PCP Sports

by Michael DeLuca

Last week, these rankings were the only ones to have the balls not to jump the gun and throw Washington into the top 3 spots.  I took some heat for it, but was vindicated on Sunday.  This week, lots more shakeups with upsets galore over this past weekend.     

1.  Tennessee Titans (5-0) – With KC on the horizon, following a bye week, I can’t see this one changing.  Albert Haynesworth is a beast and Cortland Finnegan is gaining prominence as one of the league’s top cover corners.  Chris Johnson is a lightning bolt.  Kerry “Cocktail” Collins makes this offense more stable, allowing the defense to do what it do.

2.  New York Giants (4-1) - Cleveland was coming off a bye, was at home, and was due to break out of their offensive slump on Monday Night.  The G-Men were in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Eli Manning looked terrible, but overall these types of games happen and by the end of the season, you’ll see that it was an aberation.

3.  Dallas Cowboys (4-2) – I’m going to take some heat for this one too, especially after the week from hell that Dallas has just been through.  First they lose to Arizona (which I predicted), then they find out Tony Romo will miss 4 week with an injured vagina (pinkie finger), and then to top it all off, Pacman Jones is suspended indefinitely.  They did finish on a high note by snagging Roy Williams from the Detroit Lions just before the trade deadline.  Brad Johnson will be able to hold down the fort until Romo returns and the offense has no choice but to be explosive.  Their secondary is now their weekness and we might see some shootouts in the weeks to come.  As I said, I may take some heat on this one, but let’s be honest…are you really going to take Pittsburgh or Buffalo on a neutral field against them?  Didn’t think so! 

4.  Pittsburgh Steelers (4-1) – Ben Roethlisberger returned to form in an impressive Sunday night win against the Jacksonville Jaguars several weeks ago.  Taking out the Ravens the following Monday night was a big test for this squad as well.  Offensive line problems were compounded ten fold with the week 4 loss of guard Kendall Simmons to an Achilles injury, he’s already been placed on injured reserve and is out for the season.  I don’t trust this team going forward, with all of their offensive line woes, but for now they deserve the #4 spot.

5.  Buffalo Bills (4-1) - Trent Edwards was knocked out on the third play of the game and replaced by JP Losman in week 5.  Losman clearly cannot lead the team like Edwards, luckily for the Bills, Edwards is back this week.  The injury to Terrance McGee also proved fatal, as the Bills had no defense for Arizona’s air attack.  They’re still a solid all around team and will have their ups and downs.  Mcgee’s importance to the defense cannot be understated, he is questionable for week 7.

6.  Indianapolis Colts (3-2) – They’re back.  Offensive line is healthy, Manning is healthy, Harission is healthy, all systems are go.  The run defense will still miss Bob Sanders, but a very nice trade at the deadline netted the Colts DT John McCargo from the Bills for a fourth rounder.  He’ll help out A LOT in the middle.  UPDATE: McCargo failed his physical and the trade has been voided.

7.  Washington Redskins (4-2) – You have to give them credit.  They took it to the Cowboys, in their own house, and then came back the following week to do the very same thing to the Philadelphia Eagles!  In week 6, they proved NOT to be who you thought they were, with a loss to the lowly Rams.  Jason Campbell is still the only quarterback to start the season that has yet to throw an interception. 

8.  Arizona Cardinals (4-2) – After starting off 2-0, Arizona fell to the Washington Redskins and then the New York Jets.  In Week 5 they rebounded with a strong performance against the previously undefeated Buffalo Bills, despite playing without star wideout Anquan Boldin.  Adrian Wilson played only a handful of plays, including Buffalo’s third offensive attempt in which he knocked Trent Edwards out of the game.  In Week 6, Arizona continue to roll at home, taking it to the Dallas Cowboys.  This is a stellar squad and is only getting better.

9.  Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-2) – Blah.

10.  Philadelphia Eagles (3-3) - They went on the road and go the job done against the San Francisco 49ers.  With a bye week to come, the Birds should return to full health in week 8.  Brian Westbrook and Shawn Andrews will put the offense right back on track, not to mention Kevin Curtis will make his debut.  The defense has already been carrying this squad.

11.  San Diego Chargers (3-3) – LaDainian Tomlinson clearly isn’t himself, Phillip Rivers isn’t what many wanted to believe he is, and Norv Turner is….well, Norv Turner.  All that said, this team has talent all over the field and should finish around 9-7.

