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NFL Power Rankings: Giants Stay on Top

Posted Nov 13, 2008 12:00PM By Michael David Smith (RSS feed)

Filed Under: Giants, NFL Power Rankings

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Titans fans don't like it, but I think a consensus is emerging that the defending champion Giants are the best team in football. They're good on offense, good on defense, good on special teams and they showed last postseason that they play well in big games.

After the Giants come the undefeated Titans, whose fans believe they're not getting as much respect as they deserve as the league's only undefeated team. But who's No. 3? That's where the real debate begins in FanHouse's NFL power rankings, which begin below.

  • 1. Giants (8-1) | Previous Week: 1
    Domenik Hixon doesn't get enough credit for the Giants' success. He's a very good punt returner, averaging 11.5 yards a return, and although the Giants don't give him much playing time at wide receiver, he's caught 13 passes and leads the team with 16.9 yards a catch.
  • 2. Titans (9-0) | Prev.: 2
    I keep hearing how the Titans don't have any good receivers, but I'd argue that Brandon Jones is a pretty good one. His eight-catch, 82-yard game against the Bears was typical of the kind of season he's having: He doesn't make a lot of highlight-reel catches, but if you need a first down on third-and-8, he'll get it for you.
  • 3. Redskins (6-3) | Prev.: 6
    No. 3 is where it gets interesting, and for now, I'll pick the Redskins. Sunday night's game against the Cowboys is a big one, and Fred Smoot would like the Cowboys to know that he doesn't think highly of them.
  • 4. Cardinals (6-3) | Prev.: 7
    The Cardinals' lead in the NFC West is now four games, the same as the Titans' lead in the AFC South. It's time for Cardinals fans to get ready for a home playoff game.
  • 5. Panthers (7-2) | Prev.: 5
    They won despite Jake Delhomme putting up the worst stats of any quarterback in the league on Saturday. Luckily for Delhomme, he won't be seeing Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha again any time soon.
  • 6. Eagles (5-4) | Prev.: 4
    Where would this team be if they hadn't drafted DeSean Jackson in the second round this year? He has 586 receiving yards; no other Eagle is within 300 of that. He's also a good punt returner and scored a rushing touchdown Sunday against the Giants. Based on the upcoming schedule, Philly isn't looking like a great bet to make the playoffs, but they wouldn't have a prayer without Jackson.
  • 7. Steelers (6-3) | Prev.: 3
    Despite Ben Roethlisberger playing at a Gus Frerotte level, the Steelers are a first-place team, looking like they've got a very good chance of a first-round playoff bye. If I'm a Steelers fans, I have to be pleased with that. Because Roethlisberger can't keep playing as badly as he has the last few weeks. Can he?

