Week 9 NFL Power Rankings: Status quo

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TW	LW	Team	Our Take
1	1	(-)	Down 14-0 after the first quarter, things were looking grim for the Saints. Despite the deficit and despite the fact that DeAngelo Williams was running wild the Saints were still able to fight back. Led by the defensive trio of Roman Harper, Jonathan Vilma and Darren Sharper the Saints held the Panthers to six-points for the rest of the game. With the defence manning up, Drew Brees and the offence had time to get untracked and they started chipping away at the lead. It’s only fitting that Saints sealed the win when defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove scored a one-yard touchdown off of a Williams' fumble. I am not sure what they are paying defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, but so far, he’s earning every penny.
2	2	(8-0)	Kris Brown should have made that 42-yard field goal at the end of the game. The Texans should have tied the game and sent into overtime. But that didn’t happen and the Colts extended its regular season win streak to 17 games. During the course of the Colts win, Peyton Manning became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for 40,000 yards in a decade. Up next it is the game of games, Peyton Manning and the Colts versus Tom Brady and the Patriots at Lucas Oil Stadium. If you log on to StubHub.com, you can pick up a pair of 10th row club seats for this game for around US$6,000. Can you say ratings bonanza for NBC?
3	3	(7-1)	Coming off of a bye week, the rested Vikings are about to kick-off a stretch of three-straight home games. The Vikings opponents during the home-stand,n you say? Try the Lions, the Seahawks and the Bears. Win all three and the Vikings just might have already clinched the NFC North. One of the reasons the Vikings are off to such a great start is its amazing rookie from Florida, Percy Harvin. Blessed with blazing speed, Harvin leads all rookies with five touchdowns and is tied with Joshua Cribbs for the most kick return yardage.
4	4	(6-2)	Who cares about the Wildcat when Randy Moss is balling? Moss put on a clinic in how a receiver is supposed to play in the NFL in the Pats' win over the Dolphins. Moss had six receptions for 147 yards and a touchdown (one his catches was a one handed high light reel special). The Dolphins played hard, but its Wildcat offence never did much damage against the defence. A big reason for the Pats recent success is the ability to run the ball. Laurence Maroney was solid, and he’s now scored a touchdown in three straight games, all of them wins. Now comes the big one: the Pats and the Colts in Indy.
5	5	(6-2)	When I die and go to heaven (if!), I am convinced that St. Peter will be waving a Terrible Towel at the pearly gates. Those ubiquitous towels were out in full force at Mile High Stadium on Monday night as the Steelers walked into Denver and taught the Broncos a lesson in how to play big time football. Filling in for Ryan Clark, Tyrone Carter had two picks and returned one for a touchdown. Hines Ward scored two touchdowns and on his second, he leaped over Champ Bailey to get into the end zone. Rashard Mendenhall ripped the Broncos defence apart as he racked up a whopping 155-yards on the ground. I’ve said it before and I will say it again: Ben Roethlisberger might not be the best quarterback in the NFL, but he’s a prefect fit for the Steelers.
6	7	(6-2)	Who dey think gonna beat dem Bengals? Certainly not the Ravens. Carson Palmer, Ochocino and Cedric Benson beat the Ravens for the second time this season, and are off to its first 6-2 start to a season since 1988. Also known as the last time they went to the Super Bowl.
7	8	(6-2)	It’s only fitting that the one of the "feel good" stories in the NFL this season, Miles Austin, would catch the game winning touchdown in the Cowboys huge road win against the Eagles. What makes Austin’s 49-yard touchdown even more intriguing is the fact it was his only catch in the game. This guy has become a vital cog in the offence and a fantasy football god.
8	7	(6-2)	Josh McDaniels and the Broncos are learning a painful lesson in the difficulty of winning on a consistent basis in the NFL. My buddy Bill Romanoski said on his Twitter account that McDaniels beat the sh** out of his players during practice in the wake of its loss to the Ravens. Well, that didn’t work as the Broncos got punked by the Steelers on home turf. After Tyrone Carter’s interception return for a touchdown early in the second quarter, the Broncos longest drive for the rest of the game was 30 yards. Kyle Orton had an absolutely miserable game; according to ESPN stats Inc, Orton had a quarterback rating of zero in the fourth quarter.
9	NR	(5-3)	Don’t look now, but the Chargers are back in a big way. Philip Rivers hit his favourite target, Vincent Jackson for the game-winning touchdown with only 21 seconds left to play in the fourth quarter as the Chargers stunned the Giants and its fans at the Meadowlands. What made the game even more intriguing was the sub-plot of Rivers and Eli Manning. This was the first time the two quarterbacks met each other since the famous 2004 draft day trade sent them to their respective teams. Manning helplessly watched as Rivers led the Chargers on an 80-yard game winning drive. After a slow start to the game, Shawne Merriman ended up with two sacks and now has four in his last two games. With the Chargers on a three-game winning streak and the Broncos struggling, there’s only one game separating the two teams in the AFC West.
10	9	(-)	There’s an all sports radio station in Philadelphia called the WIP 610AM. They’re about 20 times more vicious than anything you’ve ever heard on any Canadian all-sports station. I can only imagine how nasty it got on the post-game call in show after the Eagles lost to the Cowboys. Eagles coach Andy Reid isn’t well liked by a lot of the media in Philly at the best of times, but some his poor decisions in the Eagles loss would have sent them into a frenzy. Donovan McNabb threw two interceptions; the first time he’s thrown more than one pick in a game since November of last year. Missing multi-talented running back Brian Westbrook hurt the Eagles in this one. The Eagles now have to travel to the west coast to face the red hot Chargers. Memo to Andy Reid, be a little more careful about throwing that challenge flag in the second half.
11	NR	(5-3)	Two players that really stood out in the Falcons decisive win over the Redskins were running back Michael Turner and defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux. NFL fans know all about Turner, and he didn’t disappoint Sunday as he ran for 166 yards and two touchdowns. Babineaux had a dream game for an interior defensive lineman with two- -and-a-half sacks, three quarterback hits and 10 tackles. It’s interesting to take a closer look at Turner’s numbers since he arrived in Atlanta. In his first four seasons in San Diego, Turner scored a total of six touchdowns while backing up LT. In one and half seasons with the Falcons, Turner has scored 27 touchdowns. At the pace he’s on now, Turner should easily eclipse the 17 touchdowns he scored last year. Up next, the Panthers.
12	NR	(5-3)	Last week, Kurt Warner threw five interceptions in the Cardinals loss to the Panthers. This week, Warner threw five touchdowns in the Cards road win over the Bears. Good luck making sense of that. The Cards have a perfect 4-0 record on the road. The real challenge for Ken Whisenhunt it to get his team on a roll at home. One player who is on a roll already is receiver Larry Fitzgerald. They will attempt to get its second home win of this season this week when the Seahawks pay a visit to the beautiful University of Phoenix Stadium.

