Re: Dr. Z's Power Rankings Dr. Z's Power Rankings <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>1. San Diego Chargers (10-2)No one ever will admit this, but I think Shawne Merriman's four-game suspension worked in the club's favor. They won all four while he was gone, and when he came back against the Bills, he was rested and raring to go. So what did he do? Two sacks, two forced fumbles, four pressures and a pass knocked down.2. Indianapolis Colts (10-2)No, I'm not wild about them in this spot, either, after they lost to Tennessee, but who do you like in this position, the Bears or Patriots, who played miserably but won? The Cowboys or Seahawks, who are fairly hot right now but are still two games behind Indy? Come on, let's hear it. Who?3. New England Patriots (9-3)Bill Belichick found himself with a team on the verge of getting dysfunctional after five turnovers against the Bears. He had the choice of whipping them or babying them, and he chose the whip. On Wednesday after the Bears game he sent his guys out in full pads. No visitors. Lockdown at four o'clock. No contact with attorneys. So what happened? They nearly lost to the worst team in football, the Lions. Three turnovers in the fourth quarter saved their butts, after they had committed the same number themselves. From my vast experience, when I see a good team on an extended blah streak at this stage of the season, it means one thing to me. It's tired.4. Chicago Bears (10-2)More dysfunction. With boos still ringing through Soldier Field after their QB stunk it up against the Vikings, Lovie Smith faced a hostile press and gave his "perception vs. reality" speech ... you know how it goes, "the reality is that we're 10-2," and the rest of the accompanying nonsense. But in another area, offensive coordinator Ron Turner was calmly and professionally addressing the major problem on this team, Rex Grossman. "He's thinking too much," Turner said. "but seeing things that aren't there. You just have to react, and that's what I talked to him about. React. Go back to what you were doing early in the year; you were just playing football." What worries me about this scenario is an upcoming announcement from the head coach that from now on all assistants will be off limits to the press.5. Dallas Cowboys (8-4)Am I the only person who felt that Tony Romo, under fairly consistent pressure from the Giants' rush, was not particularly sharp? I am? Well, come here a minute, I'm going to give you a rare look at one of my charts, the "bad pass" chart. I keep it during the period in which the game is still competitive. The last few series of a blowout, for instance, are not recorded. I'm not a tough grader. I don't issue a bad pass mark if the guy is severely forced while throwing, but I'll occasionally give one even on a completion, if the receiver has to make a circus catch out of something that should have been easy. A QB who's had a fine game might get one or two BP marks. I've graded some Peyton Manning games in which he had none. Eli, against the Cowboys, had what I consider an excellent game. He had two BP marks and no picks. Romo had 10 and two. No good, Tony. I mean really no good.6. Baltimore Ravens (9-3)Seems as if that Thursday nighter against Cincy was about two weeks ago, doesn't it? If I were a Baltimore fan I'd worry a lot more about the loss of return man B.J. Sams than the loss to the Bengals. He was a game-changer.7. Seattle Seahawks (8-4)A very odd affair, that Sunday nighter against Denver. Looked as if both coaches were doing everything they could to keep the game out of the hands of their QBs. OK, Mike Shanahan was worried about his rookie, but how many times did Mike Holmgren run the ball on third-and-medium? So when will this situation become critical, if it persists? Not until the postseason. The Hawks are in a division with the Three Stooges, don't forget.8. Cincinnati Bengals (7-5)Where's all that good defense coming from? How about the little known safeties, Dexter Jackson, who can play in the box and jam things in close, and the pair of Madieu Williams and Kevin Kaesviharn, who have good range and ball awareness. Usually I'm a little foggy on safeties, because I don't know what their responsibilities are on a given play, but it's pretty obvious, the way these guys fly around the field making plays. Oh yes, Kaesviharn generally is the nickel back, but he'll relieve Williams on occasion.9. New Orleans Saints (8-4)One never tires of belaboring the obvious. Reggie Bush, 168 total yards, four TDs. Mario Williams, the No. 1 pick in the draft, two tackles, no assists. Ten years from now we'll still be doing this, except that his tackles probably will be up to about four by then.10. Jacksonville Jaguars (7-5)Breakout game for 6-foot-6 wideout Matt Jones, who runs the 40 in the 4.3s. Six catches, career high 