NFL Week 16 Power Rankings

Awful

32. Detroit Lions 0-14: I’m running out of things to say about them. They are just that awful. They won’t win this season, but as the Falcons showed last off season, it’s easy to turn around a team with a good off season. With Matt Millen no longer leading this team, anything is possible, especially since they have 2 first round draft picks.

31. St. Louis Rams 2-12: They don’t have a very bright future, winning 4 games combined in the last few years, but they could at least look like the care and try out there. This team is a mess, as evidenced by their loss to the Seahawks who only have 3 wins of their own.

30. Cincinnati Bengals 2-11: The Bengals won a game last week in an upset, but this is still a mess of a team. They can’t run, they can’t pass, at least no with Carson Palmer, and their defense is still not very good. One top wide receiver wants out; the other one will probably leave as a free agent.

Better luck next year

29. Kansas City Chiefs 2-12: The Chiefs just can’t catch a break, losing so many close games this year that they should have won. The blown 21-3 to the Chargers is just a glimpse at what this season has been like for the Chiefs. Carl Peterson is gone as GM and that’s a good thing. They also have some great young talent for the future, coming off what is still a great draft back in April, with another top draft pick coming up, and a good signal caller in Tyler Thigpen.

28. Seattle Seahawks 3-11: This team won last week, getting a close victory over the awful Rams. However, this is still a very disappointing season, especially in Mike Holmgren’s final season. Holmgren might not be done yet though. Don’t count out a comeback, rumored to be interested in a front office job with his home town Niners. I don’t think this is how Holmgren wants to go out, even if he said before the season that he wants to retire after the year to spend more time with his family.

27. Oakland Raiders 3-11: The Raiders are not a good team by any means, and a lot of that can be traced back to the offensive line as well as shortsighted moves by the owner and the rest of the front office. I mean you know something’s wrong when you score the most points you’ve scored all season in a 23 point loss, as they did against the Pats last week. However, I give them credit for their ability to pull out random upsets, otherwise they might be looking at 0-16 as well.

26. Cleveland Browns 4-10: This team is a mess right now with Ken Dorsey leading the offensive unit that recently scored its first offensive touchdown in nearly a month in the fourth quarter of a game in which they trailed 30-3 at the time. However, they have some hope the future. They are expected to come back with a new fulltime quarterback, Brady Quinn over Derek Anderson, who likely gets traded, as well as a new running back, with Jamal Lewis likely on the way out, and likely a new coach as it will take a “miracle” to save Romeo Crennel’s job. That will be very interesting as they look to prove this year, in which they have lost double digits, is the fluke, rather than their 2007 season, in which they won double digits. Right now, that one looks like the fluke, but they could prove me wrong.

Looking forward to a top ten draft pick

25. Jacksonville Jaguars 5-9: This team is easily one of the most disappointing this year. With their talent, they should have won more than 5 games. This just goes to show that a combination of overly high expectations and lack of a passing game in a warm weather home stadium don’t mix.

24. Green Bay Packers 5-9: The wheels officially fell off this team with their loss to Jacksonville. This team is a complete mess right now, despite the fact that Aaron Rodgers has played very well this season, with a higher passer rating than Brett Favre. However, even though their problem has been run offense and defense, Aaron Rodgers is still going to take the bulk of the blame.

23. Buffalo Bills 6-8: This team will make the short list of teams that finished 4-0 and failed to make the playoffs and they’ll probably fail to make the playoffs by a large margin. They play the Broncos and Patriots to close out the season, two not so fun games for them, so they could easily end up going 6-10, including 1-9 in their last 10, and miss the playoffs by 4 or 5 games.

Probably not a playoff team

22. San Francisco 49ers 5-9: The Niners don’t have a very good record, but should have won last week, as well as earlier this season against Arizona. This is a team that should be hovering around .500 and for this team, that’s a huge start on what’s shaping up to be a future that’s brightening everyday under Mike Singletary.