  • 8. Bears (5-4) | Prev.:8
    Kyle Orton wants to play on Sunday, and every Bears fan is praying that he will. It's amazing the extent to which the Chicago fans have come to love Orton and despise Rex Grossman.
  • 9. Colts (5-4) | Prev.: 14
    After they lost to the Titans a couple of weeks ago, the Colts looked like they were a long shot to make the playoffs. But with back-to-back wins over the Patriots and Steelers, now they're looking like they're back in the playoff race. The problem, of course, is that they've got no chance of catching the Titans in their division, which means that to get to the Super Bowl they'd probably have to win three road games in January. And that's not going to happen.
  • 10. Ravens (6-3) | Prev.: 9
    This year's offense, even with a rookie quarterback and Willis McGahee not having a particularly good season, is better than the offense the Patriots won the Super Bowl with in 2000. The Ravens have always been a defense-first team, and I don't think this defense is as good as that defense, but the Ravens' offense isn't quite the liability most people thought it would be with Joe Flacco running it.
  • 11. Patriots (6-3) | Prev.: 10
    I haven't been able to figure the Patriots out since Tom Brady got hurt about 45 minutes after the opening kickoff of the season, but I think the big Thursday night game against the Jets might finally be the day when we determine whether this team wins the AFC East. And if they do win the AFC East, without Brady, is there any doubt that Bill Belichick wins his second straight coach of the year award?
  • 12. Buccaneers (6-3) | Prev.: 12
    The Bucs getting Cadillac Williams back is treated like a big boost to the offense, but should it be? Williams is a guy, after all, who has missed 23 of the past 27 games, and was averaging about three-and-a-half yards per carry when he was on the field. I don't think Bucs fans should get their hopes up.
  • 13. Bills (5-4) | Prev.: 11
    The Bills are in a tailspin, but one guy who deserves credit is cornerback Terrence McGee. He had a big game going one-on-one with Randy Moss on Sunday.
  • 14. Cowboys (5-4) | Prev.: 15
    It all depends on your perspective. If you're a Cowboys fan who thought they were going to the Super Bowl, this team feels like a sinking ship. If you're wide receiver Roy Williams, who thinks his old team has a good chance at 0-16, you think Dallas is football paradise.
  • 15. Broncos (5-4) | Prev.: 16
    So desperate are the Broncos at running back that they've gone to Tatum Bell, a guy last seen selling phones and stealing bags. If the Broncos are going to make the playoffs, they're doing it on the arm of Jay Cutler.
  • 16. Jets (6-3) | Prev.: 20
    Call me crazy, but I actually think the 127-year-old Ty Law still has something left. He'll make a couple of plays in December that'll make the Jets glad they signed him.
  • 17. Falcons (6-3) | Prev.: 17
    Jerious Norwood really needs to start getting the ball more. In his three NFL seasons, this guy has averaged 6.4, 6.0 and 5.6 yards a carry. He should be getting at least 10 carries a game until defenses show they can consistently stop him.
  • 18. Packers (4-5) | Prev.: 13
    Linebacker Nick Barnett is a huge loss. Teams are going to run the ball at will on the Packers for the rest of the season.
  • 19. Saints (4-5) | Prev.: 18
    Drew Brees is having a great season, but he does deserve plenty of blame for throwing some ugly interceptions in Sunday's loss.
  • 20. Chargers (4-5) | Prev.: 19
    Given the way Tyler Thigpen played against them on Sunday, I'd have to say the Chargers' defense isn't any better after the firing of Ted Cottrell.
  • 21. Dolphins (5-4) | Prev.: 22
    I think my favorite quote of the year comes from Courtney Bryan, a Dolphins safety who was cut after training camp but has now been re-signed. Bryan said he took a job at Arby's while waiting to get another NFL job: "It's not like I was broke," Bryan told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "I was just bored. I couldn't go to the movies every day. I like to work. I have to do something with my time." I hear you, Coutrney.
  • 22. Vikings (5-4) | Prev.: 24
    Adrian Peterson is a great big cheater: He takes his helmet off when he shouldn't. Not that the officials noticed on Sunday.
  • 23. Browns (3-6) | Prev.: 21
    The big question in Cleveland is whether the Browns quit in their loss to the Broncos. Count coach Romeo Crennel as one who says they didn't. Of course, what's he supposed to say? If he were to say his players did, indeed, quit, that wouldn't exactly reflect well on his leadership.
  • 24. Jaguars (4-5) | Prev.: 25
    Last week everyone was talking about how Jack Del Rio had lost the locker room and the Jaguars were in disarray. It's amazing what a trip to Detroit can do to get a football team back on track.
  • 25. Texans (3-6) | Prev.: 26
    Texans players say they don't want Gary Kubiak fired. Defensive coordinator Richard Smith is another matter. That's what happens when you're the worst team in the league at stopping the run.
  • 26. Raiders (2-7) | Prev.: 27
    The responsibility of calling the Raiders' offensive plays has gone this season from head coach Lane Kiffin to offensive coordinator Greg Knapp to, now, new head coach Tom Cable. I'd like to propose that Al Davis call the plays. This team stinks on offense anyway, why not just have JaMarcus Russell chuck it as far as he can downfield 30 times a game?
  • 27. Seahawks (2-7) | Prev.: 28
    Matt Hasselbeck is back this week. Just in time to play out the string, with the Seahawks basically out of playoff contention.
  • 28. Rams (2-7) | Prev.: 23
    For the first couple of games after Scott Linehan got fired, I thought Jim Haslett was working a miracle with this team. Yeah, not so much. Against the Jets the Rams looked just as horrible as ever.
  • 29. Bengals (1-8) | Prev.: 29
    Fair or not, the Bengals have a reputation among football fans as a team full of (to borrow the words of Bill Parcells) thugs and hoodlums. And yet when a Bengals player is actually the victim of some on-field violence, he gets fined just as much as the perpetrator. And so the Bengals are the latest team to learn a hard truth: When it comes to taking money out of players' paychecks, Roger Goodell is accountable to no man.
  • 30. Chiefs (1-8) | Prev.: 30
    I'd like to go on the record as saying I support Herm Edwards' decision to go for two at the end of the loss to the Chargers. I'm sure that makes him feel better.
  • 31. 49ers (2-7) | Prev.: 31
    Offensive coordinator Mike Martz blames the officials for the way the 49ers melted down on their final drive Monday night against the Cardinals. I'm one of the few people left who still thinks Martz is a good offensive coach, but I think the real problem is that Martz himself was melting down. I think head coach Mike Singletary needs to tell Martz to start calling plays from the press box. He looks like he freaks out under pressure on the sidelines.
  • 32. Lions (0-9) | Prev.: 32
    Lions running back Kevin Smith complained after the loss to Jacksonville that the Jaguars' players were laughing at the Lions on the field. Former Lions GM Matt Millen was the butt of jokes at the Combine. The Lions provide comic relief for everyone in the NFL -- except fans in Detroit.

Tags: nfl+power+rankings, NflPowerRankings

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