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The Ultimate Source for your Ph.D. in Pigskin |
Week Fourteen Power Rankings For the first time in a while, one of the games I told you to keep an eye on ended up being the most significant to the rankings. The Dolphins' win over the Jets, especially the way it went down sent both teams significantly in opposite directions. If someone would have told me that the final would be 10-6, I would have put a lot of money that New York would have come out on top. Think about it, that's the kind of game that's right in Rex Ryan's wheelhouse. However, Mark Sanchez was, for lack of a better word, terrible, and the rest of the offense certainly didn't help while gaining only 87 yards on the ground. The result dropped the Jets three spots but the Dolphins gained five. It wasn't pretty, but it was a win the Dolphins needed and did whatever it took to get it.
This week, I think at least
one of these games will have a significant impact on the rankings:
Detroit-Tampa Bay, Green Bay-New England (if Aaron Rodgers can play),
and Kansas City-St. Louis (especially if Matt Cassel doesn't play).
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| 1 |
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New England |
11-2 |
Now I'm having a hard time deciding which was more impressive - the beating of the Jets or the Bears. Either way, they are the best team in football. |
| 2 |
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Pittsburgh | 10-3 | They're still struggling on offense. Sure, the offense had 354 yards, but only accounted for nine points. They need the running game if they're going to go far in the playoffs. |
| 3 |
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New Orleans | 10-3 | They're on a five game winning streak, but it's come against teams that are a combined 29-46. Now, they're at Baltimore and Atlanta for the next two. Yikes! |
| 4 |
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Atlanta | 11-2 | I don't know if I can remember a more bland, unimpressive, and under-the-radar 11-2 team in my life. Of course, that being said, they'll probably end up as NFC champs. |
| 5 |
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Baltimore | 9-4 | Any more games like the Monday-nighter in Houston, and John Harbaugh will age 10 years this season. |
| 6 |
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Philadelphia | 9-4 | I know I've said it before, but I absolutely can't believe how much better Mike Vick is at the quarterback position. Right now, he's the second best player in the league (behind Brady). |
| 7 |
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New York Giants | 9-4 | The Giants will go as far as their running game takes them. The more Jacobs and Bradshaw the better. This team simply can't rely on Eli to win. |
| 8 |
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New York Jets | 9-4 | They've lost the last two, looked terrible doing it, and you could make a strong case that they should have lost to Houston in week 12. |
| 9 |
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San Diego | 7-6 | The destruction of the Chiefs last week reinforced the fact that the Chargers are the best team in the AFC West and will overtake Chiefs by the end of the season. |
| 10 |
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Green Bay | 8-5 | If Aaron Rodgers is out for a game or two, this will be the last time they're in the top ten. Matt Flynn, as we all saw, just can't get it done. |
| 11 |
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Chicago | 9-4 | They are who I thought they were. The Bears have feasted off of bad teams this year, and simply can't keep up with the better ones. |
| 12 |
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Kansas City | 8-5 | I could almost copy and paste the above statement and put it here. When I look at their remaining schedule (Indy, Washington, and Houston), I could see them losing out. |
| 13 |
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Jacksonville | 7-6 | On the theme of "things I never thought I'd say this year" is that if the Colts lose to the Jags this weekend, Jacksonville clinches the division. |
| 14 |
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Indianapolis | 8-5 | The bad news, they're only a game ahead of the Chargers. The good news, they don't have a team with a winning record left on the schedule - St. Louis, Tennessee, and Oakland. |
| 15 |
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Tampa Bay | 8-5 | As impressive as their comeback was, I didn't move them up because it took a botched snap on an extra point and two missed field goals to get it against a bad Redskins team. |
| 16 |
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Miami | 7-6 | That was a gut-check win against the Jets. Even with the offense looking terrible, the defense figured out a way to get it done. |
| 17 |
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Houston | 5-8 | If this team ever figures out a way to close games, they'll be extremely dangerous. Haven't we been saying that about the Texans for a couple of years now, though? |
| 18 |
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Dallas | 4-9 | Regardless of how this year finishes, Jon Kitna has proven that he is still more than a capable backup. From what we've seen so far, there are about 31 other teams that would take him. |
| 19 |
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Cleveland | 5-8 | Just when I say something nice (well, kinda) about Jake Delhomme, he craps the bed with a quarterback rating of 49.2. Fortunately, the Browns get Colt McCoy back this week. |
| 20 |
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Oakland | 6-7 | I was surprised how well the Raiders played in Jacksonville this past week. I don't think people know how difficult it is for a west coast team to go to the east coast and win. They should have. |
| 21 |
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Tennessee | 5-8 | There is no doubt in my mind that Bud Adams is going to keep Vince Young, and he will be the starter next year. There's also no doubt in my mind that the Titans need to draft a QB soon. |
| 22 |
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Minnesota | 5-8 | As if things weren't bad enough in Minnesota, now Tarvaris Jackson is going on IR and Joe Webb will be the starter. Leslie Frazier could not have asked for worse circumstances. |
| 23 |
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San Francisco | 5-8 | I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think the 49ers are going to lose to the Chargers this week, but still win the division at 7-9. |
| 24 |
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St. Louis | 6-7 | I don't think anyone thought they'd go into New Orleans and beat the Saints, but keeping Drew Brees to an 81.4 quarterback rating with two interceptions was a win for the defense. |
| 25 |
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Washington | 5-8 | It was a really bad week to be Graham Gano. The extra point wasn't his fault, but his missed field goals absolutely killed them. |
| 26 |
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Detroit | 3-10 | I don't know if I've ever seen a better 3-10 team in my life. I've certainly never seen a team with that record that fights as hard as the Lions do. |
| 27 |
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Buffalo | 3-10 | I've been asked a lot recently if I think the Bills will go with Ryan Fitzpatrick next year. I'm not sure, but even with his impressive year, I think they'll get a QB-to-groom in this year's draft. |
| 28 |
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Arizona | 4-9 | Regardless of how impressive one team beats another with a brand new coach and some serious internal issues, I'm simply not going to give them too much credit for it. |
| 29 |
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Seattle | 6-7 | For those of you who think that Pete Carroll is in over his head at the pro level, I absolutely disagree with you. He just simply doesn't have the personnel yet. |
| 30 |
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Cincinnati | 2-11 | I hate to say it, but I told you so. The Bengals took advantage of a bad year for the Ravens and Steelers last year, as well as an easy schedule, and simply aren't that good. |
| 31 |
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Denver | 3-10 | Maybe I'll be proven wrong, but if I'm a Broncos' fan, I'm really not happy with the QB situation on this team. Kyle Orton is "just a guy" and your backup is a risk at best. |
| 32 |
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Carolina | 1-12 | I couldn't be happier that John Fox will be let go after this season. He's too good of a guy to have to deal with the long road ahead for this franchise. |
