Week 5 Power Rankings

This week the Skinnypost crew asked some friends and NFL fans on Twitter to give us their Power Rankings, mostly the Top 5. Some people sent more than the Top 5 so those were factored in with the writers’ Rankings. Without further ado…oh, and as always, if you disagree with the Rankings please jump in and tell us why!

 

1. New Orleans Saints – The Saints are the top dog after a 4-0 start. The consensus of fans and editors agree that the Big Easy is the Big Cheese! The Saints D’ is playing great averaging more than 3 turnovers a game and the O’ is special with Drew Brees and Co’. This team is poised for a deep playoff run.

 

 

 

2. New York Giants – The 4-0 Giants are playing great on both sides of the ball. Steve Smith leads all NFL receivers after 4 weeks and Eli Manning is playing well…like a Manning! The Giants may be on a collison course with the Saints!

 

 

 

 

3.  Indianapolis Colts – The Colts are clicking on O’ and Peyton Manning is simply fun to watch, aside from all the checks! The D’ is playing good and the loss of Tony Dungy and Marvin Harrison doesn’t seem to be effecting this team all that much.

 

 

 

 

4. Minnesota Vikings - When Brett Favre plays like he did Monday Night than this team is going to be tough to beat. The Vikes have a great D’ led by non stop motor Jared Allen and of course they have AP who is well…AP!

 

 

 

 

5. New England Patriots – The Pats are back and they now that Wes Welker has returned the O’ is as dangerous as ever. This week they face an interesting test as Bellicheck goes against his former OC in Josh McDaniels when they head out to the Rockies for an AFC showdown!

 

 

 

6. Baltimore Ravens - The Ravens drop a few after being our #1 team for a while this season. The Ravens almost pulled it out in New England and if it wasn’t for the officials protecting Tom Brady like a Momma Bear protects her Cubs they would have pulled it out! The D’ is number 1 against the run and the O’ is a well rounded unit!

 

 

 

 

7. Denver Broncos- The last of the 4-0 teams the Broncos are suprising just about everyone! The D’ is ranked #1 in the NFL in scoring allowing only 26 points and # 2 in yards behind the Giants. Kyle Orton has yet to turn the ball over and that is a formula for success.

 

 

 

 

8.  Pittsburgh Steelers – Yeah the Steelers dropped 2 straight but they came out and flat out kicked some butt on Sunday night. When this team is backed up against the wall they are dangerous! They can’t afford to lose too many more as the Wild Card in the AFC is going to be a fight!

 

 

 

 

9. Philadephia Eagles – The bye week is over and the Eagles should come back full strength. The return of Westbrook and McNabb should make this team only that much better. The D’ is still a ball hawking aggressive style that it always and O’ is getting great production from the Wide Outs, namely D-Jax!

 

 

 

 

10. Chicago Bears – The Bears are playing some good football, the running game is clicking and Jay Cutler is starting to show more consistancy. The D’ isn’t as strong as it once was and we feel that the loss of Urlacher for the year will start to take its toll as the season progresses.

 

 

 

11. New York Jets - Well the Rookie had to come to earth sometime it might as well be against the best team in the League right now. The Saints confused Sanchez and forced 3 picks and a fumble. The D-Rex defense has continued to impress and this team will be a winning team and should make the playoffs, probably as a Wild Card.

 

 

 

12. San Francisco 49ers – This team is hard to rank, they probably should be higher after the dominance that their D’ has shown but at the same time they lost against the only good competition this year in the Vikes. Patrick Willis has replaced Ray Lewis as the best MLB in the game and when Frank Gore returns this team will be set. The bye week is over and the Eagles should come back full strength.

 

 

 

13. Atlanta Falcons – The Falcons come off their bye week and look to get back on their winning ways. They have to stew on the loss to the Pats for entire week off and are probably itching to get that taste out their mouths. The D’ has been a bit of question mark as they rank near the bottom in both passing and rushing…that needs to improve.

 

 

 

14. Green Bay Packers – While we love the Packers offense, we hate their O-line! They have some serious questions in their pass protection and later in the season and in the playoffs they will be exposed against good pass rushing teams, which in the Playoffs, they all are.

 

 

 

15. Cincinnati Bengals – The Bengals are an interesting team. They win against the Steelers and then go into overtime with the lowly Browns. They have gotten better but not enough to win us over yet. The Playoffs might be a stretch.

 

 

 

 

16. San Diego Chargers – The Chargers had the unfortunate fate to play an angry Steeler team in Pittburgh after two straight losses. The Chargers were throttled early but Rivers and Co’ were game and fought back with a 21 point 4th Quarter. The Running game isn’t as strong as it once was and the West is better than a year ago…well Denver anyway!

