NFL Power Rankings - Week 8

All four contributors each ranked the NFL teams from 1-32. We then took the average of each teams' rank and then finished with the final power rankings.

The Green Bay Packers stay atop the Rankings as the unanimous choice.

Note: Contributor Key - Man (TheMainManmiller), Mole (themole25), Bill (Buffalo Bill), Rupp (FruitRupp)

Pos. Team Overall Rank Man Mole Bill Rupp

1. Green Bay Packers 1 1 1 1 1

2. New England Patriots 2.25 2 3 2 2

3. San Francisco 49ers 4 3 2 6 3

4. New Orleans Saints 4.25 4 6 3 4

5. Detroit Lions 5.5 5 5 7 5

6. Buffalo Bills 6.75 6 4 8 9

Pittsburgh Steelers 6.75 7 9 5 6

8. Baltimore Ravens 7 10 7 4 7

9. New York Giants 9.25 9 8 10 10

10. Cincinnati Bengals 10.25 11 10 12 8

11. San Diego Chargers 11.25 8 14 11 12

Atlanta Falcons 11.25 14 11 9 11

13. Houston Texans 13.5 13 15 13 13

14. New York Jets 14 15 12 14 15

15. Chicago Bears 14.5 16 13 15 14

16. Oakland Raiders 17.25 12 17 19 21

17. Dallas Cowboys 18.25 22 18 17 16

18. Tennessee Titans 18.5 18 16 18 22

19. Philadelphia Eagles 19 19 23 16 18

20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20 17 26 20 17

21. Cleveland Browns 21.25 20 22 23 20

22. Washington Redskins 21.75 23 19 22 23

Kansas City Chiefs 21.75 24 20 24 19

24. Carolina Panthers 22.75 21 24 21 25

25. Denver Broncos 23.75 25 21 25 24

26. Seattle Seahawks 27 26 25 29 28

27. Jacksonville Jaguars 27.25 27 30 26 26

Minnesota Vikings 27.25 28 27 27 27

29. Arizona Cardinals 28.5 29 28 28 29

30. Miami Dolphins 30.25 30 31 30 30

31. Indianapolis Colts 31 32 29 32 31

32. St. Louis Rams 31.25 31 32 31 32

NFL Power Rankings - Week 6

1. Packers – Defending champs have had virtually no trouble besides spotting the Falcons 14 points and still winning easily.

2. Patriots – Tom Brady has slowed down since starting with two games of over 400 yards, blew a lead while losing to the Bills.

3. Lions – An explosive offense sits them in the top 3 but benchmark games ahead as they play the Packers twice.

4. Chargers – Phillip Rivers has struggled yet the one-loss Chargers lead their weak division.

5. 49ers – Substantial win in Detroit last week but remember, Alex Smith is their quarterback. He has been helped by a decent run game thanks to Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter.

6. Ravens – Not the greatest start but a big win against the Steelers helped their resume. They dropped a sloppy game in Tennessee.

7. Steelers – Sitting right behind division rival, the Steelers have been playing well lately with wins over the Jaguars and Titans.

8. Saints – Cannot count out Drew Brees, however playing in the toughest division in the NFL.

9. Bills – Surprising start has sizzled thanks to losses against the Giants and Bengals.

10. Titans – Toughest part of their schedule has passed and they sit at 3-2 atop the AFC South. Texans are toughest competitor in division.

11. Buccaneers – Very inconsistent start of the year in that tough NFC South.

12. Giants – Another inconsistent team that just beat the Bills, a week after losing to a sloppy Seahawks team at home.

13. Raiders – The Raiders’ playoff chances took a turn for the worse as Jason Campbell broke his collarbone and is expected to be out for 6 weeks. Chargers are main competition for AFC West divisional crown. Let’s see how wonderful Carson Palmer plays in Campbell’s absence.

14. Texans – Injuries have slowed the Texans to a 3-3 record but Arian Foster is back and Andre Johnson is expected back soon. They play the Titans twice yet to determine the division champ.

15. Bengals – Behind rookie Andy Dalton, have won a quiet 4 games and are in contention for the AFC North.

16. Falcons – Another inconsistent team that can turn on it when needed behind young Matt Ryan. Tough division hurts their chances for playoffs.

17. Jets – Slow start, but can work their way up through the standings. However, their quarterback is Mark Sanchez…

18. Bears – The new kickoff rule has not really affected the specialist, Devin Hester but Jay Cutler is very interception prone.

19. Eagles – A popular, slow start has sent the Eagles to the basement of their division but on any given week can challenge any team.

20. Browns – Colt McCoy are off to decent start but are no competition for the Ravens (6), Steelers (7) or Bengals (15) for the division title.

21. Redskins – Rex Grossman showed his true colors last week but still had a chance to win against the Eagles. Decent position in a tough division.

22. Panthers – Have been close in every game thanks to the surprising rookie season thus far by Cam Newton, thankfully for Carolina, he is allowed to be paid now.

23. Cowboys – Tony Romo is their quarterback, enough said.

24. Seahawks – Their only chance to win is if Tavaris Jackson stays on the bench. A big win in New York against the Giants though.

25. Chiefs – A big blow when Jamaal Charles dropped for the year. Some bright spots include Dwayne Bowe.

26. Broncos – Bad division, but who knows, maybe Tim Tebow will be their savior.

27. Jaguars – Cut David Garrard for no apparent reason and now play behind rookie Blaine Gabbert. Their one win, however was against a good Titans (10) team in the season opener.

28. Vikings – Star running back, Adrian Peterson, is a stuck on a struggling team that LOVES to
blow leads.

29. Cardinals – Worst division in football, NFC West. Cardinals led by a struggling Kevin Kolb.

30. Colts – On the upward swing now that Curtis Painter has taken over and played decent the past two weeks.

31. Dolphins – Starting QB is done for the year, putting faith in Matt Moore = bad situation. Suck for Luck.

32. Rams – A reasonably tough opening schedule sets them at 0-5. The NFC West blows but the 49ers (5) are running away with it.

Indy Car Superstar Dan Wheldon Dies

Sport is something that brings people together from all walks of life, whether it be different race, gender or birthplace. Many of the die-hard fans want nothing more than a victory and act as if it means everything. I consider myself a huge sports fan but when something happens like what transpired today at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, everybody should take into consideration not only what your priorities should be in life, but also the risk that every race car driver takes while trying to entertain the fans. Today, 33-year old Indy Car driver, Dan Wheldon, passed away in an absolutely brutal crash that enveloped 15 cars in the wreckage.

Wheldon, who came from Emberton, England, won the Rookie of the Year Award driving for Andretti Green Racing and was an instant superstar. He began to bounce around between different rides but eventually continued his success by winning the Indianapolis 500 and the IRL Series Championship in 2005, just two seasons into his already storied career. This season, Wheldon won the Indianapolis 500 for a second time in dramatic fashion as rookie J.R. Hildebrand, who had just replaced him at the beginning of the season, crashed on the final turn. Wheldon was the first driver to ever win the Indy 500 while only leading a lap.

On behalf of all of us here at Hawks-Report, I am praying for wife, Susie Behm, and their two children, Sebastian (2) and Oliver (7 months).