NFL Week 2 Power Rankings

Brees and the Saints are the team to beat, photo courtesy of http://www.midwestsportsfans.com

1.        New Orleans Saints (1-0)     Last Week Ranking: 1

The Saints took care of the Vikings in a low scoring affair for the season opener Thursday night.  Brees was accurate and played well putting up 237 yards and a TD against a solid Vikings defense. Saints are still the team to beat.

2.        Baltimore Ravens (1-0)     Last Week Ranking: 2

The Ravens played in a defensive slugfest Monday night and backed up what Ray Lewis was preaching, beating the Jets 10-9 on the road. The Ravens proved they are still one of the best, if not the best, defense in the league. Flacco handled the pressure well aside from the first play. All the critics who though Boldin wouldn’t put the Ravens over the top were dead wrong, he is exactly what the Ravens need. For everyone who thought Ray Lewis was getting slow, he proved he can still light it up.

3.        Green Bay Packers (1-0)     Last Week Ranking: 3

The Packers looked a little shaky but were able to come into Philadelphia and take care of business. The score looked a lot closer than the game really was. The Packers lost Ryan Grant for the rest of the season which is a scare. Oh yeah, Clay Mathews is a beast.

4.        New England Patriots (1-0)     Last Week Ranking: 9

The Patriots took a big jump this week with an impressive victory over the Bengals. Brady looked good and Wes Welker is back in a big way catching for 2 TDs. This week they Patriots play divisional rival New York Jets which should be a great matchup. Don’t sleep on the Patriots just yet.

5.        Minnesota Vikings (0-1)     Last Week Ranking: 5

The Vikings had a tough road game in a season opener against the defending champions. They were in it the whole game and had a chance to win at the end. Favre looked rusty, and I think if he had gone to camp, it would have made a difference. I think the Vikings are still a great team and will rebound from this.

Foster torched the Colts week 1, photo courtesy of http://www.fantasypros.com

6.        Houston Texans (1-0)     Last Week Ranking: 16

The Texans finally got the monkey off their back of beating the Colts. This could be the momentum they need to make it a playoff season. They also established quite the running game with Arian Foster who ran for 231 yards and 3 TDs (fantasy stud). Add that to an amazing passing game, the Texans are an offensive force to be reckoning with.

7.        Indianapolis Colts (0-1)     Last Week Ranking: 4

Everyone was right about Peyton Manning, he’s still amazing. He got his with 433 yards and 3 TDs, but it was the defense that blew up. The so-called “improved run defense” was anything but that, letting Foster rack up 231 on them. Bob Sanders got hurt again too. This team is great offensively, but will need to step it up on defense to reach their Super Bowl aspirations.

8.        Tennessee Titans (1-0)     Last Week Ranking: 13

The Titans dismantled the Raiders and looked good doing it. Chris Johnson picked up where he left off last year rushing for 142 and 2 TDs. The Titans defense looked good as well. The AFC South is going to be one competitive division. Next week will be a test for Young against the Steelers.

9.        New York Jets (0-1)     Last Week Ranking: 6

The Jets defense: amazing. The Jets offense: horrible. Sanchez continued to check down the whole night without letting anything develop. Only bright side is he didn’t turn the ball over. Against any other team, Jets probably win, but against the top defense in the league, they lose because of the offense. Only one 3^rd down conversion won’t get it done. Penalties really hurt the Jets as well. Revis looked good but Kyle Wilson and Antonio Cromartie got burned multiple times. Less talk, more play. “Now let’s go get a goddam snack!”

10.    Pittsburgh Steelers (1-0)     Last Week Ranking: 20

The Steelers got the job done. In a FG happy game, Dixon gave the Steelers a chance to win the game, which they did in OT. The defense can still play and keep them in games.

McNabb led the Redskins to a victory against the Cowboys, photo courtesy of http://www.timesleader.com

11.    Washington Redskins (1-0)     Last Week Ranking: 18

The Redskins looked pretty good against the Cowboys, and the Cowboys looked pretty bad at the same time. This team has the potential to build chemistry and momentum to make some real noise in D.C.

12.    New York Giants (1-0)     Last Week Ranking: 14

Giants found a way to win on Sunday. Eli threw 3 TDs to Nicks, but also 3 picks. The defense had its ups and downs. Consistency is a concern with the G-men. I’m interested to see how they do against the Colts Sunday night.

13.    San Diego Chargers (0-1)     Last Week Ranking: 10

The Chargers were shocked by the Chiefs. The rain and the noise really bothered the Chargers, which was made evident by Philip Rivers who was steaming in the 4^th quarter. A couple wide receiver slips hurt the Chargers, and this opened some eyes in San Diego. You can’t sleepwalk through games, and Norv Turner needs to get his troops ready every week. I look for the Chargers to rebound next week.

14.    Dallas Cowboys (0-1)     Last Week Ranking: 7

I’m not surprised that the Cowboys lost. Penalties killed them and they buried their own grave Sunday. It was time the Cowboys received a reality check, they are a mediocre team, and Super Bowl hope are far from reality. On the bright side, DeMarcus Ware was everywhere.

