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Week 5 Power Rankings: NFL Turned Upside Down
Chris Pokorny October 6, 2007
Chris Pokorny
PFC Owner & Writer

Tell Chris your opinion.

These power rankings were made on October 6th, 2007 for Pro Football Critics were created heading into Week 5. These rankings take into consideration team momentum from this season, including player injuries and season expectations. Don't agree with where I rank your team? Then make sure you respond by sending an email to pokorny@pfcritics.com.

Some of you actually responded to last week's rankings. Here are two selections I pulled out that I responded to:

REGARDING THE COLTS OVER PATRIOTS IN WEEK 4:

Bruce:
"While it's hard to argue against the Colts, they barely won their second game, so I was expecting more of an explanation on why you thought the Pats (who've blown out all 3 opponents so far) should be rated second.  I'm fine with them being second, I just thought, since your pick is contrary to many other "experts" that you would explain your reasons more."

Chris Pokorny: "I've been extremely impressed with how the Patriots have played so far. I expected them to dominate opponents prior to the season starting, but thinking it and seeing it are two completely different things. I've been very tempted to move the Patriots over the Colts, but Indianapolis hasn't done anything to lose their spot.

The Colts were the Super Bowl Champions, and I've always felt that in my power rankings, unless I see in the offseason that they lost a ton of their players, they will stay at the top of the rankings if they continue getting the job done. The Colts have won their past two games by slim margins, but both of those victories came against the teams that they lost to on the road last year. The Colts rarely blow out the Texans, Titans, or Jaguars on the road these days, so coming away with victories in instances where they did not have to rally to win the games shows the strength that they have.

And, while I've been impressed with the Patriots domination this year, it seems as if the Colts have actually faced the teams that are playing better football. With both teams being at fairly equal rankings overall, I couldn't justify in my mind putting the Patriots above the Colts at this point in time. However, anything can happen week by week...so keep checking back to see if Brady is able to make that leap next week."

James: "I think the Philadelphia Eagles should be higher on this list. You have San Diego at No. 7 and they didn't put up points like the Eagles did last week. The Eagles dominated an undefeated team. Say what you want, but the Eagles are better than 20th. I would see them at 15th, but not 20th. You're not showing a good team the respect that they deserve."

REGARDING THE EAGLES RANKED LOW IN WEEK 4:

Chris: "Thanks for the comment on the rankings. My reasoning for the rankings are simple: I don't base everything only on what happens in one week. If that was the case, I could have very well have jumped the Browns up to the top ten after they had scored 50+ points a few weeks ago. Also, the Eagles defeating the 2-0 Lions was a positive win, but let's not overestimate what the Lions were actually valued at. The Lions' undefeated mark was no where near as impressive as teams like the Colts, Patriots, Steelers, or Packers.

As far as the Chargers being ranked No. 7, they will take a huge drop in the rankings if they lose again. They have many high quality players still that should be able to get their act together and be one of the best teams in football. The Eagles struggled a lot in their first two games, which is what caused them to tank in the rankings. Now, they are building their way back up, and if they are able to beat the Giants like I expect them to, you'll probably see them jump up to No. 15 in my next rankings."

PRESENT STATE (WEEK 5 RANKINGS):

Chris:
"So, how did things change since I responded to the questions above? I was certainly right for not jumping the gun with the Eagles, and as I stated, the Chargers will suffer a big drop after falling to the Chiefs. In regards to the Colts and the Patriots though, I still stand by my decision. In all of the years that I've been doing power rankings, I have never had one particular week in which I had to use so many green (up) and red (down) arrows, indicating drastic trends beginning to form in just one week's time. While the very top of the chain remained consistent, things started taking a wild turn near the eighth spot. Let's get to this week's rankings...

RankTeam Comment
1 (1) - Complain all you want Patriots fans: the Colts haven't done anything to lose this spot. The Colts are starting to feel the injury bug with certain players -- Joseph Addai and Marvin Harrison in particular -- but they still have the man that counts, Peyton Manning. The Colts are successful for a reason, and that includes their depth (Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark).
2 (2) - Don't you get tired of hearing people say that good teams may take an easy team for granted? Not many people have the Bills or Jets ranked high on their boards at this point, but the Patriots completely dominated both of them. The Patriots are also now responsible for playing a part in the demise of the Chargers and the Bengals. If you were looking for a better start to the season than what New England has had, I'd like to hear it.
3 (3) - When Tony Romo is able to go about 30 yards behind the line of scrimmage and then scramble around for a first down, things are rolling for your team. The Cowboys own the NFC right now, but how will they match up against some of the AFC's competition?
4 (4) - Brett Favre and the Packers are feeling a division title coming their way. It's darn near impossible to win every week, but if Green Bay can take out the Bears this Sunday, it would almost guarantee that Chicago's playoff hopes would be doomed. Of course, then the Packers may have to worry about those pesky Lions.
5 (8) - Fractured wrist and all, Shaun Alexander and the Seattle Seahawks silenced critics that were prepared for the 49ers to continue their winning streak against them. Seattle took advantage of what is a very bad 49ers offense at this point, en route to a convincing win.
6 (5) - Santonio Holmes may have a bright future, but two players -- Hines Ward and Troy Polamalu -- are the individuals that make a difference for the Steelers. When you take them out of the situation, you have what happened against the Cardinals occur.
7 (9) - Following the bye week, Vince Young will have to keep the Titans on track to maintain their shot at making a run at the Colts.
8 (16)

