Andre's Week 4 Power Rankings

[Eagle Eye]

I think I'm going to start doing this weekly to bring some other type of activity to this forum.

Going in reverse order.

32. Kansas City Chiefs (0-3) - They're easily the worst team in the league....by miles. Tyler Thigpen wasn't ready for the NFL if he was picked off three times by the Atlanta Falcons' defense (or maybe Atlanta's D is better than I'm giving us credit for). Should've signed Simms or Quinn Gray, they'd be better than the crap QB Roster you have now.

31. St. Louis Rams (0-3) - At least the Rams can somewhat score points, they put up a brief fight against New York last week before getting their asses handed to them by Seattle....who's been struggling themselves. I haven't watched this team, so I can't tell you why they are failing, it's sad to see Bulger, Jackson, and Holt's (okay, well, not so much the last one, he's already had his run) careers go to waste on that pathetic excuse for a team. Wait, what? You're benching Bulger? Wow, fire Linehan.

30. Cleveland Browns (0-3) - The problem isn't so much Derek Anderson as it is everything else, don't get me wrong, Derek is struggling, but so is his line, so is Braylon Edwards, and missing Joe Jurevicius doesn't help at all. Putting Brady out there is going to high risk, high reward. If he succeeds, we know the guy is tough, if he fails, he may suffer the Joey Harrington syndrome.

29. Detroit Lions (0-3) - Hey, at least they're scoring points, but you know the team is dysfunctional when the owner's son wants to fire the GM, and the owner has no comment.

28. Cincinnati Bengals (0-3) - Putting up a fight against the defending Superbowl champions is a morale win for them, let's see if they can turn it into a win next week.

27. Houston Texans (0-2) - The Matt Schaub show isn't looking so hot right now, I wonder how many of those Schaub-fans in Atlanta are beginning to tighten their lips. For his sake, I hope he straightens this up before he's out of a job, too much talent for him to be under performing like this.

26. Seattle Seahawks (1-2) - Yes, I know they just beat the Rams in convincing fashion, but that doesn't take away from the fact that Julius Jones is probably going to be non-existent the rest of the season. Their #1 WRs name is Mike Bumpus.

25. Miami Ronnie Browns (1-2) - Okay, you beat the Patriots, we know you have potential, but we also know that you're the Miami Dolphins, just without Cleo Lemon.

24. New York Jets (1-2) - Favre got their too late for their offense. The defense has to step up until he gets this playbook down, which will probably be late into the season, and I honestly don't think the D will do it.

23. Oakland Raiders (1-2) - You have to admit, they're (with the exception of the Denver game) putting up a fight weekly, you kinda have to like it. The thing is, until Jamarcus and that passing game step it up a notch, they'll be wallowing in mediocrity.

22. Chicago Bears (1-2) - Defense has stepped up, and Orton has looked pretty good (with the exception of his Joey-Harrington-get-picked-by-a-Defensive-lineman impression), but I'm going to need a little more out of them if they want to win their division. Hester needs to hurry back, to quote Arson Palmer "Man cannot live on Roscoe Parrish returns alone"

21. Minnesota Vikings (1-2) - Speaking of the NFC North, I noticed Frerrote was doing the same thing Tarvaris was.....the receivers just actually caught the ball. Don't get me wrong, I think for this season Frerrote is probably the better choice, but if you want to be a contender for years to come, you need to have a quarterback for years to come, and benching a guy with only 14 starts under his belt doesn't help his psyche.

20. Indianapolis Colts (1-2) - 1) Age is finally catching up to them; 2) lack of size on defense is finally catching up to them; 3) No Bob Sanders has already caught up the them; 4) As long as teams run the ball on them successfully, they will not win.

19. Baltimore Ravens (2-0) - Your great defense is back, but you beat Ohio, who in NCAA included, is sucking it up right now. Beat a good team and prove to me you're a top 15 team.

18. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-2) - I think they're getting back to what made them good last year: staying consistent with running the ball. Don't force Garrard into tough situations and he won't force bad throws, let MJD and Fred Taylor handle the rock and you will go far. This is why Garrard threw only 3 picks last season.

