Welcome to Week 6 of the NFL Power Rankings, where the Chief's position is equal to the number of games they won last year. Barring a pretty epic collapse, the Chiefs are going to become one of the great NFL turnaround stories of the past decade, revitalizing the franchise and Andy Reid's career in the process. The only thing that could hold this team back is one of their biggest changes this year, their quarterback. While Alex Smith has been able to work a complementary offense to the team's defense, he has struggled to put up points of his own on the board and throw for any significant yardage. Without Jamaal Charles, this offense would not be able to function, as even though Smith has never been known for big plays, his offensive line is struggling and his receivers and sub-par. The defense is good enough to make up for all of that though, as it is far and away the best unit in the league. Bob Sutton is going to be interviewed for head coaching jobs a lot during the spring.
1. Denver Broncos: 6-0 (1)
Well, the Broncos were unable to beat the gigantic point spread as they won their sixth game of the season against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but does it really matter? The team is still 6-0, and the NFL isn't about style points, it's about wins. The game against Jacksonville played almost like a college trap game for Denver, as most likely Peyton spent just as much time this past week looking at film of Indianapolis as he did looking at Jacksonville. You can bet Peyton is pumped up for his Lucas Oil Stadium homecoming, especially when Colts' owner Jim Irsay may or may not be paying him some disrespect with his comments to the media this week. I'm sorry Peyton Manning only got you one ring, Jim, but I hope you realize that 14 NFL franchises would kill to have just one of those.
2. Kansas City Chiefs: 6-0 (3)
The Chiefs have yet to let up on their hot start to the season, to the surprise of just about anybody. It was expected that the Chiefs would be better, but this good? People didn't see that one coming. The Chiefs have absolutely been eating teams and opposing quarterbacks alive, as they got 10 sacks just this past Sunday against the Raiders. The next three quarterbacks they will face? TJ Yates (providing Gary Kubiak isn't desperate enough to start Case Keenum), Brandon Weeden and Jeff Tuel. Go to town, Kansas City, this team has a great chance to be 9-0 during their bye week.
3. Seattle Seahawks: 5-1 (4)
Well, the Seahawks made things harder than they had to, but they were still able to beat Tennessee at home to get their fifth win of the season, including their 11th win at home during the past three years. The Seahawks just keep getting it done, even though they are dealing with some major injuries, even to their kicker. Their winning ways get them back in front of the rest of the NFC teams on these rankings, as once this team gets healthy it's hard not to imagine that they're headed for home field advantage in the playoffs. By then, I'm sure the 12th man will be looking to break another record.
4. New England Patriots: 5-1 (9)
Tom Brady, man. You can't keep giving the man opportunities to beat you, because he will find a way. That said, barring his late game heroics Brady is still playing average at best this season, and his wideouts aren't doing him any favors by dropping any passes he throws on target. Brady has played admirably with the talent around him, but the Patriots are really relying on their defense to keep them in games and help them out. You would think that when they get Gronk back in the mix Tom can take on some more responsibility again, and that may have to come fast, as in addition to losing Vince Wilfork for the year, linebacker Jerod Mayo is down now with a pectoral injury.
5. New Orleans Saints: 5-1 (2)
The Saints were knocked from the ranks of the unbeaten Sunday, but to keep things in perspective it's nothing but a speed bump for this team. Sean Payton is too smart a coach to make the same mistakes twice, so if he's ever faced with a similar situation again he'll probably handle things a little differently. The Saints path to winning the NFC South is still pretty much unblocked, as their closest competition, the Panthers, is still three games behind them and has been wildly uneven this season. The turnaround in the Big Easy is still a go, Payton just needs to get out of his own way.
6. Green Bay Packers: 3-2 (6)
The Packers suffered some big losses Sunday with the injuries to Randall Cobb and James Jones, but without them Eddie Lacy was able to step it up and help close out the game for this team, along with Jermichael Finley. This team certainly isn't complete by any means, but players have been stepping up in the wake of injuries, most notably on defense after it was revealed Clay Matthews would have to miss a month of the season. This team is going to need to work out some issues before making a run at the playoffs, most notably in its red zone production, but at least for now they're still fully entrenched as the biggest NFC North contender.
7. San Francisco 49ers: 4-2 (7)
The 49ers, like the Packers, have returned to winning again after a rough start to their schedule, due to some flaws that they have really yet to correct. The passing game for this team is non-existent without Vernon Davis, and this team really needs to get some wide receivers healthy or start dealing some of their seemingly unlimited supply of draft picks for current players. The 49ers already have two second round picks and a whopping three third round picks for the 2014 draft. It might be time to use one of those by giving Cleveland or New York a call and asking about the price of Josh Gordon or Hakeem Nicks.
