Target Destroyed - Atlanta Falcons-Carolina Panther Review

Atlanta Falcons-Carolina Panther review

The Atlanta Falcons picked up yardage on the ground, through the air, created turnovers, and played an all around solid 60-minutes on their way to a 31-10 victory in the cold and rain. There aren’t many better ways to start a game than to force a fumble on the first play from scrimmage and cash it in for seven points three plays later. And I would be lying if my heart didn’t appreciate the week off from a stress inducing three hours climaxing in the final minute. There are some great things to take from the game and not much to complain about especially when the Falcons returned to Atlanta safely and with a league-best 11-2 record. The Falcons absolutely dominated the box score in the first half leading in total yardage; 202-33, first downs; 13-2, and time of possession 19 minutes to10.

During the game a couple of Falcons reached some milestones including John Abraham who recorded his career 100^th sack good for 26^th all-time it was also his 9^th in his last eight games. Atlanta became the first team in NFC to have a 3,000-yd passer, 1,000-yd receiver & 1,000-yd rusher this year, Houston is the only other team to have reached these numbers in 2010.

The second half run defense scared me a little bit and the lack of killer instinct on with the offensive and defensive play calling when the Falcons come out of halftime. Jonathan Stewart is an incredibly solid and explosive running back and with Goodson cleaning up, it’s not like we were run all over by Michael Robinson, Marshawn Lynch, and Justin Forsett (note is that happens this week, we have a problem). Before today, the rush defense has done a solid job this year only allowing 98.5 yards on average, good enough to be ranked 8^th in the league. Van Gorder’s group hasn’t exactly been going up against a “B” list squad of running backs either, they’ve faced Mendenhall (120 yards, only 70 before the long overtime 50 yard run), Hightower (115, 80 of which was on a busted coverage), Frank Gore (77), Peyton Hillis to (28), Cedric Benson (70), Steven Jackson (54) and Ray Rice to (59). They’ve allowed a few big runs this season to poor angles and did so today, but they’re playing the run solidly.

The defense, as predicted, got pressure early and often on Clausen and finished with 5 sacks and not just hurries like in weeks past, although Rogers, Freeman, and Bradford are more mobile than Ole Jimmy boy. Most of Clausen’s 107 passing yards came while the defense was in the prevent late in the game, almost exclusively to the rookie wideout LaFell.  

Harry Douglas looks to be closing in on or has finally arrived at 100% health, and said as much after the game. We so often see players returning from knee injuries in record time (Welker) that when a year passes and they’re not back to or better than before we tend to forget about the injury and assume there is something wrong with them. With a receiver of that skill set is built around blazing speed, it’s not a surprise that it has taken him a little longer to progress. Another thing to consider is that once an athlete is 100 percent back to ‘normal’ they have to regain confidence in their ability and their healed body. If HD is back to that level, it could add an extra kick to this offense that teams have to gameplan around.

Ryan did a great job of spreading the ball around and did so early hitting 8 different receivers while he targeted nine. All in all Ryan completed 20 of 34 (58.8%) for 227 yards. When you take away the unselfish interception thrown right before halftime while trying to put up additional points Ryan had a QB rating of 91.35 (up from 76.5 including the INT and the extra incompletion) which is good for Matty Ice on the road in the cold.

Michael Turner knew the game plan ran through him and he not only accepted it, but seemed to love it. Gartrell is serviceable in pass protection, but he's not even close to the same league as Snelling in the running or pass catching ability. If we can get away with it (assuming he's healthy enough) I'd love to practice him 2-3 days this week but keep him on the sideline in Coffeetown. Ovie provided the biggest shockedr of the day by dropping a pass, but made up for it and has shown how important he is since Snellings sidelining. Turner churned out 112 with a 4 yard average and 3 Six-pointers. For as bad of a rap left tackle Sam Baker received earlier in the year, this statistic is interesting to say the least; “Michael Turner rushed in the direction of starting left tackle Sam Baker six times Sunday and scored on three of those. Entering Week 14, Mike Tolbert led the league with four touchdowns when rushing towards the left tackle”(ESPN, Stats & Information).

There's not too much to say about this game, it's what we thought would happen. It was great to see the way Falcons fans showed up and traveled to Charlotte as there seemed to be more Red and black than teal.

