Two Plus Two Newer Archives - PokerFink's 2007 NFC Rankings (Week 3)

A major shake-up at the top this week as Green Bay and Dallas deliver convincing victories over the NFL's former elite while New Orleans takes the biggest freefall in the history of my rankings, switching places with Tampa Bay. After three weeks, things are finally beginning to settle down and come into focus, but I'm sure something crazy will happen to shake them back up.

Disclaimer: My rankings are NOT a traditional power rankings. They are PROJECTIVE, meaning we are ranking based on where teams will finish. Rankings are done based on the playoff guidelines. For a full explanation, please see this post.

 1. DALLAS (3-0) *UP 5* : Taking advantage of a beat up, tired and dispirited Chicago defense left out to dry by their anemic offense, Dallas pulled away with an impressive second half performance and delivered a strong message to the rest of the NFC. With a 3-0 start and a home game against Green Bay looming later in the season, the Boys are sitting pretty and could easily be 5-0 heading into their Week 6 showdown with New England. But before we crown their asses, remember that Dallas looked like the best team in the NFC at one point last year as well before collapsing. NEXT: vs. St. Louis.

 2. GREEN BAY (3-0) *UP 3* : Like Dallas, Green Bay delivered a strong statement about their legitimacy in beating San Diego. Brett Favre continued his efficient and effective play from last week, completing 28 of 45 (62%) for 369 yards (8.2ypa) and three scores. On the downside, the Pack still have no running game. NEXT: @ Minnesota.

 3. SEATTLE (2-1) : In a sloppy (six turnovers), back and forth affair, Seattle landed the last punch as Hasselbeck hit Nate Burleson for the winning touchdown with only a minute left. While Shaun Alexander racked up 100 yards on just 21 carries (4.8ypc), his performance was merely average against the weak Bengals defense and he had too many wasted runs - three carries for no gain and two carries that lost yardage. Seattle has been uninspiring so far, but uninspiring is enough to win the West. NEXT: @ San Francisco.

 4. TAMPA BAY (2-1) *UP 10* : Wins over New Orleans and St. Louis aren't exactly cause for a parade, but Tampa has certainly been more impressive than Carolina so far. Above average might be enough for Tampa to win the South, but I'm willing to entertain the idea that they might actually be better than that. NEXT: @ Carolina.

 5. CHICAGO (1-2) *DOWN 4* : Last week I said, "if Rex can’t get it going against the porous Dallas secondary, he may never get it going." Another miserable performance Sunday night means Bad Rex has shown up for every game so far, and it doesn't look like Good Rex is coming out any time soon. While Grossman has been terrible all year, this was a team loss. Chicago needs a good running game for its offense to go, but the ground attack was anemic once again - Benson and Peterson combined for just 63 yards on 22 carries (2.9ypc) and Benson fumbled. Berrian dropped several balls. Owens ran the same deep in pattern all game long without anyone covering him. The front seven missed tackles and failed to wrap up Romo when they got pressure. Everyone on the roster deserves a share of the blame, but an inordinate proportion will fall unfairly on Grossman. NEXT: @ Detroit.

 6. WASHINGTON (2-1) *DOWN 4* : With Shaun Suisham's last second field goal, the Skins took a 17-3 lead into halftime and all was well. The defense was strong, the running game was productive and the passing game produced first downs and the occasional big play - Redskins football to a T. Then the second half started, and the Skins collapsed. The offense sputtered to a stop while the defense found no answers for Burress and Shockey. Watching the game, I wasn't sure what the problem was, but Joe Gibbs and his all-star staff have two weeks to come up with some answers. NEXT: Bye.

 7. PHILADELPHIA (1-2) *UP 1* : The offense racked up 473 yards and six touchdowns in the first half alone in route to a total destruction of formerly undefeated Detroit. This game was the perfect example of overreacting to a couple early games. Detroit won a pair of close games over bad opponents and wasn't nearly as good as their record, while Philly lost a pair of close games to good teams and was much better than their record. Philly was the better team, and boy did it show. Going forward, McNabb was much more accurate without the knee brace, and the timing that was "a hair off" according to Andy Reid was certainly spot on this week. Philadelphia showed what it's capable of, but they will need more performances like this to dig themselves out of their early hole. NEXT: @ New York Giants.

