Week 6 NFL Power Rankings

Previous Power Rankings

TW	LW	Team	Our Take
1	4	(-)	Drew Brees and the Saints didn’t just beat the mighty New York Giants, they dismantled them. Brees threw for 369 yards and four touchdowns as the Saints scored at will on the vaunted Giants' defence (At one point, Brees had completed 15 straight passes). In what can only be termed a total team effort, seven different Saints scored touchdowns. After watching the way Brees and the Saints manhandled the Giants, there can be little doubt about just how good of a team Sean Payton has down in New Orleans. Brees has thrown 13 touchdwons this year and leads the entire NFL wtih a quarterback rating of 118.4. Up next, the Saints are in Miami for a tilt with the Dolphins. That's funny, because the Super Bowl is being palyed in Miami this year. I'm not saying, I'm just saying.
2	1	(-)	If it wasn’t for Ravens kicker Steven Hauschka, the Viking would be mourning its fist loss of the season. Haushcka shanked a 44-yard field goal attempt with no time left on the clock, thus allowing the Vikings to dodge a bullet against a very determined Ravens team. Offensively, Brett Favre, Adrian Peterson and Sidney Rice were all putting up big numbers for the Vikings. However, Jared Allen and the Vikings defence were on their heels in the second half as Joe Flacco got hot and nearly pulled off the big comeback. Staying undefeated won't get any easier this week as the Vikings take on the Steelers at Heinz Field.
3	3	(-)	Coming off of a bye week, Peyton Manning and the Colts get a bit of a gift as they take on the Rams in St. Louis. Now anything can happen in the NFL, just ask the Eagles, but Manning and the Colts are far more focused team than the Eagles and Manning is a much more determined quarterback than McNabb. The big game that is looming on the horizon for Manning and the Colts will take place on November the 15. In the marquee match-up of Week 10, Manning and the Colts host Brady and Patriots.
4	5	(-)	With each game and each big play, I believe in the Broncos and its perfect 6-0 record. I believe in Kyle Orton when he shreds the Chargers for 146 yards and two touchdowns in the second half of a win in San Diego. I believe when little 5'11 outside linebacker Elvis Dumervil has two more sacks to run his league leading total to 10. I believe when Eddie Royal returns a punt and a kick-off for touchdowns. I believe when Ryan Clady and the Broncos offensive line only give up one sack against a very desperate Chargers team. And I really believe in the Broncos when their 33-year-old head coach, Josh McDaniels, took poor old Norv Turner to school in the Monday nighter. Up next, the Broncos get a well-deserved bye week.
5	2	(-)	Right at the end of the Saints beat down of the Giants in New Orleans, there was a sideline shot of Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora. The look of utter defeat and shock on their faces basically sums up the mood of the entire Giants team at the Super Dome. Even cool, calm and collected Eli Manning was snapping at his teammates during the loss. The Giants should blame Antonio Pierce for that loss to the Saints. The football gods were angry with the Giants after Antonio Pierce said that the win over the Raiders the week before was like a scrimmage. The Giants better forget about what happened against the Saints in a hurry because they have to start preparing for another high powered offence: the Cardinals.
6	11	(-)	Ladies and gentlemen, Tom Brady is back and the rest of the NFL better start bracing themselves for what is about to hit. Brady set a new NFL record when he threw five touchdowns in the second quarter of the Patriots 59-0 humiliation of the Titans. Brady numbers against the Titans are so good that they almost don’t seem real. Brady was a redonkulous 29 of 34 for 380 yards and six touchdowns. That works out to a near perfect quarterback rating of 152.8. Lest we forget the Patriots defence which held Kerry Collins to a minus-7 passing yards. That is correct: minus-7. Up next, Brady and the Pats will take the show to England for a tilt with the Bucs.
7	8	(-)	Matt Ryan and Tony Gonzalez have a very good thing going down in Atlanta. Matty Ice has thrown nine touchdowns so far this year, three of them to Gonzalez. All three of Gonzalez’s touchdowns have come at the Georgia Dome, with the Falcons winning all three of those games. For a second-year quarterback, there’s a lot more to Ryan than some cheesy ads for Gillette. Ryan was almost perfect in the red zone against the Bears, racking up a quarterback rating of 135.0 when the Falcons offence was down deep in Chicago territory. Coming up, Ryan and the rest of the Dirty Birds will take the show on the road to Dallas for a date with the Cowboys.
8	9	(-)	Ben Roethlsiberger threw for 417 yards as he improved to a perfect 10-0 in his career against the Browns. For a team that traditionally is known for its ability to run the ball, Big Ben and the Steelers are racking up huge passing yardage this season. Through six games, Roethlisberger has thrown for over 1,800 yards passing and 10 touchdowns. What is even more remarkable about that stat is Big Ben is on pace to throw for over 5,000 yards and 30 touchdowns. That’s amazing when you consider that Roethlisberger hasn’t even been close to 4,000 yards in a single season in his career to date. The return of Troy Polamalu was a welcome sight to the Steelers defence. Up next, the Terrible Towels will be out in full force as the Steelers host the Vikings. Interesting to note, Brett Favre has one Super Bowl ring to his credit, Roethlisberger has two.
9	6	(-)	This time, it was the Bengals who were forced to watch the other team mount a comeback in the second half. The Bengals went into halftime with a decent 17-14 lead over the Texans. In the second half, it was all about Matt Schaub and the Texans' offence. Schaub carved the Bengals' defence and he ended up with 392 yards and four touchdowns. The main thing that hurt the Bengals was the loss of defensive end Antwan Odom to a serious Achilles' tendon injury. With Odom done for the season, the Bengals' defence has to find a way to re-group and get ready for the Bears.
10	NR	(-)	Green Bay knew it had to man up and come up with a big effort against the Lions, and they did. Aaron Rodgers did his part, throwing for 358 yards and two touchdowns. Rookie linebacker Clay Matthews Jr. is a big reason the Pack were able to shut out the Lions. The USC grad recorded two sacks and eight tackles to help spearhead a Packers' defence that finally looked like they are stating to click under Dom Caper’s new schemes. One thing Capers did that was smart was allow outside linebacker Aaron Kampman to revert to has natural down lineman rush end position for a number of plays. Up next, the Pack are in Cleveland before 'The Game': Favre and the Vikings at Lambeau Field on November the 1.
11	10	(-)	How would you like to be Orlando Pace on Monday morning? Imagine sitting in the Bears film room with Lovie Smith and all your teammates as you try to explain to everyone why you screwed up the snap count and jumped offside at the most crucial point in the game? Another thing that hurt the Bears was its lack of a running game. Matt Forte just couldn’t get anything going against the Falcons. Now they have to get ready to face the Bengals in Cincinnati. That should be an interesting game between two evenly matched teams.
12	12	(-)	There’s a very good reason why the Ravens are still in the Top 12 (based on the 12 playoff positions) and not the Eagles: Philly lost to the Raiders. Period, end of story. While the Eagles were embarrassing themselves in Oakland, the Ravens nearly pulled up the mother of all upsets in Minnesota. Down and out at the Metrodome, Joe Flacco and the Ravens exploded for 21 points in the fourth quarter against a tough Vikings defence. If Steven Hauschka had nailed that 44-yarder at the end of the game, they would be singing folk songs about Flacco in Baltimore. Running back Ray Rice had a combined 194 yards running and receiving and also scored two touchdowns. The Ravens now have a bye week to re-group and get ready to host the Broncos. What a game that’s going to be.

Tom Brady, I mean what else can you say about the man? Five touchdowns in a single quarter of football is beyond belief, no matter who your opponent is. It’s interesting to note that not only has Brady thrown 12 touchdowns this year, he’s only thrown two interceptions. In fact, Brady has thrown 10 touchdowns and zero interceptions the last four games. In the immortal words of George Costanza, “He’s back baby, he’s back!”

This is a no brainer: Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez. The GQ golden boy from USC threw an unacceptable five interceptions against the Bills in the Jets overtime loss to their AFC East division rivals. The Jets have lost three straight and the rookie has tossed eight interceptions in that stretch.

I really should call out the Eagles for its lacklustre effort in Oakland. However, the team that really needs to get its act together is the suddenly over-rated San Diego Chargers. No one is more over rated on the Chargers this year than linebacker Shawne Merriman. Mr. Lights-Out still doesn’t have a sack this year. Zero! Norv Turner is a dead man walking if he can’t Merriman, LT and the rest of the Chargers back on track.

The defending NFC Champions, the Arizona Cardinals seemed to have rediscovered its high-powered offence. Kurt Warner has thrown for 578 yards and four touchdowns in the Cards modest two game winning streak; three of them to his favourite target, Larry Fitzgerald. Adrian Wilson and the Cards defence as they held the Seahawks to 14 yards rushing. Needless to say, they face a much bigger challenge against the Giants this week.

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