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Power Rankings: Colts clearly No. 1
ESPN.com
ESPN.com's Power Rankings
This week's rankings were determined by a poll of ESPN.com's NFL staff: writers John Clayton, Len Pasquarelli, Michael Smith, NFL Insider Jeremy Green, Scouts Inc., and ESPN.com NFL editors Peter Lawrence-Riddell and James C. Black.
With nine weeks of the NFL season behind us, every team is at least halfway through its schedule and it's time for our midseason Power Rankings. We're looking back at the first half of the season and what went right and what went wrong for every team. And believe us, it wasn't easy coming up with what went right for a lot of these teams. But we did our best.
As for the actual rankings, the Colts obviously have a stranglehold on the top spot. The Colts are clearly the class of the NFL right now, with everyone else following behind. It won't make Steelers fans happy, but the Broncos actually jumped up to No. 2 without even playing. Denver was just barely behind Pittsburgh in the poll last week and a couple of voters bumped them ahead this week. That was all it took.
The Panthers jumped into the top five (No. 8 to No. 5) off their impressive win over the Buccaneers. The Panthers have won five straight games and, next to the Colts, might be the hottest team in the NFL.
2005 Power Rankings: Week 10
RK (LW) TEAM REC COMMENT
1 (1) Colts 8-0-0 Right: Pretty much everything. Defense (No. 4 in the NFL) has been very good and the offense (No. 4) looks like it's back up to warp speed.
Wrong: We could make something up, but there really hasn't been much that's gone wrong.
2 (3) Broncos 6-2-0 Right: The RB tandem has flourished, Jake Plummer isn't making mistakes and the Cleveland castoffs have been great on D.
Wrong: Should be 7-1. Loss to Giants was bad and it could cost them a home game in the playoffs.
3 (2) Steelers 6-2-0 Right: Heath Miller has been a nice addition to the offense, especially in the red zone (6 TDs).
Wrong: Big Ben's knee. Getting the scope was the right call, but you worry that it could be a problem all year.
4 (4) Falcons 6-2-0 Right: He gets knocked for not being accurate enough, but Michael Vick wins (29-13-1 as a starter).
Wrong: Despite that, the Falcons still struggle in their pass offense, which will bite them at some point.
5 (8) Panthers 6-2-0 Right: You could make a pretty strong case for Steve Smith being the first-half MVP.
Wrong: Julius Peppers is getting tons of attention, but three sacks won't cut it for someone with his talent.
6 (5) Seahawks 6-2-0 Right: Shaun Alexander is just a stud. Pay him.
Wrong: Ken Hamlin's injuries from a fight outside a nightclub took away one of Seattle's better defenders and had to be a huge scare. Here's wishing him a complete recovery.
7 (6) Giants 6-2-0 Right: Offense is cruising, leading the league in scoring (29.1 ppg).
Wrong: Defense isn't giving up a lot of points but is giving up a lot of yards, especially against the pass.
8 (7) Bengals 7-2-0 Right: Carson Palmer and Chad Johnson have been arguably the best QB-WR combo in the NFL so far.
Wrong: Bad taste from loss to Steelers has to be stuck in their mouths.
9 (10) Chargers 5-4-0 Right: LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates are as good as it gets.
Wrong: This team needs to find a way to finish games better or it's not making the playoffs.
10 (11) Cowboys 5-3-0 Right: They're back to playing Bill Parcells-like defense (No. 5 in NFL).
Wrong: Only three QBs have been sacked more than Drew Bledsoe (20 times).
11 (16) Commanders 5-3-0 Right: Mark Brunell has bounced back from an atrocious '04 campaign.
Wrong: Keeping LaVar Arrington M.I.A. for much of the first half of the season. He's too good.
12 (15) Chiefs 5-3-0 Right: Larry Johnson (506 yards on 97 carries) is showing he can be a No. 1 RB.
Wrong: The Chiefs are better on defense, but they still rank 27th in the NFL in yards allowed.
13 (13) Jaguars 5-3-0 Right: Fred Taylor when he's healthy (614 yards on 139 carries) is among the best in the NFL.
