Week One Power Rankings - Prisco is a ruhtard

[Rulon Velvet Jones]

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/13946226/nfl-power-rankings-forecast-so-far-is-mostly-cloudy

Power Rankings
Current Team Previous
Saints 1 Saints · Trends 4
If the defense plays as it did against the Vikings, they just might repeat. That's how impressive that was. You know they won't score 14 points on offense in many games. They're too good.

Packers 2 Packers · Trends 6
Going to Philadelphia and winning on opening day isn't easy. That offense is going to be tough to stop all season long. But the defense has to tighten up some.

Patriots 3 Patriots · Trends 7
Tom Brady and that passing game are still lethal. That's why they are still the team to beat in the division. Now they get the chance to show it to the Jets.

Ravens 4 Ravens · Trends 10
They clearly were the better team against the Jets. That defense was dominant. But they have to turn yards into points, or that will cost them. Going to Cincinnati is a tough second game.

Colts 5 Colts · Trends 1
The defense looked awful against the Texans. It looked like it won't be able to stop anybody. Even a big passing day by Peyton Manning didn't save the day. Now they have to try to stop his brother.

Giants 6 Giants · Trends 11
The defense, which was a trouble spot all of last season, looked much better against Carolina. Now they have to go to Indy and try to stop Eli's big brother. Good luck.

Chargers 7 Chargers · Trends 5
That offense just didn't play that well against the Chiefs. They clearly miss Vincent Jackson. The special teams need some tightening up as well. They can't afford to go to 0-2 against Jacksonville.

Cowboys 8 Cowboys · Trends 2
The loss to the Redskins has to sting. The Cowboys looked poorly coached. And we can't say enough bad things about the way Alex Barron played. Yecch. He wasn't alone.

Falcons 9 Falcons · Trends 3
The defense played well at Pittsburgh, but you can't win many games scoring nine points. The offense has to be better. It starts this week against Arizona.

Bengals 10 Bengals · Trends 8
Even though they got handled at New England, the play of Carson Palmer -- save for one bad pick -- had to be encouraging. The special teams have to tighten up. They have a must-have against the Ravens.

Steelers 11 Steelers · Trends 14
Getting a victory without Ben Roethlisberger is a big plus. Dennis Dixon wasn't great, but he did enough for the Steelers. Now comes a tough road start at Tennessee.

Dolphins 12 Dolphins · Trends 15
It wasn't pretty in Buffalo, but most of their games won't be. The defense had a nice game, especially against the run. This week, it's Adrian Peterson they have to stop.

Texans 13 Texans · Trends 20
They put a lot into the Colts game, and it showed. Now they have to show that it can carry over. One game does not make a season. This week's game at Washington will be telling.

Vikings 14 Vikings · Trends 9
If they can't stretch the field better than they did against the Saints, the offense will struggle. Brett Favre needs help down the field.

Titans 15 Titans · Trends 19
Chris Johnson picked right up where he left off last season. Vince Young also had a decent opener. The young defensive front got after the quarterback, which is a good sign.

Redskins 16 Redskins · Trends 21
That defense sure was impressive against the Cowboys. They looked fast and coordinator Jim Haslett called a heck of a game. Now comes another tough challenge against the Texans.

Jets 17 Jets · Trends 12
They just can't throw the ball well enough to win consistently. Limit teams to 10 all you want. They need to score more. Period. Is Joe Namath still hanging around?

Eagles 18 Eagles · Trends 13
Start the quarterback controversy. I can hear it now: Play Mike Vick. Kevin Kolb deserves half a season before that starts -- or at least another game.

Cardinals 19 Cardinals · Trends 18
Their victory over the Rams wasn't pleasing to watch, but style points will be fewer with Kurt Warner retired. They found a way to get it done at St. Louis. They have to be better than that the rest of the way.

Bears 20 Bears · Trends 22
They didn't hold onto to the ball that well against the Lions, which has to be a concern. But Jay Cutler looked sharp in that opener, throwing for 372 yards and two touchdowns. That has to carry on.

Jaguars 21 Jaguars · Trends 23
The big improvement was on the offense against the Broncos. The defense struggled against the pass, and now must go west to face Philip Rivers. That won't be good.

Seahawks 22 Seahawks · Trends 25
The Seahawks surprised a lot of people -- including me -- with the way they played. The defense really got after the 49ers.

