NFL POWER RANKINGS – WEEK 7
The Indianapolis Colts and the New England Patriots both registered impressive road wins over the weekend to remain undefeated. The Patriots clobbered the winless Dolphins, 49-28, while the Colts took care of the injury-riddled Jaguars, 29-7.
The Colts have quietly started the season 6-0 but nobody is paying any attention to the defending world champions and thats just fine with them.
The Colts might not be putting up the high-flying circus numbers that Brady and that crew are, numbers Indy has put up in the past, but it’s quite apparent that this year’s Colts team is better than the 2006 version — and quite the challenger to the Patriots in the AFC, even if many aren’t noticing.
Go ahead and talk about New England,” Colts receiver Reggie Wayne said. “That’s less we have to worry about, less people in our locker room. We know what we have to do each week, which is win games. It’s cool. But one thing is we’ve been in this situation when nobody is talking about us. They can have it. They deserve it. They’re balling. But there’s going to be a time when you talk about us. It’s going to come soon enough.”
It’s hard to imagine a defending Super Bowl champ being unbeaten after six games and still not getting much attention.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, the Dolphins and Rams remain winless on the season and if they play like they did Sunday the rest of the season, the National Football league will have two winless teams for the first time in its history.
The Dolphins defense had the deer in the headlights look Sunday against the Patriots offense. New England led 42-7 at halftime and the only fans left at Dolphin Stadium at the end were young Bill Belichick fans. They probably had the next day off of school after getting caught cheating on mid-semester exams. Tell them Bill it only hurts if you get caught.
Things go from bad to worse for the Dolphins, who lost running back Ronnie Brown for the rest of the season because of a knee injury.
Brown has been one of the few bright spots in Miami’s bleak season. Coming into Sunday’s game, he led the NFL in yards from scrimmage and had reached the 100-yard rushing mark for four consecutive games. Brown had 76 yards rushing against the Patriots on 17 carries, and had five receptions for 33 yards.
The Dolphins are off to an 0-7 start for the first time in their 42 seasons. They travel to London this week to face the New York Giants in the first regular-season NFL game outside North America.
The Rams (0-7) are off to their worst start in the 70-year history of their franchise after they were crunched, 33-6, Sunday in Seattle.
The Rams welcomed back Marc Bulger to the offense in a way no one should ever be welcomed.
With lead runner Steven Jackson out for the fourth consecutive game with a partially torn groin, the Rams had to rely on the passing of Bulger. And Seattle knew it.
The Pro Bowl quarterback, playing for the first time in three weeks with sore ribs, was sacked seven times. Four were by Darryl Tapp, who played the final three quarters with a boxing-like glove over a broken bone in his right hand. Bulger fumbled three times, lost two, and finished 21-for-40 for 225 yards passing with three interceptions.
I feel sorry right now for fans of the Dolphins and Rams. At least fans in Miami are a week away from Shaq and D-Wade returning to the hardfloors. This will help ease the pain of having to watch the Dolphins play each weekend.
St. Louis fans aren’t as fortunate as the only thing they got going in the winter months is their hockey team, the Blues. Its hard to say that a team can be worse than the Rams but the Blues are pretty close to matching the futility of the football team.
Look at the bright side Rams fans, the Blues have already won a game this season and spring training is only four months away for the Cardinals.
1. Indianapolis (6-0), 2. New England (7-0), 3. Pittsburgh (4-2), 4. New York Giants (5-2), 5. Dallas (6-1), 6. Green Bay (5-1), 7. San Diego (3-3), 8. Washington (4-2), 9. Baltimore (4-3), 10. Tennessee (4-2), 11. Detroit (4-2), 12. Seattle (4-3), 13. Jacksonville (4-2), 14. Tampa Bay (4-3), 15. Carolina (4-2), 16. Chicago (3-4), 17. Denver (3-3), 18. Kansas City (4-3), 19. Philadelphia (2-4), 20. Arizona (3-4), 21. New Orleans (2-4), 22. Minnesota (2-4), 23. Houston (3-4), 24. Cleveland (3-3), 25. Buffalo (2-4), 26. Cincinnati (2-4), 27. Oakland (2-4), 28. San Francisco (2-4), 29. New York Jets (1-6), 30. Atlanta (1-6), 31. St. Louis (0-7), 32. Miami (0-7).
