NFL Week 14 Power Rankings

Five Quick Hits

* Last week, Michael Phelps was named as Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year. That's the best selection I can remember.

* I'm tired of the NFC East. Like many fans, I saw Giants/Eagles early, followed by Cowboys/Steelers, then Washington/Baltimore. I live on the East Coast, so most of my Sundays look like that. I'd like to see other teams once in a while, particularly from the two South divisions.

* Cowboys owner Jerry Jones called out Marion Barber and questioned his toughness for not playing on Sunday. It's guys like Al Davis, Daniel Snyder, and Jones who sometimes make me wonder if Mike Brown, Bill Bidwill, and John York aren't so bad after all.

* Happy trails to Greg Maddux, the best pitcher since Tom Seaver and an exemplar of the way the game should be played.

* Tom Jackson says that Ed Reed is "maybe the biggest big-play safety in the history of the game." Reed has 39 career interceptions; Paul Krause had 81. Reed has 7 defensive TDs; Rod Woodson had 13. Instead of "maybe," Jackson should have said, "not."

***

These first few paragraphs address problems in this week's MNF broadcast. If you're not interested, please skip ahead to the power rankings. Brackets show last week's rank.

The single biggest problem with MNF is the tumor in the booth, the unnecessary third man, Tony Kornheiser. And the biggest problem with Kornheiser is that he doesn't follow football. Shortly before this week's broadcast, he admitted to having ignored both the Panthers and Buccaneers all season. For some reason, this is supposed to be the appeal of having Tony in the booth: that he brings a "typical fan" perspective to the broadcast. I would dispute (1) that Kornheiser, a millionaire and a celebrity, really brings a "typical fan" perspective, (2) that Kornheiser knows as much as an actual fan, and (3) that anyone wants to listen to commentary from someone who admittedly doesn't know what he's talking about.

Compounding the problem, several times each game, Kornheiser delivers very authoritative statements, or arcane facts you know someone else looked up and told him to read. You can't have it both ways. Either Kornheiser is the guy on the barstool next to you, or he's an expert. When he pretends to know what he's talking about, it has no authority, and he's frequently wrong. This week, Kornheiser said that Jon Gruden has "had nine starters in the past three years at quarterback." Sounds like a lot, right? The actual number is six, not nine. And contrary to what the announcing crew implied, most of the changes were due to injury, rather than Gruden's itchy trigger finger.

Kornheiser also intoned, very seriously, "The one significant change on offense is getting Jake Delhomme back ... He's the difference on the offensive team." With no apparent sense of irony, Tony said this right after Muhsin Muhammad's second consecutive first down catch. Maybe Tony just doesn't think getting Moose back was important. Apparently, he's also not impressed with rookie RB Jonathan Stewart or starting RT Jeff Otah. Yeah, none of those guys are significant to the offense. Right. Starting guard Keydrick Vincent is also a new addition this season.

No one is disputing that Delhomme is an upgrade over Vinny Testaverde, but Kornheiser clearly does not know what he's talking about. The notion that Carolina's offense would look this good without Muhammad, Stewart, and Otah is ludicrous. I doubt that Kornheiser is really so clueless he thinks guys like Muhammad and Stewart aren't significant. I think he's so clueless he doesn't know they weren't in Carolina last year.

Tony also glibly slipped in, "[Monte Kiffin's] got a bunch of future Hall of Famers." Derrick Brooks is certainly a future HOFer. John Lynch, Ronde Barber, and Warren Sapp are all maybes, though only Barber is still with the Bucs. And that's it, unless you want to make really bold predictions about some of the young guys. Is four really a bunch? This isn't terrible, except that once again, Kornheiser just doesn't know what he's talking about. I'm not even going to get into him thinking Bill Parcells still coached the Giants in the late '90s and early 2000s. All this stuff is from one night, a single show.

Also, please stop missing the beginnings of plays, and please make Stuart Scott go away. He is intolerable. Anyway, power rankings.

