Ian's Week 7 Power Rankings

Week 7's edition of my power rankings is short and sweet.

The Sweet

Tennessee's defense is playing great, but they really don't have much of a passing game. If a team can shut down their running game, will they be able to score more than 13 points?

Their tuneup for the Giants went just fine. The team has a tough task ahead with Parker and Holmes out for the Giants game.

This team showed they were the real deal by beating San Diego. However, they have yet to play a division game. That will show their true stripes.

They're 5-1 and playing well. Bigtime matchup this week against the Steelers featuring 2 of the last 3 Super Bowl Champs.

After totally shutting down the Saints offense, they deserve this spot.

Just Missed: Arizona Cardinals

The Short

Is there a worse team than Detroit out there right now? If there is, I haven't seen one.

Cincy hasn't won, but they also haven't given up 300 yards on the ground in one game.

The #1 draft pick may be on the line when they take on the Chiefs in Week 17.

Without Hasselbeck, this team is a shell of its former self. Hard to believe they were winning at the end of the first quarter in the divisional round last year.

This is an honorary position for how bad they've played the last few weeks. Gross. Roy Williams did nothing for them this week.

Just Missed: Cleveland Browns

Week 7 Recap

Week 7 Recap

AFC Rundown

The Steelers took care of business by beating the Bungles. Buffalo showed they are the real deal by beating San Diego. Denver pulled an absolute choke job against New England. Baltimore's defense dominated Miami. The Raiders pulled it off in OT against the Jets and Tennessee ran all over Kansas City. Tennessee's matchup with Indy is huge this week. Oh yeah, speaking of which, Indy lost to Green Bay. A week after the media was ready to crown San Diego and Indy, both of them lay a dud. New England is still a dangerous team and might sneak into the playoffs on their weak schedule.

NFC Rundown

I called it. St. Louis over Dallas. I wasn't counting on it being by that much, but I still called it. The Giants played well in their tune-up game for Pittsburgh. Washington beat Cleveland. How tight is the AFC South? Every week you think a different team is the cream of the crop. It's definitely going to be a race for the playoff spot between the teams in the South and the teams in the East. No one from the North or West besides the division champs are making it. Speaking of which, Chicago bested Minnesota in what could best be dubbed a defensive shootout and Green Bay played great against Indy. Arizona was on their bye, but it didn't matter because Seattle and San Fran both lost, meaning that the closest team to the Cards is the 2-4 Rams. Ouch.

Game of the Week: Oakland over NY Jets
As much as I hate Oakland, Janikowski made a great kick in overtime to pull this one out. Even though there wasn't a whole lot of scoring and there was some sloppy play, this was still a very entertaining game to watch.

Most Disappointing Game of the Week: Green Bay over Indy
Everyone was expecting this to be a shootout, but Indy's offense forgot to show up. If this keeps happening much more often, Indy will be sitting on their couches watching the playoffs this year.

Performance of the Week: LenDale White and Chris Johnson
320 yards and 4 touchdowns between the two of them. Looks like I made a good call starting both of them on my fantasy team last week. Kansas City's run defense is downright awful.

Midseason Playoff Picture:

Outside looking in:
AFC: Ravens (3-3), Jets (3-3), Colts (3-3)
NFC: Falcons (4-2), Cowboys (4-3), Packers (4-3)

Jungle Boogie: Steelers Win

Was anyone else a little worried when they saw it was Ed Hoculi's crew doing the game? Yeah, me too. Cincy wins the toss and defers. Ed, who is not Phil Luckett, doesn't need instant replay for the coin toss.

First Quarter

After all the pregame talk about how great Ben is in the state of Ohio, he comes out and takes a crap on everyone's face by fumbling the first snap. The only other team's I've seen do that this year were Cleveland and Cincinnati. Oh shit...