17. New Orleans Saints (1-2) - I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the reason the Saints miss the playoffs, (if they do) is because of defense. I wonder if Drew Brees has thoughts of randomly knocking on one of their doors and punching them in the face when (whoever) answers.

16. Atlanta Falcons (2-1) - Mike Smith is turning Atlanta into Jacksonville....I like it. If Matt Ryan is regulated to 16-20 passes a game, and Turner and/or Norwood continue on this pace, watch out, this team could surprise a few people. The team is ready, the question is, when will their quarterback be?

15. Carolina Panthers (2-1) - They got exposed, as many people believed they would. Steve Smith was back, yes, but that didn't stop the Vikings' DL from just taking a massive dump on Delhomme several times.

14. San Francisco (2-1) - According to Mike Martz, J.T. O'Sullivan is "the best quarterback he's ever coached". If this is true, and I'm not saying it is, but if it is indeed true, expect the Niners to go deep into the playoffs.

13. Tampa Bay (2-1) - I'd put them higher, but John Gruden can't make a decision on who his quarterback is. I mean really, if you REALLY liked Griese, you wouldn't ask him to throw 67 times....just saying.

12. New England Patriots (2-1) - Yeah, they got embarrassed....thoroughly. But I think this team is going to rebound, then again, they'll only go as far as Matt Cassel takes them.

11. San Diego Chargers (1-2) - You don't make Top 10 if your defense is getting torched more than UAB's.

10. Arizona Cardinals (2-1) - Kurt Warner resurgence anyone? What has he been drinking and where can I get some?

9. Green Bay Packers (2-1) - They also got exposed Sunday night, Aaron Rogers struggles against man coverage (understandable), it has now happened twice.

8. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-1) - They lost a tough fight to Philadelphia, the only downside is, they lost at their own game.

7. Tennessee Titans (3-0) - You may be undefeated, but you're also starting Kerry Collins, who I will continue to doubt until he shows me a season's worth of solid play. Either way, I still start him when Vince comes back if he's still playing well.

6. Washington Redskins (2-1) - Lionel Ritchie II seems to have gotten this offense in the palm of his hand. They will be putting up some points.

5. Denver Broncos (3-0) - Okay, I lied about the defensive bit, but still Cutler is looking really impressive.

4. Buffalo Bills (3-0) - They've showed they're tough, and I think they've made it known that they're here to stay. What makes a good team is being able to win close games, it takes a great team to put back to back 10 point 4th quarter rallies, it also makes for a questionable team. They shouldn't have been down 10 against the Raiders, period, but this team is too solid in all phases of the game to ignore.

3. Philadelphia Eagles (2-1) - That's right, I said it, the Eagles are a top three team in the NFL. Why? Because not only did they show they can win shootouts, (even though they didn't, but they showed they could) but they can play those tough, bareknuckle, defensive games and win. Watch out.

2. New York Giants (3-0) - You're the Superbowl champs, you should have blown the Bengals out the water. Is it me, or is Eli Manning looking better and better every week?

1. Dallas Cowboys (3-0) - It kills me inside to do this, but they are the best team in the league. I still think they'll choke it away down the stretch, but as of right now, they're the best team in the league.

Pick em results later.

[Lurch1982]

Originally Posted by Sandcastle Disco

.

17. New Orleans Saints (1-2) - I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the reason the Saints miss the playoffs, (if they do) is because of terrible coaching.

Fix'd.

Reggie Bush will not be a Saint when his contract goes up if Payton is still here and one of the potentially alltime great offenses is being wasted by sloppy playcalling. That coach is a total moron. If Haslett or Mora (or even Ditka) had these weapons, they would have perpetually won 11-14 games.

[chuck the duck]

why did you rank the falcons so high, they are awful and only crush **** teams

be objective for once they're in the bottom 10 of the league

[Shine Dude]

If it was me, I would have said Rams were the worst team.

[Crazyswordsman]

Originally Posted by Sandcastle Disco

24. New York Jets (1-2) - Favre got their too late for their offense. The defense has to step up until he gets this playbook down, which will probably be late into the season, and I honestly don't think the D will do it.

