Boy are the bad teams bad....NFL Power Rankings Week 7

The biggest thing I got from Week 7 was that the bad teams are SOOO bad. Teams #26-32 (Lions and Titans on a bye) went a combined 0-6, and were out scored 210-40. 210-40!!! That's more than 4 touchdowns a game. Forget win-loss records, I really wonder how bad these teams are against the spread. Because not only are they losing, they are losing BIG and I really don't see any improvement coming. Can you seriously look at any of these teams and see more than maybe 4 wins?

There are enough incredibly bad teams to have a playoff. Losing teams advance and we can call the last game the Toilet Bowl. In a committee of two, I came up with 2 possible venues: a U.S. Naval aircraft carrier in the Middle East; or Barrow, AK, the northernmost point in the United States.

On the more positive end, I keep New Orleans in the top spot, because (a) they put up 43 point in the last 30:05 of the game, after being down 24-3, and (b) Indy did win big, but it's against the Rams, and the Rams are just the Rams. Biggest jump goes to Pittsburgh from #8 to #4 after putting the first loss on Minnesota, who dropped from #4 to #5.

Rank	Week 7	Last Week
1	Saints (6-0)	1
2	Colts (6-0)	2
3	Broncos (6-0)	3
4	Steelers (5-2)	8
5	Vikings (6-1)	4
6	Patriots (5-2)	7
7	Falcons (4-2)	6
8	Bengals (5-2)	11
9	Giants (5-2)	5
10	Eagles (4-2)	12
11	Cardinals (4-2)	13
12	Ravens (3-3)	10
13	Jets (4-3)	16
14	49ers (3-3)	9
15	Cowboys (4-2)	15
16	Packers (4-2)	19
17	Chargers (3-3)	20
18	Texans (4-3)	17
19	Bears (3-3)	14
20	Dolphins (2-4)	17
21	Bills (3-4)	24
22	Seahawks (2-4)	22
23	Jaguars (3-3)	23
24	Panthers (2-4)	21
25	Redskins (2-5)	26
26	Raiders (2-5)	25
27	Chiefs (1-6)	27
28	Lions (1-6)	29
29	Browns (1-6)	28
30	Titans (0-6)	30
31	Buccaneers (0-7)	31
32	Rams (0-7)	32

Top and Bottom unchanged: NFL Power Rankings Week 6

So I'll admit I had the Bears too high at #8 last week. They're my biggest dropper, but still deserve to be in the top half of the league. The Saints did more than I thought they were against the G-men, and hit home my point of being the top team. Broncos gain even more legitimacy and climb to #3 behind Indy on the bye.

What did we learn? Week 6 further proved the point that there are a handful of REALLY good teams (Saints, Colts, Broncos, Vikings, and Giants if you generous), and a bunch of REALLY bad teams (Rams, Bucs, Titans, Browns, Chiefs, Redskins, and Raiders). Leave it to the 11 teams that are either 3-2, 3-3, or 2-3 to muddle up the middle of the rankings.

Rank	Week 6	Last Week
1	Saints (5-0)	1
2	Colts (5-0)	2
3	Broncos (6-0)	5
4	Vikings (6-0)	4
5	Eagles (4-1)	6
6	Giants (5-1)	3
7	Falcons (4-1)	7
8	Patriots (4-2)	12
9	Steelers (4-2)	11
10	49ers (3-2)	13
11	Ravens (3-2)	14
12	Bengals (4-2)	10
13	Cardinals (3-2)	17
14	Bears (3-2)	8
15	Dallas (3-2)	16
16	Jets (3-3)	9
17	Dolphins (2-3)	18
18	Texans (3-3)	20
19	Packers (3-2)	19
20	Chargers (2-3)	15
21	Panthers (2-3)	24
22	Seahawks (2-4)	21
23	Jaguars (2-4)	23
24	Bills (2-4)	26
25	Raiders (2-4)	29
26	Redskins (2-4)	22
27	Chiefs (1-5)	30
28	Browns (1-4)	28
29	Lions (1-5)	27
30	Titans (0-6)	25
31	Buccaneers (0-6)	31
32	Rams (0-6)	32

