Week 12 Power Rankings

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We will get to my picks for the three games later on, but first, I owe you fine folks some power rankings! Sit back, relax, watch football, eat turkey and read through the list. Enjoy!

The Elite

1. Atlanta Falcons- The Falcons have been the NFC's best team all year, and now, it appears as if they are the best team in all of football. Winners of four straight, they rise to the top for the first time all season. Will they be able to stay there?

2.Baltimore Ravens- You know by now what the Ravens have to offer. They have some of the best skill players in all of football, their defense is weak by their standards, but still pretty good, and they know how to win games. Still like them to come out of the AFC.

3. New York Jets- Just when you think you have the Jets on the ropes, they come firing right back and win. That is a very dangerous sign for the rest of the AFC. A talented team that has a swagger where they think even if they get down they are never out? Scary.

4. Green Bay Packers- I picked them (again) to win the Super Bowl, and despite the losses of Ryan Grant and Jermichael Finley for the season, they are finally starting to look like an elite team. I thought the injuries would be a bit too much to overcome, but as long as one man doesn't go down, they are going to be right in the hunt for the crown. Aaron Rodgers.

5. New England Patriots- I have been a doubter of this team for a while, considering how young and unspectacular their defense is, but they just keep beating whoever you put in front of them. I have no choice but to include them amongst the NFL's Elite, after beating the Steelers and Colts in back to back weeks.

6. Pittsburgh Steelers- I still have to put the Steelers in here because of their defense, which is the best in the game. They have a great QB that can beat anyone and has proven it, but they have also shown some vulnerability against the league's better teams. Six is a great spot for the Steelers.


The Contenders

7. Philadelphia Eagles- After what they did to the Redskins, they sure looked like an elite team... but then they played a sub-par game against the Giants and barely escaped with the win, so for now, they simply lead the pack of contenders, but that's not all that bad!

8. Indianapolis Colts- They were able to give the Pats a late scare, but couldn't pull the same feat from 2009 in 2010. Can never go against Peyton Manning winning the AFC South, and I should know this by now. Silly to think this team won't be causing problems for someone in the playoffs.

9. San Diego Chargers- This is an Elite team just waiting to break out. The Chargers haven't lost a December game since 2005, when Drew Brees was still their quarterback. They are about to hit their stride, and dominate the second half of the season, led by Phillip Rivers and his MVP quest.

10. New Orleans Saints- Still hyper-talented, and starting to get healthy. The scary thing is, they have a better defense than last year. I wouldn't want to play Drew Brees in a playoff game, that's for sure. Especially if you have to do it at the Superdome.

11. Chicago Bears- Winners of three straight, Can't keep them out of the contending ranks. I don't see how they don't end up fighting for a Wild Card spot in the NFC, and I think they get one (with New Orleans grabbing the other).

12. Kansas City Chiefs- Once again, I think that once we get to the Chiefs, its about that time when we get out of the contending ranks.


The Mediocre

13. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- They just won't... go... AWAY. Josh Freeman is legit. I apologize to the Freeman family for ever doubting him. They win games. I don't know how they do it but they do. I think they just miss the playoffs this season, but with Freeman at the helm, I think they could come back with a vengeance next season.

14. New York Giants- Ha! These past two weeks have exposed the Giants for the frauds they are! Watch them miss the playoffs. Watch!

15. Oakland Raiders- The very definition of mediocre. They will play well one week, pull off a win, then get handled easily by a clearly better team the next.

16. Tennessee Titans- Sigh.... I was so ready for my team to make a run. To take over the top rank of the NFL. TO finally start capitalizing on all of the potential.... and then Vince Young gets hurt, pissed off, and throws his pads into the stands. Then Jeff Fisher gets pissed off and says he is no longer the quarterback. Then VY is put on IR. Have you ever seen a team with so much potential fall apart this fast? I haven't. The problem is, this team is best when Vince is healthy and playing. Sure, he has attitude problems, but he is a damn good football player and his record proves it. He knows how to win. I have all the respect for Fisher as a coach, but if I had to choose between coach and quarterback, I side with Vince. I know the kind of results this team has with him in the lineup, and those when he isn't. I shutter to think about the Rusty Smith era. This sucks.

