Week 3 Power Rankings

10.  San Francisco
Conventional wisdom would say that the 49ers 2-0 record is a fluke, but we can only make our judgment off of what has been presented us.  Two weeks is a tiny sample size, and hardly enough evidence to make a fair assessment, but they are 2-0, and so far they’ve looked … well they’ve won two games.  Alex Smith is averaging about 100 yards a game through the air, Frank Gore has been relatively ineffective, and their defense has been mediocre.  I wouldn’t expect this inexplicable run to last much longer.

9.  Detroit Lions
If we were just talking about offensive statistics they would be number one and Jon Kitna wouldn’t look like such a foul for guaranteeing 10 wins.  Unfortunately we have to include all facets of their team, which includes their abysmal defense that has allowed 236 yards a game through the first two weeks.

8.  Houston Texans
Is Matt Shaub really this good?  This guy has been slicing up secondaries over the last two weeks to the tune of a 72% completion rate.  That’s insane. If he is really this good what was he doing watching Michael Vick for the last three years?   The game against Kansas City was nothing, but the way he lit up Carolina was amazing.  We’ll see what he can do against Indianapolis, but I expect more of the same.

7.  Green Bay Packers
Someone needs to tell 2Pac and Brett Favre it isn’t 1995 anymore.  Everyone and everything from that era has pretty much faded into obscurity, but these two are still going at it like no time has passed.  The crazy thing is everyone was trying to nudge this guy out the door so that they could start the Aaron Rodgers era.  Who could blame them?  For two years he was little more than average, but somehow he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a couple great performances.  If he plays like this all year I don’t see any reason why the Pack can’t return to the playoffs.  It’ll be interesting when they play San Diego tomorrow, we’ll find out which team has been the fluke.   

6.  San Diego
Watching LT get shut down during the first two weeks was like watching a segment on Myth Busters.  I didn’t think it could be done, at least not two weeks in a row.  This is still one of the most talented sides in the NFL, so it surprises me that so many people are ready to dismiss them.  They played the Bears, and they are who we thought they were, and the Patroits.  Like I said before, if they get shut down by the Packers, then go ahead and panic, but until then calm down.  This would be the perfect time to pick-up LT in your fantasy league for fifty cents on the dollar. 

5.  Pittsburgh
Watching them play the Bills last week was grueling.  There are few times that you will watch Pittsburgh’s offense and walk away impressed.  Ben Roethlisberger is a system guy, his job is to simply play within himself and not lose games.  That’s not a knock on him, he does his job well and he makes few mistakes, but the heart of this team is the defense, which is as stingy as they come.  They’ve held their opponents 444 yards over the first two weeks.  I was worried they would struggle without Cowher, but they have responded to Tomlin and there is no reason they can’t win 12 games. 

4.  Indianapolis
The near loss against the Titans last week made them slip from their perch atop the NFL.  I know it’s early, but this Colts team looks like their weakest edition in years.  Peyton Manning has actually been out gunned by Jon Kitna thus far.  The team is suffering from the dreaded Super Bowl lag, especially on defense, and they are going to get caught slipping if they don’t step it up soon.  Maybe last week was enough for them to wake them up.

3.  Dallas Cowboys
Everyone’s favorite pick out of the NFC better step it up if they want to get there.  As Cincinnati proved last week against the Browns, it doesn’t matter how good your offense is when your defense couldn’t stop Penn State.  Dallas’ unit has allowed an average of 386 yards a game, but they’ve picked up 415 each week on the other side of the ball.  Eventually they’re going to get caught against a quality defense, but until then we’re happy to rank them third.

2.  Denver
Their team stats are amazing on both sides of the ball.  In fact, I almost fell into the trap and seriously considered slotting them ahead of the Patroits.  Then I remembered that they played the Bills and Raiders.  If they blow out the Jags and Colts over the next two weeks then we can consider it, but they are still yet to prove that they are the real deal.  So until they do we are going to be forced to stay on the Patriots band-wagon. 

1.  New England
What can I really say about this team that hasn’t already been said.  They have the top rated defense in the league, they completely shut down  the best running back in the league, and the combination of Randy Moss and Tom Brady has been dubbed the second coming of Bird and McHale for Boston sports.  So should we send them the Super Bowl trophy now and save ourselves some hassle?

Week 3 Picks
BALTIMORE over Arizona
San Diego over GREEN BAY
Indianapolis over HOUSTON
Minnesota over KANSAS CITY
NEW ENGLAND over Buffalo
NY JETS over Miami
Detroit over Philadelphia
PITTSBURGH over San Francisco
Saint Louis over TAMPA BAY
DENVER over Jacksonville
Cleveland over OAKLAND
Cincinnati over SEATTLE
Carolina over ATLANTA
WASHINGTON over NY Giants
Dallas over CHICAGO
Monday Night
NEW ORLEANS over Tennessee
Season:  21-12