With week 3 in the books, is it too early for some power rankings? Of course not. I’ve always believed that week three is when you can really understand a team’s identity, and the direction of their season. So without further ado, my week three rankings of power:
The Abyss32. Carolina Panthers
Before the season started I thought Carolina would be a .500 team captained by a strong running game and a solid defense. Never did I think they would be among the worst teams in the league. They’re rushing for 98 yards per game, good for19th in the NFL (with DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart no less), and currently have the worst overall offensive unit. It’s turned into a disastrous season for the Panthers, especially with Matt Moore vastly underperforming and rookie Jimmy Clausen being thrust into the starting job.
31. Buffalo Bills
Watching the Bills put up 30 points on the Patriot’s ______ defense (insert appropriate adjective) was sickening from a New England point of view but promising for Bills fans. It’s always nice when a quarterback throws the ball to actual wide receivers rather than runningbacks so Ryan Fitzpatrick is a definite upgrade over Senator Edwards. (As an aside, watching Trent Edwards play quarterback is like playing fetch with one of my family member’s dogs. Once you throw the stick or ball, the dog retrieves it yet is unwilling to then give the object back, thus defeating the purpose of fetch in the first place. Trent Edwards completely defeats the purpose of playing quarterback. Constantly throwing checkdowns does not a quarterback make.) Anyway, this team is in complete disarray…there really isn’t more to say about it…
30. Jacksonville Jaguars
It can’t get any worse than what’s happening in Jacksonville. The team sucks, and no one watches them, imagine that! Could you imagine if the team moves and the same thing occurs that happened to the Seattle Sonics-Oklahoma City Thunder in which they inexplicably become good? I don’t know how Jacksonville fans actually suffer through watching David Garrard throw three picks a game and offenses scoring on them at will. With Jones-Drew not looking the same how do people watch this team?…oh right, they don’t!
Cryogenic Division of Suck
29. Arizona Cardinals
Continuing the Trent Edwards-family dog analogy, watching Derek Anderson play quarterback is similar to when I learned how to drive stick shift. I struggled at first (Anderson-5 Td’s, 8 picks first season), found some great success in being able to efficiently operate the vehicle (Anderson- 29 TD’s, 19 picks, 82.5 rating), then I didn’t drive stick for several months. Upon my return, I was absolutely abominable, like couldn’t get the 92’ Mazda to move (Anderson- 3 TD’s, 10 picks, 44.5% completions threw eight games). Anderson, as most quarterbacks do, had a poor start, played great in his second season, and then inexplicably churned out one of the worst quarterback performances over an eight game period of all time. Luckily in my story, I eventually learned to overcome my stuggles. In poor Derek’s case he’s already off to a sterling 67.6 quarterback rating over the first three games. Did he forget how to play the quarterback position; did the success go to his head after the 2007 season? Derek’s story has striking similarities to mine; let’s see if it also ends happily (or with the entire locker room slain when Larry Fitzgerald finally goes off the deep end.)
28. St. Louis Rams
The Rams put up thirty points against the Washington Redskin’s defense. Is it possible to italicize something twice? Because that is a mind boggling piece of information. Does it speak more about where the Skins’ stand at this point or how much the Rams have improved? I’d say it says a little more about how terrible Washington played but things are slowly tilting upward for the tortured Rams. Sam Bradford looks promising, Mark Clayton is playing well, and they have a really good runningback.
The should have been Decent but Suck Division
27. Detroit Lions
A team once thought to be a possible sleeper now sits at 0-3. But it is about as good a 0-3 as you will ever see. They should have beaten the Bears, could have beaten the eagles as they had the ball in the final minutes to take the go ahead score, and played a Vikings team much closer than the score indicates. But this team needs second year quarterback Mathew Stafford badly. Not only will he improve the team, but he needs to continue his promising development if the Lions hope to contend for a playoff spot next year. And how about Jahved Best, and Ndamukong Suh; two rookies who have looked great thus far. This team has a solid young core, and even though they won’t make the playoffs they’ll take the Raider’s place as the team most- likely- to- beat –a- top- ten- team- just- when- you-can’t-imagine-them-winning-another-game.
