2. (2) San Francisco 49ers (8-1) – Alex Smith and the 49ers came through on national television and beat Eli Manning and the 6-3 Giants. Not only did the 49ers beat a good team, but they proved they can win even when their run game is shut down. Alex Smith is NOT a game manager and the 49ers are NOT playoff pretenders. 3. (4) Pittsburgh Steelers (7-3) – The Steelers defense was clutch in a huge divisional win over the Bengals after a tough loss to the Ravens the week before. The Steelers continue to show that they can win games in a variety of different ways, which is what makes them such a great football team.
4. (5) New Orleans Saints (7-3) – Once again the Saints played tough when it mattered against a very good Falcons team. Their defense came up big for them when they needed it on 4th and inches in OT. If there is a knock on the Saints it is their defense, but they proved they can make big plays when it matters. Matt Ryan, WHO DAT?
5. (6) New England Patriots (6-3) – When Ochocinco is catching passes from Tom Brady, you know something is going right! Last week I said I was concerned with this Patriots defense, well Andre Carter and Rob Ninkovich came to play combining for 4.5 sacks and 2 INT’s respectively. Brady and the bunch are back!
6. (8) Chicago Bears (6-3) – The Bears absolutely dominated the Lions in all 3 phases: offensively, defensively and special teams. Question, why do teams continue to kick to Hester?7. (9) Houston Texans (7-3) – Not having Andre Johnson or Super Mario hasn’t slowed this team down, but not having Matt Schuab for the rest of the year may. Arian Foster and Ben Tate are going to start to see stacked fronts as Matt Lienart commands this offense.
8. (3) Baltimore Ravens (6-3) – There are weeks where the Ravens look like they could easily contend with any team in football, and then they let one slip away. The Ravens offense showed their inconsistency once again and that is a major concern of mine.
9. (10) New York Giants (6-3) – Eli Manning is showing flashes of brilliance, but can’t seem to hold it together for an entire game. The Giants will bounce back and win the NFC East battle.
10. (11) Atlanta Falcons (5-4) – The Falcons played the Saints tough, but in the end bad coaching cost them the game. They had their chances and didn’t convert when they needed it.
11. (16) Dallas Cowboys (5-4) – Tony Romo had the game of his career in route to a beating of the Bills. This Cowboy offense is very dangerous, despite not having Miles Austin or Felix Jones. I sense a 2 way battle for the NFC East title.12. (7) Detroit Lions (6-3) – I thought the bye week would help the Lions, it did anything but that. Seems like Megatron covered up some big holes that this Lions team needs to address.
13. (12) New York Jets (5-4) – The Jets let a big opportunity slip out of their hands against the Patriots. Brady continues to dominate this Jets defense while Sanchez continues to find ways to lose games.
14. (13) Cincinnati Bengals (6-3) – Even though the Bengals lost, they showed me that they are a good football team hanging with the Steelers. Andy Dalton and AJ Green have formed a great combination and the defense is very solid.
15. (20) Oakland Raiders (5-4) – Carson Palmer looked like the Carson Palmer we all know and love and the same can be said for the Raiders tough defense. The Raiders did whatever they wanted against the Chargers and put themselves in the driver’s seat of the AFC West race.
16. (21) Tennessee Titans (5-4) – CJ2K finally ran for over 100 yards, and look at the result! The Titans dominated the Panthers on defense and held Cam Newton in check. 17. (14) Buffalo Bills (5-4) – It seems the Bills have come back down to earth. Fitzpatrick hasn't looking himself since his contract extension and the defense isn’t forcing turnovers. You will not win in this league allowing that many yards on defense every week.
18. (17) San Diego Chargers (4-5) – The Chargers seem to find ways to lose more often than not. There is a lot of talent on this team, but talent doesn’t get wins. (See “Philadelphia Eagles”)
19. (18) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-5) – The Buccaneers haven’t been able to play their style of football all year long. They want to run the ball and play defense but that isn’t an option when you are down multiple scores after 1 quarter. This is a good young team still.
20. (15) Philadelphia Eagles (3-6) – The Dream team has been anything but that. Deshaun Jackson misses a special teams meeting, Vick gets hurt and John Skelton carves up the Eagles secondary. They continue to find ways to lose games.
21. (25) Denver Broncos (4-5) – First the Raiders and now the Chiefs! Tim Tebow is not only winning football games, but he is beating the teams in his division. This is important because believe it or not, the Broncos are only 1 game out of 1st place in the AFC West! TEBOWING!
22. (19) Kansas City Chiefs (4-5) – This Chiefs football team is the polar opposite of the word, “consistent.” Despite the Broncos losing their top 2 RB’s Kansas City still let Tebow and company control the game and come out with the victory in their own house.
23. (26) Arizona Cardinals (3-6) – Two weeks in a row the Cardinals have found ways to win without Kevin Kolb. John Skelton doesn’t look half bad and their defense is keeping them in games. It also helps to have a guy named Larry Fitzgerald on your team, just saying. 24. (29) Seattle Seahawks (3-6) – The Seahawks showed great character coming off of a huge loss to the Cowboys by sticking it to the Ravens this past Sunday. If Marshawn Lynch can continue to have success running the ball, this team could gain some steam.
25. (22) Minnesota Vikings (2-7) – The Vikings have good potential with Ponder, Peterson and Harvin on the offense; but they ran into a Packers team that is just too good for everyone.
26. (28) Jacksonville Jaguars (3-6) – Jacksonville came through a won a game that they were expected to win, which doesn’t come about very often. Their defense continues to play great but the offense really needs to get things going.
27. (23) Carolina Panthers (2-7) – The Panthers looked very sluggish and sloppy coming off of their bye week. The icing on the cake was the punt return TD they allowed; if you want to win football games in the NFL you have to do the little things right.
28. (30) Miami Dolphins (2-7) – I said I smelled 2 in a row last week and what do you know the Dolphins pull it off! Tony Sparano has this football team playing hard, props to Miami!
29. (24) Washington Redskins (3-5) – First the Redskins couldn’t figure out their QB position, then they couldn’t figure out their RB position and now it has gone full circle back to the QB. This team is up in the air trying to figure out who they want to play, doesn’t bode well for wins.
30. (27) Cleveland Browns (3-6) – The Browns will have trouble sleeping tonight knowing that they could’ve very well won their game against the Rams. When it’s all said and done, Colt McCoy and the Browns offense need to put up more than 12 points to win, especially against the Rams less than impressive defense.
31. (31) St. Louis Rams (2-7) – The Rams literally escaped with a win against the Browns this past week. Bradford needs to be more consistent so that Steven Jackson can assert his presence in the running game.32. (32) Indianapolis Colts (0-10) – The Colts may have lost their best opportunity to get a win this season. However, to my surprise, Dan Orlovsky didn’t look half bad when he came in. This could, and I deeply emphasize the word could, be a sign of better things to come in Indy!
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