NFL Power Rankings: Week 5
By Thomas EmerickSports Staff
October 6, 2007
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1. New England 4-0 (2) I’ve tried with all my might to keep them out of the top spot because the Colts are the champions, and they are undefeated. Though, after watching the Pats go to Cincy’s house and demolish it, coupled with the fact that Rodney Harrison and Laurence Maroney are returning, I would lie if I didn’t do this. |
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2. Indianaplis 4-0 (1) A troublesome week injury-wise helped make my decision to drop them a spot much easier. |
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3. Pittsburgh 3-1 (3) You’re probably saying, Alright Thomas, I’ve always defended you to my friends, but this is just too much. They lost to Arizona for crying out loud! ….Well, yes, they did lose on the road to a team that had the Steelers’ former offensive coordinator (Whisenhunt) and offensive line coach (Grimm). If Arizona didn’t possess more inside information on them than Homeland Security, Pittsburgh probably would’ve won. That doesn’t drop them below Tennessee, Green Bay, and Dallas, in my not-so-humble opinion. |
| 4. Tennessee 2-1 (6) A young team playing very cohesively on both sides of the ball… |
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5. Green Bay 4-0 (5) I love watching Chris Berman and Tom Jackson analyze football on Sunday nights, and I’m a huge fan of Brett Favre, but this past Sunday night’s The Blitz was just too much. I’d expected the Favre media slurpage to eventually reach the mountain top at some point during the broadcast, but Berman managed to far surpass my expectations when he closed the segment by exclaiming “Rooting for Favre is like rooting for America.” |
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6. Dallas 4-0 (6) Over the past two weeks, it’s come to my realization that most of my readership and friends (mostly the same people) seem to be Cowboys fans. Since I’d be an idiot not to cater to my audience, I’ve written up not just one, but two really fascinating analyses on America’s team! --- Move the Cowboys ahead of the Steelers? Over my dead body. --- Thomas’ to do list for this week:
Ok, ok. To be serious for a second, I’ll get a few things off my chest. The ‘Boys are performing at a high level with an electric offense and confident, consistent quarterback play. However, I’m not sold on their defense, and think that they’ll show major holes when tested by semi-functional offenses (Chicago, St. Louis, Miami, and Buffalo wouldn’t fall under this category). |
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7. Arizona 2-2 (10) The TEPR (Thomas Emerick Power Rankings) bumped them up to number ten the previous week, and Arizona repaid generously. Maybe moving them to seven is a bit much, but going down in a flaming Cardinals bandwagon is something I’m used to. |
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8. Seattle 3-1 (11) Julian Peterson and the gang have played far above expectations. |
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9. Washington 2-1 (12) After stewing on it over the bye week, we’ll see how the Redskins rebound from their Mets-esque collapse against the Giants. (Alright, maybe Mets-esque is a little strong, but that second half came out of nowhere.) |
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10. Tampa Bay 3-1 (18) That Cadillac injury definitely ranks just below Daunte Culpepper and Willis McGahee on the list of most horrific knee injuries I’ve seen in live action. On the bright side for the Bucs, unsung “Mike” linebacker Barrett Ruud has attained NFC Defensive Player of the Month honors. |
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11. Jacksonville 2-1 (19) How did they jump eight spots without even playing a snap? Well, Billy, Mr. Thomas just realized how incredibly flawed eight of the teams in front of them were. |
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12. Denver 2-2 (15) If Travis Henry can stay healthy (and drug-free), they figure to have a good one-two punch with him and Selvin Young. |
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13. New York Giants 2-2 (21) Twelve sacks!?!??!?!!? Twelve?! Really?!?!???? |
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14. Houston 2-2 (8) Losing Andre Johnson and Ahman Green will make life very rough For Matt Schuab. |
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15. Cleveland 2-2 (26) |
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16. Cincinnati 1-3 (9) Linebacker is a terrible position to have devastated by injury. Their safeties will get plenty of work. |
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17. Baltimore 2-2 (14) |
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18. Philadelphia 1-3 (13) Winston Justice got thrown around like a rag doll. There couldn’t be a more opportune time for a bye week. |
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19. Detroit 3-1 (23) The Kitna Express sure oiled up the gears for the fourth quarter last week. I don’t think they’ll stay on track long enough to roll into the playoffs, but I can see them snagging seven to eight wins. |
