Leon Halip/Getty ImagesThis year, the NFL has seen more parity and more wild shifts in power than ever before. This week, the New York Jets claim top spot in DraftTek's weekly power rankings. If someone argued New England, Atlanta or even Pittsburgh as the top team, it would be hard to Reebok Green Bay Packers 21 Charles Woodson Realtree camo Jersey
fault them—each team has much to like about them. On the bottom half of things? Detroit looks like they were ready to ascend before losing to the winless Bills; Dallas looked like their season was over before beating the Giants; the Redskins looked average until getting hoisted by their petards on Monday Night Football. Without further ado: The DraftTek Week 11 NFL Power Rankings! 32) Carolina Panthers: (1-8) - Matt Moore is still the QB and some think the Panthers could have a tough decision with Clausen this offseason. Mike Goodson has the only 100-yard game on the year and David Gettis is emerging as the top wide out. This is not how things were supposed to go. 31) Detroit Lions: (2-7) - Detroit is a mess. One of the most penalized teams and still can't keep their quarterbacks upright, the Lions could easily have three or four more wins but clearly lack NFL-level toughness. 30) Buffalo Bills: (1-8) - Fred Jackson is making a lot of fans scratch their head as CJ Spiller continues to be far less effective. Will Buffalo go with Luck over Fitzpatrick in a similar move? The Bills aren't going to face Detroit every week but it is easy to foresee them picking up a few more wins. They've been better than their record for a while. 29) Cincinnati Bengals: (2-7) - Chad Ochocinco remarked on Twitter (where else?) that he has more commercials than touchdowns. Couldn't say it better myself! Maybe the Bengals can pick up that Stu guy from the NFL Training Camp/Kinect commercial. 28) Arizona Cardinals: (3-6) - Matt Leinart couldn't have done this? 27) Minnesota Vikings: (3-6) - The media has fallen out of love with Favre. The country now knows what most local reporters long knew—these players don't like Childress. For most teams, I would prescribe a team bonding session on Lake Minnestonka, but the Vikings are the last group of guys you want out on the water. Take 20 doses of Adrian Peterson and stop throwing so gosh-darned much! 26) San Francisco 49ers: (3-6) - Troy Smith has this team "rolling"—at least comparatively speaking. Winning is always better than losing, but if the 49ers move into 2011 with Singletary and Troy Reebok Minnesota Vikings #84 Randy Moss Realtree camo Jersey
Smith, fans will look back and wish the team had stayed in merry old England. 25) Washington Redskins: (4-5) - If the NFL had a mercy rule, Monday Night Football would have lasted about 20 minutes. Then again, if the NFL had a mercy rule, Dan Snyder probably would be wasting money elsewhere. 24) Dallas Cowboys: (2-7) - Wade Phillips might be a putz, but I don't buy that this team didn't like him. He's a players' coach and nearly impossible to hate. Respect? Now that's another story. Regardless, his firing turned out to be a wake up call and players perform once all their jobs are on the line. 23) Denver Broncos: (3-6) - Kyle Orton was taking a lot of unnecessary heat from Broncos fans and redeemed himself, trouncing on the Chiefs like he had a personal mandate from Andrew Jackson. Meanwhile, the Tim Tebow experiment is working the way many expected—scoring TDs other players could have easily gotten. Historically, no one kills fantasy teams like the Denver Broncos. 22) Cleveland Browns: (3-6) - Beating the Saints and the Pats is impressive; taking the Jets to OT is pretty nice as well. Colt McCoy is making a lot of GMs look like fools and Peyton Hillis is establishing himself as a go-to back. This is a team on the rise. 21) Houston Texans: (4-5) - Sure, the Texans have an offense but local authorities put out an Amber Alert out for the pass defense, which might by the worst of the modern era if it weren't so non-existent. 20) San Diego Chargers: (4-5) - Coming off a bye with two straight wins, the Chargers could be making that end-of-the-year push they are accustomed to. Would anyone really be surprised? Monday Night Football should be fun to watch with Denver in town. 19) St. Louis Rams: (4-5) - Is there a more quixotic team than the Rams? One moment Bradford is winning games by going to the air with reckless abandon; the next week, the St. Louis D can't stop Troy Smith when it counts the most. Much like the Chiefs above them, the Rams have been adding talent the right way but simply don't have enough of it to go on an extended run or dominate all the teams they should be able to beat. 18) Kansas City Chiefs: (5-4) - Losing to Oakland in OT clearly took the wind out of the Chiefs sails and Denver even more clearly took advantage. The fact that Cassel was still able to have a career day speaks volumes after Denver exploded to a 35-point lead. The Chiefs have a ton of young talent but are still (at least) a year away. 17) Tennessee Titans: (4-5) - It'd be easy to "blame" the offensive gameplan in Tennessee because Chris Johnson only got 18 touches. Yet, the defense (or lack there of) was the real culprit. Tyler Thigpen and Chad Henne both drove on Coach Washburn's unit and kept the ball away from Johnson and the offense. Randy Moss just isn't the answer. 16) Miami Dolphins: (5-4) - Completely torn with the Dolphins who should be ranked higher because they've managed to play opponents close no matter what. However, how do you "power rank" a team highly that just lost its top two QBs? 16 might be as high as the Dolphins get the rest of the season, but don't count out Tyler Thigpen, he has more talent than a lot of QBs who have gotten many more chances. 15) Seattle Seahawks: (5-4) - The Seahawks are overperforming all expectations and that starts with "Big" Mike Williams, who was done in this league before his college coach gave him one more chance. The 'Hawks have a legitimate shot at the playoffs if Hasselbeck can stay healthy and that defense can continue to steal possessions and keep opponents out of the endzone. 14) Jacksonville Jaguars: (5-4) - David Gerrard is not an elite QB, he might not even be the "franchise" QB (depending on your definition). But could one player take any more blame for a team so devoid of talent and depth all over Reebok Pittsburg Steelers #83 Heath Miller Realtree camo Jersey
