Quick post: The Lance Briggs Situation

Inspired by AITA on Aerys Sports, here's my quick take on the Lance Briggs contract situation.

Three years ago, he tested the open market as an unrestricted free agent. There should be no argument against the fact that the Bears paid him fair market value. In my opinion, this wouldn't even be an issue if Briggs' agent wasn't that scumbag Drew Rosenhaus. Also, I don't really think Briggs has out-performed the contract. If he came back in two years with two more Pro Bowls under his belt and only ONE year left, then I could see it. But this is simply ridiculous.

NFL Week 9 Power Rankings

Nothing much to say, I'll just give the rankings. This week was tougher, because I had to move team that were on a bye, which is against my style.

Notes:

• The top 5 stayed the same, just the Steelers and Pats flipped 4 and 5.
• Bucs off the schnide and move all of one spot up to 30.
• My Bears fall once again from 15 to 17
• I continue to wonder how high the Bengals can go (currently 6, from 9 last week)
• Is this the Chargers team everyone was expecting in the preseason (12 up from 17)
• Giants (15) would win against the Jets (16) in the Mediocre New York Teams Bowl
• Titans (24) now 2-0 with Vince Young at starter. They'll move up a bit more if a win comes against Buffalo (25) next week
• New Toilet Bowl front-runners: Lions (31) vs. Browns (32)

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

2009: Year of the Offense (NFL Power Rankings Week 8)

As I watched the Saints beat the Falcons 35-27 on this past weeks MNF, I couldn't help think of 2008 Oklahoma football. The whole attitude of "We're gonna put up a ton of points, try to keep up." And not only that, but the fact that their defense forced 3 interceptions out of the usually efficient Matt Ryan. At the halfway point of the regular season, the Saints are, at least in my opinion, the definite front-runner for the Super Bowl.

On the other end of the ranking, the Rams (29 up from 32)finally got off the schnide, beating the almost equally bad Lions 17-10. So at least in terms of wins and losses, the '09 Rams are better than the '08 0-16 Lions. But they're still the Rams. Looking at their schedule, there's pretty much only one winnable game left (home vs. Seattle), so I would say you could pencil them in for a 2-14 season.

The Browns (32 down from 29) on the other hand, have an even easier remaining schedule than the Rams, but have about an equal chance of going 2-14. Of eight games remaining, four of them are against teams ranked 24th or below according to this weeks power rankings (@Det, @KC, v.Oak, v.Jax). Although I couldn't tell you which one it would come from (my guess would be the home against Oakland game), but can't be more than one win coming from these four. There offense can only be described as anemic. Defensive coordinator Rob Ryan called a pretty good game against the Bears, allowing only 2 touchdowns in 5 red zone trips.

The Texans (11 up from 18 last week) are quietly 5-3 behind the 7-0 Colts, and if the season ended today, would have their first ever playoff appearance. It's really the definition of under the radar, with all the attention on Indy and Peyton Manning's MVP-type season. Matt Schaub is passing at a 66.4% clip, for 16 TD, 7 INT, and a 100.5 rating. Who is this 100.5 rating ahead of? Tom Brady (99.9), Tony Romo (96.8), Carson Palmer (89.2), and Eli Manning (86.4). I'm not sure Houston will be able to ride Schaub's arm all season, with a run game only posting 92.5 yards per game (28th in the NFL), but it will be interesting to watch.

The rest of the rankings:

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

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.

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)