NFL Week 6 Power Rankings

Five Quick Hits

* Jared Allen ran down Najeh Davenport on Sunday. Davenport is no Willie Parker, but Allen is still one fast defensive end.

* I don't understand how the Oakland Athletics fired Ken Macha after he led their cash-strapped team to the ALCS. When did George Steinbrenner become a model of restraint?

* Phillip Buchanon, we hardly knew ye. The once-promising DB was cut by the Texans on Monday. Oakland and Houston: where potential goes to die.

* Say what you will about Eli Manning, he's never boring. Little Manning has a combined 18 TDs and INTs in just five games, the highest combined total in the NFL.

* Tony Romo has the highest passer rating in the NFL. Charlie Batch is second. Kyle Boller and Brian Griese are also in the top 10. All of this is meaningless.

***

Monday Night Football is a terrible program put together by people who hate sports fans, and one of its most annoying features this season has been the presence of a celebrity (or unfamous Disney employee, like James Denton) in the broadcast booth. While the interview seldom interferes with live action, it does replace all replays and any attempt at analysis, as in Week 5 when the Denton (who?) interview prevented viewers from learning why the Ravens took a timeout and Brian Billick was upset at the officials.

This week, the guest was Charles Barkley, who can be a pretty interesting guy. In fact, I think Barkley should replace Tony Kornheiser in the booth. Kornheiser has been a train wreck as an announcer. Actually, forget train wreck. He's the Titanic. Kornheiser almost makes me miss Dennis Miller. He's unfunny, he knows absolutely nothing about football, he's mean (why is everybody mean to Joe Theismann?), and he's a pretender who talks like a know-it-all, getting fed stats — and sometimes lines (anything about NFL history, he is reading from someone else's research) — and then managing to sound holier-than-thou in pronouncing them. Also, he's clearly lying about who's on his fantasy team. Nobody — not even Kornheiser — is so bad at fantasy football that he has to start Rashied Davis.

It's a shame that Chicago's incredible comeback and Matt Leinart's national television debut in the NFL were soured by the taint of MNF's miserable booth. Let's get to the power rankings. Brackets show last week's rank.

1. Chicago Bears [1] — That no-offense fourth-quarter comeback was unprecedented, and speaks to both the talent and attitude of the defense. Brian Urlacher was quiet for three quarters, but he came up big when the game was on the line. I would have kept them first even if they'd lost, but the Chicago offense looked terrible on Monday night, and the defense will miss Mike Brown if his injury is serious.

2. Indianapolis Colts [2] — Everyone between second and 18th is pretty close. The Colts are clearly struggling in a number of areas right now, especially on defense. The Colts are last in rush defense, last in average yards per rush allowed, and near the bottom of the league in sacks. Where the team has excelled this year is passing offense, especially in the clutch. The team has converted almost 60% of its third downs, easily first in the league.

3. San Diego Chargers [5] — A lot of similarities to the Bears. San Diego's margin of victory is second only to Chicago's, and other than the Bears, the Chargers appears to be the only elite team (other than maybe the Eagles) with a good balance between offense and defense. Philip Rivers, like Rex Grossman, is a young, unproven quarterback who has made plays to help his team win. Of course, if Grossman continues to play like he did against Arizona, I won't insult Rivers and his teammates on offense with any more Chicago comparisons.

4. Denver Broncos [6] — The passing offense ranks 31st. The scoring offense is tied for 30th. The Broncos are tied with Oakland for fewest touchdowns this season. The defense is amazing, with only one TD allowed through five games, but a team that can't pass the ball won't be able to win consistently, no matter how good the defense is.

5. Seattle Seahawks [8] — It would be hard to overemphasize the significance of their comeback win at St. Louis, and Josh Brown deserves a ton of credit for making a 54-yard field goal to win the game. The negatives were pass protection (the Seahawks have lost 141 yards on sacks, worst in the NFC) and pass defense (no one can cover Torry Holt). On a positive note, Matt Hasselbeck had his first really good game of the 2006 season.

6. New Orleans Saints [14] — Drew Brees is in the NFL's top 10 in passer rating, passing yards, and passing TDs. The Chargers seem to be fine with Rivers, but the Saints are clearly benefiting from the addition of Brees. New Orleans is playing well in the clutch, with four of its five victories coming by a touchdown or less.