We had a shot at Andre Woodson this year. We didn't get him. We wasted a draft pick AGAIN. Instead the QBs we get are the spread types that are used to taking snaps from the gun and don't know a thing about playing under center. Sure we have Favre, but he's not as tough-as-nails as he once was. The Jets need the kind of QB that can play in an NFL style of offense, and they better pick a good one in this draft. -CSM

[Eagle Eye]

Originally Posted by chuck the duck

why did you rank the falcons so high, they are awful and only crush **** teams

be objective for once they're in the bottom 10 of the league

#1 this is all relative to how teams are playing now, not a whole season, not how they're supposed to play.

The team is easily two (good) players from the playoffs, they're basically a weak version of Jacksonville. Run the ball, hope to God Matt Ryan doesn't throw a pick, hope you score, and hope one of those scrubs at corner doesn't give up a big play. They're strong up front (John Abraham has wrecked all season long, Griese included, Jackson and Babineaux are great at cutting off any inside plays, and Anderson seems to be coming along nicely), and have enough experience in the LB corps to get by.

Tampa crushed us, yes, but it didn't help that our rookie QB was going up against one of the best defenses in football. 16th isn't necessarily good IMO, nor do I think they'll stay there (if we have anything more than 7 wins this season, I'll be shocked). They're playing better than Indianapolis, New Orleans and half those other teams (at least defensively). If they stick to the formula they have going right now, they could surprise a few of really good teams.

As far as the rest of the season goes, based on these first three games, I predict the following:

Carolina - W
Green Bay - L
Chicago - L*
Philly - L
Oakland - W
New Orleans - L
Denver - L
Carolina - W (Warning, bias)
San Diego - L
New Orleans - L
Tampa Bay - L
Minnesota - L*
St. Louis - W

*(Possible to win, but doubtful)

Originally Posted by ShineDude

If it was me, I would have said Rams were the worst team.

KC is so much worse off than the Rams right now. The Rams at least have talent on both sides of the ball, Bulger (who is oddly being benched for Captain Concussion this week), Jackson, Holt, Tisamoa (I think that's how you spell it), KC may have the same thing in terms of a great WR (Bowe), a great RB (Johnson, though underused) and Donnie Edwards, but they don't have a reliable QB. Croyle has been failure, Huard hasn't been doing much more, and Thigpen made Atlanta's defense look like 05 Chicago. Snatch a veteran immediately (hell, Vinny Testeverde @ 65 is better than their current list of QBs), or snatch a random free agent (Quinn Gray is jobless, I'm sure he wants a chance). Hope Herm is getting his resume together.

[chuck the duck]

Originally Posted by Sandcastle Disco

#1 this is all relative to how teams are playing now, not a whole season, not how they're supposed to play.

theyre not good Michael Turner blew up two scrub teams and failed miserably against a competent one which is mostly why they won

Originally Posted by Sandcastle Disco

The team is easily two (good) players from the playoffs, they're basically a weak version of Jacksonville. Run the ball, hope to God Matt Ryan doesn't throw a pick, hope you score, and hope one of those scrubs at corner doesn't give up a big play. They're strong up front (John Abraham has wrecked all season long, Griese included, Jackson and Babineaux are great at cutting off any inside plays, and Anderson seems to be coming along nicely), and have enough experience in the LB corps to get by.

the Bears are two players from the playoffs in fact you can say that about any team in the NFL if you name two players. Falcons are nowhere near contenders. being a weak version of JAX isnt good anyway because theyre overrated and not that great

Originally Posted by Sandcastle Disco

Tampa crushed us, yes, but it didn't help that our rookie QB was going up against one of the best defenses in football. 16th isn't necessarily good IMO, nor do I think they'll stay there (if we have anything more than 7 wins this season, I'll be shocked). They're playing better than Indianapolis, New Orleans and half those other teams (at least defensively). If they stick to the formula they have going right now, they could surprise a few of really good teams.

matt ryan isnt ready to be a starter, they dont have anyone else better. i figure theyll be exposed

Originally Posted by Sandcastle Disco

As far as the rest of the season goes, based on these first three games, I predict the following:

Carolina - W
Green Bay - L
Chicago - L*
Philly - L
Oakland - W
New Orleans - L
Denver - L
Carolina - W (Warning, bias)
San Diego - L
New Orleans - L
Tampa Bay - L
Minnesota - L*
St. Louis - W