8. Indianapolis Colts: 4-2 (5)
The Colts dropped to 4-2 Sunday, the same fate that befell many footballs that left Andrew Luck's hands. The football actually needs to start being in Andrew Luck's hands more, Pep Hamilton has helped this defense improve by being more conservative on offense, but it seems like his approach is limiting potential opportunities for the best young quarterback in football. Trust in Luck, Pep, the guy may only be in his second year but he knows what he's doing out there.
9. Cincinnati Bengals: 4-2 (9)
The Bengals have been a complete enigma this year, because while they have the best collection of talent in the AFC North by far, they never seem to play like it. The Bengals have the best offensive line, the best defense (in terms of points allowed), the best receiver and the most electrifying running back, due to Ray Rice's down year. Yet somehow, they managed to find themselves blowing a 14 point 4th quarter lead in Buffalo when the Bills were starting a guy off of their practice squad. Say what now? Maybe this is on coaching, because out of the ones in the AFC North it's not hard to put Marvin Lewis at the bottom.
10. Detroit Lions: 4-2 (14)
Well, with Calvin Johnson back in the lineup the Detroit offense got humming again. Things opened up for Reggie Bush and Matthew Stafford was able to direct the Lions to their fourth win of the season, meaning they have already matched last year's win total. The big story was tight end Joseph Fauria, who was virtually uncoverable near the red zone. If the Lions can keep their track meet offense rolling, they're already out in front of any and all challengers to a potential wild card berth, with the only close contenders being the rival Bears, who the Lions have defeated once already.
11. Chicago Bears: 4-2 (11)
Jay Cutler and the offense looked solid again facing the Giants Thursday night, and Brandon Marshall came in to make some key grabs after being largely taken out of last week's game against the New Orleans Saints. The big questions for this team actually lie on the defensive side of the ball, as injuries to the defensive line allowed Brandon Jacobs to become the Giants' first hundred yard rusher of the season, even though Jacobs was just sitting at home for most of the offseason. Teams are going to start challenging this defensive line a lot more than they challenge the Bears' great cornerbacks, and that may limit the takeaways on defense that the Bears thrive off of.
12. Dallas Cowboys: 3-3 (12)
The Cowboys were able to return to .500 after knocking off their rivals the Redskins, but the after effects on the win may prove costly to the team. DeMarco Murray went down in the game with a knee sprain, and without him the Cowboys found it difficult to run the ball, meaning this team could have to abandon the two-dimensional offense it spent the offseason building. The defensive line has also sustained a slew of injuries, and while the depth there played well against the Redskins, a repeat performance might be hard against the Philadelphia Eagles. Expect plenty of Lesean McCoy early and often in that game, and that's when we'll figure out how much trouble the Cowboys' line is in.
13. Baltimore Ravens: 3-3 (10)
The addition of tackle Eugene Monroe to the Ravens' lineup still wasn't enough to get their ground game going, not even on a 4th and 1 on the goal line. The Ravens' inability to run is putting a lot of pressure on Joe Flacco and his new targets, none of whom come highly praised. Flacco showed some increased pressure with a few of his weapons Sunday, hooking up with Dallas Clark for a late touchdown catch and Tandon Doss for a long gain on 4th and 21, but without the additional threat of Ray Rice the Ravens just aren't putting up many points offensively. The defense did its part Sunday, holding one of the best quarterbacks in the game to just 19 points, but without a run game they're not getting as much rest and it's hard for them to do this alone.
14. Miami Dolphins: 3-2 (13)
The Dolphins were on their bye this past week, so here's hoping Joe Philbin used the extra time to design better protections for Ryan Tannehill, or he simply told his quarterback to throw the ball sooner. If that's not what they spent the entire week doing, then you might as well hand the Patriots the division crown right now.
15. San Diego Chargers: 3-3 (19)
This team wasn't flashy in its victory Monday night over the Colts, but Philip Rivers executed the game plan to perfection and he's rebirth is why this team is ranked as high as it is. Rivers connected on long third down after long third down, wearing the Indianapolis defense down while keeping Andrew Luck and his offense off the field. He gave the defense plenty of time to rest and made sure they were playing with a lead when they had to see the field again. Like Brady, Rivers is making the most of a poor supporting cast, as his chief wideouts are down with injuries, and his offensive line is still subpar at best. That's the Mike McCoy magic at work right there.
