Post by Agent Kev on Sept 21, 2006 17:45:33 GMT -5
NFL Power 11 (After 2 Weeks)
1. Indianapolis 2-0
Beat a good NY Giants team in Week one and then ran up the score on an inferior Houston team in Week 2. Indianapolis is the best regular season team in the NFL (remember when they won 13 straight last season) and is blessed by being in a division with both Houston and Tennessee. The Colts passing attack is going to be tough to stop this year, the key for them is to see if they can get a consistent running game going in the playoffs to complement their passing attack.
Next Game: Jacksonville (2-0)
2. Seattle 2-0
Last time I checked Seattle was the defending NFC champions. Until someone knocks them off that's where they will remain in my book.
Next Game: NY Giants (1-1)
3. Jacksonville 2-0
Beat a pretty good Dallas team in week one and beat the defending champs in week 2. The surprise team of 2006? No, I think a lot of people forgot that the Jags went 12-4 last year (including winning 8 of their last 9 going into the playoffs). Jacksonville is a stingy team. They don't do anything great but they do everything well.
Next Game: @ Indianapolis (2-0)
4. Atlanta 2-0
I'm not sure if any team has a better buzz right now than the Falcons. They were totally overlooked by the media in the preseason as the media flocked to Carolina and Tampa Bay instead. Carolina will be back but Tampa might just have gotten too old on defense and too inexperienced at quarterback too soon. In the off-season Atlanta added John Abraham, Lawyer Milloy, Grady Jackson, Chris Crocker and Jimmy Williams to their defense and so far they have only given up 9 points against 2 teams that beat them a combined 4 times last year. Atlanta is on fire right now but a trap game in New Orleans awaits them on Monday night. Will New Orleans be the first team to stop the Pro Option attack? Will Atlanta's new 46 year old kicker pay dividends this week and improve their 2 for 8 kicking this year?
Next Game: @ New Orleans (2-0)
5. Baltimore 2-0
Are these the Ravens of old? Now that they have a quarterback that they aren't praying won't lose the game for them they seem to be legit contenders. So far they have outscored their opponents 55-8. Of course one of those opponents was the worst team in the NFL (the Raiders). They've got San Diego, Denver and Carolina coming up over the next 4 weeks so we will find out the verdict on this team pretty quickly.
Next Game: @ Cleveland (0-2)
6. New England 2-0
They are the Patriots and they are in the worst division in the AFC. Chalk up another playoff appearance for the Patriots.
Next Game: Denver (1-1)
7. Cincinnati 2-0
Cincy has the misfortune of being in the most competitive division in the AFC and they will be tested early and often this year with out of division opponents New England, Carolina, Atlanta, San Diego, Denver and Indianapolis. They must get off to a quick start if they want to make the playoffs this year.
Next Game: @ Pittsburgh (1-1)
8. Chicago 2-0
Chicago has the benefit of playing in the same division as Green Bay and Detroit. They also have benefited from already playing both of those two teams. The Bears have looked very impressive but they have 2 tough games coming up (Minnesota and Seattle) before a slew of very winnable ballgames in which they could really stretch out a comfortable lead in the division (Buffalo, Arizona, San Fran, Miami, Jets).
Next Game: @ Minnesota (2-0)
9. Pittsburgh 1-1
The only team with a loss that is in the Power 11. Why? Because they are the champs that's why.
Next Game: Cincinnati (2-0)
10. San Diego 2-0
So far they have dominated their weaker competition by a score of 67-7. Is trading for Billy Volek a sign that they don't trust Phillip Rivers or just insurance? They are off this week and then come back with back-to-back tests in Baltimore and Pittsburgh.
Next Game: Oct 1st @ Baltimore (2-0)
11. Minnesota 2-0
Brad Childress has gone back to basics with the Vikings as he is trying to rebuild this teams identity. So far so good as they have beaten two teams that based on preseason predictions they probably weren't picked to win. They've got Chicago coming up (and then Buffalo and Detroit) and then Seattle and New England so we will find out more about this team in the weeks to come.
