NFL Power Rankings: Which Teams Are Mired in Mediocrity?

One of the more frustrating phenomenons an NFL writer can have when compiling his or her power rankings is how to deal with the glut of mediocrity in the middle, and this week is certainly proving difficult for yours truly.

After three weeks, the vast majority of teams sit at either 2-1 or 1-2, with some of them better or worse than their record suggests. But some of them are just dull teams, teams unable to engender excitement among their fans and within their own locker rooms.

The Cleveland Browns are the definition of a middling team struggling to rise. They've managed two wins, over the Indianapolis Colts and most recently, the Miami Dolphins, and one loss to division-mates Cincinnati Bengals while sitting in the bottom of the pack in terms of total yardage.

Every season is supposedly the one in which the Browns will show significant improvement and finally contend for the AFC North title. Though Cleveland sits at 2-1 now, tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, the team hasn't shown that it has the type of dynamism necessary to emerge from Week 16 with a playoff berth.

The 1-2 Arizona Cardinals are suffering from mediocrity and have lost their last two games by close margins, two facts that don't bode well for the remainder of the season. The team sits in the middle of the pack in both average passing yards and rushing yards while also being stymied by a weak defense.

The fact that the team lost to the lowly Seattle Seahawks in Week 3 serves as a warning sign to a team that entered 2011 hopeful about its chances after a disappointing 5-11 2010 season.

The addition of quarterback Kevin Kolb was to herald in a new chapter of Cardinals football, one that would have them back at the top of the NFC West.

Instead, the Cardinals have become yet another pedestrian team in a terrible division, and their chances of rising out of the mire to transform into one of the NFL's elite are likely slim to none.

NFL Power Rankings, Week 4*
 
1. Green Bay Packers
2. New Orleans Saints
3. Baltimore Ravens
4. New England Patriots
5. Detroit Lions
6. Buffalo Bills
7. New York Jets
8. Pittsburgh Steelers
9. San Diego Chargers
10. Houston Texans
11. Philadelphia Eagles
12. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
13. New York Giants
14. Oakland Raiders
15. Tennessee Titans
16. Atlanta Falcons
17. San Francisco 49ers
18. Miami Dolphins
19. Cleveland Browns
20. Chicago Bears
21. Carolina Panthers
22. St. Louis Rams
23. Cincinnati Bengals
24. Minnesota Vikings
25. Arizona Cardinals
26. Denver Broncos
27. Indianapolis Colts
28. Kansas City Chiefs
29. Jacksonville Jaguars
30. Seattle Seahawks

*Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins TBD after tonight's game