Here's mine i bet its more accurate

Carolina - L
Green Bay - L
Chicago - L
Philly - L
Oakland - W
New Orleans - L
Denver - L
Carolina - L
San Diego - L
New Orleans - L
Tampa Bay - L
Minnesota - W
St. Louis - W

they have a shot at Chicago and probably a win against the Buccos due to the fact they seem to have a couple of games where they are just absolute garbage but i dont see them beating most of these teams. minnesota sucks so they can beat them but that is a brutal schedule against teams that are better than them on both side of the ball and can likely outscore them easily

[Eagle Eye]

Originally Posted by chuck the duck

theyre not good Michael Turner blew up two scrub teams and failed miserably against a competent one which is mostly why they won

Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood have both been performing well, it's not solely Turner that's hurting teams, it's what Norwood can do with the ball and using them interchangeably as well. That will be the key

the Bears are two players from the playoffs in fact you can say that about any team in the NFL if you name two players. Falcons are nowhere near contenders. being a weak version of JAX isnt good anyway because theyre overrated and not that great

What I meant by two players is the two players we gave away, DeAngelo Hall was understandable but could've been prevented, the Alge Crumpler was just no way. At least get SOMETHING out of it. Jacksonville is a solid team that needs solid play, no idea what's been up with Garrard lately, but then again he's shown signs of inconsistency when he had prolonged periods of starting in place of Leftwhich.

matt ryan isnt ready to be a starter, they dont have anyone else better. i figure theyll be exposed

No, he's not ready and I don't think I ever said he was. Atlanta is trying to develop him, and there's going to be a curve, anyone can tell you I was a huge Chris Redman supporter before the season began, but as opening day got closer, I realized something. We shouldn't and won't make the playoffs, therefore, let the new guy learn and take his lumps with a young team. Roddy White has made strides, the running game is going to be great in due time, and the defense seems to be holding up alright as well. We weren't supposed to even be competitive these first three games (and in Tampa, that remained true, didn't help Ryan started 0-9), the fact that we're even scoring more than 10 points in a game means we're making some progress. To add to that, I wish they'd stop overblowing his deep ball accuracy, Darrell Hackney himself said that all you need to do is throw the ball in the air and Roddy will go get it.

Here's mine i bet its more accurate

Carolina - L
Green Bay - L
Chicago - L
Philly - L
Oakland - W
New Orleans - L
Denver - L
Carolina - L
San Diego - L
New Orleans - L
Tampa Bay - L
Minnesota - W
St. Louis - W

they have a shot at Chicago and probably a win against the Buccos due to the fact they seem to have a couple of games where they are just absolute garbage but i dont see them beating most of these teams. minnesota sucks so they can beat them but that is a brutal schedule against teams that are better than them on both side of the ball and can likely outscore them easily

And your difference is what? No wins against the Panthers?
Some of the teams we can sneak one against, but it's not likely, Minnesota will probably run all over us, but "letting a quarterback develop" is usually grounds for no playoffs, at least while that QB is developing.

[chuck the duck]

Falcons arent good, theyre so bad

why would anyone be high on Chris Redman he is terrible. Roddy white is alright but he's certainly not elite by any means (although your reach for him in the draft suggested otherwise heh heh)

also the difference is theyre prob gonna finish like 4-12 or 5-11 and trading Deangelo fall was a good move since hes overrated anyway

22. Chicago Bears (1-2) - Defense has stepped up, and Orton has looked pretty good (with the exception of his Joey-Harrington-get-picked-by-a-Defensive-lineman impression), but I'm going to need a little more out of them if they want to win their division. Hester needs to hurry back, to quote Arson Palmer "Man cannot live on Roscoe Parrish returns alone"

Defense looked bad against ****ty Griese although the refs screwed the Bears over so bad it wasnt funny.

theyre not gonna win the division because no one kicks to Hester, the o-line is horrible, and Orton can't throw a deep ball to save his life. He either overthrows the wide open guy or underthrows it (and hes lucked out on a few of these due to the WR's effort). Orton's a game manager but hes not the kind of QB who's gonna win you a game if you need him to

also my boy Mendenhall is starting Sunday for the Steelers, they are now locks to win the division

