| Rank | Team |
Comment |
| 1 (1) |  | Another week, and
another No. 1 spot for the Indianapolis Colts. Negating the kick return
that inflated the Texans' point total against them, the defense continues
to show that they are not a liability. After losing all three road
division games last season, the Colts are already 2-0 in that category
three weeks into the season. |
| 2 (3) |  | Has an NFL team ever
been this dominant? The Patriots have scored 38 points in each of their first
three games, and have allowed 14, 14, and 7 points to the Jets, Chargers, and
Bills, respectively. Randy Moss' breakout has rejuvenated a Patriots offense
that had already been solid for years. |
| 3 (3) |  | The Cowboys' defense
hasn't been as impressive as the Patriots, but the offense has scored 45,
37, and 34 points against the Giants, Dolphins, and Bears, respectively.
To produce that type of efforts three weeks in a row, including once
against the Bears, is equally impressive as what New England has done in
the AFC. |
| 4 (6) |
 | Amidst the Colts,
Patriots, and Cowboys of the NFL thus far, the Packers are on cloud nine.
The season couldn't have started any better, with the defense shutting
down the opposition and Brett Favre making tremendous decisions for the
talent he has to work with. The Packers already have a two-game lead over
the Bears, and a one-game lead on the Lions. |
| 5 (7) |
 | Mike Tomlin and Bruce
Arians has gotten creative with Ben Roethlisberger, putting everyone in
the league on notice. Not only is the team's running game still used
effectively, Roethlisberger is getting more pass attempts off of
playaction and is executing the game plan to perfection. |
| 6 (8) |  | I've often been a
proponent of wanting to see a dual-quarterback system. Situating it out
has come by default for Baltimore over the first few weeks due to injuries
and momentum. Will Brian Billick dial up the concept again this week
versus Cleveland? |
7 (4)
 |
 | With so much talent,
the Chargers are 1-2.
Norv Turner's second NFL run: just as bad as the last one. |
8 (11)
|
 | Shaun Alexander will
have to play with a cast on his left wrist for the next few weeks, but at
least he won't miss the time that he did last year. Seattle's 0-1 in the
division and can't afford to fall to 0-2 this week. |
9 (14)
|
 | Vince Young
may not be making noise with his feet yet, but he's getting it done
through the air and the defense is looking strong. Barring a two-point
loss to the Colts, the Titans have quietly dominated opposing teams,
showing that they are extremely dangerous when closing out a game. |
10 (10)
|
 | I expected more
against the Steelers. The 49ers' effort looked more like the inconsistent
version of Nolan's team that we saw last season. That won't help them reach the
postseason. |
11 (9)
|
 | The Broncos are ranked
6th overall in the league offensively, yet they've only scored 15, 23, and
14 points against the Bills, Raiders, and Jaguars, respectively. Until the
offense finds a way to punch it in the end zone, the Broncos are destined
for allowing the Chargers to take over the division again. |
| 12 (13) |
 | There wasn't much to
gloat about the Bengals' defensive effort against the Seahawks. However,
as long as they hold the opposition off to the point where they are
limited to maybe 28 points a game, Cincinnati's offense is good enough to
win the game more times than not. |
13 (16)
|
 | Jake Delhomme's health
will be huge for the Panthers. David Carr was a good addition for depth as
a backup, but Carolina can't afford to have him as their new starting
quarterback. |
14
(18)
|
 | The story is the same
for Jacksonville: they play to the level of their opponents. Their running
game hasn't gotten going yet, but they have escaped that problem with a
respectable 2-1 record, even though it seems like they're actually 1-2 or
0-3. |
| 15 (15) |
 | All four teams in the
AFC South have winning records, yet the Texans are ranked lowest here. The
Texans are still lacking incredibly in depth, which was clearly shown with
Andre Johnson and Ahman Green being out this past week. |
16 (23)
|
 | If a team wants to
start winning football games, or see improvement from every position on
the team, just sign and start Jeff Garcia. It worked for the Eagles, and
it's working for the Buccaneers. |
17 (5)
|
 | Last year, Lovie Smith
decided to work through all of the controversy surrounding Rex Grossman
starting every week. He has pulled the trigger early this year to get a
boost from Brian Griese. If it doesn't pay off, then the Bears won't even
make the postseason this year. |
| 18 (17) |
 | Chad Pennington and
the Jets avoided the dooming 0-3 start that would've haunted them with a
loss to the Dolphins. One win at a time is the key for the Jets now, who
have to understand that they should not pay attention to what the Patriots
are doing: a wildcard spot still gets you to the postseason. |
| 19 (20) |
 | It'll be interesting
to see how the Redskins respond after the bye following their collapse to
the Giants. The Redskins went from possibly having a 2-0 division record,
tied with the Cowboys for the division lead, into the complete opposite
direction. |
| 20 (22) |
 | Now that is the
type of gameplay we've been looking for out of Donovan McNabb. His success
last year started with building chemistry with Donte Stallworth - could
this year's jump start be directly connected to Kevin Curtis? |
21 (25)
|
 | Give credit where
credit is due to one man - Eli Manning. Manning and a guy like Grossman
have received criticism at a constant rate, but Manning is the person that
is overcoming the critics. |
22 (19)
|
 | I don't care how good
the Lions' offense is: when they finally faced a team with some offensive
potential, they gave up 56 points. The Lions are the Bengals without the
same level of "killer instinct" potential that the Bengals somewhat
have. |
| 23 (21) |
 | Inserting Kurt Warner
to run the hurry up offenses was very wise on Ken Whisenhunt's part, and
it should have resulted in an upset victory. He made another great
decision by clearly stating that Matt Leinart is the team's quarterback of
the future still. |
24 (30)
|
 | In all honesty, the
Raiders didn't really deserve to move up six spots. The defense is no where
close to where they were last year, but one thing has dramatically improved:
the running game. LaMont Jordan and Justin Fargas are systematically putting
successful drives together. |
| 25 (27) |
 | After a poor first
half, Derek Anderson and the offense showed a lot of spark in the second
half, enough to put them into position for a game-winning field goal. If
you negate the crazy timeout rule, the Browns would be a stunning 2-1
right now. That's how the NFL works. |
| 26 (26) |  | I'd prefer to see
Kelly Holcomb run the Vikings' offense still, but Minnesota doesn't have
any offensive threats at the receiving position for anyone to work with. |
27 (12)
|
 | *Shakes head* The only
glimmer of hope the Saints have is the fact that they have a lot of
division games remaining. If they get their act together after the bye,
and I mean really get their act together, then the season is far
away from being over. |
28 (28)
|
 | It seems as if the
quarterback position wasn't the only thing that the Dolphins needed to upgrade
in the offseason to make some noise. |
29 (24)
|
 | If someone can explain
in a solid paragraph or two why the Rams offense is struggling as bad as
it is, send it to
pokorny@pfcritics.com and I'll publish it. |
| 30 (31) |
 | The Chiefs
have played like an 0-3 team, but they do have a win in the
books...barely. |
| 31 (29) |
 | With J.P. Losman and
Paul Posluszny out, doesn't it almost seem like the Bills are the AAA team
of the NFL right now? |
| 32 (32) |
 | One "ok" performance
from Joey Harrington doesn't change things - the 2007-2008 season is a
waste to a city that had so much hope a few years ago when Michael Vick
was in his "prime". |
