NFL Power Rankings Week 7: Jets Win, But Aren’t Any Good, 49ers Are For Real
The New York Jets beat the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night, but who cares. They showed in that game, that they are not a good football team. Shonn Green has yet to show that he is a feature back, Plaxico Buress has been a big dud and Mark Sanchez is playing poorly. There were plenty of opportunities for the Dolphins to take control of that game if they A) had a competence quarterback. B) could catch the football. If the Jets don’t play better football they are not going to the playoffs.
Some things at the top remain the same, but lots of shuffling around.
32. The Miami Dolphins (Previously Dolphins)
Matt Moore is terrible. Brandon Marshall played well in the game, but this team is not going to win very many games at all. I’d be surprised if they end the season with three wins. How long until the team completely quits on Sparano. You can’t count the Dolphins inspired performance vs the Jets because the Jets have done enough talking the past two years to annoy everyone. Every week of this season the Jets will get the oppositions best effort which is what you get when your head coach can’t stop talking about how many Superbowls his team should win.
31. Indianapolis Colts ( Colts)
Thanks goodness for the Colts that they can play Jacksonville this year because I don’t know how many other games they can win. They don’t have an “easy” schedule and they are playing really inconsistent. Their defense showed up big a couple of times this year, but I”m not sure they’ll ever be exceptional this year and their offense isn’t good enough to win them anymore games.
30. St. Louis Rams (Previously Rams)
With the Colts losing and the Rams not playing not much has changed at the bottom. The Rams though had a nice week as they finally got Sam Bradford some help at wide receiver with the trade for Brandon Lloyd. I’m very confident that last year was Lloyd’s career year. Every professional athlete has their “best year” and that was Lloyd’s last year, but at least he might provide the Rams some breathing room on offense.
29. Minnesota Vikings (Previously Jacksonville Jaguars)
The Chicago Bears are no where near that good. That was one of the worst performances I’ve seen in awhile. I thought on prime-time vs their division rivals, a team that has a bad offensive line the Vikings would really keep it close, but instead they came out and stunk up the joint. It’s clear that Sydney Rice is much better than everyone thought. His exodus from the Vikings has really hurt their team.
28. Denver Broncos (Previously Denver Broncos)
Broncos were on a bye: Here’s what I said about the Broncos last week.
The Broncos finally put up some points, once Tim Tebow entered the game. This team has a lot of work to do, but at least the fans have hope now. I wrote the other day about whether or not it was time to start Tim Tebow and that premonition has come true (nothing to pat myself on the back for though, who didn’t see that coming from a mile away) IThe Broncos are a young team, and in many respects are talented, but they still need a lot of players on offense and defense.
-The Broncos are now without Brandon Lloyd which can’t possibly help out the Broncos moving forward and doesn’t help Tim Tebow at all.
27. Arizona Cardinals (previously Arizona Cardinals )
Cardinals were on a bye here is what I said about them last week:
Wow. The worst performance of the season. The Chiefs put up two stinkers to being the season, but that game was especially brutal. The Vikings were 0-4 and looking terrible. The Cardinals let Adrian Peterson roam free and really failed to bring any intensity into that game. Poor performance.
26. Jacksonville Jaguars (previously Kansas City Chiefs )
The Jacksonville Jaguars are not a very good team and Blaine Gabbert hasn’t looked great, but they were still kind of competitive vs the Steelers. I’m not sure if that’s more on the Steelers or the Jaguars. Like the Dolphins, this team will soon quit on their head coach and it will all be downhill from there.
25. Kansas City Chiefs (previously Vikings)
The Chiefs were on a bye here’s what I said about them last week
The Chiefs don’t know what “suck for luck” is apparently. They have decided that they should win some football games before the season ends. The problem is if they keep winning games they can’t pick first. Silly Chiefs, even when they win they aren’t doing things right! Matt Cassel will never take them to the promise land
The Chiefs get to move up a spot because of how poorly the Vikings played.
