1/1

Colts

  2-0  

  The Colts grabbed a road win in Tennessee and are still at the top of the rankings. After all, going back to last season the Colts beat the Patriots twice; once in the regular season and then again in the AFC Championship game. Not to mention the Colts are still the defending champs. And they haven’t lost yet… Yes the Patriots are noticeably stronger than last season. But so is the Colts’ defense.

2/2

Patriots

  2-0  

  The Patriots looked unbeatable against the Chargers (without any cams rolling). Apparently the Patriots play better when they’re focused on the field rather than on the sidelines. Meanwhile, Richard Seymour and Rodney Harrison aren’t even in the lineup… Is it too early to start this season’s undefeated talk? Here’s a thought. Imagine if the Patriots and Colts went undefeated. That would presume they tie week 9. You read this bizarre thought here first.

3/5

Ravens

  1-1

  The Ravens beat the Jets to bounce back from an injury riddled, questionably officiated, turnover marred loss in Cincinnati. As we like to remind readers, the Ravens’ defense kept the Colts out of the end zone in the divisional playoffs last season. If that’s not top 5 material, what is?

4/3

Chargers

1-1

Including the 2006 playoffs the Chargers are (15-4) going back to last season. Take out the divisional playoff loss to New England as well as last night’s loss also at the hands of the Patriots, and all that’s left is a last second 3 point loss at Baltimore, and a 3 point road loss to division rival Kansas City, a team which made the playoffs last season. Also recall the Chargers beat the Bears just 1 week ago. Bottom line, the Chargers are still top 5 material.

5/4

Bears

1-1

The Bears took care of business at home against the Chiefs in typical fashion. That is to say, they held their opposition to under 100 yards rushing (just 55 for Larry Johnson) and got a punt return for a TD from Hester. But concerns about the QB position loom large.

6/8

Steelers

  2-0

  The Steelers haven’t been tested yet. But with teams like the Saints, Panthers, and Jaguars having disappointing starts in 2007, there is plenty of room in the top 10 for a team that won the Super Bowl just two seasons ago, that looks to be back to its old form, albeit by crushing teams with an average power ranking of just 29.5.

Cowboys

  2-0  

Three of Dallas’ first six games overall come versus teams that allowed less than 300 points in 2006… The Cowboys made it 1-0 against such teams with a win over the Dolphins. For much of the game it was a stalemate battle of prolific offense versus stout defense. But in the end it was the Cowboys’ defense which took over, picking off Trent Green 4 times and recovering 2 fumbles, thereby helping to set up the offense for a whopping 27 points in the final 19 minutes.

8/9

Broncos

  2-0  

  Once again the Broncos racked up over 400 yards of total offense against a bottom ranked team, and barely escaped with a victory thanks to a perfectly timed time out which negated what would have been a game winning kick by Janikowski in overtime. Normally the Broncos would not increase in the rankings for such a close win over a Raiders team ranked last coming into the week. But with many of the usual top teams plummeting, there’s nowhere to go but up.

Jaguars

  1-1

  The Jaguars barely survived at home against the Falcons. They used solid defense and got a little help from the Falcons’ kicking game en route to the win. Of concern is the Jaguars’ running game which has been a shadow of its usual self in 2007. But as long as the defense continues to hold down the opposition, the Jaguars should get their fair share of wins. Meanwhile, after watching Tennessee play to within 2 points of the champs, the week 1 upset loss isn’t rating as damaging as it did one week ago.

10/6

Panthers

  1-1  

  The Panthers were upset at home by one of this season’s early surprise teams, the Texans. Fortunately for the Panthers, it was an out of conference loss, so it alone isn’t going to kill their season. In comparison, the Saints getting upset within the division at Tampa Bay is considerably more damaging. Meanwhile the NFC is already looking weak compared to the AFC. And this upset throws a big highlight on the disparity. However, keep in mind the Panthers allowed the second fewest points in the NFC last year, and that looked to be continuing in 2007 as the defense was solid in week 1 at St. Louis. So it’s probably too early to push the panic button. And even though the Panthers lost to the Texans, they were ranked 6th coming in and the Texans 21st. So the upset is not quite enough to flip flop these teams in the power rankings. We feel the Panthers are still on track to make the playoffs. But if they lose next week in Atlanta, that could change.

11/10

Seahawks

  1-1  

  Seattle fell in Arizona with one second on the clock. One game does not make a season. Meanwhile, we think it’s too early to move Houston or Green Bay into the top 12 where playoff teams typically reside.

12/6

Saints

0-2

The Saints were crushed in Tampa Bay. Whatever is preventing this team from picking up where they left off last season has to end this week, otherwise it will start to become too much of a hill to climb.

13/19

Redskins

  2-0

The Redskins are off to a terrific start in 2007. And look to be back to their 2005 form, but with a stronger armed quarterback at the helm compared to 05.

14/16

Titans

1-1

There are plenty of things to be optimistic about when playing to within 2 points of the champs. In fact, it might even account for a rise in the rankings.