 

 

 

17. Arizona Cardinals – We tossed back and forth between the Cards and Jags at this spot and then remembered that they played each other already and the Cards won so they get the nod.  Coming off the bye week they’ve had the time to get the offense clicking!

 

 

 

18. Jacksonville Jaguars – The best little man in the league Maurice Jones-Drew has carried this team on his shoulders over the last few weeks and recently got some help from David Garrard. The Jags QB had a great game against Tennessee and the Jags are now winners of 2 straight.

 

 

 

19. Dallas Cowboys – The Cowboys go as Tony Romo goes. When he plays well, they win and when he doesn’t they don’t. It’s really that easy. The D’ is solid and the run game is one of the tops in the league. We hate to say it but they may actually miss Terrell Owens!

 

 

 

20. Miami Dolphins – This team can flat out run the ball, but that’s about all they can do. The unfortunate loss of Chad Pennington leaves the weight of the offense on Chad Henne. The Phins showed what they can do out of the Wildcat and they are very successfull at it, but when facing the better teams in the league they are going to need more to win.

 

 

 

21. Houston Texans - The offense is fine the Defense is horrible. It’s quite suprising considering how many first round picks they have used on that side of the ball. D-Lineman including the #1 overall pick, Linebackers and Cornerbacks but still they are one of the worst units in the NFL. They need to shore it up soon or they can watch Peyton and Co’ take another AFC South crown.

 

 

 

22. Washington Redskins – Yes the won last week but they almost lost to the Bucs at home against first time starting QB. The Redskins don’t impress us on any level really. They have a lot of work to do if they want to compete in the toughest division in football.

 

 

 

 

23. Seattle Seahawks – The Seahawks need Matt Hasselbeck to return at QB. While Seneca Wallace is able he doesn’t really strike fear into opposing Defenses. The run game is inconsistant and the defense isn’t that good. This season could end up as ugly as those green uniforms.

 

 

 

 

24. Detroit Lions - The Lions are team that is getting better. Even in a loss last week they were game. They have all the weapons on offense but they are young and will need time to season. We promise you this, in a few years when Stafford, Johnson, Smith and Pettigrew have some experience under their belts – watch out!

 

 

 

25. Tennessee Titans – How the mighty have fallen! We have no idea what happened to this team, is it Albert Haynesworth? Maybe but it seems to be a combination of things. Kerry Collins isn’t playing to the high level he did a year ago and the D’ is getting torched, especially in the secondary. This is not a playoff team.

 

 

 

26. Carolina Panthers – The Panthers are another team that should be better than their record but they are what they are. The Saints are running away with the South and Panthers aren’t putting up much of a fight. Jake Delhomme isn’t what he once was and neither is the D’. The running game is still solid but that’s about it!

 

 

 

27. Buffalo Bills – The Bills are enimic on offense. They brought in Terrell Owens to bolster the passing attack but when he only gets 3 passes in a game, how much help can that be? They can’t stop the run or pass, they can’t move it on offense and find themselves at the cellar of the AFC East. This team’s season is over in October.

 

 

 

 

28. Oakland Raiders -Here is where the Rankings start getting tough due to the fact there are so many bad teams. The Raiders come in at this point only due to their Defense. JaMarcus Russell is obviously struggling and things don’t appear to be getting any better. Hate to say it but they should have made Jeff Garcia the starter but …

 

 

 

29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - The Bucs seem to find a way to lose but we really like Josh Johnson. The young QB adds a spark to the offense and with a healthy Cadillac Williams the O’ should be OK. The D’ one the other hand isn’t that good. They still miss too many assignments but they have been playing with heart and that’s a sign that things could begin to turn around.

 

 

 

30. Cleveland Browns – The Browns almost won the battle of Ohio against the Bengals but fell short in OT. The offense is better off with Derek Anderson than it is with Brady Quinn. Braylon Edwards needs to concentrate on football and avoid the off the field issues with LeBron James. The run game could use a spark especially after losing rookie James Davis for the season with a shoulder injury. 4 Wins would be a suprise for these Brownies.

 

 

31. St. Louis Rams – The Rams are still struggling with no end to woes in sight. They have no offense to speak of outside of Steven Jackson and the D has no playmakers outside of Leonard Little. They should start focusing on the 2010 Draft!

 

 

 

 

32. Kansas City Chiefs – The Chiefs are in a rebuild. The Matt Cassell trade and paycheck was a blunder. He looked good in New England because he had Bellicheck, Welker and Randy Moss and in KC he has none of those. The D’ isn’t good against the run or pass and this team now finds itself at the bottom of the AFC West under the hated Raiders!