I got more response slast week and that was encouraging. Most of it however was about how I supposedly underrated the Bengals (the Bengals? I didn't know anyone cared about them?), but, hey, I'll take what I can get. In hindsight, I probably overrated the 49ers a bit. #7 screamed homer.
Things I take into account: 1) How's their defense?; 2) O-line strength; 3) QB quality; 4) Coaching; 5) Who have they beaten? Here we go:
1. Saints. Sean Payton gave up $250,000 of his salary to hire Gregg Williams as defensive coordinator. The Saints have beaten the Eagles and Jets. They run the ball well, they pass well and they play good enough defense to compliment quite possibly the best offense in the league.
2. Giants. The Giants are probably the best drafting team of the past 4-5 years. They're loaded on both sides and Eli Manning is looking like Peyton this year. If he continues at the current pace, he'll pass for 32 TDs 8 Ints and 4100 yards. Problem is, they've only played the Bucs, Redskins, Chiefs and Cowboys. Coming up this week- the Raiders. Two weeks- Giants at Saints (control of #1 seed in playoffs?).
3. Colts. Maybe I haven't watched Peyton Manning enough in the past, but he looks better this year than ever. He doesn't have the same homerun potential because Marvin Harrison isn't around, but Manning is killing teams with his short west coast style passing game. Besides the Miami game, Indy's defense has played well. Indy, like the Giants, have only played crap teams so far. Coming up this week- the Titans (lol).
4. Vikings (assuming they win tonight). Two problems I see for the Vikings- 1) Coaching, it's questionable; 2) Favre's ability to play late in the season. But as I mentioned last week, the Vikings only play one cold weather game after November 1.
5. Broncos. I can't continue placing the Broncos under once-beaten teams, not with the way their defense is playing. I still can't get over the fact that Kyle Orton is their QB and how they don't have much talent on that D-line.
6. Jets. Still have a great defense. That loss yesterday was on Sanchez. That's what happens when you start a rookie at QB. I also wonder if the Jets have enough talent at TE and receiver.
7. Pats. I still think they're the 96-98 Cowboys. Enjoy it while you can until all your geriatric players start stiffening up come November. The Ravens would have won that game but for Clayton's drop inside the 10 yard line. Nevertheless, I can't rank the Ravens in front of the Pats right after a loss head-to-head. Based on the Pats' body of work the past couple weeks, #7 is deserved, but it won't last.
8. Ravens. The Ravens have some problems in their secondary. Great front 7, but Reed is banged up and their corners are undersized. Indy plays at Baltimore later in the year and that will be an interesting game. I think Indy would abuse them at home, but it will be much more competitive out in the elements.
9. Niners. I can't justify putting the Eagles, Bears, Falcons or Bengals higher than the Niners. The reason- defense. The four other teams have all shown defensive problems in one game or the other and the Niners look like they have a top 5 defense. The Niners can't go above the three one loss teams ahead in this poll because of its offense. Shaun Hill is competant enough at QB, but he fits solidly in the Kyle Orton category (okay, maybe this is a bit harsh for a guy that's 10-4 as a starter for the Niners). Vernon Davis is showing flashes of why he was picked high and their other receivers seem to be okay. When Gore comes back, the Niners will again have a good stable of backs. The Niners' o-line is very average. Along with its offensive coaching, that's the achilles heal of the team. Two bits of good news: 1) The Niners will win about 10 games and make the playoffs, they may even win the first round game; 2) They have Carolina's first round draft pick in next year's draft. With Carolina's pick, the Niners need to pick up a premium left tackle and the best one coming out this year looks like OU's Trent Williams. I'm not a big fan of this year's QB class, so I hope the Niners pass on McCoy/Bradford/Snead (I'm a bigger fan of Locker, but he probably won't be coming out next year).
10. Bengals. The game against the Browns was somewhat of a trap game and the Bengals pulled out the win. First, the Browns switched Qbs and Derek Anderson is better than Brady Quinn anyway. Second, the Bengals were coming off a dramatic win against the Steelers. Even though they gave up some points and had a very close game against one of the worst three teams in the league, they still pulled it out and own wins against some decent teams in the league.
11. Eagles. The Eagles' defense still has to makeup for that steaming pile they laid on the field when they played the Saints. Although the national media isn't talking about it right now due to their inexplicable love of Donovan McNabb, there will be a QB controversy once McNabb comes back and inevitably doesn't put up the same numbers as Kevin Kolb.
12. Falcons. The 16 point loss to the Pats doesn't look so bad now. Next week's game against the Niners will be interesting. The Niners have a nasty defense and the Falcons don't. The Falcons have a well-rounded offense and the Niners don't. The Falcons are coming off a bye and should have the edge. Then again, the Niners had a virtual bye playing against the Rams.
13. Bears. Their defense gave up 21 points to the Lions in the first half. The Packers wouldn't be behind them if they weren't going to lose tonight against the Vikings. Jay Cutler is really good at times, but I wouldn't trust him in a playoff game.
14. Steelers. Crappy offensive line and their defense isn't as stellar as its been in years past. Roethlisberger will wear down as the year goes on. They need to miss the playoffs and so they can get a mid first round draft pick where they may be able to pick a premium LT. I don't see how the Steelers can beat the Colts or Ravens this year.
15. Cowboys. They were competitive against the Broncos on the road. Lost amidst all the lamentations over how overrated Tony Romo is, people lose sight of the fact that Roy Williams and the other Cowboys' WRs really aren't very good. Roy Williams does have those comically huge hands so I always get a chuckle watching him drag those things down the field. Unfortunately it doesn't seem like he either has the speed, route running ability or work ethic to be a true No. 1 receiver. I don't think the Cowboys are running the correct passing offense for their personnel.