With the offense in trouble off the bat, Ben goes to Heath for a solid pickup to get to 3rd and manageable where he hits Hines on a crossing route that Hines turns upfield for almost 30 yards. Ben finds Spaeth on the sidelines on the next play and Hines wallops 1st round pick Keith Rivers with a massive (and totally legal) hit that breaks Rivers' jaw. Yes, Hines Ward broke a linebacker's jaw. Sick.

Nate Washington took an end around for 6 yards and another first down, but we lost most of the yardage on a Kemoeatu false start. Ben can't hook up with Hines on a slant route on first and long. After being quiet for the first 6 plays, Mewelde Moore gets his first touch, but doesn't do much. On 3rd and long, Ben finds Santonio for a huge gain to get the ball down to the Cincy 2. With no fullback in the roster, the Steelers come out with Najeh lined up at fullback and Moore in the I. Ben fakes to Najeh then throws a swing pass to Moore who waltzes into the end zone for the score.

7-0

After that great start to the game, the defense got it's shot. Let's face it. Cincy's offense without Palmer is nothing to be afraid of. This was evidenced early and often. Benson got stuffed by Farrior and Woodley. Housh caught a short one, Jailbird Henry couldn't catch it on 3rd down. Punt.

Ben wen right back to work picking on Dahanay Jones and found Santonio on a quick slant for 9. The Mewelde Moore show began as Moore ran for 3, 4 and 5 yards. On 3rd and 1, the coaches send in Gary Russell who gets stuffed. Lob Wedge comes in and punts 43 yards to the Cincy 22.

FitzPatrick fumbled but Housh was there to pick it up as Aaron Smith brought him down for a big loss. Benson got 8 back, but another incompletion on 3rd down brought out the punter. Kyle Larson defies logic by kicking a 15-yard punt. Yes, you read that right. 15 yards.

With the ball on the 30, we were already in field goal range. Moore for 3. Ben finds Hines for the first down. Ben takes a shot at the end zone for Nasty Nate, but he comes up empty. Moore goes around the right end for 16 yards to get down to the 3. With no short yardage back, Arians takes to the air. Leon Hall makes a great diving play to break up a quick slant for Hines. Ben can't hook up with Hines or Heath, and after 3 pass plays from the 3 yard line, Reed comes on for the chip shot.

10-0

At this point, you might be a little worried that we weren't able to convert that golden opportunity and take a big lead early.

James Harrison put those fears to rest with a big sack of FitzPatrick on first down. Antonio Chapman pulled in a pass to negate the sack yardage as the quarter expired.

Second Quarter

After a first quarter where we had almost 11 minutes in time of possession, you knew a letdown was coming, you just didn't want it to happen. Woodley applied the heat to FitzPatrick, who, because of his very Irish name, will be "Erin" from now on. Much shorter and easier. Punt.

If the Steelers could muster up some points here, they could pretty much put the game away. Buzzkill: they went 3-and-out. Ben took a shot deep for Holmes but came up empty. Moore reeled one in for 7 but we were set back by a false start and delay of game. Incomplete Pass. Lob Wedge pins Cincy inside the 10.

The Diesel stops Benson. Erin finds Ocho Stinko for a short gain, but can't deal with pressure from Harrison and throws an incomplete pass on 3rd down. Punt.

With the ball near midfield, Arians decides we haven't used the motif offense yet, so we might as well use it now. Moore for 6 and 2. On 3rd and 2, once again defying Steelers football logic, we put the ball in the air on a swing pass to Moore that gets stopped in it's tracks. Lob Wedge blasts one into the end zone.

Erin goes deep for Jailbird, but Ike was all over it and almost came up with the pick. Benson got stuffed and Farrior brings Erin down with a sack. The 2nd quarter was going great if you were a punting enthusiast.

Moore caught a short one for little, but Santonio came through to pick up a big first down and more. Ben went right back to him for 16 more yards to get to the fringes of field goal range. The first down pass got tipped at the line and fell incomplete. Moore got stuffed in the backfield for a loss of 4 on 2nd down and Ben was under pressure and threw a pass too high for Heath on 3rd down. Rather than try a 55-yard field goal, Lob Wedge comes out and pins the Bungles inside their 10.

