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Bears power
Rahula Strohl at 1:09 p.m.
Not surprisingly, there is no movement from the top two teams in this week's power rankings. The Patriots and Colts remained perfect, the former in very impressive manner and the latter grinding it out on the road against a division opponent.
The top three would be unanimous if it weren't for FoxSports.com's Peter Schrager, who seems to be unfazed by the struggles of either LaDainian Tomlinson or Rex Grossman.
Schrager keeps his top four at Colts-Pats-Chargers-Bears and has the Cowboys at No. 6, three spots lower than the rest of the major media outlets. His reason?
"The Bears D was suffocating as always and Cedric Benson gained 101 yards on 24 carries. Though Rex Grossman struggled mightily, Chicago looked strong. They're my top team in the NFC heading into Sunday night's heavyweight bout with the Cowboys."
And that showdown is the caveat ESPN throws on their No. 3 ranking of the Cowboys. The folks at the Worldwide Leader say "the Cowboys' offense is being heard loud and clear. But the real test comes this week at Chicago."
The Bears drop to No. 6 after a win, though it appears it's more the Cowboys and Steelers rising than the Bears falling. Doubtless a few winning teams dropped last season as the Bears rose to the top at the beginning of the season. The Sunday Night Football showdown is mentioned on the Bears' ranking, too:
"Rex Grossman and Co. need to hurry up and find a way to produce points, given that the Bears face the high-scoring Cowboys in an NFC showdown this week."
So the Bears' defense is a test for the Cowboys' offense and the Cowboys' offense is a test for the Bears'… offense. No mention of the Cowboys' defense, which is 26th in the league overall and 31st against the pass. So either the Cowboys are the cure for what ails Rex or Rex is the cure for what ails the Cowboys.
Pete Prisco also has Cowboys No. 3 on Sportsline.com, but has the Bears No. 7 (the Broncos being the team behind the Bears on ESPN but ahead of them on Sportsline).
"It's still early, but they look like the class of the NFC," Prisco says of the Cowboys, and in the Bears comment mentions the showdown.
Sports Illustrated's Dr. Z also has the Cowboys as tops in the NFC, but he keeps the Bears at No. 10 and vaults a pair of 2-0 NFC teams ahead of them: The Packers and the Commanders. So I guess he doesn't invest as much as the other guys do in Sunday's game. But as I said last week, Dr. Z appears to take the rankings on more of a week-to-week basis than basing them on preseason rankings. He does obviously bring preconceived notions to the table, but not as much as the other outlets.
http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports_whatsgoinon/2007/09/bears-power-1.html#more
Rahula Strohl at 1:09 p.m.
Not surprisingly, there is no movement from the top two teams in this week's power rankings. The Patriots and Colts remained perfect, the former in very impressive manner and the latter grinding it out on the road against a division opponent.
The top three would be unanimous if it weren't for FoxSports.com's Peter Schrager, who seems to be unfazed by the struggles of either LaDainian Tomlinson or Rex Grossman.
Schrager keeps his top four at Colts-Pats-Chargers-Bears and has the Cowboys at No. 6, three spots lower than the rest of the major media outlets. His reason?
"The Bears D was suffocating as always and Cedric Benson gained 101 yards on 24 carries. Though Rex Grossman struggled mightily, Chicago looked strong. They're my top team in the NFC heading into Sunday night's heavyweight bout with the Cowboys."
And that showdown is the caveat ESPN throws on their No. 3 ranking of the Cowboys. The folks at the Worldwide Leader say "the Cowboys' offense is being heard loud and clear. But the real test comes this week at Chicago."
The Bears drop to No. 6 after a win, though it appears it's more the Cowboys and Steelers rising than the Bears falling. Doubtless a few winning teams dropped last season as the Bears rose to the top at the beginning of the season. The Sunday Night Football showdown is mentioned on the Bears' ranking, too:
"Rex Grossman and Co. need to hurry up and find a way to produce points, given that the Bears face the high-scoring Cowboys in an NFC showdown this week."
So the Bears' defense is a test for the Cowboys' offense and the Cowboys' offense is a test for the Bears'… offense. No mention of the Cowboys' defense, which is 26th in the league overall and 31st against the pass. So either the Cowboys are the cure for what ails Rex or Rex is the cure for what ails the Cowboys.
Pete Prisco also has Cowboys No. 3 on Sportsline.com, but has the Bears No. 7 (the Broncos being the team behind the Bears on ESPN but ahead of them on Sportsline).
"It's still early, but they look like the class of the NFC," Prisco says of the Cowboys, and in the Bears comment mentions the showdown.
Sports Illustrated's Dr. Z also has the Cowboys as tops in the NFC, but he keeps the Bears at No. 10 and vaults a pair of 2-0 NFC teams ahead of them: The Packers and the Commanders. So I guess he doesn't invest as much as the other guys do in Sunday's game. But as I said last week, Dr. Z appears to take the rankings on more of a week-to-week basis than basing them on preseason rankings. He does obviously bring preconceived notions to the table, but not as much as the other outlets.
http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports_whatsgoinon/2007/09/bears-power-1.html#more
