Week 8 Power Rankings
By Tyler Lurkins
@stldrafts
1. Kansas City-The Chiefs may lack explosion to maintain the top spot in the rankings, but hosting a struggling Browns team in week 8 and travelling to Buffalo in week 9, will more than likely keep them lossless.
2. Denver-Not to discredit the Colts, but the Broncos beat themselves. They will host a flashing Washington team next.
3. Indianapolis-This team continues to grit out wins. With or without Reggie Wayne, the Colts have proven they will do anything to win.
4. Seattle-The Seahawks will be hard to beat at home, and they will probably beat up on a downtrodden Rams team next Sunday on the road.
5. New Orleans-If this D could settle down and find themselves, the Saints and their high powered offense will be very hard to beat. Buffalo comes to town next.
6. San Francisco-The Niners will always be a hard nosed team that will play tough. Facing Jacksonville on Sunday should be a shoe in.
7. Cincinnati-Can the Bengals sustain the success they’re having? The team looks good on the field but can’t fall asleep on the surprising Jets.
8. Green Bay-Green Bay doesn’t have the record to sit here, but they show time and time again they find ways to win. Playing in Minneapolis next weekend should provide another win.
9. New England-The Patriots will always be powerful, but they lack the talent and it shows. New England really needs to roll over the Dolphins to keep their swagger in this league.
10. Dallas-Much like the Saints, Dallas is showing massive offensive production, but the D is still giving up yards. The Boys go to Detroit and need the win to prove their worth.
11. Detroit-Detroit can’t break the “average” label. A showdown against Dallas is a must win for Detroit as they need to continue to improve their record.
12. San Diego-San Diego lacks the big weapons, but they are utilizing every player in the right way. They’ll continue to get time to mesh as they head into their bye.
13. Chicago-Chicago is being depleted by injuries. The next four weeks will make or break their season.
14. Atlanta-Many will feel this is too high for Atlanta. However, minus Julio, Atlanta will get healthy again. The next two games are at Arizona and at Carolina, two opponents who should be beaten.
15. New York Jets-The Jets are a surprise team, and nobody can discount a Rex Ryan D. They’ll need to knock of Cincy to show they are for real.
16. Baltimore-Baltimore just doesn’t seem to be running on all cylinders. Rumors are flying that poor player attitudes are running rampant in the locker room.. The Ravens need this bye week to come together.
17. Tennessee-Tennessee is a bubble team. They seem to be destined to be dominant one week, and play poorly the next. Maybe the bye week will work out the kinks.
18. Carolina isn’t a fundamentally sound team. They lack depth and talent at many spots. However, a win over St. Louis, and going to a devastated Tampa Bay team will keep their record up.
19. Arizona-Though improving in many aspects, Arizona is still very spotty. They’ve impressed so far, and host Atlanta next for what could be an offensive showdown.
20. Miami-Miami will need to bring more balance into their offense, and hope to get Ellerbe healthy again. The Fins have had success hosting New England before, and will try to knock off the Patriots on Sunday.
21. Buffalo-Buffalo finds a way to keep games close without their franchise QB. The D is top notch but may have struggles in New Orleans.
22. Philadelphia-Philadelphia can’t keep their QB’s healthy. Will they have the talent to compete in New Jersey next week?
23. Washington-A mobile RGIII has spirits up in Washington, but they will travel to a vengeful Denver next week.
24. Cleveland-Right when it couldn’t get any worse for the Browns, they’ll have to travel to Kansas City.
25. Pittsburgh-Though winning a hard fought battle against Baltimore, Pittsburgh still struggled. They will travel to Oakland to hopefully start a winning streak.
26. Oakland-Oakland is surprisingly solid, but lack the true weapons to be successful. Pittsburgh is a nice matchup for Oakland, who are looking to get out of the basement of the league.
27. St. Louis-St. Louis already lacked depth. With Bradford out, it will be extremely hard for St. Louis to finish the season .500. Seattle will be a hard matchup for St. Louis
28. Houston-Down one quarterback, and one defensive captain, Houston will struggle a bit for the rest of the year. That is unless Schaub finds himself during this bye week.
29. New York Giants-These ranking will be made Sunday night. Win or lose against Minnesota, both teams are equally bad, but the Giants do have more talent across their roster and host a struggling Philly team in week 8.
30. Minnesota-Read above on the Giants, the big difference is Minnesota hosts an aggressive Packer team in week 8.
31. Tampa Bay-Tampa may be competing with Jacksonville for the worst team in the league.
32. Jacksonville-No explanation needed here. The Jags host the talented Niners in week 8.
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