128 yards. Now he's off and running, they say. OK, do it in three games in a row and I'll begin to believe. Maybe.11. New York Jets (7-5)Yes, it was just about a perfect first half against the Packers. You know how I could tell they were really up for this game? The receivers were fully extending themselves to catch anything within reach. Defensively they laid back and played coverages against Favre, often sending in only three rushers. What's the peril ahead? That they'll be reading all the gushing stuff that will be written this week, and find their hats about three sizes larger.12. Kansas City Chiefs (7-5)Yo, Gunny Cunningham! What are you doing playing a deep, conservative cover two against Derek Anderson, seeing his first NFL action, and staying in it all day and letting him do what he wanted to you underneath it? Just asking, pal. I mean don't your guys like to blitz anymore?13. Denver Broncos (7-5)So what happens when you enter into wedded bliss (no, not blitz), and then on your wedding night you find that your bride has ... "Don't take this analogy one step farther," says the Flaming Redhead. OK, OK already, but I think you get the picture. Jay Cutler flatly didn't look ready to start an NFL game Thursday night. No knock on the young man, who I'm sure will be a fine QB some day (either that or he won't), but Shanahan overplayed his hand and now he's in the big pot with a pair of fours.14. Philadelphia Eagles (6-6)I had forgotten that Jeff Garcia was one of my favorite QBs when he was with the 49ers. Too many things had happened. Too many bad offenses to try to run ... Cleveland, Detroit. Too many beatings. But what did we see against the Panthers on Monday night? A darting, scrambling, hungry player, throwing on the move, bleeding first downs just as he used to. Welcome back, Jeff. You've made the Iggies a contender again.15. New York Giants (6-6)Unfortunately they've become the Homer Simpsons of the NFL. They trip over air. They bump into a tree and say excuse me and tip their hats. A guy intercepts a pass against the Cowboys, takes three steps and watches the ball flip out of his hands. A cornerback comes in clean on a blitz, draws a bead on Tony Romo and then for some unexplained reason pulls up and stops. On the same play, a DB zeros in on an interception ... with his arms wide apart, and of course the ball goes between them, right into a Dallas receiver's hands. Plaxico Burress runs all the way across the field to hit a guy late. Bob Whitfield head butts someone right in front of an official. What a group!16. Atlanta Falcons (6-6)I seem to remember that they had a players only meeting before they faced the Redskins. There are so many these days that it's hard to keep track. What came out of it was a pledge to do something really unusual to spark a victory. So what happens? The game turns on a 41-yard interception return by Chauncy Davis, a 274-pound defensive end. There, I've done it. I bet myself I could write an entire Atlanta thing without mentioning a certain individual and I won the bet.17. Carolina Panthers (6-6)I know what you're asking. How many BPs did Jake Delhomme have Monday night? Six, but one was a major league screwup that cost his team the game. You know when I knew the Panthers were in trouble? When one of those heehaws in the booth said Jake was "really having fun this year." Curtains. Serve up the next course.18. Tennessee Titans (5-7)I'm going to give you the flakiest statistic you've heard all season. Ready? The Titans are the first team ever to win back to back contests against the Manning Brothers.19. Buffalo Bills (5-7)Southern California team, coming up to the frigid north, ready to be frosted over by the Bills, right? Not the Chargers. They don't play like a warm weather outfit. They run the ball. Notice that I did not fall into this handicapping trap in my selections, in fact I stayed away from the game entirely, mainly because the number (6) was too high and I don't seek easy wins.20. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-7)I heard that Bill Cowher really has dedicated himself to winning the last four. Well, that won't get him into the playoffs. In the NFC 9-7 would be good, but not here, where it'll take a 10-6 record.21. Miami Dolphins (5-7)Notice the neatness of my rankings, the regimentally correct way in which I keep them all in their proper group, the 6-6s, the 5-7s, all marching together, like a military drill team. I don't know why I haven't done this all along. Looks nice, doesn't it? "What's this got to do with the Dolphins?" someone asks from nearby. Everything. A sense of belonging is what these teams crave.22. St. Louis Rams (5-7)Marc Bulger dressed down the lounge lizards on his team in no uncertain terms after the Cardinals beat them. This is the quote I read in the paper: "I know there's some guys in