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NFL Power Rankings: Titans Stay on Top

Posted Oct 23, 2008 12:00PM By Michael David Smith (RSS feed)

Filed Under: Titans, NFL Power Rankings

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Can the Indianapolis Colts test the Tennessee Titans on Monday night? If they can't, the Titans have nearly locked up the AFC South. Of all the strange happenings in this NFL season, the Titans' dominance -- with Kerry Collins at quarterback, no less -- is the strangest of all.

So it's no surprise that the Titans remain atop our NFL power rankings. The surprises will have to come from the teams in the vast middle of this parity-filled league.

  • 1. Titans (6-0) | Prev.: 1
    Titans coach Jeff Fisher said he was not amused with running back Chris Johnson's bongo-playing touchdown celebration. We at FanHouse do not share Fisher's humorlessness.
  • 2. Giants (5-1) | Previous Week: 2
    The Giants' defense is so impressive, with six sacks on Sunday, that you'd never know this is a team that lost both of last year's starting defensive ends. There's no question that this year's Giants are a better regular-season team than last year's .
  • 3. Steelers (5-1) | Prev.: 3
    Sunday's Steelers-Giants game should be one of the best games of the season. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin refers to Giants receiver Plaxico Burress as "a problem." I'm sure Tom Coughlin agrees, but for different reasons.

