Home Articles/Editorials 2014 NFL Power Rankings – Week 8

2014 NFL Power Rankings – Week 8

In last week’s power rankings, Rob brought up a good point and his point was sort of reiterated on the post game coverage of Monday Night Football. After Colt McCoy and the Redskins upset the Cowboys, Steve Young, Ray Lewis and whoever the hell else was out there were actually discussing the idea of whether RG3 should be the starter when he returns from injury. Are you kidding me? The very idea of starting Colt McCoy over a healthy RG3 is ludicrous. And at some point, you have to consider the fact that these white coaches and white front office people prefer their white quarterback. In one of the more culturally diverse cities in the country, its sad that things like this are still a topic of conversation.

Stan

32. Oakland Raiders (0-7) – But on a lighter note, the Raiders are still terrible and I like their chances to go 0-16.

31. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-7) – The Jags got back to their losing ways. I knew they could do it.

30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-6) – The Bucs were rumored to have Vincent Jackson, Doug Martin and Mark Barron on the trading block but only Barron was traded away.

29. New York Jets (1-7) – It really doesn’t matter who plays quarterback at this point. Gotta feel bad for Rex.

28. Tennessee Titans (2-6) – At least Titans fan(s) don’t have to watch Charlie Whitehurst anymore.

27. St Louis Rams (2-5) – Nice to see them show up against the Chiefs after that big win over Seattle huh? Good job.

26. Minnesota Vikings (3-5) – We saw some of the Bridgewater magic but it was the defense that helped them get the OT win over a terrible Bucs team.

25. Atlanta Falcons (3-6) – Mike Smith might be the worst coach in the league. He’s terrible. I wouldn’t let him watch me play Madden.

24. Carolina Panthers (3-4-1) – I was thinking about giving them the benefit of the doubt because they played Seattle but I don’t know that it would’ve made much difference.

23. New York Giants (3-4) – Its sad to see this bye week come and go because the schedule doesn’t get much easier.

22. Washington Redskins (3-5) – I said my peace already. Its nice for Colt McCoy to be playing well and you can’t blame him for coming in and playing as well as he can but there’s no way he should be starting at quarterback once RG3 comes back from injury.

21. Houston Texans (4-4) – J.J. Watt is one half of my favorite tag team. I don’t even know who the other half is but he’s got a lot to live up to.

20. Chicago Bears (3-5) – Why didn’t they run the ball more? I mean, the defense didn’t show up but I don’t get why they were so one dimensional.

19. Buffalo Bills (5-3) – I can see them being a little higher but they trounced a terrible team. I do hope they keep it up and take out the Patriots though.

18. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-3) – I can’t say I saw this performance coming. Is this what the Steelers are though or did the Colts defense (which was one of the best coming into the game) just have a really really really really bad day?

17. Cleveland Browns (4-3) – A win is a win, even if its against the Raiders. Can we just get to the part where Johnny Manziel gets to play?

16. Miami Dolphins (4-3) – Congratulations, you beat the Jaguars.

15. San Francisco 49ers (4-3) – They’re just wading in the water until they’re healthy again. Watch out.

14. Cincinnati Bengals (4-2-1) – They should have lost this game. They can’t wait to have AJ Green back. I don’t care how many crazy catches Mo Sanu makes.

13. Kansas City Chiefs (4-3) – They scored 34 points and none of them came from the passing game. I’m actually sort of impressed.

12. Baltimore Ravens (5-3) – I’m surprised Steve Smith wasn’t more upset after this loss. I guess that comes with age.

11. Philadelphia Eagles (5-2) – This was one of the more fun games to watch and it was even more fun because the Eagles lost. The only thing holding them back is Nick Foles.

10. New Orleans Saints (3-4) – Here we go…this is where they turn the season around.

9. Dallas Cowboys (6-2) – And the slide begins! I know Rob is going to have something to say about this but I knew they’d lose. Now Tony Romo goes down? Here we go.

8.Detroit Lions (6-2) – They got bailed out of a loss because the opposing coach might not know how football works.

7. Indianapolis Colts (5-3) – Theres a part of me that still thinks they have a chance to come back in their game. Thats how good Andrew Luck is. Even down three scores, they’re never really out of it.

6. Green Bay Packers (5-3) – I think they just happened to catch New Orleans at the wrong time.

5. Arizona Cardinals (6-1) – I know I’ve called them frauds before and I still think that but give credit to this coaching staff. They’re doing it with smoke and mirrors.

4. San Diego Chargers (5-3) – I don’t care if they lost, I still think they’re one of the best teams in the AFC.

3. Seattle Seahawks (4-3) – I think they’re better than their record would indicate. They have to get things in order though. It feels like there are some chemistry issues that we don’t know about yet.

2. New England Patriots (6-2) – Tom Brady looks like he found the fountain of youth this weekend. They’ll win their division easily but they can be beaten.

