NFL Power Rankings Week 9

1. Colts – They keep winning even though they needed the help from Lady Luck
2. Saints – This team also keeps producing the goods.
3. Vikings – The bye week will have done this team the world of good.
4. Bengals – Huge game this weekend.
5. Steelers – See above
6. Patriots – Brady versus Manning is just going to be fun to watch.
7. Cowboys – Romo is showing some signs of actually be quite good.
8. Broncos – This team needs a win soon to stop the rot.
9. Cardinals – They keep showing that last years play off run away from home wasn’t just luck.
10. Falcons – Atlanta finally have the running game going.
11. Chargers – Rivers and co pulled the win out of the bag last week.
12. Eagles – McNabb and co need to start beating some decent teams and not just the poor ones.
13. Ravens – What has happened to this teams defence.
14. Texans – Houston were so unlucky to not win last weekend versus the Colts.
15. Jets – The defence needs to come off the bye week with all guns firing.
16. Giants – New York is slowly falling apart.
17. Packers – Massive lose to Tampa Bay pretty much ends all hope this team had of making the playoffs.
18. Dolphins – The wildcat nearly worked again versus the Pats but not quite.
19. Bears – How can this team win games by so many points then lose games by so many points?
20. Jaguars – Just keep giving the ball to MJD and then hit Sims-Walker on the play fake.
21. Panthers – This team just needs to run the ball more often.
22. 49ers – Has Crabtree ruined the 49ers chemistry?
23. Seahawks – I just can’t decide how good or bad this team is.
24. Titans – Tennessee has finally gotten the running game going and suddenly they are winning.
25. Bills – Will all this Vick talk distract the team?
26. Raiders – How will Oakland hurt itself his week?
27. Redskins – Washington isn’t far off being the worse team in the league.
28. Chiefs – If Kansas wants to be taken seriously they need to beat team like Jacksonville.
29. Rams – Steven Jackson is still the only plus point in this team.
30. Lions – They need to win a few more games this season to call it progress.
31. Buccaneers – Freeman is a huge plus point for this team and he may turn into this years Aaron Rodgers.
32. Browns – Do you get the feeling their will be a new coach next season.

Review of Sunday’s NFL

This Sunday showed why the Colts and the Saints are still the two teams to beat this season.  Both were in losing positions and both showed that they have the mental strength and luck (Colts in particular) to win games.  The Texans can take heart from the fact that they played the Colts close but yet again they managed to beat themselves instead of beating them.  The Saints on the other hand let the Panthers get a big lead early but pulled it back to win comfortably.

In other games the Cowboys defence finally decided to show up and this helped them beat a Eagles team that looked poor at times.  The NFC East is now the Cowboys to lose after the Giants managed to throw away yet another game this week, though I doubt many Chargers fans are complaining.

In the rest of the NFL Washington managed to lose again, Randy Moss and Tom Brady decided to start playing again and Tampa Bay finally managed to win a game.  Not seen any highlights of these games yet but well played to Josh Freeman for winning his first NFL game.  This game also pretty much ended the Packers season.

NFL Preview 9

Atlanta to beat Washington
No way this poor Redskins team manages to beat the Falcons especially after such a good performance from Atlanta on Monday night.

Arizona to beat Chicago
For some reason the Cardinals are a better away team than home team this season and so I am going to take them to pull off an upset over Chicago this weekend.

 Indianapolis to beat Houston
If the Texans want to be taken seriously this season then they must beat the Colts on Sunday. This will put them to wthin touching distance of Indianapolis and give them a great chance to at least get a wild card spot.

Cincinnati to beat Baltimore
Probably the toughest game to call this weekend and I fancy the Bengals for some reason. Baltimore will be looking for revenge after getting beaten in week 5 by the Bengals, so look for the defence to play hard especially Ray Lewis since it was his head hit that cost them the game the last time.

Jacksonville to beat Kansas City
There is always one game on that noone cares about and this is it. Jaguars to win if they give the ball to MJD more than 8 times in a game.