[Shine Dude]

Originally Posted by Sandcastle Disco

KC is so much worse off than the Rams right now. The Rams at least have talent on both sides of the ball, Bulger (who is oddly being benched for Captain Concussion this week), Jackson, Holt, Tisamoa (I think that's how you spell it), KC may have the same thing in terms of a great WR (Bowe), a great RB (Johnson, though underused) and Donnie Edwards, but they don't have a reliable QB. Croyle has been failure, Huard hasn't been doing much more, and Thigpen made Atlanta's defense look like 05 Chicago. Snatch a veteran immediately (hell, Vinny Testeverde @ 65 is better than their current list of QBs), or snatch a random free agent (Quinn Gray is jobless, I'm sure he wants a chance). Hope Herm is getting his resume together.

You forgot Tony G.

Steven Jackson isn't doing too hot and D Bo is doing better than Torry Holt. But I do agree with you that Brodie Croyle is a sh*tty QB. At least Huard has actually won something.

And since when has Larry Johnson been underused?

[Eagle Eye]

Originally Posted by Shine Dude

You forgot Tony G.

Steven Jackson isn't doing too hot and D Bo is doing better than Torry Holt. But I do agree with you that Brodie Croyle is a sh*tty QB. At least Huard has actually won something.

And since when has Larry Johnson been underused?

Since all this season until the second half of Atlanta.

No seriously, they've refused to hand him the ball, simply because they get down so far so quickly. It's not that they don't WANT to use him, it's that they can't use him effectively, if at all.

[Auron]

Hey duck, might I suggest posting your own power rankings instead of getting pissy about someone else's opinions? I find it comes across as arrogant when someone argues someone else's opinions while regarding their own as facts. It's week 4 of the season. This isn't college, there's no set ranking. Everything is wide open. How one team looks to one person will differ to how another looks at them based on pre-season expectations and the like. If you don't like someone's power rankings, than just take them for what they are and stop trying to convince some that they're wrong just because you don't agree.

And your lack of consistent capitalization and periods makes you sound really childish. It's really hard to take your opinion seriously right now.

That being said, even though I'm a Bills fan, I'd be hard pressed to pick them as the top AFC team so far. I mean, they are a complete team in terms of offense, defense and special teams, maybe the most complete team in the AFC right now, but outside of the Jacksonville game, neither Seattle or Oakland ever concerned me before the season. Oakland's a wreck and Seattle is in a notoriously bad division. I'd still consider them top 3 in the AFC, but Tennessee has a far more dominant defense with and adequate offense, and Denver's offense is just ridiculous.

[Eagle Eye]

The thing I don't trust about Tennessee I think I've said all along is the offense, especially Kerry Collins. Aside from his receivers having the stonehand syndrome, I just don't trust the guy long term, he's been known to fade out, who knows, MAYBE he'll prove me wrong, for Nashville's sake, I hope he does.

As far as Denver goes, they have relatively no defense, I don't trust that either.

Buffalo has all the things needed to succeed, the only thing possibly holding them back is youth, and that's what makes them even scarier. What happens when they mature as players? Seattle is terrible this season, but blanking them is still huge, and posting two consecutive 4th quarter comebacks, regardless of opponent is something to take note too as well. The only question surrounding them is can they keep out of these situations?

[Auron]

As far as Collins, yes, he's proven to be unreliable down the stretch. But the thing about Tennessee is that with the defense, they don't need Collins to overplay anything. He only needs to manage the game. Let's not forget, he did help the Giants go to the Superbowl, and as I see it, he only needs to do now what he did then: Score enough points to win and let a rock solid defense shut teams down. I'll become more leery of Collins if Albert Haynesworth (team MVP anyone?) goes down again.

Yeah, Denver's D is pitiful, so while I'm cautiously optimistic about the Bills, I think Denver is #3 in the AFC behind Tennessee and Buffalo because they can't stop anyone. It's actually quite possible that we may not know how Denver will react to a stifling defense until they meet Buffalo in week 16 (although I will circle the week 6 match-up against the Jags as a potential indicator).

