Through Week Six, we’ve got only one team left undefeated, as the San Francisco 49ers took down the Detroit Lions. The Packers are the last perfect team, and to accomplish that as defending Super Bowl Champions with a big target on their back is an exceptionally tough task.
Our top three this week represent over a quarter of all Super Bowl winners, 12 out of the 45 that have been played. Or more appropriately – XII out of a possible XLV.
On the other end of the spectrum, we’ve still got three winless teams duking it out for the top draft pick. That looks to be an equally tough battle.
|
Rank |
Team |
Record |
Comments |
|
1 |
Green Bay Packers |
6-0 |
When head coach feels the need to defend a 24-3 victory, you are doing pretty well. And Rodgers has officially arrived, as the talking heads now discussing “Who’s better today, Rodgers or Brady?” He’s replaced Peyton Manning in the Top Dog discussion. |
|
2 |
New England Patriots |
5-1 |
Best passing offense, and worst passing defense. Although in a shootout, I wouldn’t bet against Brady, as he proved again this week with a flawless final drive vs. Dallas for the win. |
|
3 |
San Francisco 49ers |
5-1 |
Exceptional defensive effort to take down the Lions and 5th best rushing attack in the league. And Harbaugh sporting the most ferocious post-game handshake in the league. |
|
4 |
Baltimore Ravens |
4-1 |
Good win over Houston, and the Ravens continue to play solid offense and dominating defense. Haven’t given up more than 17 points in any of their 4 wins. |
|
5 |
Detroit Lions |
5-1 |
Tough loss to SF drops them a few slots. Plus Schwartz came out on the losing end of the post-game handshake, which you don’t see very often. Still a very, very good team. |
|
6 |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
4-2 |
Excellent bounce back from 48-3 drubbing last week by the 49ers to beat the New Orleans Saints, who they are now tied with at the top of the division. |
|
7 |
New Orleans Saints |
4-2 |
Loss at Tampa Bay, with Brees outperformed by Josh Freeman. But don’t expect Brees to throw 3 INTs very often. Still an elite team |
|
8 |
New York Giants |
4-2 |
4-2 is good enough for first in the NFC East this season, and they put together a quality win against a very good Buffalo Bills team this past week. Uncharacteristically for the Giants, they are doing it through the air with 278 yards / game passing and only 90 per game running. |
|
9 |
Cincinnati Bengals |
4-2 |
Rookie QB Dalton playing well, plus Bengals get a surplus of draft picks for “retired” QB Carson Palmer, setting them up as a huge up-and-comer. Lots of young talent and additional first and second round draft picks? |
|
10 |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
4-2 |
Eked out a win against 1-5 Jacksonville, with flashes of the old Steelers. Should have an easy week against Arizona before a tough test hosting New England. |
|
11 |
Oakland Raiders |
4-2 |
Carson Palmer riding in on white horse to replace injured Jason Campbell could put the Raiders in contention. Already #2 rushing offense and solid defense. If Palmer can click with the Raiders offense, could be a very tough team in the second half. |
|
12 |
Buffalo Bills |
4-2 |
Tough game against the Giants, Bills outrush Giants but lose on a last second field goal. Why does this sound so familiar? Vaguely reminiscent of Super Bowl XXV, although the Bills came back for another three SBs, so watch out. |
|
13 |
San Diego Chargers |
4-1 |
Enjoy their bye week, basking in the glow of their extremely favorable schedule. With games against the Jets and KC up next, they could reach 6-1 without beating a team with a winning record before facing the Packers in 3 weeks. |
|
14 |
Washington Redskins |
3-2 |
Slip to second in the division with a tough loss to the “Team Formerly Known as the Dream Team” and mired in a quarterback controversy between “Sexy Rexy” Grossman and Mormon John Beck. |
|
15 |
Tennessee Titans |
3-2 |
Disappointing loss, Titans and CJ2K still ranked last in the league in rushing. Will he have to change his nickname back to just plain CJ? |
|
16 |
Houston Texans |
3-3 |
Unforgiving schedule helped to drive them down as they went 1-3 in last four games as they faced the Saints, Steelers, Raiders and Ravens, combined 16-7. Schedule improves as next three teams are 6-10 combined. |
|
17 |
New York Jets |
3-3 |
Sloppy win over Dolphins gets them back to 0.500, but that type of play won’t work against the rest of their division. Next 5 games include San Diego, New England and Buffalo twice. Need 3-4 more games against the Dolphins to have a chance of making the playoffs. |
|
18 |
Chicago Bears |
3-3 |
Need to make Matt Forte happy – when your leading rusher AND receiver, who accounts for over 40 percent of your offense, is unhappy with lack of a contract extension – you need to respond. |
|
19 |
Atlanta Falcons |
3-3 |
Tough test this week at Detroit, facing an angry Lions team coming off their first loss of the season. Doesn’t look good for the Falcons, but remember to watch out in that post-game handshake. |
|
20 |
Dallas Cowboys |
2-3 |
Disappointing Cowboys come off back-to-back heartbreakers against the Lions and Patriots. They get a breather with St. Louis coming to town, but the team is not playing well together right now. |
|
21 |
Seattle Seahawks |
2-3 |
Pete Carroll’s team is in the bottom five in both passing and running the ball? Does anyone think Tavaris Jackson is the answer. |
|
22 |
Kansas City Chiefs |
2-3 |
Get back-to-back wins against the Vikings and Colts, but the scheduling gods stop smiling on KC as they face Oakland and San Diego next. |
|
23 |
Cleveland Browns |
2-3 |
Strong preseason but very disappointing season so far. Their only wins are at the winless Colts and Dolphins. They have yet to beat anyone that’s won a game |
|
24 |
Philadelphia Eagles |
2-4 |
Pull off the win at Washington, but need to get their act together on their bye week this week to have a chance at pulling off a playoff run. |
|
25 |
Arizona Cardinals |
1-4 |
Much more was expected of the Kevin Kolb – Larry Fitzgerald union in the desert, but too inconsistent at putting up points |
|
26 |
Carolina Panthers |
1-5 |
Rookie Cam Newton averaging over 300 yards per game, but needs much more help around him to win. |
|
27 |
Jacksonville Jaguars |
1-5 |
Rookie Blaine Gabbert completing less than half his passes, still has some developing to do. |
|
28 |
Denver Broncos |
1-4 |
If you decide to start your up and coming young quarterback, why do you trade away your leading receiver from last season who was leading the team again this year? Going to be a tough first start for Tebow, but the team will live and die with him. |
|
29 |
Minnesota Vikings |
1-5 |
Vikings give Ponder his first NFL start and bench Donovan McNabb. So… you put your rookie quarterback in so he can face the defending Super Bowl Champs in his first game? Packers are fifth at stopping the run, so Ponder will have his hands full |
|
30 |
Miami Dolphins |
0-5 |
Moved the ball effectively against the Jets. Could have pulled off win except for affinity for throwing at Revis. They don’t call him Revis Island for nothing. |
|
31 |
St. Louis Rams |
0-5 |
Poor Brandon Lloyd – traded from the 1-4 Broncos to a team with a worse record. What are the odds? |
|
32 |
Indianapolis Colts |
0-6 |
Leading the Suck for Luck derby. Showed |