The Falcons did a good job of limiting the stupid penalties, handling another divisional road game, and got out of Charlotte without any new injuries. The Falcons only had one penalty all day, an illegal block for 10 yards on a Panther punt, on 4^th and 11 that didn’t hurt the Falcons. One the ensuing drive the Falcons started at their own 15 and proceeded to drive 64 yards meticulously melting 8:48 off the clock on eighteen play, but only got a 39-yard field goal by Matt Bryant. The drive was huge in eating clock, but against better teams the offense needs to finish these drives with a throat stomping score that a touchdown would have been.   

Coming up a long road trip to Seattle for another important conference game against a Seahawk team that lost today 40-21 in San Francisco. 

An Unabashed Love of Cameron Newton

I love Cam Newton. There, I said it. He may be my favorite non-UGA college football player ever. I know; I should hate him. I should hate him as much as I hated Tim Tebow, more than I hated Jason Campbell, at least as much as I hated JJ Reddick. But I don’t. Not even a little bit. Not even at all.

After the first time I watched him play, in his SEC season debut against Mississippi State on a Thursday night, I called my dad and asked him if he had watched Auburn play. I told him that Auburn had something special; I was impressed not only with his play, but with his postgame interview. He said all the right things, he had a flair about him, and he gave a shout-out to Urban Meyer’s kids. He hasn’t done anything to make me like him less. A lot of people (read: everyone I know who isn’t an Auburn fan) are on the I hate Cam bandwagon. A lot of people think he is a smug asshole, that he is too cocky, and that he seems to have the biggest ego in the world. I think he is just a kid having fun playing football. He is the best player on the field all the time and he knows it. Is that a reason to hate him? But, I’m not here to get in the whole “did he know his dad was trying to get paid” or “should we give him the Heisman” debates here (we should give it to him, by the way). I just want to talk about what a great football player he is.

A lot of times these days, people seem to forget the past really quickly. It seems like every year there is a new greatest player ever, a new greatest game ever, or the best something. Maybe I’m suffering from early onset dementia here, but I honestly think that Cam Newton is the best college football player I’ve ever seen play. He just seems to amaze me on almost every play. You could make an argument that Tim Tebow was better at picking up a tough 2-5 yards when he needed to but as far as an all around quarterback, there just hasn’t been anyone else even close in the past twenty years. Vince Young, Charlie Ward, Tim Tebow and the others were nice, but if I had to pick a quarterback to play for me in one game, I’m picking Cam hands down. He can throw the ball, he can run the ball inside, run it outside, and he is a leader. What more could you want in a college quarterback?

You hear a lot of times that players these days, with their combination of size and speed, would run roughshod over football players from olden days. Clearly there were those type of guys that did that (Herschel Walker and Bo Jackson come to mind), but Cam Newton is doing it now. I don’t know that we have ever seen anyone in any sport have the combination of size, speed, strength, and athletic touch that Newton has shown this season. When I was watching the SEC championship the other night, they showed a clip of the Ole Miss game where Cam made a Randy Moss type touchdown catch in the endzone. It dawned on me, as I was watching it, that I’m not sure there is a position on the field that Cam couldn’t play in the SEC. Receiver or Tight End? Definitely. Running Back or Fullback? Not even a question. He might need to bulk up a little to play on the O-Line, but I would take him right now and the D-Line or at linebacker (he is 3 inches taller than Justin Houston and only 9 pounds lighter, in case you were wondering). I absolutely think he could do work as a safety too. Luckily, we get to watch him play quarterback and have the ball in his hands on every play. He makes the games exciting, even if you have no vested interest in them. I for one, have enjoyed it all along and am excited to watch him play one more game in college. Most outstanding college football player this year? Definitely. Most outstanding college football player of my lifetime? I’m pretty sure of that too.

