Post Week Five Power Rankings

[|High School Harry|]

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/shutdown-corner-nfl-power-rankings--are-the-patriots-back--000858721.html

 

32. Oakland Raiders (0-4, Last Week: 32)
It's hilarious to hear Jon Gruden, Mike Holmgren, Jim Harbaugh, et al. being tossed out for the Raiders job. They have the oldest roster in football, have had a few horrendous drafts (not the 2014 one, though) that will hamstring the franchise for a while, and last offseason they could not land one impact free agent despite a record amount of cap room. Why are all these reports trolling Raiders fans, getting their hopes up? No accomplished coach with any other options is taking this job. (But hey, they will offer a lot of money! No NFL team has ever thought of doing that before!)

31. Jacksonville Jaguars (0-5, LW: 31)
I was way off on Toby Gerhart. I thought he'd be good with a full-time role. And the offensive line doesn't help at all. But 2.6 yards per carry is a big disappointment.

 

 

30. Tennessee Titans (1-4, LW: 29)
To blow a 28-3 lead at home to a Browns team I don't think anyone thinks is all that great is about as bad as it gets.

 

29. Washington Redskins (1-4, LW: 30)
It's probably an insult to pat them on the back for losing by only 10 points at home, so I won't do it.

28. St. Louis Rams (1-3, LW: 27)
The Sam Bradford excuse obscures the fact that this team is much worse than it was last year, when it was supposed to be on the rise. And Austin Davis hasn't been all that bad. The Bradford injury has spared the coaching staff a lot of legitimate criticism.

27. New York Jets (1-4, LW: 26)
One reason Rex Ryan was so quick to say Geno Smith will start next week is it's pretty clear Michael Vick isn't that good anymore.

26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-4, LW: 28)
No shame in losing at New Orleans in overtime, and (hopefully) we can all agree now this is a different team now that they've stumbled into the right quarterback.

25. Atlanta Falcons (2-3, LW: 20)
The Falcons have lost nine straight outdoor games. That has to be a mental block, right?

24. Minnesota Vikings (2-3, LW: 22)
With any luck, Minnesota won't have to start Christian Ponder again.

23. Houston Texans (3-2, LW: 21)
I don't know if Arian Foster keeps this up all season but he looks really strong. The bad thing is he's all the Houston offense has.

22. Cleveland Browns (2-2, LW: 25)
Imagine if the NFL had done the right thing and not given Josh Gordon that 10-game suspension, if he would have gotten the same fair treatment Wes Welker did. Imagine putting an elite playmaker like that on this team, which is playing pretty well without him.

21. Miami Dolphins (2-2, LW: 18)
The Packers come to Miami this week. That will be a good measure of if the Dolphins plan to be a playoff contender.

20. New York Giants (3-2, LW: 23)
The loss of Rashad Jennings (sprained MCL, out a few weeks) will affect the offense. Andre Williams is a limited backup, and a rookie. Putting more on Eli Manning's shoulders doesn't always work out well.

19. Pittsburgh Stealers (3-2, LW: 19)
Were you impressed that they were in a 10-9 fight at Jacksonville before a pick six put it away? I wasn't.

18. New Orleans Saints (2-3, LW: 17)
Kudos to them for the comeback win. But the entire four quarters plus overtime just reinforced that this Saints team is not on the same level as the rest of the Dre Brees-Sean Payton teams.

17. Chicago Bears (2-3, LW: 12)
The last two second halves, the Bears have scored three points. With those offensive players, I can't begin to figure that out.

16. Buffalo Bills (3-2, LW: 24) 
Kyle Orton played well, and he'll have a few games like that. Next week's home game against New England is pretty big for a Week 6 tilt.

15. Kansas City Chiefs (2-3, LW: 14)
Rookie De"Anthony Thomas made his NFL debut after recovering from a hamstring injury, and had a nice punt return and a 17-yard touchdown run. He can add a nice spark to the offense.

14. Detroit Lions (3-2, LW: 9)
The decision to play an injured Calvin Johnson just to use him as a decoy (and not giving him time off to heal) is absolutely baffling.

13. Carolina Panthers (3-2, LW: 16)
That was a really gutsy win on Sunday. There are a few issues still, but they overcome a lot of it with toughness. And a great quarterback.

12. Baltimore Ravens (3-2, LW: 11)
it seems like their offensive production will be tied incredibly closely to Steve Smith's production. We'll see how that goes.

11. New England Patriots (3-2, LW: 15) 
Two important things need to be mentioned, in addition to the Tom Brady love: Rob Gronkowski looked like himself on Sunday night, and the Patriots are a different team when they can run the ball like that.

10. San Francisco 49ers (3-2, LW: 13) 
That's how the 49ers need to play, with Frank Gore and Carlos Hyde combining for 28 carries.

9. Dallas Cowboys (4-1, LW: 10)
Given the degree of difficulty and the game situation, Dez Bryant's overtime catch might end up being the NFL's catch of the year.

 

 

8. Green Bay Packers (3-2, LW: 8)
In five days, the Packers beat the Bears and Vikings and totally changed the outlook of their season. Who else in the NFC North would you trust?

7. Arizona Cardinals (3-1, LW: 4) 
You can lose only so many players and still function. End Calais Campbell will miss some time with a knee injury. Quarterback Drew Stanton has a concussion. Cornerback Patrick Peterson has an ankle injury to deal with. Outside linebacker Matt Shaughnessy will miss eight weeks with a knee injury. At some point it's just too much.

6. Indianapolis Colts (3-2, LW: 7)
Bjoern Werner had a career-best two-sack game against Baltimore. The former first-round pick might be blossoming into the one-on-one pass rusher the Colts really need.

