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Comments September 11, 2007
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1/1
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Colts
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1-0
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The champs delivered as
the Colts’ defense kept the Saints’ high powered offense out of the end zone.
If the defense plays at this level all season
you can pencil the Colts into the AFC championship game against your choice of
New England, San Diego, Pittsburgh or Baltimore.
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2/2
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Patriots
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1-0
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Bad news for the rest of the league…
The Jets were just one of just six teams
to give up fewer than 300
points last season, yet Brady connected with Moss 9 times for 183 yards and 1 TD, and he very nearly had 3 TD’s.
Even more frightening, the Patriots
might have a spy program- potentially making them even more lethal than they already are.
Imagine that. NFL teams collecting intel on each other.
Who would have ever thought? (Sarcasm alert).
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3/5
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Chargers
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1-0
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Only LT could turn an almost yardless game versus Chicago into a story about his touchdown pass and 4th quarter
game sealing rushing TD…
Neither quarterback could throw for a score, but that didn’t stop LT from doing so.
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4/3
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Bears
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0-1
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Imagine how the Bears’ defenders feel after holding LT to 25 yards on 17 carries, yet walking away without a win.
But the Bears just couldn’t get it going on offense as Grossman went 12/23 for 145 yards with 1 INT.
We’ll throw this idea out one more time… The Bears should get
Drew Bledsoe out of retirement.
Not only was the Cowboys’ offense ranked top 5 when benching Bledsoe, but there are older starting QB’s the league.
See what might have been, check out
opening day
just two seasons ago as Bledsoe torched the Chargers in San Diego. Now imagine what the score in that
game might have been if the Cowboys had the Bears defense… Now flip it around, what might the score have been
this week if the Bears could have moved the ball through the air on offense?
This was a winnable game for the Bears.
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5/4
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Ravens
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0-1
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The good news– Baltimore’s defense held the Bengals to just 236 yards of offense on the road…
The bad news–
Baltimore still walked away with a loss thanks to 4 fumbles, two interceptions,
a questionable call in the end zone at the end of the game that could have tied it, and
injuries to Jonathan Ogden, Ray Lewis, and Steve McNair… Remember the Ravens kept the Colts
out of the end zone in the divisional playoffs last season. It will take more than one close
loss on the road to a division rival to knock them out of the top 5 here.
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6/10
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Panthers
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1-0
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The Panthers’ defense held the Rams to 238 yards on the carpet… That’s exactly the kind of defense
that placed Carolina in our top 10 in preseason, not to mention landing
them in the NFC Championship game in two of the last
four seasons.
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7/6
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Saints
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0-1
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The Saints’ offense was completely neutralized in Indianapolis.
Looking at the score one would never guess
this game was tied at the 9:46 mark of the third quarter before the Saints abruptly surrendered
31 unanswered points. A blowout loss on the road to the champs isn’t enough to drop the Saints
out of the top 10, especially since they’re only 1 game removed from an appearance in the NFC
championship game.
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8/11
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Steelers
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1-0
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Roethlisberger threw for 4 TD’s, Willie Parker rushed for over 100 yards, and the Steelers’ defense
held the Browns to 46 rushing yards in a 34-7 win in Cleveland. Not many surprises here.
But to rise much further in the power rankings the Steelers will have to beat some
better teams. They won’t be tested
until weeks 5 – 9 when they hit a stretch consisting of Seattle, Denver, Cincinnati, and Baltimore.
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9/8
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Broncos
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1-0
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Denver racked up 470 yards of total offense in Buffalo (183 from
Travis Henry) but the offense had trouble finding the end zone.
As a result the Broncos needed a heroic last second kick by Elam
to get the win.
We’ll temper the total yards number by reminding our loyal readers that Buffalo’s defense lost
several key players during the offseason, and they lost several defensive starters during the game.
Denver should have won this game by a lot more than 1.
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10/12
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Seahawks
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1-0
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Hasselbeck and Alexander had solid games and the Seahawks’ defense kept the Buccaneers
out of the end zone.
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11/7
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Eagles
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0-1
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It was a day of mishandled punts and relentless pressure from the Packers’ pass rush as Philadelphia
was upset in Green Bay.
If the Eagles play like this next week
they’ll likely be looking up at Dallas in the power rankings… They’re already looking up at the Cowboys in the
standings.
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12/13
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Cowboys
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1-0
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With the Giants’ Umenyiora out with a knee injury in the first quarter, Romo and the Cowboys’ offense took full
advantage from the second quarter on, torching the Giants’ defense for big play after big play.
On the flip side, giving up 35 points to the opposition doesn’t help too much in the power rankings.
Dallas left the Giants limping. The Cowboys also lost Jason Ferguson for the season.
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13/14
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Bengals
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1-0
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In preseason we mentioned one of the best things to happen to Cincinnati in the offseason was
Adalius Thomas leaving the AFC North… It paid off Monday night.
