NFL Power Rankings: Week 8

Sorry I haven't posted these yet, but it has been a crazy busy week for me. Let me start out by saying that this past weekend was the second of three consecutive Sundays that I have had to work, meaning I have only seen the Sunday and Monday night games over that span of time, so my analysis shouldn’t be as in depth as it can (and will) be later in the season. Sorry to not give a write-up for each team, but I didn't have the time to get them all done. Much like last week, it was very difficult to rank the teams in the middle of the pack, and those in the 12-20 spots can be moved up and down without much protest from me. I try to do these things so that both full season performance and recent outings are taken into consideration, but sometimes I feel as though one of those two factors is more indicative than the other, which is why you see some drastic movement this week. Like always, team record is in parentheses and last week’s ranking is bracketed. Onto the rankings:

32. St. Louis Rams (0-7) [32]

Note to the Rams: A 42-6 drubbing at the hands of the Indianapolis Colts isn’t your ticket out of the #32 spot. Aside from poor Steven Jackson, this team honestly does not belong on an NFL field. I’ve mentioned it a few times, but there are really only two seemingly winnable games on this schedule, the first of which comes at Detroit this week (the other is a matchup at Tennessee in Week 14). If they miss out there, it’ll be a very likely road that ends in an 0-16 season.

31. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-7) [31]

Congratulations Buccaneers, you are now winless on two continents! On the bright side, Tampa Bay fans got their first glimpse of first-round draft pick Josh Freeman. He wasn’t out there long, going 2/4 for 16 yards and rushing once for five yards, but Derek Anderson led the Browns to a victory earlier this season going 2/17 for 23 yards and an interception, so maybe there is hope. If St. Louis only has two seemingly winnable games left, then Tampa Bay only has one, and it’s against a team it lost to earlier this season, Carolina. This is another team who can’t stop anybody on defense, which is a massive problem when your offense isn’t any good either.

30. Tennessee Titans (0-6) [30]

I didn’t move any of the six teams on a bye this past week in my rankings, which is good news for Tennessee, because they couldn’t give me any more reasons to drop them further (not that there’s a whole lot further to go). The week didn’t pass without some news from Tennessee, as owner Bud Adams expressed his thoughts on who should be the starting quarterback, and head coach Jeff Fisher donned a Peyton Manning jersey at a charity event, which didn’t go over so well with his players. Not only do I think this is the best winless team, but I also think they can win 3-5 games in the second half of the season, but let’s not kid each other, they’ll be choosing in the Top 10 in April’s draft.

29. Cleveland Browns (1-6) [28]

To be fair, Cleveland’s six losses all come against teams ranked inside my Top 9. However, aside from the game against Cincinnati, where the Bengals were due for a letdown after a huge emotional win over the Steelers, Cleveland hasn’t been too competitive in those losses. They continue to get killed by the opposition’s ground attack, and the quarterback problem continues to grow each week. As I said last week, Josh Cribbs ought to take every single snap, since Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson just aren’t NFL starters right now. Potential wins loom with the Lions, Chiefs, and Raiders on the schedule, but so do rematches with the Bengals, Ravens, and Steelers, which can probably already be penciled in as losses.

28. Oakland Raiders (2-5) [27]

This was the reaction of one of the guys I play fantasy football with who is a Bay Area native, “YES! THE RAIDERS ARE FINALLY BENCHING JAMARCUS RUSSELL!” That doesn’t bode very well for your franchise, especially when the guy backing up Russell is Toldeo’s own Bruce Gradkowski, who doesn’t protect the ball very well either. I couldn’t find a clip of it, but JaMarcus Russell’s post-game interview only reaffirmed my belief that there is something worse than his performance on the football field, and that is his command of the English language. This should give you an idea of what him talking about “not everything being on him” sounded like. One more thing about Russell. This is his third year in the league, and he’s still so incredibly immature that it astounds me. Don’t use the media to call out your teammates, do that behind closed doors with the team itself. Take a lesson from a guy in his first year in the league and fifteen months your junior, Mark Sanchez, who took sole responsibility for the team’s loss to Buffalo. You have a lot of growing up to do if you want to be successful in this league. I think this stat is the most telling about the Raiders franchise as a whole over the past few drafts: 2009 receptions and games played: Darrius Heyward-Bey (4-7) and Michael Crabtree (5-1). Once again, it looks like Al Davis took the wrong guy.