Chiefs 23 Chiefs · Trends 27
You have to give that defense a lot of credit for coming up big at the end against San Diego. The return game will really help the Chiefs. They have speed at a lot of spots.

Buccaneers 24 Buccaneers · Trends 28
They have to be thrilled with the way they came back against the Browns. Josh Freeman looked OK after missing time because of that thumb injury. They hung around thanks to creating key turnovers.

Raiders 25 Raiders · Trends 17
That wasn't a good opener. The offensive line once again struggled. That has to change if they are to get better. Can it? And, oh, that run defense.

Broncos 26 Broncos · Trends 24
It's going to be a long season for the Broncos. Where is the talent on this roster? Kyle Orton took a beating last week. Please one thing: No more Tim Tebow to ruin drives.

Panthers 27 Panthers · Trends 26
They just don't do enough on offense. If not for three interceptions by the defense, it wouldn't have been close in New York.

49ers 28 49ers · Trends 16
So much for the playoff talk. If you get handled that way in Seattle, you can't be good. Alex Smith didn't play very well -- and that's being nice. A team meeting after one week? Wow.

Lions 29 Lions · Trends 29
They have to play the next month or so without Matt Stafford. That hurts. It's on Shaun Hill now. The defense isn't good enough yet.

Rams 30 Rams · Trends 31
They have to love what they got from Sam Bradford in his first start. Don't worry about this season. It's all about the future.

Browns 31 Browns · Trends 30
Just when you think they might be ready to take a step forward, they blow a lead at Tampa. Jake Delhomme reverted to the real Jake Delhomme in that game with some bad throws, one to set up a Tampa touchdown at the end of the half.

Bills 32 Bills · Trends 32
They just don't do enough on offense. It's going to be a long, ugly season watching that unit.

[PRBronco]

Man I hate that mother****er.

[BlaK-Argentina]

Yeah Tebow really wasted those drives. It's not like we got the first down every single time after he went in. Asshole.

[Crushaholic]

The Raiders looked awful, and this guy thinks the Broncos looked WORSE? Uh...no...:puff:

[ColoradoDarin]

"I'm pete prisco, I just looked at a few highlights and the box score"

[cmhargrove]

The thread title it totally misleading.

Prisco is a douchebag, not a ruhtard. A used douchebag...

[Ugly Duck]

The next 6 games... Broncos have a tough stretch ahead ('cept for maybe Seattle & Oakland):

#26 Broncos: #22 Seattle, #5 Indy, #15 Tennessee, #4 Baltimore, #17 Jets, #25 Raiders

#23 Chiefs: #31 Cleveland, #28 SF, #5 Indy, #13 Houston, #21 Jacksonville, bye.

#7 Chargers: #21 Jacksonville, #22 Seattle, #19 Arizona, #25 Raiders, #30 St. Louis, #3 New England.

#25 Oakland: #30 St. Louis, #19 Arizona, #13 Houston, #7 SD, #28 SF, #26 Denver.

[BlaK-Argentina]

The next 6 games... Broncos have a tough stretch ahead ('cept for maybe Seattle & Oakland):

#26 Broncos: #22 Seattle, #5 Indy, #15 Tennessee, #4 Baltimore, #17 Jets, #25 Raiders

#23 Chiefs: #31 Cleveland, #28 SF, #5 Indy, #13 Houston, #21 Jacksonville, bye.

#7 Chargers: #21 Jacksonville, #22 Seattle, #19 Arizona, #25 Raiders, #30 St. Louis, #3 New England.

#25 Oakland: #30 St. Louis, #19 Arizona, #13 Houston, #7 SD, #28 SF, #26 Denver.

I'll take 2-4 to start the season, though I'm hoping we can win 3.

[missingnumber7]

I love how people keep making excuses for the Chargers...they looked poor last night, they miss McNeil and Jackson.

[gunns]

He puts on the Texans, one game does not make a season, yet I guess it's going to be long ugly season for us. And why Oakland isn't at the very bottom is beyond me. I've never seen a football team look so bad. The Bills even looked better. And Detroit's D isn't good enough yet. Two goal line stands? The Bears looked bad too and only started doing something after Stafford went out. You have to wonder what games he watched or if he did.