1. New York Giants [1] — They've played a brutal schedule (seven straight against winning teams), and were bound to lose at some point. That said, the Eagles really dominated them in a way the score doesn't show. Without too much going differently, this game could have been 26-0 in Philadelphia's favor. Despite the loss, the Giants clinched the NFC East on Sunday, and they remain the team to beat in the NFC.

2. Tennessee Titans [2] — Clinched the AFC South and a first-round bye. Tennessee hasn't played the same kind of schedule as the Giants, but has the NFL's best record (12-1) and point differential (+148). For all the hype Pittsburgh's defense is getting, consider that the Titans have allowed only one more point this season than the Steelers.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers [3] — Four wins in a row, and they can clinch both the AFC North and a first-round bye with a win at Baltimore in Week 15. I'm running out of good things to say about James Harrison and Troy Polamalu, but let's at least note the obvious: Pittsburgh beat the Cowboys with defense. Outside linebackers have become today's impact players on defense, and this season, none is having a bigger impact than Harrison.

4. Indianapolis Colts [5] — Five sacks, three interceptions, and a fumble recovery against the hapless Bengals. But why did Bob Sanders play in this game? Did the coaches think they would need Sanders to compete with Cincinnati? Every time Sanders starts to heal up, the Colts rush him back into the lineup, and then he gets hurt again. He hasn't played in three consecutive games all season. Let the man get healthy for the playoffs.

5. Baltimore Ravens [6] — Hero worship is pervasive among NFL announcers. When Ray Lewis got called for a penalty on Sunday night, you just knew John Madden was going to come up with an excuse for him. And he did! This happens most frequently for Brett Favre and Lewis, but plenty of other superstars get it to a lesser degree, especially on defense. Brian Urlacher. Champ Bailey. Polamalu. These guys are so good, apparently they are incapable of doing something wrong.

6. Carolina Panthers [10] — The Panthers looked good on Monday night, but I believe the ESPN crew was too quick to draw sweeping conclusions from Carolina's victory. We already knew that the Panthers were very strong at home, where they'd beaten the Cardinals and Bears and crushed both the Falcons and Saints. We also know that the Bucs have struggled on the road this season (3-4). I don't think it's a given that Carolina, which presently loses tiebreakers, will win the NFC South, and it's certainly premature to suggest that they'll beat out the Giants for homefield in the playoffs.

7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers [7] — Kornheiser did get one thing right on Monday night: "Nobody ever said Tampa Bay had a great offense. The story of their game is the failure of their defense." The offense looked awfully poor outside of Antonio Bryant, but the unit that really failed to meet expectations was the Tampa defense. The Bucs showed pretty much everything you don't want to see from a defense: missed tackles, mental mistakes, lack of effort, poor discipline, you name it. Ugly game.

8. Dallas Cowboys [9] — The defense gave them every chance to win, and the offense gave Pittsburgh every chance to win. There was something I noticed on the sidelines this week. I don't mean this to be unkind, and I wasn't even going to mention it. But then I heard Rich Eisen back-handedly refer to it, and Google easily confirmed that Rich and I were not the only ones who thought this. In his puffy coat, Wade Phillips looked like a big blue Michelin Man on Sunday.

9. Philadelphia Eagles [13] — Almost gave the game away with penalties and special teams. In the first 20 minutes, Philadelphia already had five penalties, three of which resulted in first downs for New York. Two gimme field goals were blocked, and one was returned for a Giants touchdown. I loved the way the Eagles controlled the clock, but they need to be careful about overusing Brian Westbrook. This is a guy who's been struggling with injuries all season, has only been all the way back for two weeks, and you're giving him 33 carries? That doesn't seem like a good idea. Give a few of those late, grind-em-out handoffs to a backup.

10. Arizona Cardinals [11] — Clinched their first division title since 1975, and their first home playoff game since 1947. The 33-year gap between division titles is the longest since the 1970 merger, and 61 years between hosting playoffs is almost inconceivable. Arizona currently owns the fourth seed in the NFC playoffs, which is better than the third seed. The fourth seed will probably play either Carolina or Tampa, and the game will be at home. The Panthers and Bucs have been barely average on the road this season, so that looks like a nice matchup. The third seed will play the other wild card, probably the Cowboys, Eagles, or Falcons. No thanks to that. Give me the fourth seed.

