1. Green Bay Packers- Survived a scare by the man, the myth, the legend Cam Newton. Aaron Rodgers started off slow, but that offense appears to be unstoppable. The defense is shaky, and will suffer due to the season ending neck injury of Nick Collins (safety). Will remain in the top spot until they lose.
2. New England Patriots- Another week, another 400+ yards passing for golden boy Tom Brady. Brady utilized the greatest two headed tight end monster in recent years, throwing three touchdowns between Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski. Like the Packers, the Patriots defense is getting shaky. If teams can throw on the Patriots, then they have a chance to beat them in a shootout.
3. New York Jets- The Jets may have been able to move up five spots in this weeks rankings, but there is without a doubt a huge drop off between #2 and #3. New York’s defense completely demolished the passing game of the Jacksonville Jaguars, forcing four interceptions from Luke McCown. However, if the Jets want to make the leap to the next level and join the Patriots and Packers in the upper echelon, then the offense needs to improve in all phases. Mark Sanchez threw two poor interceptions in the first half, but looked good overall other than that. The real problem lies with the offensive line. Wayne Hunter (RT) looks like he is going to get Sanchez killed this season. If the offensive line gels and give Sanchez time in the pocket while opening up the running game for Shonn Greene, the unit will improve as a whole. However, losing All-Pro center Nick Mangold for the foreseeable future to a high ankle sprain is going to hurt, alot.
4. Philadelphia Eagles- Sunday nights game against the Atlanta Falcons was the Eagles game to lose, and thats exactly what they did. There should not have been much hope once Tyler Palko entered the contest at quarterback, but it isn’t a stretch to say that the Eagles win that game if Mike Vick stayed healthy. However, now Philadelphia must deal with a concussed Vick as they enter an important early season divisional game against the New York Giants.
5. New Orleans Saints- New Orleans bounced back after a tough loss to the Packers in week one by defeating the Chicago Bears 30-13 at home. Prior to an 80-yard touchdown pass to Devery Henderson, Drew Brees and the Saints offense looked anemic. The defense was shaky too, but due to a solid performance and losses by other teams, the Saints stand pat at the number five spot this week.
6. Baltimore Ravens- It can be said about every team in the NFL these days, but teams play just as well as their quarterback. Week one the Ravens demolished the Steelers and Joe Flacco looked like Joe Montana. This past week, Flacco and the Ravens lost an awful game to the resurgent Tennessee Titans. Flacco went 15-32 with one touchdown and two interceptions in the loss, only racking up 197 yards passing. The Ravens need to find out if they are the team that beat the Steelers in all phases week one, or the squad that played like a Division-II college team against the Titans.
7. Pittsburgh Steelers- The Steelers actually stand pat at the number seven spot this week, despite shutting down the Seattle Seahawks 24-0 at home. This is due to the fact that I still think the Ravens are better than the Steelers, and because the Seahawks are the worst team in football. However, the Steelers played exactly how good teams should play against bad ones.
8. Chicago Bears- Chicago drops two spots this week after losing to the Saints for the first time in the last three meetings between the two teams. I hope Jay Cutler has good health insurance, because that Bears offensive line looks to be among the worst in the league this year. Matt Forte continued his strong play this week, but it will take better performances on offense and defense for the Bears to leapfrog the Packers in the NFC North.
9. Atlanta Falcons- I don’t give much credit to the Flacons for beating the Eagles Sunday night at home. Matt Ryan’s numbers are deceiving, if it weren’t for Tony Gonzalez continuing to defy logic and Mike Vick getting hurt, the Falcons would have lost that game. Better play from Ryan at the quarterback position could allow the Falcons to outlast the Saints in the NFC South, but the jury is still out as to if this Atlanta team is as good as the one that went 14-2 last year.
10. Detroit Lions- No, that is not a typo. The Lions of Detroit are for real, and this is 2011 not 1995. Matt Stafford and Calvin Johnson are showing exactly why the Lions used top 5 picks to select both of them in past drafts. If Stafford can remain healthy (talk about beating a dead horse by saying that), then the Lions could be in contention for a playoff spot. The Lions have a slight test this week against the Vikings, but its safe to say that football in Detroit might be back for the long term.
Honorable Mentions: San Diego Chargers (lost to New England 35-21), Houston Texans(defeated the Dolphins 23-13), Buffalo Bills (defeated the Raiders 38-35)
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