NFL Week 11 Power Rankings

Five Quick Hits

* Ten years ago, officials used to rule that passes were uncatchable, and pass interference would not be called. These days, the ball can be 10 yards into the stands, and you'll still see a flag.

* What on earth happened to Phil Dawson this week?

* Does anyone care about Mic'd Up or Wired or whatever it is? What a boring, useless feature.

* The list of Hall of Fame nominees has been narrowed to 25. Here are the 13 who I'd support to join the two Senior Candidates as finalists: Dan Marino, Steve Young, Michael Irvin, Art Monk, Bob Kuechenberg, Chris Doleman, Harry Carson, Randy Gradishar, Derrick Thomas, Lester Hayes, Roger Wehrli, Don Coryell, and George Young.

* If Art Modell is a finalist ahead of someone like Coryell, all the selectors should be replaced. Modell belongs in Canton like Ron Artest belongs on a sportsmanship committee.

ESPN's Sunday Night announcers acted more like cheerleaders during the Packers/Texans game this week. Despite that defenses dominated for the first 3½ quarters and David Carr had an unspectacular game, they stuck to a script that gushed over the quarterbacks, drooling at every opportunity.

Paul Maguire even declared that Brett Favre runs the best two-minute drill in the NFL, and Mike Patrick claimed that he runs the best ever. Well, I would definitely put Tom Brady and Peyton Manning ahead of Favre today, and historically, Johnny Unitas and John Elway come to mind.

Patrick, whom I used to like, has become the single worst announcer in the NFL. Even forgetting that he's a hype machine and provides no analysis, he is consistently wrong. For example, in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game, when Ahmad Carroll stopped a Houston end around for a loss, Patrick proclaimed that the play hadn't worked all day. The first two times Houston ran it, the play gained nine and six yards, respectively. That's pretty good.

Furthermore, each time, Jabar Gaffney had one man to beat. Only great defense by Al Harris saved a huge gain or a touchdown. That's a play I'd keep running, too. One tackle away from a TD, in a close game, is a chance worth taking.

On to the power rankings, where tradition dictates that brackets show last week's rank.

1. New England Patriots [2] -- The rankings in this column are based on how well teams are playing right now, and right now no one looks better than New England. The Patriots are obviously vulnerable with injuries in the secondary, but the whole team just looks so together. To borrow an overused cliché, New England knows how to win.

2. Pittsburgh Steelers [1] -- Had some trouble in the red zone against Cincinnati, which made the game look closer than it was. Nonetheless, one fluke play and the Bengals win. And how did they let Cincy sack Ben Roethlisberger seven times? When you've got a QB like Big Ben, you should follow Boomer Esiason's advice to his offensive linemen, from when Boomer was Bengals QB in the late 1980s. If it comes down to a sack or a hold, hold. You'll lose about 10 yards either way, but on holding penalties you don't lose a down and your QB stays fresh.

3. Philadelphia Eagles [3] -- Last week, I didn't mention the steamy MNF pregame teaser. I don't normally discuss that sort of thing anyway, but the real reason is that I hadn't seen it. I always tune in to MNF at least five minutes late so I don't have to sit through those things. Now that the controversy is big news, I have seen it, and here is my take.

I find the skit somewhat offensive. I think it's sexist. As for the sexual content, though, I don't see the big deal. Watch any NFL game and you'll see ads for erectile dysfunction, extremely suggestive beer ads, and maybe even that awful new commercial in which a woman's jeans are ripped off to reveal her underwear. All of which lends some credence to the idea that negative reaction to the promo has been based on race, not sex. It's a mistake to dismiss the idea that race has been the biggest issue in all of this, because frankly, I can't think of any other explanation.

4. Indianapolis Colts [4] -- I heard a comment on television this week implying that Peyton Manning has the greatest supporting cast ever assembled. That is nonsense. Bob Griese played with Hall of Famers Larry Csonka, Paul Warfield, Jim Langer, and Larry Little, plus Pro Bowlers Mercury Morris and Bob Kuechenberg. Terry Bradshaw had Mike Webster, Franco Harris, Lynn Swann, and John Stallworth. What about the '98 Vikings, with Robert Smith, Randy Moss, Cris Carter, Jake Reed, and three Pro Bowl offensive linemen? Manning has good teammates on offense, but nothing like that.

5. Baltimore Ravens [6] -- The passing game has been somewhat effective recently, and Baltimore has now won five of its last six. The Ravens have remaining road games at New England, Indianapolis, and Pittsburgh, but their three home games are against teams with a combined record of 10-20. If they can manage even one more road victory, the Ravens should make the playoffs.

6. San Diego Chargers [5] -- The good news is that San Diego has won four games in a row. The bad news is that those games were against Carolina, New Orleans, and Oakland twice. The schedule will get tougher before the end of the season, and 10-6 might be enough to make the postseason, but it also might not.

7. Green Bay Packers [9] -- Patrick also mentioned Brett Favre's records on Sunday night, but I'd be willing to bet he doesn't know what records Favre holds. There's the consecutive games played by a quarterback (199), of course. Favre also has the most consecutive playoff games with a TD pass (15). He is tied with nine other guys for longest pass completion (99 yards), with Unitas and Steve Young for most seasons leading the league in TDs (4), and with three players for most interceptions in a playoff game (6).

8. Atlanta Falcons [10] -- Michael Vick had another unbelievable game. Vick is Bobby Douglass, if Douglass could throw. Vick can throw, but it's worrisome that he only completes 12.2 passes per game. It sounds weird to call the offense "limited," since it possesses a dimension no other team has, but I think that label is pretty accurate.

