Pats #3 on NFL.com Power Rankings

[MrNathanDrake]

Power Rankings, Week 4: Bears, Saints ascend; 49ers plummet - NFL.com

It sure wasn't vintage Tom Brady (225 passing yards, two touchdowns and one interception), but it was enough to get it done against a pretty strong Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense. The 14-year vet seems to have found something -- or someone -- in Kenbrell Thompkins, an undrafted rookie who caught both scoring tosses from the Hall of Fame-bound quarterback Sunday. On the flip side: What a quality performance from the Patriots' secondary. We didn't see 23-3 coming.

Power Rankings sidenote: Getting a lot of feedback on New England being so high. While the Patriots don't feel like a No. 3 team, they're tied for the second-fewest points allowed in the NFL. Meanwhile, Tom Brady is still the quarterback, and there's a very strong chance that the team's second-best player -- Rob Gronkowski -- comes back this week. And which team in the NFL has allowed fewer points than New England? That would be the Seahawks.

:rocker:

Could be the best team in the NFL when Gronk, Vereen, and Amendola come back, and rookies Dobson/Thompkins/Boyce/Sudfeld get on the same page as Brady and settle into the offense more.

Broncos can be the regular season champs and burn themselves out. Our offense looks like it will hit its stride when it matters most, playoff time.

 

[Ivan]

That's just stupid. The Patriots have one good win and I would be happy with them simply being in the top ten. I would rate them 2nd in their own division right now because of strength of schedule and quality of wins.

 

[manxman2601]

Power Rankings, Week 4: Bears, Saints ascend; 49ers plummet - NFL.com




:rocker:

Could be the best team in the NFL when Gronk and Amendola come back, and rookies Dobson/Thompkins/Boyce/Sudfeld get on the same page as Brady and settle into the offense more.

Broncos can be the regular season champs and burn themselves out. Our offense looks like it will hit its stride when it matters most, playoff time.

Fair bit of projection going on there. Until the Broncos actually start showing some frailty, one has to suppose that they'll continue to be strong. And whilst we'll get Gronk and Amendola back, they'll get Von Miller. Still, we're in a nice position.

FWIW, Pete Prisco also has us at #3

NFL Power Rankings: Do-or-die time for slipping Falcons, 49ers - NFL - CBSSports.com News, Rumors, Scores, Stats, Fantasy

 

[manxman2601]

That's just stupid. The Patriots have one good win and I would be happy with them simply being in the top ten. I would rate them 2nd in their own division right now because of strength of schedule and quality of wins.

Wow Negative nelly!

 

[Deus Irae]

For those who like to follow these things:

49ers will be without Aldon Smith for an extended time (rehab)
Cowboys will be without Spencer for at least the rest of this season (microfracture)
Lions will be without Burleson for a while (arm broken in 2 places)

Those teams could struggle with the above personnel losses, and could drop down the rankings moving forward.

 

[BradyManny]

Fair bit of projection going on there. Until the Broncos actually start showing some frailty, one has to suppose that they'll continue to be strong. And whilst we'll get Gronk and Amendola back, they'll get Von Miller. Still, we're in a nice position.

They'll get Von Miller back, but what that means is no sure thing...not only is he a mental time-bomb, he's not going to be near game shape, and I wouldn't be surprised to see a Merriman-like decline in his production. He's got a small frame, getting nabbed for PEDs is not a good thing for him. He's also been very ineffective against us.

Head-to-head, the Broncos do not scare me one bit. Let them pillage their easy schedule and we can meet up in January, and I have no doubt we'll kick the crap out of them. They are a team that can only pass, and can't do anything else on either side of the ball.

 

[Rob0729]

Power Rankings are useless other than entertainment purposes. I really don;t care where the Pats are ranked in September, but I will play.

To be perfectly honest though, after Seattle and Denver, the rest of the bunch of the teams in the top 10 can be ranked in any order at this point. I don't think I would put the Pats at 3 at this point (although I think you can make an argument for it), but I don't think it is crazy.

Seriously, who is definitely better right now other than Seattle and Denver? The only team I would have a strong case to he higher would be New Orleans.

 

[Ivan]

Wow Negative nelly!