So winning hinges ENTIRELY on Cutler

The Falcons made stopping Forte look way too easy. So the Bears had to go to almost exclusively to the pass, and Cutler, although throwing for 300 yards, couldn't come up with the big play. Twice in the red zone he threw and interception, both after the Bears had driven down the length of the field. Not only do you NOT score, but it's really deflating for the team. After one of the turnovers, Matt Ryan drove right back down the field for the go-ahead score.

More proof that Cutler needs to play well for a Bears win:

In wins: 624 yds, 71 completion pct, 7 TD, 1 INT, 109.8 passer rating

In losses: 577 yds, 56 completion pct, 3 TD, 6 INT, 59.9 passer rating

What we need in a statement win in Cincy next week. Something to say hey, we deserve to be in the top tier of the NFL. The Bengals actually have a losing record at home this season at 1-2, coming off a 28-17 loss to the Texans. If Matt Schaub can put up nearly 400 passing yards and 4 TD's, you would think the Cutler-Knox-Hester combination would be able to put up a handful of scores (with Forte getting a couple too for my fantasy team).

I heard that Cutler, over the last 2 years, has thrown 7 red zone INT's, tops in the NFL. That can't happen if Chicago is going to be a playoff team. We're looking up at Minnesota, just about knowing that they are a better football team. I just really hope we can get it together by week 12 when Chicago travels to the Hump Dome.

Weekend of 10/16 on CentSports

Bet #1:

$.40 on Colorado (+10) over Kansas

Colorado 34, Kansas 30 :)

Bet #2:

$.40 on under (54) Texas v. Oklahoma

Texas 16, Oklahoma 13 :)

Bet #3:

$.30 on Minnesota (+17) over Penn State

Penn State 20, Minnesota 0 :(

Bet #4:

$.30 on Bears (+4) over Falcons

Falcons 21, Bears 14 :(

Time to MAYBE think the Broncos are legit? & NFL Power Rankings

For the past 3 weeks, I've been saying the Broncos are the worst 3-0, 4-0, and now 5-0 team of all time, mostly because of the fluke Stokley play in Week 1. And the fact their defense was torrid....last year. But then I think....hey maybe Kyle Orton wasn't that bad of a QB as I thought. He's got very respectable stats through Week 5 (104-for-165, 1236 yds, 7 TD, 1 INT, 97.4 rating).

He's finally got the weapons in Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal, and Stokley to give San Diego a run for their money in the AFC West. They're already 2 1/2 games ahead with SD on the bye, but a Week 6 MNF matchup with them will be a good litmus test for both teams.

I'm not QUITE ready to hop on the Broncos-are-legit bandwagon yet, but since my fantasy football team was the Kyle Orton Bandwagon, I guess I've already got a start.

NFL Power Rankings

Rank	Team
1	Saints (4-0)
2	Colts (5-0)
3	Giants (5-0)
4	Vikings (5-0)
5	Broncos (5-0)
6	Eagles (3-1)
7	Falcons (3-1)
8	Bears (3-1)
9	Jets (3-2)
10	Bengals (4-1)
11	Steelers (3-2)
12	Patriots (3-2)
13	49ers (3-2)
14	Ravens (3-2)
15	Chargers (2-2)
16	Dallas (3-2)
17	Cardinals (2-2)
18	Dolphins (2-3)
19	Packers (2-2)
20	Texans (2-3)
21	Seahawks (2-3)
22	Redskins (1-3)
23	Jaguars (2-3)
24	Panthers (1-3)
25	Titans (0-5)
26	Bills (1-4)
27	Lions (1-4)
28	Browns (1-4)
29	Raiders (1-4)
30	Chiefs (0-5)
31	Buccaneers (0-5)
32	Rams (0-5)