9. Denver Broncos [11] -- A little consistency might take the Broncos a long way, but in the mean time, two spectacular weeks on offense have kept them on top of the AFC West. They play at San Diego in two weeks, and a win would give Denver the inside track to its first division title since 1998.

10. New York Jets [7] -- The Jets, Ravens, Chargers, and Broncos all winning this week effectively seals off the AFC playoffs. Besides the teams above, the contenders are New England, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, and Jacksonville. Those eight teams are fighting for six spots. Everyone else is out. New York has winnable games coming up, but the sooner Chad Pennington is healthy, the better.

11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers [15] -- For a defense-oriented team, Tampa has scored a lot lately, with over 30 points in two of its last three games. The Bucs are the lowest-scoring team (192) with a positive point differential (+10).

12. Buffalo Bills [14] -- Yet to win a road game this season, but they're 4-2 at home. I wouldn't want to play the Bills at Ralph Wilson. Unfortunately for Buffalo, four of the next five are on the road.

13. Jacksonville Jaguars [8] -- 6-4 is pretty good, but the AFC is too competitive for .600 to be playoff material. The Jags opened 5-2, but if they don't beat Minnesota next week, they'll be watching the postseason from home. Jacksonville hasn't scored 30 points in a game this season.

14. Minnesota Vikings [12] -- Coming off of three losses and a narrow victory over Detroit. The offense clearly misses Randy Moss, and the defense badly needs Alan Page and Carl Eller. Daunte Culpepper led the team in rushing this week.

15. Houston Texans [13] -- At the beginning of every Sunday night telecast, ESPN brags about its camera that offers terrific angles. During the second half of this week's game, Joe Theismann was trying to talk about Jamie Sharper's role in a play, but Sharper couldn't be seen in either of the two replays shown. On the same play, Maguire talked about another player who didn't appear on camera. Great angles that show you only Brett Favre.

16. St. Louis Rams [16] -- Undefeated in their division and 1-5 against everyone else. The Rams have lost three of their last four games, and it's going to be four out of five after they visit Lambeau Field next week.

17. Kansas City Chiefs [17] -- Two plays stand out to me from this week's MNF. One is Deion Branch's touchdown run, and the awful tackling Kansas City's defense displayed. The other is a Daniel Graham sideline catch on which Kawika Mitchell apparently thought he was playing two-hand touch. After Graham beat him in coverage, Mitchell laid hands on Graham and then stopped.

18. Cincinnati Bengals [18] -- This week's defeat against the Steelers was only their second loss at home. Which is good, because the Bengals probably don't have another winnable road game all season: Baltimore, New England, and Philadelphia await.

19. Seattle Seahawks [21] -- Not only did Trent Dilfer throw the passes, he was their second-leading rusher. Seattle has only played one game against a team that is currently over .500.

20. Tennessee Titans [27] -- Last week, they lost to Chicago at home, and this week, they beat Jacksonville on the road. As someone trying to evaluate the team's strength, I find that very annoying. The Titans might not be deserve to be so high, but with Steve McNair back and other teams struggling, they get a big jump.

21. Cleveland Browns [20] -- Normally a team that has lost four games in a row is ranked significantly lower than this. But Cleveland's losses were to Philly, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and the Jets, all of whom are ranked in my top 10. The Browns have a rough schedule.

22. Arizona Cardinals [19] -- Most coaches change quarterbacks when the team is struggling, hoping to orchestrate a momentum change. Dennis Green changed quarterbacks during his team's best stretch in years, orchestrating a momentum change.

23. New York Giants [24] -- Eli Manning didn't have a terrible game, but with Kurt Warner playing, the Giants might have won on Sunday. Manning was intercepted twice, completed fewer than half his passes, and averaged under 4.5 yards per attempt (which is miserable). Getting Little Manning some experience is great, but the Giants are in playoff contention, and it's not clear that Manning gives the team a better chance than Warner does.

24. Chicago Bears [25] -- Allowed 41 points against Indianapolis, their season-high by two touchdowns. The defense isn't entirely to blame, though, because Craig Krenzel committed four turnovers.

25. New Orleans Saints [22] -- It would be shocking if Jim Haslett coaches this team next season. Aaron Brooks may be earning himself a short leash, too. He might not get more than one year to impress a new coach.

26. Washington Redskins [26] -- Now the lowest-scoring team in the NFL. There's no question that the team is better with Patrick Ramsey under center, but gosh, neither QB has gotten any help from his linemen or receivers.

27. Detroit Lions [23] -- The offense and defense may stink, but the special teams are terrific. That's small consolation to a team that's at least 2/3 stinky.

28. Carolina Panthers [30] -- Won two in a row for the first time since last year's playoffs. The Panthers have scored 72 points in the last two weeks, and 124 in their other eight games combined. A win next week against TB will merit a steep climb in the rankings.

29. Oakland Raiders [29] -- Six losses in the last seven games, and they're not even in the 30s. Notice that no ones talks about parity this year.

30. Dallas Cowboys [28] -- Really, they could be 32nd. No one is playing worse right now. Only two teams (NO and SF) have allowed more points, and only the 49ers have a worse point differential. Dallas is at -110.

31. Miami Dolphins [32] -- Simply for comparison above and below, Miami's opponents have outscored it by 70 this season.

32. San Francisco 49ers [31] -- In addition to their league-worst point differential of -121, the Niners also have the longest active losing streak in the NFL.