16. Philadelphia Eagles: 3-3 (23)
Does Chip Kelly decide to throw Nick Foles back in the lineup this week when the Eagles play the Cowboys for the division lead? It's a big decision for the first head year coach, and it could have a big impact on how much momentum this team carries throughout the rest of the year. Either way, Shady is going to get a ton of touches this Sunday as Kelly looks to wear down a battered Cowboy defensive line. The big question will be, can this secondary hold up when they're given a lead against Tony Romo?
17. St. Louis Rams: 3-3 (24)
A beat-down at Reliant Stadium causes the Rams to move up the rankings, as their impressive win against the Texans showed the team that many people thought would be one of the big surprises of 2013. The Rams have yet to truly live up to the expectations surrounding the team during the offseason, but in the past few weeks Sam Bradford has gotten on track, albeit against two weak opponents. Still, momentum is momentum, and if the team can stay hot they still have the chance to make noise in a lackluster NFC. One would hope rookie Tavon Austin steps up at some point to make that happen, as right now pre-draft concerns about his size have been totally justified.
18. Tennessee Titans: 3-3 (15)
Remember this team before Ryan Fitzpatrick? Now, Fitzpatrick has not played horrible by any stretch of the imagination, it's just that, he hasn't really played that well and this team had plenty of momentum going its way before he was forced onto the field due to Jake Locker's injury. The Titans were serious contenders in the AFC South, and now that the Texans have fallen off they could end up being the Colts' main competition for the division crown. Fitzpatrick doesn't make them strong competition though, and even though overall this team has seemed to take a major step forward it doesn't look like it'll have enough gas to get over the hump. Oh, and by the way, where's Chris Johnson? I feel sorry for all of his fantasy owners.
19. Carolina Panthers: 2-3 (28)
The Panthers churned out a dominating performance against the Vikings, as Cam Newton threw for his best passer rating as a pro. Ron Rivera started getting aggressive like Sean Payton, even though Payton became more like Rivera Sunday. The approach worked, as Carolina was able to put the game well out of reach with several long scoring drives that gassed the Vikings' defense and forced Adrian Peterson to be taken out of the equation. The only question is, are they going to be able to keep this up? The Panthers have gone through many hot and cold streaks under Rivera's tenure, and the Panthers have yet to show they're capable of having sustained success when the pressure's on.
20. New York Jets: 3-3 (16)
And the Geno Smith roller coaster rookie year ride starts trending down again. You never know what you're going to get from Geno, as he has alternated winning performances with rookie mistakes all year long. Of course, if he were to have better weapons (that is, any weapons), the peaks and valleys might be a little less pronounced, so hopefully next offseason Rex Ryan will be able to ignore his defense for a change and get this kid some help. Geno still looks like the best rookie quarterback that we've seen this year, even though he's not exactly on last year's level of impressiveness. The important thing for the young man is that he continues to improve every week, and at some point, he needs to stop turning the ball over.
21. Arizona Cardinals: 3-3 (18)
Speaking of people who turn the ball over too much: Carson Palmer. The man has yet to not throw an interception in a game this year, and most games so far have involved multiple picks. It's hard to not feel for the guy when he's getting hit like a ragdoll every day, but with the weapons around him and the defense the
Cardinals have, Palmer isn't asked to be great for this team, he's asked to be average. He hasn't been able to be average so far this year. It's unclear how tied Bruce Arians is to Carson Palmer at this point, but pretty soon he has to start wondering how average Drew Stanton is capable of being.
22. Atlanta Falcons: 1-4 (21)
The Falcons were on bye this week, so Tony Gonzalez could go home and wonder why he didn't decide to stay retired. The organization may be against it, but trading Tony to the Kansas City Chiefs would make a lot of sense and would be beneficial to both sides if Tony was willing to sign off on it. It's the only other team Tony has played for, he'd be able to end his career where he started it. It gives the man a chance to go out in a playoff game, rather than sit through one of the most disappointing seasons in Falcons' history. The Chiefs need weapons around Alex Smith, and their tight ends have suffered through a huge number of injuries this year. One last chance at glory for Tony would be the best way for him to leave the game and the compensation would set the Atlanta Falcons up for the future, on paper it seems like a great move for both sides. Sadly, what looks good on paper hardly ever happens in the National Football League.