Week 14-Atlanta Falcons vs. Carolina Panthers

The I-85 Rivalry 


The Atlanta Falcons and the Carolina Panthers have battled it out since the cats were enfranchised into the NFL in 1995, both competing in the old NFC West. The rivalry has had its share of blow outs, close games, and big plays. The first meeting led to an overtime win by the Falcons 30-23 in Atlanta. Although many Falcons consider the New Orleans Saints to be their primary rival, Atlanta has come to be the biggest rival for the Panthers. I have read articles stating that Carolina’s biggest rivalry is with the Pewter Pirates, but I just don’t believe that, they didn’t start playing regularly until the 2002 realignment. One of the biggest reasons why the rivalry hasn’t grown even more is the fact that one team is usually significantly better than the other. If one team is leading the division the other seemingly is always bringing up the rear. The series has also seen its share of streaks, from 1998 to 2002, Atlanta punished Carolina winning 9 out of 10 matchups, including a streak of 6 Falcon victories from 2000 through 2002. The Dirty Birds lead the overall series record 18-12.

Some of the biggest plays have happened when these two teams square off. One of these big plays was what I consider THE superman play by Michael Vick, a play that made your jaw drop because some how his knee never hit the ground on the dive towards the endzone for the score to send it into overtime. If you want to see the play it’s #2 on the following highlight: 

One of the biggest plays in recent years came two years ago in the Georgia Dome when Harry Douglas returned a punt for a 60-yard TD to blow the game wide open. One of the biggest player rivalries if you will grew between Julius Peppers and Michael Vick, which reappeared in Chicago three weeks ago.

This year’s first installment is a perfect of the one team up the other down philosophy to the series. Sunday’s matchup pits an 10-2 Falcons team on top of the NFC heading to Charlotte to face the 1-11 Panthers, who have faced their share of injuries this season. It’s possible that the largest margin of victory in the series could be challenged after being set in 2002 with a 41-0 victory for ATL. One reason for a possible blow out is the rushing defense currently ranked 27^th in the league. If the Falcons can commit pound the ball, wearing down the defense and sucking the safeties for added support, the deep ball should open up nicely. The Panthers’ offense has looked anemic at best throughout the season. I look for Matt Ryan to put together a solid game on the road gaining confidence heading to Seattle in a week, while Turner adds 150-plus yards on the ground. The defense should look to pressure rookie quarterback Jimmy Clausen all day and dare him to beat them through the air. Clausen ranks last in completion percentage (50.5), passing yards (1,056), TDs (1), and rating (55.3) among quarterbacks with at least 200 passing attempts.

Coach Smtih and the rest of the team are saying all the right things about staying focused, not looking ahead, and taking this road swing and season one step at a time. Even with the Panthers sitting at the bottom of the heap, the Falcons cannot overlook them.

Believe the team when they say they’re focused…Falcons win this divisional road game 32-13(Robert), 34-17(Dekalb).  

NFL Week 13-Atlanta Falcons vs. Tampa Bay Bucs Review

If I told you Michael Turner would be held to under 100 total yards (88), Matt Ryan would throw two picks, Jason Snelling would not play, and the Buccaneers would win the time of possession and total yards battles would you really think the Falcons made it out of Tampa with their 10^th win? I really doubt I would have. Sure enough when the game was on the line, special teams and defense rose up and saved an offense that was anemic for three-plus quarters. Does home field advantage look that much more important now.

With just 10:24 remaining in the game Samuel L. Jackson appeared on the Tampa Bay pirate ship and roared ‘RISE UP ATLANTA’ and sure enough Eric Weems and his blockers listened.  Not only was Special Weems’ return big I the fact that it was 104 yards, coupled with a big three and out by the defense allowed Mike Smith and Mike Mularkey to stay the course with the offense. Matt Ice got the ball back and lead the Falcons on a 67 yard, four minute drive that not only ate up some clock but gave Atlanta a 27-24 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish. The drive was full of big plays, none bigger than the 25 yard perfect pass and amazing grab on 3^rd and 20.

No one had a bigger game than Brent “Air” Grimes, who had 7 tackles and 6 passes defended to add to his win sealing interception, while having another Freeman pick overturned. Grimes may be the most athletic player not only on the Falcons, but in the entire league, don’t believe me look at the following clip.

I find it interesting that when these two teams played in Atlanta, Michael Spurlock's big kickoff return put them back in a game they may have had no business in and in ATL-TB part deux the the Weems return put the Falcons back in it.

This game was big for the team’s mindset going forward to know they can win on the road against a good team when not only your quarterback is having a bad game, but it seems that nothing is going your way.  