Green Bay to beat Tampa Bay
The Packers need a win here to keep on the heels of the Vikings and should manage it against one of the worst teams in the NFL.

New England to beat Miami
I’m guessing we will get a lot of Wildcat in this game but look for Tom Brady to do his usual thing which is simply winning games.

New Orleans to beat Carolina
Yes the Panthers beat Arizona last week but this week they come up against a team that is managing to win in lots of different ways. The New Orleans defence will be looking to pick off Delhomme since he has had trouble looking after the ball this season.

Seattle to beat Detroit
This is probably another game that not many people are that bothered about. Seattle to win because they have a better QB.

Tennessee to beat San Francisco
They looked more like the Titans of last year on offence now all they need to do is sort out the defence. I still fancy the Titans to pull off another win and put the 49ers  season to bed. The 49ers have looked a lot worse since Crabtree got into the line up.

San Diego to beat New York
Rivers will be over the moon to be facing this Giants secondary. Vincent Jackson and Malcolm Floyd should both have big games.

Dallas to beat Philadelphia
This game last year nearly cost Wade Phillips his job but things should go better this year. I actually hope the Eagles win this so going on my logic that means the Cowboys will win. Look for lots of points in this game.

Denver to beat Pittsburgh
Just for the record Clark should not play in this game for the Steelers, no way any game is more important than your health. A few soccer players over here in Britain have found this out the hard way. Onto the game I fancy the Broncos to get back to winning ways with a victory over a decent Steelers team.

NFL Power Rankings Week 8

Indianapolis Colts - This team just keeps playing well and winning soso not much more you can say about them.

New Orleans Saints - Another good victory against a divisional rival .  This team most be looking forward to their next three games and a chance to be 10-0.

Minnesota Vikings – Favre will be happy after beating the Packers in their won back yard but now they most keep winning.

Denver Broncos – The actual score line will hurt more than the lose but this team still have a chance to go 10-6 at least.

New England Patriots - It is a good bye week when your main rivals beat up each other and extend your divisional lead.

Cincinnati Bengals - This team is a real threat to someone in the playoffs if they can remain healthy.

Dallas Cowboys – HUGE game versus the Eagles next week.  Romo is looking better though but everyone remembers the last game in Philly.

Philadelphia Eagles – Just like the Cowboys this is a HUGE game since whoever wins it takes advantage in the NFC East with the Giants in freefall.

Pittsburgh Steelers – Slowing beginning to look like the Super Bowl champs.

Houston Texans - Made franchise history this week but if they want to show they can compete with the big boys they need to play beat the Colts on Sunday.

Baltimore Ravens - A good win over Denver last week but they need to start winning on a consistent basis.

New York Giants - Boy does this team need a bye week soon.  The Chargers will love playing against this dodgy defence.

Arizona Cardinals - For a change this team can’t win at home and are great away from home.  Bad defeat to the Panthers on Sunday.

Atlanta Falcons - Coming close to beating the Saints just isn’t good enough at the moment.

Chicago Bears - They need to start winning away from Solider Field.

Green Bay Packers – Their season is over if Rodgers keeps getting beat up like he did on Sunday.

San Diego Chargers - Rivers will be looking forward to the Giants on Sunday.

New York Jets – Why can’t they beat the Dolphins?

Miami Dolphins - Boy did Ted Ginn Jr look good running back kick offs.

Carolina Panthers – Finally the coaching staff remembered to run the football.

Jacksonville Jaguars – Just waiting on Jones-Drew to start complaining about never getting the ball.  come on guys he got over 150 yards on 8 touches and then you decide to let David Garrard win you the game.

San Francisco  49ers – Alex Smith looked good for two weeks running, now he only needs to win a game.

Buffalo Bills – This team needs to start producing results against dgood teams and not just the bad ones in the league.

Seattle Seahawks - Really just not playing all that well.