Next Game: Chicago (2-0)
1. Indianapolis 2-0
Beat a good NY Giants team in Week one and then ran up the score on an inferior Houston team in Week 2. Indianapolis is the best regular season team in the NFL (remember when they won 13 straight last season) and is blessed by being in a division with both Houston and Tennessee. The Colts passing attack is going to be tough to stop this year, the key for them is to see if they can get a consistent running game going in the playoffs to complement their passing attack.
Next Game: Jacksonville (2-0)
2. Seattle 2-0
Last time I checked Seattle was the defending NFC champions. Until someone knocks them off that's where they will remain in my book.
Next Game: NY Giants (1-1)
3. Jacksonville 2-0
Beat a pretty good Dallas team in week one and beat the defending champs in week 2. The surprise team of 2006? No, I think a lot of people forgot that the Jags went 12-4 last year (including winning 8 of their last 9 going into the playoffs). Jacksonville is a stingy team. They don't do anything great but they do everything well.
Next Game: @ Indianapolis (2-0)
4. Atlanta 2-0
I'm not sure if any team has a better buzz right now than the Falcons. They were totally overlooked by the media in the preseason as the media flocked to Carolina and Tampa Bay instead. Carolina will be back but Tampa might just have gotten too old on defense and too inexperienced at quarterback too soon. In the off-season Atlanta added John Abraham, Lawyer Milloy, Grady Jackson, Chris Crocker and Jimmy Williams to their defense and so far they have only given up 9 points against 2 teams that beat them a combined 4 times last year. Atlanta is on fire right now but a trap game in New Orleans awaits them on Monday night. Will New Orleans be the first team to stop the Pro Option attack? Will Atlanta's new 46 year old kicker pay dividends this week and improve their 2 for 8 kicking this year?
Next Game: @ New Orleans (2-0)
5. Baltimore 2-0
Are these the Ravens of old? Now that they have a quarterback that they aren't praying won't lose the game for them they seem to be legit contenders. So far they have outscored their opponents 55-8. Of course one of those opponents was the worst team in the NFL (the Raiders). They've got San Diego, Denver and Carolina coming up over the next 4 weeks so we will find out the verdict on this team pretty quickly.
Next Game: @ Cleveland (0-2)
6. New England 2-0
They are the Patriots and they are in the worst division in the AFC. Chalk up another playoff appearance for the Patriots.
Next Game: Denver (1-1)
7. Cincinnati 2-0
Cincy has the misfortune of being in the most competitive division in the AFC and they will be tested early and often this year with out of division opponents New England, Carolina, Atlanta, San Diego, Denver and Indianapolis. They must get off to a quick start if they want to make the playoffs this year.
Next Game: @ Pittsburgh (1-1)
8. Chicago 2-0
Chicago has the benefit of playing in the same division as Green Bay and Detroit. They also have benefited from already playing both of those two teams. The Bears have looked very impressive but they have 2 tough games coming up (Minnesota and Seattle) before a slew of very winnable ballgames in which they could really stretch out a comfortable lead in the division (Buffalo, Arizona, San Fran, Miami, Jets).
Next Game: @ Minnesota (2-0)
9. Pittsburgh 1-1
The only team with a loss that is in the Power 11. Why? Because they are the champs that's why.
Next Game: Cincinnati (2-0)
10. San Diego 2-0
So far they have dominated their weaker competition by a score of 67-7. Is trading for Billy Volek a sign that they don't trust Phillip Rivers or just insurance? They are off this week and then come back with back-to-back tests in Baltimore and Pittsburgh.
Next Game: Oct 1st @ Baltimore (2-0)
11. Minnesota 2-0
Brad Childress has gone back to basics with the Vikings as he is trying to rebuild this teams identity. So far so good as they have beaten two teams that based on preseason predictions they probably weren't picked to win. They've got Chicago coming up (and then Buffalo and Detroit) and then Seattle and New England so we will find out more about this team in the weeks to come.
Next Game: Chicago (2-0)