Through 13 games the Falcons have all but locked up their spot in the playoffs, but for this team that’s not good enough they have their sights on a bye and playing in the Georgia Dome through January.

Extra Points: I have rarely listened to an NFL telecast where I felt like one announcer was pulling as hard for one team as Charlie Davis was for the Buccaneers, it was embarrassing.
-I haven't heard anyone point this out yet, but the game winner to Jenkins looked like the same play as Roddy's clinching touchdown in the Baltimore game.
-I feel moving forward Atlanta has become THE team that Raheem Morris will focus on beating starting in training camp.
-The refs were brutal in this game, there's no way around it. From not calling a personal-foul on Tampa for pushing White to the ground early in the game and then turning around a quarter later to calling one on Roddy to a little shove. Add that to all the reviewed plays and the lack of false starts on Tampa's offensive line, although I've found those are rarely called in close games on the home team. 

NFL Power Rankings-Week 14

1. New England Patriots

After the Monday night dismantling of the New York Jets, I don’t see how you can argue the Patriots as numero uno. It’s not really a secret that the huge overhaul that the New England offense has made was because of their early season loss to the Jets. These changes have paid dividends by creating mismatches against their defense. The entire team was clicking last night, if they can keep this up they’ll be scary at home in January.

This week: @ Chicago 4:15 CBS

2. Atlanta Falcons

Down ten points in the 4^th quarter I think everyone doubted that they would come back, but I don’t think many thought it wasn’t possible, even with the offense playing one of their worst games of the season.

This week: @ Carolina 1:00 FOX

3. Baltimore Ravens

I feel obligated to put the Steelers here, but I think the Ravens are playing overall better ball right now. The two teams split the series, both winning on the road. I think Baltimore out played Pittsburgh Sunday, except on one play.

This week: @ Texas 8:30 ESPN Monday Night Football

4. Pittsburgh Steelers

They continue to shut down threatening rushing attacks with little effort. They don’t impress you very much, but they win based off good coaching and timely play calling on both sides of the ball.

This week: vs. Cincinnati 1:00 CBS

5. Green Bay Packers

The Pack attack couldn’t get things rolling until the second half against the 49ers. Once they shook off the hangover from the Falcons game, they showed us who they really are outscoring San Francisco 20-3 in the second half. This might be a little high for a team that is on the playoff bubble, but they’re playing at this level.

This week: @ Detroit 1:00 FOX

6. New York Jets

After the loss on Monday night they took a pretty big fall out of the top five. For me their 9-2 record was a big part of their number three ranking. I haven’t been impressed with the New York-AFC for the past month or so. They have plenty of time to figure the offense out before making their playoff run, but their remaining schedule is no slouch.

This week: vs. Miami 4:15 CBS

7. New Orleans Saints

New Orleans is the beneficiary of two of the biggest mistakes by any two teams all year. On Thanksgiving Cowboys leading 27-23 and driving before Roy Williams fumbled on the New Orleans 11. If he doesn’t have the fumble Dallas goes up by 11 with 3 minutes to go. Fast forward to Sunday where with 34 seconds left and up by 3 a Cincinnati defender jumps offsides when everyone in the world knew the Saints were trying to draw them offsides, unforgivable. All teams have these close losses, but I’m just not seeing the great NO team that the national media seems to be seeing.

This week: vs. St. Louis 4:05 FOX

8. Chicago Bears

The Bears drop has more to do with the emergence of other teams as opposed to the Bears performance in Detroit against Drew Stanton. I see a really good defense that can play great against good teams, but isn’t the same against lesser teams, they just don’t get up for every game.

This week: vs. New England 4:15 CBS

9. Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles defense looked really good on Thursday night against the Texans, without Asante Samuel the leader of their defense. The Eagles will have an extra two days of rest when they face the Cowboys at Jerry World. We should see both teams best on Sunday Night.

This week: @ Dallas 8:20 NBC Sunday Night Football

10. New York Giants

The game against the Redskins was over before it started. They made Washington look like a poor college team.

This week: @ Minnesota 1:00 FOX

11. Kansas City Chiefs

This team just keeps winning and may have already secured their playoff berth in a bad division.

This week: @ San Diego 4:15 CBS

12. Jacksonville Jaguars

I would go with Buccaneers here, but the Jags are in the playoffs if it starts today and the Bucs are all but eliminated after Sunday.

