Five Quick Hits
* Christian Okoye was at the phone bank in New York Monday night. How awesome is that? Christian Okoye!
* I don't generally advocate firing coaches during the season, and there are some things Mike Tice handles really well, but ... well, isn't Barry Switzer available? And I hear Chris Palmer isn't busy.
* I'm sorry Atlanta's coach doesn't like to be called Jim Mora, Jr., but that's his name. Jim Mora is his dad, who was also an NFL coach, and it's confusing when someone referring to the younger one just says "Jim Mora."
* With all due respect to Packers/Bears and Steelers/Browns, the best rivalry in the NFL right now has got to be either Dallas/Washington or KC/Oakland.
* Nicknames are coming back to the NFL, and I think it's great. But is it legal for Pac-Man Jones to have "P.Jones" on the back of his jersey?
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This week did not smile on teams playing for sentiment. The Saints went into New Jersey on the NFL's Hurricane Relief weekend and lost their "home" opener. The Cowboys inducted Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin into their Ring of Honor and lost a fourth-quarter lead to their fiercest rival. The Packers retired Reggie White's jersey and lost to the Browns, which, according to me, means the NFC has to forfeit this year's Pro Bowl.
This week also brought a lot of questions and comments about my power rankings. I rank teams simply on how good I think they are. Not how well they played in Week 1, or the first two weeks of the season, and certainly no stupid formulas so I have to pretend the Giants are better than the Panthers (via comparative games against New Orleans). Last week, no one moved by more than seven positions, because I'm not going to totally change my opinions based on one game. With the exception of the plummeting Vikings, you'll see the same thing this week. Brackets show previous rank.
1. Pittsburgh Steelers [1] — In the mid-1970s, Pittsburgh won its first playoff game, and later two Super Bowls, on the strength of a dominant defense and a powerful running game. Late in the decade, Terry Bradshaw matured as a passer and the team supported its defense with one of the league's most dangerous passing attacks. The Steelers have had a defense and a running game for over a decade now, but they haven't had a QB since Bradshaw. Is it just me, or does Ben Roethlisberger look even better than last season?
2. Indianapolis Colts [2] — The defense looks good, but it's got an obvious hole: size. Dwight Freeney, Larry Tripplett, Cato June, and Nick Harper are all on my short list of Pro Bowl contenders, and they're all small and fast. That speed is clearly paying off, but the corresponding vulnerability is run defense. This weekend, Jacksonville averaged 5.3 yards per carry, including 110 yards on 19 carries by RBs Fred Taylor and Greg Jones. I also don't know whether to worry that the Colts had such a close game at home, or praise them for refusing to lose in a tight game when they were arguably outplayed. That's Bill Belichick-ish.
3. New England Patriots [3] — Lost a game they could have won. Take out two fumbles and 12 penalties (that's 19 already this season) and it's an even game, at least. Those things won't happen most weeks (although the penalties are alarming), and neither will special teams disasters like Chris Gamble's 76-yard punt return. What does concern me is the rushing game. Corey Dillon has fewer than 100 rushing yards in 2005, with a 2.7 average, and the Pats had only one rushing first down against Carolina. Standout guard Joe Andruzzi left this offseason, and I think the team misses him. There are also injuries in the defensive backfield again, so New England's hold on this spot is tenuous.
4. Philadelphia Eagles [5] — Drawing dramatic conclusions from the farce against San Francisco would be just as foolish as drawing them from the Week 1 loss to Atlanta, but I have a feeling the team we saw this week was a lot closer to the real Eagles. I did see this game, which everyone knew was going to be a stinker. The NFL's television contracts are ridiculous.
5. Kansas City Chiefs [6] — With Oakland loading up to stop the run, the passing game should have had more success. Trent Green started slowly last season, too, but homefield advantage is crucial in the AFC playoffs, and the Chiefs can't afford to give away games early in the season, especially with tough matches at Denver and against Philadelphia coming up. The defense looked okay against the Raiders, but I would have liked to see them put more pressure on Kerry Collins. Rookie OLB Derrick Johnson is off to a great start.
6. Carolina Panthers [9] — Offensively, Sunday's game against New England left something to be desired. Jake Delhomme completed under half his passes, Stephen Davis averaged barely three yards per carry, and no one other than Steve Smith has caught more than four passes this season. Keary Colbert has only two catches for 11 yards, and Rod Gardner hasn't even had a pass thrown at him. This offense has to get a little more dynamic if I'm going to stop feeling stupid for picking them to win Super Bowl XL.
7. Atlanta Falcons [4] — The third through seventh positions were really tight this week, and Atlanta is at the bottom basically on Michael Vick's questionable health. If there's a lot of movement among these five teams in next week's rankings, don't be surprised. The Falcons punted on all five of their first-half possessions and went into halftime down 21-0, which is especially hard to come back from when you don't have a passing game.
8. Cincinnati Bengals [15] — We know the pieces are there on offense, and judging from the seven-turnover performance against Minnesota, the defense is in pretty good shape, too. Marvin Lewis deserves a tremendous amount of credit for what he is doing with this team, and I think chatty WR Chad Johnson may actually be a little underrated.
9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers [12] — Cadillac Williams has more rushing yards through the first two games of his career than anyone but Alan Ameche, O.J. Anderson, William Andrews, or Billy Sims. Ameche played only six seasons before an injury ended his career. Andrews was a star for five seasons before injuries brought his career to a premature end. Sims lasted five years, as well. That leaves Anderson alone on the "healthy" list. Williams has already sprained a foot.
10. Jacksonville Jaguars [13] — I didn't see the game, so I'm not sure why they didn't run more, or how they managed six fumbles with none lost, and eight receivers with under 50 yards each. I haven't seen an injury report on John Henderson, but if he misses any time, it will show.
