PYPER
Third String But Playing on Special Teams
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2004
- Messages
- 798
- Reaction score
- 195
PYPER’S POWER RANKINGS
Parity is a word that often gets associated with the NFL in the free agency era but it doesn’t seem to fit the 2009 landscape. The gap between the haves and have-nots is one of the season’s biggest stories. Heading into week five we’ve got five teams that remain undefeated and six teams still searching for their first win. We’ve also got eleven teams with at least 3-1 records (plus two 2-1 teams) and another eleven teams at 1-3 or worse. Perhaps things will even out as the season moves along but unless you’re a fan of one of the bottom feeders, you’ve gotta love the competitive races taking shape across the league. Theoretically, it’s possible for 10 or so teams to finish 4-12 or worse and if that were to happen, we could also see the first 12-4 team miss the playoffs. And I thought the 11-5 Patriots got jobbed last season. Nothing is as frustrating as having a great season and feeling like you could make a deep postseason run only to find yourself on the outside looking in. My solution. Create an “exception” where you expand the playoffs but only in seasons when a 3rd or 4th Wild Card eligible team wins 11 or 12 games. If a team wins 11 and especially 12 games, they should get in. The fans of those teams deserve to see what their team could do. In such years, one or both of the 1st round byes could be removed. Then you would have a full day of football on Wild Card Weekend. A game at 1, 4 and then the primetime game at 8. What could be better than that? Anyhow, here are the rankings. Please note that I decided to only include comments for the top 15 teams.
32) St. Louis Rams (0-4, Last Week: #29)
(Next Game: Minnesota)
31) Cleveland Browns (0-4, Last Week: #32)
(Next Game: at Buffalo)
30) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-4, Last Week: #31)
(Next Game: at Philadelphia)
29) Kansas City Chiefs (0-4, Last Week: #30)
(Next Game: Dallas)
28) Oakland Raiders (1-3, Last Week: #26)
(Next Game: at New York Giants)
27) Tennessee Titans (0-4, Last Week: #23)
(Next Game: Indianapolis)
26) Buffalo Bills (1-3, Last Week: #18)
(Next Game: Cleveland)
25) Washington Redskins (2-2, Last Week: #28)
(Next Game: at Carolina)
24) Detroit Lions (1-3, Last Week: #27)
(Next Game: Pittsburgh)
23) Carolina Panthers (0-3, Last Week: #24)
(Next Game: Washington)
22) Seattle Seahawks (1-3, Last Week: #22)
(Next Game: Jacksonville)
21) Houston Texans (2-2, Last Week: #21)
(Next Game: at Arizona)
20) Miami Dolphins (1-3, Last Week: #25)
(Next Game: New York Jets)
19) Jacksonville Jaguars (2-2, Last Week: #20)
(Next Game: at Seattle)
18) Arizona Cardinals (1-2, Last Week: #19)
(Next Game: Houston)
17) Dallas Cowboys (2-2, Last Week: #11)
(Next Game: at Kansas City)
16) Green Bay Packers (2-2, Last Week: #15)
(Next Game: Bye)
15) San Diego Chargers (2-2, Last Week: #6)
Will the real San Diego Chargers please stand up. In recent years the Chargers have developed a reputation as a Jekyl & Hyde type of team. That was never more apparent than in Pittsburgh last week. Are the Chargers the team that fell behind 28-0 or the one that rallied to make it a one score game late in the fourth quarter?
(Next Game: Bye)
14) Atlanta Falcons (2-1, Last Week: #14)
The Falcons return from their bye week with a long road trip to San Francisco against the surging 49ers. Atlanta needs the win in a big way to keep pace with the unbeaten Saints in the NFC South division.
(Next Game: at San Francisco)
13) Pittsburgh Steelers (2-2, Last Week: #17)
Facing adversity and the chance at falling to 1-3, the Steelers offense exploded against the Chargers. For the first time this season, the Steelers unleashed a dominant running game and reminded the rest of the league who the defending champions are.
(Next Game: at Detroit)
12) Cincinnati Bengals (3-1, Last Week: #13)
The Bengals were pushed to the brink by a motivated Browns team but they survived and got the “W”. That’s what good teams do. I’m still not ready to call the Bengals a good team but they’re making progress. The Bengals now head to Baltimore to take on the Ravens in an early season battle for first place. With victories over the Browns and Steelers already notched on their belts, a Bengals victory here would be huge for their playoff aspirations. QB Carson Palmer and the rest of the Cincinnati offense must play better if they plan on taking down the Ravens.
(Next Game: at Baltimore)
11) Chicago Bears (3-1, Last Week: #16)
The Chicago overcame another slow start to claim their third consecutive victory. Tied at 21 with the Lions at the half, Johnny Knox took the opening kickoff of the second half 102 yards for the touchdown and the Bears never looked back. The victory allows Chicago to enjoy their bye week before hitting the road the following two weeks to take on the Falcons and Bengals.
