NFL Week 13 Power Rankings

Week 13 NFL Power Rankings

We got another great week of NFL action, the only game that was close unwatchable had a legitimate fist fight between Andre Johnson and the NFL’s dirtiest player Courtland Finnegan. We’re getting into crunch time where every game is that much more important.

To preface this post one of the things that makes the NFL better than college football is that you don’t need rankings, but in years where there is this much parity it makes it interesting to cross conferences and divisions to see how teams stack up. Power rankings mean different things to different people, but everyone does them including espn, cbs, si, blogs, radioshows. Some rankers put teams in order based on what have you done for me lately ranking teams mostly on what they have done over the last week or two. Others rank them based on the entire season while some create an order of who they think will end the season the highest.

Dekalb:

There are so many ways to do rankings, but in the end, what matters is the likelihood that your team is going to play into February and win the Super Bowl. That’s why I decided to rank the teams solely on the likelihood that they win the Super Bowl, in my opinion, as of right now. That left out a few teams, KC, the Jags, and the Buccaneers; all nice teams, but teams that I would give almost no chance of going all the way. Without further ado, here we go:

12. Indianapolis Colts- Yes, I know that they are 6-5 now. Yes, I know that they are probably going to have to win the division to get into the playoffs with a wildcard being a longshot. Yes, I know there team has been decimated by injuries. You know what else I know, though? They still have Peyton Manning. As you will learn as the rankings progress, I put a lot of stock in having a top notch quarterback. I know he has thrown a heap of interceptions the past two weeks, but as long as Peyton is their QB and head coach, I’m giving them a puncher’s chance in the playoffs

11. Chicago Bears- The 2010 Bears have to be, in my opinion, probably the worst 8-3 team I have seen since I started watching football (around 20 years). I don’t trust their coach. I don’t trust them not having a serious injury. I don’t trust their offensive line. And last, but certainly not least, I don’t trust their pansy quarterback-Mr. Jay Cutler. With all that being said, they should beat the Lions and Vikings (especially if ADP is still banged up) which means if they can win one game out of New England, the Jets, and at Green Bay, this is an 11-win team, which would probably get them a first round playoff bye and a second round game at Soldier Field (maybe the most underrated home field advantage in football).

10. New York Giants- Kind of like the Bears. Good defense, serviceable offense, but I don’t really trust them. The only reason I have them ranked above the Bears is because Eli and Coughlin have done it before.

9. Green Bay Packers- If this were a ranking of who I think is the best football team on any given day, the Packers would probably be top 4 or 5. Since it is a ranking of who I think is most likely to win the Super Bowl, I have them here. If Ryan Grant hadn’t gotten hurt, they would probably be the best team in football right now but there is just no way I can see a team that can’t run the ball winning four straight playoff games. After watching them play the Falcons this week, I feel pretty confident their inability to punch the ball in when they get in the redzone and pick up short yardage 3^rd and 4^th downs will be this team’s downfall.

8. The San Diego Chargers- The Chargers are the lowest ranked team I can really see winning the Super Bowl this year. (Yes, that means there are 8 teams that I can legitimately see winning the title). If Vincent Jackson and an injured Antonio Gates can get back to full speed, their offense, which has already been good, could be silly. If Norv Turner wasn’t their coach, I would probably have them in the top 5. Even with Norv, I can absolutely see this team going all the way.

7. New York Jets- I know most everyone is drinking the Sanchize Kool-Aid, but I’m not yet. The Jets seem to win ugly a lot, and I don’t think they have what it takes to knock off two of the three teams in New England, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore, something they would almost certainly have to do to get to Dallas.

6. Baltimore Ravens-The Ravens have all the ingredients to be a Super Bowl Contender, but they just don’t quite pass the smell test with me. Something about this team just seems off to me and I can’t quite put my finger on it. With all that being said, I still couldn’t put them any lower than 6.

5. Philadelphia Eagles- This team is LOADED with weapons. DeSean, LeSean, Maclin, and most importantly the resurrected most exciting player in football-Mike Vick. The Eagles have failed to score more than 25 points only once this season and that was the game Vick got knocked out of against the Redskins. They have a good defense, a good coach (yes, I think Andy Reid is a good coach) and I would be absolutely terrified to face them in the playoffs, and that to me is the sign of a good football team.

4. New Orleans Saints- The defending champs seem to have been disregarded by a lot of people, but they are realistically two plays away from being 10-1 right now. If they can get Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush back, an offense that has been serviceable all year with Chris Ivory and Julius Jones at running back becomes downright scary. They finish the regular season up with a tough slate (@Baltimore, @Atlanta, and against Tampa Bay), but if they can knock off Baltimore and Atlanta and the road to the Super Bowl goes through the SuperDome, they have to be the favorites in the NFC.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers- Kind of the opposite of the Ravens; they have all the ingredients and just seem like a Super Bowl team to me. If I was going to point to a potential problem spot for them, it would be the passing game (they rank 22^nd in the league). With their defense and running game though, and with battle tested Ben Roethlisberger at QB, the Steelers have an awful lot going for them. Side note: Has there ever been a cooler coach in the league than Mike Tomlin? Just watch him call time out when he is trying to Ice a kicker. He doesn’t get excited, he doesn’t run around, he doesn’t even move his hands; he just leans over calmly to the side judge and whispers “time out”. I love it.

