NFL Power Groupings, Week Two: Making Sense of a Topsy-Turvy League

It seems as if pundits had just about everything figured out after week one.

• Jay Cutler is a bust.
• No one can stop Adrian Peterson.
• Cincinnati can't buy a win.
• Kurt Warner is finished.
  

Little did anyone suspect that, over the course of an NFL season, things change. Boy oh boy, did things change from week one to week two.

Jay Cutler and Chicago looked good through the air against Pittsburgh as the Steelers couldn't stop Johnny Knox. Adrian Peterson was held under 100 yards by the Detroit Lions. Cincinnati defeated near-consensus Super Bowl pick Green Bay, thanks to Cedric Benson. Kurt Warner passed for an NFL record 92 percent, crushing the Jaguars.

In addition, the Patriots lost to the Jets in Giants Stadium for the first time since 2000. Shaun Hill and Kyle Orton are 2-0. Tennessee is 0-2. Joe Flacco is leading an explosive Baltimore offense. Tom Brady is statistically comparable to Byron Leftwich.

Are we watching the bizzaro-NFL?

Meanwhile, a few things stayed true to the script: The Detroit Lions are racing after the record for consecutive losses, the Dallas Cowboys can't win a big game, this is Drew Brees's league, and the rest of us are just witnesses.

Kudos to Angel Navedo for starting this NFL Power Rankings off right with a great article after week one. He's provided a great blue print which will serve the rest of us Featured Columnists well for the rest of the season.

I'm going to keep his blueprint but expand and tweak it just a little bit, as week two leaves us with a bit more demarcation between squads.

As a Detroit Lions Feature Columnist, I will honor my team's No. 1 selection and name these tiers after famous first-round quarterbacks.

The Akili Smith Division

St. Louis, Kansas City, Detroit, Carolina, Jacksonville

The Cincinnati Bengals made a huge mistake in drafting Akili Smith. The Saints offered them nine draft picks to move up in that draft.

These teams have all made horrendous mistakes to get to this point as well—first round busts, squandered talent, numerous organizational changes. Mistakes happen, but these teams have majored in error to be this bad. 

For Carolina and Jacksonville, the problems revolve around sticking with mediocre quarterbacks for far too long. Jacksonville has already publicly stated they would draft Tim Tebow if he was available. Carolina might be better off with Matt Moore than Jake Delhomme—a veteran who is playing only slightly better than rookie Matthew Stafford.

For the other three, years of mismanagement have gotten them to where they are today. All three stripped down to bare bones this offseason. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither is an NFL franchise.

Of the three, Detroit has played the stiffest competition and led Minnesota at half. Kansas City has looked impotent offensively, while St. Louis has looked bereft of any certifiable talent.

The Tim Couch Division

Tampa Bay, Cleveland, Tennessee, Washington, Oakland

Tim Couch was the first overall pick in 1999. Tim Couch was a huge bust, but Tim Couch was not a bad quarterback. Rather, Tim Couch was consistently average. Had Couch been an undrafted free agent, he might still be in the league. Much like Tim, these teams aren't horrible, just horribly mediocre.

Tampa Bay and Cleveland have met low expectations and run into good teams these first two weeks. Neither had any clear cut winner in their respective QB races, neither has very impressive personnel in the offensive skill positions.

Tennessee misses Albert Haynesworth more than anyone would have guessed, giving up 47 points in two games—it took five games in 2008.

Washington and Oakland look like Couch could help their squads, being completely horrendous so far offensively—lacking a true identity. Both teams have top-level running backs yet rank in the bottom half in rushing yards this season.

The Drew Bledsoe Division

Miami, Cincinnati, Buffalo, Houston, Seattle

Drew Bledsoe was a great quarterback, some of the time. The two-time all-pro managed to pair each great season in his career with a equally poor one. Bledsoe had boatloads of talent and one titanic Achilles' heel—his mobility was exceptionally nonexistent. Teams who were able to pressure Bledsoe usually got to him. Each of these teams have bright sides but lack the complete package.

Miami has managed to be scheduled some awfully tough early competition. Atlanta and Indianapolis are two amazing teams who can beat just about anyone. At this stage of the game, they're not sneaking up on anyone and they're not talented enough to beat the elite—even with the Wildcat.

Cincinnati and Buffalo each have playmakers but lack the foundation which bring teams to the next level. Cincy is hampered by a vanilla offense and Palmer's untimely interceptions. Buffalo's Achilles' heel is their archaic Tampa Two defense, which they're running without talented personnel.

Houston had offensive mastery in week two but struggled in week one. The only sure thing is that their defense is not as good as it should be.

Seattle? Meh. With a healthy Hasselbeck and Jones, they will beat every team they should. They won't surprise anyone, and they can't handle injuries.

The Trent Dilfer Division

Chicago, Dallas, Green Bay, Denver, San Francisco

Trent Dilfer wasn't a great QB. Some (most) will argue that Bledsoe was a much better QB. The difference is, Dilfer went to the Super Bowl with a great defense and a blah offense. Bledsoe had a great team around around him, but it took Tom Brady to lead them to the promised land.

Similarly, these teams have the capability of getting to the Super Bowl, but things would need to go right for some QBs with question marks.

Chicago was "dead in the water" following a week one debacle. Now? They look as if Cutler is the savior after he was able to succeed through the air against a very good Pittsburgh defense. If Bennett or Knox steps up, they could be a playoff team very easily.

