Have at it.
Posted on 11/15/2005 12:24:28 PM PST by Ultra Sonic 007
1. Indianapolis (9-0; unchanged): The Colts face their greatest challenge to date to remaining perfect.
2. Denver (7-2; unchanged): The schedule serves the Broncos another treat with a home game vs. the 2-7 Jets.
3. Pittsburgh (7-2; unchanged): The Steelers probably could get by another game vs. a weaker opponent without Ben Roethlisberger, but they'll feel a whole lot better if he's back this week.
4. Cincinnati (7-2; unchanged): The Bengals have had a nice rest, but is their defense ready for the Colts' seemingly unstoppable Triplets?
5. Carolina (7-2; 6): Even when Steve Smith isn't dominating, the Panthers can find a way to win … which could be particularly important vs. Chicago's defense.
6. Seattle (7-2; 8): With Shaun Alexander leading the way, the Seahawks continue to enhance their status as an elite team.
7. Dallas (6-3; 9): The Cowboys hung around long enough to capitalize on Donovan McNabb's meltdown, and now they have a chance to extend their winning streak to three games vs. Detroit.
8. Atlanta (6-3; 7): After a letdown game vs. Green Bay, the Falcons raise serious questions about their contender's status.
9. N.Y. Giants (6-3; 5): There is no excuse for such a sloppy performance against the Vikings.
10. Chicago (6-3; unchanged): Adrian Peterson was impressive vs. San Francisco, but the Bears took a major hit with the knee injury to rookie running back Cedric Benson.
11. San Diego (5-4; 12): LaDainian Tomlinson is rested and anxious for a crack at Buffalo's porous run defense.
12. Tampa Bay (6-3; unranked): Between Jon Gruden's gutsy call and Chris Simms' hot hand, the Bucs have re-established themselves as a factor in the competitive NFC South.
MIDDLE OF THE PACK (Listed alphabetically) Buffalo (4-5) Jacksonville (6-3) Kansas City (5-4) Minnesota (4-5) New England (5-4) Philadelphia (4-5) St. Louis (4-5) Washington (5-4)
NEED WORK (Listed alphabetically) Arizona (2-7) Baltimore (2-7) Cleveland (3-6) Detroit (4-5) Green Bay (2-7) Houston (1-8) Miami (3-6) New Orleans (2-7) N.Y. Jets (2-7) Oakland (3-6) San Francisco (2-7) Tennessee (2-7)
Have at it.
Naturally, the Giants fell a few spots after this week's loss to the Vikings, but don't be down. Think about the positives, which there are plenty of; offensively, we outgained them. Defensively, we shut them down until the final drive where we went into the dreaded prevent defense.
The only things that need working on this week in practice are special teams (a punt and a kick return for TDs?), lessening the few penalties we had, kicking (Jay Feely missed an easy 28-yarder), and of course, Eli (4 interceptions and his accuracy needs work). Even so, I think we'll rebound nicely against a battered Eagles team. See you all Sunday.
Looks about right though all 7-2 teams are about equal as are all 6-3 ones.
A week ago I jumped on the Giants bandwagon. But how can any team lose at home to the lowly Vikings? A team that had not won on the road this year. A team that has an abysmal outdoor record over the last five years. A team starting Brad Johnson at QB and with no running game? Guess Eli still has some growing up to do.....
Dude, the Vikings suck. You have every right to be down.
Carolina should be #2.
The only thing that would have been worse would have been to turn the game off with three minutes to go convinced that the Cowboys had lost.
That was a brutal loss and there is no excuse but there were some BS calls that went against us. I might be biased because I am a former O-lineman and a huge G-man fan but the Pettigout hold that put us out of FG range and led to an Eli interception, McKenzie's illegal formation, and McKenzie's hold, were all BS. Coughlin reviewed the film and also said he did not see the holds.
yeah Colts! We know what it's like being on the bottom of the list...:)
I'm an optimist, and they're 4-5. Sucking would be Houston Texans. It was a let down, but the thing that killed us were special teams and interceptions. In any case, I choose not to be down.
It's always interesting to see immediate reactions to a poorly played game. I'm sure many teams have lost a game they should've 'won' in the regular season, yet went on to win the big game.
Let's just hope the coaching staff learns that pre-vent defenses serve only to prevent the team using them from winning. Very few coaches undestand this, yet every single week teams that play pre-vent get burned. It's a strategy that reveals a fear of losing (which then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy) when a killer instinct is needed instead.
Had the Giants stuck with the defense they played the entire game they would've won despite all the penalties, interceptions, and special teams breakdowns.
I'm pleased to see the Broncos holding the #2 spot after emerging victorious from the Black Hole on Sunday (and it was a healthy margin of victory). But partisanship aside, I think that the Colts are head and shoulders above the Broncos.
The only team that had a worse loss than the Giants this week was their next opponent, the Eagles, whose season ended last night.
No McNabb, no TO, no hope, and the Giants haven't allowed an offensive TD in over 3 games.
I hope the G-men simply hang up an old tire and have Eli throw into it over and over this week. Consistent accuracy is all that's missing, and that'll come. Just hand off to Tiki this week, and, dammit, LET'S USE JACOBS MORE, COUGHLIN!
Agree completely about Jacobs. I'd like to see the G-Men employ a 2-back set and get Jacobs the ball at least 5-7 times per game.
Big Ben needs to get all healed up for the game against Indy in a few weeks.
I sure hope Charlie Batch's throwing hand is in good enough shape to play against Baltimore next week. Otherwise, Tommy Maddox had better be practicing his air game.
Yes but..... those losses to the teams you should have beaten come back to haunt you in December. For instance.... in my opinion the Redskins are done. There is no way they should have lost to a Tampa Bay team on the skids (had lost three of four) with a virtual rookie QB. I also think there's world of difference between 5-4 and 6-3. The NFC is loaded with pretty good teams - Carolina, Atlanta, NYG, Dallas, Seattle - but no clear-cut dominant squad like Indy in the AFC. Too many of these to get a 9-7 team into the playoffs other than as a division winner.
As for the AFC...... my Chargers have a lot of work to do even though I think they are the best 5-4 team in the league!
If "ifs" and "buts" were candy and nuts, we'd all have a Merry Christmas.
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