ClanRam Power Rankings

The first week of the NFL season has come and gone, leaving all teams either undefeated or winless and setting up a perfect time for naysayers and pollyannas to come out of the woodwork and harp on their team. So, break out your doom-and-gloom crystal ball or rose-colored glasses, cuz it's time to get off the fence.

Every week I'll be updating my own ClanRam NFL Power Rankings, and I encourage you to do so as well. Here are my Rankings after Week One:

1. Patriots (1-0)- Tom Brady is no longer overrated in my mind, after seeing how he played against the Colts, and Corey Dillon can still run. Their only weakness is the rushing defense. You can tell they already miss Ted Washington.
2. Eagles (1-0)- Everyone's talking about McNabb to T.O. in the red zone, but Brian Westbrook impressed me with a 17-carry, 119-yard game.
3. Vikings (1-0)- Defense is a concern (Vinny Testaverde? Come on.), but Daunte Culpepper proved he's finally coming around as a consistent NFL quarterback after throwing for five touchdowns and - the biggest stat to me - zero interceptions.
4. Titans (1-0)- Chris Brown will make fans in Tennesee forget about Eddie-three-yards-George.
5. Seahawks (1-0)- They won on the road and stopped the run - two things they couldn't do last season. The loss of Shaun Alexander for a couple weeks might hinder their success early in the season.
6. Packers (1-0)- They showed why they're a contender every year, as Ahman Green ate the Panthers alive on Monday Night.
7. Broncos (1-0)- Looks like another 1000-yard rusher is in the works for Mike Shanahan, who takes his division rivalry games very seriously.
8. Colts (0-1)- Peyton Manning and Edgerrin James, two guys Tony Dungy will have to rely on heavily this season, made two huge mistakes to lose the game.
9. Jets (1-0)- The return of Chad Pennington was overshadowed by the performance of Curtis Martin; LaMont Jordan might just have to wait another year.
10. Chiefs (0-1)- Priest Holmes will have to carry this team, as the receiving corps is depleted (Dante Hall started at WR?) and the defense showed no improvement under Gunther Cunningham.
11. Rams (1-0)- Turnovers and a weak rushing defense don't help, but they always seem to find a way to win.
12. Redskins (1-0)- The defense impressed me more than Clinton Portis, who took his first handoff 64 yards to the house.
13. Steelers (1-0)- Everyone seems to look past this team, but if they can find a way to get Jerome Bettis three touchdowns with one yard rushing, they deserve a look.
14. Panthers (0-1)- Are they a one-year wonder? The supposed best D-Line in the NFL didn't show me much against Ahman Green.
15. Browns (1-0)- They surprised everyone by stomping the Ravens and could surprise a lot more teams this season.
16. Falcons (1-0)- Michael Vick had an average game, but managed to squeak out a win against the worst team in the NFL.
17. Ravens (0-1)- A big disappointment in Week One. After rushing for 500 yards and four touchdowns against the Browns last year, Jamal Lewis managed only 57 yards against Cleveland.
18. Jaguars (1-0)- Everyone's sleeper pick this year, but their offense continued to struggle despite pulling out a win against the Bills.
19. Cowboys (0-1)- The Dallas D didn't put up much of a fight against the Vikings, and a 40-year-old leads the offense.
20. Bengals (0-1)- Carson Palmer showed he's for real, but Marvin Lewis must get that defense in shape.
21. Lions (1-0)- Their young offense will struggle this season, and the loss of Charles Rogers (again) hurts, but the playmaking defense will upset some teams.
22. Saints (0-1)- Why can't they win? Their speedy offense was shut down by the Seahawks and their defense was even worse.
23. Buccaneers (0-1)- They looked pretty weak against the Redskins but could put up a fight in the inconsistent NFC South.
24. Raiders (0-1)- Rich Gannon is still alive, but their aging offense will put this team six feet under.
25. Cardinals (0-1)- Even with Marcel Shipp and Anquan Boldin out, they gave the Rams a game.
26. Bills (0-1)- When they're in sync, they can beat anyone, but new coach Mike Mularkey will have problems doing that.
27. Texans (0-1)- All that preseason hype and they open up the season by losing to the Chargers. After two fumbles, maybe Domanick Davis will finally shut his mouth.
28. Chargers (1-0)- If Drew Brees can keep playing like he did Sunday, nobody will stop them. Just kidding.
29. Bears (0-1)- David Terrell really stepped up after the team traded away Marty Booker, and my boy Thomas Jones looks promising, but they'll be battling to stay out of the cellar.
30. Dolphins (0-1)- The whole team is in disarray, and they've already found out how much their quarterbacks suck.
31. Giants (0-1)- Neither Kurt Warner or Eli Manning will survive behind a horrible line that gave up five sacks. At least Tiki Barber didn't fumble.
32. Whiners (0-1)- Um... Uh... Hey, did anyone see Ken Dorsey play? Nevermind.

