National Football Post Reacts to Bloguin Week 2 NFL Power Rankings
Bloguin blogs have yet again ranked NFL teams 1-32 for our weekly installment of NFL Power Rankings.
There were a number of shakeups in the rankings this week with some teams falling further down while some are unexpectedly fast on the rise. We Wanted to revisit an expert in Joe Fortenbaugh from the National Football Post to see what he thought of our rankings in week 2. Previous to National Football Post, Joe worked at JB Sports, a leading agency for NFL players, so basically he has major blogger street cred. Below is his take:
3 top 5 teams lost last week in the Eagles, Steelers, and Patriots. Where would you rank them? Did any of them drop too far or not far enough?
A: I still think the Steelers deserve to be in the top 5, especially ahead of the Falcons. They played a good Chicago team on the road and lost a close game because of field goals that are usually converted by the reliable Jeff Reed.
Philly and New England should both be a little higher as well, but maybe just one or two spots. The Pats are going to get better as Brady gets more comfortable on his knee and the Eagles were playing without McNabb. That game is a totally different story if Donny Mac is in the lineup.
IF NFL teams were stocks and Power Rankings was the stock market, who would you be buying and selling in terms of their rankings right now.
A: Nobody ever made money in the stock market buying high and selling low. I’d be buying a whole lot of Tennessee, San Diego and Philadelphia stock.
I’d be selling the Vikings and Jets knowing that both will stumble this season. The Jets are a tough football team, but they are going to lose some games as Sanchez experiences the rookie growing pains.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Minnesota is going to fold late. With the exception of AP, they have looked unimpressive against the Lions and Browns, both of whom they trailed at the half. Cleveland and Detroit are bad football teams that the Vikings should be dominating if they really are the 7th best team in the league.
There seem to be a lot of intriguing games in week 3. Can you name a game or two where you can say with some confidence "Whomever wins this game will make the playoffs, and the loser will not" out of the games that are not big mismatches.
A: It’s tough to tell this early in the season, but if Tennessee manages to drop this weekend’s game against the Jets, they won’t be making the playoffs.
The Falcons at New England is going to be a real good game to watch. If Atlanta pulls out the big road win, they are going to be playing football come January.
The losers of the Dallas at Carolina and Chicago at Seattle games will be in big time trouble.
Top to bottom, what's the better conference right now any why?
A: In my personal opinion it’s still the NFC East. New York, Philly and Dallas are all football teams that can hang against just about any opponent. However, the AFC North deserves some love. We all know about Pittsburgh and Baltimore, but Cincinnati should be 2-0 right now and has been playing great defense.
Will a second year QB make the Super Bowl in Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco? Do you think the Jets and Sanchez are a legit top ten team?
A: I don’t see Ryan and the Falcons pulling it off. Their defense won’t be able to hold up when it comes to games against top-flight opponents. The Ravens however, are a different story. Watching Joe Flacco play for the Vince Lombardi trophy in February would not surprise me in the least. They are just plain nasty right now.
I think Sanchez and the Jets are right on the bubble. If they beat Tennessee this weekend I will stop knocking them and jump on the bandwagon. That would be three big wins in three weeks for Rex Ryan’s squad.
What 2-0 teams do you feel will not make the playoffs. What 0-2 teams do you think will make the playoffs?
A: I don’t expect to see the Jets or Broncos in the playoffs come January. I like the fact that Denver is 2-0, but Week 1 was a fluke and Week 2 was against the Browns. Let’s see what happens when they play somebody like San Diego.
Right now, Tennessee is the only 0-2 team that I can see rallying to make the playoffs. However, a loss this weekend will bury them. Losing at home to Houston was a major hit for this squad.
Which Week 3 matchup will have the biggest effect on the Week 4 power rankings?
A: San Francisco at Minnesota. If the Niners lose, they will plummet as everyone will think the first two weeks were a fluke. If the Vikings lose, the media will go nuts and jump all over Chilly and Favre, without showing Singletary and company any credit.
The 49ers are the most underappreciated team in the NFL. They are 2-0 with two division wins over two teams that were both picked to finish higher than them.
Special thanks to Joe for sharing his thoughts with us!
