 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Week 10) Sorry about missing last week. I was in NYC on business and didn’t have enough time to rank all the teams. At this point in the season though, do we really need to rank them beyond maybe the top 8? We know the Patriots are going to be #1. We know the Colts are going to be #2. That’s right. The Colts are #2. I realize both Dallas and Green Bay have a game lead on them in the overall league standings, but I base these rankings not on record but what team could beat the other team if they played a seven game series. Does any level headed NFL fan out there think Dallas or Green Bay can beat Indy four times in seven tries? There’s no way Peyton Manning loses to the same team four times. If Indy and the Pats played that seven game series, it probably goes all seven games with New England coming out on top. That’s why they are #1. Got it? Good. Like I was saying, it’s tough to justify ranking the other 24 teams outside the top 8. There is such a huge drop-off in talent once you get past #8, the name of this article couldn’t sum it up better. Blondie (The Good) 1. New England Patriots: Even on a bye week they look good. 2. Indianapolis Colts: The game against the Chargers was one of the craziest games I’ve seen. How the most clutch kicker of all time misses a chip shot game-winning FG is beyond me. 3. Dallas Cowboys: Very convincing win against a hot Giants team. I really hope they get even better as the season goes along so the Super Bowl is exciting to watch. 4. Green Bay Packers: Everything is going the Pack’s way. When a sure interception in the end zone turns into a touchdown, you can’t argue sometimes its better to be lucky than good. 5. Pittsburgh Steelers: The Steelers now appear to have full control over the AFC North. Anyone else excited for the Week 14 game against New England? 6. San Diego Chargers: SD was fired up for this game. They came out of the gate swinging. Especially their defense. You know you’re playing well when you intercept Peyton Manning six times. 7. Jacksonville Jaguars: Did anyone in Jacksonville ever think they’d be longing for the return of David Gerrard? Congrats to Fred Taylor for his 10,000 career rushing yard. Had he been healthy more often… wow, that’s a scary thought. 8. NY Giants: Yet another Week 10 loss for the Giants. Every time it looks like Eli is making the leap to become a great QB, or that Brandon Jacobs is a fitting replacement to Tiki Barber, they play like they did against the Cowboys. Same ole Giants. Angel Eyes (The Bad) 9. Tennessee Titans: Put these guys in any other division and they’d be the cream of the crop. 10. Cleveland Browns: Braylon Edwards has emerged as one of the elite receivers in the league. If this Derek Anderson thing isn’t a fluke, Cleveland could be good for a long time. 11. Detroit Lions: The Lions almost fooled me into thinking they were going to start running the ball. While they are among the better teams in the NFC, I’m still not sold on them. 12. Buffalo Bills: I’ll say it again. Take away the Dallas melt-down and the Denver last second FG in Week 1 and the Bills are 7-2. Clearly the Bills are a force to be reckoned with. 13. Seattle Seahawks: The way Shaun Alexander has been playing, Maurice Morris is an upgrade. Now that Seattle’s receivers are healthy, things could be looking up for them after all. 14. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Without a true running game, you can’t be too scared of the Bucs. In the NFC South though, a mediocre offense with a good defense will be good enough to win it. 15. Washington Redskins: I’m sure I’m not the only Redskins fan that has done the math and realized had they played for 60 minutes in all nine of their games, they’d be 8-1 and fighting for NFC home field advantage. At some point you have to blame Joe Gibbs. 16. New Orleans Saints: Just when it looked like the Saints were about to start marching, they get embarrassed by St. Louis. Yet another NFC South team I can’t figure out. 17. Arizona Cardinals: That was a big win against Detroit. If they can keep playing like this, the NFC West title is very much in play. 18. Philadelphia Eagles: To quote Andy Reid, the Eagles needed that win as much as Reid “needs a cheeseburger.” Will the 4th quarter comeback against the Skins be the catalyst to turn their season around? I don’t know but it worked for the Giants. 19. Denver Broncos: Brandon Marshall and Selvin Young are stepping up big time for the injured Javon Walker and Travis Henry. Mike Shannahan has to be pleased with that. 20. Baltimore Ravens: How bad is Steve McNair this season? How about accounting for 11 turnovers and only 2 TDs. When you can’t score a touchdown against one of the worst defenses in the league, something is wrong. Kyle Boller, you’re table is ready. 21. Carolina Panthers: I read that Vinnie Testaverde turns 44 this week. That got me thinking. He was drafted in 1987, one year after Bo Jackson and Jim Everett. Remember those guys? I think that makes Testaverde and Morten Andersen the only active players that starred in the original Tecmo Bowl on the first Nintendo. 22. Kansas City Chiefs: With Damon Huard hurt, the Chiefs turn to Brodie Croyle who couldn’t earn the starting job in pre-season. If the season was already lost, then I’d absolutely play Croyle. But KC still has a shot at the AFC West, and personally I think Huard gives them the best shot to win. 23. Chicago Bears: The Bears needed Rex Grossman to lead them over the Raiders. Read that again and tell me the Bears aren’t going after Donovan McNabb this off-season. Tuco (The Ugly) 24. Minnesota Vikings: Adrian Peterson is out for three weeks on a bum knee. Chester Taylor is a suitable back up, but that’s a pretty big blow to an already terribly one-sided team. 25. Houston Texans: Andre Johnson or no Andre Johnson, the lack of a running game has finally caught up to the Texans. 26. Cincinnati Bengals: Sweeping the Ravens used to mean something. 27. Atlanta Falcons: Don’t look now but the Falcons are only two games out of first place in the NFC South. How terrible is the NFC when the Falcons still have playoff hopes? 28. San Francisco 49ers: Whether its Jim Hostlers awful play calling, Mike Nolan’s grief, or Alex Smith is just a bust, I don’t know. Either way this is one of the worst offenses I’ve ever seen. And I’m a Redskins fan. 29. Oakland Raiders: What can I say that hasn’t been said about the Raiders? I have to agree. Put JaMarcus Russell in and start getting your #1 draft pick money’s worth. 30. St. Louis Rams: The Rams are finally out of the cellar after an impressive win against the Saints. With the inept 49ers up next, two wins in a row ain’t out of the question! 31. NY Jets: Both the Jets and Dolphins can win out the rest of the way, have the Patriots lose the rest of the way, and still can’t win the division… after Week 10. 32. Miami Dolphins: A lousy team. Really just awful to watch. I can’t think of any other negative things to say.
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