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Detroit Lions: 2013 Week 4 NFL Power Rankings (#9)

stevenlourie 2013 NFL Power Rankings, 2013 Week 4 NFL Power Rankings, Lions, Uncategorized

Last week: 8 (-1)

Nate Burleson’s injury is a pretty ridiculous story, but it also might be a blessing in disguise for the Lions. Burleson’s numbers might look good (19 catches for 239 yards), but he has one of the easiest jobs in football, with Calvin Johnson opposite him, Matt Stafford throwing to him, and one of the pass happiest coaching staffs in football. The 32-year-old showed a noticeable lack of explosion on the field and the now healthy Ryan Broyles, who will take his spot, could be a serious upgrade.

Week 3 Studs

WR Calvin Johnson

Week 3 Duds

C Dominic Raiola

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Chicago Bears: 2013 Week 4 NFL Power Rankings (#10)

stevenlourie 2013 NFL Power Rankings, 2013 Week 4 NFL Power Rankings, Bears, Uncategorized

Last week: 9 (-1)

The Bears are 3-0, but they were favored in all 3 games. Win in Detroit this week and we’ll talk about seriously moving them up. Their “vaunted” defense has forced a league low 9 punts all season. Yes, they have 11 takeaways, but their combined punts forced and takeaways is just 20, which is also one of the worst in the NFL. In terms of preventing their opponents from moving the chains on any given 1st and 10, they are right around 75%, very middle of the pack, which is right around where their improved offense is as well. They can’t continue relying on takeaways and recovering 75% of fumbles they force. It’s very possible they miss Lovie Smith’s defensive leadership. Over 30 veterans Charles Tillman, Julius Peppers, and Lance Briggs are also disappointing. And now they’re without Henry Melton. This is a very shaky 3-0.

Week 3 Studs

RG Kyle Long

RE Julius Peppers

Week 3 Duds

TE Martellus Bennett

TE Steve Maneri

RT Jordan Mills

CB Charles Tillman

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Carolina Panthers: 2013 Week 4 NFL Power Rankings (#11)

stevenlourie 2013 NFL Power Rankings, 2013 Week 4 NFL Power Rankings, Panthers, Uncategorized

Last week: 14 (+3)

The one week I give up on the Panthers, this happens. They looked exactly as I expected they would this season last week and then some. They could easily be 3-0 right now and though my 12-win prediction for them isn’t coming true, last week’s win could easily propel them to 10 wins and a post-season appearance. They have to continue what they did last week and avoid the mistakes (vanilla offense, conservative decision making, lack of read option and quarterback run plays) they were making in the first 2 weeks of the season.

Week 3 Studs

RT Byron Bell

LT Jordan Gross

LG Amini Silatolu

RE Greg Hardy

LE Charles Johnson

Week 3 Duds

RG Chris Scott

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Kansas City Chiefs: 2013 Week 4 NFL Power Rankings (#12)

stevenlourie 2013 NFL Power Rankings, 2013 Week 4 NFL Power Rankings, Chiefs, Uncategorized

Last week: 13 (-1)

Any talk that Alex Smith is better than Colin Kaepernick is absurd. Alex Smith hasn’t completed a single pass outside the hash marks longer than 10 yards downfield all season. He’s attempted just 18 of 105 passes more than 10 yards through the air and just 4 more than 20 yards through the air. He’s not getting anything out of talented outside receiver Dwayne Bowe. He’s just too easy to defend. Eventually, he’ll have to make things happen downfield and I don’t think he’s capable of doing that. He’s also yet to throw an interception on 105 attempts, something else that won’t continue. Between that and the fact that the Chiefs have recovered 85.7% of fumbles, the Chiefs’ +9 turnover margin is going to be unsustainable.

Week 3 Studs

RB Jamaal Charles

LE Tyson Jackson

LOLB Justin Houston

ROLB Tamba Hali

Week 3 Duds

QB Alex Smith

WR Dexter McCluster

RT Eric Fisher

CB Dunta Robinson

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Baltimore Ravens: 2013 Week 4 NFL Power Rankings (#13)

stevenlourie 2013 NFL Power Rankings, 2013 Week 4 NFL Power Rankings, Ravens, Uncategorized

Last week: 10 (-3)

The Ravens blew out the Texans last week, but they still have problems moving the football, as 14 of their 30 points came directly off returns. The two teams were pretty even in terms of first downs, total yards of offense, and punts so it was much more even than the 30-9 final score would suggest. Fortunately, as bad as their offense is right now, their defense seems to have turned around 180 degrees from a disappointing start in Denver week 1 as their new players have gelled together. With Elvis Dumervil in and Terrell Suggs healthy, their pass rush and possibly their whole defense, is better than it was last regular season.