2. Atlanta Falcons- The Falcons seem to have a complete team, and seem to be putting it all together at the right time. This team just seems to find a way to get it done every week and as the season goes on they seem to be overflowing with confidence. Most importantly, they don’t lose at home and if they can get by the Bucs in Tampa Bay this weekend, they should go into the week 15 Monday Night showdown with New Orleans at 12-2. If the Falcons win out, even if they lose that game and go 13-3, they would own a home field advantage tie-breaker over the Bears. They would also, I think, own a tie-breaker over the Saints since one of the Falcon’s losses (Philly) was against a non-common opponent whereas the Saints 3^rd loss came to a shared opponent (the Cardinals). Expect more in my yearly playoff scenario tie-breaker shakedown, coming near the end of the season.

1. New England Patriots- They’ve got the best quarterback. They’ve got the best coach. They have a huge home field advantage. Injuries don’t seem to hurt them (unless it is Brady). Next week’s Monday nighter against the Jets is an almost must-win (strange to say about a 9-2 team). I expect the Patriots to handle the Jets and roll on to the Super Bowl; they just have that feel to me.

Robert:


1. New England Patriots

Coming off a competitive game against the Colts they demolished the Lions on a short week. The game in Detroit was a show of exactly what the Pats do, pile up points and dare you to attempt to score as much as they do. The Lions gave it their best shot, but tired late. I think the stress on opposing offenses coming into games is a huge advantage, because other teams enter wondering if they can put up as much as New England does if their offense is clicking. The defense is improving, though no one knows anyone on the two-deep.
      2. Atlanta Falcons

The defense is improving every week and should continue to improve as John Abraham and Sean Weatherspoon get closer to 100 percent. They’ve already played the best quarterbacks they’ll face this regular season and have to play Drew Brees again. The defense will have to face some good teams, but outside of New Orleans on Monday Night, they don’t face a top tier quarterback or running back the rest of the way. 
3. New York Jets

I have yet to really be impressed by this team the defense is really good, but no near as great as we thought it would be. The offense is coming together and if they could bottle up what they can do after the two minute warning they’d be dangerous. Tomlinson looks to get more and more tired each week and Greene still can’t get it going, though I feel that opposing defenses key in on him while he’s in the game. Since the Green Bay loss they just haven’t put it together despite winning each game. Next Monday night is gigantic game against the Pats. 
4. Chicago Bears

They laid out the game play on how to stop the Eagles, have a horrible field to slow down their speed... The D is playing very smart football right now. Since Lovie Smith talk to offensive coordinator Mike Martz about dialing back the offensive risk taking it seems to have allowed Forte to do what he does best, wear down a defense and break a long run. The change in play calling has also helped Cutler who is already a big risk taker. I’m not sure they can keep this lofty ranking, but for now they deserve it.
5. New Orleans Saints

I’m still not seeing amazing team the national media seemingly watches each week, but they’re improving and continue to show glimmers of looking scary on offense. Early in the game in Dallas they were moving at will and suddenly just stopped. I’m not sure if their offense is easy to make halftime adjustments to or what. New Orleans probably should have lost against Dallas, but didn’t and that’s all that matters. The defense is stopping team, but not getting the turnovers like last year. The rest of their schedule is relatively easy save Monday night at the Georgia Dome and a trip to Baltimore.
6. Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens are a team that people have seemingly forgotten about after losing to the Falcons in the last minute, but with only three losses of a combined 13 points including that game in Atlanta and an overtime loss at New England. The third loss was at Cincinnati coming off the opening MNF game against the Jets. The media might be intimidated by their upcoming schedule, Pittsburgh, Houston, New Orleans, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, but all of those games are winnable and they may be favored in all of them.
7. Green Bay Packers

Before the loss to Atlanta I thought the Packers were the hottest team in the NFL coming off some impressive blowout wins, leading to the firing of two coaches. Green Bay will continue to win games a manageable schedule the rest of the way, the last game of the year against Chicago could be do or die for one of the teams or it could mean home field and a bye.
8. Philadelphia Eagles

I think Vick would be getting a lot more MVP talk if he had started from day one and hadn’t gotten injured. I think his time in prison doesn’t hurt him any more than it helps. The Eagles defense is playing much better than I expected them to coming into the season. The offensive line, the weakest part of this team, has done enough to keep Vick on his feet and keeping pressure away allowing more time for the incredibly patient passer.
9. New York Giants

This is where I feel like the drop off in teams begins. These teams to follow including the Giants are very inconsistent. As good as the Giants have played, there are some days where they just can’t seem to get things going on either side of the ball. Eli has had a tough task trying to build a report with new receivers after almost every receiver is day-to-day. Both sides of the ball have played their fair share of great games, but they need more consistency.
10. Pittsburgh Steelers