Wrong: Team seems to play down to the level of its competition.
14 (9) Patriots 4-4-0 Right: Tom Brady is having arguably his best season and Tedy Bruschi's return is a great feel-good story.
Wrong: Team has just been decimated by injuries, especially on defense, where it's bad right now.
15 (12) Eagles 4-4-0 Right: Suspending Terrell Owens. They might not be better without him, but it had to be done.
Wrong: T.O. He had to be part of both categories, didn't he?
16 (18) Bears 5-3-0 Right: The defense (giving up just 12.3 points per game) is really good.
Wrong: But the offense (No. 27 in the NFL) is still an issue.
17 (17) Rams 4-4-0 Right: Steven Jackson (659 yards on 138 carries) looks like a stud.
Wrong: The fact that Jackson only carried the ball 97 times in the Rams' first six games (2-4)
18 (14) Buccaneers 5-3-0 Right: Defense still top notch, ranking first overall in the NFL.
Wrong: It's been all downhill since Brian Griese went down with a knee injury.
19 (19) Raiders 3-5-0 Right: Warren Sapp has enjoyed a resurgence with the defense back in a 4-3.
Wrong: Rank 28th in the NFL in takeaways.
20 (20) Bills 3-5-0 Right: Willis McGahee (on pace for 1,580 yards) is following up last season's breakout performance.
Wrong: The defense, which was supposed to carry this team, has been a huge disappointment (No. 32 against the run).
21 (29) Vikings 3-5-0 Right: Amazingly they're still sort of in the hunt in the NFC North.
Wrong: Where do you start? Just about everything has gone wrong for the Vikings.
22 (21) Dolphins 3-5-0 Right: Nick Saban has the Dolphins competing and actually in the hunt in the weak AFC East.
Wrong: Gus Frerotte is OK as your No. 2, but he's just not a starting NFL QB.
23 (28) Browns 3-5-0 Right: You'll notice a trend for the teams with new coaches. Romeo Crennel -- like Saban and Mike Nolan -- is clearly the right coach for the Browns.
Wrong: Injuries haven't allowed Braylon Edwards to become a big part of the offense.
24 (22) Lions 3-5-0 Right: They're in the league's worst division, so they still have a shot at the playoffs.
Wrong: Joey Harrington is back in the starting lineup. Guess we need to take back what we said about having a shot at the playoffs.
25 (25) Jets 2-6-0 Right: Defense -- led by John Abraham and Jonathan Vilma -- has been solid.
Wrong: Chad Pennington and Jay Fiedler going down in the same game pretty much sunk their season.
26 (23) Titans 2-7-0 Right: Sort of grasping for straws, but the play of the TEs (Erron Kinney and Ben Troupe) has been solid.
Wrong: It's not fair to pick on one player on a 2-7 team, but first-round pick Pacman Jones has really struggled.
27 (24) Ravens 2-6-0 Right: Derrick Mason (49 catches for 552 yards) has been the No. 1 WR the Ravens were looking for.
Wrong: Everything else on offense, where the Ravens are still last in the NFL in scoring (12.1 points per game).
28 (26) Cardinals 2-6-0 Right: Playing their last season in Sun Devil Stadium.
Wrong: Kurt Warner is now 0-4 as a starter. Josh McCown might not be the future, but he should be playing right now.
29 (30) Saints 2-7-0 Right: Their Week 1 win was special regardless of the struggles that have come after it.
Wrong: It's obviously been a tough season for the Saints, due largely to something (Katrina) that was completely out of their control.
30 (27) 49ers 2-6-0 Right: See comments for Dolphins and Browns. The 49ers still aren't very good, but Nolan has them playing hard.
Wrong: Kevan Barlow (424 yards on 114 carries) continues to be a disappointment.
31 (31) Packers 1-7-0 Right: Brett Favre is still fun to watch play football ...
Wrong:... most of the time. Injuries and inconsistent play (a lot of it from Favre) have put the Packers in a hole they won't be able to dig out of.
32 (32) Texans 1-7-0 Right: They won't go 0-16.
