Dec 09
Not too much moving and shaking this week in the Power Rankings. The Giants loss to the Eagles cost them the top spot, but nothing more. And down the rankings, it all shakes out as expected with three teams falling out of the top 10 thanks to losses – including the New York Jets, who just two weeks ago were sitting pretty in the division lead and at number two in the rankings.
The newcomers are a trio of 8-5 teams, not far ahead of the 8-5 bunch unseen behind them. The Dolphins, Cardinals and Vikings are all welcomed to the top 10 courtesy of their positions as division leaders. For the Dolphins and Vikings, it is their first trip into the top 10 this season and with how things have been going, it may be a short stay.
Fallen Off:
New York Jets (7): Losers of two straight and now stuck in a three way tied for their division lead.
Dallas Cowboys (9): Because Tony Romo still cannot win the big game.
Atlanta Falcons (10): The rule in the NFC South this year is that the home team always wins.
The top ten are after the jump…
Read the rest of this entry »
Dec 02
No time to mince words, just be blunt: it was a rough week for the Top Ten. Three of last week’s top ten lost, and three more snuck away with wins in the most absurd of ways.
The Patriots and Cardinals fell out of the rankings this week. The Patriots lost to the Steelers by a wide margin at home. In a sentence, they offense got shut down and the defense failed to show up. It was almost expected though; defense has been the Patriots’ problem all season long.
For the Cardinals, they just got outplayed by the Eagles. In the process, they lost yet another chance to clinch their division. Though, I must admit, it would be kind of fun to see a team get into the playoffs at 7-9.
The two new arrivals this week, taking over the spots of the Pats and Cards, are the Cowboys and Falcons. Both teams have won eight games and are fighting for the second wild card position in the NFC. Unfortunately, both will likely end the season with better records than the winners of the NFC North and NF C West.
The full list is after the jump… Read the rest of this entry »
Nov 25
Just a quick peek at the rankings right now, the rest will follow tomorrow…
The Giants hold onto to the top spot in the rankings for the second straight week, but the Titans loss to the Jets cost them the number two position. The Jets, on a five-game winning streak, have taken that spot from the Titans, along with their hopes of staying undefeated.
Moving through the Top 10, you will not find too many changes. The Panthers loss to their division-rival Falcons cost them a few spots, but most of the other leaders won this week.
The biggest change in our Top 10 this week: The Redskins, despite a close win over the Seahawks, have fallen from the number nine position. Replacing them in the rankings are the Ravens, who beat up on the Eagles on Sunday. The AFC is slowly but surely asserting its dominance in the rankings, it appears…
|
Rank
|
Team
|
LW
|
2008
Record
|
Ups and Downs |
|
1
|
Giants
|
1
|
10-1
|
They can beat up good defenses. They can out-gun good offenses. What more do they need? |
|
2
|
Jets
|
4
|
8-3
|
Brett Favre is getting all the glory, but it was Thomas Jones that did all the dirty work. |
|
3
|
Titans
|
2
|
10-1
|
The Jets were the first true offensive threat they faced all season, and they Titans stumbled. Bad news ahead: they still have to faced a reenergized Colts team in the coming weeks. |
|
4
|
Buccaneers
|
5
|
8-3
|
Slow and steady wins the race. Is there a more apt description of Jeff Garcia and this offense? |
|
5
|
Steelers
|
7
|
8-3
|
Talk about a tough final run: New England, Baltimore and Tennessee… all on the road. |
|
6
|
Colts
|
8
|
7-4
|
Riding a four game winning streak already and their next three opponents have a combined five wins. 10-4, here they come. |
|
7
|
Panthers
|
3
|
8-3
|
Not only did the loss cost them control of the division, it made them a target. The Falcons are now just a game behind and the Saints just two. |
|
8
|
Patriots
|
10
|
7-4
|
I continue to stand by my assertion: this team has a problem on defense. What happens when Cassel and the offense get shut down? Can the Pats stop anyone from scoring? |
|
9
|
Cardinals
|
6
|
7-4
|
No shame in falling to the Giants. Everyone’s doing it, you know. It would have been nice to see them clinch the division though. Maybe, Thursday. |
|
10
|
Ravens
|
11
|
7-4
|
Over their last four games, including the Giants loss, the Ravens have a plus-11 turnover differential. Their defense + and offense that holds onto the ball = serious success. |
Nov 18
This is a year of division greatness and division lameness.
