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NFL Power Rankings: Titans or Giants?

Posted Nov 06, 2008 12:00PM By Michael David Smith (RSS feed)

Filed Under: Giants, Titans, NFL Power Rankings

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The Tennessee Titans just keep winning, and when there's only one undefeated team in the NFL, the easy thing to do is to keep that team atop the NFL power rankings.

Of course, if you just rank the teams in order of their records, doesn't that kind of defeat the point of power rankings? After all, if that's all you want, you can just look at the NFL standings.

That's what I wrestled with in this week's power rankings: Do I keep the Titans on top because they're the last undefeated team? Or do I think the defending champion Giants have been more impressive, all things considered?

Find out below.

  • 1. Giants (7-1) | Previous Week: 2
    I was in awe of the way the Giants absolutely stomped the Cowboys on Sunday, physically manhandling Dallas on both sides of the ball. It's true that the Cowboys are at less than 100%, but they were still good enough to beat the Buccaneers a week earlier. Against the Giants, the Cowboys looked like they had walked into a buzz saw.
  • 2. Titans (8-0) | Prev.: 1
    Yes, I had the Titans ranked first last week, and they won again. But in watching that game, I came away somewhat unimpressed with the way Tennessee allowed Green Bay to stay in it until the end. Right now, I think the Titans would lose to the Giants on a neutral field.
  • 3. Steelers (6-2) | Prev.: 3
    There's certainly no quarterback controversy in Pittsburgh, but it is nice for Steelers fans to know that if Ben Roethlisberger has to miss time, Byron Leftwich can fill in capably. Especially considering that this team's one weakness is its offensive line.