15.    Atlanta Falcons (0-1)     Last Week Ranking: 8

The Falcons were quite disappointing this past week losing to the Steelers. The Steelers have a good defense but these are the type of games the Falcons have to win if they want to make it to the playoffs. They need to go back to the drawing board.

16.    Seattle Seahawks (1-0)     Last Week Ranking: 24

I was not expecting this from Pete Carroll and the Seahawks but they came ready to play on Sunday. The beat the 49ers in a big way and should be proud of it. The NFC West is up for grabs and the Seahawks showed that they are serious about taking it.

17.    Miami Dolphins (1-0)     Last Week Ranking: 17

The Dolphins didn’t play great but they got the win. Ronnie Brown still isn’t getting full carries and looks like he will be splitting them with Ricky Williams all season. Brandon Marshall had a decent debut. Dolphins will be middle of the pack all year.

Vick did a good job taking over for Kolb, phot courtesy of http://blog.pennlive.com/

18.    Philadelphia Eagles (0-1)     Last Week Ranking: 15

Kevin Kolb got knocked out by Clay Mathews and Vick stepped in and played well. Watch for Sal Palantonio reporting on the QB controversy in Philly for the next few weeks. Please get DeSean Jackson the ball, he’s pretty good.

19.    Cincinnati Bengals (0-1)     Last Week Ranking: 12

The Bengals got cleaned out by the Pats at home. The first half was an embarrassment. Even though Batman and Robin got theirs, the Bengals went away from what works. Cedric Benson got them in the playoffs last year and they need to go back to that running game if they want to make it back to the playoff.

20.    San Francisco 49ers (0-1)     Last Week Ranking: 11

The 49ers and Bengals were the two biggest disappointments of week 1. There was so much hype in San Fran and they laid a complete egg. Where are Crabtree and Gore? Need to go back to the drawing board. The weak NFC West is now wide open. One more thing, why the hell is Singletary thanking Pete Carroll for “kicking their tails”? Please don’t do that.

21.    Jacksonville Jaguars (1-0)     Last Week Ranking: 26

David Garrard played well throwing for 170 yards and 3 TDs. Consistency is a big factor with Garrard. I wouldn’t get too hyped on the Jags just yet.

22.    Arizona Cardinals (1-0)     Last Week Ranking: 21

The Cardinals snuck in a win in St. Louis, but the problems are evident. This is a big drop off from Kurt Warner. Steve Breaston had a nice game and will develop to be a star this season for the Cardinals.

23.    Kansas City Chiefs (1-0)     Last Week Ranking: 27

The Chiefs definitely surprised me Monday night. For the first time in a long time, the Chiefs are on top of the AFC West. The crowd was electric and the young guys were full of energy. The Chiefs have a real rushing tandem with Thomas Jones and Jamaal Charles.

24.    Chicago Bears (1-0)     Last Week Ranking: 23

The Bears got an ugly win on what should have been a TD from Calvin Johnson. Forte played great who Martz is using as a Marshal Faulk type role. The Bears are on the brink of being decent and being horrible.

25.    Carolina Panthers (0-1)     Last Week Ranking: 25

The Panthers played hard and gave good effort against the Giants but were not able to capitalize. Moore needs more snaps and hopefully can show some positive things by the end of the season.

26.    Oakland Raiders (0-1)     Last Week Ranking: 19

Being a Raiders fan, I’m extremely disappointed. The Raiders came out not ready to play football. They were run off that field by the Titans. The offensive line may be the biggest, but it needs some major work. The only positive out of this was Run DMC who finally had himself a good game. I hope the Raiders don’t let the hype go to waste.

27.    Denver Broncos (0-1)     Last Week Ranking: 22

Can we stop with the Tim Tebow stuff now? He’s not going to play. The running game is a big question for the Broncos. Josh McDaniels has dug himself in quite a hole.

Calvin Johnson almost had the game winner, photo courtesy of http://caicogarden.com.

28.    Detroit Lions (0-1)     Last Week Ranking: 28

I’m going to give the Lions a little love. They should have won that game and that was a touchdown. That rule needs to be changed. I’m happy to see the Lions playing hard and competing. This attitude will get the Lions some wins this year.

29.    Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-0)     Last Week Ranking: 31

Sure the Bucs won, but they beat the Browns. That’s not going to climb them too hype up the chart, but a good win nonetheless.

30.    St. Louis Rams (0-1)     Last Week Ranking: 30

The Rams competed, and that’s all you can ask for. They had a chance to win that one , and that is the kind of improvement you look for in a team led by a rookie QB.

31.    Buffalo Bills (0-1)     Last Week Ranking: 32

I guess all that C.J. Spiller hype went down the drain. I know fantasy owners were mad, 7 carries for 6 yards will earn you a lot of drops.  The Bills need to run the ball, but they have to give a couple guys the bulk of the carries to be successful.

32.    Cleveland Browns (0-1)     Last Week Ranking: 29

The Browns are really that bad. Losing to the Buccaneers puts you straight to the bottom.

This is just an opinion, so please…Pardon My Bias.