Categories
NFL General

Week 2 2008 NFL Power Rankings

Aside from Redskins tight end Chris Cooley revealing more than just his playbook, this week was nothing but gravy in the NFL.

Aaron Rodgers continues to impress, while backed by a quite clearly explosive defense. However, the Packers were facing the Lions.

Interesting circumstances had certain teams winning or losing games, and sending a bunch of pre-season Super Bowl contenders to the dreaded 0-2.

Just off the top of my head, it’s looking like Mike Holmgren’s swan song is going downhill before it could really ever get started, the Chargers desperately miss Shawne Merriman already, and the Minnesota Vikings, despite already being labeled as one-dimensional, are…well, just that.

However, what has not changed, is that Tony Romo and the Cowboys are the team to beat in the NFC, the Colts are still relevant in the AFC, and Tom Brady or no Tom Brady, the Patriots are undefeated.

But aside from the rise and fall of many teams, the most telling fact in the league has remained the impact of the 2008 draft class.

Felix Jones returned a kickoff for a touchdown on Monday night, DeSean Jackson registered his second straight 100 yard game to start his career, Eddie Royal caught his second straight touchdown, and Jonathan Stewart had two rushing touchdowns. And that’s just on the offensive side of the ball.

Here are the week two NFL Power Rankings…

Rank (Pv) Team Record Comment
1 (1) 2-0 Don’t knock the defense. They stopped Philadelphia when it mattered. Tony Romo and Terrell Owens are flat out toying with their opponents.
2 (2) 2-0 If they think they’re going to get to the Super Bowl by scoring 18 points per game, they’re sadly mistaken. Hats off to Matt Cassel and mistake-free football, though.
3 (3) 1-1 It took Peyton Manning about seven quarters into the new season to break into stride. If he keeps making use of Anthony Gonzalez like this, Marvin Harrison will continue to be an after thought.
4 (4) 2-0 The win over the Browns showed they can win by grinding it out. It was an ugly win, but that’s vintage Pittsburgh smash-mouth football, folks. You gotta love it.
5 (6) 2-0 You can talk about them blowing their 21 point lead all you want. The fact is that defense turned it on when it counted.
6 (7) 2-0 Don’t look now, but the regular season Eli Manning is growing into a man. This team should still be mentioned among the NFC elite.
7 (9) 1-1 It’s clear this offense is pretty unstoppable, even if they came up short at the end against Dallas. Can you imagine how it’s going to be when Reggie Brown and Kevin Curtis return at full health? Oh, baby!
8 (14) 2-0 Controversy, Shmontroversy. Mike Shanahan said it best; the Broncos still had to score the touchdown, and they did.
9 (5) 0-2 Does anyone else think this defense is missing Shawne Merriman more than they let on? A pitiful two sacks after two games tells me yes.
10 (13) 2-0 Kurt Warner for MVP? The Cards’ are looking more and more like division champions.
11 (17) 2-0 Another Jake Delhomme comeback, another win for the Steve Smith-less Panthers. It’s obvious that this team is better than we thought, and their rise doesn’t figure to stop with Smith’s return next week.
12 (10) 1-1 That’s two weeks in a row that Reggie Bush did his best to live up to the hype. Still, they don’t have a true running game going.
13 (15) 2-0 I get the distinct feeling that the Titans can win this division with Kerry Collins. Interesting, these receivers seemed worse when Vince Young was behind center…
14 (8) 0-2 They lost two games that they should have won, and now they have the Colts next week. Throw a patchwork offensive line into the mix, and you’ve got a big bowl of failed expectations.
15 (11) 0-2 Logan Payne wasn’t much, but add him to the list. Seattle receivers are dropping like flies. Mike Holmgren’s last hurrah is getting uglier by the day.
16 (23) 2-0 Make that two solid outings for Trent Edwards. Oh, and add a come-from-behind victory to his resume.
17 (18) 1-1 This is why I don’t back Kyle Orton. You can play all the mistake-free football you want, but if you can’t drive down the field and score, you’re nothing to me.
18 (16) 0-2 Everyone put their hands together for Ryan Longwell’s five field goals. We done? Good. You can’t beat the Colts without scoring touchdowns.
19 (19) 1-1 And THAT is why you don’t have Leon Washington in the backfield to pick up blitzes. They only managed ten points, but they hung in there with the Patriots. There’s a lot more optimism in that statement than you’d think.
20 (20) 1-1 Don’t jump to conclusions, just yet. It’s not so much that Jon Gruden was right by switching from Jeff Garcia to Brian Griese. It’s more that the Buccaneers were facing the Falcons. Because, come on, it’s Brian Griese we’re talking about.
21 (12) 0-2 Add two more drops to Braylon Edwards’ stat sheet. Talk about disappointing. Derek Anderson’s confidence in his receivers has to be all but gone. But that’s not the worst of it. Sixteen points in two weeks for this offense? That’s just sad.
22 (22) 1-1 Okay, I admit it, I gave up on Jason Campbell too soon. Boy, the papers don’t lie, do they? That Jim Zorn really does have a way with quarterbacks.
23 (21) 0-1 It’s a good thing their game against Baltimore was post-poned, because they were headed for 0-2.
24 (25) 1-1 Frank Gore keeps playing well, J.T. O’Sullivan is making people forget about Alex Smith, and the Niners’ beat the Seahwaks in overtime on Joe Nedney’s leg. But how about that interception return by Patrick Willis? Now that was impressive.
25 (24) 0-2 Granted, he’s faced two stellar defenses in a row to start the season, but zero touchdowns and three picks? Carson Palmer looks plain awful.
26 (29) 1-0 I don’t know about you, but I just want to see Joe Flacco run every play.
27 (26) 0-2 For a second there, they had Green Bay right where they wanted them. But, they are the Lions, and it was only for a second.
28 (27) 0-2 Why is Larry Johnson so mad? Of all people, he should know how slow he is. If people weren’t already aware, the Chiefs aren’t a threat to win the Super Bowl.
29 (28) 1-1 Talk about night and day. Matt Ryan had the second career start from hell. He couldn’t complete a pass until the second quarter. I suppose we should give some credit to the Tampa Bay defense.
30 (31) 1-1 What an explosion for Darren McFadden. As long as he gets 20 touches a game, this team could stay relevant in the hunt for the division title. Think about it. They’re the only team outside of the Broncos in their division with a win.
31 (30) 0-2 Now there’s the Dolphins offense we’ve come to know and love.
32 (32) 0-2 They can’t do anything right. The Rams are officially the worst team in football.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *