Jim Lang: Week 4 NFL Power Rankings - sportsnet.ca

Previous Power Rankings

TW	LW	Team	Our Take
1	2		I think it’s kind of cool that Brett Favre and I were born three days apart. Now, I am a couple years older than Favre but I am hoping the “Favre karma” will bring me some good luck. Favre was incredible Monday night in the Vikings win over the Packers. Not only did Favre throw three touchdowns, he also displayed amazing velocity on his throws. Take that Ted Thompson. The Vikings defence served notice that they have to be ranked as one of the best in the entire NFL.
2	1		Eli Manning and Steve Smith toyed with the Chiefs defence as the Giants improved to 4-0. The big concern for Tom Coughlin is Eli’s right heel. The weird thing is that he wasn’t even hit, Eli just planted his foot and it just gave out. With the Giants playing the Raiders at the Meadowlands this week, why not save Eli for the Saints game one week later? By the way, if you check the NFL schedule, you will notice that the Giants play the Vikings at the Metrodome on the final weekend of the regular season.
3	3		Another game, another Colts win, another record for Peyton Manning. Peyton threw two touchdowns as the Colts won their 13th straight regular season game. Manning also tied Fran Tarkenton for third all time with 342 career touchdown passes. Dan Marino is second all time with 420 touchdowns. Since Peyton is averaging around 30 touchdowns a season, he should hit that mark by 2011. Lest I forget, hats off to Colts defensive end Robert Mathis for his three sack performance.
4	6		Down in New Orleans, Saints fans chant "Who Dat?" It’s a kind of Cajun way of saying, "Who is going to beat those Saints?" Right about now that’s a very good question. The Jets couldn’t do it and now Sean Payton’s team goes into the bye week having made believers of everyone across the NFL. Drew Brees received a lot of support from his running game and his defence. Darren Sharper returned his 10th interception for a touchdown in his career. The big game for the Saints takes place on October 18th at the Superdome when they host the Giants.
5	7		I wonder if Tom Brady sent a fruit basket to the officiating crew from their win over the Ravens. I’m not saying, I’m just saying. That being said, Brady threw for 258 yards and spread the ball around to nine different receivers. Vintage Brady. Here’s a bizarre stat from the game: Brady threw a touchdown to Randy Moss for the first time since Super Bowl XLII. It didn't hurt the Patriots when Mark Clayton dropped that pass near the end of the fourth quarter.
6	4		This was Rodney Harrison on NBC Sunday evening: "Tom Brady, if you’re listening, take off the skirt and put on some slacks. Toughen up." Of course, Brady and Harrison told reporters afterwards that it was all a big joke. Don’t try telling that to Ray Lewis and John Harbaugh. The Ravens felt there were robbed of a win because of some questionable calls by the officiating crew. You can be sure Lewis and the Ravens will be looking to take out their frustrations on the Bengals this week.
7	5		Mark Sanchez, welcome to the National Football League. All the GQ good looks in the world can’t save your butt when you’re being taken to school by a wily old pro like Saints safety Darren Sharper. Sharper had two of the three picks Sanchez tossed in the Jets loss down in the Bayou. I was impressed with the way the Jets defence held the Saints to only one offensive touchdown. Sanchez has to forget about the loss and start getting ready to face a desperate Dolphins team in the Monday nighter.
8	NR		I will be the first to admit, I just didn’t think the Broncos were for real. But after watching the way they beat the Cowboys to improve to 4-0, it’s time for the Broncos to get their due. Josh McDaniels must have been laughing his head off when he watched the game film of their win over the Cowboys. With the game on the line, Tony Romo threw right at Champ Bailey, twice. Brandon Marshall might be a hot head but the dude is one hell of a football player. Just watch the video of Marshall’s 51-yard game winning touchdown, that was a big league play by a big league receiver.