7. Philadelphia Eagles [4] — Against New Orleans, the Eagles couldn't get to Brees (zero sacks) and couldn't get off the field (50% third down conversions allowed). On offense, Donovan McNabb was inconsistent despite putting up some pretty good numbers. The Eagles need to play better in the first half, when McNabb's passer rating is 40 points lower than in the second half.

8. New York Giants [10] — Ran the ball down Atlanta's throat. The Giants had 15 rushing first downs, with Tiki Barber running for 185 yards and a 7.1 average. The defense posted its second big game in a row, sacking Michael Vick seven times and forcing two turnovers. An extremely impressive road victory for this inconsistent team.

9. New England Patriots [9] — Travel to Buffalo next week, with a chance to become the first team to get to 4-0 in its division this year. The Patriots released DT Johnathan Sullivan, the sixth overall pick from the 2003 draft. Sullivan had a good rookie campaign with the Saints, but never developed the way scouts hoped he would.

10. Pittsburgh Steelers [12] — Facing the NFL's fourth-ranked defense, they exploded for 457 yards, including over 200 on the ground, and scored more points (45) than in their previous three games combined (33). The defense was dominant, too, holding the Chiefs to one TD (scored when it was already 31-0) and totally containing their stars.

11. Jacksonville Jaguars [11] — The bye prevented them from building on the momentum of last week's 41-0 pounding of the Jets, but in Week 7 the Jaguars travel to Houston, which should create plenty of new momentum.

12. Carolina Panthers [18] — Fourth win in a row. Julius Peppers is tearing offenses apart, and could challenge the NFL's single-season sack record if he stays healthy. Keep an eye on Mike Rucker, too, since he stands to benefit from double- and triple-teams on Peppers. Kris Jenkins may not have had much direct statistical impact yet, but his presence on the field makes things easier for everyone else on that defense.

13. Baltimore Ravens [7] — Mark Clayton had a big game, but Derrick Mason was held without a catch for the first time since 2002. Against Carolina, Ravens wideouts had only six receptions. Baltimore was effective defending the run, and forced three turnovers, but couldn't stop Steve Smith, who piled up 189 receiving yards. That's an embarrassment for a team that prides itself on defense.

14. Cincinnati Bengals [3] — Marvin Lewis just can't beat Jon Gruden. In 2002, he was passed over for Tampa's head coaching job, despite the recommendation of Bucs GM Rich McKay, and the job was eventually given to Gruden. On Sunday, Lewis watched as referee Peter Morelli and his crew gave the game to Gruden's Bucs. The injury to left tackle Levi Jones is just one more problem for a team that is suddenly reeling.

15. Dallas Cowboys [16] — Dominated the second half to the tune of 31-0, chasing David Carr out of the game. It's hard to find much room for criticism, but Houston's defense is so bad it let Mark Brunell set the NFL single-game record for consecutive completions, so don't read too much into the Cowboys' offensive performance in Week 6. Also, the defense didn't get a single sack against Houston, which is worrisome even against a team that's max-protecting.

16. Minnesota Vikings [15] — In Week 4, they lost to Buffalo. In Week 5, they beat Detroit. In Week 6, Buffalo lost to Detroit. If you think about this too long, you will slowly lose your mind.

17. Atlanta Falcons [13] — Maybe Vick can play running back, and Matt Schaub can throw the passes. I know his subpar receiving corps is part of the problem, but so far this season, Vick has been terrible in every respect except his running. His passer rating is down to 66.0, and he's getting sacked 3.6 times per game, more than anyone but Daunte Culpepper.

18. St. Louis Rams [19] — The Rams have a bye week to collect themselves before the toughest four-week stretch of their schedule. After Week 7, St. Louis has three of the next four on the road, all against winning teams, plus a potentially tough home matchup against Kansas City. If the Rams still have a winning record at the end of that stretch, they're legitimate playoff contenders. If not, they just had an easy schedule early in the season.

19. Kansas City Chiefs [17] — Tied for last in rushing first downs. In 2005, they were fourth, with an average of better than 8.5 per game. This year, they're averaging less than half that number. So it's no wonder that the team has scored 10 points or less in three of its five games. Punter Dustin Colquitt was probably KC's best player against the Steelers.