Erin finds Stinko for 6 on first down and BUI Benson falls forward for 4 yards and the Bungles first first down of the game with 4 1/2 minutes left in the first half. The crowd goes nuts. With the crowd behind him, BUI goes for 9 yards in 2 carries and Erin finds Housh to convert again. A holding penalty negates their first play, but Erin gets it all back by finding Jailbird for 16 yards as the clock winds down to 2 minutes.

Former Nitany Lion Kenny Watson comes in and picks up the first down to get the ball across the 40. You have that sinking feeling that the Steelers didn't put the Bungles away when they had the chance and it's coming back to bite them in the ass. Erin navigates the field by finding Jailbird for 10, Housh for 12 and Jailbird again for 18 to get into the red zone. The Replay Booth challenged the catch, but Hoculi said there wasn't conclusive video evidence to show that he needs new contact lenses. Erin and Stinko decide to try and put on a show and hook up 3 times, the last one for a touchdown on a lob pass that Erin had to get rid of with Lawrence Timmons in his face.

The Bengals top fans celebrate their touchdown by stealing an airplane.
10-7

As Ben took a knee to end the half, you had a sinking feeling that with Cincy getting the ball to start the second half, we might be in trouble. We had the chance to put them away and now they're making a game of it.

Third Quarter

After what seemed like the longest halftime since the Ravens game, the Third Quarter finally started. The bad feeling in your gut didn't go away when Erin converted a 3rd and 7 by scrambling. Erin seemed poised to lead another scoring drive as he got the Bungles into a third and short, but...

James Harrison comes up with an incredibly timely sack for force a punt. Santonio brings it back to near midfield and the Steelers are in good shape.

Mewelde Moore alleviates some of your fears by taking a handoff on the first play around the left end and dashing for 24 yards. The Mewelde Moore Show continued as he snagged a short pass for 5 then busted another run for 6 to get the ball to the 20. Ben and Santonio can't hook up, but Ben finds Heath for 7 yards to get the ball down to the 13. On 3rd and 3, when, given their prior play-calling patterns, you expect a pass, Moore takes a handoff around the corner and gets a great seal block from Darnell Stapleton and he has a clear path to paydirt.

17-7

The Bungles sniffed the hope of winning, and weren't quite ready to give it up just yet. Erin found BUI for 10, then BUI powered for 5 yards. After an incompletion, Housh pulls one down to convert the 3rd down. Stinko snags a 7-yarder and 2 short runs set up a key 4th and 1 on the 14. Conventional wisdom would say kick the field goal and take the points, but the Bungles are 0-6. Erin sneaks for 2 yards to keep the drive alive then finds Stinko to get the ball down to the 5. Things look bleak, but the Big Stick Policy reminds everyone that this is the Bungles, and brings Erin down. Kenny Watson can't catch a short pass on 3rd down, and the Bungles are forced to kick a field goal.

17-10

We all felt a little better with the 7-point lead, but a 1-score game at the end of the 3rd quarter was a little closer than we wanted. Hines picked up 7 yards on first down, and Moore gets 2 to set up 3rd and short. Arians calls a stupid play to try to send Moore around the end on 3rd and short and we have to punt.

Harrison gets a paw on the ball and swats down a pass, but BUI comes back with a 7-yard charge as the third quarter ends.

Fourth Quarter

Erin converted another 3rd down with a pass to Housh and you had that sinking feeling that we were going to have to pull out another close game in the 4th quarter. That feeling didn't get any better when Erin hit Chapman and Housh to pick up another first down. After missing on a deep shot for Stinko, Benson plows through the defense and knocks out two guys. Troy layed a wallop on him and lost his helmet from the hit, but also knocked himself out of the game with a concussion. B-Mac also left the game with a broken arm.