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20. Oakland 2-2 (25) Lane Kiffin emerges as the early frontrunner for Coach of the Year. |
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21. Kansas City Chiefs 2-2 (31) It appears I’ve underestimated them. (But not Dwayne Bowe, who I started, along with Santonio Holmes, in my 12-team fantasy league… I’m the smartest man alive!!) |
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22. New York Jets 1-3 (16) Didn’t see that loss to the Bills coming. They’ll probably play with something a little extra when they face off against the Giants in a fake road game. |
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23. San Diego 1-3 (7) It appears I overstated them. |
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24. New Orleans 0-3 (24) I can't imagine they'll look much worse coming off the bye week. |
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25. Carolina 2-2 (22) Did anyone see David Carr randomly leap into a seven-foot flip in the middle of the field?!?... Not too much else positive to say though, because they’re playing much worse than a .500 team. |
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26. Chicago 1-3 (20) Let’s see if Griese does his best Grossman impression again. I’m sure Bears fans would be absolutely thrilled. |
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27. San Francisco 2-2 (17) Nothing like having 300 pounds of Rocky Bernard separate your quarterback’s shoulder. With Gore underperforming, this offense is in trouble. |
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28. Buffalo 1-3 (30) It’s nice to see them finally tack on a win. |
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29. Minnesota 1-3 (28) Sidney Rice emerges as another rookie of impact. |
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30. Atlanta 1-3 (32) |
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31. Miami 0-4 (27) I could’ve used this kind of production from Ronnie Brown when I drafted him last year. |
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32. St. Louis 0-4 (29) For Gus Frerotte, that wall is starting to look pretty good again. |
Alright, now that I’ve weirded out my few readers, I’m hoping they’ll take my prognosticating advice! I didn’t do so swell last week, as pointed out so eloquently by Mr. Ben Malonnee, but I will charge forth into the great unknown!!!....Errr, not death… or space, but picking against the spread!!
Three Locks Against Spread (1-2 last week)
WASHINGTON covering 3.5 against Detroit (uppercase indicating home team)
GREEN BAY covering 3.5 against Chicago
DALLAS covering 10 against Buffalo
Upset Special/Bonzanza/Concoction/Any good ideas for catch phrase?!?
(2-1 so far)
KANSAS CITY over Jacksonville
You Must Be Insane (1-2)
Miami over HOUSTON
Comments (7)
So Thomas, lets get this straight. Green Bay last week barely beats your #28 team Minnesota, and the Cows demolish your #29th team, yet Green Bay with its 0 running game gets the nod. Tennessee this week by the way barely gets by your #30. Indy, Pitt, and NE all looked solid this week. You might not trust this Cow defense but that is only because you don't understand it. This D was in the top 3 last year until Ellis went down, and Sean P. exposed them. Parcells would never change anything. Stayed with the base D the rest of the way. When the 2-13 Lions beat you and Kitna says they knew exactly what the D was going to do every time, that is coaching. Wade will not sit pat. The fact you like some teams and dislike some clouds your judgment which shows you are not ready to be a professional journalist yet. After we beat Buffalo tomorrow night then we will see how the Cows do with the Pats. Don't think Dallas is there yet but how they play will be very interesting. Of course if they lose to the Pats by 1, that will give you the excuse to drop the Cows to #20.
Posted by Clay Eiland | October 7, 2007 8:20 PMClay-Dallas, TX
By the way Thomas I do respect the way you pick. The beef I have is I think you let favorites get in your way of thinking. I started the Cows past #10 at the beginning of the season and they could have been as low as #15. There was a pile between #10-15 that really didn't matter where you put each team. If the Pats lost their first two games this year I wouldn't drop them past #6 or so. The Titans have lost a game and are not showing any dominance. I am rooting for them because I love Vince Young and the org. in general. But they are not an Elite team or even close to it. The Cows would have blown Atlanta our of the water. So would Indy and the Pats. GB is winning close but without a running game it will catch them. I can maybe, and I mean maybe, give you the Steelers ahead of the Cows, but not GB or TN. Even you have to admit they are not as convining as the Cows. The Cows are beating the crud out of bad teams like any good team should. GB and TN are not doing the same. And by the way, I don't think many people will hassle you about the Steelers being #3 after what they did to Seattle. Seattle is a good team. Deep down you know the Cows are at lest #4 but you just hate them to much. So Thomas, if the Cows beat Buffalo and NE, would you put them at #3 or #2? Still think Indy gets #1 by default unless they lose.
