PCP Sports

by Michael DeLuca

The Titans remain undefeated,  The Brady Quinn era begins in Cleveland, and Jason Campell finally throws an interception…and then another one.  Many questions to be answered: Can the Titans duplicate last year’s miraculous Patriots feat?  Are the Dolphins the class of the AFC East?  What the heck is Al Davis doing now?  Here are your NFL Power Rankings heading into week 10 of the NFL season.     
1.  Tennessee Titans (8-0) – Great defense plus dominant running game equals #1 status in the power rankings.

2.  New York Giants (7-1) - The defense continues to carry the defending Super Bowl Champions. 

3.  Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2) – They’ve played phenomenal football thus far and somehow have masked some glaring deficiencies on the offensive line.  Nice victory in the home-AWAY-from-home game against the Washington Redskins.

4.  Philadelphia Eagles (5-3) - The Birds have quietly worked their way back into the mix.  Brian Westbrook has returned to the lineup and if he can remain healthy, this team will remain relevant. 

5.  Carolina Panthers (6-2) – 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.  I’m not buying in this year, but there’s no debating that with Detroit and Oakland on the horizon, this team should be staring 8-2 in the face.

6.  Arizona Cardinals (5-3) – The move to Hightower in the backfield was the right one.  The defense remains underrated and this team is finally learning how to compete on the road.

7.  Washington Redskins (6-3) – Would be nice if their “fans” hadn’t sold away their home field advantage this week against the Steelers.  Despite the lopsided final score, this was a very close game through the first three quarters and the Skins are a well rounded football team that will bounce back.

8.  Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-3) – Blah.

9.  Baltimore Ravens (5-3) – Joe Flacco is gaining confidence, the defense is rejuvenated, and this team appears playoff bound.

10.  New York Jets (5-3) - Expect the unexpected, which is expected from a Favre led team. 

11.  New England Patriots (5-3) – Injuries continue to mount, yet Bellichek finds a way to keep them in every game.

12.  Buffalo Bills (5-3) - Aaron Schobel will miss at least another two weeks.  HIs absence from this defense cannot be understated.

13.  Chicago Bears (5-3) – Can Grossman keep this team rolling?  Does anybody realize Da Bears are just a couple breaks from being 8-0?

14.  Indianapolis Colts (4-4) – As I mentioned, this team may pull a Jeckyl/Hyde all season long in home/away games.  Nonetheless, they’ve still got the talent to make a run and, with the return of Bob Sanders, should be able to shore up the run defense.

15.  Atlanta Falcons (5-3) – I’ve made the argument for several years that this team had a solid defense that was simply on the field too much.  Now that the Falcons offense can finally sustain a drive, the defense is beginning to get it’s due (it took a shutout in Oakland).  Roddy White is FINALLY seeing double coverage…so Matt Ryan found Michael Jenkins for two touchdown scores.

16.  Green Bay Packers (4-4) - Paging Nick Barnett, Mr. Nick Barnett, your defense is looking for you.

17.  Dallas Cowboys (5-4) – Watch how quickly this team scoops up DeAngelo Hall after he is released by the Raiders.  The bye week couldn’t come at a better time for this team.  Tony Romo should return to health and Roy Williams will finally have some time to become acclimated with the offense.

18.   New Orleans Saints (4-4) – If the whole team gets suspended at once, it will probably have a negative effect on their ranking.

19.  Miami Dolphins (4-4) - There’s more to this team than just the Wildcat. 

20.   Minnesota Vikings (4-4) – 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.  San Diego Chargers (3-5) – The bye week came at a nice time for a team that needed to rest some wounded soldiers.

22.  Denver Broncos (4-4) – Champ Bailey’s torn groin removes the only quality defender from the league’s worst defense. 

23.  Cleveland Browns (3-5) - Though there’s been some criticism, the move to Brady Quinn was the right one.  Braylon Edwards (Droppy Droperson) is largely responsible for the demise of Derrick Anderson, but a change needed to be made.

24.  Houston Texans (3-5) - This team could easily be 5-3 but had fell apart late in weeks 4 and 5.  Schaub was playing nicely, but Rosenfels isn’t much of a downgrade.

25.  Jacksonville Jaguars (3-5) – Hate to say “I told you so!”

26. San Francisco 49ers (2-5) – Mike Martz is a knucklehead, thank goodness they didn’t make him head coach after firing Nolan.  Shaun Hill should have been starting at quarterback from day 1.  Expect improvement from the offense. 

27.  St. Louis Rams (2-6) – Haslett’s got some losses under his belt and order has been restored to the universe.

28.  Seattle Seahawks (2-6) - What a terrible way for Holmgrem to go out. 

29.  Cincinatti Bengals (1-8) - Weakest guarantee in the history of sports! 

30.  Oakland Raiders (2-6) - Ever here about these rich kids that buy an expensive pair of shoes and toss them after one use.  Al Davis is doing it with people.  And his choice in footwear is terrible.

31.  Kansas City Chiefs (1-7) – My hate of the Buccaneers is only tempered this week by my distain for the Chiefs and their inability to close Sunday’s game out. 

32.  Detroit Lions (0-8) - Things should become interesting with Daunte at the helm.  Not interesting enough to help this team from going 0-16, but interesting nonetheless.