JD says: B-Mac is out at least 5 weeks.

The run was good for a first down, but with the ball in Steelers territory, the Bungles choke. Timmons is all over the place as he stops BUI on a run, then sacks Erin on 3rd down to force a punt.

As the Steelers got the ball on the 9, we all knew the truth: we needed points of the 7 variety. Badly. Moore responds by taking the first carry for 16 yards to get the ball out of danger. Moore goes for 3, and Santonio pulls in a big catch on 3rd down to keep the drive alive after an incompletion on 2nd down. Moore runs for 5 more to get the ball up to the 50. On 2nd down, when it seemed like we were in for a long drive, Ben finds Nasty Nate on 5th avenue and Nate takes it to the HOUSE.

24-10

After that near perfect 6-play, 91-yard drive, the Bungles start to come apart at the seams. After an incompletion, BUI gets stopped in the backfield and Timmons comes up with another sack on 3rd down to force another punt.

With the ball near midfield, the Steelers knew they didn't want to just play field position. Ben takes a shot downfield for Hines, who draws a pass interference call that's good for 38 yards to get the ball inside the 15. Cue the Mewelde Moore show. He gets 6 yards on two consecutive carries, then seals the deal with a 2-yard touchdown run.

31-10

Stinko drops one on the sideline, then Housh can't come up with the ball, setting up another 3rd down. Big Stick takes a swat at Erin as he's getting pushed past him and manages to get the ball, forcing a fumble. Big Sticks swings off his block and dives on the ball to give the Steelers the ball in Bungles territory.

Byron comes in to close things off and, seemingly, just hand off to Gary Russell. But after Russell gets stopped in the backfield on first down, Byron has to go to the air. He finds Nate on 2nd down then hits Limas Sweeeeeeed for his first catch as a pro on a slant route to pick up the first down. Russell gets 2 carries to wind the clock down to 2 minutes to set up 3rd and 7. Byron throws one out for Hines and Jonathan Joseph makes a good play on the ball and is able to make a diving tip of the ball. However, the ball popped up into the air, and Hines pulled it down and was able to waltz untouched into the end zone for the final nail in the coffin.

38-10

With just under 2 minutes left, the Bungles send in Jordan Palmer to face the Steelers JV Defense. The Bungles offensive coordinator should be fined by the NFL for calling passing plays and delaying the game even longer. The Bungles were able to run 3 plays in the last 10 seconds of the game because of incomplete passes. I guess they really wanted to wallow in their misery even longer.

Players of the Game:
Offensive Game Ball: Mewelde Moore
Defensive Game Ball: LaMarr Woodley
Honorable Mentions:
James Harrison
Lawrence Timmons
Ben Roethlisberger
Nate Washington

Mr. Yuck Sticker of the Game
Cincy's offensive coordinator for calling passing plays in the last 2 minutes when we really just wanted the game to be over.

Final Thoughts

• Mewelde Moore is playing great. We just need to not run him into the ground like we did with Willie.
• Nate Washington is turning into a great #3 receiver.
• Hopefully Troy will be okay, he was having a Pro Bowl year.
• Pro Bowl ballots are available on nfl.com. Make sure to vote!
• This was a good tuneup for our big showdown with the Giants next week.

A Ray of Hope

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

If Tampa can have 10 losing seasons and then go to a World Series, the Pirates can do it too.

But let's be real, it's not happening next year.

But the year after????

????????

Pirates in 2011!!!

Tampa gives us hope that the Pirates can be good again.

Plus, Philly sucks.

Go Rays!!!!

Game Day 10

Every division game is big. Don't let the Bungles 0-6 record fool you. This team has been banging at the door of winning for the last three weeks. They buckled down in the second half against the Cowboys. They forced the Giants to overtime. They stayed strong against the Jets. The Bungles are better than their 0-6 record.

Coming off a bye, the Steelers get the Diesel back. Parker and Hampton are still out.