here who don't care." I know it was an extremely emotional moment, but is it poor form for me to suggest that next time he says, "there are some guys in here?"23. Minnesota Vikings (5-7)Almost buried while everybody worked the angle of the Bears' monumental failure on offense was the fact that Brad Johnson, long considered a rock of stability, threw four picks and was replaced by former Jets back-up Brooks Bollinger, after he threw three interceptions on consecutive series. Even worse, coach Linehan gave no assurance that Bollinger might not be the starter next week. It's what happens when a QB is 38. The season gets awfully long.24. San Francisco 49ers (5-7)The Saints were averaging 94.9 on the ground. They gained 190 against the Niners. Tom Landry used to say, "If you can't stop the run, you can't win." It was only my old time feelings for the Niners that kept them from dropping behind Cleveland, the class of the 4-8s.25. Cleveland Browns (4-8)Off the bench came 6-6, 245-pound QB Derek Anderson, his size 17 shoes flapping like paddles, as he tasted his first NFL action and led his team to victory over the Chiefs, running for 33 yards on the winning drive in OT. They say that when he was a kid in Oregon, his feet grew so fast that his parents sent away to the Portland Trail Blazers for shoes and received a pair that had belonged to center Arvydas Sabonis. This reminds me of the old interview once conducted with 6-11 NBA star Bob Lanier. "Tell me about your athletic feats," his questioner asked. "They're size 19," Lanier answered.26. Washington Redskins (4-8)I had a whole thing prepared about how they blew a 14-0 lead over the Falcons because they got away from the run, and all sorts of players wondered why they passed instead of ran, and honestly, can you read any more of this kind of stuff? I know I can't.27. Green Bay Packers (4-8)I spent a lot of time watching left defensive end Aaron Kampman, as a candidate for my all-pro team. He was going against the Jets' huge but slow-footed Anthony Clement, which should have been a good match-up for him. But he spent the afternoon just spinning his wheels, and then the sad realization came to me. The guy is simply worn out. Not enough relief help. Too much time on the field, battling his heart out in a lost cause.28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-9)They lost, 20-3. The field goal was kicked with :00 showing. I heard a coach I won't name at this time because he was a friend tell me, his eyes flashing, "When you're losing, make 'em stay on the field. Take your time outs while they're in their kneels. Delay the game. The hell with 'em!" Then the attendant came and took him back to his ward.29. Houston Texans (4-8)Yeah, I know, I dropped them out of their class, and that was even after a win ... in Oakland, in which they gained a total of 124 yards, minus five of them passing. "How does someone pass for minus five yards?" the Flaming Redhead asks. Well, you complete five passes of minus one apiece. Or 10 of minus 18 inches. Or 30 of minus six inches. "I knew it was a mistake to ask," she said.30. Arizona Cardinals (3-9)Edgerrin James had scored three TDs this season, going into the Rams game, and that was it for the team's running backs in 2006. So what happens against St. Louis? Marcel Shipp matches James' number by going for the trifecta. I'm dreading to find out the extent of the controversy this has created.31. Detroit Lions (2-10)Now we're working the graveyard shift. Critics have ripped them for taking the field goal when they had a fourth-and-1 on the Patriots' 8, leading by five early in the fourth quarter. Not me. They might not have made it. The Patriots' D-line is better than the Lions' O-line. And even if they'd have made it, so what? Who's to say they'd have negotiated the rest of the yardage for the TD? No, take your points, go up by eight, and pray that your defense can hold. Actually it wasn't the defense that killed them, it was the offense that turned the ball over three times in the remaining minutes.32. Oakland Raiders (2-10)Facing the Texans, with the league's 28th-ranked defense, they committed five turnovers, missed three field goals, allowed five sacks and scored one offensive touchdown. But do you know what I feel is the most remarkable statistic of the day? The one that said 46,276. That's how many people actually paid to watch this insult to honest working folk the world over.</div>
Re: Dr. Z's Power Rankings Lots of looks but no posts.I like the Dr. Z rankings because his descriptions are usually somewhat funny.
Re: Dr. Z's Power Rankings <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (The Punisher @ Dec 7 2006, 01:19 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I know we are 4-8, but we should still be in the top 20.</div>Based on what? They're playing like crap...lol