This week: vs. Oakland 1:00 CBS

Is your team to low, rival to high? Let us know what you think

NFL Week 13-Atlanta Falcons vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 13 Atlanta Falcons @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Recap of the Green Bay game: Obviously this was a huge win for the Falcons, who control their own destiny for home field advantage through the playoffs. There were a couple of things that really stuck out to me in this game:

-The Jason Snelling hamstring injury, which I’m assuming came on his flight through the air on the goal line. He was held out of the rest of the game which may have just been precautionary, but the Falcons need him down the stretch. He was also held out of practice on Wednesday, but we’ll see that a lot over the last month to keep players fresh. How big would it be to miss Snelling? Just look at a 3rd and 4 at GB 38 play early in the fourth quarter. With a 17-10 lead the Falcons were driving looking to ice the game, three out of the first four plays went to Michael Turner. Naturally the 2^nd guy spelled Turner, but this time it was Gartrell Johnson instead of Snelling that was targeted and Johnson failed to gain the 1^st down and fumbled the ball out of bounds on a play that Snelling moves the chain on more often than not. Speedy recovery #44.

-A play before the huge “catch” by Tony Gonzalez made on 4^th down, Ovie Mughelli made an essential play on dump off pass on 3^rd and 19 to pick up 16 to even make going for it on 4^th a question. Ovie’s contributions, like Snelling’s to this team are unquantifiable; they show up big week in and week out without much praise. This time it lead to a significant touchdown by Gonzalez.

- It’s hard to complain about the three personal foul penalties when this team has been so well disciplined all season, but they all came at bad times that either stalled their drives or furthered Packer drives. The first one on Harvey Dahl for pushing a defended to the ground after the play directly in front of the ref turning a manageable 3^rd and 6 into a drive killing 3^rd and 20. All was not lost as we still got 3 points out of it, but we were headed towards putting the road team down by 7 before they even got settled. The second PF was on Corey Peters where the ball carrier had just gotten past him and his hand landed on the facemask, in all fairness it looked like Brandon Jackson was headed toward picking up most of the added 15-yards anyways. The final foul was on William Moore, a second year player, for giving the receiver an extra healthy shove out of bounds that gave Aaron Rogers an extra push on the drive. Moore’s penalty looked like it was brought about from frustration and should be fixed moving forward.

Week 13 brings divisional foe Tampa Bay at the Pirate Ship. This game is important as all games in December are, but it looms large because of possible tie-breakers with New Orleans based on common opponents. It is never easy to beat a team twice, especially on the road, though it appears that Tampa area could be headed towards a blackout.

The last meeting, less than a month ago, ended with a goal line stand by the Falcons defense to preserve a 27-21 win. Since losing in Atlanta the Buccaneers have played some good football beating cellar dweller Carolina 31-16, traveling to San Francisco for an impressive 21-0 win before losing at Baltimore on Sunday by one seven 17-10. Second year quarterback Josh Freeman has not throw an interception since the 2-INT performance against the Falcons. Freeman’s errorless streak is a little surprising because Tampa seems to be leaning more heavily on him than earlier in the season. One thing to keep an eye on Sunday is designed runs and scrambling from Freeman after watching Aaron Rogers picking up multiple first downs leading the Packers in rushing with 55 yards. Will Van Gorder leave a spy in the box to counter act this? The Bucs’ passing game is less threatening than Green Bay’s and likely won’t require the extra defender in coverage.

I look for the Falcons to attempt to strike early through the air and saving Turner for the second half to wear down the defense if Jason Snelling cannot go. If Atlanta can get up early they need to put the game away, by not relaxing on defense play-calling, like they have been prone to do.

The Falcons’ special teams must keep the momentum build in the win against the Pack as we all saw Michael Spurlock’s speed in Atlanta as the speedster racked up 209 yards on only 4 returns, one going the distance.

The Falcons can make NFL history by playing their fifth game in a row without a turnover on Sunday. If the Falcons can do that, reduce the inopportune penalties and prevent Freeman from beating them with his legs I think they take one more step towards playing in the Dome in late January.

Score Prediction:

Robert: Falcons 30 Buccaneers 21

Dekalb: Falcons 27 Buccaneers 17

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.