ESPN Week 1 Power Rankings
 

Tuesday, September 14


Power Rankings: Pats still on top

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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.
The 2004 season is one week old and with the Patriots and Eagles winning, there was no movement in the top two spots of ESPN.com's Power Rankings.
The big movers at the top of the rankings were the Titans (No. 9 to No. 4) and the Broncos (No. 10 to No. 5), who each jumped up five spots, while the Chiefs dropped five spots from No. 4 to No. 9. Baltimore fell way out of the top 10, dropping from No. 6 all the way to No. 15. That might be a little harsh, but that offensive effort Sunday was pretty harsh, too.

Also, since many of you think you're better at this than we are, SportsNation is giving you the opportunity to rank the teams youself.

Anyway, on to the rankings. To view our preseason rankings, click here. Also, later today at 4 p.m. ET we're debuting the Power Rankings Show on SportsNation. Stop by to chat with the creator of ESPN's NFL Power Rankings.



2004 Power Rankings: Week 2
Rank Team Rec. Comment
1 Patriots 1-0-0 The run defense might be a concern, but we're guessing Belichick and Co. will find a way to work around it.
2 Eagles 1-0-0 Apparently Donovan McNabb is pretty happy with his new toy at wide receiver.
3 Seahawks 1-0-0 Losing Shaun Alexander for any time would be a blow to this offense. Maurice Morris is decent, but he's nowhere near Alexander's league.
4 Titans 1-0-0 Not too many people saw this game, but trust us, Chris Brown is the real deal at RB.
5 Broncos 1-0-0 That move Quentin Griffin put on Jerome Woods on Sunday night was just flat out sick.
6 Vikings 1-0-0 Wow. We knew Minnesota's offense was going to be good, but they sure did put on a show Sunday.
7 Colts 0-1-0 The Colts can talk all they want about the best team not winning Thursday, but the fact remains the same: one team is 1-0 and the other isn't.
8 Packers 1-0-0 This week's bold prediction: Ahman Green will rush for over 2,000 yards this season.
9 Chiefs 0-1-0 Looks like the same story as last season. The Chiefs can score with anybody, but the defense is going to be a problem, especially against the good teams.
10 Jets 1-0-0 Obviously a healthy Chad Pennington helps Curtis Martin, but what we watched Sunday was more than that. Martin looked much more explosive than he was last season.
11 Rams 1-0-0 We heard it from Rams fans last week about their No. 16 rankings, and maybe it was too low, but they sure weren't all that impressive in Week 1 against the Cardinals.
12 Redskins 1-0-0 Things went about as well as they could have in Joe Gibbs return to the sideline in D.C.
13 Panthers 0-1-0 That Steve Smith injury was tough to watch. He really came into his own last season and was poised for even bigger things this year.
14 Steelers 1-0-0 At his current pace Jerome Bettis is going to carry the ball 80 times for 16 yards and score 48 TDs this year.
15 Ravens 0-1-0 Teams are going to stack the line against the Ravens and Jamal Lewis all season and if Kyle Boller can't make them pay, the Ravens are going to be in trouble.
16 Jaguars 1-0-0 Huge win for the Jags. Byron Leftwich might not have played well, but he got the W and that's what QBs are measured by.
17 Cowboys 0-1-0 The Cowboys aren't going to win too many games when they have to pass the ball 51 times
18 Bengals 0-1-0 All you Carson Palmer haters out there, if the Bengals stumble this year it's not going to have anything to do with the second-year QB.
19 Falcons 1-0-0 It wasn't an earth-shattering performance, but a lot of eyes were on Michael Vick and he got the Falcons a win.
20 Browns 1-0-0 What an effort by the Browns defense. We'll be the first to admit that this one caught us by surprise.
21 Saints 0-1-0 Looks like it could be the same old story for the Saints. Lots of talent, little results.
22 Lions 1-0-0 Getting that 24-game road losing streak off their backs was a huge step for this up-and-coming young team. But Charles Rogers' season-ending injury is a big blow.
23 Raiders 0-1-0 One loss and players are already complaining about substitutions and playing time! We thought they fired Bill Callahan?
24 Buccaneers 0-1-0 The Bucs looked old and slow on offense, not a good combination.
25 Bills 0-1-0 Eric Moulds (8 catches) was big in the opener, but the Bills need another receiver to step up.
26 Dolphins 0-1-0 A.J. or Jay? It really might not matter all that much. The Dolphins aren't going to be that good with either at QB.
27 Chargers 1-0-0 Apparently Drew Brees isn't ready to just hand the starting job to Philip Rivers.
28 Bears 0-1-0 Fantasy alert: David Terrell finally looks ready to be a No. 1 receiver for the Bears.
29 Texans 0-1-0 Losing to the Chargers at home in Week 1 isn't the way to start the season for what's supposed to be an up-and-coming team.
30 49ers 0-1-0 We've raved about him before in this space, but Julian Peterson is a stud. The guy is just an athletic freak.
31 Giants 0-1-0 Well, at least Eli Manning got his first big hit out of the way.
32 Cardinals 0-1-0 The Cardinals might not win much this year, but any team looking past them will be in trouble.