  • 4. Eagles (5-3) | Prev.: 4
    With the Giants coming to town on Sunday, Philadelphia can make a huge statement about the NFC East race. But if the Giants win, they've got a commanding lead in the league's best division.
  • 5. Panthers (6-2) | Prev.: 5
    Steve Smith is the best wide receiver in the NFL. Despite a two-game suspension to start the season, Smith is 10th in the league in catches and yards. In the Panthers' last three games, Smith has a ridiculous 17 catches for 351 yards.
  • 6. Redskins (6-3) | Prev.: 6
    The Redskins turned in a clunker against the Steelers Monday night. Of course, having to play a road game in your own stadium doesn't make things any easier.
  • 7. Cardinals (5-3) | Prev.: 16
    Will Kurt Warner win his third league MVP award this year? I hope so. And I'm proud that I was saying Warner is better than Matt Leinart long before most of the experts caught on.
  • 8. Bears (5-3) | Prev.:8
    Wins don't get much less impressive than what the Bears did Sunday, needing to go down to the wire to beat the Lions at home. On the other hand, they managed to come from behind and win a game in which they lost their starting quarterback before halftime. So we'll leave them right where they were last week.
  • 9. Ravens (5-3) | Prev.: 15
    Joe Flacco has gone three straight games without throwing an interception, and he was just named AFC offensive player of the week. I talked to a lot of people about Flacco at this year's combine, and I didn't meet anyone who thought he'd be this good, this soon.
  • 10. Patriots (5-3) | Prev.: 9
    Wow, big surprise, the team that lost the Colts-Patriots game is complaining about the officiating. Hasn't this happened every time they've played in the last five years?
  • 11. Bills (5-3) | Prev.: 7
    According to an article on the Bills' web site, they've got an easy schedule coming up. I have a feeling that article will be printed and posted on the bulletin boards in some of the Bills' upcoming opponents' locker rooms.
  • 12. Buccaneers (6-3) | Prev.: 11
    That win over Kansas City on Sunday wasn't very impressive, and my biggest problem with the Bucs is that they're just not consistent enough. When they're playing their best, as they were when they blew out the Panthers in Week 6, they look like Super Bowl contenders. They're just not playing their best every week.
  • 13. Packers (4-4) | Prev.: 13
    I certainly won't drop them after an overtime loss on the road against an undefeated team. But I'm still worried about the Packers' run defense.
  • 14. Colts (4-4) | Prev.: 14
    And speaking of teams with bad run defenses, the Colts got a very big win on Sunday night against the Patriots, but I don't think their run defense is going to be good enough to follow it up with another very big win this Sunday against the Steelers. Still, the Colts have such an easy schedule down the stretch that I like their chances of getting to 10 wins, which might be enough to become the wild card team no one wants to face.
  • 15. Cowboys (5-4) | Prev.: 10
    Obviously, at this point you'd have to say the Cowboys aren't likely to make it to the playoffs because someone is going to be left out from the NFC East. But I also wonder if we're all overreacting to the Cowboys' struggles. Yes, they've lost three of their last four. But with Tony Romo getting healthy after the bye, they're going to be a tough team to beat.
  • 16. Broncos (4-4) | Prev.: 12
    In the weak AFC West, Denver still has to be considered the favorite, with eight wins perhaps being enough to win the division.
  • 17. Falcons (5-3) | Prev.: 17
    Could quarterback Matt Ryan be named not just the rookie of the year but maybe even the league MVP? I'm skeptical, but Sports Illustrated writer Peter King, who has an MVP vote, says he'd consider it.
  • 18. Saints (4-4) | Prev.: 18
    Drew Brees could be a league MVP candidate, too -- except that quarterbacks are usually judged on the way their teams play, and the Saints' defense is going to keep them out of the playoffs.
  • 19. Chargers (3-5) | Prev.: 19
    Said Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson, "OK, it was a bad first half of the season. Now let's focus on the second half and see how good we can be." I think they can be as good as 8-8, which means the Week 17 game against the Broncos could be for the AFC West title. Let's hope Ed Hochuli isn't the ref for that one.
  • 20. Jets (5-3) | Prev.: 20
    Brett Favre says he's fine with the Jets' offense, which on Sunday consisted of Favre being a game manager. But are the Jets fine with trading for a future Hall of Famer and paying him $12 million to be a game manager?
  • 21. Browns (3-5) | Prev.: 21
    The folks at NFL Network are the big winners with Brady Quinn now the Browns' starting quarterback. Notre Dame fans across the country will bolster the ratings for tonight's game against the Broncos.
  • 22. Dolphins (4-4) | Prev.: 22
    Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter had a busy week, getting a penalty called on his alma mater on Saturday and then getting into a war of words with Brandon Marshall. Porter has 11.5 sacks in eight games, and as long as he keeps playing this well, he can talk all he wants.
  • 23. Rams (2-6) | Prev.: 23
    Rams coach Jim Haslett sounds like he's getting a little frustrated with Steven Jackson's injury, saying he's not going to let Jackson play unless he's healthy enough to practice.
  • 24. Vikings (4-4) | Prev.: 25
    The Vikings' phenomenal defense is going to keep them in every game, but their offense isn't getting the job done and the special teams is dreadful. If they don't beat the Packers on Sunday it's hard to see this as a playoff team.
  • 25. Jaguars (3-5) | Prev.: 24
    Fresh off giving the Bengals their first win of the season, the Jaguars will now play the winless Lions. If it happens again, it'll be just about time for the Jaguars to pack it in for 2008.
  • 26. Texans (3-5) | Prev.: 26
    The Texans are absolutely right to be upset about the hits quarterback Matt Schaub took from Vikings defensive end Jared Allen.
  • 27. Raiders (2-6) | Prev.: 27
    The Raiders aren't the worst team in the league, but now that the Lions have finally fired Matt Millen, you can make a strong case that they've got the most incompetent front office. Cutting DeAngelo Hall eight games after giving him $8 million
  • 28. Seahawks (2-6) | Prev.: 28
    Matt Hasselbeck is supposed to miss one more game, Sunday at Miami, and then return the following week against the Cardinals. That should help things, except that the Seahawks are probably going to be 2-7 and out of the playoff race by then.
  • 29. Bengals (1-8) | Prev.: 31
    Well, they're not winless anymore. That's the good news. The bad news is that the fans have so little interest that people won't even fork over 99 cents for tickets.
  • 30. Chiefs (1-7) | Prev.: 30
    The touchdown pass from wide receiver Mark Bradley to quarterback Tyler Thigpen was the most creative piece of play calling I've ever seen from a Herm Edwards-coached team. And it was about the only time all season I've thought the Chiefs looked like a well-coached team.
  • 31. 49ers (2-6) | Prev.: 29
    Mike Singletary really needs to do some more pants dropping.
  • 32. Lions (0-8) | Prev.: 32
    Daunte Culpepper, do you realize what you've gotten yourself into?

Tags: NFL+Power+Rankings, NflPowerRankings

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