Jayrus 51 Posted September 17, 2013 (edited) 1. (2-0) I wrestled with myself on this one. Seattle's shaky offensive showings are scaring me, but San Francosco looked like the best team in football last week and Seattle crushed the life out of them. For the second game in a row. So for now they win the top spot.2. (2-0) You have no idea how close I came to putting the Broncos in the top spot. They've looked dominating yet again, but they haven't yet exactly played against a true contender. Then again there aren't many of those in the AFC this year.3. (1-1) The Niners seem to have no answer for Seattle. At least not IN Seattle. Gore got stuffed. Boldin was nearly shut out except for one catch, and Kaepernick threw three interceptions. However, despite all that this is still a top team in the NFL and should quickly bounce back next week.4. (1-1) The Packers folow up a narrow loss to the Niners with a complete asskicking of the Redskins. That offense is no joke, and if the defense can keep showing up like this then the Pack are going to be hard to beat.5. (2-0) An overtime win against the Titans doesn't exactly fill me with confidence, but they remain in the five spot by virtue of everyone below them being equally unimpressive.6. :Patriots: (2-0) The Patriots just don't look like their usual selves, and who can blame them? Brady has nothing to work with. Aaron Dobson dropped virtually everything thrown his way. I would have chewed him out too. They need Gronk back badly.7. (2-0) So much mediocrity in the top ten this week. the Saints escaped with a 2 point win against the Bucs. That level of play just isn't going to cut it. You're supposed to have one of the best offenses in the league.8. (2-0) What's even less impressive than a two point win? A one point win. then again it's hard to look pretty when you're playing from behind. Da Bears are staying afloat, but last minute wins only get you so far.9. (1-1) The Falcons beat the Rams, but at what price? Steven Jackson, their big free agency pickup, is now hurt. He was supposed to bring their run game up to the next level. How much this will affect them in the long run remains to be seen.10. (1-1) Well, the Benglas beat the Steelers. Was it pretty? Not really. Dalton threw some terible passes, but thankfully that was offset but some very nice passes and an excellent ground game. Still looks like the best team in the AFC North.11. (1-1) Ravens took a step in the right direction with a win against the Browns. They still don't look anything like what they were, but with all the young talent it's apparent now that this team is going to need some time. Look for them to improve down the stretch. Hopefully.12. (2-0) The dolphins take a massive step up the ladder with a win over the Colts. This team seems to have potential, and seems like they might push the Patriots for the division title.13. (2-0) The chiefs knocked off the Cowboys simply by out-game managing them. However they'll need to step it up to truly compete against the better teams. Game management alone will only get you so far.14. (1-1) Mad props to Dez Bryant for a great ganme. Unfortunately Dez can't win a game all by himself. Demarco Murray got stuffed, and the Cowboys gave up two fumbles. Also I'm still not sold on Callahan as playcaller.15 (1-1) Despite a furious second half comeback the Rams couldn't overcome the Falcons. Still, they played very well and look to continue to be a thorn in the side of anyone who dares overlook them.16. (1-1) The Cardinals got by the Lions. They continue to looked much improved from last year, though they still have much work to do to contend in souch a tough division.17. (1-1) The Colts... aren't really looking quite like they did last year. At least not early on. However, there is still plenty of football to play and with the AFC as weak as it is the Colts are still a favorite for the playoffs.18. (1-1) Rivers finally seems to be looking like his old self. Eddie Royal is beasting, and the Chargers score a close win on the Eagles who looked pretty damn good last week. good job guys.19. (1-1) This week's incarnation of the Eagles didn't look quite as amazing as last week's showing. It doesn't mater if your offense puts up 30 points if the defense allows more than that. You can't survive in this league hoping to win shootouts every week.20. (1-1) The Lions beat themselves this week, and that's something that this team knows alot about. Whether they can overcome their own mistakes will decide how far they get this season.21. (1-1) The Bills are surprising me. EJ Manuel looks like he could be legit. Guys are making plays. This team looks like it might actually get something done. We've said that alot about the Bills in recent years though, so time will tell if they get it together this year or if they just collapse down the stretch again.22. (1-1) The Titans impressed with their ability to give the Texans a game. Unfortunately the story here is still QB play. Two TDs is nice, but 148 yards passing on 30 attempts isn't. Kid needs to step it up.23. (0-2) Another week another heartbreaker at the end of the game. It's painful to watch this team play so well only to give the game away right when victory is at hand. there's no two ways about it. Ron Rivera needs to go. Sooner rather than later.24. (0-2) The Redskins are in freefall after getting handed a monumental beating by the Packers. The