Carson Palmer is out this week and the Bungles go with Ryan "I might be Irish" FitzPatrick. Who? Yeah, that's what I said when he got called on to start against the Browns.

The Steelers need to be on upset alert, but a win this week would be huge. They already have a 2-game lead in the division. Baltimore is playing Miami and Cleveland, who knocked off the Giants last week, get a Redskins team that lost to St. Louis. The Steelers need a win to maintain their 2-game lead.

Heading into enemy territory in need of a win, who do we turn to?

Don't doubt the King of Gondor.



Go Steelers!!

Week 7 Preview

After we took a bye week, we're back in action.

Week 7 Preview

Best Game of the Week: San Diego at Buffalo
The Bills are coming off their bye week and get to host a San Diego team that hit its stride last week against New England. Buffalo is seeking to prove it can play with the big boys and with New England playing Denver, the Bills can take a commanding lead in the AFC East. Trent Edwards is a little banged up coming off the concussion he suffered against Arizona. His ability to bounce back will dictate the success the Bills will have the rest of the year.

Most Intriguing Game of the Week: Indianapolis at Green Bay
This game has all the makings of a shootout, which probably means the final score will be around 13-10. Peyton and the Colts offense hit a stride last week against Baltimore. Their passing game should be on display against a mediocre Packers secondary. However, Joseph Addai's injury could spell trouble for the offense because it will make them more one-dimensional. Of course, when that one dimension is Peyton Manning passing the ball, that's nothing to go belly-up over. Likewise, Aaron Rodgers has been throwing the ball all over the place. If Green Bay is going to win this game, they need to play clock control with a solid running game against a weak Indy run defense. If Green Bay gets sucked in to playing pass-happy with Indy, they're going to lose.

Upset of the Week: St Louis over Dallas
I can't believe I just said that. St. Louis is awful and Dallas is, well...hurting. Romo is out, Felix Jones is out, and Adam The Artist Formerly Known As Pacman Jones is suspended indefinitely. This sets things up for an upset. Dallas' secondary is weak, which means Marc Bulger, who finally has a coach he likes, could come out of his shell and ignite the passing game this week. With Brad Johnson running the offense, Dallas may not be as explosive as they were under Romo, which means that TO and newly acquired Roy Williams will be catching more underneath stuff rather than going downfield. Of course, Dallas is 4th in the NFC in sacks and St. Louis is 4th in the NFC in sacks allowed, which could mean a long day for Bulger. If St. Louis is going to pull the upset, they're going to need to create turnovers and maintain ball control and clock control. Keeping the Cowboys offense off the field is the key to winning this game.

Best Performance: Ben Roethlisberger
The Steelers have owned the Bengals in Cincinnati in recent years. The Bengals have a poor secondary and coming off the bye week, the Steelers offense is ready to explode. The passing offense had a great game against the Jagoffs. Willie Parker is on the bench again, which means a little more weight on the passing game. Look for Ben to throw for over 300 again. Maybe they'll finally take some deep shots for Santonio.

Stay Away From: Seattle's offense
Let's face it, this team is downright awful. With Matt Hasselbeck on the bench with an injury, their offense went from bad to worse. They can't move the ball, and facing a good Tampa defense this week, look for lots of turnovers by Seattle.

Time for my favorite picture...

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ian's Week 6 Power Rankings

After a bunch of teams made a mockery out of my Week 5 power rankings, here's my latest shot. As much as it upset me when I first heard that my Super Bowl team from the NFC (Washington) got embarrassed against St. Louis, I must say I love the parity in the NFL this year. We have the makings of what could be a great season ahead of us.

Top Five

Is Tennessee the best team in the league? They come off their bye with a 5-0 record in a schedule with a league-low opponent win percentage. They'll get tested against Indianapolis after they breeze through the LJ-less Chiefs this week.

