Wednesday 10 September 2014 10:34, UK
It’s the first full week of the unique Sky Sports Power Rankings, in four soccer-style divisions, and with ‘promotion’ and ‘relegation,’ as ranked by our US columnist Simon Veness.
Dare we chalk up a Seattle-Denver re-match straight away? It’s certainly tempting, but you have to think the re-birth of Atlanta, Detroit and Tennessee could make things interesting. Miami also impressed, and the demise of San Francisco’s injury- and suspension-hit defence was clearly greatly exaggerated. For New York Giants, Chicago, Tampa Bay and Kansas City it could well be back to the drawing board, though. Oh, and Calvin Johnson, aka Megatron, really needs a Power Ranking all of his own!
1. Seattle (no change) – “The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” Arguably the best line from the film The Usual Suspects. And the Seahawks also managed to convince many in the NFL world that Beast Mode no longer existed. Until Marshawn Lynch ran all over Green Bay.
2. Denver (up 2) – Did XLVIII ever really happen? It was business as usual back at Mile High and you sensed the Broncos were just toying with the Colts at times – except, without Wes Welker, they dropped six very catchable passes. Fortunately, the defence didn’t drop two very catchable interceptions.
3. Atlanta (PROMOTED, up 6) – For the Falcons, it was like 2013 never really happened. A stunning 568 yards of offence and just enough from the defence (including two key turnovers) suggest they are likely to be a nightmare match-up this season, instead of just a nightmare.
4. San Francisco (PROMOTED, up 9) – OK, so they were just too low in my pre-season view of things. Colin Kaepernick was Mr Efficient against Dallas, which he’d shown no signs of in pre-season. Another clever smokescreen.
5. Green Bay (down 3) – I’m prepared to give the Packers a mulligan for that patchwork quilt opening performance in the Den of Din otherwise known as CenturyLink Field. But six straight losses to the Seahawks and 49ers is not hugely promising for their post-season hopes.
6. Philadelphia (up 2) – For 30 minutes, they couldn’t do anything right, and then a new team came out for the second half at home to Jacksonville. But give anyone else a 17-point lead and it will end up very differently.
7. Cincinnati (PROMOTED, up 8) – The Rehabilitation of Andy Dalton (three play-off appearances, three defeats) got off to a promising start at Baltimore with a mistake-free day. Now he just has to convert more red-zone chances into touchdowns instead of Nugents.
8. Miami (PROMOTED, up 6) – The key stats – 191, 4 and 2. That was yards rushing, including a Beast Mode-like 134 from Knowshon Moreno; crushing sacks of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady; and fumble recoveries from those sacks. Repeat that each week and we will have the biggest surprise story of the season.
9. New Orleans (RELEGATED, down 4) – For all the buzz about the prowess of Rob Ryan, he is now on his fourth NFL team as defensive coordinator and has yet to sniff the Super Bowl in that role. If his team continues to give up 568 yards and/or 37 points per game, he will soon be looking for a fifth.
10. New England (RELEGATED, down 7) – The Patriots’ soft start to the season (at Miami, Minnesota and then home to Oakland) is in danger of becoming more like quicksand if they don’t solve major issues on both sides of the ball before the trip to meet the rampaging Vikings.
11. Indianapolis (RELEGATED, down 5) – The biggest loss last weekend was potentially that of suspended pass rusher Robert Mathis, who tore an Achilles tendon while working out on his own, away from the defeat in Denver. Mathis piled up a league-leading 19.5 sacks last year; his replacement, Bjoern Werner, had 2.5.
12. Detroit (PROMOTED, up 8) – It is still hard to know if they were THAT good on Monday night or if the Giants were THAT bad. But Matt Stafford looked like another player who had decided 2013 never really happened.
13. Carolina (PROMOTED, up 6) – Derek Anderson – without a start since 2010 – handled the small matter of stepping in for the injured Cam Newton with aplomb. How the Panthers handle the domestic violence trial of Pro Bowl defensive lineman Greg Hardy in the post-Ray Rice NFL landscape is a much bigger problem.
14. Baltimore (RELEGATED, down 7) – While many players are busy putting last year in their rear-view mirror, Joe Flacco would love to revisit the year before, when he roared through the play-offs to a Super Bowl win – and a $120.6million contract that is in danger of becoming a major millstone.