(Next Game: Bye)
Parity is a word that often gets associated with the NFL in the free agency era but it doesn’t seem to fit the 2009 landscape. The gap between the haves and have-nots is one of the season’s biggest stories. Heading into week five we’ve got five teams that remain undefeated and six teams still searching for their first win. We’ve also got eleven teams with at least 3-1 records (plus two 2-1 teams) and another eleven teams at 1-3 or worse. Perhaps things will even out as the season moves along but unless you’re a fan of one of the bottom feeders, you’ve gotta love the competitive races taking shape across the league. Theoretically, it’s possible for 10 or so teams to finish 4-12 or worse and if that were to happen, we could also see the first 12-4 team miss the playoffs. And I thought the 11-5 Patriots got jobbed last season. Nothing is as frustrating as having a great season and feeling like you could make a deep postseason run only to find yourself on the outside looking in. My solution. Create an “exception” where you expand the playoffs but only in seasons when a 3rd or 4th Wild Card eligible team wins 11 or 12 games. If a team wins 11 and especially 12 games, they should get in. The fans of those teams deserve to see what their team could do. In such years, one or both of the 1st round byes could be removed. Then you would have a full day of football on Wild Card Weekend. A game at 1, 4 and then the primetime game at 8. What could be better than that? Anyhow, here are the rankings. Please note that I decided to only include comments for the top 15 teams.
32) St. Louis Rams (0-4, Last Week: #29)
(Next Game: Minnesota)
31) Cleveland Browns (0-4, Last Week: #32)
(Next Game: at Buffalo)
30) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-4, Last Week: #31)
(Next Game: at Philadelphia)
29) Kansas City Chiefs (0-4, Last Week: #30)
(Next Game: Dallas)
28) Oakland Raiders (1-3, Last Week: #26)
(Next Game: at New York Giants)
27) Tennessee Titans (0-4, Last Week: #23)
(Next Game: Indianapolis)
26) Buffalo Bills (1-3, Last Week: #18)
(Next Game: Cleveland)
25) Washington Redskins (2-2, Last Week: #28)
(Next Game: at Carolina)
24) Detroit Lions (1-3, Last Week: #27)
(Next Game: Pittsburgh)
23) Carolina Panthers (0-3, Last Week: #24)
(Next Game: Washington)
22) Seattle Seahawks (1-3, Last Week: #22)
(Next Game: Jacksonville)
21) Houston Texans (2-2, Last Week: #21)
(Next Game: at Arizona)
20) Miami Dolphins (1-3, Last Week: #25)
(Next Game: New York Jets)
19) Jacksonville Jaguars (2-2, Last Week: #20)
(Next Game: at Seattle)
18) Arizona Cardinals (1-2, Last Week: #19)
(Next Game: Houston)
17) Dallas Cowboys (2-2, Last Week: #11)
(Next Game: at Kansas City)
16) Green Bay Packers (2-2, Last Week: #15)
(Next Game: Bye)
15) San Diego Chargers (2-2, Last Week: #6)
Will the real San Diego Chargers please stand up. In recent years the Chargers have developed a reputation as a Jekyl & Hyde type of team. That was never more apparent than in Pittsburgh last week. Are the Chargers the team that fell behind 28-0 or the one that rallied to make it a one score game late in the fourth quarter?
(Next Game: Bye)
14) Atlanta Falcons (2-1, Last Week: #14)
The Falcons return from their bye week with a long road trip to San Francisco against the surging 49ers. Atlanta needs the win in a big way to keep pace with the unbeaten Saints in the NFC South division.
(Next Game: at San Francisco)
13) Pittsburgh Steelers (2-2, Last Week: #17)
Facing adversity and the chance at falling to 1-3, the Steelers offense exploded against the Chargers. For the first time this season, the Steelers unleashed a dominant running game and reminded the rest of the league who the defending champions are.
(Next Game: at Detroit)
12) Cincinnati Bengals (3-1, Last Week: #13)
The Bengals were pushed to the brink by a motivated Browns team but they survived and got the “W”. That’s what good teams do. I’m still not ready to call the Bengals a good team but they’re making progress. The Bengals now head to Baltimore to take on the Ravens in an early season battle for first place. With victories over the Browns and Steelers already notched on their belts, a Bengals victory here would be huge for their playoff aspirations. QB Carson Palmer and the rest of the Cincinnati offense must play better if they plan on taking down the Ravens.
(Next Game: at Baltimore)
11) Chicago Bears (3-1, Last Week: #16)
The Chicago overcame another slow start to claim their third consecutive victory. Tied at 21 with the Lions at the half, Johnny Knox took the opening kickoff of the second half 102 yards for the touchdown and the Bears never looked back. The victory allows Chicago to enjoy their bye week before hitting the road the following two weeks to take on the Falcons and Bengals.
(Next Game: Bye)