1. New Orleans Saints (5-0) (Last week: 4). The Saints are on pace to score 48 points per game. Against the teams of the NFC East.
2. Indianapolis Colts (5-0) (Last week: 2). So what'll be higher when the Colts host the Rams this week -- Peyton Manning's passer rating or the margin of victory?
3. Minnesota Vikings (6-0) (Last week: 3). Were the Vikings lucky? Sure. But 11 years after a fairly important kick from Gary Anderson also sailed just to the left of those same uprights, the Vikings aren't complaining.
4. New York Giants (5-1) (Last week: 1). This week's game "felt like a scrimmage," too. For the other team.
5. Denver Broncos (6-0) (Last week: 8). Before anyone else ever says that Mike Shanahan didn't know how to make personnel decisions, consider this: He picked Elvis Dumervil in round four.
6. Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2) (Last week: 7). Football is a game of inches. Except in Pittsburgh, where the officials now round up.
7. New England Patriots (4-2) (Last week: 11). With the Patriots poised to invade England, the British are employing the following warning: "One if by land, 59 if by air."
8. Atlanta Falcons (4-1) (Last week: 9). A tough schedule only gets tougher with a trip to Dallas followed by a visit to the Superdome.
9. Cincinnati Bengals (4-2) (Last week: 5). The Bengals need to play against the teams below .500 like they do when playing against the teams that are above .500.
10. Chicago Bears (3-2) (Last week: 6). When Jay Cutler is the team's leading rusher, it could be a sign that the offense is a tad one-dimensional.
11. Philadelphia Eagles (3-2) (Last week: 10). Now 0-3 all-time in Oakland, it'll be another eight years until the Eagles get another chance to win a game there. Andy Reid likely will still be the head coach, and Donovan McNabb likely will still be the quarterback.
12. Green Bay Packers (3-2) (Last week: 17). Baby Swiss eventually will get Aaron Rodgers turned into a pile of melted provolone.
13. Baltimore Ravens (3-3) (Last week: 12). The Ravens have found an offense, just in time for the defense to load up the Mayflower and leave town.
14. San Francisco 49ers (3-2) (Last week: 15). Suddenly, the Niners have company at the top of the division they supposedly had locked up in September.
15. Dallas Cowboys (3-2) (Last week: 16). The official Week Six rallying cry of the NFC East was, "If you ain't playin', you ain't losin'."
16. Arizona Cardinals (3-2) (Last week: 20). The Cardinals are coming around. But they probably wish they weren't coming back to the Meadowlands.
17. Houston Texans (3-3) (Last week: 21). Very much alive for a shot at the playoffs, the Texans now hold an important tiebreaker against the Bengals, who'll probably be jockeying for wild-card position, too.
18. Miami Dolphins (2-3) (Last week: 18). Rested and ready, the Dolphins can complete their climb back to .500 by Wildcatting the fleur-de-lis out of the Saints.
19. New York Jets (3-3) (Last week: 13). Getting "Sanchized" suddenly has a much different connotation.
20. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-3) (Last week: 22). Believe it or not, this team still has a great chance to make the playoffs.
21. San Diego Chargers (2-3) (Last week: 14). Maybe the Chargers are simply trying to set us all for an even more compelling late-season turnaround.
22. Carolina Panthers (2-3) (Last week: 23). After this week's game against the Bills, wins could be very hard to come by the rest of the way. Especially with Jake Delhomme at quarterback.
23. Seattle Seahawks (2-4) (Last week: 19). If Jim Mora isn't already on the hot seat, he surely will be next year.
24. Buffalo Bills (2-4) (Last week: 28). They decision to ditch the "no huddle" obscured the reality that the team generally has "no talent."
25. Oakland Raiders (2-4) (Last week: 30). Their ability to beat the Eagles only confirms that there's no excuse for the way the Raiders had been playing.
26. Kansas City Chiefs (1-5) (Last week: 31). Now that they have gotten a win, they can focus on trading everyone who helped them get it.
27. Washington Redskins (2-4) (Last week: 24). So the head coach is good enough to still be the head coach, but not good enough to call the plays instead of a guy who spent the last five years calling bingo numbers? Yes, the NFC finally has found its answer to the Raiders.