Redskins defense got lit up, and RG3 can't seem to make anyhting happen until the game is out of hand. I don't know what's going on with washington but it needs to get fixed fast.25. (0-2) Two weeks and two narrow defeats. The writing is on the wall here. Adrian Peterson alone isn't getting you to the playoffs this time. The rest of this team needs to step up before things get any worse.26. (0-2) The Giants got crushed in Denver. Their defense got lit up. Their offense couldn't get going. Eli threw mutliple interceptions. They have no run game. This team is in trouble, and I don't think we'll be seeing another fairy tale superbowl run this time.27. (1-1) The Raiders score a win against the Jags, and Pryor continues to look like he might be a real QB. Beating the Jags isn't exactly all that impressive though. Still waiting for them to face a real test.28. (1-1) Jets hung on against the Patriots. But only because nobody on the Patriots offense could catch the damn ball. Don't fool yourself. This team is going nowhere fast.29. (0-2) The Steelers continue to look like an incompitent mess. They couldn't get anything going against the Bengals despite their slow start at the beginning of the game. Troy Polamalu looked great but aside from that everyone else was shit.30. (0-2) Bucs lose another narrow game. Seems to be a pattern and I don't see them breaking it any time soon. there's already dissention in the ranks and zero confidence in their Qb. This team is in trouble.31. (0-2) The Browns defense is playing well, but the offense needs to get its shit figured out. 8 points a game isn't going to get you alot of wins guys.32. (0-2) Jacksonville continues to be miserable and fake Jaguars fans hold fake rallies to try and force Tim Tebow on a team that doesn't want him... and the world keeps on turning. Edited September 18, 2013 by Jayrus Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thanatos 2,847 Posted September 18, 2013 (-): I see no reason to remove Denver from the 1 spot. The Broncos still look scary as heck, and they can do it on the road too, something the #2 team still needs to show me. (+1): The 'Hawks looked awesome at home against a great team. But then, it's at home. If Seattle wants to make a case to be #1, they have to win on the road against good teams as well. (-1): San Fran got their collective ass kicked in Seattle, no two ways about it. This is still a good team, and they will get back on track next week. (+3): This is more of a gut call, rather than a solid reason to move them ahead of the three teams that were in front of them. They did look really good against the Redskins, and they finally found a ground game. If they can stick with that, they could go places. (-1): The Bears bearly managed to squeak out a win against the Vikings. A win over a division rival, however, is still a win over a division rival. And 2-0 is still 2-0. (-): Nawlins is also 2-0 after a hard fought win on the road against the Bucs. They didn't look all that hot doing it, but the South's battles are always hard-fought affairs. (+1): Atlanta picked up a win against St. Louis, but the amount of injuries they suffered may doom their season. Weatherspoon is a huge loss, and so is Kroy Bierman. (+1): The Ravens pulled out a win against Cleveland. Baltimore still looks a bit on the shaky side. :Patriots: (-4): Tom Brady needs some people to catch the damn ball. Sheesh. (-): Houston needed yet another furious comeback to take down the Titans. Is it just getting lucky, or is it a veteran team playing tough when they need it the most? (+1): Cincy pulled out a win against the Steelers, though they didn't look that hot doing it. Still, taking down the Steelers is a good indication for this ballclub. (-1): A last second loss to the Chargers not withstanding, I am still very high on this ballclub. The defense however, definitely needs some work. (+5): 2-0 is 2-0, and taking care of the Colts on the road is pretty impressive. The Fins might actually challenge the Patriots, as ridiculous as that sounds. But New England looks vulnerable, and the Fins look hot. (+6): Coming over to the East Coast after a heart-breaking loss and playing a tough Eagles ballclub all the way down to the wire- this isn't last year's Chargers. Rivers looks like his old self. (+7): Alex Smith is doing what he needs to do in order to get KC wins. That defense can carry this team so long as Alex doesn't throw the game away. (-3): A loss to KC in Arrowhead isn't that big of a surprise. The Cowboys still look fine, they just need to get the wheels turning on the offensive side of things. (-): St. Louis played the Falcons tough, but not tough enough. However, things are still looking up for this ballclub. (+5): Arizona is a lot like Kansas City. They have a great defense and a QB that is able to not throw the game away. They'll be a tough out for a lot of teams. (-5): Detroit falling to Arizona is not the end of the world. They still look a lot better than the 2012 version of this team. Still, they need to be able to close out games. (-4): Indy losing at home to the Fins is not a good sign, but the Fins are a good ballclub. Indy needs to get it together as they have a tough trip to San Fran up next. (-6): 10 turnovers over the first two games simply will not do in the NFL. That absolutely must be cut down for the Giants to turn this season around. (+2): Tennessee may have lost