Week 3 Studs

LOLB Elvis Dumervil

SS James Ihedibgo

Week 3 Duds

LT Bryant McKinnie

RT Michael Oher

C Gino Gradkowski

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Atlanta Falcons: 2013 Week 4 NFL Power Rankings (#14)

stevenlourie 2013 NFL Power Rankings, 2013 Week 4 NFL Power Rankings, Falcons, Uncategorized

Last week: 14 (-3)

I do have the Falcons a few spots higher than the Dolphins even though they lost in Miami, but I don’t really see much difference between these two teams. If they had played in Atlanta, the Falcons probably would have won. If they had played 100 times on a neutral field, the Falcons probably would win 55. However, at 1-2 in the NFC, Falcons fans should be nervous. They really need to bounce back at home against the Patriots this week.

Week 3 Studs

QB Matt Ryan

WR Julio Jones

Week 3 Duds

RT Lamar Holmes

LE Jonathan Massaquoi

FS Thomas DeCoud

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Houston Texans: 2013 Week 4 NFL Power Rankings (#15)

stevenlourie 2013 NFL Power Rankings, 2013 Week 4 NFL Power Rankings, Texans, Uncategorized

Last week: 15 (-3)

The Texans could easily be 0-3 right now, needing comebacks to beat both the Chargers and Titans, two supposedly inferior opponents. They haven’t really played that well dating back to last season. Over their last 16 games (including playoffs), a full season’s worth, they are 10-6, but also -10 in point differential. I still think they’ll win the AFC North, but only by default and if the Colts can keep up what they did this week, they’ll probably win the division easily. Tennessee, as they showed in their near win week 2 in Houston, will be competitive as well.

Week 3 Studs

C Chris Myers

LE JJ Watt

Week 3 Duds

LT Ryan Harris

RT Derek Newton

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Tennessee Titans: 2013 Week 4 NFL Power Rankings (#16)

stevenlourie 2013 NFL Power Rankings, 2013 Week 4 NFL Power Rankings, Titans, Uncategorized

Last week: 17 (-1)

The Titans are much improved over a season ago, but they have had good luck with turnovers that will probably not continue going forward. Their +5 turnover differential is tied for 4th best in the NFL and it’s not like they are forcing a ton of takeaways, forcing 5 through 3 games. It’s just that Jake Locker hasn’t thrown an interception on 87 attempts, which won’t continue. It’s not like he’s excelling in other areas as a passer (though he did rush for 68 yards on 5 attempts last week), completing 58.6% of his passes for an average of 6.6 YPA. They are also recovering 85.7% of all fumbles, tied for best in the NFL, which is highly unlikely to continue.

Week 3 Studs

QB Jake Locker

WR Nate Washington

LT Michael Roos

DT Jurrell Casey

Week 3 Duds

WR Kenny Britt

LOLB Zach Brown

MLB Moise Fokou

CB Coty Sensabaugh

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Miami Dolphins: 2013 Week 4 NFL Power Rankings (#17)

stevenlourie 2013 NFL Power Rankings, 2013 Week 4 NFL Power Rankings, Dolphins, Uncategorized

Last week: 19 (+2)

The Dolphins are 3-0, but I haven’t really changed from my pre-season projection for them because none of their wins have surprised me all that much. Win in New Orleans this week and we can talk. Teams win 3 games in a row all the time (22 of 32 teams did last season, including these Dolphins, who finished 7-9) and it’s not usually that impressive, but it’s just so much more noticeable when it happens at the start of the season. I’m not saying the Dolphins are the 2011 Bills or the 2012 Cardinals, but the only way they win the division is if the Patriots don’t improve going forward.

Week 3 Studs

QB Ryan Tannehill

DE Dion Jordan

DE Olivier Vernon

CB Brent Grimes

Week 3 Duds

LE Derrick Shelby

LOLB Philip Wheeler

DT Randy Starks

FS Chris Clemons

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Indianapolis Colts: 2013 Week 4 NFL Power Rankings (#18)

stevenlourie 2013 NFL Power Rankings, 2013 Week 4 NFL Power Rankings, Colts, Uncategorized

Last week: 25 (+7)

I was shocked that not only did the Colts beat the 49ers, but they beat them handily in San Francisco. Previously in the Andrew Luck era, they were sweating out close wins against bad teams and getting blown out by good teams, especially on the road. Unless the 49ers are significantly worse than we expect them to be, the Colts just blew out a good team on the road. It’s very possible that was just an aberration. Yes, they did add Trent Richardson, but his impact (13/35/1) was minimal on that specific game. However, Andrew Luck is clearly improved in his 2nd season in the league and if Trent Richardson can have an impact on the running game once he gets integrated, with Ahmad Bradshaw also seeing carries, they’ll be a much better team, in terms of level of play, than last season. That just might not be reflected in their final record.

Week 3 Studs

MLB Jerrell Freeman

Week 3 Duds

RG Jeff Linkenbach

LOLB Erik Walden

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