One week after throwing five interceptions and being named the Stiff of the Week, Kurt Warner went out and threw five touchdowns in the Cardinals trouncing of the Bears in Chicago. That was good. But what Steelers safety Tyrone Carter did was even better. Filling in for Ryan Clark, Carter did Dick LeBeau and the Steelers' defence proud with two interceptions. Carter set the tone for the entire Steelers defence when he returned his first pick for a 48-yard touchdown.

This is an easy one: Chicago Bears defensive tackle Tommie Harris. On the fourth play of the game, Harris was ejected for punching Cardinals guard Deuce Lutui in the head. Of course, Lutui had his helmet on, and Harris was standing about two yards away from ref Ed Hochuli. Hochuli happily flexed his 18-inch guns as he announced that Harris was out of the game.

The team that desperately needs to man up is the Green Bay Packers. In the late 1980’s ESPN’s Chris Berman deemed a Green Bay–Tampa Bay match up as the “Bay of Pigs.” Well, Sunday in Tampa, with the Bucs wearing the 1970 throwback uniforms, the Packers allowed 21 points in the fourth quarter. That was enough for the Bucs' first win over the year and the Pack now find themselves three games behind the Vikings in the NFC North.

The Titans have won two-straight games and Chris Johnson is a major reason as to why. The NFL’s leading running back has rushed for 363 yards and four touchdowns in the modest two game winning streak. Not only does Johnson lead the league in rushing, he’s averaging an unheard of 6.7 yards per carry. It was fascinating to see NFL players around the league on their bye week 'tweeting' on Sunday about how in awe they are of Johnson’s raw speed.

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