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Culture Shock

NFL Power Rankings Week 8















































































































































































































































































































































































Rank Team Quinn Saturday Tori Ziege Andrew Vailliencourt Josh Handszer Will DeWitt Zak Berliner Average
1 Denver Broncos (5-1) 1 2 2 1 2 1 1.5
2 Dallas Cowboys (6-1) 2 1 1 2 1 3 1.7
3 Indianapolis Colts (5-2) 5 5 6 3 4 2 4.2
4 Philadelphia Eagles (5-1) 4 4 3 4 6 9 5.0
5 Arizona Cardinals (5-1) 3 3 4 7 10 6 5.5
6 San Diego Chargers (5-2) 6 7 7 5 7 4 6.0
7 Green Bay Packers (5-2) 7 6 9 8 3 8 6.8
8 Baltimore Ravens (5-2) 8 9 10 10 5 5 7.8
9 New England Patriots (5-2) 9 8 8 6 8 13 8.7
10 Detroit Lions (5-2) 10 11 5 9 9 12 9.3
11 Seattle Seahawks (3-3) 11 10 11 12 12 11 11.2
12 San Francisco 49ers (4-3) 12 12 14 11 14 7 11.7
T13 Cincinnati Bengals (3-2-1) 13 14 12 13 11 17 13.3
T13 Kansas City Chiefs (3-3) 14 13 13 17 13 10 13.3
15 Carolina Panthers (3-3-1) 19 16 19 15 15 15 16.5
16 Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3) 16 15 16 14 20 22 17.2
17 Miami Dolphins (3-3) 15 17 17 21 17 18 17.5
18 Buffalo Bills (4-3) 17 19 15 16 21 20 18.0
19 Chicago Bears (3-4) 21 21 21 18 19 16 19.3
20 Houston Texans (3-4) 18 22 18 23 23 14 19.7
21 New York Giants (3-4) 22 20 23 20 16 19 20.0
22 Cleveland Browns (3-3) 20 18 20 19 22 24 20.5
23 New Orleans Saints (2-4) 23 23 24 22 18 25 22.5
24 St. Louis Rams (2-4) 24 24 22 24 25 21 23.3
25 Atlanta Falcons (2-5) 26 25 26 25 24 26 25.3
26 Washington Redskins (2-5) 25 26 27 28 27 23 26.0
27 Minnesota Vikings (2-5) 27 27 25 27 28 29 27.2
28 Tennessee Titans (2-5) 28 28 28 26 31 28 28.2
29 New York Jets (1-6) 29 29 30 29 26 27 28.3
30 Jacksonville Jaguars (1-6) 30 30 29 31 29 31 30.0
31 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-5) 31 31 31 30 32 32 31.2
32 Oakland Raiders (0-6) 32 32 32 32 30 30 31.3

Short Takes

ZakBerliner:

New York Jets (ranked them 27th): Believe it or not, I was impressed by the Jets last week; they only lost by two points to a rolling Patriots team, and their running game was phenomenal. Combine that with the fact that they have been in every game except the ones against the Chargers and Broncos, and you actually have a decent team.

Cincinnati (ranked them 17th): Recently, the Bengals have just been in a funk. Without A.J. Green, they have almost no offense, and the defense has not lived up to its normally high standards.

Josh Handszer:

New England (ranked them 6th): Remember when everyone thought Tom Brady might on the decline after a 0-1 start? Yeah, me too, and I thought just as much. As per usual, Tom Terrific has proved us doubters wrong once again, as the Patriots are 5-1 since their opening loss, thanks in part to Brady’s 10 touchdowns in his last four games. It’s safe to say the panic in New England is over, and the panic around the league is just beginning once again.

Seattle (ranked them 12th): Talk about unrest in Seattle. The Seahawks haven’t just lost two games in a row; they’ve lost two in a row in ugly fashion. After dropping a game at home (of all places) against the Cowboys, and being embarrassed by the 24th ranked Rams, the Seahawks also shipped their most talented wide receiver, albeit their most controversial one, in Percy Harvin, out of town. There’s some issues going on in the locker room after the trade, and recent struggles indicate that despite their favorable upcoming schedule, it may not be as easy as imagined.

Quinn Saturday:

Arizona (ranked them 3rd): The Oakland game had “trap” written all over it, and if these were the same old Cardinals they would have lost. But this team isn’t like any Cardinals team in awhile. In fact, the last time the Cards were 5-1 was 1976. The next two weeks pits these “New Age Cards” against the best in the NFC with the Eagles coming to the desert this week and an away game in Dallas next week. Winning both games would be a tall order to fill, but if they can walk away next weekend having beaten at least one of them, the Cards will finally silence the doubters and prove they aren’t the “Folding Cards” they’re used to.

Indianapolis (ranked them 5th): After starting the season 0-2, the Colts have won five straight. While Andrew Luck is currently having his best season as a pro so far, it’s been the defense that has turned this team around quickly and made them potential Super Bowl contenders. After 513 total offensive yards against the Carolina Panthers, the Cincinnati Bengals scraped together just more than a fourth of that against the Colts, finishing with 135 yards, and were held scoreless. It’s not just last week either. Indy ranks in the top 10 in both passing and rushing yards allowed and, here’s the craziest stat of all, has allowed only 8 out of 51 3rd down conversions during their five game winning streak. Luck and the offense will always be there week after week, but if the defense can sustain this type of play, the Colts will be a force to be reckon with in January and maybe February.

Andrew Vailliencourt:

Indianapolis (ranked them 6th): This team has gotten hot. Andrew Luck is playing great football and has his team right near the top of the AFC standings.

Jacksonville (ranked them 29th): The Jaguars don’t get talked about much, but they have looked better recently and just got their first win of the season against an improved Browns squad. They may have found a gem at running back as former Michigan star Denard Robinson rushed for 127 yards on 22 carries and added a touchdown.

Will DeWitt:

Green Bay (ranked them 3rd): After starting the season 1-2, the Packers have won four straight. Aaron Rodgers has looked as dangerous as ever propelling the Packers up in the rankings. The Packers passing attack with some sprinkling of Eddie Lacey results in an offense that can move the ball and put up points better than most teams not named the Denver Broncos. Along with the Cowboys, the Packers look like the team to beat in the NFC.

Buffalo (ranked them 21st): For the second straight week, Kyle Orton finds a way to lead the Bills to victory. The Bills were without their running back duo of Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller, but their tough defense allowed them to win this game. This team can continue to rise in the rankings, but its’ all on Orton’s shoulders now.

Tori Ziege:

Arizona (ranked them 3rd): The Cardinals have made a big leap in my power rankings this week because they proved, unlike their competitors in the NFC West, that they are reliable. Even with a myriad of injuries, this team has consistently played well. Although we will have to wait until Week 12 to see Arizona square off with Seattle, the Cardinals, for the time being, are atop one of the best divisions in the NFL, and they earned it.

Kansas City (ranked them 13th): After an impressive win over the San Diego Chargers, I envision this team getting very hot with fresh legs from the bye and soft schedule—Rams, Jets, Bills— ahead.
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