28. Detroit Lions (1-5) (Last week: 26). The Lions might not win another one until the Rams come to town next month.
29. Cleveland Browns (1-5) (Last week: 27). The Browns might not win another one until they go to Detroit next month.
30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-6) (Last week: 29). If more than 42,000 people show up for the "home" game in London, maybe the Bucs should just move there.
31. St. Louis Rams (0-6) (Last week: 32). The Chiefs and the Rams are singlehandedly causing the folks in the "Show Me" state to change their motto to "If I Don't Look Away, I'm Gonna Be Sick."
32. Tennessee Titans (0-6) (Last week: 25). That 59-0 stinker might just keep the Titans at No. 32 for the rest of the season, even if they run the table.
Week Six power rankings
Posted by Mike Florio on October 20, 2009 8:30 AM ET
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55 Comments
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Shanahan also picked Jarvis Moss is round one and Tim Crowder in round two.
Baltimore, Houston and Miami all deserve better ranks.
Of course the giants are ahead of the Broncos after they LOSE on the road vs some decent competition, while the Broncos just WON on the road vs a decent team. That makes sense.
Keep hating!
6-0
Sounds right for the Vikes Florio. Like Favre says"takes a little luck to have a great season." I'll take it. Saints vs Vikings might set a scoring record,wish they played.
hahah get beaten by the Raiders, fall one spot?
Denver should definitely be no. 4, and Green Bay should be no. 10. Eagles should be out of the top 15 for sure and Green Bay has beaten Chicago.
Buffalo has not talent?
more like shitty coaching and a training staff that can only manage to keep half the starters on the field.
I would like to see the Colts play a team that does not have a beat up secondary before I would put them at #2. And don't the Steelers need to beat a real team before you put them up that high?
Keep hating!
Ah, the first "Rodney Dangerfield" post of the day. And I haven't even had my coffee.
The Giants lost to the team that's #1 on this power rankings list. The Broncos beat the team that's #21. I'd agree that the Giants still belong ahead of them. They're only ahead by one spot >_
and Green Bay has beaten Chicago.
Power rankings reflect how powerful a team is right now; if rankers had to take into account every team that's beaten every other team, it would be impossible to make a list at all. Green Bay was listed above Chicago after week 1, which was correct.
At any rate, Chicago is better now than they were in week 1. Since that time Green Bay has lost to the Vikings (good) and Bengals (pretty good) and beaten the Rams (bad) and Lions (bad). Chicago has lost to the Falcons (good) and beaten the Lions (bad), Seahawks (good at the time) and Steelers (pretty good). Chicago's wins since week 1 have been over teams which were better than the teams Green Bay has faced since then. The one team they've both beaten, the Lions, was arguably better when Chicago played them due to the big-name injuries (Megatron, Stafford) this week.
Philly should probably be worse than #11, which would put Chicago one spot ahead of Green Bay, which is pretty reasonable and accurate for this point in time.
28. Detroit Lions (1-5) (Last week: 26). The Lions might not win another one until the Rams come to town next month.
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Lions also have a Thanksgiving Day victory coming.
I would like to see the Colts play a team that does not have a beat up secondary before I would put them at #2.
Speaking as a Colts homer, I'd still agree with this. When the year started our early season schedule seemed a bit more daunting (since we had the Cards, who went to the Super Bowl [I did kind of expect their offense to overwhelm our defense, but we held firm], and the Titans, who had won the division the year before), but the combination of those teams not being as good as advertised plus Peyton Manning being on fire has resulted in our not really having been challenged yet (and facing the Rams this week does nothing to help). Still, at least we've looked good in our wins: we've been in charge and solidly in control against those teams, as we should've been. It's one thing to squeak past those teams, it's another to dominate. Miami probably gave us the best fight so far.
I have high hopes of course, but I'm going to withhold judgment until I've seen us against San Fran, New England, Houston x 2, Baltimore and Denver. Those 6 games out of our next 8 should do a better job of showing the true character of our team. And maybe the Jacksonville game in week 15, since they always throw everything and the kitchen sink at us.
Okay, Philly loses to the Raiders and they only drop from #10 to #11? The Bears lose to Atlanta and they drop 4 places from 6 to 10?
The Raiders are getting respect!
