Ian's Week 9 Power Rankings

After this past weekend's round of games, coming up with a set of power rankings might take longer than Obama does to pick his cabinet. Since everything else this week was about the election, here's my electoral version of the power rankings.

Parties in Power

The Audacity of Hope

Tennessee is good, but they're starting to show some cracks in their armor. They have been able to run the ball against relatively weak run defenses the last few weeks. But let's not forget their rushing game was held to 76 yards against Minnesota and 47 yards against Baltimore. Due to the fact that neither of those teams have an offense that can be considered "dangerous" Tennessee's defense was able to keep them in games. By the way, how good is Chris Hope playing right now? He has 3 interceptions and a sack in the last 2 games.

Yes We Can

The Giants might be the most balanced team in football with a good defense, a strong running game, and a dangerous passing attack. They now have a 2-game lead in the NFC East with a big matchup against the Eagles this week. The Giants are proving last year was not a fluke and are looking like the best team in the NFC right now. Personally, I think they're more balanced than Tennessee because their passing game is much, much better than the Titans.

Change We Can Believe In

The Steelers finally got that elusive win against an NFC East team. The defense is playing the best it has since the Super Bowl run in 2005 showed once again that running teams do not fare well against the Steelers. They totally shut down Clinton Portis and came up with two interceptions and seven sacks. The big story of this season has been the ability of backups to step in and perform at a high level. When Parker went down, Mendenhall and Moore were there. Leftwich looked like a starting quarterback when he had to come in for Ben. Jared the former sofa mover played well in his first game at long snapper. And the Steelers finally cut the cord with Mitch Berger, bringing back Paul Ernster to be their punter.

Believe

Carolina is playing great right now and comes off their bye week with cakewalk games against the struggling Raiders and Lions. They'll be sitting pretty at 8-2 when they head to Atlanta on Nov 23rd. John Fox has his team playing well right now and they look to be the second best team in the NFC. The problem is they're playing in one of the best divisions in the league, so they're going to need a great effort down the stretch to hold on for the division title.

A Leader Who Can Deliver Change

The Cardinals learned how to win on the road, and in resounding fashion. Anquan Boldin is having a Pro Bowl year and he looks like he didn't miss a step after coming back from injury. The Whizard of AZ made a good choice going with Warner, who has ignited the dangerous Cardinals passing game. They might lock up this division before December. The November 23 matchup with the Giants is looming large on the horizon.

Just Missed: Philadelphia Eagles

Planning for the Future

More of the Same

Another week, another close loss for the Lions. They've been playing better and Daunte Caulpepper could add a spark to their offense. But their defense is downright awful. Their matchup against Jacksonville this week is the last team on their schedule that is below .500. Then again, Cincy beat Jacksonville last week, so I guess anything is possible.

Twelve Houses

...or the approximate amount of money Oakland wasted on DeAngelo Hall's signing bonus. The Raiders played one of the worst offensive games in NFL history last week, thereby jumping the Chiefs. 77 total yards of offense? Are you kidding me? This team needs new ownership in the worst way.

The fundamentals of the [team] are strong

Herm Edwards had better be telling the management something they like to hear if he wants to keep his job. Give this team some credit, they've played tough the last few weeks against the Jets and Bucs. Maybe Tyler Thigpen was the answer all along? Ironically, this team has gotten better since Larry Johnson's debacle. Maybe LJ was holding the team back. They're still racing Oakland to the bottom of the division.

Real America

Now that they're off the shnide, will we see Carson Palmer again? I doubt it. Their matchup with the Chiefs in Week 17 looks like it's going to decide the worst team in the AFC, and maybe even the #1 draft pick. Erin did what he needed to do for this team to win, but they still have no running game and no offensive line.

Bridge to Nowhere

Where is this team going? They come off their bye with a showdown against division-leading Arizona. In all likelihood, they're going to get killed. If it's any consolation, Seattle and St. Louis are also terrible, so they're still in the running for the #2 spot in the division.

Just Missed: St. Louis Rams