The Broncos would like to thank Carl Peterson, Vermeil and Gunther Gunningham for keeping the 2003 team and philosophy in tact.

Holmes ... you can gain 150 yards and 3 TDs every time you play the Broncos if it means the Broncos win by 10. Best of luck on your personal goal towards 2,400 yards!

You won't be thanking Carl Peterson and Co. when you realize that they allowed your team to be something for one night that they won't be for the season -- GOOD.

Well, I dunno ... we'll see how it goes. I was and still am extremely happy with how the game went and how Q performed.

But, I'm still cautiously optimistic about the rest of the season. Jake still makes me nervous on 4 out of every 10 offensive drives... I fear the effectiveness of the TE/receiver depth and the Oline.

So, I'm not resetting my season expectations just yet... it's way too early. I want to see what they do on the road against a tough run defense next week in Jacksonville.

If Q is limited, I want to see how the passing game reacts. I think the defense will smother the Jags, so it could be low scoring, but I have no true concerns about Denver losing that one ... should be 2-0 which would be nice.

You're not at all concerned about a defense that is LIGHT YEARS better than the Chiefs? You're not at all concerned about Fred Taylor after what Holmes did?

Your arrogance is unbecoming.

C'mon, read it again. I stated concerns about the Jags' run defense and what happens if they contain Q.

I have "no concerns" about losing b/c Taylor, while good, is not in the same category as Priest. Fred Taylor on his best day this season will be hard pressed to top what Priest did on Sunday.

I look at the Jags' offense and what I think the Broncos' defense will do and that is why I have no concerns. Could they lose? Sure, anything happens.... I have respect and fear their defense.

Am I 100% comfortable with Denver's offense right now? No, hardly... they have issues and will have problems on Sunday. The defense will save them.

In this list

Overrated
Patriots
Colts
Rams


Underrated
Cardinals
Lions
Chargers
Eagles

Rest is fairly accurate.

I'm sorry, Brad, but I sincerely hope you lose so that all of you guys will go away for a while.

I can't stand the smug attitude.

Pbbbtttt!!!!

Smug? Do you really think the Jags can do anything close to what KC did against Denver?

What did KC do exactly against the Broncos, besides take advantage of absolute gifts from the football gods? We didn't complete passes, we didn't protect the QB, we couldn't stop Jake Plummer's COUCH, let alone the entire offense.

The Jags should have success running the ball.

And the Jags won't EVEN COME CLOSE to giving up 200 yards on the ground.

Furthermore, they have Mike Peterson on their defense. Nobody compares, not even KR/PR/WR/RB/S/CB Champ Bailey.

Not to diss on you, but we have been having this dicussion at work with my Bronco friends. Yes, I am good friends with a couple of broncos and one raiders fan.

You only get to face our defense one more time, and it will be at our House. When Jake was taken off the leash, he tied the game back up for us. Jake needs to be kept on a very short leash with a solid running attack to be effective. Just think, this was our defense you did this agianst. We might BE the worst in the league agian.

Your bootlegs and misdirections will not work for the majority of the teams your are facing. I still se griffen getting 80+ and td a game, but he will not be anywhere near his Chiefs performance on most games. We will found out this week actually how good your offense is.

I believe more balanced teams with a sound defense and average offense will be your achillies heal. Where our is teams with a good defense and quick running backs and mobile QB's is ours...

And your offense will be lucky to score half of what you did agianst the Jagoffs... You our not playing our defense week in, week out...

For Denver to win in agianst jacksonville you need to:

win the turnover battle...

put plummer on a short leash..

and grind out the clock with the running game..

That was mostly my thinking that the Eagles deserved the #1 slot. They're overrated, but not by a lot.

Ok, did Denver's defense have anything to do with KC's offensive woes?
Is the KC offense vastly superior to that of the Jags?
Is Taylor on the level of Priest Holmes?

The answers are yes, yes and no.

I've stated their run defense is levels better - I've questioned Denver's offensive success if Q is contained. Did you miss those statements?

I think Denver's defense will hold the Jags from scoring more than 10-13 points. I do believe that Denver can score 13 or more points on Sunday. That's all.

Valiant -
Plummer had success in games against teams other than KC in 2003. They ran misdirection and bootlegs then as well.

Fellas - I'm not predicting the Broncos will romp the Jags 49 - 10. I'm not prediciting this is a SuperBowl bound team. I've admitted that I still question their ability and I realize (even typed it) that they had nice success and a win against a Chiefs' defense that is just as shameful as it was a year ago.

If this is smug, then I'm smug... I think I'm fairly within reason to have confidence and to expect a win against the Jags. I'll be back later on ... carry on. :p