Washington Redskins - This is the only team that looks better when they aren’t playing.

Oakland Raiders - Still can’t believe they beat Philly this year.

Tennessee Titans - Could this be the start of a run  of results?

St Louis Rams - finally Steven Jackson got some reward for all his hard work.

Kansas City Chiefs – Need a win this weekend.

Detroit Lions – Losing to the Rams is a bad thing.

Cleveland Browns - They could well be the worse team in the NFL right now.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers - This is one ugly football team.

What we learnt in the NFL during week 8

The Saints and the Colts are still winning games even without playing all that well for the whole game.  This is a good thing if you are a fan of these teams but not so good for teams in their conference.  Have to say I would personally like this to be the Super Bowl since it would be a great game with two great QBs.  The Colts have to stop a high scoring offence next week when they play the Texans but I would think Manning and the Colts are confident about winning here.

The Giants and the Jets both have problems at the moment and need a nice solid win versus someone to steady the ship.  In the case of the Giants not to sure when this will happen since I can see the Chargers coming out throwing next week.

Steven Jackson finally got the reward his good play deserves when the Rams managed to beat the Lions.  This result shows how much both teams still have to go but everyone knew this was going to be a rebuilding season for both teams.

Finally the worst team in the league at the moment is the Browns and at the moment I just can’t see how they are going to win a game.  Seriously at the moment they would be as well as playing Cribbs at QB since both Quinn and Anderson just aren’t performing.   Never mind maybe the bye week will solve all their problems but somehow I doubt it.

Next week I am looking forward to seeing the Texans at the Colts and the Cowboys at the Eagles.  Although in a personal note I’m hoping the Redskins won’t be quite as bad after the bye week.

NFL Predictions week 8

Denver to beat Baltimore

Both teams are coming off a bye week and should be rested and healthy but I can see the Broncos winning this by simply playing Ravens football.  Great defence with lots of pressure and having a QB that looks after the ball.

Houston to beat Buffalo

Schaub and the Texans must be looking forward to playing the Bills even if it is in Buffalo.  Look for Schaub to continue throwing the ball a lot and for the Texans to pick up another win.

Chicago to beat Cleveland

Any team could beat the Browns at the moment and the Bears are actually ok at home it’s only away from Solider Field that Cutler loses the plot.

Dallas to beat Seattle

Romo seems to have finally found someone to replace TO pity it isn’t the man they gave up so many draft picks for.  Austin must be a certain starter on so many fantasy teams this weekend.

Dolphins to beat New York Jets

This could be a close game again but I think Henne and Brown will do enough offensively to handle the Jets good running game.  This game might be decided by who gets the most pressure off their defence.

Indianapolis to beat San Francisco

Peyton Manning will throw for 3 touchdowns at least and the 49ers will probably give up on Alex Smith again once the Colts defence start getting pressure on him.

New York Giants to beat Philadelphia

Just know sure about this game but think the Eli Manning will have enough in his locker to win this game plus he normally plays well against divisional rivals.

Detroit to beat St Louis

The Lions to win their second game of the season and for the Rams to look like a 0-16 team.  Starting to feel sorry for Steven Jackson being stuck in St Louis.

San Diego to beat Oakland

The Raiders let me down last week so they’ll probably do it again to me this week but surely Rivers and the Chargers will win this one.

Tennessee to beat Jacksonville

Yes I am taking the Titans to win this but only because the Jaguars have been so inconsistent.  Plus I just don’t think a Jeff Fisher coached team can be that bad all season.

Green Bay to beat Minnesota

The game everyone will be talking about this week.  Hopefully it will be nice and cold for Brett coming home and the Packers and Rodgers will win it.  Not sure what it is about the Vikings but for some reason I just don’t like them that much so maybe this is wishful thinking.

Arizona to beat Carolina

Warner and the Cardinals will be happy to play this poor team on national TV since it will allow them to show that they can still be Super Bowl contenders again.