15. Chicago (down 5) – The Bears urgently need to create a bit of short-term memory loss after that ugly home defeat by Buffalo. After re-tooling the defence to at least try to stop the run this year, they gave up 193 ground yards to the Bills.
16. Tennessee (PROMOTED, up 6) – Of the four (of seven) new head coaches who got off to a winning start in Week One, the Titans’ Ken Whisenhunt chalked up arguably the biggest win as he led a complete rout of the Chiefs in Kansas City. And, of their next eight games, only the trip to Cincinnati looks especially tricky.
17. Pittsburgh (up 6) – Like Philly and New England, the Steelers suffered a game of two halves, one pretty good, the other one far from it. Like the Eagles, Pittsburgh played their ‘Get out of jail free’ card with a winning finale.
18. New York Jets (up 1) – There was a distinct pre-season air to the Jets’ home win over Oakland – lots of penalties, errors and an over-matched rookie quarterback, Derek Carr, running for his life. Rex Ryan’s men can do better; the Raiders? Can’t do much worse.
19. Arizona (up 5) – Another team who played their ‘Get out of jail free’ card in Week One. Carson Palmer only came to life in the fourth quarter, against a decidedly middle-of-the-road defence. But, a win’s a win.
20. Minnesota (PROMOTED, up 9) – Mike Zimmer can probably give Whisenhunt the best run for his new-head-coach money as just about everything the Vikings did turned to gold. But it is possible the Rams could end up being one of the stinkers of the season, so it may not be anything to get too excited about just yet.
21. Tampa Bay (RELEGATED , down 9) – Lovie Smith was supposed to bring a new intensity to the Buccaneers’ defence, but this had all the elements of last season’s dud 4-12 campaign – an inconsistent offence and a toothless defence
22. Kansas City (down 5) – Getting monstered at home by Tennessee should set just about every alarm bell ringing for Andy Reid, including that new $64million contract extension for Alex Smith. The next four weeks could be even more brutal – at Denver, Miami and San Francisco, plus a visit from New England.
23. Houston (PROMOTED, up 2) – If JJ Watt could play on both sides of the ball, this Texans team could be unstoppable. As it stands, they are at least half-way to respectability.
24. St Louis (RELEGATED, down 13) – A mystery injury to starting quarterback Shaun Hill (replacing the injured Sam Bradford) was about all the intrigue the Rams could manage at home to Minnesota. If the offence stays this anemic, it doesn’t matter what the defence does.
The Conference – Those in Rebuilding Mode
25. Buffalo (up 3) – It’s doubtful if the Bills will find teams as accommodating to their running game strength as Chicago every week. But, if EJ Manuel continues to limit any mistakes, they have something to build on.
26. San Diego (RELEGATED, down 10) – Another team that looked like it was still stuck in the pre-season for much of the game. A decent third quarter was followed by a fourth-quarter collapse of Norv Turner proportions. Wasn’t Mike McCoy hired to halt meltdowns like this?
27. Washington (RELEGATED, down 6) – Houston offered a textbook approach for halting the Redskins – keep Robert Griffin III in the pocket. The quarterback completed 29 passes, but none of them hurt the Texans, and his three runs netted two yards.
28. Dallas (down 1) – Tony Romo shouldered the blame for the opening defeat at home to the 49ers but there was plenty to go around. The Cowboys were 21-3 down at the end of the first quarter, despite the visitors running just FOUR plays.
29. New York Giants (down 3) – New season, new offensive scheme, same old Giants. Eli Manning now has 29 interceptions in his last 17 games.
30. Jacksonville (no change) – We had been promised a new defensive steel from the Jaguars this year, and they had a great first half, being instrumental in the 17-0 lead. Unfortunately, there was that whole second half thing.
31. Cleveland (no change) – Conversely, the Browns’ defence DID come out for the second half after seeing their team go down 27-3 at the interval. Unfortunately, they couldn’t stop one last Pittsburgh charge.
32. Oakland (no change) – Unfortunately, there was no ‘unfortunately’ for the Raiders. They just look horrid on both sides of the ball.
