The "Big 9" Week 7 Edition

What a crazy crazy week in the NFL. The Redskins, Cowboys and Giants all looked awful. The Falcons and Cardinals come up with huge exciting wins and Cleveland out of no where looks like the Browns of last year. This causes quite a shake up in the big 9.

1 (4) Tennessee Titans 5-0 - Can it really be anyone else at this point? Our top 3 teams from last week all lost to inferior opponents. The Titans remain the lone undefeated team in the NFL. Their schedule also stays weak with a match-up against the Chiefs this week.

2 (1) New York Giants 4-1 - Their defense looked pretty awful last night against the Browns and Eli went back to his old ways of turning the ball over at every opportunity. Still, every tea, has some bumps in the road and the Giants have looked too good over their last 10 games to just collapse.

3 (5) Pittsburgh Steelers 4-1 - The Steelers move up two spots during a bye week. Willie Parker should be back and healthy this week, and the Steelers should have no trouble improving their record to 5-1 against the lowly Bengals.

4 (2) Washington Redskins 4-2 - Of all the games this last week, the one I thought was a certain lock was the Skins over the Rams. However, the Rams looked rejuvenated after a head coaching change and somehow came up with the win. THe Redskins defense is still very good however and they should get in to the playoffs with out too much problem.

5 (NR) Tampa Bay Bucs 4-2 - The Bucs defense looked fantastic on Sunday against what previously had looked like a strong Panthers offense. They look liek the odds-on favorite to win the NFC South, but it won't be easy.

6 (NR) San Diego Chargers 3-3 - The Chargers really could be 6-0 or at least 5-1, they have had some real bad breaks, including one game being taken away that they won fair and square. They still have an uphill battle, but they looked fantastic against the Patriots and I still think they will come away with the AFC West crown.

7 (9) Atlanta Falcons 4-2 - The Falcons-Bears game on Sunday migth have been the best I have seen all year. Matt Ryan looked exceptional, throwing for well over 300 yards and completing a miraculous pass with 6 seconds left to set up the winning FG. The NFC South is wide open and the young Falcons have a real shot.

8 (NR) Arizona Cardinals 4-2 - Another newcomer to the rankings this week. The Cardinals played a great game against the cowboys on Sunday and proved themselves the heavy favorites to win the NFC West. When they get Anquan Boldin back they may have the best receiving core in the league.

9 (3) Dallas Cowboys 4-2 - The cowboys fall 6 spots in this week's rankings, partially because they lost but mostly because Tony Romo will miss the next 3 games with a broken finger. If the Cowboys can win one or two of those games they will still have a shot at the playoffs but things got a whole lot dimmer in one week for Cowboys fans.

Apologies to the Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos

The NFL "Big 9" Week 6 Edition.

Ahhhh, sweet, sweet wonderful parity. Can you imagine if 2 months ago I had told you the Dolphins would own wins over the Patriots and Chargers? That the Falcons looked like the best team in the NFC South, that the only undefeated team in the AFC through 5 games was led by Kerry Collins? You would have thought I was insane.. Welcome to the 2008 NFL Season! Parity is fantastic, no? Let's get to the rankings.

1 (1). New York Giants - 4-0 - No Plaxico Burress? No problem for the defending champs who humiliated the Seahawks on Sunday. And things don't look any tougher the next couple weeks with games at Cleveland and home to the 49ers on the horizon.

2 (4). Washington Redskin - 4-1 - They just keep chugging along, winning big games. Hard to believe this is the same team that was humiliated in Week 1 by the Giants. They don't win pretty but they just keep on winning. Back to back road wins in Dallas and at Philly earn them the 2 spot.

3 (5). Dallas Cowboys - 4-1 - T.O. claims the media made up his fued with Romo and that everything is dandy in Cowboywille. It certainly looked like it against the Bungles on Sunday. Don't believe the hype though. The big guns on this offense aren't Romo and Owens, but rather the RB tandem of Barber and Jones.

4 (3). Tennessee Titans - 5-0 - The Titans fall to the 4 spot but it's more an indictment of their opposition than it is of the Titans themselves. 5 wins is nice and all but the collective record of their opponents to date is 6-17 including W's against the winless Texans and Bengals. Things remain easy next week with a game against the struggling Chiefs before finally facing their first big test in a Monday Night Match-up with the Colts on Oct. 27th.

5 (6). Pittsburgh Steelers - 4-1 - It seems new names are added to their injured list almost on a daily basis, but for now at least, the Steelers keep plugging along. After failing to practice much of the week with shoulder pain, Ben Roethlisberger had a huge game against the Jaguars, throwing for over 300 yards and 3 TD's. Mewelde Moore provided the rushing attack with Willie Parker and Rashard Mendenhall both out with injuries. They remain the most talented team in the AFC, IF they can get healthy and overcome injuries.