Things I take into account: 1) How's their defense?; 2) O-line strength; 3) QB quality; 4) Coaching; 5) Who have they beaten? Here we go:
1. Saints. Sean Payton gave up $250,000 of his salary to hire Gregg Williams as defensive coordinator. The Saints have beaten the Eagles and Jets. They run the ball well, they pass well and they play good enough defense to compliment quite possibly the best offense in the league.
2. Giants. The Giants are probably the best drafting team of the past 4-5 years. They're loaded on both sides and Eli Manning is looking like Peyton this year. If he continues at the current pace, he'll pass for 32 TDs 8 Ints and 4100 yards. Problem is, they've only played the Bucs, Redskins, Chiefs and Cowboys. Coming up this week- the Raiders. Two weeks- Giants at Saints (control of #1 seed in playoffs?).
3. Colts. Maybe I haven't watched Peyton Manning enough in the past, but he looks better this year than ever. He doesn't have the same homerun potential because Marvin Harrison isn't around, but Manning is killing teams with his short west coast style passing game. Besides the Miami game, Indy's defense has played well. Indy, like the Giants, have only played crap teams so far. Coming up this week- the Titans (lol).
4. Vikings (assuming they win tonight). Two problems I see for the Vikings- 1) Coaching, it's questionable; 2) Favre's ability to play late in the season. But as I mentioned last week, the Vikings only play one cold weather game after November 1.
5. Broncos. I can't continue placing the Broncos under once-beaten teams, not with the way their defense is playing. I still can't get over the fact that Kyle Orton is their QB and how they don't have much talent on that D-line.
6. Jets. Still have a great defense. That loss yesterday was on Sanchez. That's what happens when you start a rookie at QB. I also wonder if the Jets have enough talent at TE and receiver.
7. Pats. I still think they're the 96-98 Cowboys. Enjoy it while you can until all your geriatric players start stiffening up come November. The Ravens would have won that game but for Clayton's drop inside the 10 yard line. Nevertheless, I can't rank the Ravens in front of the Pats right after a loss head-to-head. Based on the Pats' body of work the past couple weeks, #7 is deserved, but it won't last.
8. Ravens. The Ravens have some problems in their secondary. Great front 7, but Reed is banged up and their corners are undersized. Indy plays at Baltimore later in the year and that will be an interesting game. I think Indy would abuse them at home, but it will be much more competitive out in the elements.
9. Niners. I can't justify putting the Eagles, Bears, Falcons or Bengals higher than the Niners. The reason- defense. The four other teams have all shown defensive problems in one game or the other and the Niners look like they have a top 5 defense. The Niners can't go above the three one loss teams ahead in this poll because of its offense. Shaun Hill is competant enough at QB, but he fits solidly in the Kyle Orton category (okay, maybe this is a bit harsh for a guy that's 10-4 as a starter for the Niners). Vernon Davis is showing flashes of why he was picked high and their other receivers seem to be okay. When Gore comes back, the Niners will again have a good stable of backs. The Niners' o-line is very average. Along with its offensive coaching, that's the achilles heal of the team. Two bits of good news: 1) The Niners will win about 10 games and make the playoffs, they may even win the first round game; 2) They have Carolina's first round draft pick in next year's draft. With Carolina's pick, the Niners need to pick up a premium left tackle and the best one coming out this year looks like OU's Trent Williams. I'm not a big fan of this year's QB class, so I hope the Niners pass on McCoy/Bradford/Snead (I'm a bigger fan of Locker, but he probably won't be coming out next year).
10. Bengals. The game against the Browns was somewhat of a trap game and the Bengals pulled out the win. First, the Browns switched Qbs and Derek Anderson is better than Brady Quinn anyway. Second, the Bengals were coming off a dramatic win against the Steelers. Even though they gave up some points and had a very close game against one of the worst three teams in the league, they still pulled it out and own wins against some decent teams in the league.
11. Eagles. The Eagles' defense still has to makeup for that steaming pile they laid on the field when they played the Saints. Although the national media isn't talking about it right now due to their inexplicable love of Donovan McNabb, there will be a QB controversy once McNabb comes back and inevitably doesn't put up the same numbers as Kevin Kolb.
12. Falcons. The 16 point loss to the Pats doesn't look so bad now. Next week's game against the Niners will be interesting. The Niners have a nasty defense and the Falcons don't. The Falcons have a well-rounded offense and the Niners don't. The Falcons are coming off a bye and should have the edge. Then again, the Niners had a virtual bye playing against the Rams.
13. Bears. Their defense gave up 21 points to the Lions in the first half. The Packers wouldn't be behind them if they weren't going to lose tonight against the Vikings. Jay Cutler is really good at times, but I wouldn't trust him in a playoff game.
14. Steelers. Crappy offensive line and their defense isn't as stellar as its been in years past. Roethlisberger will wear down as the year goes on. They need to miss the playoffs and so they can get a mid first round draft pick where they may be able to pick a premium LT. I don't see how the Steelers can beat the Colts or Ravens this year.
15. Cowboys. They were competitive against the Broncos on the road. Lost amidst all the lamentations over how overrated Tony Romo is, people lose sight of the fact that Roy Williams and the other Cowboys' WRs really aren't very good. Roy Williams does have those comically huge hands so I always get a chuckle watching him drag those things down the field. Unfortunately it doesn't seem like he either has the speed, route running ability or work ethic to be a true No. 1 receiver. I don't think the Cowboys are running the correct passing offense for their personnel.