|
|
Team |
ITN-CB |
Rec |
WG |
RP |
Notes |
| 1 |
Cowboys |
1.63 |
3-0 |
23.6 (12) |
39.7 (1) |
Real Points
joins the party and gives Win Grade a big slap in the back of
the head while saying "Wake up! Dallas 12th? Do we need to check
your algebra again?" |
| 2 |
Cardinals |
1.55 |
2-1 |
24.3 (7) |
36.9 (2) |
The two ranking systems agree with the
common eye. Something just isn't right about them being number
2. But until they go down underestimate them at your own risk. |
| 3 |
Bills |
1.37 |
3-0 |
33.2 (1) |
18.7 (7) |
Great
comeback against Oakland, and now they have shown they can play
with a lead or come from behind and win games. No question they
are the best team in the AFC East right now. |
| 4 |
Giants |
1.08 |
3-0 |
32.9 (2) |
12.9 (12) |
We think the Giants are right where they
want to be. The team is sound on both sides of the ball, and
might have cured whatever ailment was preventing them from
winning at home last year. |
| 5 |
Broncos |
1.07 |
3-0 |
26.8 (5) |
22.3 (5) |
When should a team be concerned? How about
when you average over 300 yards per game throwing the football
but are still being out gained through the air by your
opponents. |
| 6 |
Eagles |
0.71 |
2-1 |
24.1 (8) |
18.5 (9) |
Everyone is
sweating the injury to Westbrook. We aren't. McNabb is capable
of winning games for this team, and there is no doubt the
defense can keep them in games when the O struggles. |
| 7 |
Panthers |
0.67 |
2-1 |
23.7 (11) |
18.5 (10) |
This team
has pulled out two strong victories while converting just 26% of
its third downs. The rest of the NFC South should be praying
they don't fix that. |
| 8 |
Buccaneers |
0.64 |
2-1 |
19.9 (16) |
23.5 (4) |
TB rushing
attack: Averages 5.5 yards per carry, has big play capabilities
(68 yard touchdown run is longest in the league), and zero lost
fumbles. Teams with +5 yards per carry are averaging over 90
rushing attempts. The Bucs? Only 65 attempts. Are we the only
ones scratching our heads? |
| 9 |
Redskins |
0.63 |
2-1 |
22.9 (13) |
18.7 (8) |
Washington
leads the league in turnover ratio and is above the league
average in rushing and passing offense, but they are more than a
full point below the league average in scoring. That is not a
very effective use of their resources, and will need to improve
upon that to stay in contention in the NFC East. |
| 10 |
Dolphins |
0.52 |
1-2 |
17.2 (17) |
25.3 (3) |
There is no doubt that Ronnie Brown
transforms this team. Even before he led the upset the numbers
thought they were a capable team, so don't think what you saw
Sunday was a fluke. |
| 11 |
Titans |
0.43 |
3-0 |
29.1 (3) |
4.4 (21) |
What are
the rankings trying to say putting a 3-0 team in 11th place in
the league? The way you have played so far works great against
teams like Cincinnati and Houston, but it does not inspire
confidence for matchups against the real teams in the league. |
| 12 |
49ers |
0.39 |
2-1 |
26.1 (6) |
8.3 (15) |
Did a nice
job dispatching Detroit last week and kept pace with Arizona in
the NFC West. However, the defense will need to figure some
things out before this Sunday's matchup in New Orleans. |
| 13 |
Steelers |
0.19 |
2-1 |
28.5 (4) |
3.7 (22) |
When we said they could win games relying
on their run game, we were thinking of a 2 person canoe analogy:
Run attack in the front doing the heavy pulling, passing game in
the back doing most of the steering. Right now it looks like the
passing game lost its oar 2 miles up stream and is trying to
steer and paddle with its hands. |
| 14 |
Patriots |
0.19 |
2-1 |
23.7 (10) |
7.7 (16) |
Sure it
wasn't pretty, but did everyone think Miami was going to stay
horrible forever? We doubt Bellicheck is letting his Patriots
panic, and we certainly don't think Moss will be a non-factor
forever either. |
| 15 |
Packers |
0.1 |
2-1 |
23.9 (9) |
5.5 (18) |
They didn't look to good defending their