It was popular for teams at the top to choke last week while the Steelers, Titans, and Bills sat at home and got healthy. Before the Jacksonville game I wondered if this was really a team that had a shot at making a run or if they were just pretenders posing as a threat. They carry a 2-game lead in the division into Cincy. Parker is out, but Moore and Najeh should be able to carry them. Cleveland's upset of the Giants could seem troublesome down the road. The Steelers need to maintain their high level of play.

Yes, the top 3 in my power rankings are all from the AFC. Are the Bills really this good? We'll find out this week against the Chargers, who they get at home. Trent Edwards ability to rebound from his concussion will be key for this team moving forward. Even if he can't, they still might have enough talent to hang on and win this division.

Since their Week 1 loss to New Orleans, Tampa is 4-1 with a 2-0 mark in the division with convincing wins against Atlanta and Carolina. Their defense is playing great right now and their offense seems to be coming around again after Griese went down and Garcia took the helm. This division is going to be a fight all season, though I have the feeling Atlanta is going to fade towards the second half.

Is there any better home team in the league than Arizona? They have beaten Dallas, Buffalo and Miami (combined 10-6 record) by a combined 51 points at home while losing to Washington and the Jets by a combined 28 points on the road. With their main competition in the division being San Francisco, Arizona might be able to win the division with 7 wins, which they can get to if they sweep their 3-game stretch of division games in November.

Just Missed: New York Giants

Bottom Five

Detroit almost pulled the upset of Minnesota last week and turned around and traded their top receiver (Roy Williams) to the Cowboys for draft picks. This team is obviously thinking for next season. With Kitna on the IR, it might be time to give Drew Stanton his shot. Things certainly can't get any worse.

Cincy has played their last three opponents tougher, but they still haven't racked one up in the win column, landing them in the second spot on my bottom five. Hopefully they're still waiting after the matchup this week against the Steelers.

They needed the bye week, but with LJ out, this team is in trouble. They don't play a team with a record below .500 until they get Oakland on November 30. It's going to be a long year in Missouri with the Chiefs and Rams bookending the state. Sadly for people in Missouri, during the bye week they got to watch Chase Daniel blow his Heisman hopes and Mizzou's national championship hopes against Oklahoma State. They still have a shot at a BCS bowl, but with their showdown against Texas this week, things might go even further downhill for the Tigers.

The Rams are playing bad, but for all intents and purposes, the Seahawks haven't won in over a month. Now with Hasselbeck out, this team has no quarterback and no wide receivers. Ouch. The big problem here is the defense. Where did they go? They're not stopping anyone.

Coming into this season, the Raiders seemed to have the looks of a team that could turn it around. After six weeks, the national media is taking the side of an ex-coach saying that Al Davis needs to move on. The team is a mess. Darren McFadden and JaMarcus Russell need some blockers up front. It all begins and ends with the line.

Just Missed: St. Louis Rams

John's Week 6 Power Rankings

High Five

5-0

The last undefeated team in the NFL sits atop my power rankings for the first time this season. There is no question as to identity - the Titans are a defensive-minded squad which likes to control the clock with a dominating running attack. Jeff Fisher's defense is tops in the league in scoring defense, having allowed 23 fewer points than the second place unit. However, concerns remain. Tennessee has yet to defeat a team which currently sports a winning record. Neither Kerry Collins nor Vince Young have thrown for over 200 yards in the first five games. Finally, it still remains to be seen whether LenDale White or Chris Johnson is the primary back. Johnson has led the team in rushing each week, but since peaking at 109 yards in Week 2, his rushing numbers have declined. After K.C. this week, the Titans will get tests from a supposedly rejuvenated Colts team, as well as from the Packers, with both contests coming at home.