  • 4. Buccaneers (5-2) | Prev.: 4
    The Bucs certainly are getting the Cowboys at the right time. Looking ahead at the schedule, with the Chiefs, Vikings and Lions up next, it's hard to see how Tampa Bay isn't in the mix for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs when December rolls around.
  • 5. Eagles (3-3) | Prev.: 5
    I know the Top 5 seems lofty for a team with a .500 record, but I still believe that when they're healthy the Eagles really are this good. It's just going to be tricky for them to climb out of that three-loss hole, with a very important game against the Falcons coming up Sunday.
  • 6. Bills (5-1) | Prev.: 7
    Coach Dick Jauron is gushing about his quarterback, Trent Edwards, and with good reason. Edwards looks as NFL-ready in his second season as Peyton Manning and Tom Brady did in theirs.
  • 7. Redskins (5-2) | Prev.: 8
    Clinton Portis might break down if he keeps playing with reckless abandon, but until he does, he deserves to be discussed among the NFL MVP candidates.
  • 8. Panthers (5-2) | Prev.: 9
    With Steve Smith finally back on track, the Panthers are looking like contenders. I don't think the NFC South is as good as the NFC East, but the division race might be every bit as interesting down the stretch.
  • 9. Bears (4-3) | Prev.: 12
    Kyle Orton has made one of the most amazing transformations of any player in the NFL this season, and his numbers would look even better if his receivers could hold onto the ball. Just curious: Why aren't dropped passes an official statistic in football, like errors are in baseball?
  • 10. Chargers (3-4) | Prev.: 13
    LaDainian Tomlinson says the Giants went to London last season and then went to the Super Bowl, so he thinks the Chargers, in London this week, will end up in the Super Bowl. Asked if he doesn't think that was just a coincidence, he said no. I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree with LT there and say it was just a coincidence, but it's good to think positive.
  • 11. Patriots (4-2) | Prev.: 19
    I really wish I knew which Patriots team was the real Patriots team. The one that blew out the Broncos on Monday looked like one of the best in the league. But the one that got blown out by the Chargers eight days earlier looked like one of the worst in the league. For this week, I'll put the Patriots a little closer to "best" than "worst." Now watch them get blown out by the Rams.
  • 12. Cowboys (4-3) | Prev.: 10
    Right now the Cowboys look like a team in free fall, and maybe even having them at No. 12 is too high. I do think they're eventually going to right this ship, though. I wouldn't want to have to play the Cowboys in December.
  • 13. Broncos (4-3) | Prev.: 11
    Even before injuries hit them hard, the Broncos looked like they were a team heading in the wrong direction. If they get anything less than MVP-caliber play by Jay Cutler the rest of the way, they're going to fade.
  • 14. Packers (4-3) | Prev.: 14
    The whole controversy about Brett Favre doing some insider trading might have some Packers fans furious now, but we all know that in a few years Favre is going to go back to be inducted into the Packers' Hall of Fame, and all this bitterness will be behind them. Pete Rose still gets cheered in Cincinnati, and Favre would have to do a lot more than just give Matt Millen a scouting report before he's entered Pete Rose territory.
  • 15. Colts (3-3) | Prev.: 6
    There's actually talk in Indianapolis that the Colts may have tuned Tony Dungy out. I don't think that's the case at all. I just think the personnel isn't very good right now, with age and injuries hitting this team hard. As soon as Bob Sanders is healthy and the offensive line is giving Peyton Manning some time, Dungy will be a genius again.
  • 16. Ravens (3-3) | Prev.: 15
    There's a scandal in Baltimore: Cornerback Chris McAlister wore shorts and a T-shirt in the lobby of the team hotel, while all the other players wore suits. I'm just glad Mr. Blackwell wasn't alive to see this.
  • 17. Cardinals (4-2) | Prev.: 18
    So, I assume Cardinals fans are going to be mad that their team is 4-2 and still not in the top half of the league. I'm not sold on their defense, but if they beat the Panthers on Sunday I'll re-assess.
  • 18. Falcons (4-2) | Prev.: 21
    Everyone praises rookie quarterback Matt Ryan, and he is playing well, but we shouldn't overlook the Falcons' other first-round rookie, left tackle Sam Baker, who has only allowed half a sack so far this season.
  • 19. Saints (3-4) | Prev.: 16
    It's interesting that when tight end Kellen Winslow criticized the Browns' handling of his health problem, he got suspended. But when tight end Jeremy Shockey criticized the Saints' handling of his health problem, no one made a big deal of it. I prefer the Saints' approach. If a guy wants to tell a reporter how he's feeling, let him.
  • 20. Jaguars (3-3) | Prev.: 17
    The Jaguars rank 29th in the league in sacks. They traded up in the draft to get pass-rush specialist Derrick Harvey, who has zero sacks. They're going to become a very easy team to beat if opposing quarterbacks feel like they can just sit in the pocket and pick apart their secondary.
  • 21. Jets (3-3) | Prev.: 20
    Are the Jets ever just going to unleash Brett Favre? He throws so many short passes that you have to wonder if coach Eric Mangini even remembers that they traded for the ol' gunslinger, or if he thinks Chad Pennington is still his quarterback.
  • 22. Browns (2-4) | Prev.: 22
    The suspension of Kellen Winslow might succeed at keeping him quiet, but still, Winslow's basic point was valid: It's disgraceful that player after player on the Browns comes down with staph infection, and the Browns aren't able to do anything about it.
  • 23. Vikings (3-4) | Prev.: 23
    Brad Childress isn't happy with punter Chris Kluwe. But he should be really unhappy with a secondary that allowed a mediocre group of Bears receivers to get open all day.
  • 24. Rams (2-4) | Prev.: 29
    The Rams were so bad at the time that Scott Linehan got fired that most people thought they'd be lucky to win two games all year. That they've already won two games in two weeks under Jim Haslett, which makes him an early contender for Coach of the Year.
  • 25. Raiders (2-4) | Prev.: 26
    Amazing as it is, the Raiders are only a game behind the Chargers and Broncos in the loss column, and the Raiders appear to be improving while the Chargers and Broncos appear to be reeling. I'm not going to say the Raiders are actually going to win the AFC West or anything, but it's not quite as crazy as it would have sounded a couple of weeks ago.
  • 26. Texans (2-4) | Prev.: 30
    The Texans are now on a two-game losing streak, which I guess should count for something, but I still think that following an 8-8 record last year, they have to be thought of as one of the most disappointing teams in the league.
  • 27. Seahawks (1-5) | Prev.: 27
    The Seahawks' loss to the Bucs was one of the least interesting games in NFL history, so it's no surprise that it was also the lowest-rated prime time network TV game in NFL history. Mike Holmgren must be thinking he decided to retire a year too late.
  • 28. Dolphins (2-4) | Prev.: 24
    Implementing the Wildcat formation really was a brilliant move on the part of the Dolphins' coaching staff, but I think over the course of the season opposing defenses will get better at stopping it as they have more film to scour. And after that offense, the Dolphins don't have much to offer.
  • 29. 49ers (2-5) | Prev.: 25
    In last week's power rankings I said firing Mike Nolan and replacing him with Mike Martz would make sense. Instead, they fired Mike Nolan and replaced him with Mike Singletary. I like Singletary and hope he becomes an NFL coach some day, but I think he's going to have a rough go of it in the remaining nine games of the season, and by the end of the year owner John York will say thanks but no thanks..
  • 30. Chiefs (1-5) | Prev.: 30
    Larry Johnson says he's disgusted at himself. It's a real shame the way this guy, who was once among the most promising players in the league, has deteriorated into a player the Chiefs will seriously consider cutting after the season.
  • 31. Bengals (0-7) | Prev.: 31
    The offensive line in Cincinnati is so awful that I continue to say they just need to shut Carson Palmer down for the season. Why risk your franchise quarterback, who's already hurt, behind a terrible offensive line in a season that's already lost anyway?
  • 32. Lions (0-6) | Prev.: 32
    Detroit is on pace to give up 499 points this season. Last season they gave up a league-high 444. Good thing head coach Rod Marinelli decided to give his son-in-law the job of defensive coordinator.

Tags: NFL+Power+Rankings, NFL+Power+Ratings, NflPowerRankings, NflPowerRatings

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