5. Philadelphia Eagles (4-1, LW: 5)
The Eagles tied for the NFL lead with 6.3 yards per play last season. This season they're tied for 17th at 5.4 yards per play. They miss DeSean Jackson stretching the field.

4. San Diego Chargers (4-1, LW: 6) 
The Chargers, 23rd in the NFL in total defense last year, are third this year. The Chargers-Broncos games this year will be really good.

3. Cincinnati Bengals (3-1, LW: 3)
I'm not worried too much about them. They played a team that was sky high, angry and as motivated as any team could be in Week 5. It happens.

2. Denver Broncos (3-1, LW: 2)
I don't believe Julius Thomas meant to injure Calais Campbell on that low block. But more needs to be done to rid the game of those types of blocks. Defensive players' safety matters too.

1. Seattle Seahawks (3-1, LW: 1)
Russell Wilson is a magician. 

[saphead]

3?   I'm shocked they didn't toss us out of the top 20 like Ohio State woul've been.

[|High School Harry|]

3?   I'm shocked they didn't toss us out of the top 20 like Ohio State woul've been.

 

I agree but think the far more telling statement for/about the Bengals was what was said about the Patriots ... who I am surprised are only 11 but the Bengals in prime time may have been their Super Bowl this year.

 

"11. New England Patriots (3-2, LW: 15)

Two important things need to be mentioned, in addition to the Tom Brady love: Rob Gronkowski looked like himself on Sunday night, and the Patriots are a different team when they can run the ball like that."

 

*"Gronkowski looked like himself" means that, as often the case, tight ends kill us and we simply cannot shut down a good, strong pass catching tight end in crossing patterns in the middle of the field... our less than mediocre linebackers (minus Burficit) simply can't get it done.

 

* "The Patriots are a different team when they can run the ball" ... New England was brilliantly coached with a rag tag bunch of offensive linemen to stymie our fantastic and deep defensive linemen allowing the running back to get to the next level, our woeful linebackers and then it was off to the races for big chunks of yardage.  I have mentioned several times that our tackling was terrible even when in position.  I would say they would have had at least a third less rushing yardage if the first guy to get to a NE running back had put him on his ass or at least slowed him down/tied him up for the pursuit to catch up.

 

But I took this assessment of the Patriots to be more a condemnation of the Bengals... bet the ranch and livestock we see lots more of it this season... tie up the D line and the field is yours (except for Burficit).

[scharm]

3?   I'm shocked they didn't toss us out of the top 20 like Ohio State woul've been.

 

Somewhere in Southern Cal a Charger fan is bitching about media bias and how they favor big name Qbs like Dalton.

[Rumble In the Jungle]

Right now I think the Chargers are better than us.

[FulcherVulcher33]

Right now I think the Chargers are better than us.

I concur

[|schotzee|]

 
Somewhere in Southern Cal a Charger fan is bitching about media bias and how they favor big name Qbs like Dalton.

Lmao

[Bleeds Orange]

I am shocked that at least one power pollster is continuing to give the Bengals respect.  I expected them to drop down to around 8-10 and the Patriots to jump over them into the top ten.  We still will probably see that from some.

[Arkansas Bengal]

Pro Football Talk:

 

6. Cincinnati Bengals (No. 2; 3-1):  It appears the Bengals already are in postseason form.

 

 

 

 

NFL.com

 

RANK

4

3-1 BENGALS

 

That was brutal. We think the Bengals are as talented as any team in the league -- and more talented than New England. Hmmm. Marvin Lewis' teams always show up in the big games ... said no one ever. #itwasoverbeforekickoffSundaynight

 

 

 

 

 

Fox Sports:

 

 

8

Cincinnati Bengals (3-1) HIGH: 2 / LOW: 18

The NFL’s last undefeated team, coming off of a bye, ran into a buzz saw. The Bengals linebackers were exposed in coverage without Vontaze Burfict, and the group allowed 11 catches for 154 yards and two touchdowns. Jermaine Gresham’s easy drop on a wide-open touchdown didn’t help Andy Dalton, who doesn’t seem to have any pass-catching weapons outside of A.J. Green and Mohamed Sanu.

 

 

 

 

CBS Sports - Prisco:

 

4 That was a tough situation they ran into in New England. But they sure didn't help it much with all the mistakes.

 

 

 

 

CBS Sports - Kerwan:

 

9. Bengals (2): Every time there's a big test against a playoff caliber team the Bengals are shaky at best. Andy Dalton finished with two touchdown passes against the Patriots last week but he was 6 for 11 with 63 yards and no touchdowns in the first half. Next up is a tough Carolina team.

 

 

 

 

ESPN:

5

Bengals
3-1

3
Last Week: 2 Yikes. Among the many issues Sunday night was converting on third down. Cincinnati was 0-for-7, the second time since 2001 the Bengals didn't convert a single third-down pla

[|Harley|]

I think 4 is about right behind Seattle, Denver and SD.

[|schotzee|]

Hey dick Florio. What form are your Stealers in?

[whodey?]

Hey dick Florio. What form are your Stealers in?

Same old stealers. Didn't do shit last year won't do shit this year.

[Dautcom08]

CBS Sports - Kerwan:

 

9. Bengals (2): Every time there's a big test against a playoff caliber team the Bengals are shaky at best. Andy Dalton finished with two touchdown passes against the Patriots last week but he was 6 for 11 with 63 yards and no touchdowns in the first half. Next up is a tough Carolina team.

 

 

So they've moved on to breaking his games into halves to try and skew the story on how he played.  That's neat.