Five Quick Hits
* Huzzah for Bill Vinovich, whose crew let Tampa and Washington play, and who upheld several borderline replay challenges in the absence of indisputable evidence to the contrary.
* ESPN needs to stop using lengthy highlight segments accompanied by pop music right now. Especially that damn twins song. I hate that song.
* The NFL threatened to disqualify Clinton Portis for any uniform violation this week. I didn't like his socks, either, but that still seems a bit extreme.
* Why does Michael Irvin have a microphone? He's so concerned about his connections that he's completely untrustworthy as an analyst.
* So far this season, CBS has the best NFL coverage. That's not saying much, but congratulations, I guess.
***
Having to put up with the sports media has become the worst part of being a sports fan. This week, FOX cut away from Giants/Vikings immediately before New York's two-point conversion to tie the game. I know that the NFL's broadcast rules said they had to show the beginning of Tampa/Washington in my area, but there's no reason they had to run four minutes of commercials first. Put the commercials in later instead of cutting a decisive play at the end of the game.
During the feature broadcast, Joe Buck called Mike Alstott "one of the unsung heroes" of the Buccaneers. Uh, Joe? Alstott is the most famous player on that offense. And no one who's been to six Pro Bowls is "unsung." Buck also stated that Chris Simms "clearly" has the most upside of Tampa Bay's quarterbacks. That's at least debatable, but I think Brian Griese has shown tremendous upside if he can stay healthy.
Earlier that day, a CBS camera zeroed in on Ray Lewis and the announcers talked about his leadership and ability to inspire his team even from the sidelines. This is the same team that completely fell apart in Week 5 (with 21 penalties and two ejections) and as the comments were being made broke Jacksonville's streak of 58 games without scoring 30 points. If that's leadership, who needs it?
The worst, of course, is ESPN. Something that particularly annoyed me this week was the repetition of the same story on different shows. I mean, NFL Live was pretty pointless even before they started running the same segments on SportsCenter and Countdown.
One of the highlights of my weekend was my roommate walking through the room during Primetime and asking, "Why does he keep making that sound?" You know, Chris Berman's high-pitched "whoop!" Her boyfriend and I answered together. "Because he's a jackass."
On that note, let's get to the power rankings. Brackets show last week's rank.
1. Indianapolis Colts [1] — Scored more than 30 points for the fourth consecutive game, and haven't had fewer than four TDs since September. The Colts are strong Super Bowl front-runners right now (Indianapolis 34, Seattle 24), and a fat ring is about all Tony Dungy would need to punch his ticket to Canton. Dungy, Bill Cowher, and Mike Shanahan could all guarantee themselves Hall of Fame busts with a Super Bowl win this year. So could Marty Schottenheimer and Dick Vermeil, but their teams aren't serious contenders at this point.
2. Denver Broncos [2] — One of four teams undefeated at home, and next week's opponent, the Jets, are 0-5 on the road. The consensus right now seems to be that to beat the Broncos, a team has to put pressure on Jake Plummer and force him into mistakes, which the Jets are capable of doing, but I wouldn't count on a lot of Plummer against New York: the Jets are 29th in run defense, and Denver is second in rushing offense.
3. Seattle Seahawks [4] — Shaun Alexander continues to make a compelling MVP case, but I'm becoming concerned about his workload. Alexander is on pace for a career-high 370 carries, which isn't suicidally high, but does place him clearly in the red. I hope Mike Holmgren will ease up Alexander's workload as the season goes on.
4. Carolina Panthers [9] — Haven't scored under 20 points all season, put up at least 30 for the third time in a row, and since the bye they're winning by an average of 24 points. Carolina has won six games in a row, the best mark this side of Indianapolis. Preseason, I picked Carolina to win the Super Bowl, but I worry about it now. The Panthers are last in the NFL in rushing average, and if you take away Steve Smith, the offense can't do anything. Teams that one-dimensional seldom succeed in the playoffs.
5. Pittsburgh Steelers [3] — With Ben Roethlisberger healthy, they're third. With Charlie Batch, they're fourth. With Tommy Maddox, they're fifth.
6. San Diego Chargers [6] — By the end of this season, either LaDainian Tomlinson or Shaun Alexander will score 30 touchdowns. The Chargers are only half a game over .500, but they're +60 in points for/against.
7. Dallas Cowboys [7] — Problems with the running game are quickly becoming a major issue, and the Eagles did naughty things to their offense by double-teaming Terry Glenn. Longtime readers know I've never been a Drew Bledsoe fan, and he continues to hurt the team by his refusal to throw the ball away, instead taking sacks or tossing interceptions.
8. New York Giants [5] — In the last three weeks, Tiki Barber has 520 yards from scrimmage. He's a good runner inside, a good runner outside, a great receiver, and a good blocker. Alexander, Edgerrin James, and Tomlinson are the only RBs better than Barber right now. The Giants are +87 in point differential, ahead of everyone but the Colts.
9. Jacksonville Jaguars [8] — More than doubled Baltimore's offensive output, but if they were any good they'd have quadrupled it. The Jags have to be encouraged by Matt Jones' increasing role in the offense.
10. Atlanta Falcons [10] — At the beginning of the season, when Atlanta looked like a top-five team and a strong Super Bowl contender, the defense carried a mistake-free, run-heavy offense, allowing only 57 points through four games. In the last five games, Atlanta has allowed more than 30 points three times. They've had a couple of injuries, but excuses don't win games.
