NFL: Week Eight Power Poll

Once again, the following are my picks for the Bleacher Report NFL Power Poll managed by Shaun Ahmad, along with comments about each team.

1. Tennessee Titans: The only unbeaten team left, this was the only call.
2. New York Giants: A win on the road against another top-five team had me tempted to place them ahead of Tennessee.
3. Washington Offensively Named Ones: Narrowly placed ahead of Pittsburgh because one of their losses was actually them beating themselves.
4. Pittsburgh Steelers: Did not have a good second half against the Giants at home, so you have to question whether they are top tier.
5. Carolina Panthers: I am still not convinced, but there is no way they can be ranked lower.
6. Buffalo Bills: Just when I finally was convinced, they lose to Miami.
7. New England Patriots: They have also lost to Miami, and one of the Bills losses came with their quarterback out; New England will have their quarterback out the entire season.
8. Dallas Cowboys: This team crawls back into the top 10 by beating a good team without Tony Romo—maybe their dysfunction was their only problem.
9. Philadelphia Eagles: They could move into the top tier now that Bryan Westbrook is back.
10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Not being able to beat a team in disarray without their starting quarterback or either starting cornerback make me question this team's ability.
11. Arizona Cardinals: May be the most dangerous offense in the league with the return of Anquan Boldin.
12. Chicago Bears: Kyle Orton has proven himself to be more than adequate to supplement a good defense and great special teams.
13. New Orleans Saints: They are the least likely to be hurt by the failed test that has been reported, even though they had 10 players on the list; Michael Smith of ESPN reported that at least two of their four players had called the league hotline before taking the supplement, so that can't be on them.
14. Baltimore Ravens: A nearly dominant defense carries a capable but unreliable offense.
15. Denver Broncos: They finally were predictable this week (they had a bye).
16. Atlanta Falcons: If they were still in the NFC West, they'd make the playoffs for sure and maybe even win the division.
17. Green Bay Packers: A dangerous team if you can't run or stop the run (allowing their poor running game to give them balance); Indianapolis was blown out because they fit both descriptions.
18. San Diego Chargers: Even giving them that win in Denver (and I do), this team cannot be considered anything more than a pretender at this point.
19. New York Jets: Favre has played horribly the last two weeks, and the story of his betrayal broke eight days ago...hmmmm.
20. Cleveland Browns: Quality wins over the Giants and in Jacksonville make preseason predictions seem less off-base.
21. Jacksonville Jaguars: A loss to the Cleveland Browns may keep them from the playoffs
22. Indianapolis Colts: A different team with Bob Sanders and Joseph Addai, they may be in too deep a hole by the time they get them back.
23. Minnesota Vikings: They should be better than they are, but if their starting defensive tackles (the Williamses) get suspended, they are lost.
24. Miami Dolphins: They are a hard team to predict, having beaten two of the top seven but lost to the mediocre Jets and lacking Texans.
25. St. Louis Rams: This is a different team under Haslett, but they still aren't very good.
26. Houston Texans: They have a lot of losses to good teams, but all three wins against bad teams.
27. Seattle Seahawks: At least they will get back Matt Hasselbeck eventually—that's enough to compete in the NFC Worst.
28. Oakland Raiders: Last week was a fluke, as they played Bad Brett.
29. San Francisco 49ers: Seriously, if you can't beat the most depleted team in the league on your home field, you don't belong in the league!
30. Kansas City Chiefs: Yeah, but they almost beat the Jets without their best player—kudos to them for having the conviction to do what the Cowboys did not with a worse repeat offender!
31. Cincinnati Bengals: If they couldn't beat Houston, they may not win this season.
32. Detroit Lions: Since they played division rival Vikings so well in Minnesota and need a win somewhere, I'm looking at that as their only real shot at avoiding 0-16.