NFL Power Rankings: Texans at #2

[Luv_ya_blue]

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-sh...6183--nfl.html

1. Atlanta Falcons (6-0)Last week: 1
Off this week. As the only undefeated team remaining, they deserve our No. 1 spot.

2. Houston Texans (6-1)
Last week: 3
Blown out one week, then they blow someone out the next. Man, this league makes no sense. I guess that's what an NFL season is — every team plays a bunch of games, and then it's your job to figure out which results mean something, and which are a fluke or the result of some other reality-bending circumstance. In the case of the Texans, I'm going with the blowout at the hands of Green Bay as a fluke. There's more evidence supporting the Texans as an elite team, capable of stomping the life out of the limping Ravens.

3. New York Giants (5-2)
Last week: 2
I feel like most teams would've been beaten by that effort from the Washington RGIIIs, so credit to the Giants for sticking around and pulling out a W. That said, let's not go overboard in kneeling at the feet of Eli Manning for being clutch. It was a good read and a good throw, but more than anything else, that was a bust by the Redskins. Safety Madieu Williams guessed wrong on a route and paved Cruz a yellow-brick road to the end zone.

4. Chicago Bears (5-1)
Last week: 5
Jay Cutler wasn't very good against the Lions, and still, the game was never really in doubt. In fact, Cutler's only been good in two or three games this season, and still, the Bears cruise along behind that swarming, nasty defense. It also helps that their opponents on Monday night wanted desperately to give them the football in the red zone, but that's no accident, either ‒ the Bears defense is ferocious and left Matthew Stafford nowhere to go time and time again.

5. San Francisco 49ers (5-2)
Last week: 6
The Seahawks made them work for it on Thursday night, but the 49ers are well-equipped for a game in which there were not 300 yards of passing combined. That's Jim Harbaugh's kind of party. The 49ers became the first team to rush for 100 yards against Seattle, with Frank Gore getting 131 of their 175. Maybe they didn't have a choice, but they attacked Seattle's strength, and they took it to them.

6. New England Patriots (4-3)
Last week: 7
The people of New England realize that wins are still a good thing, right? Maybe a three-point margin of victory isn't what everyone had in mind for a home game against the Jets, but wins are wins. Exactly three teams in the AFC have winning records right now, and the Patriots are one of them. The Jets save their best shot for the Patriots twice a year. Maybe you'd rather not make Mark Sanchez look like Dan Marino, but what, you expected to magically have a dominant secondary this week?

7. Green Bay Packers (4-3)
Last week: 8
The loss of Charles Woodson for at least four weeks is devastating, and it's a setback the Packers don't need just as they're finding their groove. The silver lining? The groove's been found because Aaron Rodgers has shifted his game from pretty good to mind-blowing, and if he keeps putting up QB ratings in the 130s, the Pack could go with 10 men on defense and still win most of their games.

8. Denver Broncos (3-3)
Last week: 9
Off this week.

9. Baltimore Ravens (5-2)
Last week: 4
Oof. That was a good old-fashioned kick to the pancreas. And as convenient as it would be to say "Welcome to life without Ray Lewis and Lardarius Webb," and just conclude that the Ravens are garbage now, I don't see things unfolding that way. They got clobbered. They'll recover. This was a highly motivated Texans team, at home, coming off a humiliation of their own. Sometimes things just snowball. The Ravens defense is not what it was five years ago, and it's not going to be. But they're still head and shoulders above anyone else in the AFC North.

10. Seattle Seahawks (4-3)
Last week: 11
They fought hard in San Francisco, but it's always going to be an uphill battle when you're the 31st-ranked passing team playing against the top-ranked pass defense. Still, Seattle sits at 4-3, undefeated at home, with more home games left than road games. A playoff spot seems pretty likely if they just beat the teams they should beat.

If this has already been posted...sorry...just merge.

[PandapuffTexan]

dont take alot of trust into power rankings...i say texans should be number one..they barely squeaking wins agaisnt sub par teams like the raiders...come payoff time they are going to be exposed to the packers just like we were..

[b0ng]

Originally Posted by PandapuffTexan

dont take alot of trust into power rankings...i say texans should be number one..they barely squeaking wins agaisnt sub par teams like the raiders...come payoff time they are going to be exposed to the packers just like we were..

Until they actually lose though they pretty much deserve the top spot no matter how "crappy" their wins were. If you didn't account wins and losses in your power rankings then the Giants and the Pats would probably still be on top which is silly.

[BullBlitz]

At a minimum, the Giants and the Packers should be above the Texans.

[ATXtexanfan]

Originally Posted by PandapuffTexan

dont take alot of trust into power rankings...i say texans should be number one..they barely squeaking wins agaisnt sub par teams like the raiders...come payoff time they are going to be exposed to the packers just like we were..

Green bay at seven with wins over two and four, hmmm silly rankings

[ATXtexanfan]

Originally Posted by BullBlitz

At a minimum, the Giants and the Packers should be above the Texans.

Yup

[The Pencil Neck]

Originally Posted by ATXtexanfan

Green bay at seven with wins over two and four, hmmm silly rankings

But losses to #10, #5, and to a team not even in the top 10.

That's just the nature of the beast. When you're talking about a game where Team A might not match up against Team B but be able to beat more teams than Team B can OR where a lucky call or a random bounce can determine the winner, there is no such thing as a "best" team and no such thing as a "strongest" team.

The Packers just lost Woodson. Would they be able to demolish us without him? Would the Packers be able to demolish us 5 games in a row? Maybe. Maybe not. It's all just an opinion.

I love having us ranked high because it means we're getting some respect but I'd prefer us to be ranked a little lower so we could still play the underdog/we-don't-get-no-respect card.

[PandapuffTexan]

Originally Posted by The Pencil Neck

But losses to #10, #5, and to a team not even in the top 10.

That's just the nature of the beast. When you're talking about a game where Team A might not match up against Team B but be able to beat more teams than Team B can OR where a lucky call or a random bounce can determine the winner, there is no such thing as a "best" team and no such thing as a "strongest" team.

The Packers just lost Woodson. Would they be able to demolish us without him? Would the Packers be able to demolish us 5 games in a row? Maybe. Maybe not. It's all just an opinion.

I love having us ranked high because it means we're getting some respect but I'd prefer us to be ranked a little lower so we could still play the underdog/we-don't-get-no-respect card.

ya i beleive texnas play at there worst when media talks about how good they are

[ATXtexanfan]

Can we move the superbowl to a noon kickoff?