11. New York Jets [4] — It's time to let Brett Favre be Brett Favre. If you hand the reigns to a legendary gunslinger, don't ask him to dink and dunk. Laveranues Coles and Jerricho Cotchery combined for two catches on Sunday, while the running backs had nine. Favre is averaging less than 10 yards per completion this season, joining Ryan Fitzpatrick as the only QBs with such an ugly average in at least 200 attempts. Let the man throw downfield.

12. Atlanta Falcons [8] — Roddy White leads the NFL in receiving yards (1,249). Is any receiver getting less attention for a great season? Matt Ryan and Michael Turner deserve plenty of recognition for their play this year, but I feel like White isn't getting the same kind of love. He's been about as good as any receiver in the league this season.

13. New England Patriots [12] — I feel really bad for not taking Wes Welker on my Pro Bowl ballot. Welker only has one TD this year, but he's third in the AFC in receiving yards (1,002), and he leads the entire NFL in both receptions (96) and yards after catch (567). Fan voting ended today at noon, but Welker deserves a trip to Hawaii.

14. New Orleans Saints [16] — Sunday was the first time, during Sean Payton's three years as head coach, that they have successfully executed a fourth-quarter comeback. Prior to this week, Payton's Saints were 0-17 when they entered the fourth quarter behind on the scoreboard. That's amazing on a team with an offense that seems built for comebacks.

15. Minnesota Vikings [14] — I'm of two minds on the diuretic suspensions of Pro Bowl DTs Pat and Kevin Williams. I sympathize with the NFL's position, because the policy is clear and the players union agreed to it. I also sympathize with the players, though, because the banned substance was not listed among the ingredients of the product they used. Ultimately, I think the NFL needs to enforce its policy, but a four-game suspension is simply way too harsh. Common sense says that this is the wrong punishment for something that barely qualifies as a crime.

16. Miami Dolphins [15] — After witnessing a miserable offensive performance on Sunday, I suspect Toronto fans will be happy to stick to the CFL Argonauts from here on out. On the other hand, the Dolphins would probably be happy to return to the domed Rogers Centre. The team traditionally struggles in cold weather and hasn't won in Buffalo since 2003. Now the Dolphins are in position to win a division title, just one year after going 1-15.

17. Denver Broncos [17] — Controlled the clock against Kansas City, grinding out first downs (9/14 on third down) and winning the time of possession battle by nearly a full quarter (36:38/23:22). The bad news is that they killed another running back. Peyton Hillis strained a hamstring and will not play again this season. Hillis joins Anthony Alridge, Andre Hall, Michael Pittman, Ryan Torain, and Selvin Young among injured Bronco RBs. Underwear thief Tatum Bell is expected to start in his place.

18. Chicago Bears [19] — This week, Matt Forte broke Gale Sayers' team record for yards from scrimmage by a rookie. Forte has been very good, but his 2008 season doesn't really compare to Sayers in 1965. That year, Sayers ranked second in the NFL in rushing and led the league in scoring. His rookie record for touchdowns (22) still stands. Sayers was also the best returner in the NFL, scoring two return TDs while averaging 14.9 on punt returns and 31.4 on kick returns. He led the NFL in all-purpose yards and was a first-team all-pro. Forte simply is not having that kind of season.

19. San Diego Chargers [21] — Thursday night, the Chargers played the way we expected them to all year. They dominated the game easily, to such an extent it was almost boring. This is doomed to be a what-if season for San Diego. Change that bad call in Week 2, and the Bolts would be 6-7, in control of their own destiny. Seven of their eight losses have come by a touchdown or less. San Diego (+43) and Green Bay (+36) have the worst record, 5-8, of any team that has outscored its opponents.