11. Cincinnati Bengals [14] — Can put themselves in a good position for a playoff spot if they beat Indianapolis this weekend, but Cincinnati's not assured of a postseason berth yet. If the Steelers win the AFC North and the Chargers finish strong, the Bengals could have a race on their hands. I think Cincinnati gets the last wild card, but use pencil for now.
12. Kansas City Chiefs [12] — Against Buffalo, they had substantial advantages in yards from scrimmage, first downs, and time of possession. Trent Green, who was sacked six times and threw three interceptions, basically blew it, although a lot of the blame has to go to the offensive line, which was once again without Willie Roaf. K.C. has lost two of its last three, both on the road, and the win was a last-second gamble against Oakland.
13. Chicago Bears [18] — Lead the NFL in scoring defense, and this weekend held Cody Pickett to 8% completion percentage in the gusting winds at Soldier Field. Brian Urlacher may have made my Pro Bowl ballot with his hustle on Nathan Vasher's 108-yard field goal return.
14. Washington Redskins [11] — Fell to 1-4 on the road, and it's time to admit that the defense has major problems. Up front, there's no pass rush. Pro Bowl LB Marcus Washington frequently gets out of position or overruns plays, and CB Walt Harris is a greater liability every week. Against Tampa Bay, Washington was very thoroughly outcoached.
15. New England Patriots [13] — Injuries have decimated the secondary, which on Sunday made Gus Frerotte look like Dan Marino. Richard Seymour's return should help, but at this point, nothing will do more good than an effective rushing attack.
16. Philadelphia Eagles [15] — I know Donovan McNabb is a warrior, but you have to wonder if he shouldn't have had surgery after he was injured in Week 1. Putting off surgery for a whole season is a pretty major deal. It was nice to see McNabb running again on Monday night. The Eagles have lost three in a row and are getting killed in their division (0-3) and conference (1-4).
17. St. Louis Rams [17] — The Rams are undoubtedly in trouble, but don't count them out of the NFC playoff picture yet. Seattle has effectively wrapped up the West title, and either the Falcons or Panthers will get the top wildcard, but the last spot is still wide open. The NFC East and South will beat up on each other, and the Rams might be able to sneak in if they can win six of their last seven, which isn't out of the question against a light schedule.
18. Oakland Raiders [16] — 0-4 in their division, the Raiders are just good enough to lose. Oakland has a pretty good team, and it's playing tough, but can't come up with actual wins. The Raiders will probably finish around 6-10, but they won't go quietly.
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers [21] — Couldn't run the ball, couldn't stop the run, and won anyway because Jon Gruden and his assistants outcoached Washington's staff, protecting their quarterback and attacking downfield. Tampa had 36 points against Washington, its most since Super Bowl XXXVII.
20. Buffalo Bills [19] — J.P. Losman had a nice game filling in for Kelly Holcomb, but I think this team immediately gets worse if Losman becomes the starting QB again.
21. Miami Dolphins [20] — Since going into the bye at 2-1, they've lost five of their last six, averaging under 16 points per game during that stretch. That's despite the emergence of Ronnie Brown, a strong contender for Offensive Rookie of the Year.
22. Detroit Lions [22] — Detroit is a fairly good home team. Arizona is miserable on the road. Don't read too much into Sunday's victory.
23. Minnesota Vikings [24] — Three wins in their last four games, and the most recent one was against a good team and done in historic fashion. Darren Sharper stepped up with a nice game, and the return game was great, but the offense stunk and the defense had no answer for Barber. Minnesota gained more yards on interception returns than offense. There are rumblings about the Vikings chasing Chicago for the NFC North title, but it's not going to happen.
24. Green Bay Packers [30] — Undefeated when they score at least 30 points. All they need to do is have monster games from their middle linebacker and unknown running back every week, and they'll win the North!
25. Baltimore Ravens [23] — I'm still trying to figure out why they cut Kordell Stewart, the only quarterback who has given them a spark all season. Kyle Boller will never stay healthy, and he's not exactly John Unitas in there to begin with. The more time passes, the more it looks like Brian Billick's success in Baltimore had an awful lot to do with Marvin Lewis.
26. New York Jets [25] — The defense did a nice job against Carolina, and Brooks Bollinger probably won't throw four interceptions next week. The Jets won't win at Denver, but they could cause problems for some of the other teams remaining on their schedule.
27. New Orleans Saints [26] — They've got to be worn down from so much travel, and hopefully the bye will help them put together some good games in the season's second half.
28. Cleveland Browns [27] — This week, Reuben Droughns was the best RB in the NFL. Next week, it will be Larry Johnson. ESPN's Sunday Night announcers are very easily impressed, and they lack any perspective. I love Hines Ward — he's one of my favorite players — but did we really need to hear about his team record a dozen times during Sunday night's broadcast?
29. Tennessee Titans [28] — I don't really feel like the Titans should be this low, but it's really close between 25th and 29th, and someone needs to be at the bottom. For now, that's Tennessee.
30. Arizona Cardinals [29] — Made Joey Harrington look like Gus Frerotte. In case you skipped the New England section, Frerotte looked like Dan Marino this weekend. Basically, I'm insulting the Cardinals' defense.
31. Houston Texans [31] — Mathematically eliminated in their division. We're barely halfway through the season, but Houston can be definitively eliminated from playoff contention as soon as next week.
32. San Francisco 49ers [32] — Combined with the Bears for 95 passing yards, with no touchdowns and two interceptions. The 49ers have given up more than twice as many points as they have scored this season.
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