I know the culture is slowly changing here in Buffalo (kudos to Dick Jauron), but given our recent history of letdowns (2-0 in 2003 to finish 6-10, losing to Pittsburg's "varsity squad" in the last game of 2004 to finish 9-7, last second losses to Dallas and Denver last year), I'm still very hesitant to throw down the Bills as the class of the AFC. The AFC East? Yes. The conference. Not yet. They've proven they can come from behind. They've proven they can shut teams down. They've also proven they can beat teams with a less than 100% effort. But can they win in December? They were a paltry 1-3 in the final month last year with the California kids (Lynch and Edwards) playing disastrously bad in the northern weather (Bills at Cleveland anyone?). Going 5-0 in the beginning and cruising to a division title means nothing if they flunk out at their first playoff game in the snow.

[chuck the duck]

Originally Posted by Auron

Hey duck, might I suggest posting your own power rankings instead of getting pissy about someone else's opinions? I find it comes across as arrogant when someone argues someone else's opinions while regarding their own as facts. It's week 4 of the season. This isn't college, there's no set ranking. Everything is wide open. How one team looks to one person will differ to how another looks at them based on pre-season expectations and the like. If you don't like someone's power rankings, than just take them for what they are and stop trying to convince some that they're wrong just because you don't agree.

and the Falcons are a bad team, how is this hard to understand? blowing out bad teams isnt impressive, and when they played a good team they sucked horribly. usually this means the team sucks sorry pal.

are you aware that a message board is a place of discussion and that I am in fact allowed to contest things people claim? this is the purpose of the board and the threads within, not to have a circle jerk of high fives and agreement only. you act as if negativity is going to corrupt your happy shell of complacency or something

Originally Posted by Auron

And your lack of consistent capitalization and periods makes you sound really childish. It's really hard to take your opinion seriously right now.

much like it's hard to take you seriously for pointing out things like improper grammar eh. I dont need to consistently capitalize so long as my words are legible, isnt that what matters you clown

[Auron]

Originally Posted by chuck the duck

and the Falcons are a bad team, how is this hard to understand? blowing out bad teams isnt impressive, and when they played a good team they sucked horribly. usually this means the team sucks sorry pal.

So blowing out bad teams is not impressive? So the Eagles are not impressive for manhandling St. Louis? How about Denver's utter thwomping of Oakland? Or Sand Diego destroying the Jets? Anyone who watches football will tell you that good teams are supposed to crush bad teams. Why do you think the point spread for Denver this weekend is is almost 9 points over Kansas City? If manhandling someone is good enough for you than how are you supposed to beat bad teams? Let them run all over you? Oh wait, New England did that and lost. So I take it New England is an even worse team than Atlanta for "sucking horribly" against an 0-2 Miami at home?

While I don't think Atlanta is good team per se, but I don't think they are a "bad team" either. They are one of the younger teams on offense with plenty of room to improve. Sure they played bad on the road, but if you expected to see the second coming of Dan Marino from Matt Ryan in his first NFL road game, than you must be awfully disappointed. There's a huge growing curve in the NFL, and while he did look bad at Tampa Bay, there's plenty of potential with him for both the future and this season. With New Orleans in a funk right now, with Tampa Bay's unpredictability, and Carolina's tendency to underachieve, I think Atlanta could possibly surprise a few people. Do I expect it? Not really, but I won't leave out the possibility. In the NFL, anyone can beat anyone on any given week, no matter how much the team "sucks".

are you aware that a message board is a place of discussion and that I am in fact allowed to contest things people claim? this is the purpose of the board and the threads within, not to have a circle jerk of high fives and agreement only. you act as if negativity is going to corrupt your happy shell of complacency or something

I'm not saying there's no place for discussion, and I'm not saying there's no room for disagreement. I'm just saying there's no place for acting like people are morons for disagreeing with you and running around acting like an arrogant dick. Sure you can disagree with people, but you won't get very far by pissing in people's faces, I guarantee it.

much like it's hard to take you seriously for pointing out things like improper grammar eh. I dont need to consistently capitalize so long as my words are legible, isnt that what matters you clown

Like I said, I really can't take anything you say seriously. The name-calling is very childish and immature and there's absolutely no place for it here. You're not going to win very many arguments when you have to resort to calling people "clowns" instead basing things on facts.