The Great: The AFC East, where, even on a four-game losing streak, the Bills are sill 5-5. The NFC East, where, thanks to a tie, every team is over the .500 mark and the Giants are 9-1. The NFC South, where the Falcons, Saints, Panthers and Bucs have been taking turns beating up on every other division out there.
The Lame: The AFC West, where the division leader couldn’t even handle the lowly Browns last week. The NFC West, where the Cardinals have as many wins as the other three teams combined.
The other three? Just what you’d expect. A little good. A little bad. Lots of fun to watch.
|
Rank
|
Team
|
LW
|
2008
Record
|
Ups and Downs |
|
1
|
Giants
|
2
|
9-1
|
Their running game destroyed the Ravens #1 ranked defense. Game over. |
|
2
|
Titans
|
1
|
10-0
|
Kerry Collins has now won two games for the Titans. But the struggles the Titans have had on the ground in recent weeks have to be worrisome. |
|
3
|
Panthers
|
3
|
8-2
|
The Panthers haven’t exactly been playing their strongest football recently, but at least they are still winning the games and clinging to a one-game lead in their division. |
|
4
|
Jets
|
7
|
7-3
|
They let Matt Cassel throw for 400 yards and still beat the Patriots. The lack of defense is scary, but letting Brett Favre chuck the ball at will is scarier. |
|
5
|
Buccaneers
|
5
|
7-3
|
You are unlikely to find anyone claiming that Bucs football is fun to watch. But they are getting their wins even when Jeff Garcia has no one to throw to. |
|
6
|
Cardinals
|
10
|
7-3
|
Kurt Warner for MVP? How about Larry Fitzgerald or Anquan Boldin? Can we give a joint-award? |
|
7
|
Steelers
|
12
|
7-3
|
Classic Steelers football: they put their noses down and snuck past a worthy foe. The gameplan looks like it might fail them more often as the season ends and the playoffs approach. |
|
8
|
Colts
|
11
|
6-4
|
Fact: The game was far closer than it should have been. Perception: They won, they won, they won and now they are “on a roll!” |
|
9
|
Redskins
|
6
|
6-4
|
The Redskins are starting to put the ball in Jason Campbell’s hands too often. With a backfield that includes Portis, Betts and Alexander, there’s no reason to fall short of 20 carries (as a team) in any game. Shame on you, Jim Zorn. |
|
10
|
Patriots
|
8
|
6-4
|
I return to a comment from their loss to Miami many weeks ago: This team’s problem is it’s defense, not Matt Cassel. Injuries are mounting and the Dolphins come to town next week. |
The rest of the rankings are below… Read the rest of this entry »
Nov 11
Here’s a peek at our Power Rankings for this week.
Behind a surprising offense and a four game win streak (second only to the undefeated Titans), the Ravens have moved all the way to fourth in the poll this week.
The Jets have found their way into the Top 10 for the first time this week. Their blowout of the Rams coupled with the Patriots victory over the Bills took the Jets into a tie for the lead of the AFC East. The Patriots, though, are lurking right behind them.
Finally, the Falcons found their way back into the mix this week. At 6-3, they are tied for second in their division with the Buccaneers. Matt Ryan is finding his groove and the Falcons look nothing like the team we expected to see this year…
|
Rank
|
Team
|
LW
|
2008
Record
|
Ups and Downs |
|
1
|
Titans
|
1
|
9-0
|
They just keep sneaking by, sneaking by. Impressed that they were able to win on the arm of Kerry Collins, but still waiting for them to stand up to a real offensive threat. |
|
2
|
Giants
|
2
|
8-1
|
We know this much: They can win any way they want. Lots of points? Lots of defense? On their kicker’s leg? Yes, yes and yes. |
|
3
|
Panthers
|
3
|
7-2
|
Ugly wins are still wins. Jake Delhomme, however, continues to rise in our sister poll of overrated quarterbacks. |
|
4
|
Ravens
|
7
|
6-3
|
For the first time in team history, the Ravens have scored more than 27 points in four straight games. Additionally, they are allowing just 15 points per game during their win streak. And did we mention the plus-six turnover margin in that span as well? |
|
5
|
Buccaneers
|
5
|
6-3
|
Mmmmmm… bye week. And two winnable games upcoming to really set up the rest of the playoff run. |
|
6
|
Redskins
|
6
|
6-3
|
The possibility of not having Clinton Portis against the Cowboys almost cost them a spot in these rankings. Almost. |
|
7
|
Jets
|
14
|
6-3
|
Following in the Ravens footsteps, the Jets have won three straight and reclaimed a share of their division lead. If not for that embarrassing loss to the Raiders in Week 7, we’d be talking about a seven win team on a five game streak. |
|
8
|
Patriots
|
11
|
6-3
|
They are winning again, and the 20-10 victory over the Bills all but ends Buffalo’s hope for this season. What the Pats should be concerned with now: their division rival Jets have scored 70 more points already this season. |
|
9
|
Falcons
|
13
|
6-3
|
They finally beat a division opponent in the Saints and they did so with serious conviction. Better news? They get to play the Saints again in just four weeks. |
|
10
|
Cardinals
|
10
|
6-3
|
Kurt Warner doesn’t sound like a football player in his post-game speeches. He sounds like the kind of guy that’s been nominated for eight Oscars but never won… and never will. But he plays like a Hall of Famer. |
Read our complete rankings from this week here.
