NFL Rankings: All Saints - sportsnet.ca

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TW	LW	Team	Our Take
1	2		Nobody throws five touchdowns against a Bill Belichick defence; it just isn’t done. Well, nobody informed Drew Brees and the Saints. Serving notice that the Saints are for real, Brees did the unthinkable and carved up Belichick’s defence for five touchdowns and 371 yards on Monday night. The Saints win over the Pats was so convincing that NFL fans across North America better start bracing themselves for the fact they might end up in the Super Bowl. For decades, the thought of the Saints in the Super Bowl ranked right up there with the Leafs winning the Stanley Cup. The way the Saints are playing, it just might happen. Up next, the Saints take on the Redskins. Unless Brees gets a bad case of food poisoning on the day of the game, New Orleans will be 12-0.
2	1		For a while there, the Texans thought it had finally had solved the mystery of Peyton Manning and the Colts. But just to be extra cruel, Manning waited until the Texans had 17-0 lead before starting the comeback. Manning threw three touchdowns as the Colts rallied to extend its regular season winning streak to 20 games. It’s obvious that a 17-0 deficit means nothing to Manning; he just went to work using all of the weapons at his disposal and methodically crushed the Texans will to win. Once again, the Colts defence came up with a big play as linebacker Clint Session returned a late Matt Schaub pick 27 yards for a touchdown. Up next, it’s Vince Young and the Titans.
3	3		If there is one team in the NFC that has the ability to crush the dreams of the Saints (and every other team that has thoughts of going to the Super Bowl) it’s Brett Favre and the Vikings. Favre had another huge game with 392 yards and three touchdowns against a helpless Bears defence. Defensive Player of the Year candidate Jared Allen had two more sacks and Adrian Peterson chipped in with 85 yards and a touchdown. The way Favre and the Vikings are playing, they are more than capable of giving the Saints a run for its money and representing the NFC in the Super Bowl.
4	6		As great as the Colts have played the last two years, there’s a disturbing trend that has prevented them from going back to the Super Bowl: the San Diego Chargers. The last two seasons, the Chargers have knocked off the Colts in the post-season. With everyone focusing on the Colts and an undefeated season, the Chargers have quietly put together a six game winning streak. Philip Rivers has been awesome during the streak and has an average quarterback rating of 125.5 over the last three weeks. What makes the Chargers even more dangerous is the rebirth of LaDainian Tomlinson: five touchdowns the last three weeks and has helped make the Chargers nearly unstoppable near the goal line.
5	5		I am quite sure there are a lot of people around the NFL who wondered why in the world would the Bengals feel the need to sign Larry Johnson after he was let go by the Chiefs. With all the injuries in the NFL this year, you can never have enough depth. With Cedric Benson on the shelf with a hip injury, the enigmatic Johnson ran for 107 yards on 22 carries in the Bengals win over the Browns. So when the weather gets nasty and Carson Palmer is having trouble throwing the ball, the Bengals can pound the ball on the ground with either Benson or Johnson. That just makes a good team even better. Up next, they host the Lions.
6	9		Not only did Packers cornerback Charles Woodson have a perfect game on Thanksgiving, he had the perfect day. Before the Packers beat up on the Lions, Woodson donated $2 million to the University of Michigan Children’s Hospital. Later on at Ford Field, Woodson had two interceptions, one sack, a forced fumble. Woodson was so good that you almost forget that Aaron Rodgers threw for 348 yards and three touchdowns. The Packers are really rolling now but they will have hands full Monday night when they host the Ravens at Lambeau Field.
7	4		I don’t remember ever seeing Tom Brady look more lost or more confused standing on the sidelines. In the fourth quarter, Brady hit a wide open Darren Sharper. Of course, Sharper is a safety with the Saints and not a receiver with the Pats. There wasn’t a receiver anywhere near Sharper on that play. That was bad; the Pats defence way worse. For the first time ever, a Bill Belichick coached defence in New England gave up five touchdown passes. Monday night, the Pats looked nothing like the swaggering team that ran roughshod across the NFL for so long. There’s a lot of work still to be done. By all rights, Brady and the Patriots should be able to bounce back and get a win in Miami. But even if they do, the bitter memory of that loss in New Orleans will stick with them for a long time.