New Orleans to beat Atlanta

This is turning into a must win game for the Falcons but I just think Brees and the Saints defence will be too strong for them.  Atlanta must get Michael Turner going soon or this season will be over soon.

NFL Power Rankings Week 7

1. Colts – Yes it was only the Rams but they are still winning easily and Peyton Manning is still MVP favourite.
2. Saints – A good win versus the Dolphins and even more impressive since Drew Brees had a bad game.
3. Broncos – In the top three even though they had a bye week, helped that other teams round them lost.  Big game versus the Ravens this weekend.
4. Vikings – This team should not be throwing the ball 51 times when they have the running game they do.  AP must be annoyed with the play calling.
5. Bengals – Great performance from Carson Palmer and I bet Cedric Benson has a smile on his face this week.
6. Patriots – Blow away the Bucs in London but no real surprise there.  Have a bye week to get players healthy.  Secondary looked better this week.
7. Steelers – Getting back to the form they showed last year.  Big Ben and Troy are showing they are the real leaders on this team.
8. Giants – Eli Manning and the offence looked ordinary versus the Cardinals and the secondary looked almost as bad as it did the week before versus the Saints.  Look for Philly to throw the ball lots this weekend.
9. Cowboys – Have they finally found a replacement for TO in Austin?  No matter if they have or haven’t the production from Williams is disappointing.
10. Cardinals – Warner and the offence are moving the ball well and having a running game, which is improving, will help.
11. Falcons – Bad lose to the Cowboys but what must be more worrying is the performance of Michael Turner.
12. Packers – Finally the offence line is getting better and this can only be good news for Aaron Rodgers.  Massive game for Green Bay this weekend versus the Vikings.  A must win if they want to win the division.
13. Eagles – Winning against the Redskins isn’t that good but at least they won and stay close to the Cowboys and the Giants.
14. Texans – Finally the team managed to decent performances in a row.  Although they nearly blow a 21 point lead to Alex Smith and Vernon Davies.
15. Jets – Great performance from the running game meant Sanchez could have a hot dog on the sideline.
16. Ravens – This team needs a win this weekend versus the unbeaten Broncos.
17. Bears – 3 loses away from Solider Field shows that this team is far from the finished article.  Jay Cutler needs to start performing better.
18. Chargers – Rivers is playing far better than anyone else on this team (Jackson is nearly there too) and he needs help fast if this team is to make the play offs.
19. 49ers – Switching back to Alex Smith is properly a good thing in the long run for Alex Smith since it will either get him a new deal or a move to another team.  Not sure what it does for the 49ers since they have already given up on him many times before.
20. Bills – Must wish they could play teams like the Panthers and the Browns every week.
21. Dolphins – Yet another game they managed to lose even though they dominated stats.  Just shows what an elite QB does for your team.
22. Jaguars – Surely they will beat the helpless Titans this week.
23. Seahawks – They need to become more consistent and also need to keep the QB on his feet.
24. Panthers – This team might finally be giving up Jake Delhomme.
25. Raiders – How can you beat the Eagles one week and then get hammered by the Jets the following week.
26. Redskins – This team just doesn’t look like winning a game again.
27. Lions – Good chance for win number 2 versus the Rams.
28. Chiefs – Larry Johnson is obliviously trying to get himself out of Kansas after his Twitter moment.
29. Browns – It is always good when you don’t play a QB because he will cost you too much money.  Looks like teams were right to pass on Quinn on the draft after all.
30. Titans – Are meant to be making personnel chances, now everyone is just waiting to see how is playing QB.
31. Buccaneers – Look like they are going to give Josh Freeman his chance at QB during the second half of the season.  Never going to be a good season when you have 3 starting QBs.
32. Rams – What can you say about this team anymore?  One thing for sure Steven Jackson is a quality player on a rubbish team.

NFL Week 7 Predictions

Green Bay to beat Cleveland

The Packers have no offensive line but the Browns are just rubbish.  Rodgers to have a big game and the Packers to win easily.