20. Houston Texans [22] — Got the ball at their own three, tied at 21, with 1:49 remaining and one timeout. Then, facing a team that supposedly has one of the best pass defenses in the league, Houston drove 75 yards to set up a game-winning field goal. If this team could limit itself to a normal number of turnovers, it could compete with anybody.

21. Green Bay Packers [18] — Packer fans, I apologize for giving your team the kiss of death. Two weeks ago, I made the case that San Diego had a strong chance of winning the AFC West. That week, the Chargers lost a game they needed to win, and the rival Broncos won a key upset. Last week, I wrote that the Packers could still win their division. Well, not any more.

22. San Francisco 49ers [26] — Three wins in their last four games. Quarterback Shaun Hill was 2-0 as a starter last year, and he's 3-2 this season. That means that in the last two years, the 49ers are 5-2 with Hill and 5-17 with anyone else. Hill's passer rating this season is a sterling 95.5, compared to J.T. O'Sullivan's 73.6. He's also been sacked about a thousand fewer times than O'Sullivan.

23. Washington Redskins [20] — Injuries were an issue on Sunday night. Seeing Clinton Portis on the sidelines caught everyone's attention, but losing both of your starting tackles during a game is pretty tough to overcome. Washington is 1-4 in its last five games. It's time for people to stop thinking of this as a good team.

24. Cleveland Browns [23] — Three straight games without a touchdown. I didn't like their offensive play-calling (45 passes, 18 runs) in a game that wasn't out of hand until the fourth quarter, but I also don't like the very public rumors about Romeo Crennel's firing. His team has heard those, and besides being pretty crass, having this in the open is not going to help. Wayne Fontes was the exception, not the rule.

25. Buffalo Bills [24] — Last week, I wrote, "A nation of teenage girls mourned the groin injury to Trent Edwards." After receiving an email complaint, let me assure my readers that women of all ages hope for the best regarding Mr. Edwards' groin.

26. Jacksonville Jaguars [25] — On the CBS pre-game show, Boomer Esiason asked, "Is there a more disappointing team than the Green Bay Packers?" Evidently, Boomer is unfazed by the Jaguars, Chargers, and Seahawks. Last year, Jacksonville went 11-5 and won a playoff game. Many fans expected the Jags, not the Titans, to dethrone Indianapolis in the AFC South this season. Instead, they're 4-9 and look worse every week.

27. Kansas City Chiefs [27] — This offseason, they traded their best player, DE Jared Allen, for draft picks. Last year, with Allen, Kansas City had a pretty good defense, ranking 13th in yards and tied for 9th in sacks. This season, minus Allen, KC is last in the NFL in both yards and sacks. In fact, KC's six sacks are less than half the total of 31st-place Cincinnati (13).

			2007		2008
Yards Allowed		13th		32nd
Points Allowed		14th		30th
Pass Defense		5th		29th
Sacks			t-9th		32nd

28. Seattle Seahawks [29] — Seneca Wallace had a very good performance in the loss to New England: 20-of-28 for 212 yards and 3 TDs, a 128.9 passer rating. Wallace also led the Seahawks in rushing (47 yards, 15.7 average), and he did all of this without starting LT Walter Jones. This season, the Seahawks have been substantially better with Wallace at QB.

29. Oakland Raiders [28] — I would rather be a Lions fan than a Raiders fan. At least the Lions have some hope that they might improve in the future. The Raiders are only going to get worse until Al Davis no longer runs the team.

30. Cincinnati Bengals [30] — Outscored by more than 30 points for the second week in a row. The Bengals scored three points in each game.

31. St. Louis Rams [31] — League-worst point differential of -225. A team has to be really terrible to get outscored by 200 points in a season. The last team to do so was the 2003 Arizona Cardinals (-227). St. Louis looks like a lock to beat that. In fairness, the Lions (-194) and Bengals (-191) are also pushing -200. What's that you were saying about parity?

32. Detroit Lions [32] — I am not a Lions fan. I'm not from Detroit, and I don't have family or friends from Detroit. I've never even been to Detroit. But I want the Lions to win a game more than I want anything else in the NFL right now. It is torture watching their early leads slip away week after week.