KingPriest2
09-21-2004, 11:58 AM
Tuesday Tuesday, September 21
Power Rankings: Falcons, Jags, Lions moving up
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ESPN.com
ESPN.com's Power Poll
This week's rankings were determined by a poll of ESPN.com's NFL staff -- writers John Clayton, Len Pasquarelli, Michael Smith and ESPN.com NFL editors Peter Lawrence-Riddell and James C. Black.
After wins in Week 2, the top three teams in our Power Rankings remain the same.
The Jets, Ravens and Panthers all jumped into the top 10. For the Jets, it's their 2004 debut in the top 10, while the Ravens and Panthers returned to familiar territory after dropping down following disappointing Week 1 performances.
Other teams making moves upward include the Falcons (No. 19 to No. 12), the Jaguars (No. 16 to No. 13) and the Lions (No. 22 to No. 14). All three are undefeated and could crack the top 10 with another win.
Anyway, on to the rankings. To view our Week 1 rankings, click here. Also, click here to rank the teams yourself and then later today at 4 p.m. ET stop by the Power Rankings Show on SportsNation to chat with the NFL Power Ranker.
2004 Power Rankings: Week 3
Rk(LW) Team Rec. Comment
1 (1) Patriots 2-0-0 Looks like Deion Branch's injury isn't too serious. The Patriots are built on depth and they have shown that they won't let an injury slow them down, but losing Branch would have hurt.
2 (2) Eagles 2-0-0 Is there any team in the league that gets after the QB like the Eagles do? They were in Culpepper's face all night.
3 (3) Seahawks 2-0-0 The Seahawks have to be pretty happy with two roads wins (equaling their total from last season) to start the season. It doesn't matter who they're against, two straight road wins is hard in the NFL.
4 (7) Colts 1-1-0 Huge bounce-back win for the Colts, who proved to the Titans that they're the team to beat in the AFC South.
5 (6) Vikings 1-1-0 The Vikings found out the hard way how important it is to scores TD when you get deep in the red zone.
6 (4) Titans 1-1-0 The Titans have to feel a little shell shocked by what happened Sunday against the Colts.
7 (10) Jets 2-0-0 Known for getting off to slow starts under Herman Edwards, the Jets couldn't have asked for a better start heading into their Week 3 bye.
8 (15) Ravens 1-1-0 We'll give Deion a little credit, he finds a way to get into the highlights.
9 (13) Panthers 1-1-0 Panthers stepped up big time. Instead of feeling sorry for themselves with Davis and Smith injured they went out and played a great game.
10 (5) Broncos 1-1-0 It'll be interesting to see how Quentin Griffin bounces back from his costly fumble against the Jags.
11 (8) Packers 1-1-0 Man were we surprised by the egg that the Packers laid at Lambeau against the Bears.
12 (19) Falcons 2-0-0 Looks like everyone who jumped off the Falcons bandwagon (us included) underestimated just how much a healthy Michael Vick means.
13 (16) Jaguars 2-0-0 This weekend will be a big test because they'll need to put some points on the board to beat the Titans.
14 (22) Lions 2-0-0 Pressure was on Joey Harrington to raise his level of play this season and so far he's responded. Harrington to Roy Williams should be fun to watch this year.
15 (17) Cowboys 1-1-0 One thing that won't fly in Dallas for very long is a QB throwing three INTs in a game.
16 (11) Rams 1-1-0 The Rams offensive line is just a shadow of the one that helped them reach two Super Bowls.
17 (18) Bengals 1-1-0 Carson Palmer wasn't great against the Dolphins, but the game-winning drive was pretty impressive for a QB making only his second start.
18 (14) Steelers 1-1-0 Big Ben is going to make plenty of mistakes, but he also looks like he's going to make some big plays, too.
19 (9) Chiefs 0-2-0 Lack of receiving threats finally seems to be catching up to the Chiefs.
20 (12) Redskins 1-1-0 Ramsey has the talent to do good things, but the INTs (especially in the red zone) just can't happen.
21 (21) Saints 1-1-0 The food is spicy, but it's the Saints who are giving everyone in New Orleans ulcers.
22 (23) Raiders 1-1-0 Power rankings smack on the helmet to Jerry Rice for his streak of 274 straight games with at least one catch. That's pretty amazing.
23 (28) Bears 1-1-0 Lovie Smith said beating the Packers was his No. 1 priority and he delivered.
24 (20) Browns 1-1-0 We're sorry to see any player injured. We were really looking forward to watching Kellen Winslow play this year.
25 (31) Giants 1-1-0 The win probably quieted things down a little, but we don't expect the grumbling about Tom Coughlin to completely stop.
26 (25) Bills 0-2-0 Same old story: Defense is good, but the offense is, well, offensive.
27 (24) Buccaneers 0-2-0 It just seems like Jon Gruden has been itching to get rid of Brad Johnson.
28 (27) Chargers 1-1-0 The Chargers showed some fight against the Jets, making a close game out of what could have been a blowout.
29 (30) 49ers 0-2-0 49ers have to be pleased with the way Ken Dorsey played in his first NFL start.
30 (29) Texans 0-2-0 With the Chargers and Lions on the schedule in the first two weeks, folks in Houston had to be thinking about a 2-0 start -- oops.
31 (26) Dolphins 0-2-0 It's starting to look like it's going to be a really long season in Miami.
32 (32) Cardinals 0-2-0 They played the Patriots tough, but the talent on the two teams isn't anywhere close to being on the same level.