Wow ... mentioning the Baltimore and the Mayflower, that is a little salty. As a Pittsburgh fan born and raised in Baltimore I find that hilarious !!!
lmao @ zygi milf
PFTiswhatitis says:
October 20, 2009 8:44 AM
Baltimore, Houston and Miami all deserve better ranks.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I'm sure when any of those 3 teams get a winning record they will get a better ranking. (I'm a Ravens fan but I can't argue that they deserve better after three straight loses)
After the piss-poor showing in New England, I'd say that the Titans should be ranked at about #42.
Has to be a handful of college teams that could outplay this group of quitters. Embarrassing for Jeff Fisher the way that team folded on him in the snow.
The best thing about power rankings is how worked up people get. I mean, is it possible to get fired up about anything less meaningful than some skinny dude in a basement in WV assigning rankings to NFL teams and posting them to the internet?
Relax people.
the person who told you, florio, that you were funny, must be the same one that voted dane cook as best original comic of the new century.
try sticking with news stories. you're becoming (have become?) as borish as those characters on the wwl.
.
I don't see how the heck the Giants are rated so high. Their schedule is a joke to this point, and the only good team they've played destroyed them.
Seriously... look at it, it's a joke.
The Lions might not win until the Rams come in November? Well, I hope so, they are on bye this week and don't play UNTIL THE RAMS COME TO DETROIT IN NOVEMBER!!!
Way to research!
packerswin says:
October 20, 2009 9:39 AM
lmao @ zygi milf
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We'll see who's laughing. I'll be driving to Milwaukee on Thanksgiving Day and I think I'll be the one laughing my ass off listening to the Packer radio network while counting dead dear carcusses on I-94.
Lions above redskins and Chiefs, well with Stafford healthy at least, they are much more competitive.
Maybe tie with Chiefs, but Redskins just look like trash.
"Lions above redskins and Chiefs, well with Stafford healthy at least, they are much more competitive.
Maybe tie with Chiefs, but Redskins just look like trash."
Does anyone really care about all that?
Eagles lose to Raiders and drop a spot, stop the East Coast Bias douche bag. Denver...Hello? And who have the Giants beat? They barely beat Dallas after the Cowboys gave them 4 turnovers and they allowed over 30 points and got held to under 100 yards rushing. They beat all winless teams. Why do you dog the Cowboys and give props to Giants and Eagles....I just dont get it, and if you could you would find a way to give props to Skins. I see a Cowboys hater...moron
I see a Cowboys hater...moron
Looking at Dallas:
- Beat the Bucs, an awful and winless team, while allowing them to score 21 points (only Carolina, another bad team, allowed them to score that many points)
- Lost to the Giants. I don't care how many turnovers the Cowboys "gave" them, the fact is they turned the ball over a lot, and that's not exactly something that would suggest they're a good team
- Beat Carolina, an awful team
- Lost to Denver. At least this one was almost competitive
- Beat Kansas City. In overtime
Dallas doesn't even look good during their wins, while NYG generally does. There's a difference between controlling a game/winning it well and playing like crap while managing to win anyway.
Meanwhile, Philly's wins over bad teams have at least been consistently decisive, and their loss to NO is nothing to be ashamed about since NO has been a powerhouse so far. Their only real instance of shitting the bed was the Oakland game.
I agree with ZN0rseman the Giants had not played anybody good until they had to play the Saints and look what they did to them. The Bronco's should be #4, I take it Florio you are a Giant fan.
as a lifelong charger fan:
1> fire norv turner, had enough time with this team already
2> trade chambers, guy is useless and the shortest on the team anyways
3> trade LT for a bunch of offensive and defensive line help and draft picks....sproles is just as good, not getting all whiny and can do special teams, all for half the price
4> dump merriman...see #3
with a little change, this can be a top team next year.
I am a Vikings fan, but I would have to say that I would put them at #5 behind the Giants and the Broncos. The 3rd and 4th quarter defense against the Ravens was laughable. I almost turned the game off. The 20 yard or so TD run by Rice where 3 different Vikings made contact with him but not one of them actually attempted to tackle him makes me questions how far we can really go. I am excited for this year, and I think we have as good a chance as any team, but I think the lack of finishing on the part of the defense should put us down a few points.
I agree with some of the other posters that the Eagles should have lost more position for losing to the Raiders. But, its more HOW they lost that I think should hurt them. This season the Eagles have averaged 27.2 points per game. The Raiders have given up an average of 23.2 points per game. There is no reason why the Eagles shouldn't have scored 21+ points. They scored 9 points off of 3 field goals. Eagles have always been a fairly potent offense, and seeing that kind of an offensive effort makes me wonder what the heck is going on over in Philly.
