

Overall Team (+61/-59)

*Each grade is based not upon offense or defensive failure, but upon above or below average plays. Good examples would be a running back breaking a tackle, a lineman getting a big block to spring a player free, a tackle for a loss, missed tackles, poor coverage, bad reads, etc. 

http://www.raiders-blog.com 

By Chris Hansen

The Raiders must do three things to turn its fortunes around. What may be very complicated to execute is quite simple to analyze.

The Raiders need to score more points, stop the run and force turnovers.

The Raiders scored just 12.3 points per game. That is not even two touchdowns. The Raiders need to add an extra touchdown and field goal per game to their average.

The weapons are in place and the Raiders have a quarterback that can accomplish the task, but Jason Campbell only mustered 16.6 points per game in Washington last season. He will need the cast around him to make plays.

Playoff teams score more than 23 points per game.

The Raiders finally made a big change in the front seven to address the issue with stopping the run. Scoring more and playing with a lead will help, but the addition of five new players to the front seven may be the golden ticket.

The Raiders draw Chris Johnson and Steven Jackson the first two weeks. In 2009, the Raiders allowed 155.5 yards per game. The goal will be holding these elite rushers around 100 yards.

Playoff teams hold rushers under 100 yards.

The Raiders had just eight interceptions in 2009 and 13 forced fumbles. This isn’t good enough. To become a top defense the Raiders will need to double their turnover output.

Playoffs teams rack up around 40 total turnovers.

Do the Raiders have the players to achieve these goals? Check out the position-by-position breakdowns to read more.

Quarterbacks

When the Raiders turned to Bruce Gradkowski in 2009, the reaction was that the Raiders could have been an eight-win team if not for the poor play of JaMarcus Russell. While that certainly would have been possible with Gradkowski starting, that doesn’t make it probable.

Gradkowski is a great leader, but his injuries and lack of raw talent will forever limit him.

The Raiders added Kyle Boller at the third quarterback this season.

The big-armed guy looked the part and may be the best third string quarterback in the league. If it wasn’t for his tendency to throw interceptions he still has the talent to start in the NFL.

The big splash was obviously the addition of Jason Campbell. Named starting quarterback before training camp, Campbell has done everything right so far and looked good this preseason. The Raiders hope his addition will rejuvenate the once proud franchise.

Campbell is the perfect fit for the Raiders offensive plans under Hue Jackson. The Raiders will try to be explosive and use the offensive weapons and speed at the skill positions. You can read more analysis on Campbell’s fit in the Hue Jackson offense here.

Running backs

Gone is Justin Fargas. The Raiders will finally turn to the young duo of Darren McFadden and Michael Bush to carry the load. The move, thought to be long overdue by many, must pay off for the Raiders.

A pedestrian run game would put added pressure on the new passing attack. Bush and McFadden are already fighting a case of the injury bug. The Raiders will need the backs to stay healthy to have any chance to turn around a poorly ranked run game.

Darren McFadden must avoid fumbles and learn to use his “chicken” legs to fight through arm tackles. McFadden has never avoided contact, but in his case, this is a bad thing. McFadden must learn how to use his speed to his advantage.

Bush need with more physicality. Considering his size, Bush shouldn’t try to run away from defenders. He is big enough and strong enough to be a bruising back, he must prepare mentally to punish the defense.

Bush must also fight the urge to take a blow when he is tired and the Raiders should get the wheels turning with Bush early and knock the defense out with McFadden’s fresh legs late.

Michael Bennett and Rock Cartwright will contribute in the event of injury. Cartwright will also be valuable on special teams.

Fullbacks

Luke Lawton is suspended and not likely to be retained when his suspension ends. A position of weakness last season will now be filled by Marcel Reece. Manase Tonga is on the practice squad in case the Raiders need another fullback.

Reece is a superior receiver and has significantly improved his blocking. The Raiders will need him to protect Jason Campbell and clear the way for the talented running backs.

Receivers

The improvement of Darrius Heyward-Bey has been much publicized, but all for nothing if he can’t produce in a meaningful game. He will be relied because of another injury to Chaz Schilens. Schilens has an injury history dating back to his college years and hasn’t been able to stay injury free long enough to fulfill his potential.

Louis Murphy will start opposite Heyward-Bey. Murphy had a superior rookie season to his counterpart, but it has been a quiet offseason for the fourth-round draft pick in 2009.

Behind this top group is rookie Jacoby Ford and veteran Johnnie Lee Higgins along with Yamon Figurs and Nick Miller.

There is no way of knowing how much production the Raiders will get from the fourth receiver this season.

The Raiders balked at several opportunities to add a veteran presence. Either the Raiders are content with the youthful group or failed to convince a veteran to join the team in an uncertain role.

There is big play ability here, but without Schilens the Raiders will have to prove they can move the chains consistently.

Tight ends

Zach Miller is destined to be one of the top tight ends in the league.

He will likely be Campbell’s favorite target and he can be the receiver to move the chains on a consistent basis. His blocking has improved each season, but it will be up to the offensive line to free from those duties.

Brandon Myers is another receiving option, but he has had trouble holding onto the ball during preseason. He isn’t great blocking and will be used primarily to give Zach Miller rest when needed.