Power Rankings: Falcons, Jags, Lions moving up
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ESPN.com
ESPN.com's Power Poll
This week's rankings were determined by a poll of ESPN.com's NFL staff -- writers John Clayton, Len Pasquarelli, Michael Smith and ESPN.com NFL editors Peter Lawrence-Riddell and James C. Black.
After wins in Week 2, the top three teams in our Power Rankings remain the same.
The Jets, Ravens and Panthers all jumped into the top 10. For the Jets, it's their 2004 debut in the top 10, while the Ravens and Panthers returned to familiar territory after dropping down following disappointing Week 1 performances.
Other teams making moves upward include the Falcons (No. 19 to No. 12), the Jaguars (No. 16 to No. 13) and the Lions (No. 22 to No. 14). All three are undefeated and could crack the top 10 with another win.
Anyway, on to the rankings. To view our Week 1 rankings, click here. Also, click here to rank the teams yourself and then later today at 4 p.m. ET stop by the Power Rankings Show on SportsNation to chat with the NFL Power Ranker.
2004 Power Rankings: Week 3
Rk(LW) Team Rec. Comment
1 (1) Patriots 2-0-0 Looks like Deion Branch's injury isn't too serious. The Patriots are built on depth and they have shown that they won't let an injury slow them down, but losing Branch would have hurt.
2 (2) Eagles 2-0-0 Is there any team in the league that gets after the QB like the Eagles do? They were in Culpepper's face all night.
3 (3) Seahawks 2-0-0 The Seahawks have to be pretty happy with two roads wins (equaling their total from last season) to start the season. It doesn't matter who they're against, two straight road wins is hard in the NFL.
4 (7) Colts 1-1-0 Huge bounce-back win for the Colts, who proved to the Titans that they're the team to beat in the AFC South.
5 (6) Vikings 1-1-0 The Vikings found out the hard way how important it is to scores TD when you get deep in the red zone.
6 (4) Titans 1-1-0 The Titans have to feel a little shell shocked by what happened Sunday against the Colts.
7 (10) Jets 2-0-0 Known for getting off to slow starts under Herman Edwards, the Jets couldn't have asked for a better start heading into their Week 3 bye.
8 (15) Ravens 1-1-0 We'll give Deion a little credit, he finds a way to get into the highlights.
9 (13) Panthers 1-1-0 Panthers stepped up big time. Instead of feeling sorry for themselves with Davis and Smith injured they went out and played a great game.
10 (5) Broncos 1-1-0 It'll be interesting to see how Quentin Griffin bounces back from his costly fumble against the Jags.
11 (8) Packers 1-1-0 Man were we surprised by the egg that the Packers laid at Lambeau against the Bears.
12 (19) Falcons 2-0-0 Looks like everyone who jumped off the Falcons bandwagon (us included) underestimated just how much a healthy Michael Vick means.
13 (16) Jaguars 2-0-0 This weekend will be a big test because they'll need to put some points on the board to beat the Titans.
14 (22) Lions 2-0-0 Pressure was on Joey Harrington to raise his level of play this season and so far he's responded. Harrington to Roy Williams should be fun to watch this year.
15 (17) Cowboys 1-1-0 One thing that won't fly in Dallas for very long is a QB throwing three INTs in a game.
16 (11) Rams 1-1-0 The Rams offensive line is just a shadow of the one that helped them reach two Super Bowls.
17 (18) Bengals 1-1-0 Carson Palmer wasn't great against the Dolphins, but the game-winning drive was pretty impressive for a QB making only his second start.
18 (14) Steelers 1-1-0 Big Ben is going to make plenty of mistakes, but he also looks like he's going to make some big plays, too.
19 (9) Chiefs 0-2-0 Lack of receiving threats finally seems to be catching up to the Chiefs.
20 (12) Redskins 1-1-0 Ramsey has the talent to do good things, but the INTs (especially in the red zone) just can't happen.
21 (21) Saints 1-1-0 The food is spicy, but it's the Saints who are giving everyone in New Orleans ulcers.
22 (23) Raiders 1-1-0 Power rankings smack on the helmet to Jerry Rice for his streak of 274 straight games with at least one catch. That's pretty amazing.
23 (28) Bears 1-1-0 Lovie Smith said beating the Packers was his No. 1 priority and he delivered.
24 (20) Browns 1-1-0 We're sorry to see any player injured. We were really looking forward to watching Kellen Winslow play this year.
25 (31) Giants 1-1-0 The win probably quieted things down a little, but we don't expect the grumbling about Tom Coughlin to completely stop.
26 (25) Bills 0-2-0 Same old story: Defense is good, but the offense is, well, offensive.
27 (24) Buccaneers 0-2-0 It just seems like Jon Gruden has been itching to get rid of Brad Johnson.
28 (27) Chargers 1-1-0 The Chargers showed some fight against the Jets, making a close game out of what could have been a blowout.
29 (30) 49ers 0-2-0 49ers have to be pleased with the way Ken Dorsey played in his first NFL start.
30 (29) Texans 0-2-0 With the Chargers and Lions on the schedule in the first two weeks, folks in Houston had to be thinking about a 2-0 start -- oops.
31 (26) Dolphins 0-2-0 It's starting to look like it's going to be a really long season in Miami.
32 (32) Cardinals 0-2-0 They played the Patriots tough, but the talent on the two teams isn't anywhere close to being on the same level.