I probably shouldn't say anything about the Raiders' movement because once you are in the bottom 10 or so, it really doesn't matter what order you put them in, but I don't think the Raiders should move up 5 spots just for beating the Eagles 13 to 9. I didn't get to see the game (I was busy all weekend and only DVRed my Vikings and watched MNF last night), but I would want to see two drives end in TDs before giving Oakland a boost like that. But, like I said, its splitting hairs at that point.
I would think the Packers would be ahead of the Eagles at this time. I mean, the Packers beat the Lions while the Eagles couldn't even beat the Raiders, whom the previous week lost 44-7.
I think this has been the best one yet. I couldn't help but laugh out loud and some of explanations.
Well done keep up the good work. I think some of the people that read these just don't appreciate the humor.
The rankings don't really matter people--it is the snarky explanations that make reading the list worthwhile. Nice job, "skinny dude in a basement".
Atlanta's schedule is getting more difiicult cause they have to go to Dallas, ranked 15?? -- that 's pretty mediocre in my book, not difficult.
A new personal best Florio! You made it all the way to #2 before your first mistake.. Rams host Colts, not the other way around.
"The Giants lost to the team that's #1 on this power rankings list. The Broncos beat the team that's #21. I'd agree that the Giants still belong ahead of them. They're only ahead by one spot"
Please remind me who the Giants beat? Oh, sorry, I forgot they play in New York. That's good for 5 places right there.
Denver at #5??? Must be the same guys that do the BCS poll.....Come on who do we have to beat Florida, Alabama or Norte Dame to get some respect here......
I also see some East Coast Bias here, The Eagles lose to the Raiders and goes down a whopping 1 spot and "6-0" Denver can't be rated with the other undefeated teams.
I have to agree with GreeleyGuy55. Its a known fact that I'm a Cowboy fan where EVERY year is our year, but the Giants ahead of the Broncos?? That is just sad Florio. Poor McDaniels lol what does he have to do to get respect?
CAN SOMEBODY PLEASE TELL ME WHAT THE GIANTS HAVE DONE THIS SEASON THAT MAKES EVERYONE BELIEVE THEY ARE THE KINGS OF THE NFC??
The best thing you can name is beat us, a 'mediocre' team by all of your accounts, in a close game that we shouldve won but we left about 21 points on the field. Im not saying the 'Boys are great, but what has made them so good? Beating the sorriest teams in the league, barely squeaking by us, and then getting ravaged by the Saints???? Im not hating, Im just saying...
And yeah the humor is hilarious especially #32 I actually thought what if the Titans go 10-6, get into the wild card, and win the Bowl. And then again what if the sky was red.
When will the Ttans FINALLY put Vince in??????????????????????????????????? It's too late in the season now, but they better re-think their strategy next season.
Florio, You're just awful. Go ahead and put the Broncos behind the Giants and any other team that you worship. I guess that they don't deserve the eastern medias respect because they aren't 1. in the NFC, and 2. They aren't in New York somewhere. Maybe we could move them to Syracuse, they wear orange... Seriously WTF?? Oh yeah they dumped crybaby Cutler, the way Orton's looking maybe THEY shoulda given Chicago two #1 draft choices. I can't wait to hear that giant sucking sound of all of you sad suckers pulling your head out of your A**..
The fact that the Giants had played such a crappy schedule prior to playing the Saints means you should never have had them number one to begin with.
I still find it funny how many people cry about their team deserving respect when their team hasn't done jack.
And how in your right mind can you have the Giants ahead of the Broncos? What planet are you living on?
How can the Saints be the power team when they are not 6.0? Who dreamed that up. The Vikings should be number one and the Broncos second to them. The standings are more important than the scores. The Colts and NYG will can make it to the super bowl again because they have good quarterbacks. The Saints are going to lose games and they were only lucky to win this one.
"How can the Saints be the power team when they are not 6.0? Who dreamed that up. The Vikings should be number one and the Broncos second to them. The standings are more important than the scores. The Colts and NYG will can make it to the super bowl again because they have good quarterbacks. The Saints are going to lose games and they were only lucky to win this one."
