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San Francisco 49ers: 2013 Week 6 NFL Power Rankings (#5)

stevenlourie 2013 NFL Power Rankings, 2013 Week 6 NFL Power Rankings, 49ers, Uncategorized

Last week: 5 (+0)

Record 3-2

Remember when everyone freaked out just because they lost 2 of 3 games. Good times. Losing 2 of 3 games isn’t a big deal. It’s just more noticeable at the start of the season. They’ve won the last two games by a combined score of 69-14. However, there are still concerns about Colin Kaepernick, who completed just 6 passes in the 49ers’ 34-3 win over the Texans last week. They won’t be able to win the turnover battle by 4 every week. Kaepernick has clearly not been the same quarterback this year without Michael Crabtree and with defenses taking away his ability to run the football effectively.

Week 5 Studs

LT Joe Staley

CB Tarell Brown

CB Tramaine Brock

SS Donte Shitner

Week 5 Duds

None

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Green Bay Packers: 2013 Week 6 NFL Power Rankings (#6)

stevenlourie 2013 NFL Power Rankings, 2013 Week 6 NFL Power Rankings, Packers, Uncategorized

Last week: 6 (+0)

Record: 2-2

The Packers seem to have disproportionally more injuries than most teams. They had the most injuries in the NFL last year in terms of adjusted games lost. Usually that type of thing usually doesn’t predict future injuries, but so far this year Casey Hayward has yet to play a game, Morgan Burnett and Eddie Lacy have both missed games, Bryan Bulaga is out for the season, Derek Sherrod remains out indefinitely, and now Clay Matthews is out for at least a month and Brad Jones is week-to-week. Even when they won the Super Bowl in 2010, they had a ton of injuries.

Week 5 Studs

QB Aaron Rodgers

LOLB Mike Neal

LOLB Nick Perry

Week 5 Duds

RT Don Barclay

MLB AJ Hawk

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Kansas City Chiefs: 2013 Week 6 NFL Power Rankings (#7)

stevenlourie 2013 NFL Power Rankings, 2013 Week 6 NFL Power Rankings, Chiefs, Uncategorized

Last week: 7 (+0)

Record: 5-0

The Titans were the best team the Chiefs had played thus far this season. Their first 4 opponents had a combined record of 4-16. However, they could have easily lost in Tennessee (without Jake Locker) if it weren’t for some fluky turnovers, including a blocked punt for touchdown and an interception off of a receiver’s hands. The yardage, first down, and punt totals were essentially even. The Chiefs will win a bunch of games, but I don’t see them making a ton of noise in the post-season.

Week 5 Studs

LE Allen Bailey

DT Dontari Poe

CB Brandon Flowers

SS Eric Berry

Week 5 Duds

RT Donald Stephenson

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Indianapolis Colts: 2013 Week 6 NFL Power Rankings (#8)

stevenlourie 2013 NFL Power Rankings, 2013 Week 6 NFL Power Rankings, Colts, Uncategorized

Last week: 14 (+6)

Record: 4-1

Either the Colts are a legitimate Super Bowl contender this season or the Seahawks still struggle on the road like last season (when they lost in Miami, St. Louis, Arizona, and Detroit). I think it’s a little bit of both. The Colts are a completely different team from last year. They didn’t deserve to win 11 games last year, but I was dead wrong about their 2013 prospects. They’ve added talent this off-season and the coaching has actually been a lot better. Andrew Luck has been a much better fit for Pep Hamilton’s system than Bruce Arians’ and Chuck Pagano’s return has done great things for this defense.

Week 5 Studs

QB Andrew Luck

WR TY Hilton

LE Lawrence Guy

LE Cory Redding

ROLB Robert Mathis

Week 5 Duds

WR Darrius Heyward-Bey

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Detroit Lions: 2013 Week 6 NFL Power Rankings (#9)

stevenlourie 2013 NFL Power Rankings, 2013 Week 6 NFL Power Rankings, Lions, Uncategorized

Last week: 8 (-1)

Record: 3-2

It’s amazing how powerless the Lions’ offense is without Calvin Johnson, but it’s understandable considering he’s the best receiver in the NFL and everyone else is a bunch of scrubs. Whether or not they can win in Cleveland this week probably depends on his availability. He’s one of the most valuable non-quarterbacks in the NFL, after guys like JJ Watt and Adrian Peterson.