12.  Carolina Panthers (4-2) – Every year it seem there are a ton of people that want to jump on this team’s bandwagon.  When you break it down, they had one good year, it was steroid induced, and it was half a decade ago.

13.  Denver Broncos (4-2) – Missing Eddie Royal, Brandon Stokley, and Tony Schefler can’t possibly be good for Jay Cutler.  The defense, well there is no defense in Denver.

14.  New York Jets (3-2) - No team in the NFL is more difficult to get a read on right now.  Just as it seemed Brett Favre was going to be unable to gel with this team, he comes out and throws 6 touchdowns against a formidable Cardinals defense and then got the job done against the Bengals.  Even more promising, he’s hitting his primary receivers. 

15.   New Orleans Saints (3-3) – The offensive line has performed admirably despite some injuries and the suspension of LG Jamar Nesbit.  Colston and Shockey should both return this week.  Drew Brees is an elite quarterback, possibly the best the league has to offer.  I may have them ranked at #15, but there’s something special about this team and they could very easily be in the Super Bowl mix by season’s end.

16.  Jacksonville Jaguars (3-3) – Any time you can go to Denver and win, it’s noteworthy.  Nonetheless, with the mounting injuries the Jags have suffered this team will continue to be up and down.

17.  Atlanta Falcons (4-2) – Roddy White is phenominal.

18.  Chicago Bears (3-3) – Losing to the Falcons in the closing moments, in Atlanta, isn’t all that bad.  Does anybody realize this team is a couple breaks from being 6-0?

19.  New England Patriots (3-2) – This will be a see-saw all year long.  The team is virtually devoid of talent, outside of the offensive line and Randy Moss, but Bellichek will keep them in SOME games.

20.   Minnesota Vikings (3-3) – This may be the most talented team in the league.  It is easily they most poorly coached.  Brad Childress is an absolute ass clown.

21.  Green Bay Packers (3-3) - Hey Cheeseheads, don’t think you’re getting any love for beating a receiverless, quarterbackless, spineless Seattle squad.  And while I’m at it, will somebody please tell me what in the hell is wrong with Nick Barnett.  He’s definately not the same player we’ve seen in the past. 

22.  Cleveland Browns (2-3) - Everybody wanted to pile on these guys early on, but they’ve turned things around and are now 2-3.  More importantly, in defeating the NY Giants on Monday Night, we saw the return of the aerial attack in Cleveland.  Shuan Rodgers has been a huge addition to the defense and this team has it’s teeth back.  Watch out.

23.  Baltimore Ravens (2-3) – Indy, in Indy, is a rough draw.  Ravens will bounce back.

24.  Miami Dolphins (2-3) - Amazingly enough, with all the choices on my DirecTV, I kept finding myself back on Dolphins vs. Texans. 

25.  Houston Texans (1-4) - This team should be 3-2 but had fallen apart in weeks 4 and 5.  Solid win against the upstart Dolphins.  Difficult to tell where this team is headed.

26. San Francisco 49ers (2-4) – Mike Martz is a knucklehead.  The playcalling on both sides of the ball is atrocious.  J.T. O’Sullivan should be replaced in the red zone. 

27.  Oakland Raiders (1-4) - Wonder how long it is before the Cable’s out.

28.  Seattle Seahawks (1-5) - Apparently this team would rather force their coach to have a massive coronary then see him retire at season’s end. 

29.  Cincinatti Bengals (0-6) - Is Marvin Lewis the new Matt Millen? 

30.  Kansas City Chiefs (1-4) – Even on a bye week, the Chiefs managed to sullly their image.  Now, on top of being a bad team, they proved to be deuchebags as well, but not granting Tony Gonzalaez his wish for a trade to a contender.  As far as play on the field goes, this team should win at home, so you can’t get overly excited with their lone victory over the Broncos.  Damon Huard is definitely the best of their bunch and should remain the starter, but KC will be going back to Brodie Croyle following their bye week.  Croyle is 0-7 in his career starts. 

31.  St. Louis Rams (1-4) – They beat Washington.  It’s not really a big deal.

32.  Detroit Lions (0-5) - I’m going to give this team credit for realizing they have to rebuild and having the guts to begin before the offseason.  They got good value for Roy Williams and have ushered Jon Kitna out the door.  The Lions will now have essentially 11 additional weeks of preseason to evaluate young talent and see who and who should not be on next year’s roster.