1. New Orleans Saints (5-0) [1] – I have gotten some opposition for putting the Saints at the top, saying that the Colts should be #1, but they got their big validating win last week against the previously undefeated Giants. Much is to be said about their playmakers on offense, but their offensive line just completely shut down a Giants defense that does a better job than any at getting pressure. And the Saints defense continues to make plays since they brought in the great defensive coordinator Gregg Williams this season. This team is a complete package with the most high-powered offense in the league.
2. Indianapolis Colts (5-0) [2] – The Colts still have the names on offense to compete with the Saints. Peyton Manning can beat anyone. Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark are terrific receivers, while Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon have stepped up as well, and Anthony Gonzalez may return soon. Joseph Addai and Donald Brown are doing well in the running game, and their defense has done a fine job. I understand anyone who wants to say the Colts are #1, but I have to go with the Saints.
3. Minnesota Vikings (6-0) [4] – Brett Favre continues to impress, and he seems to be in perfect rhythm with his receivers. Over the course of a full season though, I have to go with Drew Brees and Peyton Manning until Favre can prove last season’s dropoff won’t happen again.
4. Denver Broncos (6-0) [6] – It seems like no one can stop the Broncos at this point. They are winning at home and on the road. I cannot believe I am saying this, but Kyle Orton has been great this season. I am still a bit concerned about their defense though after the amazing start against weaker teams.
5. New York Giants (5-1) [3] – There should be no shame in losing to the Saints, but they got dominated. It was only a matter of time before their secondary got exposed. Their defensive line has been able to make up for it, but they got no pressure on Brees in this game, and the secondary suffered the consequences. Once again they are sorely missing linebacker Michael Boley.
6. New England Patriots (4-2) [8] – This team will just keep getting better as Tom Brady gets more and more comfortable. Well, maybe it doesn’t get better than 59-0. But it is time to start remembering that with a healthy Tom Brady, the Patriots are always one of the best teams in the league. It just took him a few disappointing weeks to get going.
7. Atlanta Falcons (4-1) [9] – The Falcons continue to look good as they pick up a win against the Bears. They have one of the better offenses, and their defense isn’t too bad either.
8. Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2) [10] – Ben Roethlisberger is having an outstanding season so far. He has typically been a guy that is able to win most games but doesn’t put up the great stats, but this year he is getting the numbers up as well. The loss of defensive end Aaron Smith hurts though.
9. Baltimore Ravens (3-3) [12] – It has been a rough stretch for the Ravens losing three in a row, but I still believe this is a pretty good team. A loss is a loss, but they had a very good opportunity to defeat the undefeated Vikings in Minnesota. This team will bounce back from this losing streak.
10. Philadelphia Eagles (3-2) [5] – I don’t know what to think of their loss to the Raiders last week. Is it just a fluke loss, a result of a long road trip going into the rough environment in Oakland, or does this team have serious issues?
11. Cincinnati Bengals (4-2) [7] – Just when things were going so well for the Bengals, they get knocked back by the Texans at home. I kept waiting for them to make their comeback, but they never did anything. Cedric Benson had his worst game of the season, despite facing one of the worst rush defenses in the league. They may still be atop the AFC North for now, but they are still only the third best team in the division.
12. Green Bay Packers (3-2) [15] – Yes, it was against the Lions, but it was a needed dominating victory for the Packers. At times, they have looked like they could be better this season, and last week they showed their worth.
13. Arizona Cardinals (3-2) [18] – This team got off to a slow start, but the Cardinals may finally be getting back to the level that took them to the Super Bowl last season. If they put the second half where they gave up against the Texans behind them, they are outscoring opponents 48-3 in three of their last four halves.
14. Chicago Bears (3-2) [14] – I did not expect them to beat the Falcons last week, but they kept it close, which was good. Not good enough to move them up, but good enough to not drop them.
15. San Diego Chargers (2-3) [13] – I wanted to say the Chargers are still a better team than the Bears. They seem to be moving the ball better, but they are just not doing what it takes to win games. I called their game against the Broncos a must win, playing at home coming off a bye. But not surprisingly, they were unable to come through. The Broncos are a great team, but the Chargers should have been able to beat them under the circumstances.
16. Dallas Cowboys (3-2) [16] – As much as I would love to, I’ll refrain from dropping the Cowboys out of the top half following their bye. This team has the talent, and maybe they fixed things during the off week, which includes swapping Miles Austin into the starting lineup replacing Patrick Crayton, but I am still a bit doubtful that good things will come with this team.