17. Cleveland Browns- And the Browns keep climbing. This team is legitimately talented enough to compete with anyone. I praised the Lions last time, this week, that same type of praise goes to Cleveland. They play a ton of tight games and pull off the occasional win. They are headed quickly in the right direction.

18. Dallas Cowboys- The Cowboys are showing signs of the team that everyone thought they would be going into the season. Sure it was against the Giants and Lions, two mediocre teams, but still, the Jason Garrett era has been a success so far. The Cowboys should have taken my advice and fired Wade Phillips the minute after they lost to the pitiful Redskins in week one.

19. Detroit Lions- I mentioned the Lions in each of the last two paragraphs, and look, here they are! They are easily the best 2-8 team I have ever seen. All this means is that they will get another chance to nail another high draft pick (like they appear to have done with Suh, Stafford and Best). They play every team close (bar the Cowboy game) and they should have at least 4-5 wins. They would be winning the NFC West, if they were lucky enough to be put in that crap division.

20. Houston Texans- I think we all know the story with this team by now. Uber-talented, no winner's edge. They might need to just blow the whole thing up and start from scratch, again.

21. Miami Dolphins- I'm pretty sure Miami is the most boring team in the NFL. They don't really do anything particularly well. They are on their third mediocre QB of the season. They are .500. Can anyone actually care one way or another about Miami? I know I can't.

22. Seattle Seahawks- WE finally get our first NFC West team... at spot number 22! One of these teams needs to make the playoffs, and I really hope it prompts the NFL to think about a seeded playoff, because there is no way the Seahawks deserve the playoff spot they currently sit in.

23. Jacksonville Jaguars- Remember when I said I couldn't figure out how this team was 4-4? Well now they are 6-4... If the Miami Dolphins are the league's most boring team, the Jags are definitely the most puzzling.

24. Washington Redskins- Followed closely by the Washington Redskins. Who knows what to make of this mediocre team?

25. St. Louis Rams- They can'[t win on the road, they are bad in their own horrible division, they are 4-6, but for some reason I think people think they might be good. I think its a result of them being so awful last year and then finding some early improvement this season, but they rest at the very bottom of the mediocre for me, an improvement, but nothing to be proud of.


The Garbage

26. Denver Broncos- They got blown out by a pretty damn good team in San Diego, so I won't penalize them too much for that. Still, they aren't very good whatsoever.

27. Minnesota Vikings- They finally fired Brad Childress, which is something that should have happened a long time ago. Now, maybe if they sit their quarterback, they might actually have something here! Wait, its already week 12? Oh....

28. San Francisco 49ers- Sigh... something tells me this team won't be going 9-7. Is Mike Singletary the third coach that Green Bay gets fired? We'll find out next week! Wouldn't that be something?

29. Buffalo Bills- Whoa Ho! The Buffalo Bills are on a winning streak! Who needs Andrew Luck when you've got Ryan Fitzpatrick slinging the ball! And I'm only half kidding...

30. Cincinnati Bengals- Couldn't feel any more vindicated in saying that this team was going to take a huge step backward this season.

31. Arizona Cardinals- Make it five losses in a row for this absolutely atrocious football team. I can't even tell you who their starting quarterback is right now, because I don't hate myself enough to care about Arizona Cardinals football this year.

32. Carolina Panthers- I do, however, know who is the quarterback for the Panthers. His name is Brian St. Pierre. And that is why they are in last place.


And now, on to my Turkey Day picks!

DETROIT (+7) over New England

I'm pretty sure that I'm just going to pick Detroit every week. they are 8-2 against the spread, and the only time I didn't pick them, they blew out the Rams. I'm rolling with them, and the points.

New Orleans (-4) over DALLAS

I think this Dallas mini run ends here on Thanksgiving, when Drew Bress cuts up their mediocre defense.

NEW YORK JETS (-9) over Cincinnati

The Jets are awesome, and the Bengals suck. I don't care how big the line is, this should be a blowout.