bubba9497 Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 Collision course http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=cr-rankings102505&prov=yhoo&type=lgns The AFC championship game could be coming earlier than expected. That is, if the Colts and Steelers don't stumble and blow it. With Pittsburgh's next four opponents boasting sub-.500 records, the road appears to be paved to a potentially epic Nov. 28 tilt at Indianapolis. The Colts have a slightly tougher road, including marquee games against New England and Cincinnati, but if Indianapolis can run the table into late November, we could be looking at a preview of the AFC title game – not to mention a face-off between the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the rankings. Considering Denver's loss, Philadelphia's one-dimensional offense and Tampa Bay's injury problems, it's hard to envision anyone rising up to overtake either the Colts or Steelers. But it's worth keeping an eye on the Seahawks, who are slowly climbing the rankings with a team more complete than we've seen in the past. On the flip side, we are once again seeing some extremely poor football teams. And like last season, it won't be shocking if a handful of them end up 2-14, 3-13 or 4-12. Bottom Five mainstays Houston, Green Bay and San Francisco all appear headed in that direction. New Orleans and Tennessee aren't far behind, either. THE TOP 12 1. Indianapolis Colts (7-0) – Linebacker Cato June leads the NFL with five interceptions, including two returned for touchdowns. Better yet, Edgerrin James is on pace to rush for 1,830 yards and 16 touchdowns. 2. Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2) – The running game looks great, but Pittsburgh has to get the wide receiving corps healthy over the second half of the season. Rookie tight end Heath Miller has 14 receptions and three touchdowns in the last three games. 3. Denver Broncos (5-2) – The defense has only been lukewarm all year, but its performance in Sunday's loss to the Giants was troubling. Super Bowl-caliber units don't give up fourth-quarter touchdowns that easily. 4. Philadelphia Eagles (4-2) – Apparently, a fire alarm went off in the second half against San Diego. I mistook it for the emergency siren that warns Andy Reid when he's dangerously close to actually calling a running play for Brian Westbrook. 5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-1) – Just when you were starting to worry about Michael Clayton's virtual disappearance from the Tampa offense, San Francisco's crummy pass defense comes to town. 6. New England Patriots (3-3) – After the bye week, Corey Dillon is healthy and ready to destroy Buffalo's porous run defense. 7. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-2) – Believe it or not, Byron Leftwich has never thrown for more than two touchdowns in an NFL game. With St. Louis coming to town, it's as good a time as any for Leftwich to accomplish that feat. 8. Seattle Seahawks (5-2) – Don't look now, but the Seahawks have a top-10 defense that's capable of winning games, too. Seattle's 23 sacks rank third in the NFL. 8. Atlanta Falcons (5-2) – Say what you want about former receiver Peerless Price, but first-round picks Michael Jenkins and Roddy White haven't exactly lit the offense on fire, either. Stop acting like you don't know what the common denominator is in this equation. 10. Cincinnati Bengals (5-2) – I realize it was the heat of the moment, but Carson Palmer and T.J. Houshmandzadeh might want to beat a team with a winning record before they declare themselves better than a team like Pittsburgh. 11. New York Giants (4-2) – The NFL should have a moment of silence on Sunday for the passing of Wellington Mara. He was one of the league's greats, bringing Y.A. Tittle to the Giants and essentially authoring the division of television money in the NFL. 12. Carolina Panthers (4-2) – Haven't we heard this story? Dan Morgan's shoulder problems mean he's going to have to play hurt for the rest of the season. RISING Kansas City Chiefs (4-2) – Trent Green looked as good as he has all season in the win over Miami. But beyond Eddie Kennison, the Chiefs aren't going to get much out of their receivers. THE MUDDLED MIDDLE (in alphabetical order) Baltimore Ravens (2-4) – I had a hard time believing the whispers until this weekend, but it's safe to say Brian Billick will have a hard time saving his job if the Ravens' fortunes don't turn on a dime. Buffalo Bills (3-4) – If anyone questioned the value of Takeo Spikes to the run defense, they aren't doing it now. Chicago Bears (3-3) – The No. 1 reason Chicago's defense is clicking? After all the talk about him being one of the NFL's most overrated players, Brian Urlacher is having one of the best seasons of his career. Cleveland Browns (2-4) – With Trent Dilfer stumbling and the season going down the tubes, the Browns might want to warm up Charlie Frye just to see what they've got for the future. Dallas Cowboys (4-3) – What I can't figure out is why Bill Parcells thought he could count on Jose Cortez in the first place. Detroit Lions (3-3) – Despite his fumble, it was nice to see Mike Williams finally show some healthy production over the weekend. And if Joey Harrington wasn't the problem on offense, then why did Jeff Garcia do more with less this weekend? Miami Dolphins (2-4) – Before you get all excited about Sage Rosenfels' preseason numbers and start shouting for him to start, first consider the fact he faced second-string players. Minnesota Vikings (2-4) – After all the offseason hype about Fred Smoot, Pat Williams and Darren Sharper, the kicker is looking like Minnesota's best free agent pickup of 2005. And coach Mike Tice had the line of the week when he said Sunday was the first time he's gotten "negative" with his team in the last two years. Things are kind of starting to make sense, huh? New York Jets (2-5) – Anyone have the phone number for Ray Lucas or Neil O'Donnell? And sadly, it's possible that this might be the home stretch of Curtis Martin's career. Oakland Raiders (2-4) – The loss of Charles Woodson means we get to see more of Stanford Routt and Fabian Washington. If that doesn't send Norv Turner scrambling to freshen up his resume, nothing will. St. Louis Rams (3-4) – Mike Martz stepping away is the best thing for this team and Martz. Will he be back? Anyone who suggests they know that answer is guessing. San Diego Chargers (3-4) – Nobody is talking about it, but with A.J. Smith running the show, Marty Schottenheimer isn't safe. The Chargers have lost four games by 12 points, and the conservative play-calling from Schottenheimer has cost San Diego scoring opportunities in each defeat. Washington Redskins (4-2) – As if the defense needed any help, LaVar Arrington looked amazingly inspired after getting out of the doghouse. And while Clinton Portis might have finally gotten his much-needed spark, the offense keeps getting pivotal contributions from role players: Mike Sellers, Robert Royal, Chris Cooley, Rock Cartwright, etc. FALLING New Orleans Saints (2-5) – I had to laugh when San Antonio mayor Phil Hardberger boasted that NFL owners would support him if he tried to lure the Saints to his city permanently. If Hardberger wants to preside over an NFL city, he needs to learn that the only thing NFL owners support is the debit portion of their checkbooks. THE BOTTOM FIVE 28. Arizona Cardinals (2-4) – The season to this point is pretty much summed up by kicker Neil Rackers having the team's most impressive accomplishment: going 20-for-20 on field goal attempts through six games. 