Pr4wn's Week Four Power Rankings

Evening All,

Thought I'd try and stoke up a bit of debate each week by posting some power rankings as well as the weekly preview.

I look after you guys, don't I?

1. Green Bay Packers (4-0) - Hardly a surprise, is it? It's really as if Aaron Rodgers is playing Madden on super-easy mode. Ridiculous. There are frailties in the secondary without Nick Collins but this team is looking nigh-on unbeatable with an offense that is reminiscent of the 80s 49ers.

2. New Orleans Saints (3-1) - Pains me to say as a Bucs fan, but I really feel that these guys are gonna crush us when we meet in two weeks. Drew Brees looks red hot and that running back committee is fantastic. Ingram is a slight underperformer but he will only get better as the season progresses.

3. Detroit Lions (4-0) - Is anyone else salivating at the prospect of a Lions/Pack matchup? Offensively, Matt Stafford has been performing at such a high level. Mind you, all he has to do is throw the ball in the general area of Calvin Johnson and he's got a completion. The guy is a freak.

4. New England Patriots (3-1) - You have to think that Tom Brady's performance vs the Bills was a one-off. The offense looks superb but there are questions on defence. They have no edge-rusher capable of generating consistent pressure and that could really sting against teams like Green Bay and New Orleans.

5. Baltimore Ravens - (3-1) - If only this team's performances were more consistent. The defence was fantastic this week but has sometimes struggled. Joe Flacco can look like Aaron Rodgers one week and Tavaris Jackson the next. Once this team finds its groove, they could be tough to stop.

6. Houston Texans (3-1) - Arian Foster returned with a bang, if only he'd been available against the Saints! The defence is much-improved on last year under Wade Philips and things only get better on offence with Oakland and their run defence up next. Losing Johnson is a major blow, though.

7. San Diego Chargers (3-1) - This team is 3-1 with Rivers throwing more picks than TDs. Once he starts playing properly, and he will, this offense will be hard to stop. They have been disappointing on defence though, and corner looks to be a problem. Ryan Matthews has been a very nice surprise.

8. Buffalo Bills (3-1) - I really don't think this team is worth the hype they're getting. Sure, they beat the Patriots, but on defence I really don't feel that they're that strong. You can't argue with the record, though. However, I feel that losing to Cincy and their rookie QB has hurt their stock.

9. New York Giants (3-1) - After week one, many had written them off. Look at Eli now, he looks like his brother! Jacobs and Bradshaw are breaking tackles and that injury-ravaged defence is holding up better than many though it would.

10. Tennessee Titans (3-1) - Matt Hasslebeck is playing like an MVP candidate completing a lot of passes even without Kenny Britt. Losing Jason Babin (who was overrated anyway) doesn't seem to have effected the defence and they may steal a wildcard at this rate...

11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1) - The Bucs have messily made it to 3-1 and they look exactly like what they are. A very young football team. Over 100 yards of penalties on Sunday and performances like that will see them beaten by the better sides. The young defensive line is a great surprise.

12. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-2) - The defence looks good, but the offensive line is just horrible. They also lost Mendenhall in their last game. However, they have a nice, soft schedule coming up in the next few games and that should help them to recover.

13. Chicago Bears (2-2) - Look what happens when Mike Martz gives the ball to Matt Forte. 205 yards on the ground, that's what. What could he not like about it. More time for Forte who is good, less time for Cutler who isn't.

14. Washington Redskins (3-1) - Probably this year's biggest surprise. I'd written them off along with many others. People talk about Grossman but what about Helu, Torain and Hightower? This guys look awesome and that offensive line is doing extremely well. Kerrigan could be DRotY.

15. San Francisco 49ers (3-1) - Who honestly thought that the 49ers would be 3-1? Honestly? The defence is looking great, Aldon Smith looks like a find. Alex Smith is doing exactly what is asked of him and Frank Gore is finally starting to show up. Next week's match against the Bucs is an intriguing one.

16. New York Jets (2-2) - Anyone else feel warm inside at the thought of this team struggling and seeing Rex Ryan's fat, stressed, unhappy face? I do. Shonn Greene has been a non-starter, the offensive line is full of injuries and they don't have much of a pass rush. Time for Sanchez to step up.

17. Atlanta Falcons (2-2) - Major question marks over this offensive line are what's affecting this team. They can't protect Matt Ryan and they can't open holes for Michael Turner. Ryan constantly looks on edge and their front four is really missing Jonothan Babineaux.

18. Oakland Raiders (2-2) - Ran out of juice against the Pats but Darren McFadden looks like an absolute stud! He reminds me a lot of A.D. with his quick feet and deceptive power. Jason Campbell has been fine, too. They just need that defence to step up. Seymour lost it on Sunday.

