NFL 2013 Power Rankings – Week 8

Whew! What a week! Records were broken, others came close to being broken and everyone in Dallas is still in shock after what Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson did to them. With the trade deadline fast approaching, it’ll be interesting to see what moves are made. Maybe my Giants make a move and send a certain wide receiver out of East Rutherford. Maybe a certain veteran tight end goes back to the team that drafted him. We shall see. Oh, and no one should ever call Chip Kelly an offensive genius ever again, or at least until his teams can score an offensive touchdown again. On to the rankings.

32. Jacksonville Jaguars (0-8) (32) – I feel bad for the people at Wemblay Stadium. The English seem to like watching American football but what do we do? We send them three of the worst teams in the league to watch. First they get a game between two teams that hadn’t won a game yet and now they get the Jaguars. Maybe the Jaguars should just stay out there. Next game: Bye Week

31. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-7) (31) – This could be the first ever season with two winless teams. I’m actually sort of rooting for it. How will they determine who gets the first overall pick? This is unprecedented. I’m excited. Greg Schiano will be the first coach to be fired. I’d say Gus Bradley has a shot to get fired first but that team is an organizational letdown. Interestingly enough, the Bucs defense shifted to man defense to take advantage of Revis’ strengths. Steve Smith didn’t really have a good game, or at least a typical Steve Smith game. Next game: @ Seattle Seahawks

30. Minnesota Vikings (1-6) (30) – The Vikings have gone from Ponder to Cassel to Freeman and now back to Ponder but it doesn’t seem to make a difference. With the trade deadline looming, maybe its time to shake things up and make a big trade. Cordarelle Patterson finally showed what he can do with that record setting 109 yard kickoff return. Next game: @ Dallas Cowboys

29. St Louis Rams (3-5) (28) – Its about time that the Rams jump on the #TankForTeddy bandwagon. Kellen Clemens and Sam Bradford, for that matter, aren’t the answer. That being said, they didn’t necessarily play a bad game. They were a goal line stand away from a huge upset over the Seahawks. Jeff Fisher is a pretty good coach and that defense is very good. At the very least, they’re better than people realize and have been the biggest reason for their three wins. Unfortunately, they don’t have much of an offense. Next game: vs Tennessee Titans

28. Philadelphia Eagles (3-5) (26) – The Eagles offense has fizzled out and Chip Kelly doesn’t have a quarterback capable of running his offense. With Marcus Mariota playing so well and having a Heisman worthy season, I can see Kelly using a first round pick on his former quarterback at Oregon. Next game: @ Oakland Raiders

27. Tennessee Titans (3-4) (27) – Bye Week. Next game: @ St Louis Rams

26. Oakland Raiders (3-4) (29) – The Raiders are in a tough spot because they’re in a tough division but they’re not a terrible team. The defense is actually pretty good and Terrell Pryor seems to be the spark plug they need. They won’t make the playoffs but they quarterback is one less thing they need to worry about for the time being. Next game: vs Philadelphia Eagles

25. Atlanta Falcons (2-5) (24) – As good as Matty Ice is, there’s only so much he can do with what he’s given. No Roddy White, no Julio Jones and no running game? He’s like a boxer in the ring with one hand tied behind his back. Harry Douglas had a decent game but couldn’t find his way into the end zone. know the Falcons don’t want to trade Tony Gonzalez but they can get back a third round pick from Kansas City. It’d be a win-win for both sides. Next game: @ Carolina Panthers

24. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-5) (23) – The Steelers defense, especially on the run, looked pretty bad against the Raiders. They gave up over 180 yards rushing and three touchdowns to Terrelle Pryor and Darren McFadden, including a 93 yard touchdown run…the longest ever by a quarterback. Next game: @ New England Patriots

23. Buffalo Bills (3-5) (22) – I can’t blame a team like the Bills for losing to the Saints, especially when they’re short handed. Thad Lewis has done as well as one could expect, considering he was on the practice squad only a few weeks ago. Head coach Doug Marrone’s offense has taken a hit with CJ Spiller being injured. Next game: vs Kansas City Chiefs

22. Washington Redskins (2-5) (21) – The Skins looked like they were going to pull off the upset and give the Broncos their second straight loss, but the defense gave up 38 unanswered points on the way to a loss. RG3 didn’t look very sharp and left with an injury but Kirk Cousins was even less impressive. Alfred Morris finally looked like the running back he was last season and more importantly, Roy Helu didn’t vulture his touchdown. Next game: vs San Diego Chargers

21. Cleveland Browns (3-5) (20) – The Browns might have won if they had played almost anyone else this weekend. Jason Campbell played a relatively clean game and kept the Browns in it. The Browns defense got after Alex Smith and sacked him six times. Next game: vs Baltimore Ravens

20. New York Giants (2-6) (25) – Ever since Jon Beason was inserted into the lineup, the Giants defense has looked better. He’s had over 20 tackles in the last two games and the run defense has been very stout. Against the Vikings and the Eagles, two of the leagues top rushing teams, the Giants didn’t allow much in terms of rushing yards. Being only two games back, the Giants aren’t mathematically eliminated yet. Next game: Bye Week