Houston to beat San Francisco

The Texans normally have one good week followed by one bad week.  Surely they can manage two decent weeks in a row.

San Diego to beat Kansas Chief

Two bad teams and two teams I couldn’t care less about.  Chargers to win since they have slightly more talent but would prefer the Chiefs to win.

Indianapolis to beat St Louis

The Colts and Manning will be healthy after a bye week and will be looking forward to playing this Rams team.  Look for the Colts to get ahead early and let the defence attack Bulger.

New England to beat Tampa Bay

The London game and I fancy the Patriots to win by a mile.  Not sure this game will do much to increase the popularity of the NFL in Europe.

Pittsburgh to beat Minnesota

This could be the game of the week with two good teams who both need to win.  The Steelers need it slightly more than the Vikings so I’ll pick them.

Carolina to beat Buffalo

These are two bad teams so I’ll pick the home team.

Oakland to beat New York Jets

I have no idea why I am picking Oakland here but something tells me they will win again this week.

Cincinnati to beat Chicago

The Bengals had a poor game last week so look for them to bounce back this week.  The Bears are a strange team but this will be a tough road trip for them.

Atlanta to beat Dallas

This Dallas team simply isn’t that good and only a fairly easy schedule has made them look good.  Atlanta will look to score quickly and then let Abraham attack Romo.

New Orleans to beat Miami

Drew Brees and co had a great game last week and I can’t see Miami stopping them this week.  If nothing else the Dolphins will run lots of wildcat this week.  Look out for Sharper to be ball hawking the young QB.

New York Giants to beat Arizona

This could be a high scoring game since both teams have great offences.  The Giants in particular have a suspect secondary and so look for Warner to throw lots.

Philadelphia to beat Washington

If the Eagles can’t beat this Washington team then you can officially end any chance they have of getting into the play-offs let alone getting to the Super Bowl.  They also need a big comeback after last weeks shocking lose.

NFL Power Rankings after week 6

1. Saints

They look scary on offence with so many weapons and nowadays they have a decent defence with Sharper looking like he will intercept a ball almost every game.  Remind me alot of the Colts on their Super Bowl run.

2. Colts

Manning looks good, Wayne looks good and they have a nice 1-2 running game with Addai and Brown.  Also helps the rest of the division is pants at the moment.

3. Vikings

Nothing seems wrong with this team and they would be 1 or 2 on my list is because Brett Favre has blown up late in the season for the last two years.  This team needs home field advantage in the play offs since Favre doesn’t like the cold weather.

4. Broncos

They are unbeaten, they look good on defence and Orton is winning games without doing anything fancy.  They also have a easy division and should have the division wrapped up pretty soon.

5. Giants

Yes they got spanked by the Saints but they have a banged up secondary and no every team has Drew Brees at QB.  Need to get more pressure from there front 4 so they don’t need to blitz so much.  The next 3 weeks will show for sure if they are a Super Bowl contender or not.

6. Falcons

A big win versus the Bears shows that Matt Ryan can take this team a long way.  Having Tony Gonzalez in the red zone helps alot too.

7. Patriots

Tom Brady and the offence had fun versus the Titans and now they must show they can do this week in and week out.

8. Bengals

Losing to the up and down Texans this week have seriously hurt this teams reputation and losing Odom for the season will hurt them more.

9. Steelers

They have started winning again, Mendanhall is running the ball well and Big Ben is putting up career numbers plus Troy is back on the defence.

10. Packers

There are alot of teams at 3-2 in the NFL and this is probably the one I personally wouldn’t want to be facing.  They have the potential to put up big numbers on offence and a defence that can cause some damage.

11. Cardinals

Arizona are starting to function on offence and because of their division they have a chance of getting in the play offs again with a .500 record.