20. New York Jets [20] — Outplayed by the Dolphins, but they won on four plays: interceptions by Andre Dyson and Victor Hobson, a 58-yard touchdown reception by Laveranues Coles, and Hobson's recovery of a fumble by Sammy Morris. Other than those four plays, the Jets' offense was okay but not great, and the defense was poor.

21. Tampa Bay Buccaneers [24] — Vince Young and Matt Leinart have both been impressive as their teams' starters, and both look like they have the potential to be big-time stars in the NFL, but so far this season, no rookie QB has been better than Tampa's Bruce Gradkowski. Besides leading a game-winning drive at the end of Sunday's contest against Cincinnati, Gradkowski has thrown for four TDs with only one interception, better than the marks of Leinart (4-2) or Young (3-4).

22. Buffalo Bills [21] — After a promising start, they've fallen apart in the last two weeks, getting blown out by Chicago and losing to the previously winless Lions. Injuries — most notably that of DT John McCargo — have really hurt a defense that expected to be among the league's best.

23. Arizona Cardinals [26] — Lead the NFL in penalties, and it's killing them. If the Cardinals think they should be 4-2, a good way to hold onto wins is not to give them away. I've moved them up because the defense played with heart and Leinart looks great, but what has happened to Neil Rackers, who was a consensus all-pro last year?

24. Washington Redskins [22] — Daniel Snyder needs to fire the pedophile who decided that the 6-to-9-year-old cheerleaders in the pregame entertainment should wear short skirts and dance to sexually suggestive songs like "London Bridge" and "My Humps." Easily the most disturbing thing I saw this weekend, and that includes Washington's rush defense.

25. Green Bay Packers [25] — This hasn't just been a rough season for Brett Favre. His former backups are struggling, too. Brunell is almost single-handedly handcuffing Washington's expensive offense. Aaron Brooks was a disaster for the Raiders. Kurt Warner was benched in Arizona. Hasselbeck leads the pack, but he's having his worst season since 2001, his first as Seattle's starter.

26. Miami Dolphins [23] — They've played six games and haven't scored 20 points in any of them, but there are bright spots here. Ronnie Brown had a big game against the Jets, running for 127 yards and averaging almost six yards per attempt. Randy McMichael led the team in receiving for the second consecutive week, and normally that's bad — when a tight end is your leading receiver, that usually means the wideouts aren't playing well — but McMichael's production has really picked up since Joey Harrington took over at QB.

27. Tennessee Titans [31] — Vince Young looks like he can be a leader at the NFL level, but the real story coming out of Tennessee should be Travis Henry, who has posted consecutive 100-yard games and is averaging 4.7 yards per carry. Henry had a couple of very good seasons with the Bills, but he's been an afterthought for the last two years, and now is playing like an elite back again.

28. Detroit Lions [29] — Not only is Roy Williams a better receiver than Charles Rogers, he's classier, too. After scoring a touchdown on Sunday, Williams jumped to the stands and gave the ball to a boy wearing his jersey, ruffling the kid's hair and delighting his young sister who was also in attendance. Detroit should probably be ranked higher than this, and not just because Williams is nice to kids.

29. Cleveland Browns [27] — First-round draft pick Kamerion Wimbley leads the team with three sacks. This is a young team that obviously isn't ready to contend this year, but has a lot of promising players who should help the Browns in the future.

30. San Francisco 49ers [28] — Blown out for the second time in three games. The 49ers have already allowed 198 points this season, putting them on pace for 528, which would be the second-worst in NFL history, trailing only the 1981 Colts.

31. Houston Texans [30] — Lost their 10th straight road game. The Texans are last in the NFL in rushing yards, averaging only 3.0 per carry, and David Carr has the team's only rushing TD this season. Carr led Houston in rushing on Sunday, with 15 yards.

32. Oakland Raiders [32] — The offense is an embarrassment. It's tough to evaluate the defense, since opponents usually get a big lead early and then tighten things up, but in competitive games against beatable opponents (Cleveland and San Francisco), the Raider defense was not especially impressive. Now the only winless team in the NFL, Oakland is an easy choice for last in the rankings.