19. Dallas Cowboys (2-2) - This all hinges on Tony Romo. The defence was making plays against Stafford in the first half and Romo was having fun. The second half came and Romo single-handedly lost Dallas that game. Until he plays consistently, the Cowboys will not be challengers.

20. Cincinnati Bengals (2-2) - Ok, here I am, eating my words. Andy Dalton looks calm and polished, the defence is playing extremely well and the Bengals are coping with adversity. I'd writted them off as no-hopers but I stand corrected. Well done Cincy.

21. Philadelphia Eagles (1-3) - Seems odd having them ahead of a couple of 2-2 teams but this team is still very dangerous with their offensive playmakers. The defence is another story. Want to know something funny? Vince Wilfork has more interceptions this season than Asomugha, DRC and Samuel combined. Just imagining Wilfork intercepting the ball makes me chuckle.

22. Cleveland Browns (2-2) - What happened to the running game? You surely can't abandon it altogether. Colt McCoy threw 61 times on Sunday, he simply doesn't have the power at WR to air it out that much.

23. Arizona Cardinals (1-3) - Some bright spots and some not so bright. Beanie Wells is doing well as the feature back and Kevin Kolb looks ok. Not DRC + a 1st rounder ok, but not bad either. All they have to do now is hold onto a fourth quarter lead!

24. Carolina Panthers (1-3) - This team doesn't deserve its record, just like last season. Cam Newton is throwing for a lot of yards but he's making far too many mistakes. This should correct itself in good time, though, and the Panthers seem to have made a real find. I'm enjoying the Steve Smith resurrection show.

25. Denver Broncos (1-3) - Anyone else want Denver fans to shut up about Tim Tebow? He's not that good! Plain and simple! Kyle Orton didn't do too badly against the Packers on Sunday, it's the defence that is losing Denver games. Oh, and the fact that Knowshon Moreno is a bust.

26. Seattle Seahawks (1-3) - Well they made a game of it against Atlanta..... but they still lost. Still contenders in the Luck sweepstakes as far as I'm concerned. Tavaris surely isn't the answer and they must be very red-faced at letting Hasslebeck go considering how he is doing with the Titans.

27. Kansas City Chiefs (1-3) - They have a win, which is great. They have the Colts this week, which is great. They have a ton of injuries and no season-long plan, which sucks. With all the injuries this team has, it could be a long season. However, they showed real grit and determination against both the Chargers and Vikes and I like that a lot.

28. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-3) - Remind me why they let David Garrard go? Sure, Blaine Gabbert doesn't look bad, but they have nobody bar Mike Thomas at receiver and to plunge a rookie into that is simply unfair. They should have let Garrard develop Gabbert so he can start next year. Now, Garrard is out of work and the Jags are losing. Nice work.

29. Indianapolis Colts (0-4) - Was it me, or did Painter look ok against the Bucs? He made good decisions and accurate throws. He really struggled when facing the blitz, though, and his offensive line is full of holes. They still want to win and they certainly are not part of the Suck4Luck club.

30. Minnesota Vikings (0-4) - This years nearly team. They have squandered a few leads but don't seem to have the confidence, ability or focus to close out a game. I feel sorry for Adrian Peterson who will probably never win a Superbowl.

31. Miami Dolphins (0-4) - And just to make things worse, Henne is now injured. Reggie Bush sucks as a lead back and their offensive line looks like it only has four people in it. Front-runners in the Andrew Luck sweepstakes.

32. St Louis Rams (0-4) - After their bye they face New Orleans, Dallas and Green Bay. Ouch. Bradford has nothing to work with, Sims-Walker looks rubbish and so does their running game. And, as mentioned on NFL.com, they have given up 113 points already this season.

Nice write up, can't argue with most of it, however...

Lions -1
Pats +1
Giants +2
Chargers -1
Bills -1
Eagles +2
Cowboys -1
Bengals -1

scared u did QBs there
good job though
i still dont think hass would do any near as well with the hawks, the amount of hits Tjax has taken hass would be out of the season by now.
with miami they lokked so much better with thomas as there lead back and they are too good to get luck,
daniel thomas will save there season.
dont think lions are 3, vkings and cboys self destructed on them and without romo they wouldnt be 4-0

Pr4wn wrote:4. New England Patriots (3-1) - You have to think that Tom Brady's performance vs the Bills was a one-off. The offense looks superb but there are questions on defence. They have no edge-rusher capable of generating consistent pressure and that could really sting against teams like Green Bay and New Orleans.

I hope not, I would be more than happy for him to continue throwing for 380+ yards with a 66.7% completion rate. 4 interceptions but how many were Brady's fault? IMO 1 at most.

I'm quite disappointed that the Niners are 3-1, I was expecting them to be 4-0 easily in all seriousness if we can beat the Eagles and only narrowly lose to the Cowboys, I am now hopeful that we can win the division, we have the best defence so far, Gore and Hunter look in decent nick and so far Smith has managed not to beat us on his own!