 
- The 49ers are playing complete football every week. They are considered the underdogs against the Colts this week, but they've garnered a lot of respect around the league to be taken seriously so quickly into the season.
9 (21)
- The Giants were on a downward spiral the first two weeks, but now, something is clicking -- the defense. Eli Manning is doing his part, and Plaxico Burress is making plays in pain. With Brandon Jacobs set to return and the Giants having 12 sacks last week, momentum is definitely in the Giants' favor.
10 (11) - Failing to take advantage of an early lead against the Colts is no unfamiliar sight.
11 (14) - When teams like the Chargers, 49ers, Ravens, and Bengals all take hits in one week, the Jaguars move up three spots despite having a bye.
12 (22)
- The Detroit Lions broke the record for the most points ever scored in the fourth quarter last week against the Bears. Jon Kitna is more than on pace to reach those ten wins.
13 (19)
- If you thought moving the Jaguars up three spots despite being on a bye week was nuts, then this one should be beyond insane. Still, the Redskins are a collapse away from being 3-0.
14 (10)
- Trent Difler at quarterback doesn't sound pretty. Unfortunately for the 49ers, neither does Alex Smith at this point (of course, he's still be preferred by far though).
15 (7)
- Marty Ball wasn't so bad, eh? After all, you'd have to be nuts to think a 14-win team had something wrong with the coaches.
16 (23)
- The Ravens are handling their dual quarterback system poorly. The Cardinals are handling their dual quarterback system effectively. It took guts for Ken Whisenhunt to insert Matt Leinart back into the game in the fourth quarter.
17 (15) - It's a shame that the Texans have missed Andre Johnson and Ahman Green for two weeks straight basically. Matt Schuab has been playing well without them, but that's two of the Texans' top players that they are without.
18 (25)
- Browns fans across the nation are rubbing their eyes, in awe of witnessing what an offense is supposed to look like. After going winless in the division last year, the Browns are already 2-1 this year in the AFC North.
19 (24)
- How about losing 11 games in a row, only to suddenly win two in a row? Daunte Culpepper only had five completions last week, but put five touchdowns on the board and are atop the AFC West.
20 (6)
- The offense is boring. The defense is "aging". Brian Billick doesn't know what the hell he is doing. Don't accuse me of saying the previous three statements; I'm merely echoing what I've heard on Ravens' message boards across the Internet.
21 (12)
- Isn't it funny that when the Bengals start losing, people start going against Chad Johnson's antics? We know what we get with Johnson, so let's get down to the real problem: defense. The Bengals don't have one.
22 (13)
- David Carr? Get well soon, Jake Delhomme. Please.
23 (30)
- I had written the Kansas City Chiefs off two weeks ago, but they've managed to quietly win two games in a row. Before you know it, the Chiefs are going to be on top of the AFC West, riding their hot streak to the division lead.
24 (20)
- As soon as the Eagles make you think they've turned the right corner, Donovan McNabb gets sacked 12 times in one game. Fumbles on special teams, mistakes from the coaching staff, and no offensive line doesn't sound like the Eagles teams that have made the playoffs for several years in recent memory.
25 (17)
- Brian Greise may be the better quarterback for the Chicago Bears, but that doesn't mean he's the right quarterback. The Bears may be better off searching the waiver wire at this point.
26 (31)
- Give credit where credit it due to the Bills. I thought they had no shot with J.P. Losman and Paul Posluszny out, but they pulled it together and came away with a huge victory.
27 (18)
- The Jets are proving to be a great example of a team that can't duplicate the magic they had last season. The close games aren't going their way this time around.
28 (26) - Kelly Holcomb isn't doing much as the Vikings quarterback. The scary thing is this: he's done leaps and bounds more than Tavaris Jackson did.
29 (32)
- Joey Harrington did the unthinkable: he put together his second consecutive week of a quality NFL performance, without much to work with on offense. The Falcons are still buried, but at least they're not done.
30 (27) - The Saints quickly melted down to the bottom of the league prior to their bye week. If the Saints have any chance this year, their "new" season has to start this week.
31 (28)
- The Dolphins were probably hoping that Trent Green and Ted Ginn Jr. would lead to something other than a zero in the win column.
32 (29)
- The Rams aren't even averaging 10 points per game. Heck, half of their points have come from Dante Hall returning kicks for touchdowns. It's beyond low for the Rams right now -- so low, that this week's game will feature Gus Frerotte at quarterback and Brian Leonard at running back.

Do you have an opinion on this article? Do you want direct fantasy football advice from one of our writers? You can e-mail us at pokorny@pfcritics.com. Be sure to label your subject line appropriately so we don't think it is spam. Please include your name (can be a screename), city and state. We guarantee a response to any questions or comments you have, and will publish them in our next mailbag session if appropriate.

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