15/21

Texans

2-0

  It has been a story book start for the Texans. Schaub and Johnson hooked up 7 times (again) which helped the Texans overcome a 14 point deficit in Carolina to pull of the upset… Will the winning continue? One thing is certain. The Texans’ remaining schedule is very tough. So if they do keep it up, extra props are in order. If they don’t, we don’t devalue teams in the power rankings solely for having tough schedules. They have to play poorly in addition. At any rate, we’d like to see more than 2 good games before placing the Texans into the top 12 of the rankings. After all, 12 teams make the playoffs. And we think it’s a little too early to start calling the Texans a playoff team. By the same token, it’s probably too early to say the Panthers are not a playoff caliber team. It was a great win. And the Texans are on the rise. But it’s not an express ticket to the top 12.

16/23

Packers

2-0

  The Packers went on the road and upset the Giants to notch their second win of the season against a team that made the playoffs in 2006. Green Bay’s defense has been relentless in 2007. And that certainly takes the pressure off Favre. Congrats to Favre for becoming the most winning QB in NFL history.

17/11

Eagles

0-2

Aside from the obvious, one of the questions in Philadelphia this week is going to be, can you actually ice a kicker from just 29 yards out in perfectly good kicking weather at the end of a half no less? It’s a rough start for the Eagles. But they have the defense, coaching, and QB experience to get it turned around.

18/13

Bengals

1-1

Giving up 51 points to Cleveland makes the so called “lucky win” over Baltimore look even luckier.

19/25

Cardinals

1-1

  The Cardinals made up for last week’s heartbreaking loss in San Francisco with a thrilling win at home over the Seahawks… Arizona held Alexander to under 100 yards rushing, while James broke the 100 yard mark.

20/15

Jets

0-2

There’s no need to drop the Jets too far into the 20’s for starting 0-2. After all, they opened the season against New England and Baltimore. A couple of wins is all it should take to bounce the Jets back up… On another note, accusations from the Ravens about the Jets engaging in unfair play suddenly threaten to turn the NFL into the “he did this,” “yeah but he did that” league.

21/17

Giants

  0-2  

The Giants were crushed at home by the Packers, losing by 22 points, as the pass defense was torched for the second week in a row.

Chiefs

0-2

  Kansas City was simply outclassed in Chicago. It’s tough to drop the Chiefs much lower than 22 at this time. Not many teams win in Chicago. And the loss in Houston isn’t rating as poorly as it did last week thanks to the Texans winning in Carolina. We’ll save any further devaluation until next week should the Chiefs lose at home to Minnesota.

Buccaneers

1-1

  Tampa Bay blew out the reeling Saints as Galloway proved to be too much for the Saints’ secondary. Meanwhile, Tampa’s defense held Bush and McAllister to a combined 76 yards rushing.

24/20

Dolphins

  0-2

  For most of the game Miami’s defense was doing its job against the Cowboys’ offense. But Miami’s offense couldn’t get out of its own way thanks in part to 4 Green interceptions. And eventually the defense caved in.

25/26

49ers

2-0

For the second week in a row San Francisco’s offense put up less than 200 net yards, and they still won. Of all the bizarre occurrences in week 2 this one might take the cake. While the 49ers are (2-0) in the standings, the power rankings say they are lucky to not be (0-2).

26/18

Rams

0-2

  The Rams outgained the 49ers more than 2 to 1 at home and still lost… Not only is the Rams’ offensive line in shambles, but a home loss to division rival San Francisco may very well be a season killer.

27/29

Lions

2-0

  Detroit survived an injury to Kitna and hung on to beat the Vikings at home in overtime… Of course Minnesota’s offense doesn’t exactly make defenses shake in their boots. And wins over the Vikings and Raiders aren’t quite enough to get Detroit out of the low 20’s.

28/31

Browns

1-1

  Question: Should a team rise in the power rankings after surrendering 45 points? Perhaps if they score 51 of their own… The Browns grabbed a big victory against the highly touted Bengals. Anderson and Lewis accounted for over 500 yards of offense and 6 TD’s versus what has in reality been a suspect Bengals’ defense for quite some time. We would like to see the Browns win more than one before getting overly aggressive with their power ranking.

29/24

Vikings

1-1

  The Vikings’ defense kept them in the game until falling in overtime in Detroit. The warning sign of the week; playing against a Lions’ team that surrendered 398 points last season, Tavaris Jackson threw 4 interceptions.

30/32

Raiders

0-2

  In theory Oakland played well enough to win in Denver. But a perfectly timed time out negated what would have been a game winning field goal by Janikowski… No credit in the standing. But some credit in the power rankings.

31/30

Falcons

0-2

  Atlanta held the lead for a good portion of the game in Jacksonville even though they only put up 7 points. The Falcons’ defense certainly did its job. But the question in Atlanta is on the other side of the ball.

32/28

Bills

0-2

The Bills were blown out in Pittsburgh. Normally the close game one week ago at home against the Broncos could keep them out of the cellar. However, the Raiders just played a close game with the Broncos which took place in Denver, thereby helping their loss to rate higher.