The Raiders lack a blocking specialist at tight end and will use offensive tackle Erik Pears to fill that role on short yardage and goal line situations.

Offensive Line

Tom Cable isn’t concerned about his offensive line, but it easily the group with the most question marks. Perhaps one of the most vital groups to the success of an offense and this offensive line has a lot to prove.

Mario Henderson was well below average left tackle last season. He will retain his job after being pushed by rookie Jared Veldheer in training camp. Henderson’s biggest problem is playing consistently. Jason Campbell will not be able to improve this offense on his back or in the training room. Henderson must be better.

Cable insists Henderson’s ills are easily corrected, but the Raiders wanted Russell Okung or Trent Williams in April’s draft. The Raiders know Henderson needs to take a leap or take a hike.

Robert Gallery returns from injury and is one winning season away from a Pro Bowl. He physically dominated Richard Seymour in one-on-one drills in training camp and pushes the pile in the running game. Henderson should benefit from a healthy Gallery to his right. The entire offensive line was better when Gallery played in 2009.

Rookie Jared Veldheer gets the start at center over Samson Satele. The coaching staff has been waiting for things to click for Satele, but his time may have run out. Satele will now only be an option if Veldheer falters.

Veldheer was impressive this preseason at center and tackle. Besides a few blown line calls and rookie mistakes against Julius Peppers, Veldheer was a significant improvement over Satele in the run game and better at holding his ground against the pass.

Will Veldheer’s height be a blessing or a curse? He will become the tallest starting center in NFL history standing 6’7″ tall. He can physically match nose tackles, but may also have trouble with their lower center of gravity. Can he make the proper line calls? He may receive help from the veterans around him. One concern could be the hurry-up, with only enough time for Veldheer to make the call.

Veldheer’s work ethic and attitude will be conducive to success. He is a gym rat and if the Raiders can get the same dedication in the film room you have a potential star in the making.

Cooper Carlisle will start at right guard. His play dropped off in

2009 after a solid 2008 campaign. The Raiders hope Carlisle isn’t starting a trend since Bruce Campbell may not be ready to start until 2011.

Langston Walker returned to the Raiders and started towards the end of 2009. He played remarkably well down the stretch and wasn’t challenged during the offseason. While unspectacular pass blocking, Walker is an above average run blocker.

Backups Khalif Barnes, Erik Pears, Daniel Loper and Samson Satele will fill in as needed.

Loper was the lone surprise to make the roster. He played extremely well at left guard during the preseason, physically dominating just about every player he was matched up against. The competition was inferior, but he did enough to become the primary backup guard.

Defensive line

Matt Shaughnessy may be the next young defensive star. He recorded four sacks during his rookie year and enters 2010 as a starter after only starting two games in 2009.

Joining Shaughnessy is Richard Seymour, the Pro Bowl defensive lineman, who shifted from defensive end to defensive tackle. Seymour may still occasionally play end in certain situations. Seymour needs to be more physically dominant to justify the 2011 first-round draft pick surrendered to acquire him. He may slide over to defensive end in certain situations.

Tommy Kelly enters the season 35 pounds lighter. He has retained his starting position despite strong opposition from Desmond Bryant and John Henderson. Kelly takes a lot of heat for the contract he signed, but hasn’t been horrible. Losing weight should help him change some minds this season.

The Raiders signed Jay Alford, formerly of the New York Giants. He will be reunited with his defensive line coach Mike Waufle.

Bryant and Henderson will be on the field at times to spell the others. Keeping the big guys up front fresh is an underrated asset.

The Raiders will almost certainly use all the defensive lineman at their disposal.

Doing so should keep the line fresh, which could play a factor in the Raiders ability to stop the run.

The Raiders haven’t ranked higher than 22nd since 2002, when the team ranked third against the run. An improved offense will help, but the Raiders need to stop the run in order ascend and become a top five defense.

Rookie Lamarr Houston figures to start at left defensive end with Trevor Scott coming in on passing downs to apply added pressure to the quarterback. Houston figures to be a stout defensive end capable of plugging the run without sacrificing too much against the pass. The Raiders have a luxury in Scott who excels against the pass and can fill any voids in the pass rush.

Scott’s role remains cloudy, perhaps intentionally. Wimbley and Groves could also see time as rush ends.

If the Raiders execute along the defensive line, this unit could develop into one of the top groups in the NFL.

Linebackers

The Raiders started the rebuild with consensus can’t miss middle linebacker Roland McClain. While this label will make many fans nervous, it’s McClain’s work ethic that can make the difference between a bust and star.

McClain may have already learned a valuable lesson from preseason from playing too tentative. Perhaps catching up to the NFL speed will not be as easy as he thought? When he does put his pads on a player he packs quite the punch. Don’t expect him to make the same mistake twice.

His first test is one of the toughest in the league, Chris Johnson. The second is nearly as tough, Steven Jackson.

The Raiders will be counting on McClain to justify his draft status as soon as they take the field on Sunday in Nashville.

