ESPN Week 1 Power Rankings

[KingPriest2]

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.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Mile High Mania

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.

Were you at home vs. the Chiefs? Did crowd noise play a factor in the KC offensive woes? Are the KC receivers better than Jacksonville's?

The answers are yes, yes, and no.

If Leftwich doesn't throw the ball directly to the Broncos defense, ala Jake Plummer, the Jags win this game.

[whoman69]

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

In this list

Overrated
Patriots
Colts
Rams


Underrated
Cardinals
Lions
Chargers
Eagles

Rest is fairly accurate.

Patriots overrated? They beat the team that went to the championship last year and btw, they're the defending champs.
Can't really say the Cards are that underrated. They will have trouble against every team they play this year. Perhaps the only team they will be favored against is SF.
Rams are a team waiting to explode, or should I say implode. Marshall Faulk will get dinged and they will not use him the rest of the year. They then have to rely on the questionable leadership of Bulger.
Colts actually played better than I thought they would. I expected them to be much worse this year because of the defensive losses.

[Mile High Mania]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Were you at home vs. the Chiefs? Did crowd noise play a factor in the KC offensive woes? Are the KC receivers better than Jacksonville's?

The answers are yes, yes, and no.

If Leftwich doesn't throw the ball directly to the Broncos defense, ala Jake Plummer, the Jags win this game.

Wow ... that is so insane.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Mile High Mania

Wow ... that is so insane.

So is crowing about how good the Broncos are on a CHIEFS MESSAGE BOARD.

Nobody here GIVES A CRAP ABOUT THE BRONCOS.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by whoman69

Patriots overrated? They beat the team that went to the championship last year and btw, they're the defending champs.
Can't really say the Cards are that underrated. They will have trouble against every team they play this year. Perhaps the only team they will be favored against is SF.
Rams are a team waiting to explode, or should I say implode. Marshall Faulk will get dinged and they will not use him the rest of the year. They then have to rely on the questionable leadership of Bulger.
Colts actually played better than I thought they would. I expected them to be much worse this year because of the defensive losses.

I already clarified that they are overrated at #1. Philly deserves that spot, IMO. They are still an elite team.

[Mile High Mania]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

So is crowing about how good the Broncos are on a CHIEFS MESSAGE BOARD.

Nobody here GIVES A CRAP ABOUT THE BRONCOS.

Duly noted. But, if they were bad ... you'd surely be crowing about that on a Chiefs' message board. All in all, it's just in the fun spirit of the rivalry. Nothing more, nothing less.

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by KingPriest2

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.

which is another scary thing IMO...


im not sure the denver's offense is really that good



stephen davis outa run for 300 yrds this sunday

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Mile High Mania

Duly noted. But, if they were bad ... you'd surely be crowing about that on a Chiefs' message board. All in all, it's just in the fun spirit of the rivalry. Nothing more, nothing less.

Of course I would.

This is a CHIEFS message board, and I'm a CHIEFS fan.