Because if the Ravens still had
Adalius Thomas, the Bengals probably don’t win the game.
As it was, the Bengals needed 4 fumbles by the Ravens, two interceptions, a questionable
call in the end zone, and injuries to
Jonathan Ogden, Ray Lewis, and Steve McNair to claw out the win.
Of course it’s a great win for the Bengals. But
to us it wasn’t a convincing enough win to go shooting up the power rankings
when 9 of the 12 teams above are coming off playoff seasons.
And we’re not going to drop the Bears, Ravens, Eagles or Saints
out of the top 12 on the basis of one loss.
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14/9
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Jaguars
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0-1
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Perhaps the Jaguars were distracted by the recent QB change.
Regardless, Jacksonville’s playoff chances took a hit in week 1 thanks to dropping a division home game
to a Tennessee team they were expected to handle. How did it happen? The Jaguars surrendered 282
rushing yards to the Titans including 175 rushing
yards to Chris Brown– reminiscent of a college football outing.
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15/15
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Jets
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0-1
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Pennington had a solid game. But the Jets’ defense couldn’t stop Brady and Moss.
Although, a blow was delivered to the Patriots’ alleged spy program.
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16/23
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Titans
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1-0
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If the Titans display the kind of run blocking they used to run over Jacksonville to the tune of 282
yards, they’ll upset a
lot of teams in 2007, just like in 2006. Before you know it, the wins will no longer
be considered upsets… In fact, going back to last season the Titans have won 7 or their last 8 games.
Their only loss in that stretch? New England!
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17/19
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Giants
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0-1
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The Giants lost Umenyiora and Jacobs early, then Manning late, not to mention losing what
might have otherwise been a winnable game in Dallas without so many key injuries.
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18/18
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Rams
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0-1
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The Rams dropped a home game to the Panthers and Orlando Pace was lost for the season.
St. Louis is going to need a lot more than 13 points from their offense to win most games,
especially since they allowed 381 points last season. But with Pace now gone, the offense
takes a major hit.
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19/21
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Redskins
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1-0
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Randle El hauled in 5 catches for 162 yards. And Washington’s ground game and defense were just
solid enough to pull out an overtime win over the Dolphins at home.
Right tackle Jon Jansen may be lost for the year.
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20/16
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Dolphins
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0-1
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Miami rushed for only 66 yards in an overtime loss in Washington.
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21/24
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Texans
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1-0
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Schaub and Johnson hooked up 7 times for 142 yards and 1 TD, and the Texans’ defense held
Kansas City to 219 total yards of offense, and out of the end zone.
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22/17
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Chiefs
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0-1
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Sound the alarm. The Chiefs were held to 219 yards of offense and were
unable to find the end zone in a 20-3 loss in Houston.
Yikes!
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23/28
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Packers
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1-0
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Green Bay upset Philadelphia at home with solid defense, great kicking, and a lot of help
from the Eagles’ special teams… Meanwhile the Packers’ offense only put up 215 yards
and failed to reach the end zone. Don’t expect the Packers
to go flying up the power rankings charts on the basis of a single win.
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24/29
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Vikings
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1-0
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Adrian Peterson ran for over 100 yards and Minnesota’s defense kept Atlanta
out of the end zone. Then again, many defenses probably could have done the same
to the Vickless Falcons.
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25/20
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Cardinals
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0-1
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Arizona lost a heartbreaker in San Francisco. The Cardinals offense couldn’t do much against
a 49ers’ team that gave up 412 points last season.
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26/22
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49ers
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1-0
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San Francisco pulled out a last second win at home over the Cardinals, but the 49ers’ offense
only managed a paltry 196 yards, hence the lower power ranking.
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27/25
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Buccaneers
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0-1
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Carnell Williams left the game with an injury as
the Buccaneers didn’t have enough to contend with the Seahawks in Seattle
for a full 4 quarters.
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28/27
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Bills
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0-1
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Firstly, our best wishes go out to Kevin Everett who suffered an injury to his spine.
In power rankings notes, Losman threw for just 97 yards in the Bills’ 15-14, last second home loss to Denver.
Based on yardage the game should not have been as close as it was.
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29/31
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Lions
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1-0
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Detroit had plenty of offense in a road win at Oakland. However, giving up 21 points and 375 yards to the Raiders
could be a sign of another long season.
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30/26
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Falcons
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0-1
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Without you know who the Falcons mustered only 96 rushing yards
and could not get into the end zone, losing at Minnesota.
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31/30
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Browns
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0-1
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It’s tough to win home games against the Steelers or any other team when rushing for only 46 yards
and surrendering 4 TD passes.
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32/32
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Raiders
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0-1
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The knock on Oakland was supposed to be its offense, not its defense… If the Raiders
could have scored 21 points in each game last season they would have won 8 games… Oakland hit the “21” mark in the opener
but allowed nearly 400 yards of offense and 4 TD’s in a 36-21 loss to Detroit.
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