23. Buffalo Bills: 2-4 (27)
The legend of Thad the Rad almost began on Sunday when Lewis forced overtime with the Cincinnati Bengals, but ultimately this team came up just short when a punt return set the Bengals up in field goal range. Even though the Bills' win total doesn't look a whole lot different from previous years, there's simply an energy around this franchise now that's been absent for as long as I can remember, possibly going back to the end of the Jim Kelly era. Exciting things are happening in Buffalo even though the team has suffered a series of bad setbacks, including a bad injury to their rookie quarterback. Needless to say, Doug Marrone is doing a good job righting this ship, and there's plenty of young talent for the Bills to be excited about in the future.
24. Pittsburgh Steelers: 1-4 (29)
The Steelers notched their first win of the season Sunday, defeating the Jets off of their bye week. Apparently Mike Tomlin's removal of games in the locker room sent a pretty strong message to the team, because the defense finally got their first takeaways once Mike Tomlin decided to literally take their stuff away. The Steelers might be in too big of a hole already to win their foosball back, but maybe their quest will at least make the rest of the season interesting for them.
25. Oakland Raiders: 2-4 (22)
The Raiders' defense played very well against the Chiefs on Sunday, holding Jamaal Charles under four yards per carry and only giving up 128 yards through the air on Alex Smith's 31 passing attempts. The problem was that the Chiefs didn't really even need their offense to put points on the board, as they intercepted Terrelle Pryor three times, and took one of those back for six. The offensive line for this team is just a mess right now, because 10 sacks on the elusive Terrelle Pryor means that almost any other starter could have been dropped 15 times against the Chiefs. The Rams got 62 sacks all of last year, and that was first in the NFL. If the Chiefs played the Raiders every Sunday they would break the NFL sack record for a team by 88 sacks.
26. Houston Texans: 2-4 (20)
Arian Foster looks great for the first time this year and the Texans still get blown out. Matt Schaub exits the game for the Texans and they still throw a pick-six. This team is imploding right now, and it's fair to question whether this team is mature enough to pull itself back up. Last year, this team wore letterman jackets to a game against the New England Patriots. They proceeded to get blown out, and were never the same team afterwards. Is anyone enough of a leader of this team to snap this team back into shape? Possibly, but that player isn't going to be the one throwing passes, and the crushing void at that position right now is dragging down this team with it.
27. Washington Redskins: 1-4 (26)
RGIII looked a lot fresher coming off of the bye week, but he still hasn't led this team to a touchdown in the first half of the game. His legs looked a lot better, but his arm looked nowhere near as impressive as it did last year, as he threw wobbly passes and wasn't on target with those throws. He missed plenty of open guys against the Cowboys, and his inability to hit passes held this team back. Can RGIII regain the magic again? Hopefully, but he hasn't put everything together this year and his soul-searching has set this team so far back that their season is almost dead in the water already. Of course, this was a team that started 3-6 last year and then had home field advantage in a playoff game, so never say never.
28. Minnesota Vikings: 1-4 (25)
The Vikings suffered a full team meltdown at the Metrodome on Sunday, collapsing in every phase of the game against the Carolina Panthers. This defense is flawed at all three levels. Matt Cassel was as ineffective throwing down the field as Christian Ponder has been. Adrian Peterson was forced out of the game because of a large deficit, and whatever feeble game plan the coaching staff had come up with was ruined. The keys to this team are going to be handed to Josh Freeman now, let's see where he drives it, because that's the one thing the Vikings season still has going for it.
29. Cleveland Browns: 3-3 (17)
Welcome back Brandon Weeden! His return sparks a huge drop in the rankings for Cleveland, who are just are infinitely better team when that man is not under center. How bad is Weeden? This is how he chooses to throw passes: http://larrybrownsports.com/football/brandon-weeden-interception-gif/207112
30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 0-5 (30)
Mike Glennon looked a lot better in his second start for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, unfortunately though, this team still lost because they were unable to even slow down the Eagle's attack. Seat hot enough for you, Greg Schiano?
31. New York Giants: 0-6 (31)
I have a feeling that all the Giants want to do at this point is bury their heads in Metlife Stadium and just wait to come out until the regular season is over. Are you sure you want Tom Coughlin coming back to this mess of a team? And why isn't general manager Jerry Reese on the hot seat more for putting such a talent deprived team on the field? This team is about to miss the playoffs for the fourth time in five years, somebody has to take the fall.
32. Jacksonville Jaguars: 0-6 (32)
The Jaguars get a lot of credit for showing up and playing hard in Denver against the best team in the NFL right now. Gus Bradley looks like he's the man to help turn this team around, he just needs some better talent to coach.
No comments:
Post a Comment