home turf on Sunday night. Not being able to run the ball in the
red zone will kill them in more games than just this last one. |
| 16 |
Jets |
0.06 |
1-2 |
14.2 (25) |
13.3 (6) |
It's not so
much the defense that is holding this team back, or even the
turnovers. The run attack should be the underlying strength of
this team, and right now it looks more like a walk attack than
anything else. |
| 17 |
Vikings |
-0.12 |
1-2 |
15.5 (21) |
13.7 (11) |
Win at
home: check. Win on the road: need Longwell to be kicking extra
points instead of field goals. |
| 18 |
Ravens |
-0.24 |
2-0 |
22.6 (14) |
2.5 (23) |
Getting to
play Houston and Cleveland was a nice warm up. The real schedule
begins on the road Monday night. First team to pass for 150
yards gets a cookie. |
| 19 |
Falcons |
-0.31 |
2-1 |
21.6 (15) |
2.3 (24) |
If the
Ravens schedule was a warm up, then Atlanta playing host to
Detroit and Kansas City was an extended pre-season. We'll see if
they learned anything while playing on the road at Tampa Bay
earlier in the season. |
| 20 |
Saints |
-0.37 |
1-2 |
14.4 (23) |
9.9 (14) |
Beating a
dead horse alert! You don't have the type of defense that can
handle your offense being one-dimensional. Bush catching passes
out of the backfield isn't a run game, sorry. Figure it out. |
| 21 |
Chargers |
-0.39 |
1-2 |
16.5 (18) |
4.2 (17) |
They're
baaccckkk. Or are they? The run attack is still having problems,
and most teams won't be giving them that many short field
opportunities. Passing defense still needs some work too. |
| 22 |
Bears |
-0.43 |
1-2 |
16.4 (19) |
5.4 (19) |
Not only
does the Indianapolis win feel like it was in '07, it certainly
doesn't look as cool either. |
| 23 |
Colts |
-0.47 |
1-2 |
12.9 (26) |
10.2 (13) |
Is it
really possible that this team is being out rushed by a 135
yards per game? That is a staggering statistic and if they don't
fix it soon the rest of their season will be an ugly crawl to
the finish. |
| 24 |
Jaguars |
-0.58 |
1-2 |
14.4 (24) |
5.4 (20) |
They are
showing some signs of life at least. Remember, their losses have
come to 3-0 Tennessee and 3-0 Buffalo. |
| 25 |
Raiders |
-0.7 |
1-2 |
16.2 (20) |
2.5 (25) |
They tried
to prove us wrong by winning a game without being able to pass
the football, and almost pulled it off. Almost doesn't get you
very far in the NFL. |
| 26 |
Seahawks |
-0.82 |
1-2 |
14.5 (22) |
1.8 (26) |
Why
shouldn't Seattle be excited over its first win? They are giving
up less than 90 rushing yards a game to their opponents, but are
still allowing them to score more than 25 points a game in the
process. Not hot. |
| 27 |
Rams |
-1.14 |
0-3 |
3.4 (27) |
1.4 (27) |
Worst run
attack in the league. Start with that. |
| 28 |
Browns |
-1.18 |
0-3 |
3.2 (28) |
1.3 (28) |
At least
you can say they have been tested. Only the Jaguars and their
upcoming opponents have played against tougher schedules. |
| 29 |
Bengals |
-1.22 |
0-3 |
2.9 (29) |
1.1 (29) |
Have to
give them some credit for playing well on the road. The problem
is they had their statistically best game and still lost. |
| 30 |
Texans |
-1.26 |
0-2 |
2.5 (30) |
1 (30) |
The
interceptions are giving opposing offenses way to good of field
position to work with, especailly with how the run defense is
struggling. |
| 31 |
Lions |
-1.3 |
0-3 |
2.3 (31) |
0.9 (31) |
The
competition is intense! Detroit only gave up 116 yards on the
ground on Sunday, allowing the KC 'matador defense' to catch up
on worst run defense in the league. |
| 32 |
Chiefs |
-1.34 |
0-3 |
1.9 (32) |
0.7 (32) |
With Denver
visiting this week there is a good chance the defense will still
be allowing over 190 yards per game rushing through the first 4
weeks of the season. We went back 12 years before we gave up
looking for teams that had done that. The only one we found was
last year's Dolphins. |