Saints No. 1 in My First Weekly NFL Rankings
NFL Countdown | by Mike O'Hara | 10.8.2009/9:23AM
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I have no complaints with anyone’s rankings of anything – college football, pro football, deep dish pizza over thin crust, best Chinese restaurants (I’m partial to the one on West 9 Mile in Ferndale, just west of Woodward Ave.).
Sometimes I wonder if winning counts for anything. For example, I didn’t see how some of websites ranked the Washington Redskins ahead of the Lions after Week 3 – after the Lions had just beaten the Redskins.
What I don’t trust are rankings before the season starts.
But no matter how the personal likes and dislikes add up, I read the rankings. And like most of you, I get upset when I think they’re too far off base.
All of this has been a long drum roll for the introduction of my first NFL rankings of the season. After a quarter of the season – most teams have played four games, a few have played three – we have enough information and sample size to accurately rank the teams from 1-32.
Of course, that means there’s enough information to start more arguments than we settle.
Here are this week’s rankings, which will be updated every week:
1. New Orleans Saints (4-0: They’ve won with offense. They’ve won with defense. And they have a bye before playing the Giants. After beating the Jets last week, a win over the Giants will make the Saints kings of New York.
2. New York Giants (4-0): They’re tough and deep, with the best backups in the league. They don’t have a bye this week, but playing the Raiders is the next best thing before going to New Orleans next week.
3. Indianapolis Colts (4-0): Be wary of the winless Titans in Nashville on Sunday. Can we give the MVP Trophy to Peyton Manning right now?
4. Minnesota Vikings (4-0): The arrival of QB Brett Favre is a great story. He’s the piece of the puzzle that’s made the Vikings 4-0. But Jared Allen has made them the Purple People Eaters again.’
5. New England Patriots (3-1): They get more votes, and more credibility, on reputation than any team in the league. And they deserve it.
6. Denver Broncos (4-0): If they beat the Patriots at home on Sunday, they’re for real – except for the doubters. The defense, which crumbled under Mike Shanahan, has been rebuilt under new head coach Josh McDaniels and Mike Nolan, his defensive coordinator.
7. New York Jets (3-1): The addition of Braylon Edwards should make them a better team than the one that lost in New Orleans on Sunday. There was an alarming play by rookie QB Mark Sanchez at the end of the game. He ducked in the face of the rush and threw an interception. He has to be more than a pretty boy.
8. Baltimore Ravens (3-1): Yes, they got the shaft by some Brady Rules calls in last week’s loss to the Pats. Cincy’s no pushover this week, but I wouldn’t want to play Ray Lewis anytime, especially when he’s mad. It’s OK for Carson Palmer to duck.
9. San Francisco 49ers (3-1): They’re one late TD away by the Vikings from being 3-1. It’s a good young team with a star middle linebacker in Patrick Willis. Signing Michael Crabtree will help the offense, but not for a week or two.
10.. Chicago Bears (3-1): They’re resting on a three-game winning streak with a bye, and return to play Atlanta and Cincy on the road. Watching Jay Cutler for a full game makes me think he’s just good, but not in the top tier.
11. Philadelphia Eagles (2-1): Donovan McNabb returns with his ribs healed against a soft touch, the Bucs.
12. Cincinnati Bengals (3-1): Some guys finally get what they deserve, and that’s the case for Marvin Lewis, the Bengals’ good-guy coach. He has his team focused, finally. There’s a reward for staying the course.
13. Atlanta Falcons (2-1): I don’t see them winning at San Francisco this week. Reality bites.
14. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-2): Do I think there are 13 better teams than the Steelers? No. But the record is what it is. Sorry, Lions, but you’re catching the Steelers at a bad time.
15. San Diego Chargers (2-2): The bye comes at a right time. They’re sitting two games behind the Broncos and return to play them on a Monday night. Meanwhile, Shawne Merriman has become what some draft experts thought he’d become when the Chargers drafted him in 2005. Attitude issues, and a potential flameout.
16. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-2): It’s a big week in Seattle. Win there, then they come home for a tap-in against the Rams. Then a bye. They’re revived, and could be sitting at 2-2.
17. Dallas Cowboys (2-2): To quote that astute football expert – myself – “the most over-hyped, under-performing franchise in the history of North American sports.” White a line.
18. Green Bay Packers (2-2): Big, big problems on the offensive line. The bye comes at the right time for battered QB Aaron Rodgers.
19. Houston Texans (2-2): The defining point comes early this season – at Arizona and at Cincinnati. Otherwise, it’s another .500 season for the perennially hopeful Texans.
20. Washington Redskins (2-2): The Redskins have hired Sherman Lewis as an offensive consultant. Sherm last worked in Detroit in 2004 as an offensive coordinator under Steve Mariucci. You remember Mariucci’s juggernaut – the Wet Toast Offense?
21. Arizona Cardinals (1-2): The Cardinals’ defense was a no-show at home against Indy before the bye. It has to return against the Texans, or the 49ers could disappear out of sight with the lead in the NFC West.
22. Miami Dolphins (1-3): Monday night, in the Meadowlands, against the Jets. Lots of luck, Chad Henne, in your second pro start.
23. Detroit Lions (1-3): All signs point to Daunte Culpepper starting at QB against the Steelers. The defense has to tighten up to give the offense any chance. And the special teams have to show up.
24. Seattle Seahawks (1-3): They’re looking at a rebuilding program a year sooner than expected.
25. Carolina Panthers (0-3): One sack in three games for Julius Peppers, who’s getting $16 million-plus from the franchise tag. Two TD passes, seven interceptions, 54.3 passer rating for QB Jake Delhomme, who got a big bonus to sign an extension. Time for the big money men to step up.
26. Buffalo Bills (1-3): I don’t now if this season can be saved, but any chance starts at home against Cleveland. Terrell Owens has eight catches. That’s two per game. Maybe he should sound off. Anything to put some life in Buffalo.
27. Tennessee Titans (0-4): A loss to the Colts on Sunday puts them five games out of first place. A win puts them three games out. Really, that’s not a big difference. This season is history already.
28. Oakland Raiders (1-3): Congratulation on beating KC in Week 2 to claim the all-important 28th spot in my first weekly ratings. Raiders box Al Davis must be very proud.
29. Kansas City Chiefs (0-4): The shame of losing to the Raiders. That’s how you get to be No. 29.
30. Cleveland Browns (0-4): Trading Braylon Edwards to the Jets was easy. They got back a couple draft picks and some role players for a player who wasn’t performing.
31. Tampa Bay Bucs (0-4): Just wondering if this wouldn’t be a landing spot for Lions linebacker Ernie Sims before the trade deadline. We’ll stew on that later.
32. St. Louis Rams (0-4): Home to Minnesota, at Jacksonville, home to Indy in the next three. That makes them 0-7 going to Ford Field on Nov. 1.
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