[Lurch1982]

Originally Posted by Sandcastle Disco

The thing I don't trust about Tennessee I think I've said all along is the offense, especially Kerry Collins. Aside from his receivers having the stonehand syndrome, I just don't trust the guy long term, he's been known to fade out, who knows, MAYBE he'll prove me wrong, for Nashville's sake, I hope he does.

As far as Denver goes, they have relatively no defense, I don't trust that either.

Buffalo has all the things needed to succeed, the only thing possibly holding them back is youth, and that's what makes them even scarier. What happens when they mature as players? Seattle is terrible this season, but blanking them is still huge, and posting two consecutive 4th quarter comebacks, regardless of opponent is something to take note too as well. The only question surrounding them is can they keep out of these situations?

Collins is an upgrade from VY because Collins wants to play. Honestly, I think Simms is the future there. VY looks like he may headcase out of the league.

Denver's D is extremely effective if they can stay in the 4-3 against Iforms or TE sets. If you spread on them, they're exposed. If you let them bunch in the box, you can't move the ball on them.

Seattle was missing like half of their WRs and half of their HBs. I wouldn't look too far into that game.

Originally Posted by Auron

So blowing out bad teams is not impressive? So the Eagles are not impressive for manhandling St. Louis? How about Denver's utter thwomping of Oakland? Or Sand Diego destroying the Jets? Anyone who watches football will tell you that good teams are supposed to crush bad teams. Why do you think the point spread for Denver this weekend is is almost 9 points over Kansas City? If manhandling someone is good enough for you than how are you supposed to beat bad teams? Let them run all over you? Oh wait, New England did that and lost. So I take it New England is an even worse team than Atlanta for "sucking horribly" against an 0-2 Miami at home?

Blowing out bad teams isn't impressive, especially if they're royally ****ed in every-which-way like St. Louis, Oakland,and KC.

NE is an even worse team than Atlanta because they lost Tom Brady and as a result their entire offense fell apart. They don't have a load-bearing RB to take the pressure off of a guy that hasn't started a game SINCE HIGH SCHOOL.

While I don't think Atlanta is good team per se, but I don't think they are a "bad team" either. They are one of the younger teams on offense with plenty of room to improve. Sure they played bad on the road, but if you expected to see the second coming of Dan Marino from Matt Ryan in his first NFL road game, than you must be awfully disappointed. There's a huge growing curve in the NFL, and while he did look bad at Tampa Bay, there's plenty of potential with him for both the future and this season. With New Orleans in a funk right now, with Tampa Bay's unpredictability, and Carolina's tendency to underachieve, I think Atlanta could possibly surprise a few people. Do I expect it? Not really, but I won't leave out the possibility. In the NFL, anyone can beat anyone on any given week, no matter how much the team "sucks".

I hate the cliche "Anyone can beat anyone on any given week! I love the NFL!" or any of its variants. Atlanta is still missing way too many pieces. The only way they could make noise is if Payton coaches New Orleans to a losing record, the Panthers go Panthers and get so injured that they can't compete, and the Bucs just continue to be mediocre. Next year they could be a sexy sleeper pick, especially with a good draft (Like a stud WR). As of right now, their RBs lit up terrible teams and they haven't really been tested by a good team.

[Auron]

Originally Posted by Lurch1982

I hate the cliche "Anyone can beat anyone on any given week! I love the NFL!" or any of its variants. Atlanta is still missing way too many pieces. The only way they could make noise is if Payton coaches New Orleans to a losing record, the Panthers go Panthers and get so injured that they can't compete, and the Bucs just continue to be mediocre. Next year they could be a sexy sleeper pick, especially with a good draft (Like a stud WR). As of right now, their RBs lit up terrible teams and they haven't really been tested by a good team.

And I hate the cliche "life sucks, get used to it," but that doesn't mean that it's not true. Cliches don't become cliches unless they're not true. And to repeat what I said before, do I expect Atlanta to make a serious run at the division? No, I do not. Like Andre said, and what you said, they are missing too many pieces. Yes, they beat upon two **** teams, but beating them down says more about where they could go than just barely skating by or losing. They are not a good team, I just don't think they're horrible either.

I really don't see the point in arguing over something that we, for the most part, agree with.

