Thursday, September 28, 2006

NFL Power Rankings

I could present each team with a bit of commentary, but this is really just an argument-starter to get everyone's juices going for the weekend.

Where am I way off? Where am I way WAY off? Use the Comments section to weigh in. For now, let's go with this focused debate: Who should be No. 1 and why?

1. Chargers
2. Bengals
3. Bears
4. Colts
5. Saints
6. Jaguars
7. Ravens
8. Seahawks
9. Broncos
10. Eagles
11. Vikings
12. Pats
13. Cowboys
14. Falcons
15. Panthers
16. Jets
17. Rams
18. Giants
19. Steelers
20. Dolphins
21. Niners
22. Redskins
23. Cards
24. Packers
25. Bills
26. Titans
27. Browns
28. Chiefs
29. Texans
30. Lions
31. Bucs
32. Raiders

27 comments:

Gary said...

Dan, I like ya, but you might be on crack with these rannkings.

How do you NOT rank Indy first?

And how is Jacksonville ranked ahead of unbeaten teams?

How is Tampa Bay worse than Houston? Are you telling me if Houston and Tampa Bay played 10 times, Tampa wouldn't win 8?

You have the Jets ahead of the Giants, I know they are 1-2, but do you really think the Jets would beat the Giants head-to-head?

You also have the Eagles way up there for beating two putrid teams and losing to the "18th ranked team".

You have the Dolphins ranked (way) ahead of Buffalo when each team only has 1 win, and Buffalo beat Miami and the Dolphins only beat the Titans.

Your ordering seems way out of whack. Way out.

Didn't the 49ers lose to the Cards and don't they only have one win, like the Cards?

I do agree with the Bengals and Bears being 2 and 3 after the Colts, Chargers 4th.

Ok, well, you did say you wanted to start a debate

Roge said...

Let me give you a stat that I think is worthwhile. Phillip Rivers is LAST in passing yards this season. LAST! I know the Chargers D is great, I know LT is one of the best backs in the league (probably the best all-purpose back), but their QB is completely untested. I think we'll see Rivers exposed this week against a tough Baltimore D.

I like the Chargers as well. But number 1, come on Shanoff.

Jingoist said...

Dan, the argument you always pose for College football should ring true here. San Diego in 1st despite a bye week (i.e., inertia)? Yet the Bengals won a big game on the road, improved to 3-0 and still sit behind the Chargers who did nothing to cement that 1st place spot? Or take the Colts- they beat YOUR Jags, arguably the toughtest game in Week 3, and yet they trail the Chargers AND the Bengals AND da' Bears.

C'mon, be consistent in philosophy- you have to do something NOW to make a move (up OR down).

rob (warwick)

Brian in Oxford said...

Gary, if Indy should be first, then why couldn't Jacksonville be even as high as second? Heck, even if Indy had beaten them twice already, Jax could still be the better than everyone else (in theory).

I actually think that the list is pretty close....nobody's more than 5 spots away from where (at least I think) they oughta be.

Am I sucking up? Who knows....but this sports reading series had better be worth the trip, since the Lost premiere is on next week!

Badass Of The Year said...

The Broncos are a few slots too high, I mean it's pretty much Jason Elam's team now.

The Titans, who can't even decide which QB to play in any given game, or quarter for that matter, are a little too high also.

And I think the Bills could be a few slots higher, there defense is at least worth that.

I'm not sold on the chargers as #1, not because of P. Rivvy, but because they haven't really played anyone tough yet. And Rivers is of course gonna be last, because he didn't have to throw vs. Oakland, and they just had a bye week.

I'd take Indy for #1 at this point, especially if you think about the injuries they have going on, when they are full strength they'll definitely be the team to beat. I'd love to see how they'd fare against the Chi D though.

Christian Thoma said...

Am I the only one who looks at the end of the list?

Dan, I think Detroit should be ranked higher than the Texans. Detroit has at least been somewhat competitive (only losing by a FG to Seattle, for example).

The Raiders should be ranked 40th. 33-39 should be the second teams of your 1 through 7 teams.

nep1293 said...