12. Bears

Surely fans must be asking why they wasted so many picks on Cutler when Orton is winning with a Broncos team that doesn’t seem that much better on paper.  I think that if this team fails to make the play offs this year Lovie Smith is gone.

13. Ravens

They looked good the first 3 weeks and average the last 3 weeks.  Maybe they should have kept Stover has the kicker.  Defence needs to start playing better.

14. Eagles

One week they are destroying teams and next week they are losing to the Raiders.  This lose could come back to haunt them.

15. Cowboys

Romo needs to be more consistent and the defence needs to start making plays.

16. 49ers

Still not sure Shaun Hill is the answer at QB.  The team needed the bye week after being ripped a new one by Atlanta the other week.

17. Texans

So inconsistent it is unbelievable!  Great catch by Daniels this week though.

18. Jets

Sanchez is turing the ball over far too much for this team to win.  They are based on the old Ravens which is a strong defence and a QB who protects the ball.  They lose either of these things and they aren’t going to win games.

19. Jaguars

So inconsistent it is unbelievable!  Maurice Drew-Jones rushed well this week but will he do next week?

20. Dolphins

Henne played well versus the Jets but asking him to play like that all season may be asking too much.  Expect lots of Wildcat for the remainder of the season.

21. Chargers

Rivers and Merriman spend far too much time mouthing off at opponents rather than focusing on their own play.  Norv Turner can’t last another year in San Diego.

22. Seahawks

Just have too many holes at the moment to win on a consistent basis.

23. Bills

Trent Edwards getting hurt won’t help this team.  Actually surprised how bad this team have been this season.  Yet another coach that must go at the end of the season.

24. Panthers

Too tough a division for a team that is plainly not playing that well.

25. Raiders

Nice win this week but who really cares about this team anymore.

26. Redskins

Zorn is gone soon and so this team needs to find a head coach who is going to stay in place for 3 or more years and make a difference.  They will draft a QB with next years first round pick.

27. Lions

Out of all the teams in with only 1 win this season this is the only one that looks like it has some talent on its roster.

28. Chiefs

Yes they beat the Redskins but this isn’t something to brag about these days.

29. Browns

Cleveland don’t look any better under Mangini.

30. Titans

Jeff Fisher is too good a coach for this team to keep playing this badly.

31. Rams

They had a chance to win on Sunday bit blow it, story of their season so far.

32. Buccaneers

Man this team down right stinks.  The Pats will look forward to playing them next week in London.

My thoughts about Week 5 in the NFL

Week 5 showed some interesting things in the NFL starting with the Bengals proving they are for real after beating the much fancied Ravens in Baltimore.  Yes they needed help from Ray Lewis but yet again Carson Palmer showed he is still a quality QB.  Cincinnati are one miracle play away from being perfect.

Though speaking of the week 1 loss to the Broncos brings us nicely onto Denver.  This team was written off at the start of the season but McDaniels, Orton and a quality defence has shown that this team has a good chance of making the playoffs.  Orton hasn’t done anything pretty but he hasn’t done anything wrong either.

Week 5 also showed that the NFC East is between 2 teams Philly and NY since both the Redskins and the Cowboys really are just not that good.  Although the Cowboys won they only beat the Chiefs and Washington, in fact let’s not even go there since it just upsets me.

Buffalo and Cleveland could just be the two worse teams to have played in the NFL and to say that the game on Sunday was dreadful would be an understatement.  6 – 3?  I have been to higher scoring football games (that is proper football!)

The Colts and the Giants both look good and I expect that you properly won’t get very good odds for a Manning bowl in Miami at the end of the season.  Both the Manning brothers are also clear MVP leaders along with Jared Allan of the Vikings.

Finally week 5 showed that a lot of teams are still searching for an identity.  Take Jacksonville and Seattle for two good examples.  Either these teams are either good or rotten but they are hardly good or rotten two weeks in a row.  Look for the Jags to bounce back this week and play well and if you do fantasy football but little Jones-Drew in your team since he should see a lot of the ball versus St Louis.