8	10		Donovan McNabb and Asante Samuel led the way as the Eagles won another close game to keep the heat on the NFC East. However, the win came at a cost. A little while after scoring a 35-yard touchdown, receiver DeSean Jackson left the game with a concussion. The way Roger Goodell and the NFL are cracking down on teams rushing players back to action with concussions, I highly doubt Jackson will be in the lineup this week when the Eagles take on the Falcons. Of course, the Falcons have more injuries than the Eagles so they still might be able to win the game without him. Better to rest him because the Eagles won’t win any games in the playoffs without Jackson and his game-breaking speed in the lineup.
9	11		I was doing a radio hit with the Team 1260 in Edmonton when they asked me what I thought about the Cowboys. I told them I can’t figure Big D out. For a while, the Cowboys looked liked they were going to score 500 points. Then they only scored 14 points over two games. Fortunately the Cowboys received a generous gift on Thanksgiving when they played the Raiders and looked a lot more like they did before its offensive slump. The real test for Tony Romo and the Cowboys will take place this week in the Meadowlands when they take on a desperate and reeling Giants team. The way the Eagles are playing, the Cowboys can’t afford to lose if they want to win the NFC East.
10	7		For a kid making his first NFL start against the Ravens, Dennis Dixon did alright. I am sure he blames himself for the loss after throwing that pick in the overtime, but there’s no way anyone on the Steelers blames that loss on Dixon. The bigger concern is quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and his latest concussion. Here’s the dilemma for Mike Tomlin: the Steelers next game is at home and against the Raiders. The Steelers nearly beat the Ravens on the road with Dixon at quarterback. Does he gamble that Dixon can get the job done against the Raiders and let Big Ben rest up one more week? Or does he rush Roethlsiberger back in the starting lineup knowing that another loss might be fatal to their playoff hopes? It's decisions like this that keep coaches in the NFL stuck in the office 16 hours a day.
11	8		This is something that will strike fear into the heart of coach Ken Whisenthunt and every Cardinals fan out there: Kurt Warner is seeing an ophthalmologist this week because of vision problems and sensitivity to light. That’s the last thing you want to hear when you’re dealing with a franchise quarterback who is recovering from yet another concussion. If Warner is healthy, the Cards are an entirely different team. Without him, they become a lot less dangerous on offence. I highly doubt Warner will be in the lineup for this week’s game against the Vikings.
12	NR		Yes, the Titans. Even though its octogenarian owner Bud Adams fancies himself as a coach of the year candidate, the Titans are for real. Since Adams ordered coach Jeff Fisher to start Vince Young the Titans have become an entirely different team. VY has been reborn and looks every bit the unstoppable stud that he was at Texas. Young was incredible as he led the Titans on that 99-yard game winning drive over the stunned Cardinals. To top it all off, Chris Johnson is on pace to run for over 2,000 yards. At 5-6, the Titans are still a long shot to make the playoffs. Having said that, (shameless Curb Your Enthusiasm reference), a quick glance at the Titans remaining schedule has me thinking that they might actually be able to run the table. The only stumbling block in that plan will take place this week when they take on the Colts in Indy.
There are many worthy candidates but no player had a bigger game on a bigger stage than Drew Brees on Monday Night football. Brees shredded the Patriots defence for five touchdowns as the Saints continue to stun the NFL with its offensive dominance. Not only is he a great player, Brees is one of the nicest and most charitable players in the league. I really hate to do this to the guy, but he leaves me no choice: Jake Delhomme of the Panthers. Poor ol' Jake threw another four interceptions in the Panthers loss to the Jets. Lucky for Delhomme, Jay Cutler leads the NFL with 20 picks, which means his 18 interceptions don’t look nearly as bad. The New York Giants. It’s bad enough that they got punked by the Broncos, but the news has come out that linebacker Antonio Pierce is done for the year with a neck injury. The Giants offence is so bad right now that defensive lineman Osi Umenyiora was chewing them out on the sidelines. All Eli Manning and the rest of the offence could do was stand there and take it. I would keep a close eye on Mike Singletary’s 49ers. The 49ers looked impressive in their win over the Jaguars and they have a favourable schedule coming up. This week, the 49ers face the beatable Seahawks. Then they have a Monday night showdown with the Cardinals. That game might very well decide who wins the NFC West.

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