Next Up: @ Kansas City (1-4)

4-2

Next Up: @ Carolina (10/26) (4-2)



4-1

Next Up: @ Cincinnati (0-6)



4-1

Next Up: vs. San Diego (3-3)



4-2

Next Up: vs. Seattle (1-4)

Just Missed: San Diego Chargers


Dive Five


0-5

From a guarantee of 10 wins in 2007 to half way to 10 losses five games into the season this year. What happened? We may never know the answer to that question, but football fanatics do know that the Lions have already begun to focus on 2009 and beyond. Jon Kitna was placed on IR with a bulging disc in his back despite Kitna claiming he would have been healthy enough to play. The move allows the team to see what they have in backups Dan Orlovsky and Drew Stanton, and to decide whether they should use a likely top-5 pick on a QB. Subsequently, the front office shipped starting wide receiver Roy Williams, once thought a cornerstone of the rebuilding process a few years ago but made "expendable" due to the arrival of Calvin Johnson, to Dallas for a plethora of draft picks. Now, the Lions have to hope they nab a franchise running back in the draft to aid an embarrassing running attack (30th in the NFL), hope that Mike Furrey returns to his 2006 form (or they'll be facing a hole at wide out), and pray the O-line somehow improves. Oh, and there's still the little fact of the defense being the worst in the league in yards allowed and second worst in scoring defense. Even the future looks dull for a franchise which thought it started turning the corner last season.

Next Up: vs. Dallas (4-2)



0-6

Next Up: vs. Pittsburgh (4-1)



1-4

Next Up: vs. N.Y. Jets (3-2)



1-4

Next Up: @ Tampa Bay (4-2)



1-4

Next Up: vs. Tennessee (5-0)

Just Missed: St. Louis Rams

Divisional Rankings

We've been calling the NFC East the best division in football all year. But with the Redskins loss to St. Louis and Dallas' loss to Arizona, maybe that's not quite true. In a new feature, here's the divisional rankings after Week 6, based on overall records.

1. NFC East 15-8 (.652)
2. NFC South 15-9 (.625)
3. AFC East 12-8 (.600)
4. AFC South 12-9 (.571)
5. AFC West 9-13 (.409)
6. NFC North 9-14 (.391)
7. AFC North 8-13 (.381)
8. NFC West 8-14 (.364)

So for now, the NFC East holds the crown of best division in football. The AFC North escaped the bottom spot with the Browns win over the Giants on Monday night.

Bye Week for Everyone

The Steelers had a bye week, and we did too. One of my friends got married, so I got to spend the weekend in a hotel room with cable watching football. It was awesome.

Yes, I know we didn't get up a preview for the week, but given my power rankings last week, it probably would have been a joke anyways.

Proof I don't know as much as I thought I did:

On Washington: "Of all the teams left on our schedule, I think Washington scares me the most...We ain't seen nothin yet."
On St. Louis: "This is the worst team in the league."

St. Louis 19, Washington 17

On Carolina: "Jonathan Stewart is the real deal...their two-RB style is working out. With Steve Smith back in the lineup, the offense is starting to hit its stride"

Tampa Bay 27, Carolina 3

Why you should keep reading this blog:

From last week's rundown:
On Baltimore: "Their offense needs to produce more than 10 points, even against a good defense. Their offense is 27th in scoring, 31st in passing, and 24th in total offense. Not the rankings of a playoff contender."

Indianapolis 31, Baltimore 3

On Seattle: "How bad is the Seahawks defense?"

Green Bay 27, Seattle 17

On Minnesota: "AP didn't really show up against a bad run defense [New Orleans]."

Minnesota 12, Detroit 10
Peterson: 2 fumbles, 0 TDs
(Okay, he did have 111 yards rushing, but the other stats are a little more concerning)

The Giants have a chance to either prove me a fool or a genius tonight.

Saturday night was a great night for sports. I was flipping between Penn State crushing Wisconsin, Chase Daniel coughing up his Heisman hopes against Oklahoma State, the Pens forgetting how to play hockey, and Tampa and Boston having a ballpark shootout. The Rays give me hope that the Pirates could be good again some day.

Go Rays.

With our game against Cincy coming up this week, I get to use my favorite picture plenty of times.

Go Steelers.