Kamerion Wimbley will play the strong-side linebacker position. This is something new for him, but he will also be able to rush the passer. The AFC North was glad they didn’t have to game plan around him. That is the type of player you want on your team. The question is if Wimbley can cover a tight end. He did a solid job in preseason, but time will tell.

Quentin Groves appears to have secured the starting weak-side linebacker position. The only explanation is he excelled in pass coverage and Thomas Howard and Scott didn’t. He played well this preseason and appears to have done more than just make the team.

Thomas Howard is a high priced backup, but quality depth. The Raiders know exactly what Howard can do and can’t do. Ricky Brown will be a backup. Makes a few plays, but also gets beat in the pass and run game far too often to be trust worthy.

Rookie Travis Goethel will have the greatest impact on special teams initially.

Cornerbacks

Any analysis of the Raiders secondary starts with Nnamdi Asomugha. He is one of, if not the, best cornerback in the NFL. The Raiders may finally let Asomugha shadow the top receiver and they will likely let him come down and play in the slot. The Raiders want to use Asomugha to be a disruptive force in the secondary. Opposing quarterbacks may be pulling their hair out if Asomugha’s supporting cast can hold their own.

Stanford Routt won the job opposite Asomugha. Routt has always been more effective playing outside as opposed to the slot nickel cornerback. He must be better than Chris Johnson was a year ago. In many ways, Routt won the job by default. Chris Johnson was burned repeatedly during the preseason by guys that probably didn’t even make the team.

Don’t be surprised when Jeremy Ware is the nickel back and Chris Johnson is riding the pine. Johnson will be another overpriced free agent signee not giving the Raiders their monies worth, but you must put the best players on the field.

If it wasn’t for Ware, we might be talking more about Walter McFadden. An injury derailed his final preseason game, but he performed well as a cover cornerback. He isn’t the most physical guy and he had made multiple mistakes on special teams during the preseason, but he is a solid cover corner for a rookie and he should only grow from here.

Safeties

Tyvon Branch is a budding star. He lead the league in tackles at the position. The Raiders hope he will have to spend less time making tackles and will have more time to make plays. He will also whiff the occasional tackle, but he makes the vast majority. Further development could land Branch in the Pro Bowl.

Michael Huff isn’t a very good tackler. Everyone knows Huff is a tackling liability. He is however, a pretty good deep safety. He can cover and has range. Unspectacular, but a solid player surrounded by good ones.

Hiram Eugene and Mike Mitchell are the backups. These guys have situational roles and will play special teams, an underrated skill in the NFL.

Mitchell may be used as an extra box safety when the situation calls for it.

Special Teams Players

Shane Lechler is the best punter in the league. Maybe in NFL history. Sebastian Janikowski is becoming a very accurate kicker, with the strongest leg in the NFL. Condo hasn’t had a bad snap in two years.

The problem with the Raiders special teams is the coverage units. Now that the Raiders have a finalized roster, the coaching staff can finalize the special teams units. Let’s hope it helps, the coverage units were terrible during the preseason.

http://www.raiders-blog.com/

What is this? Well, in addition to our own Power Rankings, we are going to post this top 15 called the Ultimate Football Rankings (UFB Rankings). It’s compiled of a bunch of rankings of a bunch of good sites, including ours (see bottom) and adds a contrast to our regular Power Rankings. More sites will be added as the weeks go on.

(1)   1. Green Bay Packers (4) 1-0 – next at Carolina Panthers

The defending champs came out on Thursday night and gave us one of the best games for week one.  Even though they won, the defense gave up 34 points and 419 yards.  Offense looked great with some balance between the passing and rushing game.  The Packers remained our top spot, but by the closest margin.

(2)   2. New England Patriots (3) 1-0 – next vs San Diego Chargers

Somewhere Deion Branch is still burning Nolan Carroll in coverage.  The Patriots had the most explosive offense in week 1.  With Tom Brady, a future Hall of Famer, the Patriots look unbeatable.

(9)   3. Baltimore Ravens (1) 1-0 – next at Tennessee Titans

Moving up 6 spots this week in the rankings after putting a beat down on the Pittsburgh Steelers.  It has been a long time since we have seen the Steelers look so helpless.  While up by 20 points they elected for a two point conversion.  Showing us they mean business this year.  The offense looked dynamic and the defense looked great.  If they keep this up, they will take the AFC North.

(3)   4. Philadelphia Eagles 1-0 – next at Atlanta Falcons

The Eagles slipped down a spot in their not so impressive win.  The “Dream Team’s” $100 million quarterback went 14 for 32 against a banged up St. Louis secondary.  The defense was really suffering until Steven Jackson got injured.  There is a lot of work to be done if they want to stay in the top 5 and if they expect to win the Super Bowl.

(7)   5. New Orleans Saints 0-1 – next vs Chicago Bears

Even with a loss, this team managed to move up a couple spots in the rankings this week.  They showed us that their offense is as explosive as ever.  They took a tough loss, one more yard and we could of been talking about how they won and the Packers just missed out in victory.

(12)  6. Houston Texans 1-0 – next at Miami Dolphins

The biggest mover this week in the ranking, but has a lot of people wondering if they are really this good.  They are favored to win the AFC South, but did the horrible performance by the Colts make the Texans look better then they really are.  We will see this week as they take on the Dolphins.

