2009-10 NFL Power Rankings – Week 11

Welcome back to the MikesPickz Power Rankings!

No tweaks to the formula this week, I think it is ranking the teams very accurately.

The two biggest stories of Week 10 were the Bengals showing the NFL that they are for real. They completed the season sweep of the defending champion Steelers, with an impressive defensive showing. The biggest story was the Patriots- Colts game on Sunday Night. If you missed the end of the game, you certainly missed a wild one. You can read about it here.

And here are the rankings for Week 11:

*Tiers are teams that are within 20 points of each other using my formula*

Colts– The Colts were able to comeback and outscore the Patriots 21-10 in the 4th quarter, proving how scary they can be. Looking at their remaining schedule, there is a chance that they will run the table during the regular season, however; I think they are beatable.
Saints– Only beating the Rams by 5 is not good enough. The offense looked a little sloppy and the defense looked vulnerable. They will need to improve if they want to beat the Patriots in 2 weeks.
Tier 2
Vikings– Sidney Rice and Brett Favre are looking pretty comfortable together, and not to mention they have Peterson to run the ball. The Vikings have another easy game next week against the Seahawks
Bengals– As I stated last week, the Bengals did have what it takes to beat the Steelers. The Bengals are for real this season. They played some solid defense against the Steelers and that is why they won the game. The Bengals are playing great football on all sides of the ball, and I would love to see them play the Colts in the playoffs.
Patriots– Don’t let the 6-3 record fool you. Each loss has come to a team that was undefeated at the time, and each loss was a close game. Back-to-back pressure games await the Patriots, so they will have to have a short memory about the way they just lost to the Colts.
Cards– The Cards are in first place of the weakest division in the NFL, but that doesn’t mean that they are a bad football team. The core of last year’s Super Bowl team is still with the team and they have the experience and talent to be in the hunt again this year. Don not let the egg that they laid against the Panthers distract you from the talent that this team has. Boldin finally being healthy is a huge addition to the team.
Chargers– The Chargers are a dangerous football team, especially when Tomlinson is playing well. The improved running game will open the passing game for Rivers and that means trouble for defensive coordinators. The Chargers can score with anyone in the NFL.
Steelers– They lost to the Bengals for the second time this season and this loss pretty much ensures that they will not win the division this year. The Bengals have a favorable schedule to end the season and the Steelers, despite being only 1 game back, have to make up 2 games because of the tie breaker.
Tier 3
Cowboys– The Tony Romo that started the season that showed up against the Packers. Costly turnovers lost the game for the Cowboys, and they were lucky to even score in the game. The Cowboys are still in first place and are still looking good to make the playoffs this year.
Broncos– The Broncos weakness is a good defense. Three straight games against top ten defenses equaled three straight losses for the Broncos. Those games really exposed their offense and too make things worse, Orton went down with an injury and does not look good for this week. This week they will have a tough game against the Chargers, with the division on the line.
Ravens– The win against the Browns did nothing for me. The Ravens won the game 16-0, only scoring 10 points on offense against the Browns. The Ravens will have to play much better offense if they want to make the playoffs this season (and I don’t like their chances).
Texans– The Texans had a BYE week and move up one spot as a result. In week 11, they play the Titans on Monday Night and it should be a very high scoring game. The Texans will need to win to legitimize any chance they may have at making the playoffs.
Packers– Only 4 sacks allowed on Sunday, not too bad considering recent weeks. The Packers are a very underrated football team. They are top ten in all major defensive categories and they are top 12 in all major offensive categories.
Eagles– The Eagles blew another opportunity this week. A week after the Cowboys took the division lead from them, they had a chance to make that game up. They were not able to capitalize on a Cowboys loss and their playoff hopes are starting to deteriorate. The Eagles offense has been terribly inconsistent this season and that will be problem for them. My heart goes out to Westbrook, who suffered another concussion and his season/career may be in jeopardy.
Falcons– The Falcons are in trouble. Their best offensive player (Turner) went down with an injury against the Panthers (he had over 100 yards rushing in the first half) and Matt Ryan looks like he is in the midst of a major sophomore slump.
Tier 4
Dolphins– The Dolphins were very lucky to beat the Bucs last week, and it should not have been that close. The positive is that Ricky Williams is dominating this season, the negative Ronnie Brown did not play in the 4th quarter because of an injury.
Jaguars– The Jaguars gave up the lead and were very lucky to be able to win against the Jets. Maurice Jones-Drew destroyed the hopes of many fantasy owners when he decided to take a knee at the 1 yard line to set up the game winning field goal, rather than take the go ahead TD and give the ball back to the Jets. It was a smart football move, but not fantasy football. The Jaguars are a quite 5-4 on the season and they still have an outside shot at the playoffs.
Giants– The Giants had a BYE week and move down one spot as a result of the games played in week 10. Hopefully they are rested and prepared to play the Falcons this week.
Panthers– Another week has passed that Delhomme has not turned the ball over. If the Panthers are to keep winning, that must keep happening. Everyone knows that the Panthers can run the ball, but teams need to respect some sort of passing game.
Titans– Undefeated since Vince Young took over, the Titans have found an offensive rhythm over the past few weeks. Chris Johnson continues to improve from his rookie of the year season. He had over 100 yards both rushing and receiving against the Bills and he leads the team in rushing and receiving on the season.
Tier 5
49ers– The 49ers got back in the win column in Week 10, thanks to pressure defense that forced Jay Cutler into 5 interceptions. It was the 49ers first win outside of the division. It was not an impressive win, but it might be a spark to team that was in dire need of one.
Jets– What happened to the 3-0 Jets that beat the Patriots?
Seahawks– The Seahawks continue to play poorly on the road, and they will not get any where if they can not win on the road.
Bears– The Bears continued their downward spiral behind 5 interceptions thrown by Cutler. The Bears gave up a lot to get the Pro Bowl QB in the off-season, and he has been a bust so far.
Bills– The Bills are in major trouble, the offense is terrible and it is causing Owens to start to talk. Owens complaining is never a good thing for a team, just ask the 49ers, Eagles and Cowboys.
Tier 6
–Chiefs– In the NFL a win is a win, but the Chiefs are still not a good football team.
Redskins– The Redskins defense is pretty good. They are ranked number one against the pass, but the rushing defense leaves some to be desired. They looked inspired against the Broncos in Week 10 and if they can match that intensity; they might be able to come away with a win in Dallas (although I wouldn’t bet on it).
Tier 7
Raiders– The Raiders should start preparing from the 2012 season, because they are going nowhere in the near future.
Bucs– The Bucs almost won back-to-back games with Freeman at the helm. Freeman is not having too bad a season, at least he is keeping his team in the game.
Rams– The Rams had two weeks to prepare for the Saints, and they gave them everything they had. The Rams played well against the undefeated Saints and almost pulled the upset of the season. Steven Jackson is the man, and the Rams need him to continue to play at a high level if they want to get back into the win column this season.
Browns– The Browns need a new QB. Quinn looked horrible attempting to throw the deep ball (several weren’t even close to landing in bounds) and he pretty much looked horrible every time he dropped back to throw the ball. To make things worse, the Browns best player, Cribbs, was carted off the field after the meaningless last play of the game.
–Lions– The Lions might get win #2 when they play the Browns in Detroit in week 11. They should be excited, because it will most likely be their last win of the season. I am going to go out on a limb and say it will be blacked-out on local TV (just like their first win).

That will do it for the Week 11 rankings. Questions and comments are always welcome, leave a comment below or send me a tweet @MikesPickz