 8. SAN FRANCISCO (2-1) *DOWN 1* : There were no last-minute heroics this week as the Niners were thoroughly beaten by the Steelers. Frank Gore (14 - 39 - 2.8ypc) struggled against the stacked Pittsburgh front seven, as the Steelers dared Alex Smith to beat them. He was not up to the task, completing just 17 of 35 passes (49%) for 209 yards (6ypa), with one touchdown toss to each team. Fortunately for Smith and the Niners, they have a chance to right the Wildcard Bandwagon (and even take over first place in the division) this week against Seattle. NEXT: vs. Seattle.

 9. CAROLINA (2-1) : Carolina defeated Atlanta despite being outgained by 129 yards, and their two wins have come over opponents who are a combined 0-6. Much like Seattle, Carolina has been uninspiring so far, but also like Seattle, uninspiring might be enough to win the division. NEXT: vs. Tampa Bay.

 10. ARIZONA (1-2) : Behind a rare Kurt Warner cameo, Arizona continued to play good football this week as they hung tough against a solid Baltimore squad on the road. While Leinart was ineffective (9 of 20, 53 yards), I don't understand the point in benching him. Ken Wisenhunt must stand by his franchise quarterback and endure the bumpy road as Leinart develops. Part of that development is struggling against a defense like Baltimore, in my opinion. NEXT: vs. Pittsburgh.

 11. DETROIT (2-1) : In the fantasy football world, Kitna's 446 yard, two touchdown performance was excellent. In the real world, Kitna also threw a pick, got sacked an absurd nine times and fumbled twice. The defensive line got nowhere near McNabb, the cornerbacks got nowhere near Kevin Curtis, and no one could tackle Brian Westbrook in the blowout loss. NEXT: vs. Chicago.

 12. NEW YORK (1-2) *UP 3* : Somewhere, somehow, somebody turned the New York switch to "ON" for the second half, and the Giants came out on fire. Burress, especially, had a great second half (5 rec, 86 yds, td) after a miserable first half (0 rec, 3 drops). And while Washington's playcalling was miserable on the final few plays (why are you spiking the ball?), kudos to the Giants for a game-winning goal-line stand. NEXT: vs. Philadelphia.

 13. MINNESOTA (1-2) *DOWN 1* : With Tavaris Jackson nursing a groin pull, the Vikings turned to Kelly Holcomb with predictable results. Although in fairness to Holcomb, who completed 14 of 28 for 165 yards (5.9ypa), his mediocre performance is an improvement over Tavaris. Meanwhile, Adrian Peterson is an absolute stud, gaining 150 yards on 28 touches (5.4ypt) with another touchdown. NEXT: vs. Green Bay.

 14. NEW ORLEANS (0-3) *DOWN 10* : This game was lost in the trenches, where the New Orleans O-Line was absolutely demolished by the Tennessee D-Line. The Saints had no rushing game, as Bush, McAllister and Stecker combined for 26 yards on 14 carries (1.8ypc), and Tennessee got consistent pressure with just their four down lineman. On the other side of the ball, the Saints had no pass rush of their own to protect Jason David and the miserable secondary. NEXT: Bye.

 15. ST. LOUIS (0-3) *DOWN 2* : "The good news is that the passing game, which collapsed last year without Orlando Pace, showed some promise without the big left tackle – Bulger threw for 368 yards." That was last week. This is this week: 17 of 26 for just 116 yards (4.5ypa), no touchdowns, one sack and three interceptions, including one in the endzone. Steven Jackson continues to struggle as well - averaging just 3.8ypc this week - and now he's hurt as well. It's not going to get much better for the Rams. NEXT: @ Dallas.

 16. ATLANTA (0-3) : With Byron Leftwich hovering over his shoulder, Joey Harrington delivered a surprisingly strong performance, completing 31 of 44 (71%) for 361yards (8.2ypa) and two scores with no picks and only one sack. But first quarter fumbles by Warrick Dunn and holder Matt Koenen cost the Falcons early points, allowing Carolina to stay close in the first half and pull away in the second. NEXT: vs. Houston.