26. Oakland Raiders
For all Oakland’s faults, at least they’re consistently terrible-much easier to predict games that way. Everyone thought they would be a frisky 9-7 team this year, but they have been anything but. Who thought Jason Campbell would be benched by the second game? People say the Red Sox were cursed, but what about the Raiders quarterback position? Here’s a question, what will happen first: Bill Belicheck smiles, Andy Reid properly manages the clock, or Oakland solves its QB conundrum? Not since Rich Gannon have they been solid in that department. One bright spot within the dark cloud of abysmal drafting: Darren McFadden has started to look like he deserved to be picked among the top ten (Heyward-Bey on the other hand….) over the past three games. Granted it came against the 25th, 31st, and 17th ranked rush defenses in the league…but hey, Raiders fans need something to be happy about…
25. San Francisco 49er’s
I have a passionate hatred for the San Francisco 49er’s; they made me look stupid. This team went from being stomped by the Seattle Seahawks, to nearly beating the Super Bowl Champs, to again getting stomped by a supposedly inferior team. Why? Just why? Do they play well every other game, is Mike Singletary not as much of a hard a$$ as he seems? It’s logical to point to quarterback Alex Smith as the root of the problem but you would only be half right. The defense has given up 87 points in three games…good for 29 a game, and among the worst defenses in the NFL. Giving up 25 to New Orleans I can understand, but 31 points each to Kansas City and Seattle is inexcusable. It’s as mind boggling as Tom Brady’s hair. It’s the strangest development of this NFL season and one no one saw coming…just…mind…boggling…
The David Tyree Division
24. Cleveland Browns
I hate writing about the Browns; they’re so boring. I petition we change they’re name to the Cribbs, because he’s the only watchable part of that team (don’t judge me, I think it’s catchy…no pun intended). Surprisingly though, Cleveland has been in every game they’ve played this year, a testament to how their defense has improved, and the emergence of Peyton Hillis (as an aside, I think white running backs are the coolest ever…I mean name five white HB’s of the last ten years…you can’t.) . I’ve already written 86 words about the Cribb’s, and that’s way too much, moving on…
23. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
After boldly declaring that Tampa Bay could beat Pittsburgh last week, and even giving them the blueprint…the Steelers went out and put up 38 points on a combination of tipped balls and fluke plays. Who knew Chazz Batch was going to throw for as many TD’s as Peyton Manning? Crazy, just crazy. But I digress…Tampa Bay is another one of those promising yet still talent lacking teams. But they have bright spots: Josh Freemen looks like a young Big Ben and Mike Williams looks like a real weapon. On the negative side, Raheem Morris continues to look a little bit lost on the sideline, and Cadillac Williams continues to look less and less like his glorified nickname. But I will give myself some credit here…I did predict that the Bucs would not remain undefeated…pretty good, I know.
The Coulda’ Woulda’ Shoulda’s
22. Washington Redskins
The Redskins barely beat a struggling Cowboy’s team in week one, lost to Houston in week two after they were up by 17, then lost to the Rams after letting them score 30 points. The defense isn’t as good as it has been in years past, and they completely lack a running game while not possessing a single elite receiver for Donovan McNabb. Doesn’t sound good, right? This team won’t continue to look as bad as they did against the Rams again, but I don’t expect them to make the playoffs; especially if their defense really is as bad as it seemed like on Sunday.
21. New York Giants
After week one I was quick to jump on the Giant’s bandwagon. I mean, they looked great, and who thought the Panthers would be this bad? But after bad losses to the Titans and Colts, I just don’t see this team turning it around. A bad showing against the Colts happens, but to play poorly against against the Titans speaks to where this team is at. Since the loss of Michael Strahan and Antonio Pierce to retirement they have not had strong leadership, and it seems that Tom Coughlin has not been able to hold them together.
And look at this pick Eli Manning...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aYAhmXZa-8...Oh boy
20. Seattle Seahawks
Thank God the Jets just waived Leon Washington, instead of keeping or trading him because he really is awful and was completely incapable of recovering from that knee injury!...oh wait, Washington returned two kicks back for touchdowns on Saturday…and the Jets just waived him, now I remember. Like a couple other teams (Bears, Bucs, Chiefs), the Seahawks aren’t contenders but rather have gotten some fluky wins against teams they caught at the right times. This team plain doesn’t have the talent on defense or along the offensive line to compete at a playoff level. Yet, sadly they look like favorites to win the NFC West. How? First, the division sucks, and second it’s hard to go into Seattle and play well as the past weeks have shown. It is certainly feasible for this team to go win 5-6 of their remaining home games (Cardinals, Giants, Chiefs, Panthers, Falcons, Rams), get a game on the road and win the division with a .500 or below record. Moving on before I start thinking about the 11-5 2008 Patriots not making the post season…anger rising…breathe…deeply…
The Miscreants
19. Minnesota Vikings
I thought that before the season started the Vikings had a real chance to lay a big stinker of a season. So far, they have proven me right. Favre looks mortal again, and the vaunted front four isn’t looking so spectacular. The only bright spot thus far is the re- emergence of Adrian Peterson who has looked very good so far. They need Sidney Rice to return if they hope to get the passing game back on track…
18. Denver Broncos
If it weren’t for Denver’s inability to execute in the redzone, they would have beaten the Colts. If Kyle Orton and company can figure out how to get points in the redzone, this team could be a force to be reckoned with. It’s now clear why they were willing to give up Brandon Marshall, considering all the other receiving options they have. But a sub par rushing game and pass defense plus a difficult upcoming schedule is keeping this team in the bottom half of my rankings.
17. Cincinnati Bengals
We can’t talk about Cincinnati without discussing the plight of Carson Palmer. This guy has not looked remotely close to his 2006 form this season (or last) and many are beginning to question his elite status. Given the weapons at his disposal, Carson should be playing much better. The unofficial count of dropped interceptions has reached eight, which is a truly remarkable number. It begs the question; of how long will it take T.O to snap. It’s only a matter of time with Palmers propensity to throw the ball to the other team. Also a concern is Cedric Benson’s large drop-off from last year’s productivity. Should they put the ball ore in Bernard Scott’s hands, a guy who seems to be able to make two or three big plays per game?
16. San Diego Chargers
Its September, and the Chargers are 1-2…surprised?, either am I. Don’t panic, San Diego has started below .500 the past three years and still made the postseason. But the complete lack of a running game, flurry of penalties, and break downs in the special teams department have to be worrisome. On the good side, they don’t seem to be missing Vincent Jackson, but they have to be shaking their heads at the brilliant work LaDainian Tomlinson is doing now for the New York Jets. They could really use a rejuvenated Tomlinson after the injury suffered by rookie Ryan Mathews.
...Part II coming soon
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