21. San Diego Chargers 6-8: They are still hanging in there after a miracle comeback against the Kansas City Chiefs. They have had an awful season, but if a few things go right this week, most notably the team going into Tampa and pulling off the upset, as well as Denver losing to Buffalo, it sets up a week 17 match up between the Chargers and Broncos and a playoff spot. More than likely, they won’t make the playoffs, but they have yet to be mathematically eliminated and with the talent that they have on their team, remember this is the same team, with the same players at least, that was some people’s Super Bowl favorites before the season, they are a dangerous team.

20. New Orleans Saints 7-7: Drew Brees has officially dropped out of the MVP race it looks like, seeing as he has this nasty habit of throwing the ball to the wrong team in the clutch. He has good stats, but he’s also part of the reason the Saints are 7-7. You can’t blame it all on injuries and the defense. The quarterback is somewhat at fault here. This could easily be a 9-5 if it wasn’t for late collapses against Tampa and Chicago.

Making some noise

19. Washington Redskins 7-7: Jim Zorn recently called himself the worst coach in the world. Now there are some people calling for him to lose his job. Still, remember, this guy was the one who got them out to that hot start and turned Jason Campbell into a winner. The team has definitely declined, but that has more to do with Clinton Portis struggling, which I don’t think you can trace back to a quarterback’s coach.

18. Houston Texans 7-7: Imagine where this team would be if Schaub to Johnson was healthy all year. That is one of the most underrated and deadliest quarterback-wide receiver combos in the league. Nonetheless, they are still in a position where they can finish with a winning record, for the first time in franchise history, which for this team would be huge. They have a great future ahead of them.

Close, but no cigar

17. Chicago Bears 8-6: The Bears need the Vikings to lose out to win the division and make the playoffs, which, with the way they’ve been playing lately isn’t likely. If that happens, then the Bears would still need to win their last two, which is possible, but still, I don’t like their playoff chances.

16. Philadelphia Eagles 8-5-1: It must be that time of the year again because the Eagles won’t lose. However, it looks like they have to win out to make the playoffs so they better hope this streak continues. In the playoffs, I wouldn’t like their chances, because of their inability to score in the red zone or convert on 3rd and short.

15. Miami Dolphins 9-5: The Dolphins seem to be in good position, with an easy game this week and a game upcoming week 17 against the Jets, which could be for the division. However, I don’t like their chances against the Jets, and look out for those Chiefs. They are an interesting upset choice for this week, which is bad news because, in that division, the Dolphins can’t afford a loss. A loss would mean that it would take prayers to get into the playoffs.

On the playoff bubble

14. NY Jets 9-5: The Jets won last week, but it took a miracle. Something isn’t right which is why the Pats become the new favorites in the AL East. The Jets are still very much alive though.

13. Atlanta Falcons 9-5: The Falcons are currently out of the playoff picture if the season were to end deadly. They face an uphill battle and need to win out and Dallas to lose at least one. Next up, a trip to Minnesota as their Achilles heel, the run defense, looks to stop AP and the Vikings.

12. New England Patriots 9-5: The Pats didn’t look good last week defensively, giving up 26 to the Raiders. However, they have a cakewalk of a schedule over these last two weeks and control their own fate. I’d rather be in their position that the Dolphins, who are on the outside looking in, and the Jets who look somewhat of a mess right now.

11. Dallas Cowboys 9-5: Huge win last week against the Giants, but they’ve still got their work cut out to make the playoffs. They have two tough games coming up, Philadelphia and Baltimore so they can’t afford to collapse. I can’t see them getting any higher than the 2nd wild card because of the fact that Tampa’s last two games are against the Chargers and Raiders.

Playoffs and maybe more

10. Denver Broncos 8-6: They might end up being the worst team to make the playoffs. They are going to get rolled by anyone with a running game, which is every playoff team. However, with the Chargers in a bad position below them, they are likely going to make the playoffs, even if they don’t do anything good once there.

9. Arizona Cardinals 8-6: The rebirth of the Greatest Show on Turf has been rolled to the turf over the past few weeks. They aren’t going to do much better than the Broncos come playoffs time, but thanks to a weak division, they already have clinched their playoff ticket.

8. Minnesota Vikings 9-5: If Tavaris Jackson keeps playing like this, it would give them a true signal caller and if that’s the case, look out. This is a Super Bowl contender. However, that probably isn’t the case, but even if it isn’t AP could win them a playoff game or two by himself, along with this stout defense.