24. Carolina Panthers (previously the Panthers)
Well sometimes rookies struggle. Newton didn’t have his best game. This still is on the rise though (in the near future, not this year). They should run the ball more to take a little pressure of Newton, I think. DeAngelo Williams got a fat contract. Williams has 58 carries through 6 games (less than 10 carries a game). Even though he’s averaging 5.2 yards per carry . Not sure what the Panthers are doing there. I still maintain that the 2011 Carolina Panthers are the 2010 Detroit Lions. They are not good enough to win a lot of games, but they are good enough to scare a lot of teams. Next year the Panthers will be trouble for their N.F.C. South rivals and the rest of the league to boot.
23. Seattle Seahawks (Previously Philadelphia Eagles)
The Seattle Seahawks were a on bye this past week. Here’s what I said about them a week ago.
The Seattle Seahawks have really shown a lot of passion and heart with their play this year. They have been in pretty much every game. The Seahawks battled vs the Falcons the week before, and then on Sunday they traveled to New York with a 1 o’clock Eastern Standard start time and embarrassed the Giants off the field. They even lost their starting quarterback halfway through the third quarter and their lead at some point during the fourth quarter and still pulled out the victory. Great effort by the Seahawks. I thought they would finish second in the division before the season started and really backed off that after some bad performances, but now I’m back on board. They have good offensive weapons (outside of the quarterback position) and a defense that plays hard and physical. They’ll win three more games, I think.
22. Cleveland Browns (previously Seattle Seahawks)
The Browns really had a nice draft this past draft. They picked up an extra first round pick, which looks like it could be higher than many thought before the season started (because the Falcons haven’t played great) and Phil Taylor, Jabaal Sheard, and Greg Little all look very promising. Solid job. They aren’t there yet, but they are definitely moving in the right direction. A few more quality defensive players and another offensive weapons and the Browns will be somewhere.
21. Dallas Cowboys (Previously Cleveland Browns)
Is this low for the Cowboys? Yes. Is it justified. Well you decide in a minute. First the Cowboys are 2-3 so they haven’t been any good this year. Here’s why I have them so low. They are 2-3 right now and losing games they should win, they are outplaying their opponents in some of the games they are losing. This was also happening under Wade Phillips. It might not be a Wade Phillips thing.
20. Philadelphia Eagles (Previously Cincinnati Bengals)
They beat the Redskins in Washington which is good, but it took them four interceptions to do it and they still only won by a score. Vick leaves every game for at least a few plays and Vince Young…The problems they’ve had all year didn’t go away vs the Redskins (they did play better vs the run), they just ran into a team with a bigger problem: a team that has Rex Grossman as it’s quarterback. Another win and I’ll move them up a few more spots.
19. Washington Redskins Previously Dallas Cowboys)
The whole N.F.C. East is garbage. The Cowboys can’t get out of their own way. They are their own worst enemy much of the time. Miles Austin’s return should improve their offense, but until I see them play consistently smart football, I’ll continue to write them off. The Eagles have problem still. The Giants pass defense is a sieve. The Redskins have Rex Grossman and John Beck at quarterback. The Redskins luster is wearing off a bit already. They still have a pretty boss defense though.
18. New York Jets (Previously Chicago Bears)
I moved them down a spot after a win? Yes. They played the awful Dolphins, but they looked awful. They can’t cover the middle of the field, their run defense is average at best and they were only saved because Matt Moore is awful. He missed an easy fourth down conversion when there was no player within fifteen yards that would have extended one drive (and possibly led to a score). On the next drive he missed a guy wide open in the end-zone with time to throw the ball. And then he threw a pick six to Darelle Revis. The Jets won’t get away with that vs good teams.
17. Houston Texans (Previously New York Jets)
The luster hasn’t worn off on this team, but losing your best offensive player and best defensive player for an extended period of time is bound to effect any team. The Texans have lost two games in a row, but I expect them to be in the playoffs in the end. Their non-divisional slate left is Atlanta, Carolina, Cin, Cleveland, Tampa Bay. Not Terrible.
16. Cincinnati Bengals (Previously New York Giants)
The league’s most underrated team. I’m not fully trusting Andy Dalton yet, but this team has a very good tough defense and loads of playmakers on offense. Cedric Benson isn’t great, but A.J. Green is. Jermaine Greshman is good too. Jerome Simpson isn’t bad either. The offensive line is pretty good too. This team is going to be there at the end of the year.