27. Kansas City Chiefs (1-6) [25]

Last week against the Chargers was a recipe for disaster. Kansas City was coming off what could be its only win all season, and San Diego was pissed after probably losing the division in Week 6 at home. That translates to Matt Cassel throwing for a whopping 97 yards and the Chiefs never really being competitive in falling to 0-4 at home on the season. So much for that supposed home field advantage Arrowhead provides. The other interesting note from this week was Larry Johnson taking out his frustrations about his own crappiness on Todd Haley. He slammed Haley, saying that his father had better credentials, including playing for the coach from “Remember the Titans.” A word of advice Larry, your 2.7 YPC leads me to believe that most NFL running backs, both past and present, have better NFL credentials than you do. Shut up, stop using gay slurs to criticize people, especially when your criticisms aren’t spurred on by someone else’s sexual orientation. Enjoy the suspension the NFL or the Chiefs will be slapping on you, and then riding the pine while Jamaal Charles actually rushes for 3+ yards per carry.

26. Washington Redskins (2-5) [29]

Believe me, they didn’t move up because of their offense, which has yet to eclipse the 17-point mark this season, despite playing against teams who are a combined 4-29 in Weeks 2-6. The defense looked very good last night, despite surrendering two big plays to Desean Jackson. The first was a bit fluky, while the second was a great route combined with poor judgment. I expect those to be shored up during the bye week. The big question is whether or not the offense can ever get on track. Sherman Lewis didn’t drop any jaws with his play calling in his first game. There were a lot of Clinton Portis runs that amounted to nothing. The ineptitude of this offense was highlighted by a fourth quarter shotgun snap on 4th down that center Casey Rabach hut himself in the ass with, resulting in a fumble that the Eagles recovered…ouch. Lastly, the Redskins lost their best offensive weapon, Chris Cooley, to a season-ending ankle injury on the first play of the second quarter. I’m no psychic, but when an offense averaging less than 14 points per game loses its best offensive player, I’m going to predict that that team will suck even worse than it did before.

25. Carolina Panthers (2-4) [23]

I proclaimed that it would be embarrassing when this team got to .500 after a win over Buffalo. Apparently I spoke too soon, or I forgot that Jake Delhomme was the Panthers’ quarterback. He has gotten so bad that John Fox didn’t publicly back him after this week’s performance, which could mean a new man under center next week. The only thing going for Carolina is its running back tandem of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart.

24. Detroit Lions (1-5) [24]

Not much to speak of here. If their skill guys have gotten healthy over the bye week (that’s Matthew Stafford, Kevin Smith, and Calvin Johnson), they could play a role in crowning the NFC North champion, as they could trip up the Vikings, Bears, or Packers in a shootout. Nonetheless, they should be a force in the coming years.

23. Buffalo Bills (3-4) [26]

It’s amazing how this team was coming off of an embarrassing home loss to Cleveland and staring at a 1-4 record just two weeks ago. Fast forward to the present and they’re suddenly 3-4 after surprise road wins at the Jets and Panthers. I’m still not a believer in the team, but, all of a sudden, 8-8 is a distinct possibility. I still think Fred Jackson needs to be used more, and I don’t believe that Ryan Fitzpatrick is the answer at quarterback (not that Trent Edwards is either), but they have certainly surprised me as of late.

22. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-3) [22]

This still, to me, is the toughest team to figure out in the NFL. I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see them lose by twenty to the winless Titans when both teams come out of their bye weeks on Sunday. I also wouldn’t be surprised to see them hang fifty on the Titans pitiful defense. Maurice Jones-Drew is one of the best players in the NFL and is going to be a force to be reckoned with for opposing defenses the rest of the way.

21. Seattle Seahawks (2-4) [21]
20. San Francisco 49ers (3-3) [14]
19. Chicago Bears (3-3) [10]
18. Miami Dolphins (2-4) [15]
17. Houston Texans (4-3) [19]
16. San Diego Chargers (3-3) [20]
15. New York Jets (4-3) [17]
14. Atlanta Falcons (4-2) [7]
13. Dallas Cowboys (4-2) [16]
12. Arizona Cardinals (4-2) [18]
11. Philadelphia Eagles (4-2) [13]
10. New York Giants (5-2) [6]
9. Green Bay Packers (4-2) [11]
8. Baltimore Ravens (3-3) [8]
7. Cincinnati Bengals (5-2) [12]
6. Minnesota Vikings (6-1) [4]
5. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2) [9]
4. New England Patriots (5-2) [5]
3. Denver Broncos (6-0) [3]
2. New Orleans Saints (6-0) [1]
1. Indianapolis Colts (6-0) [2]