Wrong: The could very easily finish 1-15.
ESPN.com
ESPN.com's Power Rankings
This week's rankings were determined by a poll of ESPN.com's NFL staff: writers John Clayton, Len Pasquarelli, Michael Smith, NFL Insider Jeremy Green, Scouts Inc., and ESPN.com NFL editors Peter Lawrence-Riddell and James C. Black.
With nine weeks of the NFL season behind us, every team is at least halfway through its schedule and it's time for our midseason Power Rankings. We're looking back at the first half of the season and what went right and what went wrong for every team. And believe us, it wasn't easy coming up with what went right for a lot of these teams. But we did our best.
As for the actual rankings, the Colts obviously have a stranglehold on the top spot. The Colts are clearly the class of the NFL right now, with everyone else following behind. It won't make Steelers fans happy, but the Broncos actually jumped up to No. 2 without even playing. Denver was just barely behind Pittsburgh in the poll last week and a couple of voters bumped them ahead this week. That was all it took.
The Panthers jumped into the top five (No. 8 to No. 5) off their impressive win over the Buccaneers. The Panthers have won five straight games and, next to the Colts, might be the hottest team in the NFL.
2005 Power Rankings: Week 10
RK (LW) TEAM REC COMMENT
1 (1) Colts 8-0-0 Right: Pretty much everything. Defense (No. 4 in the NFL) has been very good and the offense (No. 4) looks like it's back up to warp speed.
Wrong: We could make something up, but there really hasn't been much that's gone wrong.
2 (3) Broncos 6-2-0 Right: The RB tandem has flourished, Jake Plummer isn't making mistakes and the Cleveland castoffs have been great on D.
Wrong: Should be 7-1. Loss to Giants was bad and it could cost them a home game in the playoffs.
3 (2) Steelers 6-2-0 Right: Heath Miller has been a nice addition to the offense, especially in the red zone (6 TDs).
Wrong: Big Ben's knee. Getting the scope was the right call, but you worry that it could be a problem all year.
4 (4) Falcons 6-2-0 Right: He gets knocked for not being accurate enough, but Michael Vick wins (29-13-1 as a starter).
Wrong: Despite that, the Falcons still struggle in their pass offense, which will bite them at some point.
5 (8) Panthers 6-2-0 Right: You could make a pretty strong case for Steve Smith being the first-half MVP.
Wrong: Julius Peppers is getting tons of attention, but three sacks won't cut it for someone with his talent.
6 (5) Seahawks 6-2-0 Right: Shaun Alexander is just a stud. Pay him.
Wrong: Ken Hamlin's injuries from a fight outside a nightclub took away one of Seattle's better defenders and had to be a huge scare. Here's wishing him a complete recovery.
7 (6) Giants 6-2-0 Right: Offense is cruising, leading the league in scoring (29.1 ppg).
Wrong: Defense isn't giving up a lot of points but is giving up a lot of yards, especially against the pass.
8 (7) Bengals 7-2-0 Right: Carson Palmer and Chad Johnson have been arguably the best QB-WR combo in the NFL so far.
Wrong: Bad taste from loss to Steelers has to be stuck in their mouths.
9 (10) Chargers 5-4-0 Right: LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates are as good as it gets.
Wrong: This team needs to find a way to finish games better or it's not making the playoffs.
10 (11) Cowboys 5-3-0 Right: They're back to playing Bill Parcells-like defense (No. 5 in NFL).
Wrong: Only three QBs have been sacked more than Drew Bledsoe (20 times).
11 (16) Commanders 5-3-0 Right: Mark Brunell has bounced back from an atrocious '04 campaign.
Wrong: Keeping LaVar Arrington M.I.A. for much of the first half of the season. He's too good.
12 (15) Chiefs 5-3-0 Right: Larry Johnson (506 yards on 97 carries) is showing he can be a No. 1 RB.
Wrong: The Chiefs are better on defense, but they still rank 27th in the NFL in yards allowed.
13 (13) Jaguars 5-3-0 Right: Fred Taylor when he's healthy (614 yards on 139 carries) is among the best in the NFL.