Dallas looked great against Tampa Bay, but the second the spotlight shone on Sunday night, Tony Romo shrunk like a violet. If he finds himself this season, they could be an unstoppable team.

Green Bay was everyone's pick to be second in the NFC North. Then, after a great preseason, everyone thought they could get to the Super Bowl. The 3-4 is no longer being installed in Green Bay, it's there. If Aaron Rodgers can get over his Romo-itis, they could still meet those expectations.

As for Denver and San Francisco? They shouldn't be 2-0. After beating the odds weeks one and two, no one should bet against them. Good overall teams with caretaker QBs either succeed or crash and burn. For these squads, it's too early to tell. Don't start betting against them yet.

The Daunte Culpepper Division

Baltimore, Atlanta, NY Jets, San Diego

Daunte Culpepper was a young stud. Drafted in 1999, his best year was with the Minnesota Vikings in 2000. He was no caretaker. Culpepper took control of that squad and got the most out of them. Yet, on that Vikings team, Culpepper was great, but Moss was the star. Each of these squads has playoff aspirations along with great young QBs playing second fiddle.

Baltimore was supposed to be this defensive ace team but it's been the offense carrying them. Flacco has looked superb so far this season, but this is still Ray Lewis' team.

Matt Ryan was the poster boy for first year QBs playing well in his rookie year and winning games for the Falcons. Yet, this year, much like last, Matt Ryan isn't the most important person to this team. Michael Turner paces this squad up and down the field, and the addition of Tony Gonzalez has been a huge positive.

New York is playing inspired football with Sanchez but most of it has been on defense. Darrelle Revis might be the best corner in the league, shutting down Andre Johnson and Randy Moss in consecutive weeks. 

San Diego is quickly becoming Phillip Rivers' team but as of now, he still defers to LaDainian Tomlinson—whom the Chargers need to come back quickly. With a healthy Tomlinson and a healthy Merriman, this team can make the Super Bowl.

The Dan Marino Division

Indianapolis, Philadelphia, Arizona, New England, Minnesota

Dan Marino is one of the best quarterbacks ever to play the game. Yet, he never won the big one. Marino wasn't able to put up huge postseason performances. In his 18 postseason games, Marino threw two or more INTs in 10 of them, at least one in 13 of them. His postseason rating was nine points lower than his career regular season rating. These teams are all built to get to the playoffs, but won't get much farther.

Indianapolis, much like last year, is starting slowly, posting close wins against Jacksonville and Miami. Peyton Manning and the offense will hit midseason and pick up the scoring, but that defense looked porous against Miami, and it will only get worse.

Philadelphia is built around speed on offense and defense. Their problems are injuries and depth. This offensive line needs to deal with a lot of adversity already in week three. Philadelphia has a tough row to hoe. Getting to the playoffs in the NFC East is not a cakewalk.

Arizona was dead, I repeat, dead, after week one. Just ask every talking head on any network. Then Kurt Warner went all Kurt Warner on the Jaguars passing for 243 yards. Does Fitzgerald get the Madden Curse next? Until all is right in the desert, the Cardinals need to sit right here on the edge of the top.

New England is also 1-1 but could just as easily be 2-0 or 0-2. Tom Brady isn't right. That is very obvious. However, when his does get right, and that young defense begins to gel. They are still very dangerous. Things always seem to come together at the right time for the team from Foxboro.

Minnesota, who have they played? Cleveland and Detroit both played Minnesota close and that should worry Vikings fans (and it does). While I expect Favre and company to gel, I also can't expect a team with durability issues and no quality wins to win the Super Bowl. Much like the Cardinals, they are right on the edge.

The Terry Bradshaw Division

NY Giants, Pittsburgh, New Orleans

No first round QB has ever been more ready for the playoffs than Terry Bradshaw. Every single statistic of Bradshaw's gets better when you move to the postseason. The current NFL analyst may put his foot in his mouth every Sunday on FOX, but for about 10 years, no one wanted to face him when it counted the most.

Bradshaw was a four-time Super Bowl winner and two-time Super Bowl MVP. These last three teams are built for the ultimate success this season.

The Giants have it all. Currently 2-0, their defense should be struggling. Chris Canty was the big offseason acquisition, and he's been out. Meanwhile, they're playing undrafted free agents in the defensive backfield. With Mario Manningham and Steve Smith stepping up, the Giants could hit stride and run through the NFL.

Speaking of banged up, the loss of Troy Polamalu was bigger than Steelers fans wanted to admit. Yet, losing to Chicago in a trap game isn't the worst fate in the world. The Steelers have winnable games at Cincinnati and Detroit and host San Diego. Polamalu should be back soon after.

New Orleans is not banged up. New Orleans is not playing slow. New Orleans is on pace for near historical offense. Critics can point to a game against Detroit not meaning much. But the Saints matched that with an equally impressive performance against the Eagles. New Orleans' defense is much improved. They're playing better than anyone right now and are the class of the NFL in week two.

Postscript

Thanks for stopping by Bleacher Report's second Power Groupings. As this gets passed from week to week, things will be shaken up as the NFL gets sorted out and as different writers give their different views and methods of ranking.

Thanks again to Angel Navedo for setting the bar week one and Aron Glatzer for handing this off to me for week two.

Michael Schottey is a Detroit Lions Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and the producer and host of The Average Joe Sports Show on 860AM KNUJ (New Ulm, MN). He is also an NFL Analyst and Senior Writer for DraftTek.com.