6 (7). Denver Broncos - 4-1 - Yes, Virginia, the Broncos DO have a defense. In one of the biggest surprises of the week the Denver defense made a cameo just in time to welcome former friend Brian Griese back to town. And welcome him they did to the tune of 3 1st half sacks and a big hit by Champ Bailey that chased Griese from the game. Of concern to the Broncos are injuries to Eddie Royal and Tony Sheffler that may leave Jay Cutler without 2 of his favorite targets for an extended period of time.

7 (8). Carolina Panthers - 4-1 - The defense was impressive again as the Panthers shutout the hapless Chiefs. The running game was also in fine form as the offense rushed for almost 200 yards rushing. Injuries to OT's Jordan Gross and Jeff Otah could prove troublesome long term though.

8 (NR). Chicago Bears - 3-2 - The Bears are back and as staunch as ever on the defensive side of the ball but what's impressive is for the first time in a long time the Bears offense is actually quite potent as well. Led by rookie phenom Matt Forte at RB and Captain Neckbeard himself, Kyle Orton at QB the offense is averaging nearly 26 points per game. With the Packers in a sudden tailspin, the NFC North appears to be Chicago's to lose.

9 (NR). Atlanta Falcons - 3-2 - No, that's not a misprint. The Falcons are for real. Led by breakout star, Michael Turner and rookie sensation Matt Ryan, Atlanta is giving it's fans something to cheer about for the first time in years. A big win at Lambeau Field propels them into the rankings but they'll have a real chance to show they belong in a big matchup with the rising Bears this coming Sunday.

Apologies to the New England Patriots, Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Bucs.

The NFL "Big 9", Week 5 Edition.

What a wild week in the NFL. Our previous week number 1 ranked Cowboys fell to Washington and among other undefeated teams, Denver and Baltimore fell. As a result there was lots of movement on the "Big 9".

Last week's rank in ().

1 (2). New York Giants - 3-0 - The defending champs take over the top spot by default. As they rested in their bye week they saw division foes Dallas and Philly fall leaving them as the last team standing in the NFL's toughest division.

2 (3). Buffalo Bills - 4-0 - They just keep chugging along under the radar. Could this really be the AFC's best team? Hard to believe but so far they might be.

3 (NR). Tennessee Titans - 4-0 - I left them off last week because it's hard to imagine a team that has undergone all the Vince Young drama and led by Kerry Collins amounting to much but it's hard to overlook a 4-0 record. They have already logged 3 home victories though and things figure to get harder as they face tougher opponents on the road.

4 (9). Washington Redskins - 3-1 - The forgotten team in the mighty NFC East marched into Texas Stadium and knocked off the Cowboys, showing they belong with the big boys. Still a lot of questions including the always fragile health of Clinton Portis but when you knock off the #1 seed you deserve to move up.

5 (1). Dallas Cowboys - 3-1 - A home loss to the Redskins and now the media reports that T.O. had a heated discussion with Romo about his lack of involvement in the passing game. Somewhere Donovan McNabb is laughing. This is still the most talented team in the league but nobody can wreck locker room chemistry quicker than a disgruntled T.O.

6 (8). Pittsburgh Steelers - 3-1 - It wasn't a pretty W but the Steelers bounced back from an ugly loss to Philly by stopping the previously unbeaten Ravens. The injury to Rashard Mendenhall could be a killer though as Willie Parker's health is also in question. It's hard to be a power running team without a healthy running back.

7 (5). Denver Broncos - 3-1 - Even some of the great Denver teams over the years struggled to win at Arrowhead so the loss alone wasn't a killer but this game highlighted a lot of Denver's weaknesses. When the passing game sputters they are very beatable because there is no running game to speak of and the Denver can't stop anyone. They remind me a lot of the early Elway years. Great passing game, not much else.

8 (NR). Carolina Panthers - 3-1 - They win ugly and by the smallest of margins but thus far they have gotten the job done. I don't think the have the weapons to hang with the Cowboys or Giants offensively but Steve Smith getting into a groove could change that in a hurry.

9 (NR). San Diego Chargers - 2-2 - They are an Ed Hochuli whistle away from being 3-1 and are probably still the most talented team in the AFC. If the L.T. we saw in the 4th quarter Sunday shows up the rest of the year, this team is going to be VERY tough to beat.

Other teams on the rise - Chicago, Tampa Bay, Jacksonville.

So there it is folks. As always comments are appreciated!