29. Tennessee Titans (2-5) – Steve McNair is ready to return, but with the season pretty much in the dumps (and McNair due an insane balloon payment next season), it would be better to just go with Billy Volek and prepare for the future. 30. Green Bay Packers (1-5) – Something to keep in mind with all the problems in the backfield: This is a great year to have a high draft pick with a slew of marquee running backs likely to be available. 31. San Francisco 49ers (1-5) – If there was any question about why Tim Rattay got shipped out of town for almost nothing, Sunday should have answered it. No matter how bad the poundings get, Alex Smith's starting spot can never be challenged without a serious alternative to replace him. And no, Ken Dorsey is not a serious alternative. 32. Houston Texans (0-6) – If I were Houston owner Bob McNair, I would be doing anything to get Charlie Weis to leave Notre Dame right now. The Texans have gotten very little out of first-round pick Travis Johnson, who has 12 tackles in six games. Charles Robinson is the national NFL writer for Yahoo! Sports. Send him a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast. Updated on Tuesday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 YES! We're not in the bottom five! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnyderShrugged Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 The muddled middle with the likes of Detroit and Baltimore???????????????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinsfan1311 Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 The muddled middle with the likes of Detroit and Baltimore???????????????? I kinda thought the same thing..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PotomacSkinsFan Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 well, now nobody needs to tell you why they don't go to Yahoo for their sports reporting and commentary. This is just pathetic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamSneed36 Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 those computer geeks a yahoo dunno **** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KillaCam21 Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 What a joke!:doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supafly Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 Why do they list the top 12 and bottom 5? Why not just list the best team and the worst, and make one huge 'muddled' group in the middle? The only thing that is muddled is their brain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCMONEY Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 Don't matter. Good thing the NFL is not the joke Div I Football BCS system. How long before NCAA Div 1 gets it. The BCS is BS. These rankings for the NFL have no meaning. Skins needd to just win. Everything else will take care of itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whatmeworry Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 Good. The underestimating continues. Let's see how far we can ride it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzSkinsFan63 Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 What do you expect from the guys who think they know when the close games come a calling the yellow hanky will prevail.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrockster21 Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 YES! We're not in the bottom five! Respect at LAST!!! YEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!! (with fist pump -- Napoleon Dynamite style) :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joelvincent Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 Its great to be this good and still under the radar. Unfortunately, NFC East teams are not nearly as stupid as these analysts so they'll be prepared (particularly when they have Pierce giving up the goods on our 'D' and Hasselbeck giving up the goods on our 'O'). If the out-of-conference/divisional teams are this bad at scouting we're GOLDEN! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joelvincent Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 BTW - the "muddled middle" is in alphabetical order... This guy's got no good insights, but at least he's a functional retard... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WonderBoy Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 Take that crap with a grain of salt. Look at the players he mentioned contributing the offense. Who's not on that list? And if we're in the "muddled middle", what negative things does he have to say about our success?...... I call bull****!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolley83 Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 That's the biggest joke ever. This from the "top rate" sports analysts being hired by Yahoo....(sarcasm). Keep underestimating us.....wait 'til we win the division. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dahogs Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 those computer geeks a yahoo dunno **** You think that's bad, you should check out the Google Power Rankings, here's their ranking: 1.) Los Angeles Express 2.) San Antonio Gunslingers 3.) Michigan Panthers 4.) Arizona Wranglers 5.) Birmingham Stallions 6.) Boston-New Orleans-Portland Breakers 7.) Denver Gold 8.) Houston Gamblers 9.) New Jersey Generals 10.) Washington Redskins 11.) Oakland Invaders 12.) Baltimore Stars 13.) Orlando Renegades 14.) Tampa Bay Bandits 15.) Pittsburgh Maulers 16.) Jacksonville Bulls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nneece Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 This is BS! Baltimore, Detroit, and Minnesota. These teams can't hold our jock strap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedsSKINS_7 Posted October 27, 2005 Share Posted October 27, 2005 WE GOT A HUH how do people give us a huh we're better than that way better i mean come on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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