[ColoradoDarin]

He puts on the Texans, one game does not make a season, yet I guess it's going to be long ugly season for us. And why Oakland isn't at the very bottom is beyond me. I've never seen a football team look so bad. The Bills even looked better. And Detroit's D isn't good enough yet. Two goal line stands? The Bears looked bad too and only started doing something after Stafford went out. You have to wonder what games he watched or if he did.

Again... :)

"I'm pete prisco, I just looked at a few highlights and the box score"

[Durango]

It's fair. Jacksonville is awful, and Sundays game didn't give anyone any reason to believe Denver is, in any way, improved over last year when we closed the season 2 & 8.

When the Broncos were on that 6-0 streak to open the season last year, they were ranked as high as #2, I believe, so the rankings don't tell us anything, not even now.

If the Broncos whip out a win over a Baltimore and New York, or even Indy and Baltimore, they will get the respect. Until then, we're just another easy target for Bill Belichick and his ilk to dump his trash in the guise of a solution for draft choices he knows are going to be nice and high to a guppy he knows will buy the goods..

[Drek]

I'll take 2-4 to start the season, though I'm hoping we can win 3.

The only team I'd find especially concerning on there is Indy, because Manning is a beast.

Seattle? They beat up a San Fran team week one that showed up even less ready to play than the Broncos did, with Alex Smith giving away points.

Tennessee? Still not sold on Vince Young, our run stopping actually held MJD to a pedestrian day, and their defense isn't what it was a couple years ago.

Baltimore? Flacco needs to show me more as a QB, especially more accuracy. Their secondary got a free pass last night because....

NYJ? Sanchez can't throw a pass more than 10 yards. He's a checkdown junky. Their OL doesn't look nearly as stout as last year's (kinda happens when you let leaders like Jones and Faneca walk out the door). Their secondary is good but Cromartie is a guy you can game plan to your advantage and Wilson looks very raw. Our balanced passing attack is not going to let them just shut Orton down with Revis.

Oakland? Its Oakland. A great D and Jason Campbell won 5 games in Washington last year. A good D and Jason Campbell is supposed to suddenly set the world on fire?

We can win any one of those games if this team actually shows up to play. We had everything going against us on Sunday, then the team shows up flat footed. We still almost win the game. This team has a lot more talent than most people realize. If the desire is there in the following weeks this team could do some real damage to that schedule.

[TonyR]

It's funny how Indy, Dallas, NYJ, San Diego, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Philly, etc. all got beat week 1 and yet you don't often hear these teams being written off by the national media. Sure some of these teams have earned the benefit of the doubt more than the Broncos have but the point is it's just one game. If Denver loses at home to Seattle then maybe we have something to worry about. Until then we really don't know all that much. We thought we were awfully good 6 weeks into the season last year and that didn't work out so well. There's really no saying where most teams are headed one week into the season. We all need to relax.

[broncosteven]

The only team I'd find especially concerning on there is Indy, because Manning is a beast.

Seattle? They beat up a San Fran team week one that showed up even less ready to play than the Broncos did, with Alex Smith giving away points.

Tennessee? Still not sold on Vince Young, our run stopping actually held MJD to a pedestrian day, and their defense isn't what it was a couple years ago.

Baltimore? Flacco needs to show me more as a QB, especially more accuracy. Their secondary got a free pass last night because....

NYJ? Sanchez can't throw a pass more than 10 yards. He's a checkdown junky. Their OL doesn't look nearly as stout as last year's (kinda happens when you let leaders like Jones and Faneca walk out the door). Their secondary is good but Cromartie is a guy you can game plan to your advantage and Wilson looks very raw. Our balanced passing attack is not going to let them just shut Orton down with Revis.

Oakland? Its Oakland. A great D and Jason Campbell won 5 games in Washington last year. A good D and Jason Campbell is supposed to suddenly set the world on fire?

We can win any one of those games if this team actually shows up to play. We had everything going against us on Sunday, then the team shows up flat footed. We still almost win the game. This team has a lot more talent than most people realize. If the desire is there in the following weeks this team could do some real damage to that schedule.

Can't give away close games with the schedule we have this year. If we don't beat Seattle we may not get our 1st win until week 7 and that is not going to be a gimme.

Unless Tenn loses CJ they could beat us easily.

Baltimore is an early away game which means the coaching staff circled this as a loss and will close Dove Valley the week before like last year.