(10)  7. Chicago Bears 1-0 – next at New Orleans Saints

We got to see Jay Cutler bounce back from a horrible NFC Championship game and have an impressive week 1.  Maybe it was all the criticism, but he went 22-32 for 312 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception.  The defense shut down what was supposed to be one of the most dangerous offenses in the league.  Let’s see if they can do the same this week against the Saints to get a better idea of how serious the defense really is.

(6)   8. New York Jets 1-0 – next vs Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jets had that game gift wrapped and handed to them.  Sanchez failed on 2 game winning driveattempts, but Romo’s crucial pick at the end sealed the victory for the J-E-T-S.  Maybe it was good karma on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.  Maybe the Cowboys are just terrible in the clutch.  Either way, the Jets should still be cocerned they were outplayed for 50 minutes.

(4)  9. Pittsburgh Steelers 0-1 – next vs Seattle Seahawks

The Steelers looked horrible. As many sit and watch to see how far the Steelers fall, this weeks match up against the Seahawks is just what they need to bounce back and to flex on some one to make themselves feel better.

(8)  10. San Diego Chargers 1-0 – next vs New England Patriots

Even though the Chargers won, nobody seems to be impressed.  The Chargers struggled to beat a Minnesota Vikings team that had a quarterback that threw for only 39 yards.  This weeks game should show us more about the Chargers.  They have to pack up and got to Foxborough and play a guy named Tom Brady.  Far from a 39 yard passing kind of weekend!

(NR) 11. Detroit Lions 1-0 – next vs Kansas City Chiefs

Detroit showed us all they are far from that 0-16 team we remember.  Every one agrees, a healthy Stafford equals playoffs.  The defense shut down a very good Tampa Bay team.  Let’s see how they fair against a possibly explosive offense of Kansas City.

(11) 12. Dallas Cowboys 0-1 – next at S.F. 49ers

Who is to blame in the Cowboys late fourth quarter melt down?  Everyone’s blaming Romo for the week one loss.  Yes he had a late interception, but that was more of a rushed desperation throw.  Romo threw for 342 yards and 2 touchdowns.  He picked that Jets secondary apart, can you say over rated secondary.  Let’s point fingers more to the special team that allowed a block punt for a score and helped changed the momentum of the game.

(15) 13. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 0-1 – next at Minnesota Vikings

It was a tough loss in week one for the Buccaneers.  They are a good team, the Lions are just better.  It was a match up of two potential wild card teams and they put on a great game for the fans.  Next week they will bounce back against the Vikings.  Remember, last year they were 6-2 on the road!

(5)  14. Atlanta Falcons 0-1 – next vs Philadelphia Eagles

White was a non factor, Ryan looked rushed and panicky, and the offense just looked normal. The Falcons have never been a good outdoors team in the Matt Ryan era, but if they can’t continue their home dominance in week 2 against the “Dream Team”, they will find themselves 0-2.

(NR) 15. Arizona Cardinals 1-0 – next at Washington Redskins

With many concerns that this defense allowed 422 yards by a rookie quarterback (Cam Newton), they round up our top 15 be making their introduction to the list.  Patrick Peterson dazzled us with his return and Kolb put on a impressive performance for his new team.  Let’s see if he can back that up this week against the Redskins.

( ) left of rankings indicates previous weeks rankings

( ) next to teams indicates first place votes

UFB Power Rankers are:

Frank Hyun of Patriots Review

Ronnie Kohrt of Ronnie K’s Blog

David Calagis of The Football Genius

Mr. Kangaroo of The Beast of the East

J. Lew of Wild Wild West

Brandon Clark of Titan Sized

Steven Lourie of Football Fan Spot

Mr. C.J. Sports of CJ Sports NFL Talk

The Wizard of The Wizard’s Corner

Mrs. NFL of Football Talk with Mrs. NFL

By Anthony Brown

The best storyline going into the Washington Redskins – Tennessee Titans game on Sunday is Gil Brandt’s NFL.com headline Reeling Redskins visit Tennessee to take on slumping Titans.

This game will tell us a lot about Redskins players and coaches. Will they be numb in Nashville? Or will they take out their frustrations against their next opponent?

No one gives Washington a shot against Tennessee. The eight members of ESPN’s Pigskin Pick ’em crew all pick the Titans. Who can blame them? That just goes to show how a nationally televised, 59-point butt whuppin’ influences people.

What happened Monday night?

Those experts could be wrong. Two things conspired against the Redskins in the Eagles game. They lost to the bye and they ran a poorly conceived defense, perhaps because of distractions during the bye.

Pulling Donovan McNabb at the worst possible moment in the Detroit Lions game was a Vinny Cerrato-like move. Cerrato could have written Mike Shanahan‘s explanations for it. The uncomfortable resemblance of the Shannyskins to the Snyderskins left the coach and the staff under fire for the two-week bye period, losing the benefits of the two-week layoff.

On defense, the Redskins sacrificed yards to gain turnovers. The trade-off worked against most opponents, especially the Eagles in October. In the Monday night game, Washington laid off defensively out of concern for Michael Vick’s newly found passing skills. Washington lost because the poorly conceived defense gave up yards and points without disrupting Philly’s offense.

Losses that bad only come from huge disparities in talent, or poor preparation by the coaches. Washington won the first game, evidence of competitive talent at least. Coaching has to be better.

The loss overwhelmed several good points about the Redskins offense. Keiland Williams gained 139 yards of total offense and scored three touchdowns. Washington’s 28 points was its highest scoring output of the season. Anthony Armstrong and Fred Davis made big plays leading to scores, or setting up scores.

The Haynesworth factor

Albert wants to leave. Shanahan wants to trade him. At some point, these two have to conspire to pull that off. Haynesworth has to have big games. Shanahan has to play him and talk him up more. Isn’t that just what has been happening?

Haynesworth has been playing more and getting sacks. Shanahan has been talking him up. If they continue to work like that through the rest of the season, Washington may be offered something reasonable in trade for Big Al, say a third-round pick and a ham sandwich.

Big Al said he would always be a Titan. There is no better venue for Haynesworth to shine than in Nashville.

And, the winner is…

The Redskins fell seven places on the Bloguin NFL Week 10 Power Poll to 26th place. The Titans rank 12th.

The Titans are seven point favorites, an over-reaction to the Redskins’ meltdown against the Eagles. Washington’s offense has performed better on average than Tennessee. I look for Chris Johnson to have his way for a couple of touchdowns. Randy Moss may escape for a score.

Donovan McNabb will deliver a big play, or two. Clinton Portis return will make a difference in blocking if not running. I don’t think the Titans know how fast Brandon Banks really is. This game will come down to field goals and could go either way…if the ‘Skins are over their Monday night hangover.

http://redskinshogheaven.com/

Go back to Redskins Fan Spot 

What is this? Well, in addition to our own Power Rankings, we are going to post this top 15 called the Ultimate Football Rankings (UFB Rankings). It’s compiled of a bunch of rankings of a bunch of good sites, including ours (see bottom) and adds a contrast to our regular Power Rankings. More sites will be added as the weeks go on.

(2)  1. New England Patriots (6) –   2 – 0   next at Buffalo Bills

After two weeks at the second spot, the Patriots take number one.  With Tom Brady have already thrown for 940 yards and a completion percentage of 71.6%, this offense looks invincible.  The defense is looking rather fragile, but comes up big when needed.

(1)  2. Green Bay Packers (4) –  2 – 0   next at Chicago Bears

With a lot of experts, critics, and bloggers still having Green Bay number one, the UFB found themselves dropping them in at number two.  They are the defending champs, still undefeated, and have an explosive offense.  It is the defense though that has them slipping.  In two games the defense has already allowed 975 total offensive yards.  The defense has’[t stopped anything.  How long will the offense bail them out???

(5)  3. New Orleans Saints –   1 – 1    next vs Houston Texans

With the Saints being a highly favored team to win it all, they have climbed back into the top of the rankings.  The Saints really intrigue us.  We already know about their explosive offense, but their defense has shown us two very opposite sides.  If the same defense can show up all year like the one that showed up at the Bears game, they will be on top looking down on the whole league.

(8)  4. New York Jets –   2 – 0   next at Oakland Raiders

Will Rex Ryan’s guarantee of a Super Bowl come true?  The Jets defense looks as good as any in the league, but it’s not like that is a big surprise.  Just like it is no big shocker that Mark Sanchez inconsistent.  Sanchez has to become an elite quarterback if Rex Ryan and the New York Jets want to become the champs!!!

(4)  5. Philadelphia Eagles –  1 – 1   next vs New York Giants

Vick is the Eagles as Manning is the Colts and its hard to run the offense because of his special skill set that they build it around…All though Kafka didn’t do too bad in relief, how will the Eagles perform if Vick is unable to play next week?  The Eagles have a very productive offense, can’t wait to see them match wits with the New York Giants defense.

(11) 6. Detroit Lions  –  2 – 0  next at Minnesota Vikings

Detroit is tops in the NFL in positive point differential, they are an impressive +52.  Better then the Vick led Eagles, Brady led Patriots, and Rodgers led Packers…Stafford to Megatron might be the best QB/WR combo in the league right now, and Ndamukong Suh has completely changed the feel of the defense…Things are good and on the way up in the motor city.

(6)  7. Houston Texans  –  2 – 0   next at New Orleans Saints

Now ripping up on the lifeless Colts, and beating the Dolphins isn’t the biggest of wins but with the Saints, Steelers, Raiders and Ravens looming, this will be a tested team, and needs to come out of that 5 game trip 3-2. If not better to make a statement, other then that? They continue to be the pushover team who beats the teams worse then them, but lose to the better.

(7)  8. Chicago Bears  –  1 – 1     next vs Green Bay Packers

Wow, we have never seen an offensive line look so horrifically bad. This team is gonna do nothing unless they fix this. Cutler has no shot to even look down field for receivers and the Bears don’t got a shot either if they can’t protect him.  They should have a productive week against a defense that has already allowed 975 offensive yards.