Cincinnati Bengals
Indianapolis Colts
San Diego Chargers
Chicago Bears
Seattle Seahawks
Philadelphia Eagles
Jacksonville Jaguars
Denver Broncos
New Orleans Saints
Atlanta Falcons
Baltimore Ravens
Minnesota Vikings
Dallas Cowboys
New England Patriots
Carolina Panthers
Pittsburgh Steelers
New York Jets
St Louis Rams
New York Giants
Washington Redskins
Arizona Cardinals
Buffalo Bills
San Francisco 49ers
Green Bay Packers
Miami Dolphins
Kansas City Chiefs
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Cleveland Browns
Detroit Lions
Tennessee Titans
Houston Texans
Oakland Raiders

Pete said...

How in the world the 49ers are ranked ahead of the Bills, I will never know.

Trent said...

I'd like to comment but I'm still in shock over ESPN Mobile failing.

Joe Asheville said...

This is a good list that pretty much passes the "Week 4 Neutral Field" test. Reflects positive (SF #21) and negative (WAS #22) surprises.

Although I can't believe there are six teams worse than the Titans. The cellar is pretty ugly this year.

WuzUpG said...

How can you rate New Orleans way up in the Top 5? They beat up on Cleveland and Green Bay. Sure, you can argue that they toasted some bird on Monday Night, but that was an emotional win. The Jags, Hawks, and Broncos are perceivingly better than the Saints.

Sheldiz said...

a) you can't rank the chargers 1st coming off a bye week when we're only three weeks into the season.

b) i refuse to accept the jaguars ranked higher than the ravens. refuse.

c) i gotta put the bucs last.

Traever Guingrich said...

you know indy is number one, you just hate to admit it.

Marcus T said...

The Jets and Giants over the Steelers? To quote Tom Jackson "Are you retarded?"

Cincy does not deserve to be that high, they GOT LUCKY in that Pittsburgh game. With out those two fumbles there is no way they win.

Anonymous said...

There's no way the Chargers are No. 1 right now. They've played what might be the two worst teams in the league.

And there's no way the Bears are better than the Colts. Don't forget that, prior to the Bears' "gutsy" win at Minn, they too had played a couple of craptastic teams.

Jen said...

I'm just thankful the Fudgies are dead last!

Jen said...

OOPS! Meant to say that the Fudgies AREN'T dead last!

Unknown said...

Steelers at 19 is egregious!
That defense would beat half the teams in the league even if they had the Oscoda Area High School offense.

I would put Indy at #1

Shums said...

Colts, Bengals, and Bears have to be one, two and three. After that is debatable. And the Titans would be better if VY were given free rein right away.

The heroin sheik said...

Are you smoking crack? There is clearly no way in hell that the bucs are 31. Give credit where credit is due, they are clearly number 32. Rookie starter, aging defense, no running game, A kicker who gets everything either blocked or goes wide, and a megalomaniac at coach who has some of the most questionable play calling around. Without a doubt they are the worst team in football. Was it really three super bowls ago that we won?

TBender said...

Power Rankings for the NFL?

Don't they have a playoff system?

Steve said...

Power rankings are easy guys, just get everyone together and see how much each team can bench press, whichever team does the most is the most powerful.

ToddTheJackass said...

Dan, I have to disagree with your rankings.

The Raiders should easily be the #33 team, with that HS team that got it's program shut down ranking slightly ahead of them.

-Todd (Boston)

BLUE said...

Ok, you missed a team. "bye" should be ranked ahead of the bucs, raiders, and titans.

Kevin said...

Can we put Ohio State at #32 and drop the Raiders down to 1-AA? And I'd put Cincy at #1.

Mikepcfl said...

Just a quick question after reading some of these posts. Have the Steelers ever lost a game where the other team wasnt "lucky?"

Sean said...

En - the Steelers defense isn't there? They sacked Palmer 6 times and held the "high powered" Cincy offense to 247 TOTAL yards (97 of those yards came on a drive in teh 2nd quarter).

The Steelers offense is what's missing. So, I'm fine with them being in the middle of the pack (even though I'm a fan).

That said, Cincy should not be so high.

Indy and Jax should be at the top. SD, CHI and SEA close behind.

Baltimore hasn't played a tough team yet but I'll give them credit for winning 3 straight.