Not at all, I'm happy they are 3-0 but Miami has beaten two good teams and only a truly deluded homer would consider their performance to this point deserving of a top 3 ranking. Right now the only thing this proves is just how irrelevant their power rankings really are. If they win the next 2 weeks then i think a top five ranking would probably be warranted.

 

[Ivan]

Power Rankings are useless other than entertainment purposes. I really don;t care where the Pats are ranked in September, but I will play.

To be perfectly honest though, after Seattle and Denver, the rest of the bunch of the teams in the top 10 can be ranked in any order at this point. I don't think I would put the Pats at 3 at this point (although I think you can make an argument for it), but I don't think it is crazy.

Seriously, who is definitely better right now other than Seattle and Denver? The only team I would have a strong case to he higher would be New Orleans.

Cincy, N.O., Miami at a minimum.

 

[MrNathanDrake]

Fair bit of projection going on there. Until the Broncos actually start showing some frailty, one has to suppose that they'll continue to be strong. And whilst we'll get Gronk and Amendola back, they'll get Von Miller. Still, we're in a nice position.

FWIW, Pete Prisco also has us at #3

NFL Power Rankings: Do-or-die time for slipping Falcons, 49ers - NFL - CBSSports.com News, Rumors, Scores, Stats, Fantasy

My projection has nothing to do with frailty.

Pats stayed healthy in 2007, but simply burned out after pounding so many teams.

If Denver stays at this pace, I can see the same thing happening to them down the stretch. 17-20 games (including playoffs) is a marathon, not a sprint.

 

[mgteich]

As I thought you all thought that media hated, undervalued and under-appreciated the patriots.

I don't think our most rabid homers believe that the patriots are higher than than #3 at this point. There is no disrespect from the media. If anything, the media (and the bettors) over-rate the patriots.

If we played tomorrow on a neutral field, should we really be favored over New Orleans? Really?

 

[chasa]

As I thought you all thought that media hated, undervalued and under-appreciated the patriots.

I don't think our most rabid homers believe that the patriots are higher than than #3 at this point. There is no disrespect from the media. If anything, the media (and the bettors) over-rate the patriots.

If we played tomorrow on a neutral field, should we really be favored over New Orleans? Really?

yes.

Pats 23 v TB 3
No 16 v TB 14

 

[Ivan]

My projection has nothing to do with frailty.

Pats stayed healthy in 2007, but simply burned out after pounding so many teams.

If Denver stays at this pace, I can see the same thing happening to them down the stretch. 17-20 games (including playoffs) is a marathon, not a sprint.

The Bronco's look unstoppable on the surface but imo they have an abundance of issues to overcome to get to the promised land, and i don't believe they will do it. i don't think their defense is very good, their run game is mediocre, and i don't believe their depth can handle the injuries, especially on their OL, and i think by seasons end Manning is going to be on his back or hurried and harried by the better defenses.

 

[Claremonster]

All that matters is the Pats are 3-0...

 

[Rob0729]

Cincy, N.O., Miami at a minimum.

I don't know if any of them are definitely better than the Pats. All have flaws. I may say the Saints.

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

Until the Broncos actually start showing some frailty, one has to suppose that they'll continue to be strong.

It will snow, then we will see this:

and this

 

[manxman2601]

It will snow, then we will see this:

and this

Until then, we'll be seeing a lot of this:

 

[IcyPatriot]

I'd rather be lower ... we haven't proven anything yet. I think healthy we have an excellent team but I rather hate when we're at the top of rankings ... what good are they.

 

[Ozymandias]

IMO, based on their game tape, the top five teams in the NFL right now are:

AFC; Patriots, Broncos,
NFC; Seahawks, Saints, Bears

Of those 5, the Seahawks, and the Saints are pretty much unbeatable at home. The Bears losing Melton is a huge loss, but I like what I am seeing out of their offense. Marc Trestman has really turned them around so far.

 

[Soadisthebest]

That's just stupid. The Patriots have one good win and I would be happy with them simply being in the top ten. I would rate them 2nd in their own division right now because of strength of schedule and quality of wins.

The only good thing about them is their d line. Average team posing as an elite one. Happens every year. When the Saints beating the living **** out of them no one will be talking about how good they are.