(3)  9. Baltimore Ravens  –  1 – 1    next at St. Louis Rams

The Ravens have shown us two very different teams.  The first week they showed us one of the toughest and nastiest teams we had ever seen.  Then walked all over the Steelers in every way possible.  Then the second week, they could not get anything going.  They better get it together or Sam Bradford and the Rams will make it a very long day for them.

(9) 10. Pittsburgh Steelers  1 – 1     next at Indianapolis Colts

Even if it was a garbage win over the “Suck For Luck” sweepstakes contestant the Seattle Seahawks, Steelers needed a big bounce back game……And they got it.  Now that they had a chance to flex and feel better about themselves, lets see if they can continue the same intensity every week.

(10) 11. San Diego Chargers  1 – 1   next vs Kansas City Cheifs

Took a shot at the Patriots but could not take down Tom Brady.  It was a competitive game until the very end.  Even after Gates was taken out of the game by Patriots’ defense, they were a few stupid plays away from winning.  Its ok though, The Kansas City Chiefs are in town…Look for a big day from Philip Rivers this week as he exploits that weak banged up defense of the Chiefs

(14) 12. Atlanta Falcons  1 – 1     next at Tampa Bay Bucs

Matt Ryan and the Falcons had a much better week against the Eagles then they did against the Bears.  Still not sure how good this team really is, if Michael Vick had not gone out of the game, would they be 0 – 2?  They play a real solid Tampa Bay team this week, we should get a better feel after this week.

(13) 13. Tampa Bay Buccaneers  1 – 1    next vs Atlanta Falcons

They just find ways to win, snatching a win away from the Vikings with 14 in the final quarter last week. Josh Freeman who was poised for a breakout year is very up and down so far, his 67.6 Completion Percentage is nice, but his 2 TD’s to 3 Turnovers isn’t, and it doesn’t get easier either. Matty Ice and the Falcons are in town this week, and he will have to out score Ryan and that offense to avoid a loss, against a defense that isn’t fantastic, but isn’t horrible either.

(NR) 14. Washington Redskins  2 – 0   next at Dallas Cowboys

They beat a horrible New York Giants team in week one and an Arizona Cardinals team who is unable to stop anybody.  Next weeks match-up will be a reality check.  At least they made the list for one week.

(NR) 15. Buffalo Bills  2 – 0   next vs New England Patriots

Are the Bills for real? Time to figure out. The Date? 1:00pm EST, Ralph Wilson Stadium. Your dance partner???   Gulp…….The New England Patriots and some cat named Tom Brady.The Bills are scoring big and are exciting to watch, lets see if they bring that excitement against the Patriots.

( ) left of rankings indicates previous weeks rankings

( ) next to teams indicates first place votes

UFB Power Rankers are:

Frank Hyun of Patriots Review

Ronnie Kohrt of Ronnie K’s Blog

David Calagis of The Football Genius

Mr. Kangaroo of The Beast of the East

J. Lew of Wild Wild West

Brandon Clark of Titan Sized

Steven Lourie of Football Fan Spot

Mr. C.J. Sports of CJ Sports NFL Talk

The Wizard of The Wizard’s Corner

Mrs. NFL of Football Talk with Mrs. NFL

Adam Hughes of Naptown’s Finest

By Sean Geddes 

Another great defensive performance has some fans already comparing this team to 2008’s squad. 

Right from the opening kickoff, the Steelers delivered haymakers right to the chin of the Titans, in Nashville on a sweltering Sunday afternoon. Mewelde Moore fielded the kick, only to hand it off on a reverse to rookie Antonio Brown, making his first career start. On his first touch in the NFL, the former Central Michigan Chippewa took it the distance, showing the speed that had him playing the role of Chris Johnson in practices leading up to the game.

The ensuing kickoff was another big play, as another rookie, Stevenson Sylvester, also dressing for his first game, forced a fumble that was recovered by special teams captain Keyaron Fox, giving the Steelers the ball back, already up 7-0, just 25 seconds into the game.

The Titans would punch back, both metaphorically and literally, in the next three plays. After two of the “dirtiest players in the NFL” Hines Ward and Cortland Finnegan got into it a bit and after one run by Rashard Mendenhall, the Titans D sacked Dixon on his blindside, forcing and recovering a fumble of their own.

The Titans drove the short field, mostly on the arm of Vince Young, but settled for a field goal as the Steelers relentless defense tightened the clamp in the redzone, making the game 7-3.

After a three and out from Dixon and Company, the Titans again took the ball, looking to close the gap. After a nice drive, the Titans again found themselves in the redzone. Trying score over the middle to Nate Washington, Vince Young stared him down, allowing Troy Polamalu to step in for a touchdown saving interception.

Dixon took the team downfield, but after a fumbled snap and a sack, the Steelers were looking at a third and long from the 25. Seeing no one open enough to pass to, Dixon ran for a short gain, and the Steelers settled for a Jeff Reed field goal from 36 yards out, making the game 10-3 in favor of the Black and Gold. The run on third down would however prove to be costly, as Dixon was injured on the play, and would not return.