Wrong: Team seems to play down to the level of its competition.
14 (9) Patriots 4-4-0 Right: Tom Brady is having arguably his best season and Tedy Bruschi's return is a great feel-good story.
Wrong: Team has just been decimated by injuries, especially on defense, where it's bad right now.
15 (12) Eagles 4-4-0 Right: Suspending Terrell Owens. They might not be better without him, but it had to be done.
Wrong: T.O. He had to be part of both categories, didn't he?
16 (18) Bears 5-3-0 Right: The defense (giving up just 12.3 points per game) is really good.
Wrong: But the offense (No. 27 in the NFL) is still an issue.
17 (17) Rams 4-4-0 Right: Steven Jackson (659 yards on 138 carries) looks like a stud.
Wrong: The fact that Jackson only carried the ball 97 times in the Rams' first six games (2-4)
18 (14) Buccaneers 5-3-0 Right: Defense still top notch, ranking first overall in the NFL.
Wrong: It's been all downhill since Brian Griese went down with a knee injury.
19 (19) Raiders 3-5-0 Right: Warren Sapp has enjoyed a resurgence with the defense back in a 4-3.
Wrong: Rank 28th in the NFL in takeaways.
20 (20) Bills 3-5-0 Right: Willis McGahee (on pace for 1,580 yards) is following up last season's breakout performance.
Wrong: The defense, which was supposed to carry this team, has been a huge disappointment (No. 32 against the run).
21 (29) Vikings 3-5-0 Right: Amazingly they're still sort of in the hunt in the NFC North.
Wrong: Where do you start? Just about everything has gone wrong for the Vikings.
22 (21) Dolphins 3-5-0 Right: Nick Saban has the Dolphins competing and actually in the hunt in the weak AFC East.
Wrong: Gus Frerotte is OK as your No. 2, but he's just not a starting NFL QB.
23 (28) Browns 3-5-0 Right: You'll notice a trend for the teams with new coaches. Romeo Crennel -- like Saban and Mike Nolan -- is clearly the right coach for the Browns.
Wrong: Injuries haven't allowed Braylon Edwards to become a big part of the offense.
24 (22) Lions 3-5-0 Right: They're in the league's worst division, so they still have a shot at the playoffs.
Wrong: Joey Harrington is back in the starting lineup. Guess we need to take back what we said about having a shot at the playoffs.
25 (25) Jets 2-6-0 Right: Defense -- led by John Abraham and Jonathan Vilma -- has been solid.
Wrong: Chad Pennington and Jay Fiedler going down in the same game pretty much sunk their season.
26 (23) Titans 2-7-0 Right: Sort of grasping for straws, but the play of the TEs (Erron Kinney and Ben Troupe) has been solid.
Wrong: It's not fair to pick on one player on a 2-7 team, but first-round pick Pacman Jones has really struggled.
27 (24) Ravens 2-6-0 Right: Derrick Mason (49 catches for 552 yards) has been the No. 1 WR the Ravens were looking for.
Wrong: Everything else on offense, where the Ravens are still last in the NFL in scoring (12.1 points per game).
28 (26) Cardinals 2-6-0 Right: Playing their last season in Sun Devil Stadium.
Wrong: Kurt Warner is now 0-4 as a starter. Josh McCown might not be the future, but he should be playing right now.
29 (30) Saints 2-7-0 Right: Their Week 1 win was special regardless of the struggles that have come after it.
Wrong: It's obviously been a tough season for the Saints, due largely to something (Katrina) that was completely out of their control.
30 (27) 49ers 2-6-0 Right: See comments for Dolphins and Browns. The 49ers still aren't very good, but Nolan has them playing hard.
Wrong: Kevan Barlow (424 yards on 114 carries) continues to be a disappointment.
31 (31) Packers 1-7-0 Right: Brett Favre is still fun to watch play football ...
Wrong:... most of the time. Injuries and inconsistent play (a lot of it from Favre) have put the Packers in a hole they won't be able to dig out of.
32 (32) Texans 1-7-0 Right: They won't go 0-16.
Wrong: The could very easily finish 1-15.