The rest of your rankings look similar to how i would have them to be honest, I would maybe argue with the placing of a few of the 3-1 teams but hardly worth mentioning.

3 NFC teams at the top, for years we thought it was the AFC dominant but this season those 3 have definitely been the strongest.

Good efort there Pr4wn.
Trouble with rankings after 4 weeks is that one bad week (case in point Pats) and they take a huge slide - Pats would have been a shoo in for the #2 spot had it not been for the Bills implosion.

Other than that there's little to disagree with, I think we all kniow that as a talent pool the Eagles are a better team than the Bungals and I'm sure future reviews will bear this out....

Good job
Agree with most of it but as Grizzly says early days
Lions at 4-0 have to be pos 3 but the wil falter sooner or later

Pr4wn wrote:
11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1) - The Bucs have messily made it to 3-1 and they look exactly like what they are. A very young football team. Over 100 yards of penalties on Sunday and performances like that will see them beaten by the better sides. The young defensive line is a great surprise.

Are you slowly getting over the Bucs drafting Adrian Clayborn?

Could do with a power rankings for 606v2FFL east & west

crazy_dave23 wrote:

Pr4wn wrote:
11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1) - The Bucs have messily made it to 3-1 and they look exactly like what they are. A very young football team. Over 100 yards of penalties on Sunday and performances like that will see them beaten by the better sides. The young defensive line is a great surprise.

Are you slowly getting over the Bucs drafting Adrian Clayborn?

The guy has been a revelation and he has a non-stop motor. Great attitude.

Cam Jordan, on the other hand, has sucked so far.

So yeah, I'm getting there!

bambamwillis wrote:I'm quite disappointed that the Niners are 3-1, I was expecting them to be 4-0 easily

Should have been 4-0 in my opinion. That Cowboys game was there to win. Still not sure OT is fair when one team goes down one end then kicks a FG before the other team has chance to reply.

The 49ers probably only need a few more wins to clinch their division this year. It would be great to see them back in the Super Bowl. If not I'll settle for a Packers v Patriots Super Bowl.

Pr4wn wrote:

crazy_dave23 wrote:

Pr4wn wrote:
11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1) - The Bucs have messily made it to 3-1 and they look exactly like what they are. A very young football team. Over 100 yards of penalties on Sunday and performances like that will see them beaten by the better sides. The young defensive line is a great surprise.

Are you slowly getting over the Bucs drafting Adrian Clayborn?

The guy has been a revelation and he has a non-stop motor. Great attitude.

Cam Jordan, on the other hand, has sucked so far.

So yeah, I'm getting there!

Ah what a moment that was on draft night Pr4wn, mate your reaction was priceless!

OK, just a couple of gripes.

1) I'd put the Steelers below us and the Bears. I'd still be tempted to leave the Bears above the Skins as they have a better D, but the Steelers don't scare anyone right now, at least compared to the last couple of years.

2) Titans higher and the Jets and Boys lower. Titans don't even have CJ2K back to full strength and look where they are. Jets and Boys are both poor teams with some great players and its the balance of the teams that are letting them down. They can't do anything about making the superstars play better (largely because they are injured) and the quality of their backups means they are likely not going to improve over the season. And Romo and Sanchez can't carry a team between them, let alone a team each.

Agree on the top 5 though. The SB champ is likely coming from one of these.

First of all, good job Pr4wn. I have a lot of respect for people who put together Power Rankings as no-one ever agrees and you end up getting a lot of abuse for having team X at 10. instead of 11. For that reason I'm not going to assign numbers to any teams but I'll just say if I think they're too high or too low and give a few comments.

Patriots are maybe slightly high. I agree that the Bills result was a blip but that defence is terrible. They have given up so many yards I don't think I can even count that high. Any game that Brady isn't perfect (very few of those in all honesty) they could struggle in.

Titans are looking good and I'm glad to see them where you have them. I was amazed to see their D still available in 606v2 West last week and snapped them up. I might even be tempted to stop playing the matchups now.

For the Bucs to have played the way they have and be 3-1 is impressive. They are the anti-Cowboys, they know how to grind out wins. The Clayborn draft moment was possibly the sporting event of the year.

Jets are too high. I said before the start of the season that they would miss the playoffs and no-one agreed with me. Not looking so foolish now is it? If the Cowboys hadn't given them a game they'd be 1-3.

Seahawks are a bit high I think. I know they pushed the Falcons but they were at home and I still think they are an awful team. Going nowhere fast.

The Colts are maybe too low. I hate saying this and I hope I'm wrong because I'm really enjoying their struggle but I think that Painter showed enough (despite the massive kick in the face he received from the back office) to suggest they will pick up.

GB, the Tampa secondary gave him way too much credit. Once we started to pressure him by rushing more than four, he only completed four passes, I think.