to Houston, but I'm convinced that this defense is legit. If Locker can improve, the Titans could have a good season. (+2): EJ Manuel didn't actually look all that good, but he did take what the defense gave him during a couple drives, managed to shake off his mistakes and lead his team on a winning drive. (-5): Washington looks very shaky on both offense and defense. The idea that RG3 has been let back too early appears to be taking hold, and it could very well be true, but until they fix that defense, it won't really matter who is at QB. (-4): Carolina cannot close out games. End of story. #FireRivera (-): Pittsburgh still looks very very shaky. I'm not entirely sure this team has what it takes to turn it around. (+2): New York's defense looks good. Their QB situation still looks awful. (-): Oakland took out the Jaguars. Pryor might actually be a QB that can take this team to something like 7-9. There is still a large lack of talent on both sides of the team, however. (-2): Adrian Peterson is this football club. If Ponder doesn't step up, they aren't going anywhere. (-): The Bucs defense played the Saints close, but Freeman and the offense has been terrible the last couple of weeks. (-): Cleveland is still not the worst team in the league, but they are close. It will be interesting to see if Josh Gordon coming back to this team helps them out at all. (-): The Jaguars... still looked absolutely lost. Henne is not the answer. Maybe Bridgewater is? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Glanvilles Grits 142 Posted September 18, 2013 I like these rankings for the most part. I think the Bears, while not completely dominant, are one of the teams to beat in the NFC. Also, on the Falcons, although they lost Jackson for 2-4 weeks (Could be less) I don't think that's even a big deal. Our offense has actually ran smoother with Rodgers and Snelling in the backfield than it has with Jackson back there. It's weird, but it really has. Also, I think the real impact for the team were the losses of Weatherspoon (8 weeks) and Kroy Biermann (Season ending). Two of our stand out defensive players. Not a good look for the Falcons at this point. The injury bug is hitting hard. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Turry 755 Posted September 18, 2013 What's even less impressive than a two point win? A one point win. Da Bears are staying afloat, but they need to figure out how to put teams away. Can't really put teams away when your playing comeback Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NaTaS+ 958 Posted September 18, 2013 Tank for Teddy...yeah already talking draft. Browns have the talent to be better than 31. It feels like this coaching staff is calling the same shit that Pat Shurmur did. Sending TRich out for 15 carries isn't going to get it done. This was after they promised they would use him heavily. I think they have ulterior motives. They know they need a QB and they will build this team through the draft. Problem is most of the bottom feeders of the NFL need QBs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NaTaS+ 958 Posted September 18, 2013 How the hell are you folks ranking the Ravens so highly? They got crushed by Denver and barely squeezed out a win against a team that has no offense. 3 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thanatos 2,847 Posted September 18, 2013 Who you gonna put ahead of them that I have below them? The Patriots? Please. The Texans? lol. The Bengals? Need to show me more. Iggles? Defensive problems. Cleveland/Baltimore was a division team. I don't generally put as much stock when teams don't look so hot against division opponents in a couple divisions as historically they always are tough games. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Favre4Ever+ 4,476 Posted September 18, 2013 I know it's early, but ya.. Ravens and Pats are some fail. Chiefs, Dolphins, Bengals all need to be moved up. Bengals should have beaten Chicago.. Granted, "should have" doesn't get you in the win column, but Chicago was fortunate to get out of there unscathed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dutch 874 Posted September 18, 2013 (edited) Who you gonna put ahead of them that I have below them? The Patriots? Please. The Texans? lol. The Bengals? Need to show me more. Iggles? Defensive problems. Cleveland/Baltimore was a division team. I don't generally put as much stock when teams don't look so hot against division opponents in a couple divisions as historically they always are tough games. You're disregarding the Texans as if they aren't a viable option in this situation. The Titans so far are playing slightly tougher (even though they beat a Steelers team on the decline) and the Chargers seem to be clicking on offense. The Ravens got blown out and barely beat one of the worst teams in the league. The Texans may have been down in their games but they demonstrated resiliency and found a way to win their football games. You can't discredit them for that. The Ravens have looked nothing short of horrendous. The Broncos are hot right now but that does not excuse allowing 7 passing TDs and not to mention they struggled and barely beat the Browns. Texans have the nod in this one. Edit: And the Bengals showed more in their loss against the Bears than the Ravens did in their spanking against Broncos and barely surviving against the Browns. Edited September 18, 2013 by dutchff7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theMileHighGuy 656 Posted September 18, 2013 I don't think you can call the last two superbowl champions "not exactly contenders", but yes they aren't the teams they were at those times. Still, the Broncos have the best offense in the league to this point, though losing Clady may hurt a lot. They also have a top-10 defense, as well as the best run defense through the first two weeks allowing only 40yds/game. I also feel we have one of the best special teams units in the game, with a great kicker and punter in Prater and Colquitt, as well as the league's most dangerous return man in Trindon Holliday - he's tiny but you can't overlook him. Otherwise I agree with both of the rankings posted for the most part. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jayrus 51 Posted September 18, 2013 (edited) I don't think you can call the last two superbowl champions "not exactly contenders", but yes they aren't the teams they were at those times. Still, the Broncos have the best offense in the league to this point, though losing Clady may hurt a lot. They also have a top-10 defense, as well as the best run defense through the first two weeks allowing only 40yds/game. I also feel we have one of the best special teams units in the game, with a great kicker and punter in Prater and Colquitt, as well as the league's most dangerous return man in Trindon Holliday - he's tiny but you can't overlook him. Otherwise I agree with both of the rankings posted for the most part. Neither the Ravens or Giants are anywhere near the level of their superbowl winning counterparts. The Ravens are struggling to pull together their new young talent and the Giants are just straight up garbage. As for your run defense, I'll give you stopping Ray Rice, but it doesn't take a good run defense to stop the Giants run game. David Wilson pretty much stops himself every week. However, I won't deny the strength of your offense. As I wrote in my rankings I fought with myself for days on who to put at #1 and flip-flopped many times. In the end I simply felt blowing out the team most people considered the best team in football was more impressive than blowing out two obviously struggling teams. Recent superbowl winners or not. Seattle and Denver are more or less tied for first in my mind right now. Edited September 18, 2013 by Jayrus Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thanatos 2,847 Posted September 18, 2013 (edited) The Texans nearly lost to the Chargers and the Titans. Why do the Bears get called lucky for winning two tight games, when the Texans won two tight games- with some nice help from the refs, I might add, the 4-point swing I'm sure Kemp can tell you about and then OPI all day long that was never called against Tennessee- and they don't have the same knock against them? They are like two plays from being 0-2. Maybe its not for certain that the Ravens should be ahead of them, but I'm just not all that high on Houston. #10 still looks too high to me, actually. The Ravens got destroyed by the Broncos, (the best team in the league, IMO), in Denver's house, and then won a hard-fought game against a division rival. Chicago wasn't lucky to get out of there with a win. Cutler actually looked like a QB and marched down the field to get the win. They may be too high, but are they just lucky? No. The Fins have beaten the Browns and then the Colts. Not too impressive. They will be taking a jump if they can take out Atlanta or keep the game close at least. I want to see what they do against a great ballclub before I move them up. (Granted, Atlanta is hurting, but it will still be a good test for Miami. I said they can challenge NE for the East, so its not like I'm down on them.) Power rankings this early in the season are obviously going to be seriously in flux. Post up your own rankings so we can get a good average among people in TGP, that's better than any individual ranking. Obviously I didn't watch every single game on Sunday, so yeah, I'm probably too high on some teams and too low on others. The more rankings, the better, because then more games will be taken into account. Edited September 18, 2013 by Thanatos19 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Omerta+ 1,206 Posted September 22, 2013 I don't think you can call the last two superbowl champions "not exactly contenders", but yes they aren't the teams they were at those times. Still, the Broncos have the best offense in the league to this point, though losing Clady may hurt a lot. They also have a top-10 defense, as well as the best run defense through the first two weeks allowing only 40yds/game. I also feel we have one of the best special teams units in the game, with a great kicker and punter in Prater and Colquitt, as well as the league's most dangerous return man in Trindon Holliday - he's tiny but you can't overlook him. Otherwise I agree with both of the rankings posted for the most part. Baltimore cant claim much right now, but the best return man in the league plays for the Ravens. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thanatos 2,847 Posted September 22, 2013 I'm just gonna bump this after the Ravens just manhandled Houston. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dutch 874 Posted September 24, 2013 I stand corrected. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