Dark horses

7. Baltimore Ravens 9-5: They Ravens very easily could have won that last game against the Steelers, and probably should have judging from the looks of that “touchdown” replay. However, all they look is the chance to win the division. This team is exactly as dangerous to playoff teams as they were last week and with this experienced defense, that’s very, very dangerous.

6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-5: The Buccaneers have lost two in a row, but they both have been on the road to tough division rivals. It may have raised some concerns and questions, most notably whether or not their run defense is as good as believed. However, they should take these last 2 games, San Diego and Oakland, to get right and go into the playoffs as a dangerous team that you shouldn’t sleep on, especially if Jeff Garcia comes back 100%.

5. Indianapolis Colts 10-4: Tell me if this sounds dangerous. Peyton Manning and the Colts coming into the playoffs with a 9 game winning streak, and a bunch of people sleeping on them. That could very well end up being the case. This team should be the single most feared team by any playoff team right now and they’re not. Dwight Freeney is healthy, Bob Sanders, is healthy, Peyton Manning is healthy, Marvin Harrison is getting there. This team is as good, if not better because of the fact that they’re sneaking up on people, than the one that won the Super Bowl in 2007.

Elite Runner Ups

4. New York Giants 11-3: The Giants have to be worried. Their 6-5 red zone target has a self afflicted gunshot wound in his leg, and huge legal issues, and their 260 pound short yardage back is not 100% if he plays at all. Eli Manning has been exposed and looks like his early 2007 self again. They play the Panthers for the NFC regular season title this week, so they could very well lose 3 straight. If they don’t get things right, they could lose before the conference finals. Most likely they will though and they’ll get another shot at Carolina in the Conference Finals if they lose to them this week.

3. Carolina Panthers 11-3: Before we crown them Super Bowl champs, they still have to beat the Giants twice, in my opinion, the first time to ensure that the second one will be at home, where they are undefeated, and the second time to make the Super Bowl. However, they look really good right now and a win against the Giants could shoot them up this chart even more.

2. Tennessee Titans 12-2: They still only have 2 losses, but losing to Houston, combined with losing both Kyle Vanden Bosch and Albert Haynesworth, made this a very bad week for them. The Steelers couldn’t be coming to town at a worse time for them.

Favorite

1. Pittsburgh Steelers 11-3: Regardless of whether or not they deserved to win against Baltimore, they did and they look like the type of team that can win anywhere, against anyone. That is the single most important aspect of a team going into the playoffs.

NFL Week 15 Power Rankings

NFL Week 15 Power Rankings

Awful

32. Detroit Lions 0-13: Absolutely the worst overall team in the NFL. Their strongest area of the game has been the passing game, and their quarterback is Daunte Culpepper. That’s saying something if the best part of your team is led by a Raiders castoff.

31. Cincinnati Bengals 1-11: Their once great offense has been diminished to a running game full of unsuccessful castoffs and Ryan Fitzpatrick getting knocked to the ground every time he takes a snap. It’s no wonder Chad Johnson wants out.

30. St. Louis Rams 2-11: They look like they mailed the season in weeks ago. Right now they look like they are playing for the #1 draft pick, and they likely are. The only problem is that they already won 2 games, and the Bengals and Lions might not combine to win that many.

Better luck next year

29. Seattle Seahawks 2-11: I don’t know why Matt Hasselbeck came back this season. He has no good receivers and the team is going nowhere, but down. He should have just stayed injured, to prevent further injury. It’s a shame that Mike Holmgren’s final season has come to this.

28. Kansas City Chiefs 2-11: At least they’re trying. They don’t have the most talent, but they could easily have 4 or 5 wins, if it wasn’t for some bad luck, and they have a good young quarterback in Tyler Thigpen, a real diamond in the rough. If they can keep motivated during a tough season like this, they’ve got great hope for the future. I hate to say it, but Herm Edwards has done a good coaching job, even if he’ll likely lose his job after the season.

27. Oakland Raiders 3-10: Allow me to crown the Raiders the league’s most inconsistent team. One week they beat the Broncos, then they lose to the Chiefs, and get destroyed by the Chargers. Hey, at least it’s better that what they were 2 years ago, most consistently awful. It’s progress.