Week 5 Studs

None

Week 5 Duds

LG Rob Sims

LE Willie Young

DT Nick Fairley

MLB Stephen Tulloch

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Dallas Cowboys: 2013 Week 6 NFL Power Rankings (#10)

stevenlourie 2013 NFL Power Rankings, 2013 Week 6 NFL Power Rankings, Cowboys, Uncategorized

Last week: 10 (+0)

Record: 2-3

The Cowboys may be tied for the division lead, but they almost beat the Broncos and they are easily the best team in the division. With 5 games left against the worst division in football, starting with a home game against the Redskins this week, they could easily win 10 games. There will be a home playoff game in Dallas this year. The defense is not nearly as good as I thought it would be as the defensive scheme change really seems to have hurt promising youngsters like Bruce Carter and Morris Claiborne. However, their offense is one of the best in the NFL with Tony Romo throwing to a bunch of weapons and finally protected by a great offensive line. Doug Free has bounced back in a huge way and Brian Waters and Travis Frederick have been huge additions.

Week 5 Studs

QB Tony Romo

WR Terrance Williams

LT Tyron Smith

TE Jason Witten

Week 5 Duds

RE Kyle Wilbur

LOLB Ernie Sims

CB Orlando Scandrick

CB Brandon Carr

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Cincinnati Bengals: 2013 Week 6 NFL Power Rankings (#11)

stevenlourie 2013 NFL Power Rankings, 2013 Week 6 NFL Power Rankings, Bengals, Uncategorized

Last week: 12 (+1)

In 2011 and 2012, the Bengals were 18-4 against non-playoff teams and 1-11 against playoff teams. This year, they’ve beaten the Packers and Patriots, who are probably playoff teams, but lost to the Browns. It’s very possible that they are just a better team this year, but they lost to the Browns because it was a “sandwich” game between the Packers game and Patriots game. We’ll see how they play this week in Buffalo, in what could also be a “trap game.”

Week 5 Studs

RT Andre Smith

Week 5 Duds

TE Jermaine Gresham

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Baltimore Ravens: 2013 Week 6 NFL Power Rankings (#12)

stevenlourie 2013 NFL Power Rankings, 2013 Week 6 NFL Power Rankings, Ravens, Uncategorized

Last week: 13 (+1)

Record: 3-2

The Ravens may just be 3-2 right now, but they’ve faced a very tough schedule thus far, with their game against the Packers being their 4th game in 6 where they’ve been the underdog. If they can hold their ground at home (where they are 25-3 since 2010), they’d be 4-2 and 7 of their final 10 games they’ll probably be favorites in. This team is in very good position to make it back to the playoffs.

Week 5 Studs

RT Michael Oher

MLB Josh Bynes

Week 5 Duds

FB Vonta Leach

LT Bryant McKinnie

LG AQ Shipley

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Chicago Bears: 2013 Week 6 NFL Power Rankings (#13)

stevenlourie 2013 NFL Power Rankings, 2013 Week 6 NFL Power Rankings, Bears, Uncategorized

Last week: 11 (-2)

Record: 3-2

The Bears’ defense is a huge concern for the first time in a long time. They are allowing opponents to move the chains on 76% of chances. Over 30 veterans like Charles Tillman, Julius Peppers, and Lance Briggs have disappointed and I think they generally miss Lovie Smith and Rod Marinelli. The downgrade from those two to Mel Tucker as their primary defensive mind is immense. Henry Melton’s injury hasn’t helped and even his replacement, Nate Collins, has also torn his ACL.

Week 5 Studs

WR Alshon Jeffery

Week 5 Duds

LT Jermon Bushrod

ROLB James Anderson

SS Major Wright

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Houston Texans: 2013 Week 6 NFL Power Rankings (#14)

stevenlourie 2013 NFL Power Rankings, 2013 Week 6 NFL Power Rankings, Texans, Uncategorized

Last week: 15 (+1)

Record: 2-3

Texans fans calling for Matt Schaub’s job are ridiculous. Who are you legitimately going to get, either this year or next year, that’s better than them? The same thing can be said about Philip Rivers, Jay Cutler, and Tony Romo. Joe Flacco and Eli Manning would be in the same boat if they didn’t randomly have an uncharacteristically great stretch of football in the playoffs and win the Super Bowl. Rivers, Cutler, Romo, and Schaub could all do the same.

Week 5 Studs

LT Duane Brown

LE JJ Watt

Week 5 Duds

QB Matt Schaub

RT Derek Newton

DT Earl Mitchell

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