After a three and out for Tennessee, and a three and out from the Charlie Batch led Steelers, the Titans again may have had something going. Chris Johnson caught a tough pass, and the Titans crossed the 50 yard line. But on a great call from Coach LeBeau, Woodley faked the blitz, disengaged from the blocker, dropped back, and caught Vince Young off guard, stepping right in front of a short pass intended for Justin Gage and intercepting it. As good as Woodley is at getting after the QB, pass coverage has been somewhat of a weakness for him, so it is good to see him making these kind of plays.

Unfortunately, the Steelers were unable to capitalize, after one first down, Daniel Sepulveda was again called on to punt the ball away. With just over 5 minutes to go in the first half, the Titans would again have a chance to make this a one score game. After a false start penalty, Young handed the ball right to Chris Johnson, who, in a flash, took it 85 yards for a touchdown. This is what Chris Johnson does, he is the single greatest big play threat in the NFL, and it helped him get to 2000 yards rushing and a record for yards from scrimmage the year before. But, there was laundry on the field… yellow laundry. A holding call on center Eugene Amano against Chris Hoke would negate the big play. With Johnson gassed and looking at a long second down, the Titans would turn twice to Javon Ringer, who would gain just one yard on the two touches, giving the Steelers the ball back after a punt.

Another three and out, a reoccurring theme up to that point, would only be split by the two minute warning, and Tennessee would again get the ball. On their first play, Chris Johnson was being brought down, when Lawrence Timmons came in with a jarring hit to force the fumble.

After another three and out, this one containing a penalty negated TD pass to Mike Wallace, the Steelers settled for 3 again, making the score 13-3 at half, on Reed’s 34 yard kick.

The second half started with the Titans and Vince Young in possession. A first down gaining run by Johnson was followed by three more runs; one by Johnson and two by Young, but a similar fate was met, as the Titans punted again.

Along the same lines, another three and out from Pittsburgh, and another by Tennessee. The offenses both looked anemic, and the defenses both looked good.  This trend would continue right into the final drive of the quarter, when the Steelers finally got something going.

After a fumble by Young gave the Steelers a short field, a combination of Mendenhall and defensive fouls on the Titans gave the Steelers another field goal, this one from 25 yards out , making the score Pittsburgh 16, Tennessee 3 .

In the most controversial move of the day, at least to the Titans crowd, Young was benched in favor of Kerry Collins. Perhaps seeing that the running game was not getting it done, and with Collins being the better passer, Jeff Fischer thought Collins would give his team the best chance to win. Collins would not fair much better though, as the Titans would go three and out… again.

And the Steelers too, would go three and out… again.

The Titans would fumble on their first play on the next drive, forced by LaMarr Woodley and recovered by Chris Hoke, the Steelers would (surprise surprise) go three and out, and Jeff Reed would kick his fourth and final field goal, making this a 19 to 3 game.

Collins got the short passing game going, and after a good drive, almost solely out of the shotgun, he passed for the only offensive touchdown of the game, a 2 yard TD to Nate Washington. The Titans would not only make the two point conversion try, but recover the onside kick. But it was all for naught, as they couldn’t quite make the plays necessary to win the game in the end.

What a game. Ugly, hard fought and defensive, the Steelers would still somehow find a way to make it a little too close for comfort. Regardless, the final product was still the same… 2 and 0, heading into week three.

Of Special Note: Troy Polamalu and his wife Theodora welcomed their second son, Ephraim, into the world on Thursday September 16. Ephraim’s older brother Paisios will soon turn two in October. Congrats to Troy and Family on their second child, I hope mother and child are both well. I’m sure Steeler Nation is already dreaming about a potential Polamalu and Polamalu secondary in about 22 years.

http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/

What is this? Well, in addition to our own Power Rankings, we are going to post this top 15 called the Ultimate Football Rankings (UFB Rankings). It’s compiled of a bunch of rankings of a bunch of good sites, including ours (see bottom) and adds a contrast to our regular Power Rankings. More sites will be added as the weeks go on.

(2)  1. Green Bay Packers (10)   –   3 – 0    next vs Denver Broncos 

Green Bay’s offense is unstoppable, putting up 27 points in each game so far, while the defense has improved in every game as well.   Defense shuts down Cutler and the Packers begin their ascend to repeat. Defense held Matt Forte to 8 inches a rush……That is not a joke either…

(2)  2. New Orleans Saints   –  2 – 1    next at Jacksonville Jauguars

The Saints passing attack has been just as good as the Packers has, although their defense hasn’t been nearly as consistent as we expected. The defense though has a lot of talented pieces, and they should really improve moving forward.   Well, I guess its kinda the story of  ”In Breesus We Trust.”

(1)  3. New England Patriots  –  2 – 1  next at Oakland Raiders

 No one’s perfect. They were going to lose a game at some point. The Packers were most preseason pick last year. They lost week 3.  Look how that turned out.  It’s all about the defense for New England, their offense is dominant and cannot be stopped, but unfortunately the defense has many weak spots and is thin. They can beat any team in the league at any time, but games like Buffalo this past week can also happen.

(6)  4. Detroit Lions  –  3 – 0    next at Dallas Cowboys

The Lions are one of three teams still undefeated, a surprise 3-0 team along with Buffalo. The bad news, division rival Green Bay is the 3rd 3-0 team. They’re not getting this division unless they can beat Green Bay head to head twice and I don’t think they can do that.  This weeks match up will give us a better look at how tough this team really is and will be as a measuring stick to let them know if they are ready to take on the Green Bay Packers.