26. Jacksonville Jaguars 4-9: Allow me to take a quote from Bill Simmons, “If this blog were Jack Del Rio, the Jags would have already stopped listening.” That is so true. This team has talent, they just have no chemistry or respect for their young coach. Even Fred Taylor, who is supposed to be their veteran leader, thinks they suck.

Looking forward to a top ten draft pick

25. Cleveland Browns 4-9: Remember when quarterback issues meant that they had too many quarterbacks and couldn’t choose one. It’s funny how things change. Now they have no quarterback, due to injuries. Ken Dorsey is the starter and had a 49.6 rating last week. They need to trade either Derek Anderson or Brady Quinn, preferably Anderson because Quinn is the younger one, and put all of their faith in Quinn, rather than flip flopping. They’d have a new quarterback, new running back, with Jamal Lewis on his way out, and likely new coach. Use a mid round draft pick on a backup for Quinn and keep Dorsey as the 3rd guy.

24. Green Bay Packers 5-8: I honestly am stumped at what happened to this team. Aaron Rodgers has a great line in front of him, a decent duo of backs, and a solid defense, and Rodgers himself hasn’t played so bad, though he’s no Brett Favre, and yet they are 5-8. I would guess it’s a combination of bad luck, high expectations, and last year being a fluke, but that’s just a guess.

23. San Francisco 49ers 5-8: If it wasn’t for that whole pants dropping incident, Mike Singletary is a great coach. His discipline and offensive coordinator Mike Martz’s creativity combine very well. Just think, if it wasn’t for a last second loss to Arizona, this team would be 6-7, 1 game back of the Arizona Cardinals for first, holding a 2-0 tiebreaker over the Cards.

Probably not a playoff team

22. San Diego Chargers 5-8: The Chargers are probably the most disappointing team in terms of talent turning into wins. They’ve had a lot of tough close losses. A lot of that has to do with Coach Norv Turner, who will unfortunately be back next year. However, I think this team still has good players and a solid future. Although, despite not yet being officially eliminated, this team isn’t going anywhere this year

21. Buffalo Bills 6-7: This team will join the short list of 4-0 teams that did not go on to make the playoffs. It really has been a tale of two seasons for them. They’ve had their Super Bowl dark horse caliber season and their awful caliber season.

Making some noise

20. Houston Texans 6-7: They’ve been highly inconsistent this year, but when Matt Schaub plays they are very good. They aren’t as good as many thought they were before the season, but if Schaub can stay healthy and this team improves on defense via the draft or free agency, they could be an 8 win or better team.

19. New Orleans Saints 7-6: Drew Brees should win MVP this season. He is on pace to have the best season of any quarterback ever in terms of stats. Its not his fault the defense can’t stop anyone.

Close, but no cigar

18. Washington Redskins 7-6: The Redskins have had a good season, but it looks like that Baltimore loss was the nail in the coffin. They just aren’t as good as Dallas, Atlanta, and Philly, all of whom they’d have to beat out to win the 2nd and final wild card.

17. Philadelphia Eagles 7-5: The Eagles got a big win over the Giants and are 2-0 in two big games since the Donovan McNabb/Andy Reid mini quarrel in the Baltimore game. The Eagles have a way of finishing strong, so I wouldn’t count them out quite yet, even though they don’t appear to be in a strong position to make the playoffs.

16. Miami Dolphins 8-5: They have surprised the world and now sit in the middle of a tight AFC East race. They could very well win the division, but I see them, as well as New England and the Jets, winning 10 games. However, their loss will be to the Jets, which will lose them the tiebreaker, and force them into the Wild Card race, which I also see them losing. They’ve had a hell of a run though.

15. Atlanta Falcons 8-5: Speaking of hell of a run, the other team that finished in the bottom 3 last year and now is in the middle of a playoff race is 8-5 Atlanta (sorry St. Louis). However, like the Dolphins, I see the Falcons falling up just short, losing the Wild Card tie breaker to Dallas, by way of worse conference record.

On the playoff bubble

14. Chicago Bears 7-6: The Bears are in good position. They don’t have to deal with the Wild Card, they could still easily win their division, despite being 7-6, with Minnesota only 1 game away and without their wall for the rest of the season due to suspension. However, Chicago should come up short as the Vikings make due without both Williamses.