1. Denver Broncos (6-1) – This defense is clicking and I like it. The Broncos-Chargers matchup that we were all looking forward to left a lot to be desired. I think its because it was on a Thursday Night.

Rob

32. Oakland Raiders – Bad

31. Jacksonville Jaguars – Bad.

30. Tennessee Titans – Zach Mettenberger’s first career start was against J.J. Watt. He was drafted in the sixth round. This is poor quarterback management.

29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Disappoint season. Started with Josh McCown.

28. St. Louis Rams – Getting killed by the Chiefs was not a good look.

27. New York Jets – Wow, was Geno Smith disastrous.

26. Minnesota Vikings – A win is a win for the young Teddy Bridgewater.

25. Washington Redskins – Colt McCoy is keeping the team afloat while they wait patiently for Robert Griffin III to return. And as I tried to emphasize last week, trust me, RGIII is the best option.

24. New York Giants – I hope they enjoyed being on a bye week as much as I enjoyed not having to watch them this week.

23. Carolina Panthers – A respectable performance against the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks, but not so great against the 2014 Seahawks.

22. Cleveland Browns – At least they didn’t lose to the Raiders, right?

21. Atlanta Falcons – The Mike Smith era is coming to an end. Who has a new job faster, Smith or Rex Ryan?

20. Chicago Bears – Getting slammed by the Patriots is not acceptable for a borderline playoff team.

19. Houston Texans – The Titans basically sent the offense out to pasture against Watt and his buddies.

18. Buffalo Bills – The defense is pretty filthy, whether they are playing Geno Smith or a real life NFL quarterback.

17. Kansas City Chiefs – They can’t get the ball to their receivers, and lack any depth at all behind their starters, other than running back.

16. Miami Dolphins – Congratulations, you needed two defensive touchdowns to beat the Jaguars.

15. Pittsburgh Steelers – Excellent performance for the entire offense on a team that needs to be carried by its offense.

14. New Orleans Saints – Speaking of needing to be carried by its offense, the Saints clicked in just in time. They need to keep putting up that big number week in and week out.

13. Baltimore Ravens – Quick poll: does anyone agree with me that Steve Smith DID NOT commit offensive pass interference at the end of the game? Guy beat the coverage, settled under the ball, and George Iloka backpedaled desperately into Smith. Both guys had their hands on each other, initiated by Iloka, and Smith showed him who is a man and who is a boy. Iloka and the Bengals were rewarded for playing bad defense. I hated that call.

12. Cincinnati Bengals – They have to be better. They just have to, because Andy Dalton is not going to hid their flaws.

11. Detroit Lions – They tried hard to give the game away, but Atlanta was just more determined to lose.

10. Philadelphia Eagles – The Eagles have a real quarterback problem. Unfortunately, they are going to have a difficult time addressing it when they pick at the bottom of the first round.

9. Arizona Cardinals – Carson Palmer has been a punching bag for me the last few years, I remember him from his first few seasons with the Bengals before that gruesome knee injury. The guy isn’t talentless, he is just limited physically. Him and Arians can get the job done.

8. San Francisco 49ers – I still give the edge to the other two NFC West teams. The 49ers are just loaded with talent on both sides of the ball, and they could get Aldon Smith and Navarro Bowman back at some point.

7. Seattle Seahawks – The Seahawks also are loaded with talent, even though I think they are experiencing the strife that many believed the 49ers would have to endure. Pat Riley might look at this roster and see the Disease of More* spreading.

6. San Diego Chargers – They lost to the Broncos in Denver. Big whoop. They hung with them, had a few bad breaks, and ended up losing by two touchdowns in a game that was much closer than that. I still like this team. I’m glad Stan thinks similarly.

5. Indianapolis Colts – They had it at a one possession game late in the fourth quarter before a questionable safety and ensuing touchdown brought the lead to 17.

4. Green Bay Packers – They might have just caught the Saints at the worst time, as a team with a Hall of Fame quarterback, loaded with talent, and desperate to save their season.

3. Dallas Cowboys – Now Stan, I kept saying this felt like the stupid game they would lose. I am not surprised, nor worried. Tony Romo going down on the other hand? That scares me.

2. New England Patriots – Tom Brady thinks the five best quarterbacks of all time or Brady, Brady, Brady, Brady, and Brady. Because he spits hot fire.

1. Denver Broncos – I think that the Colts, Patriots, and Chargers have narrowed the gap in the AFC.

* The Disease of More, as described by Bill Simmons on behalf of Pat Riley: In his book “Showtime,” Pat Riley unveiled “the disease of more” and argued that “success is often the first step toward disaster.” According to Riley, after the 1980 Lakers won, everyone shifted into a more selfish mode. They had sublimated their respective games to win as a group; now they wanted to reap the rewards as individuals, even if those rewards meant having to spend way too much time at Jack Nicholson’s house. Everyone wanted more money, playing time and recognition. Eventually they lost perspective and stopped doing the little things that make teams win and keep winning, eventually imploding in the first round of the postseason. So much for defending the title.

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