(9)  5. Baltimore Ravens  –  2 – 1   next vs New York Jets

Baltimore has looked dominant in its wins over Pittsburgh and St Louis, though they looked pretty bad in a week 2 loss to the Titans. We suspect their 2 wins are closer to reality than the loss. You think the Ravens didn’t like losing to the Titans? Sam Bradford and company didn’t know what hit them last week, this week should give us an answer.  Are they the real deal or a roller coaster team?

(7)  6. Houston Texans  –  2 – 1   next vs Pittsburgh Steelers

Houston did what they do best last week, they blew a big lead. However, New Orleans is a quality opponent and they still played well. They have the ability to get things together heading forward.  Mario Williams might just have a career day this week……Considering how bad the Steelers O Line is…

(15)  7. Buffalo Bills  –  3 – 0   next at Cincinnati Bengals

Unbelievably, the Bills are the lone undefeated team in the AFC But with the way they’ve played, they have earned it, scoring the most points of any team in the league, and having the 3rd most yards per game.   The Patriots beat themselves as much as the Bills won.  We’ll give them a few more games before they are top-5 material.

(4)  8. New York Jets  –  2 – 1   next at Baltimore Ravens

The Jets got embarrassed in Oakland in a game that just meant more to Oakland than it did to them. Now is the real test, a trip to Baltimore followed by a trip to New England.  We agree, Joe Namath. They’re overhyped.

(10) 9. Pittsburgh Steelers  –  2 -1   next at Houston Texans

Sure Pittsburgh cakewalked over Seattle 24-0 in week 2, but in their other 2 games, a 34-7 loss to Baltimore, and a 23-20 win over Indy, they have not looked impressive at all. Their Offensive Line is still atrocious.  They had to put injured players back into the game on the offensive line against Indy and would have lost had Curtis Painter not missed a wide open man for a touchdown. Now they have to go into Houston.

(13) 10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers  2 – 1   next vs Indianapolis Colts

Every one knew they were a good team, just wasn’t sure how good.  With their only loss coming to the Lions, they have showed us they are good.  With wins against a struggling Vikings and Falcons team, we are still uncertain how good.  This weak schedule doesn’t help their rankings, but opponents like this weeks should keep their win column increasing.

(NR) 11. Dallas Cowboys  2 – 1   next vs Detroit Lions

What a gritty 2 weeks Tony Romo is putting out.  If he continues to do this, he might just win over fans in Dallas, and some games deep in January too.  He throws for 300 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Jets in a game that his special teams blew. He leads a comeback with a cracked rib against San Francisco and then he beats Washington despite 4 botched snaps by Phil Costa and Kevin Ogletree consistently running the wrong route.

(NR) 12. New York Giants  2 – 1   next at Arizona Cardinals

After struggling in the first six quarters of the season, it seems like Eli Manning has gotten his mojo back. The Giants had a very impressive performance at Philadelphia. Or maybe the overrated Eagles just sucked. Not totally sure. We will be keeping a close eye on this team to see if they are a serious contender or if they are a product of false advertising.

(11) 13. San Diego Chargers  2 – 1   next vs Miami Dolphins

The Chargers are rumored to be pressing so much to win in the early part of the season that they’re playing badly. San Diego’s 2 wins game against teams with 0 combined wins, and 3 of their next 4 opponents are winless to this point. So we won’t know a whole lot about the Chargers for a month or so.  Chargers fans have to be concerned after barely beating Kansas City and Minnesota in San Diego. What if this team can’t get it together in the 2nd half again?

(5) 14. Philadelphia Eagles  1 -2   next vs San Fransisco 49ers

The “dream team” is in serious trouble, Vick has a hand contusion so he wont be out as long as a broken hand.  But as much as he gets hit, there is no way that doesn’t effect him.  Eagles gambled when they traded Kolb, and right now the Eagles hand looks like a 7 of Hearts and a 10 of Clubs…Decent but they just don’t match.

(NR) 15. Oakland Raiders  2 – 1   next vs New England Patriots

The Raiders aren’t as good as their 2-1 record, with one loss to a 3-0 team, would suggest. They won an ugly game against the lowly Broncos. They blew a big lead in Buffalo. Last week, they caught the Jets napping and looking forward to Baltimore next week.  Lets see how they do against the Patriots before we go power ranking happy with the Raiders.

( ) next to teams indicates first place votes

UFB Power Rankers are:

Frank Hyun of Patriots Review

Ronnie Kohrt of Ronnie K’s Blog

David Calagis of The Football Genius

Mr. Kangaroo of CJ Sports NFL Talk

J. Lew of Wild Wild West

Brandon Clark of Titan Sized

Steven Lourie of Football Fan Spot

Mr. C.J. Sports of CJ Sports NFL Talk

The Wizard of The Wizard’s Corner

Mrs. NFL of Football Talk with Mrs. NFL

Adam Hughes of Naptown’s Finest

Walter Cherepinsky of Walter Football.com

Nolan Vasan of NFL Draft Geek