Not dead, but I decided to take a little hiatus just for the heck of it. Funny thing is, I left off with a long post about Randy Moss and his departure from the Patriots to the Vikings. Now, I return and Moss is gone from Minnesota and on the NFL waiver wire. If you would've told me at the beginning of the season that Moss would be traded a 1/4 of the way through, Ben Jarvis-Green Ellis would be leading the team with 371 yards rushing, a guy named Danny Woodhead would be making great contributions, and Deion Branch would be back in a Pats uniform, I would have looked at you funny.
But at the same time, this is a Bill Belichick coached team, and the man/myth/genius/Greek god has performed his job differently than every other coach on the sidelines this season. He cut fan favorite Lawyer Milloy to begin the 2003 season (they won the super bowl); he traded away his best pass rusher Richard Seymour to begin the 2009 season (they own the Raiders 1st round pick this year; and he just received a 3rd round pick from the Minnesota Vikings for four games of Randy Moss (one of the best wideouts of all-time, but at this point, a complete nutcase).
Moss was cut by the Vikings on Monday after one of the greatest speeches in NFL history. To summarize: I miss the Patriots like hell, I F-ed up, Brad Childress is a moron, and Belichick is the greatest coach ever.
On to the Power Rankings
1. New England (6-1): With the NFL's best record, the Patriots still will look to improve the fluidity of their newly installed offense.
2. Pittsburgh (6-2): Passing game struggled against spotty Saints defense. James Harrison is one scary man.
3. Baltimore (5-2): Had a bye last week, but their record remains very good, and the Jets failed to make a showing at the Meadowlands.
4. New York Jets (5-2): When the offense is on, this team is scary. Likewise when Sanchez and co. struggle.
5. Indianapolis (5-2): Despite the early season fawning over Houston and Tennessee, the injury-riddled Colts remain atop the tough AFC South.
6. New York Giants (5-2): Playing great football after looking toast at the beginning of the season. Eli Manning must remain consistent for them to be contenders.
7. Atlanta (5-2): Can't get a feel for what type of team this is offensively and defensively. The next two games will be huge against Tampa for the NFC South, and on of the AFC's best with Baltimore.
8. New Orleans (5-3): Putting the Saints at eight based on the way their defense played. Getting Reggie Bush back (probably after their week 10 bye) is vital for this offense.
9. Green Bay (5-3): Hey, maybe the NFC isn't so bad after all. The Packers defense showed up big in their bagel of the Jets.
10 Kansas City (5-2): Squeaked past the pesky Bills in OT. For all of the clamoring over their offensive struggles, Matt Cassel has a 90 QB rating, and Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones combined have over 1,000 yards rushing.
11. Tennessee (5-3): Followed up their trouncing of the Eagles with a disappointing loss against a Chargers team on the ropes.
12. Philadelphia (4-3): Mike Vick is back, which is good for fans everywhere. Peyton Manning is coming to town, which is not good news for Eagles fans.
13. Miami (4-3): Field goals are good if you own Dan Carpenter on your fantasy team. They're not good for an NFL team trying to sneak into the playoffs.
14. Tampa Bay (5-2): Earned a tough victory in Arizona. If they earn a win at Atlanta, the Bucs will have to be taken seriously.
15. Houston (4-3): The defense is playing awful, and the offensive line treated Matt Schaub as if he was a pinata and they wanted some candy. They look to be in a serious funk.
16. Chicago (4-3): Have a lot of things to sort out, but at least the defense is tough.
17. Oakland (4-4): Out of all of the years this past decade that the Raiders won no more than five games, why do they have to pick the year the Patriots have their first round pick to make some moves?
18. San Diego (3-5): Obviously not as bad as their record says. The Chargers schedule is more than manageable, and Phillip Rivers is in top form.
19. Washington (4-4): What was Mike Shanahan thinking? Donovan McNabb is certainly frustrating at times, but was there a better chance to win the game with Rex Grossman behind center? Jamarcus "syzerp" Russell next week?
20. Jacksonville (4-4): Pulverized the sinking ship that is Dallas. Despite some rough games, David Garrard has a 98 QB rating and 15 TD's scored.
21. Seattle (4-3): Plain and simple: the Seahawks are a terrible road team, but a great home team that is helped out generously by the home crowd. They have five left at Qwest Field.
22. St. Louis (4-4): The Seahawks being the highest-rated NFC West team shows just how bad a division the west is. Would the Rams think about bringing in Randy Moss?
23. Minnesota (2-5): Straight Cash Homey obviously didn't pan out. This shows just how poorly ran the Vikings franchise is.
24. Cincinnati (2-5): Like the Vikings conundrum, fantasy players and great names don't always make for a good team.
25. Arizona (3-4): If they had a real QB they would be much better. Why didn't they try to land McNabb in the offseason, it's not like he has a home there or trains there in the offseason. Oh wait, he does.
26. Detroit (2-5): Their record should be better than it actually is. They look like a team that is starting to come together, especially now that Matthew Stafford is back.
27. Cleveland (2-5): Like the Lions, they are playing better than their record indicates. Will face a tough test this week against the Pats.
28. San Francisco (2-6): Coming off of a win that no one noticed in Frisco. Amazingly, they still have a good chance of winning the NFC West.
29. Denver (2-6): Have lost four straight, and appear to be finished. Wideout Brandon Lloyd has resurrected his career to a tune of 878 receiving yards in eight games.
30. Dallas (1-6): Wade Phillips has to be fired. Once the team fails to be held accountable, the coach is the first to blame. Although for the Cowboys, that was a while ago.
31. Carolina (1-6): The offense is terrible, the defense is filled with little impact players, and it's only a matter of time before Steve Smith decks someone. Probably Jimmy Clausen.
32. Buffalo (0-7): May be better than the Panthers, but the Panthers have what the Bills covet: a win.
No comments:
Post a Comment