13. New England Patriots 8-5: With the Dolphins losing the division by way of tiebreaker, it would just be up to New England and the New York Jets. However, the Pats are not in a favorable position, with the Jets just needing a win over the Bills to at least nullify the 2nd tiebreaker. With the first one already nullified by the season series split, it would go to the 3rd tiebreaker, which the Jets currently own.

12. Minnesota Vikings 8-5: They might have some trouble stopping the run in the coming weeks, but with a one game division lead and the best running back alive, the Vikings are in very favorable position.

11. New York Jets 8-5: As I said before, the Jets are in the driver’s seat in the AFC East, especially since, sticking with car metaphor, the man steering their team is Brett Favre. He’ll turn it on at the end of the season to help them avenge 2 straight losses and win two of three, if not sweep, a fairly easy 3 game stretch. The real Jets are the ones that won in Tennessee, not the ones that lost in Oakland and San Francisco.

Playoffs and maybe more

10. Denver Broncos 8-5: With a fairly easy schedule the rest of the way, the Broncos, needing only one win to clinch the division, look to be in position to get back to the playoffs. However, once there, they may have some issues defending the run, which is could seriously hurt them come playoff time.

9. Arizona Cardinals 8-5: The Cardinals have clinched their first playoff berth in over a decade. They have a good shot to show, in the playoffs, that they deserve to be there and didn’t just get in because of a weak schedule and no interdivision competition. However, losses against the Giants and Eagles could be signs that this team will struggle come playoff time.

8. Dallas Cowboys 8-5: The Cowboys look to be in good position to make the playoffs and with one of the best quarterbacks in the league in Tony Romo, they are definitely the team no one wants to face in the playoffs. However, as the Pittsburgh game showed, they still have a way of choking under pressure. Plus, if Marion Barber’s injury is serious, they risk becoming one dimensional which could be the death of them.

Dark horses

7. Baltimore Ravens 8-5: I’m not going to say they are as good as they were when they won in 2000. However, their grind it out NFC style of play is going to be an advantage come playoff time in the relatively pass happy AFC. The biggest question with them is, can Joe Flacco lead this team from behind, in the clutch, in the playoffs. So far, he hasn’t proven that that will be something he can do.

6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-4: For the first time in a while, Tampa’s defense looked vulnerable last week against the Panthers. However, that is what the Panthers’ running game will do to you. They shouldn’t worry about making the playoffs, they will make them. However, they need to prove they can stop running games like the Giants’ and the Panthers’ in the playoffs. They might not be a true contender like two those teams mentioned, but they are still a very solid football team that can surprise some.

5. Indianapolis Colts: 9-4: They got hot at the right time. They have 5 straight wins and could make it 8 by the end of the season, seeing as they have a fairly weak schedule. No one is going to want to face Peyton and the Colts when they are on a roll like that come playoff time. This has to be a scary team.
Elite runner ups

4. Pittsburgh Steelers 10-3: They proved in the Dallas game, once again, that they can win even it isn’t pretty. They aren’t a true grind it out them, because their offense revolves around their quarterback making a lot of throws, but the fact that they can win in so many different ways has to scare some teams.

3. Carolina Panthers 10-3: They got a huge win this week and are knocking on the door of becoming the favorite in the NFC. Their upcoming game against the Giants, week 16, will be huge for both sides, especially Carolina. That is a very winnable game for the Panthers seeing as the Giants are missing a certain 6-5 wide receiver with a hole in his leg.

2. New York Giants 11-2: They didn’t look good this week. They are missing Plaxico and their receiving crew looks subpar at best. They looked slightly distracted as well. However, this team is a machine. They will get through it and get back to winning football games. Philly will be a huge wake up call for them and I expect them to beat Carolina week 16 and reassert their dominance. This is the NFC favorite, if not the NFL favorite.

1. Tennessee Titans 12-1: The Giants are good, but you can’t deny that fact that this team wins games. They play playoff style football every week, with their strong defense and grind it out backs. They should be able to beat any team they face. Now it’s just a matter of going out and doing it.