NY? Well it is a home game but they have a real D and unless we find a run game that can control clock and a D that can control the run I doubt we have a prayer.

Oakland - we lost to them at home with the playoffs on the line, maybe this year no playoffs on the line so we win the home game this time.

Until we start winning we are going to stay at the bottom of these things.

[broncosteven]

It's funny how Indy, Dallas, NYJ, San Diego, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Philly, etc. all got beat week 1 and yet you don't often hear these teams being written off by the national media. Sure some of these teams have earned the benefit of the doubt more than the Broncos have but the point is it's just one game. If Denver loses at home to Seattle then maybe we have something to worry about. Until then we really don't know all that much. We thought we were awfully good 6 weeks into the season last year and that didn't work out so well. There's really no saying where most teams are headed one week into the season. We all need to relax.

Which is why we are where we are.

Power rankings are all speculation packaged to sell advertizing.

[sixtimeseight]

Sweet, the "Chargers are the best 0-x team of all time!!!!111!11!" bull**** has already begun.

[Taco John]

I'm no fan of Prisco, but for a week one power rating, I'd say he's got us in the right vicinity. I'd put us behind the Chiefs, and ahead of the Raiders and the Buccs. I think we played tough in a difficult environment, but I wouldn't have expected anything but bottom ten given how we finished last season. If Kyle throws a touchdown instead of an interception at the end, I figure we'd have jumped 5-9 spots.

[Man-Goblin]

These guys try to get the two teams playing each other each week as close as they can get them to each other in their rankings, unless their numbskulls are sure one team is much better than the other (which often times they have no clue). Bonus points if the road team is ranked slightly higher.

[Steve Sewell]

Again... :)

"I'm pete prisco, I just looked at a few highlights and the box score"

Not to mention that he absolutely hates Tebow for some reason.

[strafen]

We have 7 games to play before we hit the bye-week.

This week...

WK 2 Seattle @ Home
WK 3 Indianapolis @ home
WK 4 @ Tennessee
WK 5 @ Baltimore
WK 6 New York Jets @ home
WK 7 Oakland @ home
WK 8 @ San Francisco

W 9 Bye-week

When things will start to get interesting is when we play: Tennessee, Baltimore and New York. 3, 4 + weeks into the season should tell us how these teams are doing by the time we play them. Indy, will always be a tough opponent, Seattle is coming off a big win and it's now a must-win for us.

We must beat Seattle. We can't start 0-2 with what we've got coming in the weeks ahead.
A win against Seattle will give us a bit of confidence with Indy following next.

[BroncosSR]

Can't give away close games with the schedule we have this year. If we don't beat Seattle we may not get our 1st win until week 7 and that is not going to be a gimme.

Exactly. I think the standings were very fair. We're just not a good, consistent football team. If it makes you feel better to hang on to the "It's only the first game, don't panic" excuse, then go ahead. My personal opinion though is that the quality of play hasn't improved and doesn't look like it will this year. Sure i have a pipe dream, but then Sunday shows up...

[broncosteven]

We have 7 games to play before we hit the bye-week.

This week...

WK 2 Seattle @ Home
WK 3 Indianapolis @ home
WK 4 @ Tennessee
WK 5 @ Baltimore
WK 6 New York Jets @ home
WK 7 Oakland @ home
WK 8 @ San Francisco

W 9 Bye-week

When things will start to get interesting is when we play: Tennessee, Baltimore and New York. 3, 4 + weeks into the season should tell us how these teams are doing by the time we play them. Indy, will always be a tough opponent, Seattle is coming off a big win and it's now a must-win for us.

We must beat Seattle. We can't start 0-2 with what we've got coming in the weeks ahead.
A win against Seattle will give us a bit of confidence with Indy following next.

3-5 through that stretch would be a miracle.

[strafen]

3-5 through that stretch would be a miracle.

Yes it will.
Now, don't look, but the Chiefs could be 3-0 before they play Indy on the road in week 4.
They play Cleveland on the road this week, and SF @ home in week 3

[Tombstone RJ]

Everyone was crapping over the schedual last year, especially the first half of the season and the Broncos went undefeated into the bye-week.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, strength of schedule is the most overrated boatload of horse crap any prognosticator can come up with. Peeps here are crapping their pants--again--about the schedule.