I had to register here just to tell you what a moron you are. The Saints are not 6-0 because we had a bye week. We'll be 6-0 next week no doubt. Second. New York doesn't stand a snowballs chance in hell to make it to the Superbowl this year, as pointed out by several people already, they played a bunch of nothing teams then when faced with a "real" team, they got dominated. Will the Saints lose games? More than likely...... Were we "lucky" to beat the Giants? 48-27....Lucky? Post about football when you learn something about it, until then....just hush.
Sounds right for the Vikes Florio. Like Favre says"takes a little luck to have a great season." I'll take it. Saints vs Vikings might set a scoring record,wish they played.
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Brees vs. that garbage secondary and the saints WILL set a scoring record..... the pats/titans game will look like a close game.
ROTFLMAO at how sensitve everyone is about dumb ass rankings!
The Falcons are way over-rated right now...and I trip to Dallas is a test?!?!? Please, Dallas has barely managed to beat the rotten teams this year.
I suspect the Falcons will crumble when they face New Orleans and the Giants. They do, however, have an incredibly weak schedule this year....they'll make the playoffs for that reason alone. They still suck, though.
@ armchair probowler
Go back to watching the PBA. Garbage secondary? Did you watch the game? Antoine Winfield, Pro Bowl CB and leader of that secondary went out the first play of the second quarter. There was no mention of it which is funny. If Ed Reed had gone out, everyone would be talking about it and the reason for the loss. Well, even with the "garbage secondary", the Vikes pulled it out. Get your head out of your butt before you make an ass out of yourself.
Of course the Lions won't win another game before the Rams, they have a bye week. Teams rarely win or lose during their bye, or have I missed something there?
Bullshit rankings!!!
My Dallas Cowboys should be at least in the top 5 because you'd have to keep in mind...(forget it, I couldn't keep typing with a straight face, lol).
Ahhh, the good 'ol days.
lmao, funny koolaid. and i cant wait to hang out with all my bengal buddies with my fresh walter payton on at paul brown sunday, drinkin it up, and keeping the tissues on deck, so they can all wipe their tears as their overrated bengals get a mudhole stomped in their A$$E$ by Da Bears!
"The official Week Six rallying cry of the NFC East was, "If you ain't playin', you ain't losin'.""
ROFLMAO. Good one Mike.
"# NoKoolaidCowboy says: October 21, 2009 7:11 PM
Bullshit rankings!!!
My Dallas Cowboys should be at least in the top 5 because you'd have to keep in mind...(forget it, I couldn't keep typing with a straight face, lol).
Ahhh, the good 'ol days.
"
---------------------------------
Congrats. You've made the transition from fan to anti-fan. Anyone who claims to be a fan and gets off on snarky, sarcastic put downs of the team they claim to be a fan of .. is not a fan. It isn't 'nokoolaid, it's anti-fandom - Well done. Fans don't revel in the problems of their team. Dallas is truggling, Snday's game against Atlanta is huge, its a watershed moment for them. If they play like they've been playing it will be bad. If they cut the mistakes and play to their potential Atlanta won't be able to stay with them.
armchair_probowler,
umm, the vikes were down two corners, one bieng a probowler. vikes have second highest scoring offense & it is balanced. last we played, you lost. last playoff game we played, you destroyed.
btw, your best secondary player is a viking cast off who can't tackle & can't cover...but he looks fine against rookie qb's. We have the best DT in football, 2nd best DE, top 3 corner, best RB in football & best qb all-time, arguably, & a rookie/ year candidate. Drew Brees? never won anything. I like our chances.
OK, first said, I'm a Chiefs fan (such a sad century so far), and that makes this even harder to say. Denver should definetely be higher than #5. I would probably put them at #2. If you disagree, I will just say, "did you watch the 2nd half Monday?" And, that is the normal 2nd half for Denver. Saints/Broncos, now that would be a good game. Saints up 14 or 21 at the half, Denver shuts then down in the 2nd half. I'm thinking it's a kickers finish.
Did I really see someone think Dallas was rated too low at #15? Sounds pretty generous to me. I mean, I love my Chiefs, but getting taken to OT by them does not bode well for a "contender".
And really, how did Washington get 2 wins? And note, I did pick my Chiefs to beat them in my Pick em league.
The Mayflower comment referring to the Ravens ranking was way over the line IMO. There are many Baltimore fans that still have nightmares over that.