the roster? Garrard isn't perfect, but he's carried this team in the past and he's doing it now. 13) Oakland Raiders: (5-4) - Oakland is coming off a bye, winners of three straight and sitting in the lead of their division. Things couldn't be going better. What's that? They're headed to Pittsburgh this week? You say Pittsburgh is hopping mad after losing to the Pats? Well, that's a horse of a different color. If the Raiders can win in Heinz field this week, experts will have to take back all the nasty things they've said about Oakland recently. But even diehard fans have to realize that's a big if. 12) New York Giants: (6-3) - Trust me, I wish I could drop this squad lower. Losing to Dallas is embarrassing, but not if you remember that the Cowboys have a lot of talent that has been laying dormant. Losing Steve Smith is a big blow and Eli Manning—now more than ever—needs to stay focused and carry this team. 11) Chicago Bears: (6-3) - Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears are the epitome of boom or bust teams: On their best day, they could easily put up 50 on a top defense; at their worst, Cutler is more-than-able to complete more passes to the wrong color of jersey. This team rises and falls with the accuracy of their QB. The running game can't get into second gear and the defense isn't getting the stops Bears fans are accustomed to. They play the Tyler Thigpen-led Miami Dolphins on Thursday and need to win to maintain any semblance of respectability. 10) New Orleans Saints: (6-3) - The Saints have won two in a row, but are they back? We might not know until Week 15, when they travel to Baltimore. Until then, it's pretty smooth sailing. It is clear Reggie Bush meant more to this team than many realized and Pierre Thomas needs to be healthy if they want to make a run. Plus, losing to Cleveland doesn't look nearly as bad as it did before the Browns beat New England and took NYJ to overtime. 9) Tampa Bay Buccaneers: (6-3) - Picking on Carolina at home is like taking the school nerd's lunch money the day after he breaks his leg. Who Is The Best Team After 11 Weeks?Who Is The Best Team After 11 Weeks?New England Patriots30.9%Atlanta Falcons14.8%New York Jets 28.9%Other25.5%Total votes: 149Raheem Morris wants us to believe his squad is the best in the NFC and it was hard to argue with him when he said it, but the proof will be in the pudding as the Bucs travel to San Francisco and Baltimore in the coming weeks, setting up a home game against Atlanta. This stretch will be the true test of this young team's mettle. 8) Indianapolis Colts: (6-3) - Winning close at home against the Bengals isn't exactly a marquee event. Thanks to recent events, beating Houston, Kansas City and the Giants doesn't look as great as it did a week ago either. This week at New England will make or break their season. 7) Green Bay Packers: (6-3) - The Packers had a bye week and travel to Minnesota and Atlanta for their next two games. Beating Brett Favre at home might be easier than it used to be, but the Packers can't take that game for granted. We'll all know a little bit more about Green Bay after their trips to the frozen North and Dirty South. Until then, there's little reason to doubt the Pack who have the league's best point differential in spite of injuries all over the field. 6) Philadelphia Eagles: (6-3) - Michael Vick is for real! That probably isn't news to anyone reading this, but it bears repeating: Vick is more of a quarterback now than he has ever been and he's maintained that second gear which makes him so dangerous to contain. 28 points in a 1st quarter is insane. Against a division rival on the road? Legit. In this new era of NFL parity, the Eagles might not be the best team but they're probably the scariest on a lot of opponents' schedules. 5) Pittsburgh Steelers: (6-3) - Reebok Arizona Cardinals Larry Fitzgerald Realtree camo Jersey
The Steelers couldn't have looked much worse as the Patriots caught Big Ben and crew with their pants down on Sunday night. One has to slightly forgive the loss due to numerous injuries and the fact that Tom Brady always has Pittsburgh's number. The Jekyll and Hyde routine needs to stop. If it does, winning out is still a possibility. 4) Baltimore Ravens: (6-3) - The Ravens are their own worst enemy at times—clearly having the ability to beat any team, including themselves. The rest of the schedule couldn't get much easier, but Baltimore needs to keep their act together. 3) New England Patriots: (7-2) - Tom Brady might not have Randy Moss, but all-in-all, he's probably glad. His new cast of offensive talent is filled with blue collar types who continue to grow; the defense is even younger and looking far better in recent weeks than any of the experts could have ever predicted. Meanwhile, Bill Belichick is still their head coach and that means more than his critics like to admit. If you would argue they're the best team in the league, I couldn't disagree with you. 2) Atlanta Falcons: (7-2) - This year's "Rodney Dangerfield" award goes to the Falcons, who are getting absolutely no respect with seven wins—even when the last one is against the mighty Ravens. Matt Ryan and co. aren't the most explosive bunch, but they are the most balanced and have more playmakers than they're given credit for. Disrespect them if you'd like, just don't bet against them. 1) New York Jets: (7-2) - "Just Win Baby" was long the motto of Al Davis and the Oakland Raiders. Now? It seems as if Rex Ryan and the J.E.T.S. Jets Jets Jets have adopted it as their own. Gang Green becomes the first team in history to Reebok Baltimore Ravens #5 Joe Flacco Realtree camo Jersey
win back-to-back road games in overtime. It isn't dominant, but it's effective. If the Jets continue to win while they mature as a team, they could end up peaking at the perfect time—rough story for the rest of the league. This article can also be found at DraftTek—The internet's premier computer based NFL Draft site. Michael Schottey is the managing editor of the College Writing Internship at Bleacher Report, and an NFL Featured Columnist. He has covered the NFL in a number of media markets for over five years and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America.
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