[chuck the duck]

Originally Posted by Auron

So blowing out bad teams is not impressive? So the Eagles are not impressive for manhandling St. Louis? How about Denver's utter thwomping of Oakland? Or Sand Diego destroying the Jets? Anyone who watches football will tell you that good teams are supposed to crush bad teams. Why do you think the point spread for Denver this weekend is is almost 9 points over Kansas City? If manhandling someone is good enough for you than how are you supposed to beat bad teams? Let them run all over you? Oh wait, New England did that and lost. So I take it New England is an even worse team than Atlanta for "sucking horribly" against an 0-2 Miami at home?

Thanks for emphasizing my point, blowing out bad teams isnt impressive at all, because they are BAD TEAMS. A bad team blowing out a bad team isn't surprising since one of them sucks it can easily happen if one bad team (Atlanta) has a good game. Good teams are supposed to beat bad teams and blowouts arent surprising in those cases. New England minus Brady is terrible right now, because Belichick doesn't want to put the reigns on Cassel and gives him the kid's playbook.

Originally Posted by Auron

While I don't think Atlanta is good team per se, but I don't think they are a "bad team" either. They are one of the younger teams on offense with plenty of room to improve.

Which is why they're not going anywhere, they have too much improving to do

Originally Posted by Auron

Sure they played bad on the road, but if you expected to see the second coming of Dan Marino from Matt Ryan in his first NFL road game, than you must be awfully disappointed.

Not really considering I already said Matt Ryan isn't ready to start but I guess you didn't read that

Originally Posted by Auron

There's a huge growing curve in the NFL, and while he did look bad at Tampa Bay, there's plenty of potential with him for both the future and this season. With New Orleans in a funk right now, with Tampa Bay's unpredictability, and Carolina's tendency to underachieve, I think Atlanta could possibly surprise a few people. Do I expect it? Not really, but I won't leave out the possibility. In the NFL, anyone can beat anyone on any given week, no matter how much the team "sucks".

Atlanta won't finish higher than 3rd and if they somehow do it's because of any of the other 3 underachieving, not because Atlanta is any good. Carolina the underachievers: 2-1. Considering they've won twice in the 4th quarter I don't think thats underachieving. Also they played a good defense in MIN. Tampa Bay will prob be decent and if NO just starts blowing people up like they did in 06 they'll have no problem winning games

Originally Posted by Auron

I'm not saying there's no place for discussion, and I'm not saying there's no room for disagreement. I'm just saying there's no place for acting like people are morons for disagreeing with you and running around acting like an arrogant dick. Sure you can disagree with people, but you won't get very far by pissing in people's faces, I guarantee it.

You just got done complaining about my contesting these power rankings because I disagreed with them, and now you're backpedaling gj

Originally Posted by Auron

Like I said, I really can't take anything you say seriously. The name-calling is very childish and immature and there's absolutely no place for it here. You're not going to win very many arguments when you have to resort to calling people "clowns" instead basing things on facts.

no place for childish antics at vgf when one of your admins vandalized something on GFC, good job there

you pretty much are a clown so it's not name calling when it's the truth. are you actually trying to suggest that Atlanta is above the bottom ten teams in the league because they beat down the worst 2 teams in football? i bet if they beat the Rams you'd project them for a division title. here's facts since you want em so bad

Fact: Atlanta is 2-1. both are blowout wins coming against awful teams. KC and Detroit barely even belong in the Arena League, let alone the NFL
Fact: Atlanta looked piss poor when facing a team that's actually decent.
Likely Fact/Prediction: Atlanta will lose many more games because their schedule gets a hell of a lot tougher and will finish around 5-11.

[Eagle Eye]

Originally Posted by Lurch1982

I hate the cliche "Anyone can beat anyone on any given week! I love the NFL!" or any of its variants. Atlanta is still missing way too many pieces. The only way they could make noise is if Payton coaches New Orleans to a losing record, the Panthers go Panthers and get so injured that they can't compete, and the Bucs just continue to be mediocre. Next year they could be a sexy sleeper pick, especially with a good draft (Like a stud WR). As of right now, their RBs lit up terrible teams and they haven't really been tested by a good team.

I"m mad at you for using the term "sexy sleeper pick"