Week 7 Power Rankings

Week 7 didn't tell us much. A lot of blowouts. The bottom 12 went 1-7 and while Minnesota lost, they hardly were exposed in any way. The middle got shaken up a little, though, as Atlanta and Chicago looked really bad, while Arizona and Pittsburgh are looking better each week. 1 through 5 and 20 through 32 are virtually unchanged, so this week is all about the middle.

The Big Boys

1. New Orleans Saints (6-0) - Same - What a comeback last week. The defense played exceptionally well in the second half, and performances by Jonathan Vilma and Darren Sharper saved the game. Drew Brees wasn't great, but played his best football in the red zone.
2. Indianapolis Colts (6-0) - Same - The Colts' opponents combined record: 11-26. Still, Indy has won 15 straight regular season games and their defense is now top 10.
3. Denver Broncos (6-0) - Up 1 - They've been the surprise of the season and have proven to be a lot more physical this year. But that physicality will be tested the next two weeks against Baltimore and Pittsburgh.
4. Minnesota Vikings (6-1) - Down 1 - What a game against Pittsburgh. Minnesota played well enough to win, but just got beaten by a team that simply played better than them. Chester Taylor did not play well enough to win.

The Sidekicks

5. New England Patriots (5-2) - Same - The Pats haven't lost a regular season game to an NFC team since September, 2005. Brandon Meriweather had two picks last week and is really starting to come into his own.
6. Cincinnati Bengals (5-2) - Up 2 - Cincy finally had a truly dominant performance last week. Carson Palmer had 5 TDs, Cedric Benson had 189 yards to take the NFL lead in rushing and Chad Ochocinco was unstoppable. The new smashmouth, run-first offense has been the main difference between this year and every other year under Marvin Lewis.
7. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2) - Up 2 - What a win over Minnesota. The Linebackers harassed Brett Favre all game and notched 3 sacks and two TDs. Fantastic downfield blocking allowed the Steelers to turn in big plays all game. Troy Polamalu's tackle on Sidney Rice at the 1-yard line in the third quarter may be the most unheralded great play of the week, since Pittsburgh would end up holding the Vikings out of the end zone on the next 4 plays.
8. New York Giants (5-2) - Down 2 - The Giants have to be concerned. Their only decent win this year was against Dallas. The Offensive Line isn't nearly as dominant as last season and Brandon Jacobs hasn't gone over 100 yards in 10 games. Also, Eli Manning has looked really bad the last two weeks. A win at Philly this week is almost a must for the Giants, who have a much tougher stretch at the end of the year.
9. Baltimore Ravens (3-3) - Same - They lost three tough games against quality opponents before their bye, and it doesn't get any easier for the Ravens, as they host the undefeated Broncos on Sunday.
10. Philadelphia Eagles (4-2) - Same - The Eagles' defense is the most opportunistic that Andy Reid has ever had with 19 forced turnovers so far this year. Offensively, though, they're still too reliant on the big play.
11. Arizona Cardinals (4-2) - Up 4 - The most unheralded part of the Cardinals season last year was their playmaking defense. That defense was missing through 4 games, but has come alive in the last 2 games. Eli Manning was completely confused all game last week as the Cardinals appear to be getting over their Super Bowl hangover.
12. Green Bay Packers (4-2) - Same - One of the few relative unknowns left. They've completely destroyed the weaker teams they've played and have lost tough games to Minnesota and Cincy. With Brett Favre coming into town for Favregeddon II this Sunday, there isn't a better time for the Pack to make a statement.
13. Dallas Cowboys (4-2) - Up 1 - Miles Austin has emerged as a true playmaker for a Cowboys offense that is top 10 in all major categories. Their strong win over Atlanta was the fifth straight win for the 'Boys coming off of a bye.
14. Atlanta Falcons (4-2) - Down 7 - It's not that they got dominated badly enough to be dropped 7 spots, it's that their best wins (Niners, Bears, Dolphins) are looking worse and worse every week. Michael Turner is averaging just 3.4 yards per carry this year.

The Average Joes

15. Houston Texans (4-3) - Up 2 - Who is this player: Leads the NFL in passing yards, has a 104.4 passer rating and has two 4-TD games this season. Answer: Matt Schaub. Also, Houston's run defense has pulled the biggest 180 of the NFL season by allowing under 49 yards per game the past 4 weeks.
16. Miami Dolphins (2-4) - Up 2 - Yes, they choked. But they were the first team all season to challenge the Saints. One of the most underrated story lines of the season has been the comeback of Ricky Williams, who put up 80 yards and 3 TDs on just 9 carries on New Orleans.
17. New York Jets (4-3) - Up 2 - They lost Leon Washington for the year, but the Jets have become the NFL's best rushing team behind Thomas Jones and new weapon Shonn Greene. Calvin Pace had a career day with 7 tackles, 3 sacks and 2 FFs against the Raiders.
18. Chicago Bears (3-3) - Down 5 - Other than a Week 2 win over Pittsburgh, the Bears have had nothing to show for this season. Jay Cutler's 82.9 passer rating is the lowest of his career and Matt Forte had just 6 carries in an awful loss in Cincinnati.

The Nobodys

19. San Diego Chargers (3-3) - Up 1 - The Bolts' running game finally got going in a blowout win at Kansas City. Also, Defensive Coordinator finally turned up the blitzing, resulting in a breakout, 2-sack day for Shaun Phillips, who previously hadn't notched a single sack this season.
20. San Francisco 49ers (3-3) - Down 4 - The Shaun Hill love-fest appears to be over after an awful first half against Houston, but Niners fans are excited about the play of Alex Smith in the second half last week. He looked as good as ever in his so-far disappointing NFL career. Also, who told Vernon Davis to start playing up to his ability?
21. Seattle Seahawks (2-4) - Same - When the Seahawks allow more than 0 points this season, they're 0-4. With a road trip to Dallas this weekend, they're going to have to win in a shootout.
22. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-3) - Same - Their next two games are against Tennessee and Kansas City, so it's very likely they'll be a 5-3 fraud by Week 9. Also, the NFL's 31st ranked pass defense could be without their best CB, Rasheen Mathis, for the near future.

The Forgettables

23. Buffalo Bills (3-4) - Up 1 - The offense is terrible. But luckily, the defense has picked up the slack. Rookie FS Jairus Byrd has been the rookie of the year so far, and had his second straight 2-INT day against the Panthers. The Bills scored all of their points off of turnovers on Sunday and have allowed just 25 total points over the last 3 weeks.
24. Carolina Panthers (2-4) - Down 1 - Jake Delhomme is on pace for 35 interceptions this season. Quarterbacks often get too much blame for losses, but Delhomme is by far the biggest reason for Carolina's struggles this year.
25. Detroit Lions (1-5) - Up 1 - Matthew Stafford is practicing again, but is anyone going to actually watch the Lions play the Rams this Sunday?
26. Kansas City Chiefs (1-6) - Down 1 - And... all the momentum is gone after getting destroyed by the Chargers. Matt Cassel had his worst game of the season and Larry Johnson is being asked to stay away from the team. A young team needs veterans and coaches to look up to, not have them bashing each other on Twitter. Johnson needs to go.

The Losers

27. Washington Redskins (2-5) - Same - The botched snap in the 4th quarter against the Eagles summed up the season in one play for the Redskins. The snap his the Right Guard. How on earth can a snap hit the Right Guard? The team has talent and ability, but is just the least clutch team of all time.
28. Oakland Raiders (2-5) - Same - 'Coach Tom Cable said he needed to make a quarterback change because JaMarcus Russell was "out of sorts" in a three-turnover performance. Russell's response: "Actually I wasn't."' JaMarcus Russell is living proof as to why the NFL needs a rookie cap. Russell simply does not care, and is making 10 million a year for his services.
29. Cleveland Browns (1-6) - Same - Derek Anderson does some things well, but he just isn't accurate in the slightest bit. He was 12-for-29 in Sunday's loss to Green Bay and is completing just under 44% of his passes on the season. The Browns know what they have in Anderson and they aren't winning many games this year. Just start Brady Quinn again and see whether or not they need to acquire a new QB in the off-season.
30. Tennessee Titans (0-6) - Same - Titans' owner Bud Adams is insisting Jeff Fisher start Vince Young this week against Jacksonville. While the main problem with Tennessee probably isn't QB Kerry Collins and I'm by no means a Vince Young fan, they might as well use this season to find out what they really have in Young.
31. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-7) - Same - Even in London, Tampa has no shot against a team like New England. The Josh Johnson era may be coming to an end, as rookie Josh Freeman got his first action of the season and with a bye this week, Freeman would have two weeks to prepare for his first start.
32. St. Louis Rams (0-7) - Same - They've now lost 17 straight games. They get to play Detroit this week, and if they don't win, they may have to wait until mid-December when they play Tennessee to break this streak.