19. New York Jets (4-4) (15) – We had WFAN’s Chris Lopresti on the show before the game and like us, he expected a mediocre Geno Smith to show up against the Bengals. While Geno wasn’t terrible, he wasn’t very good either. He threw two interceptions and couldn’t get in rhythm. The Bengals defense made things nearly impossible for the Jets and the Jets defense decided to take the day off. Marvin Jones is still catching touchdown passes as we speak. Next game: vs New Orleans Saints

18. Houston Texans (2-5) (18) – Bye Week. Next game: vs Indianapolis Colts (SNF)

17. Arizona Cardinals (4-4) (19) – The Cardinals defense and running game are the reasons they won this game. They picked off Matt Ryan four times, including two from Rashad Johnson. Andre Ellington has emerged as the top running back over Rashard Mendenhall and it should remain that way after his 154 yard performance. Next game: Bye Week

16. San Diego Chargers (4-3) (16) – Bye Week. Next game: @ Washington Redskins

15. Miami Dolphins (3-4) (13) – The Dolphins probably should have won this game. Being up 17-3 at halftime against a beaten and battered Patriots team, they should have won. A missed field goal and Tannehill fumble, not to mention Tannehill’s two interceptions, are the biggest reasons for the Dolphins demise in this game. Its a shame because after a 3-0 start, it looked like the Dolphins were on their way to a solid winning season. Next game: vs Cincinnati Bengals

14. Baltimore Ravens (3-4) (14) – Bye Week. Next game: @ Cleveland Browns

13. Carolina Panthers (4-3) (17) – Carolina was never threatened in this game against the Bucs. Cam Newton is having a great season and he’s staying in the pocket more and hurting teams with his arms rather than his legs. It makes him more dangerous because teams forget that he can run and the Bucs saw that as he ran for 50 yards and a touchdown. Since 2011, no other quarterback has more games with two passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown than Cam Newton’s 11. Next game: vs Atlanta Falcons

12. Chicago Bears (4-3) (12) – Bye Week. Next game: @ Green Bay Packers (MNF)

11. Dallas Cowboys (4-4) (7) – Dez Bryant seemed to have lit a fire when he said earlier in the week that he was every bit as good a wide receiver as Calvin Johnson. While I do believe in Dez Bryant’s talent and he’s got every right to speak about himself that way, Megatron showed Dez and everyone around the league why he’s the best receiver in the league. This game shouldn’t have been this close. Give the Cowboys credit, they kept themselves in it by forcing turnovers. But they gave up over 600 yards of total offense. Monte Kiffin must be embarrassed. Next game: vs Minnesota Vikings

10. Detroit Lions (5-3) (11) – When your wide receiver puts up 329 yards and you put up over 600 yards of offense, you tend to win but the Lions almost lost. Calvin Johnson was stopped within the five yard line a bunch of times and they had four turnovers. Jason Garrett mismanaged the game and kept the Lions in it. Next game: Bye Week

8. Indianapolis Colts (5-2) (8) – Bye Week. Next game: @ Houston Texans (SNF)

7. New England Patriots (6-2) (9) – The Patriots have to be the worst 6-2 team I’ve ever seen. Tom Brady is no longer an elite quarterback, they have no reason threats on offense other than Rob Gronkowski and they’re riddled with injuries. But the Pats have luck on their side. That and the Dolphins offensive line is literally made of swiss cheese. Literally. Next game: vs Pittsburgh Steelers

6. Cincinnati Bengals (6-2) (6) – I hope this is the Bengals team we continue to see going forward this season. The defense is stifling and the offense is explosive. Marvin Jones is starting to emerge as a legitimate threat, Giovani Bernard is providing balance to this offense and Andy Dalton is showing signs of improvement. With the AFC North up for grabs, it looks like the Bengals are ready to grab it. Next game: @ Miami Dolphins (TNF)

5. Green Bay Packers (5-2) (5) – As I’ve maintained over the past few weeks, Aaron Rodgers has been the biggest reason for the Packers success. Without Randall Cobb, James Jones and Jermichael Finley, Aaron Rodgers completed 24 of 29 passes for 285 yards and two touchdowns. Eddie Lacy’s 94 yards and a touchdown provided much needed balance to the offense. Defensively, the Packers gave up rushing touchdowns to AP and Christian Ponder. Next game: vs Chicago Bears

4. Denver Broncos (7-1) (4) – For a while, it looked like Peyton Manning wasn’t human but he’s absolutely come down to earth. He threw three interceptions against a poor Redskins defense. He followed that up with 38 straight points, including 31 in the fourth quarter alone. Next game: Bye Week

3. Seattle Seahawks (7-1) (3) – The Seahawks couldn’t get the running game going, and they didn’t even seem to try. They had 39 yards on 11 carries between Marshawn Lynch and Russell Wilson. Wilson played well through the air but the offensive line looked pretty porous, giving up 7 sacks for 48 yards. Robert Quinn got three sacks on his own. I still believe it will come down to the Seahawks and the Packers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. If they do, they’ll want to do something about the o-line. Next game: vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers

2. San Francisco 49ers (6-2) (2) – Bye Week…oh wait, no they played the Jaguars. Next game: Bye Week

1. Kansas City Chiefs (8-0) (1) – The Chiefs looked good on both sides of the ball. The defense was as impressive as always. They gave up some big plays to Josh Gordon, although I’m not complaining because I have him on my fantasy team.

As always, questions and comments can be directed to s_talouis@yahoo.com or you can follow me on twitter @FunnyManStan