Week 3 Power Rankings

by Devin Dombrowski

I definitely can’t complain about week two. Everything seems to be better when Buffalo wins, regardless of who the team they beat is or what the circumstances are.

The fact that they beat a tough playoff team from a year ago, came from behind to do it, and did it on the road just makes it that much sweeter. I’ll be the first to say however, I’m nervous about a letdown in week three. Hopefully the players don’t drink the kool-aid that the fans are. Don’t get me wrong, I’m more pumped than ever and excited for the next game, but I’m cautiously optimistic after what I’ve seen the past nine years.

As always, after another week of football, some things really shake up in the power rankings. Some teams continued their early season dominance (NYG), some fell a little bit (Chi), some gained some ground (Was), and some just dropped completely (SD). That’s the great thing about NFL football though, you always have next week to make up for it. As always, if you disagree or have a comment, feel free to e-mail me and let me know. If I get enough maybe I’ll even have a little mailbag article to include those e-mails.

1. New York Giants (1): The champs continued to look strong, even if it was against the hopeless Rams. Those are games they should win easily, and they did.

2. Dallas Cowboys (2): It was a wild game, but Dallas came out on top, and holds on to the number two spot in the rankings.

3. New England Patriots (3): I wasn’t nearly as impressed as some NFL experts were with the Pats, but a win is a win. The more experience Matt Cassell gets, the better he should turn out to be.

4. Pittsburgh Steelers (4): It was pretty ugly, but a big win for Pittsburgh. They continue to dominate Cleveland in one of the biggest rivalries.

5. Green Bay Packers (6): Aaron Rodgers looked good, and Detroit didn’t look so good. The Packers pulled away in a odd scoring game. The big test will be this week for Green Bay.

6. Tennessee Titans (8): The Titans handled the Bengals much like they should have. If they can figure out and survive the Vince Young mess, they can be a dangerous team, especially if Jacksonville and Indy leave the door open for them.

7. Buffalo Bills (9): That was a huge win for a young team. It will build extreme confidence going into what should be an easy next two games. To me the Bills have to win both games and look good to prove they are ready for that next step.

8. Carolina Panthers (10): Kudos to Carolina for winning two tough games without Steve Smith. They should only get better once he enters the line-up.

9. Denver Broncos (13): That was a big win for Denver against a division rival. It’s a shame that the refs had a hand in the victory, but in defense of Denver, they still had to score the touchdown and the two point conversion, so they should still get credit for that. Jay Cutler looks dangerous so far.

10. Philadelphia Eagles (7): Tough loss for Philly, but they showed me a lot in the game. I didn’t expect to see such a high scoring affair, and I can’t wait for the re-match. Hopefully it will have playoff or division implications.

11. Washington Redskins (19): Nice win for Washington to avoid a 0-2 hole in the toughest division. I’m looking forward to those division match-ups from the NFC East.

12. New Orleans Saints (5): The Saints dropped quite a bit after losing a game that they were winning. I expected them to win, and was quite surprised when they lost. Luckily for them, this game was in September, and not November, when it counts a little more.

13. TampaBay Buccaneers (21): The Bucs did what was expected of them against the young, inexperienced Falcons. I’m interested to see how Jeff Garcia soap opera plays out, because I don’t think Brian Griese is good enough to lead Tampa Bay for the long haul.

14. Chicago Bears (12): That was a tough loss for Chicago,, but at least they are staying in the game. Kyle Orton seems to be doing enough not to lose the games (like Rex Grossman) but isn’t doing much to win them either (like Rex Grossman).

15. Indianapolis Colts (15): Nice comeback win for Indy, but they still don’t look like themselves. Regardless, if they can survive this injury plagued stretch and pick up a few victories, that should make it easier later in the season.

16. Arizona Cardinals (20): This is a very good 2-0 start for Arizona in the horrible NFC West. A few more wins should seal up the division for the Cards.

17. New York Jets (11): Welcome to reality, Brett Favre maniacs. You guys just lost to the Pats, and a QB who hasn’t started since he was in high school. That probably isn’t sitting so well right now.

18. San Diego Chargers (14): I almost feel for San Diego. Those are two very tough losses to stomach at the beginning of the season. San Diego needs to bounce back quickly, because Denver is looking to run away with the division this year.

19. Jacksonville Jaguars (16): Even though they are 0-2, I can see Jacksonville bouncing back. They aren’t getting crushed in these games, and they still have a talented team. It doesn’t help that their o-line is demolished, and David Garrard has no wide receivers. Has there ever been a WR as pathetic as Matt Jones? But still, Garrard needs to be smarter with the football like he was last season.

20. Minnesota Vikings (17): For a team that has Super Bowl hopes, the Vikings aren’t starting out so well. Even though I didn’t see the game, I think it’s safe to assume that if they had semi-competent QB play from Tavaris Jackson they would at least be 1-1. Either way, there is no excuse for blowing a late lead at home.

21. Cleveland Browns (18): Yuck. Wake up Cleveland. I know the schedule is rough, but Cleveland is losing these games at home, which are only going to make things harder down the road. How long until the cries for Brady Quinn start?

22. San Francisco 49ers (32): Impressive win on the road in a tough venue. I didn’t really want to jump SF this high in the rankings, but other teams did their part in this as well. I never would’ve picked SF in this game, so I have to give credit where credit is due.

23. Baltimore Ravens (23): By default I left Baltimore/Houston alone since they didn’t play the game.

24. Houston Texans (24): See above.

25. Oakland Raiders (30): I’m sure it feels good for Oakland to get that win, but I’m still not impressed. It was an ugly win that, considering the circumstances, probably should have been a cake walk. The owner is absolutely crazy (this coming from a Bills fan), and I feel bad for Lane Kiffin. I think this guy can be a good coach in the near future.

26. Atlanta Falcons (25): Welcome to the NFL, Matt Ryan. Teams are going to focus on stuffing Michael Turner, and force you to play better, so you better get used to those rough days. It still looks like Atlanta is headed in the right direction.

27. Kansas City Chiefs (26): My oh my…the Chiefs have completely fallen apart. They have a few stars on offense that go completely unnoticed because of the quarterback play. I definitely feel for Chiefs fans.

28. Seattle Seahawks (22): What a rough start for the Seahawks. Lucky for them, they play in the NFC West. Still, it doesn’t look good to lose at home to JT O’Sullivan and the 49ers.

29. Miami Dolphins (28): I thought they would play Arizona a little tougher, but I guess I overestimated the Dolphins. Looks like Chad Pennington wasn’t the answer. Lucky for them, wins aren’t how good teams are measured.

30. Detroit Lions (27): Maybe, just maybe, this will be the year they finally fire Matt Millen. I sure hope so, and I have no rooting interest in the Lions. How pathetic can one franchise be?

31. Cincinnati Bengals (29): Oops, looks like I answered my own question. I guess the year Palmer got injured in the playoffs was their one year window. I’m guessing that window is shut for the next decade or so.

32. St. Louis Rams (31): How can a team with Bulger, Jackson, and Holt be so bad? I guess I’ll find out in two weeks.

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devindombrowski@gmail.com