17. Houston Texans (3-3) [21] – I have been extremely down on the Texans all season, but the win over the Bengals last week was a pleasant surprise. Andre Johnson continues to impress. This team has the talent to be a contender in any game they play if they can put it all together.
18. San Francisco 49ers (3-2) [17] – The 49ers will welcome Michael Crabtree to the starting lineup this week, and also welcome back Frank Gore. I don’t know if they will be enough to make up for Shaun Hill being their quarterback though when they take on the surging Texans this week.
19. Miami Dolphins (2-3) [19] – The Dolphins are on a two game win streak and have a home game this week following a bye, but it is the Saints they are facing. It should not be as bad a trip for them as it was for the Bills and Jets. But the Dolphins still have one of the better run offenses in the league, plus an intriguing young quarterback in Chad Henne.
20. New York Jets (3-3) [11] – The Jets sure did an amazing job tricking everyone into thinking they were a great team with the great start they had, but they have been humiliated in consecutive weeks by weak divisional opponents. Losing to the Bills in the Meadowlands is just incomprehensible. Mark Sanchez has seemingly lost everything that made him so successful to begin his career, and now his defense has lost perhaps it’s most important piece for the rest of the season with Kris Jenkins’ torn ACL.
21. Carolina Panthers (2-3) [23] – Jake Delhomme continues to be awful, but the Panthers finally got that tremendous running game going to beat the Buccaneers last week. They should return to .500 with another big running game this week.
22. Seattle Seahawks (2-4) [20] – Just when I thought the Seahawks had a good team, especially playing at home, the Cardinals embarrass them in Seattle. Julius Jones has been a surprising success running the ball this year, but managed just five yards rushing in the game. Hopefully it doesn’t get any worse than that loss, but the 41-0 win over the Jaguars two weeks ago seems like a very distant memory now.
23. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-3) [22] – There’s still a large tier of terrible teams that the Jaguars stay ahead of with their two big wins, but they are the bottom of the higher tier. I don’t even understand how they needed overtime to beat the Rams, especially with the huge game that Maurice Jones-Drew had.
24. Buffalo Bills (2-4) [28] – Imagine if the Bills didn’t fumble away the opener against the Patriots. Imagine they also don’t let the Browns come away with a 6-3 victory against them. This team could be 4-2. They lost Trent Edwards in beating the Jets last week, and I’m trying to figure out if that’s a bad or good thing for the Bills.
25. Oakland Raiders (2-4) [31] – How much of a difference does cross-country traveling make? Two weeks ago, the Raiders went to New York and could not have looked worse against the Giants. Last week, they go back home while the Eagles come from Philadelphia to play them, and the Raiders pull off the win. I don’t know how it happened, but that is a pretty impressive win either way. They needed Zach Miller to finally do something with the offense.
26. Kansas City Chiefs (1-5) [27] – Although he has still yet to find the end zone, Larry Johnson may have had his best game of the season so far. If he can get going, it would give this team a more balanced offense along with Matt Cassel passing to Dwayne Bowe.
27. Detroit Lions (1-5) [26] – The Lions could not get any offense going with Calvin Johnson sidelined. Daunte Culpepper was successful last week replacing the injured Matthew Stafford despite Johnson missing most of the game, but it was a different story against the Packers as Detroit got shut out.
28. Washington Redskins (2-4) [24] – As terrible as the Redskins have been all season, it is still hard to believe that they lost at home to the Chiefs, especially considering Clinton Portis topped 100 yards rushing. Coach Jim Zorn officially doesn’t know what he’s doing. He benched his quarterback Jason Campbell, but he’s still starting this week, although Zorn has had his play-calling privileges taken away from him, which can only possibly be a good thing, but time will tell.
29. Cleveland Browns (1-5) [29] – If there is one thing that Browns fans can still get excited about, it’s Joshua Cribbs.
30. Tennessee Titans (0-6) [25] – Is this still too high to rank them based on last season’s success and the fact that they have Chris Johnson? Letting Tom Brady’s Patriots score 59 points on you is somewhat excusable when both of your starting cornerbacks are out. But is the Pats’ defense really that good? I don’t even know what to say about Kerry Collins at this point, I feel like anything I could come up with would be an understatement.
31. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-6) [30] – I tried to have some hope for them with the change to Josh Johnson, but he has yet to accomplish anything. He may be a different quarterback than Byron Leftwich, but he isn’t doing any better of a job.
32. St. Louis Rams (0-6) [32] – The Rams may have finally showed something in taking the Jaguars to overtime last week, but they remain winless and at the bottom of the rankings.
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