11. Buffalo Bills [10] — The loss against Tampa was a team effort. The offense managed to average under three yards per play, the defense watched Williams run for 128 yards and a 5.3 average, and the 18-minute time of possession deficit can justly be blamed on both.
12. New York Jets [14] — Curtis Martin has been an unusually healthy guy throughout his career, but even if his injury ends up being a factor, I don't understand all the whining about Lamont Jordan being gone. Derrick Blaylock isn't exactly chopped liver. Which is good, because chopped liver is gross.
13. Baltimore Ravens [7] — New power rankings rule: teams in the top 10 must have an offense. That means Washington and Baltimore are both out. On Sunday, the Ravens had no rushing first downs and Jamal Lewis gained 10 yards on nine carries. And yes, that included a long of 13. His other eight carries went for -3.
14. New York Giants [20] — I like the defense and Tiki Barber and their chances against the Rams in Week 4. I think they're about 50-50 at San Diego next week, so take the underdog. Oddly enough, that will probably be the 2-0 team, not the 0-2.
15. Seattle Seahawks [19] — Almost managed to give away the game in the fourth quarter, which was this team's hobby last year. There is so much talent on this roster, and there's no heart. They could lose at home to Arizona next week and it wouldn't surprise anyone. Seattle has a relatively easy schedule before December, so if they're serious about the playoffs, they need some more wins the next few weeks.
16. Detroit Lions [11] — Joey Harrington isn't going to throw five interceptions again all season, but he has to hear about it for two weeks while Detroit is on its bye.
17. Washington Redskins [22] — I don't understand why everyone is so fussy about the quarterback change. Does it even matter which guy is in there? This team lives and dies with its defense.
18. Dallas Cowboys [17] — I would be really curious to know the last time Drew Bledsoe wasn't sacked and his team still lost. You know who doesn't impress me? Roy Williams.
19. San Diego Chargers [18] — Lost at the end of the game for the second week in a row. I like Marty Schottenheimer, but his track record in clutch situations is decidedly subpar. Interestingly, Schottenheimer's most famous disciples, Bill Cowher and Tony Dungy, have also been accused of choking and/or having problems in big games. Their teams are 1-2 in my rankings this week, and I'm not sure what that means.
20. Denver Broncos [23] — Yeah, they're behind a team they just beat. It was a home game and a last-second win. Where's the running game?
21. New Orleans Saints [16] — Did you see Jim Haslett's interview after the game Monday night? I don't even know what to say. They're going to have a very challenging season.
22. Minnesota Vikings [8] — Based on the first two weeks, they could be 32nd. No one has been worse so far this season. But the personnel is so good that I'm not ready to give up on them. On paper, Minnesota is the best team in the league. The weakest point, and I think this is a major problem, is the offensive line, which has traditionally been a strength. Center Matt Birk is injured, and guard David Dixon, who missed only two games the previous seven seasons (a streak that extended beyond the team's record-setting 1998 campaign), retired. That shakes a team up. If the Vikes lose to New Orleans by double-digits next week, I'll rank them in the 30s.
23. Oakland Raiders [27] — Couldn't catch a break from the officials. The Randy Moss TD in the second quarter was the big one, but what about the pass interference call against Stanford Routt a couple drives later? Sterling Sharpe correctly noted that the ball was uncatchable, and the call should have been a five-yard illegal contact instead of a 35-yard interference. Sharpe was very good, and I hope he and Mike Tirico will call more games in the future.
24. St. Louis Rams [26] — Steven Jackson had a nice game, and that's really the only nice thing I can say without bringing up Torry Holt. The defense's four sacks don't impress me because Kurt Warner dropped back 47 times, and he's one of the most sack-prone players in the league.
25. Miami Dolphins [21] — Nick Saban is getting a lot of credit for getting Miami thinking it can win again. Which is pretty much the same thing Jim Bates did when he was interim coach last season. The Dolphins under Bates went 3-4, with every loss against a team with a winning record.
26. Tennessee Titans [29] — The announcers really did their homework in this one. During the game, Rich Baldinger called Kyle Vanden Bosch "Van Boesch" (with a long O) and later "Van Boeschen." He also referred to Baltimore's star CB as Tim McAlister. Albert Haynesworth, whose name was not mispronounced during the broadcast, left the game in the second half, and the Titans need him healthy.
27. Cleveland Browns [31] — I saw this game. I spent the whole first quarter trying to figure out why CBS was showing Cleveland/Green Bay. I never did figure it out, but here are my two guesses: one, Reggie White's jersey was being retired; two, Brett Favre was playing. But you don't choose a game based on the halftime ceremony, and Favre certainly doesn't outweigh a key divisional matchup like Broncos/Chargers or Jets/Dolphins.
28. Chicago Bears [32] — I admit it's unlikely, but Chicago could actually score fewer points in all its remaining games combined than it did against Detroit on Sunday. Well, not really, but the offense is still awful.
29. Green Bay Packers [24] — The biggest problem is still the defense, but Green Bay lost both its starting guards this offseason, and it's got to be an issue.
30. Arizona Cardinals [28] — Three years ago, 2002 season, Rams at Washington: St. Louis is down 20-17, but has the ball in the red zone near the end of the game. The Rams have a great chance at a touchdown, and otherwise they'll go to OT with a chip-shot field goal. Warner drops back, holds the ball, gets sacked, fumbles, Washington recovers. Game. The end of this Sunday's contest reminded me of that.
31. Houston Texans [25] — Firing Chris Palmer might make sense, but shouldn't you send offensive line coach Joe Pendry packing with him, rather than promoting Pendry to fill Palmer's position? I know this isn't exactly original insight, but really, the line allowed eight sacks on Sunday.
32. San Francisco 49ers [30] — Ah, one glorious week out of last place.
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