Clay
email me a response I would be interested in your thoughts.
Posted by Clay Eiland | October 7, 2007 8:35 PMReply to Clay
I just wanted say first off, that I look forward to your response every week and that, you're right, I do hate the Cowboys.
I realize that I did perhaps have too much faith in Tennessee, but was still dead on correct about Pittsburgh, among many other teams.
I wouldn't say that my dislike for teams significantly clouds my judgement, because I despise the Eagles more than anything in team sports, yet I've been overrating them all year. I've just truly felt that the Cowboys are hyped up too much.
I could go ahead and make a completely conservative power ranking based on what I think the most people would agree with me on, or I could create something completely original, stemming purely from what I believe lies within and between the numbers (and, of course, what makes a good read.
Yeah, you could mount a statistical argument against many aspects of my power rankings, but there are always other numbers to bring up and make a counter argument. Even when the statistical part isn't overwhelming, numbers aren't the absolute indicator of everything in football, and I base a lot of my decisionmaking on what I see between the numbers-much of it based on, frankly, watching the teams play.
I could devise a formula and just rank a bunch of teams purely on who's numbers look best, or I could have faith in my ability to synthesize everything I've seen of this football season and those of the past, and make a decision I know I'd defend with the least reservations. I'll have my mistakes, but can you think of the last time you turned on ESPN and someone didn't say something about the NFL that ended up dead wrong?
It's the go figure league, and once the analysts think they figured it out, they're often wrong (applies to myself as well). What is it, three years running where everyone's considered Dallas the Superbowl favorite in October? What seems obvious is not alway true, which is why I try to dig deep for the gem nobody's seeing yet.
It doesn't mean I don't know things about the Cowboys because I rated the sixth (because I did know those ones), or that I'm not ready to be a professional journalist (because I already am, check out (TCC Sports) Gameday Magazine under the Managing Editor and Writer section), it just means I'm trying to write an entertaining article that does takes leaps of faith in what I believe a team is capable of.
If Dallas beats New England, and I'm force-fed so many of the words I've spoken this season, the 'Boys are definately in my top two. I think they'll get destroyed, but I'll acknowledge when I'm blatantly wrong. If I'm not dead wrong on Dallas, I'll still be off on much else.
Though, as long as I continue to get comments on my articles, I'm happy. I'll pitch you an email as soon as I get it from the editor.
I appreciate the response, though I suppose I might've come off a bit defensive,
Posted by writer Thomas | October 8, 2007 12:19 AMWriter Thomas
I always enjoy a good spar, so if anyone wants to tell me how I got it wrong, please do.
Posted by Writer Thomas | October 8, 2007 12:22 AMCowboy fan here. I will say that I don't believe that Dallas is in New England's class yet. I just hope they don't get crushed next week. I do hold out hope that I'm just still suffering from a Parcells hangover. "1st and 10 hand off Julius Jones for 2yards, 2nd and 8 hand off Julius Jones...no gain, 3rd and 8 out of the shotgun, draw to Julius Jones for 3 yard gain, 4th and 5, PUNT." You know the routine. That all being said. Thomas, you are hi if you still think the titans and packers are better than the Cowboys. Thanks for the read. I enjoy all opinions, especially ones that don't follow the crowd. Can't wait to see you move the Redskins to #4 and bump the boys to #7. YOU KNOW YOU REALLY WANT TO!
Posted by Will | October 8, 2007 11:28 AMAnd just to clarify, I wasn't saying that you were throwing numbers at me or anything, it was actually much the opposite, but for much of my long response, I just kinda went on a tangent addressing general questions I've heard about previous PR's from others as well.
Posted by writer thomas | October 8, 2007 11:35 AMhahahah, will, that was pretty right on; they aren't the same old cowboys.
I've been kinda high on the skins since week 2, but even I can't put them ahead of the cowboys, unless that is, they drop this one to the bills tonight (extremely doubtful, but hey, this is the week of the stanford)
Posted by writer Thomas | October 8, 2007 8:42 PM