Joe O: Week 9 NFL Power Rankings
By Joe Ostrowski--
1. Patriots (6-1)
Danny Woodhead & company have put the Pats all alone at the top with the league's best record. 28th ranked defense, 19th ranked offense. It doesn't make sense, but welcome to the 2010 NFL season. Bill Belichick takes NE back to the city of his first head coaching job, Cleveland rocks!
2. Colts (5-2)
In his 13th season, Peyton Manning has 15 tds & 2 ints. Ho hum. It took until November, but Indy picked up their first division victory on Monday night vs the Texans. They have to contain Michael Vick in Philly this weekend. The Eagles are coming off a bye.
3. Ravens (5-2)
That almost Bills loss 2 weeks ago won't leave my brain. The bye was perfect timing. Here come the Dolphins, who are 4-0 on the road.
4. Giants (5-2)
Their bye was bad timing. The G-Men have another chance to show they're the NFC's best as they visit the 12th man in Seattle. Tom Coughlin has been preparing for 2 weeks.
5. Steelers (5-2)
The loss in Nawlins was Pittsburgh's first since the return of Big Ben. They travel in the division to face a very desperate 2-5 Bungles team.
6. Jets (5-2)
If you want to be with the big boys, you can't have that performance at home, off a bye. The goose egg by the Jets offense was the first time an NFL team has been shut out this season. They follow the Packers loss, with another NFC North team, the Lions.
7. Falcons (5-2)
I finally realized why the games sucked last week. Half of the top teams were all off. A surprisingly big game against the Bucs in Hotlanta.
8. Saints (5-3)
It's time for Drew Brees & the boys to be consistent. A very nice Sunday night win over the Steelers. The upcoming schedule includes Carolina, Seattle, & Dallas. But then again, the Super Bowl champs were supposed to beat Arizona & Cleveland.
9. Chiefs (5-2)
Ok, so they got lucky against the Bills. Charlie Weis has gone old school on us. KC ran over Buffalo for 274 rushing yards. Make it 200+ yards on the ground in 3 straight weeks. A trip to Oakland is tougher than it looked before the season.
10. Buccaneers (5-2)
After keeping them out last week, I made sure TB cracked the top ten. I don't think anyone agrees with Coach Raheem that this is the best team in the NFL, but they're collecting victories. Signal caller Josh Freeman has six 4th quarter comebacks in his 8 career wins. This weekend's test against the Falcons will show us how real they are.
17. Bears (4-3)
Hey Lovie, have to delete "We're in first place in the NFC North" from your prepared media notes. We all know that the Bills defense is bad. Looking closer at it, Buffalo is 6th against the pass, allowing under 200 yards a game. Will Mike Martz stick with the run facing the worst rushing defense in the NFL? Unfortunately, we know the answer. Martz's comments about using Matt Forte & Chester Taylor in tandem was exciting for a split second. Through half a season, we've learned what Martz is. A loss in Canada wouldn't be shocking. A win gives them a shot at hanging with the Packers.
Looking at the last 9 games, are there 5-6 wins vs BUF, vs MIN, @ MIA, vs PHI, @ DET, vs NE, @ MIN, vs NYJ, @ GB?
Joe Ostrowski is the executive producer of The Laurence Holmes Show, co-host of The Joe O & Rock Show Saturdays 8pm-midnight, & a scoreboard update anchor on 670 The Score.
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