Everything said about the New York Giants could be copied and pasted here. They should have lost at Buffalo, though it is hard to play there. None of their losses have been bad at all a big credit to their defense keeping them in every game. One thing I worry about this squad is that James Harrison is probably going to get handed a suspension with one more questionable hit. The game against the Bills was a trap game and they may have been looking ahead to a big Sunday night battle against divisional foe Baltimore. The lack of a great all around receiver has hurt this team somewhat. Hines Ward is headed to the Hall of Fame, but is getting old and Mike Wallace can spread the field with the best of them, but I’m not convinced be can run more than a couple of routes.
11. Kansas City Chiefs

I predicted the Chiefs to win their division coming into the year and that feat is within their sights if they can hold off the surging Chargers. I went back and forth between KC and San Diego for the eleventh spot, but came to the conclusion of the Chiefs based on having more confidence on their overall team and coaches.
12. Indianapolis Colts

I’m giving the Colts the benefit of the doubt on this one. Manning has looked horrible the past two weeks despite putting up a lot of yardage. There is no question that the lack of anything resembling a running game continues to haunt the Colts. Playing in a very mediocre AFC South division, despite looking incredible weeks into the season, I still like their chances of making the playoffs. The running game has to get started up, because this defense isn’t going to shut down high profile defense.

Agree/Disagree? Let us know what you think of our rankings.

NFL Week 12-Atlanta Falcons vs. Green Bay Packers

It’s week 12 in the NFL which matches arguably the best two teams in NFC, the Atlanta Falcons (8-2) and the Green Bay Packers(7-3). This is a huge game for the Falcons as a win would keep at least a one game lead on division foes, New Orleans Saints (7-3) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers(7-3), and would give the Birds the tie-breaker if it comes down to ATL and the Pack for home field advantage and first round bye. It’s been well documented how strong the Falcons have been at home with Mike Smith and Matt Ryan, as the duo is 18-1(.947) in the Dome and if you’ll remember that one loss was in 2008 against the Denver Broncos in a game the Falcons had no business losing (Falcons gave up the game winning score with five minutes to play and on 3^rd and 18 from around the 50 with little over a minute to go the now sure handed Roddy White dropped a wide open TD pass in the endzone). The Dome should be rocking, especially after head coach Mike Smith has implored the fans to come out early and be loud as well as the great pregame concession deals they’ve created this year.

It was just six weeks before their only home loss that the Falcons proved to me that they were on the way back. On October 5^th, 2008 the new look birds traveled to Lambeau and came home with a 27-24 victory. The last meeting between these two teams helped Atlanta take a huge step forward in their 2008 playoffs run and their overall rejuvenation as a franchise. I remember keeping up with the game on my phone (I was working) and checking the score in the first quarter with the Falcons up 10 and lighting up with disbelief and telling another Falcons fan in amazement that we were leading the mighty Packers in Green Bay with that rookie quarterback, Matt Ryan. I got to my car after work just in time to hear Wes Durham count down the seconds to a huge win, a win that would propel the Falcons to an 11-5 record and a playoff birth.

Green Bay has always been somewhat of a measuring stick for Atlanta when they have met. In the 2003 playoffs the Falcons rolled into Wisconsin as the sixth seed to take on the Pack who were 13-0 all-time in home playoff games, including 11-0 at the house that Lombardi built. If that wasn’t enough the Packers (12-4) were the three seed and just one week before lost home field and a first round bye with a loss to the Jets. The Falcons not only ended the home playoff winning streak, but in convincing fashion, 27-7.

Now fast forward to 2010 where the two teams meet again, in what could be an even bigger for the Falcons as they take a step towards their next overall goal, a date in Dallas. Also, a win would guarantee a third straight winning season.

The Packers have been battling injuries all season long but are currently been playing some of the best football in the NFL. Most recently the Packers, like the Falcons, have won four straight games beating the Vikings at home 28-24, the Jets 9-0 at the New Meadowlands, before putting the last straw in both Cowboys’ coach Wade Phillip’s (45-7) and Vikings coach Brad Childress’ (31-3) firing hats. Obviously the Cheeseheads’ passing game with Aaron Rogers and Greg Jennings will be the focal point for Brian Van Gorder and the Atlanta defense. The home team could gain a big jolt if John Abraham can go this week (he missed the St. Louis game with a groin injury). Having the Predator and rookie linebacker Sean Weatherspoon on the field together for the first time since Cleveland would be a major upgrade to an already stout D. On the offensive side of the ball there has been a lot of talk about the explosiveness of the Packers, but the Falcons rank higher in 4 out of five key offensive categories including points, total offense, rushing yards/game, and TOS, while only five yards behind them in passing yards/game.

The overall record between these two opponents is 12-13 with the Packers holding a one game lead in the series.  Here’s hoping the Falcons tie up the series and take that next step in the Dimitroff/Smith Playbook.

What are your predictions for the Falcons-Packers game?