October 25th, 2007 at 12:48 pm
The real power ranking should look like this:
1. New England Patriots: There is only one team that can challenge the Pats, and Miami is not it. Last week: 1.
2. Indianapolis Colts: Monday night’s Colts-Jaguars game was not completed by The Telegraph’s press time. Last week: 2.
3. Dallas Cowboys: There’s nothing like a game against Minnesota to get back on track. Last week: 5.
4. Green Bay Packers: Even Brett Favre needs a rest every now and again. Last week: 4.
5. Jacksonville Jaguars: Monday night’s Colts-Jaguars game was not completed by The Telegraph’s press time. Last week: 6.
6. Pittsburgh Steelers: It seems the road is just not a good place for the Steelers to be. Last week: 3.
7. New York Giants: The G-men are no longer on the outside looking in. The Cowboys need to take notice. Last week: 9.
8. Tennessee Titans: It would stink to lose to the guy who started Rob Bironas in your fantasy league this week. If you’re that guy, thumbs up, buddy. Last week: 10.
9. Washington Redskins: Anything can happen when a team plays the Arizona Cardinals. Sunday’s game proved that. Last week: 14.
10. Detroit Lions: Calvin Johnson automatically makes anyone within a 10-mile radius of him better. Well, except the Tigers. Last week: 15.
11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Holding on to the ball was optional for the Bucs on Sunday. Last week: 7.
12. Carolina Panthers: Vinny Testaverde? Really? Last week: 11.
13. Seattle Seahawks: New rule: Teams can no longer move up if they beat St. Louis or Miami. Last week: 13.
14. San Diego Chargers: The Bolts got a rest during the weekend, but they’re still better than the Chiefs. Last week: 12.
15. Baltimore Ravens: When a team loses to the Bills – a team that might as well set up for a field goal or a punt on first down – it drops. Last week: 8.
16. Denver Broncos: The Broncos have to be inspired by the Rockies. How else can a win over Pittsburgh be explained? Last week: 20.
17. Kansas City Chiefs: Oh, this won’t last long. Last week: 19.
18. Cleveland Browns: Oh, this won’t last long either. Last week: 18.
19. Chicago Bears: Was that a quarterback wearing a Bears uniform Sunday? Last week: 22.
20. Philadelphia Eagles: A little Vince Papale would be real good right about now. Last week: 17.
21. New Orleans Saints: New rule: Beating an NFC West team and then the Falcons no longer qualifies as a turnaround. Last week: 24.
22. Cincinnati Bengals: The Kittens really purred against the Jets. Last week: 26.
23. Houston Texans: It was exciting the way CBS had to tune out of Sunday’s game vs. the Titans at 4:15 p.m. sharp due to NFL rules so we could watch the broadcast team watch the game. Last week: 16.
24. Arizona Cardinals: Just pick a quarterback, will ya? Last week: 23.
25. Minnesota Vikings: Somehow, Dallas’ defense kept Adrian Peterson to fewer than 100 yards rushing. How? Last week: 21.
26. Buffalo Bills: If not for place-kicker Rian Lindell and punter Brian Moorman, the Bills would have no offense and no defense. Last week: 27.
27. Oakland Raiders: Come on. Even that scary guy with the end zone seats could have scored three more points on the Chiefs. Last week: 28.
28. New York Jets: Chad Pennington actually looked good. It’s too bad the rest of the team stinks. Last week: 25.
29. San Francisco 49ers: It’s amazing Trent Dilfer is still standing after facing the Giants’ defense. Last week: 29.
30. Atlanta Falcons: Like sand through the hourglass, these are the days of our lives. Yep, it’s officially a soap opera. Last week: 30.
31. St. Louis Rams: Tight end and Peach County product Randy McMichael says he’s embarrassed to be with the Rams. We’re embarrassed for him. Last week: 31.
32. Miami Dolphins: Look out, England. Here come the Miami Dolphins. Last week: 32.
October 26th, 2007 at 8:07 am
Damn Braunie! I am beginning to think you should have your own blog too! Way to show Hook, I can’t help but to call out his biased number 1 in Indy – New England is clearly the best team in the land!