National Football Post's Joe Fortenabaugh Evaluates Bloguin Week 10 Power Rankings
A very memorable week 10 in in the books with a lot of big games ending with suprise finishes which shook up our Week 10 Power Rankings.
We wanted to revisit with an expert in Joe Fortenbaugh from the National Football Post to see what he thought of our rankings in week 56 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:
Per our voters, the Bengals are the 4th best team in the NFL. They've now beat the defending Super Bowl Champs twice in addition to two wins against the Ravens and have a pretty manageable schedule going forward. Is this team really in the class of the Colts, Pats, and Steelers? Everyone says after every win something to the effect of "Yes, they are for real and proved it today." However nobody picks them to win big games. How good is this team?
A: I think the reason so many people (myself included) pick against the Bengals is because they just aren't willing to totally buy into this squad being a legitimate contender. We've watched this team go from terrible, to a playoff contender and then back to terrible. When Palmer gets hurt the wheels fall off. In addition, Ocho was awful last season and admitted he wasn't in shape, and running back Cedric Benson's history has everyone keeping a suspicious eye on him. I believe this is why everyone isn't totally sold on Cincinnati yet.
However, the bottom line is that this team is winning games and is undefeated in the division with two big wins over the Champs. You may feel a little suspect doing it, but you have to put the Bengals in the class of the AFC at the current moment.
There are a handful of games where teams with four or five wins play each other. What games do you see this weekend that basically serve as elimination games for both participants in regards to the playoffs?
A: I think that with the way the NFC is shaping up, the Atlanta-New York Giants game is going to be huge. The Saints are taking the NFC South, so the Falcons' only hope is a wildcard spot, which Green Bay, Philly, New York, Chicago, etc. are all fighting for.
Although Indy is undefeated, the 5-4 Ravens really need to win this one because they host the Steelers next week and then travel to Green Bay in Week 13. In addition, one of the featured games should be the 6-3 Chargers at 6-3 Denver. If the Bolts can pull this one off and make it five straight, the AFC West is theirs.
Most overvalued and undervalued teams in this week's ballots?
A: I'd say Atlanta is overvalued at No. 11. They can't stop the pass, stud running back Michael Turner is on the shelf and Matty Ice has been throwing way too many interceptions lately. They've also lost three of their last four games after opening up the season 4-1.
Tennessee is undervalued at No. 21. Vince Young took over after the bye week and the Titans have gone 3-0 as a result. The offense is running through speedster Chris Johnson and the defense is finally getting healthy and playing some real football.
Our bottom two teams play each this week. Two questions on that game. Can you ever recall a more uninteresting game to watch in the NFL and has their even been an offense as abysmal as the Browns?
A: Yes, I actually can recall a game just as uninteresting. It took place in Week 8 of this season when St. Louis traveled to (you guessed it) Detroit and beat the Lions 17-10. The only difference is that at least the Rams have running back Steven Jackson. He is worth the price of admission. I don't know what it would take to get me to go see a Browns game.
In terms of the Cleveland offense, it's bad...real bad. They are scoring just 8.7 points per game (32nd in NFL) and don't have a single, viable playmaker on the entire offense.
As the old saying goes, "if you have two quarterbacks, you have no quarterbacks." That is definitely the case in Cleveland.
The Broncos, Giants, and Eagles have all stumbled a bit of late. Who will get a second wind this season and who will make the playoffs out of this group of fast starters?
A: I know I'm biased, but the Eagles are a very good team in December. They will likely find a way to make the playoffs and not do anything special once they get there. The key for Big Blue will be how they play coming off the bye. If the Giants come out flat and lose to the Falcons this weekend at home, they are finished in my book. Same thing goes for Denver. The Broncos cannot afford to lose four straight, especially since a loss this weekend (San Diego) would give control of the AFC West back to the Chargers.
There are a lot of big spreads this week with a lot of our top ten playing lackluster opponents. Any chance we see a big upset here or maybe even a scare or are we going to see a lot of blowouts?
A: Tampa may hang with New Orleans for a little as the Saints have struggled somewhat the last few weeks and the Bucs have actually been competitive with Josh Freeman at quarterback. You never know when the Cardinals are going to come out flat, but St. Louis doesn't have enough talent to stick with them even on an average day. Outside of that, Pittsburgh should crush Kansas City and Minnesota should roll Seattle.
Lot of injuries occured last week. What's your take on some of the bigger injuries will affect their teams?
A: The loss of Ronnie Brown will be felt in Miami against some of the better defenses in the league. In addition, Michael Turner could miss an extended period as a high ankle sprain is much worse than an actual ankle sprain. That injury is a shame too, because Turner has been outstanding the past few weeks.
The good news for the Bengals (who could possibly be without Cedric Benson for a few games) is that their upcoming schedule (at Oakland, Cleveland, Detroit) doesn't require them to be at 100%.
The lowest ranked team in this week's rankings to make the playoffs will be _______? The highest ranked team in this week's rankings to miss the playoffs will be _______?
A: The lowest ranked team to make the playoffs will be the Giants at No. 15. I wish I could go out on a limb and take somebody ranked below the G-Men, but I really can't see any of those teams making the postseason.
The highest ranked team to miss the playoffs will be the Ravens at No. 10. They are currently 5-4 and their next three games come against the Colts, Steelers and Packers (on the road). There are just too many other teams in the AFC in better shape right now. Baltimore will be left out in the cold come January.
