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The Ultimate Source for your Ph.D. in Pigskin |
Week Thirteen Power Rankings One of the games I told you to keep an eye on last week, in regards to movement in the rankings, was Cowboys-Colts. As hard as Dallas tried to give it away, their win did shuffle the rankings. Indianapolis dropped a couple, but the Cowboys rose four. Even though the Colts haven't been playing as well as we're all used to, they're still a tough team to beat in that dome with Peyton Manning calling the signals. The one I didn't see coming was Chargers-Raiders. All I can say on that one is, wow! Like most, I thought the Chargers were back, were going to run the table, save Norv Turner's job (again), and play New England or Pittsburgh for the AFC championship. Instead, they were crushed by, and don't take this personally Raiders' fans, a team that had no business even hanging with them at this time of year. There's no doubt in my mind that A.J. Smith's personal agenda (Marcus McNeill, Vincent Jackson, and LaDainian Tomlinson) is starting to hinder this team. The only person who has done more to destroy his own franchise is Josh McDaniels, and we all know what happened to him this week. Lookout A.J., if I ran the Chargers, I'd tell you to freshen up that resume.
This week, I think at least
two of these games will have a huge impact on the rankings:
Cleveland-Buffalo, Miami-New York Jets, New England-Chicago,
Philadelphia-Dallas, and/or Baltimore-Houston.
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| 1 |
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New England |
10-2 |
That was by far, without a doubt, the most impressive beat down of the year. The Pats let the Jets know from the first minute that there was no way they were leaving Gillette with a W. |
| 2 |
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Pittsburgh | 9-3 | I thought about moving the Saints above the Steelers, because if you watched the game, you know that the Steelers should have lost to the Ravens. But, that's the way that series goes. |
| 3 |
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New Orleans | 9-3 | I really, really like the Saints right now. They look an awful lot like last year's team, and they're getting better. I also like that they control their own destiny in the NFC North. |
| 4 |
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Atlanta | 10-2 | All that being said, the Falcons can make a true believer out of me in week 16 by beating New Orleans in Atlanta. |
| 5 |
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New York Jets | 9-3 | When your coach has been talking Super Bowl since the day he arrived, and you get crushed by a division rival, essentially losing the division, how do you respond to that? |
| 6 |
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Baltimore | 8-4 | The Ravens should be upset at themselves, not the league, the officials, or whoever. They had that game wrapped-up and simply let it get away. |
| 7 |
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Philadelphia | 8-4 | After watching the Texans batter and bruise Mike Vick, and Houston is not a great pass rushing team, it makes me wonder how long the Eagles quarterback can hold up. |
| 8 |
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New York Giants | 8-4 | Sportspickle tweeted this weekend that their new Manning rankings are: 1) Eli, 2) Peyton. Haha, LOL, LMAO, however you wanna put it. It's true, but the Giants need to run the ball. |
| 9 |
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Green Bay | 8-4 | I'd love for the NFC North to come down to the January 2nd showdown with the Bears in Lambeau, but the Pack have the Pats and Giants before then. |
| 10 |
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Chicago | 9-3 | But, they don't have it anywhere near as tough as the Bears, who play the Pats, at Minnesota, and the Jets until then. Yikes, they might be on a three game losing streak by then. |
| 11 |
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San Diego | 6-6 | As you can see by the ranking, I still think they're the best in the AFC West, but the Chargers are now on notice. They have absolutely no wiggle room from here on out. |
| 12 |
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Kansas City | 8-4 | I didn't think I would say this for at least at least two more years, but the Chiefs can pretty much wrap up the division with a win over the Chargers this weekend. |
| 13 |
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Jacksonville | 7-5 | Here's another surprise. The Jags are the highest rated AFC South team. I'm not sure I really believe they're the best, but they've earned the ranking for now. |
| 14 |
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Indianapolis | 6-6 | I just can't explain my confusion with the Colts being ranked this low. I thought they'd be in the top 10 of the rankings until 18 retired. |
| 15 |
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Tampa Bay | 7-5 | With that loss, I think the Bucs lost out on the playoffs. They might be disappointed, but they need to realize what a huge year this was for them. Josh Freeman is going to be great. |
| 16 |
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Houston | 5-7 | The Texans played well enough to win against a really good team, but blew it at the end. I think I'm just going to copy-and-paste that every week for the rest of the season. |
| 17 |
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Cleveland | 5-7 | The Browns are so good right now, they're winning in spite of Jake Delhomme playing quarterback. And no, in no way, shape, or form was that statement to be taken as a joke. |
| 18 |
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Oakland | 6-6 | Just when I'm ready to give up on the Raiders, they dominate one of the hottest teams in the NFL. Not only has Tom Cable saved his job, but Oakland will be a trendy playoff pick next year. |
| 19 |
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Dallas | 4-8 | Cowboys' fans have to be cursing Jerry Jones for not pulling the plug on Wade Phillips earlier. Since his demise, they're 3-1 with wins over the Giants and Colts, with a close loss to the Saints. |
| 20 |
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Minnesota | 5-7 | Now that I think of it, they should be ranked lower. They're five wins are against teams with a combined record of 16-44. They play the Giants this week, so a further drop is probable. |
| 21 |
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Miami | 6-6 | I really thought they offense would be better with Chad Henne back at the helm. I think the absence of Brandon Marshall is really crippling this offense. |
| 22 |
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Tennessee | 5-7 | OK, let me get this straight, you get Kerry Collins back from injury, you're playing the 27th-ranked passing defenses in the NFL, and you can only manage six points? Really??? |
| 23 |
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St. Louis | 6-6 | As bad as the NFC West is, I think the Rams will be at the head of the class for the next few years. I'm not sure that's saying too much. |
| 24 |
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Washington | 5-7 | They've quit. It's an indictment of Shanahan, but he's not going anywhere. I look for the Skins to make some serious personnel changes this offseason and draft a quarterback. |
| 25 |
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San Francisco | 4-8 | Why is Mike Singletary going back to Alex Smith? Troy Smith isn't going to a Pro Bowl anytime soon, but we've seen this movie before, Mike, and it won't get any better. |
| 26 |
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Seattle | 6-6 | They've scored more points than anyone else in the division, and they're best offensive weapon is Marshawn Lynch, a guy who wasn't even used by the Bills. Oye vey! |
| 27 |
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Cincinnati | 2-10 | Face it, it's time for Marvin Lewis to go and a major personnel overhaul. Of course, Bengals' fans are saying that they've been going through a rebuilding process for the last 20 years. |
| 28 |
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Detroit | 2-10 | At times this season, Ndamukong Suh has really hurt his team with stupid, frustration-based penalties. Other than that, he's the best and most dominant defensive rookie I've ever seen. |
| 29 |
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Buffalo | 2-10 | As good as this team has been playing recently (remember, all things are relative), how can they lose a game in which a 4-7 team gave them the ball four times? |
| 30 |
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Denver | 3-9 | People ask me what I have against Josh McDaniels. Nothing, but he's taken a proud, and one of the most successful franchises of the past 25 years, and destroyed it. |
| 31 |
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Arizona | 3-9 | If I'm Ken Whisenhunt, and I'm really happy I'm not, what makes me the most concerned is the lack of pride displayed last week after being embarrassed by the 49ers on Monday night. |
| 32 |
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Carolina | 1-11 | I was recently asked who is the worst starting quarterback in the NFL, and for once, my answer was not Jake Delhomme. Yep, you guessed it, it's anyone who starts for Carolina. |