9	10		If I had my choice of any linebacker in the NFL right now, I would take Patrick Willis from the 49ers. Blessed with the kind of speed most running backs could only dream of, Willis was the key to the 49ers shut out of the Rams. Willis had two and half sacks, eight tackles and he returned an interception 23 yards for a touchdown. Shaun Hill had a productive, mistake free game and Mike Singletary’s new best friend, tight end Vernon Davis caught another touchdown. Coming up, Singletary’s crew will face the Falcons. That should be one of the top games in Week 5.
10	9		Coming off of the bye week, Andy Reid was pleased to see both Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook on the practice field. Not only are the Eagles getting healthier, they have a sweetheart schedule the next three weeks. Get this: Starting Sunday the Eagles will face the Bucs, the Raiders and the Redskins. There’s simply no excuse for the Eagles to not win all three games. If they do, that will set up a great showdown with the Giants in Week 8.
11	NR		If you look at Jay Cutler’s numbers, it’s not a coincidence that the Bears are on a three game winning streak. In the last three weeks, Cutlers has thrown seven touchdowns, one interception and had a quarterback rating over 100.0 for all three games. Last year, Kyle Orton had a quarterback rating over 100 only twice. No matter what you think of his personality, Cutler is making a huge impact on the Bears offence. Taking a page from Devin Hester’s playbook, Johnny Knox (great football name) returned a kick 95 yards for a touchdown.
12	NR		Chargers defensive coordinator Ron Rivera could have yelled at his boys all night long, it was going to do much to stop the Steelers offence. The triumvirate of Ben Roethlisberger, Rashard Mendenhall and Hines Ward put up big numbers as the Steelers looked a lot more like themselves. Speaking of which, James Harrison had two sacks and the Steelers defence is about to get a huge boost for their game against he Lions because it looks like pro bowl safety Troy Polamalu is due to return from his knee injury. I have to say, my two daughters think Polamalu is the coolest guy ever because of those shampoo commercials he’s doing. No, my girls do not think their dad is cool whatsoever.
12	12		Coming off of the bye week, Matt Ryan and the Falcons are about to meet their proverbial Waterloo as they embark on a killer portion of their schedule. Beginning Sunday, the Falcons play the 49ers, the Bears, the Cowboys and then the Saints. There are a lot of people, myself included, who think the Falcons are for real. How well they do during this stretch of games will go a long way to determine the fate of the Dirty Birds.
SOTW	NR		There are many worthy candidates. Brett Favre had a great game against his old team. Rashard Mendenhall went from Mike Tomlin’s doghouse to running for 165 yards and two touchdowns. Having said all that, my star of the week goes out to former BC Lions defensive end Cam Wake. Filling in for the injured Joey Porter, Wake tied an NFL record for the most sacks in one game by a first year player when he had three against the Bills. Check out what Dolphins icon Jason Taylor said about Wake in the Miami Herald; "I've been around a long time and he does things that amaze me."
StOTW	NR		This one is a no-brainer. The entire Green Bay Packers offensive line. In a huge game against the Vikings on national TV the Packers offensive line allowed eight sacks. Jared Allen was able to sack poor Aaron Rodgers four and half times. Allowing eight sacks in a single game is simply unacceptable by NFL standards.
TTMU	NR		The Dallas Cowboys, or more importantly, Tony Romo. We keep hearing about the great wealth of talent in Dallas. We keep hearing how that now that T.O. is gone, how Romo is going to have a big year. The Cowboys have lost two of their last three games and Romo has one touchdown and four interceptions the last three weeks. How embarrassing would it be if the Cowboys went into KC and lost to the Chiefs?
TOTR	NR		While I am pleasantly surprised to see how well the Bengals are doing; the entire NFL will see what they’re really made of Sunday when they face a very angry Ravens team in Baltimore. The team that has seen a major transformation from the first two weeks to the last two weeks is the Jaguars. Jack Del Rio’s boys have score 68 points the last two weeks and have winnable games against the Seahawks and the Rams coming up.

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