Nice job.


I'd have to say that you have the Jets too highly rated, though. I think they are going to be in the playoff hunt, but will probably be outside looking in at the end.

Pretty good list. Some thoughts...

-The Eagles might be rated #2 right now, but in a division with Clinton Portis and the Tiki Barber/Ron Dayne combo, their run defense has to improve if they expect to remain there. Plus, better defenses won't allow three touchdowns in Owens' hands.

-The Titans were impressed running the ball, but it's hard to gauge just how impressed to be against arguably the weakest team in the league. The Dolphins looked pitiful offensively, so it's hard to gauge the Tennessee defense at this point.

-I think the Seahawks are hoping Alexander plays this weekend, but it's hard to tell how effective he'll be. I wouldn't be surprised if he saw some action, but at most, he'll be out a week, IMO. I hope Tampa Bay manages a better performance this weekend than they did against the Redskins.

-I think the Chiefs are a bit too high after their loss. Priest Holmes looks like he's in midseason form (cliché alert!) but they didn't impress me after that. Green had some problems, Gonzalez was shut down, and the defense looked horrid.

-I think more concerning for the Panthers is their O-line. Davis got, what, 26 yards on nine carries? They didn't look like they were opening up anything for him, and it didn't look like their offense as a whole responded well against the blitz. I think Delhomme's an up-and-coming talent but he's not going to have a great year without Smith in there.

-I don't think it's an easy task going up against the Bills' defense. The Jags performed fairly well, IMO. Their defense came up pretty big I thought. One of the more underrated run defenses in the league, IMO.

Just some minor thoughts. I enjoyed the list thoroughly though. Much better than reading ESPN's stuff.

This is better than most the Power Rankings I've seen out. I think us over the Ravens is a big stretch though. I mean, I love my Falcons but.....well I think most the league would rather face the Ravens than the Falcons, just my opinion.

Looks good, Jake.
My only opinions:
1. The Eagles will finish the year no better than 7th. TO is not going to be the saviour of Philly that they're expecting, and there are too many questions on that once elite D.

2. The Cardinals will finish around the middle of the pack. This is not the same-old-Cards.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by daredevil25

This is better than most the Power Rankings I've seen out. I think us over the Ravens is a big stretch though. I mean, I love my Falcons but.....well I think most the league would rather face the Ravens than the Falcons, just my opinion.

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Yeah, I thought about that as well, but when I really thought about it, I'd take Ray Lewis and the Ravens defense against Michael Vick's hamstring and the first-year West Coast offense any day. It'd be a good game, that's for sure.

Another thing...

Monday Night's game will be something for everyone to watch. Vikings vs. Eagles - pretty much the battle for NFC favorite.

I think you're rated Culpepper too highly. He has had a lot of great single games, but he's been inconsistent over the long haul. I don't think he'll ever deliver what it takes. Wasn't it last year, or previous, that Minn was doing great, then they just fell apart?

But, the Pack and the Eagles sure looked very strong. Didn't some Eagles DL cheap shot the Giant's punter?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by coy bacon

But, the Pack and the Eagles sure looked very strong. Didn't some Eagles DL cheap shot the Giant's punter?

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It was a legit hit technically, but reminded me of Sapp's hit on Clifton from two years ago. Clearly not necessary. And I think it was Trotter, so really, he was probably just making the best of an opportunity to take out the only guy he can anymore. :redface:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Evil Disco Man

Another thing...

Monday Night's game will be something for everyone to watch. Vikings vs. Eagles - pretty much the battle for NFC favorite.

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This definitely should be a fun game to watch. The thing to watch for will be how both defenses fair against these offenses. That will really tell us who should be the NFC favorite.