Oct 28
Here’s a quick look at the ExtremeRavens’ Power Rankings for Week Nine. See the complete rankings here.
|
Rank
|
Team
|
|
LW
|
2008
Record
|
Ups and Downs |
|
1
|
Titans
|
|
1
|
7-0
|
Winning in convincing fashion and running away with the AFC… first round bye, here they come. |
|
2
|
Giants
|
|
4
|
6-1
|
Sneaking past the Steelers, but keeping their momentum. And Coughlin’s grip on this team is iron-tight. |
|
3
|
Panthers
|
|
5
|
6-2
|
A game up in a strong division is a good place to be. |
|
4
|
Patriots
|
|
8
|
5-2
|
Matt Cassel isn’t Tom Brady. But it doesn’t really matter. |
|
5
|
Redskins
|
|
7
|
6-2
|
They still aren’t the most impressive 6-2 team we’ve ever seen, but 6-2 they are and in good position at the mid-way point. |
|
6
|
Steelers
|
|
2
|
5-2
|
The Giant’s just ‘Steelered’ the Steelers. Ouch. One game up in the AFC North might be enough, but with the Browns and Ravens both surging, the Steelers have got to watch their back. |
|
7
|
Buccaneers
|
|
3
|
5-3
|
They let the Cowboys sneak by, but Gruden will have this team fighting for a division title all season long. |
|
8
|
Bills
|
|
6
|
5-2
|
Already lost all the ground they had on the Pats, now the Dolphins and Jets are looking up too. |
|
9
|
Cowboys
|
|
16
|
5-3
|
That wasn’t quite typical Cowboy football of the past few years, but it got the job done. Jason Witten’s hurt now too? Can Jerry Jones play? |
|
10
|
Packers
|
|
12
|
4-3
|
Thanks to the overwhelming strength of the NFC’s East and South divisions, the Pack and Bears are fighting for the only slot left: the division title. Advantage so far: Packer. |
|
14
|
Ravens
|
|
18
|
4-3
|
They stopped the Dolphins gimmicky attack last week, and then reused the same gimmicks this week themselves. Now that’s sneaky, Cam Cameron. He’s crazy like a fox, my friends. |
And here’s how the Ravens line up in other polls from around the nation…
ESPN.com: 14 - It’s no secret that QB Joe Flacco has a strong arm. But who knew he had great hands, as evidenced by his 43-yard catch Sunday?
FoxSports.com: 20 - The Ravens have a Super Bowl-caliber defense — No. 1 against the run and No. 2 overall in the NFL. But Baltimore still can’t throw the ball downfield well enough to be a true contender — with an NFL-low 3 touchdown passes in 2008.
CBSSportsline.com: 17 - After getting blown out by Indy two weeks ago, they’ve bounced back with two victories. Credit goes to the defense. It has dominated the past two weeks.
Yahoo! Sports: 19 - How cool was that 43-yard Troy Smith pass to Joe Flacco – and how funny was it that John Harbaugh referred to it as the “Suggs Package?”
What’s your say? With the Ravens at 4-3, how do you see things this week in the NFL?
Oct 15
Following their third straight loss, and a rough one at that, the Ravens continue to fall in rankings from the national media and others… here’s what you’ll see if you take a look around…
ExtremeRavens.com: 22 (15) - Dismal. The Ravens need to get themselves back on track now or they may never be able to. Read the rest of this entry »
Sep 12
Plenty of local sites summarize for us what’s being said about the Ravens throughout the sports media world… and even if they didn’t, most of us die-hards would find plenty of time to check Power Rankings and other articles on the team at our leisure.
But for a quick twist, let’s take a look at what’s being said about the Texans heading into this week … and a few added game thoughts …
Read the rest of this entry »
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