NFL: Week 4 Power Rankings

ESPN’s power rankings are out and once again it has some flaws.  Apparently it is the NFC East’s world and everyone else is just living in it as the Cowboys, Giants, and Eagles all claim the top 3 spots in this week’s poll.  The TItans, Steelers, Bills, and Broncos claim the next 4 spots as the top teams the AFC has to offer.

I have an issue with the Steelers being listed as the #2 team in the AFC.  The Steelers have some serious flaws to deal with in terms of their offensive line and they were thoroughly dominated by Philadelphia’s defense on Sunday.  The Titans and Bills are currently playing the best football in the AFC.  I would also move the Broncos ahead of the Steelers on the basis of them being unbeaten though they cannot seem to stop anyone defensively.

The Chargers move back into the top 10 on the heels of kicking a mediocre Jets team up and down the field on Monday.  What’s more is they move ahead in the rankings ahead of a 2-1 Carolina Panthers team despite the fact the Panthers beat them on their own field.  Does it make sense to rank a team with a lesser record ahead of a team with a better record that has beaten them?

NFL: Week Two Rookie Recap

Darren McFadden, Oakland – McFadden had a breakout game this week piling up 164 yards on 21 carries against the hapless Chiefs.  McFadden showed everyone why he was considered the top talent available in the draft.  The only real knock on his performance is that he put the ball on the ground twice which was main knock on his game coming out of Arkansas.  McFadden’s performance made him the second leading rusher amongst rookie backs this year with 210 yards and 5th in the NFL.

Chris Johnson, Tennessee – Continued to shine for the TItans posting his first 100 yard game of his career piling up 109 yards on 19 carries.  Johnson’s 202 yards rank him third amongst rookie runners.

Johnathan Stewart, Carolina – Stewart came up big for the Panthers scoring two second half touchdowns to go with a career high 77 yards.  Stewarts 130 yards rank 4th amongst rookies and his two touchdowns are the most amongst all rookie running backs.

DeSean Jackson, Philadelphia – Jackson posted another 100 yard recieving against Dallas hauling in 6 balls for 110 yards.  Jackson’s 12 catches rate second amongst rookies and his 216 yards are tops amongst rookies and 4th in the NFL.  He is quickly emerging as the top wideout in the 2008 rookie class.

Week 2 Power Rankings

Some of the things I see on ESPN boggles my mind from time to time.  I was perusing their NFL power rankings online today and some of what is listed on here does not make a ton of sense.  Let us just go down the list in order.

First, the Chargers drop from second to third despite the fact that they lost at home to what was the 17th ranked team in the Panthers.  Not to mention the Panthers were playing without their biggest offensive weapon in Steve Smith.  In relation to that beating the second best team on the road ws only good enough to move the Panthers up to 12th.

The Saints move from 7th to 4th on the basis of beating the Buccaneers.

Defensive overhaul is working wonders and Reggie Bush is off to a hot start. 

So basically because the Saints held the Buccaneers, a team who averaged 21 points and 327 yards of offense, to 20 points and 352 yards of offense the defense is now fixed.  The Bucs ran up 9 yards per carry against the Saints.  I fail to see how that was a stout defensive performance by New Orleans this past weekend.  What makes this comment even dumber is the one they listed for the Bucs:

Showed no big-play capability and the defense is looking old.

So wow, they held a team that shows no big-play capability to 20 points.

NFL: Week One Thoughts

One initial thought as the Bears maintain comfortable lead with just under ten minutes to play: Is the balance of power finally shifting back to the NFC?  Consider that the Carolina Panthers, considered to be a marginal playoff team, stunned the San Diego Chargers at home with a last second touchdown and the Bears coming off of a 7-9 season and not considered a serious threat are handling the Colts quite easily.  The Chargers and Colts were two teams heavily favored to make deep playoff runs this year.  In fact the Chargers and Colts were second and third respectively in ESPN’s preseason power rankings while the Bears and Panthers were 25th and 20th.

Living in Durham I hear a lot of Panthers fans say Delhomme has to go, but after the throw he made to win that game today I wonder what they think now.  It is amazing how much better the Panthers are with Delhomme under center and they won this game without Steve Smith, their best player.  Carolina was able to basically run the ball at will racking up 142 yards getting 4.9 per carry, however, without Smith in the lineup the passing game suffered from untimely drops and a costly fumble that eventually led to a Chargers touchdown.

The defense held its own.  It allowed only two touchdowns on sustained drives while the Chargers other score came on a 28-yard drive following a D. J. Hackett fumble.  The one negative to take away was San Diego was able to get deep a few times and the pass coverage broke down in the middle of the field a few times.

Watching DeAngelo Williams carry the ball yesterday I could not help but wondering why DeShaun Foster go the bulk of the carries the past two seasons in Charlotte.