Speaker 1: NFL Power Rankings is a production of the NFL in
Speaker 1: partnership with I Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to another
Speaker 1: edition of the NFL Power Rankings podcast from the Chris
Speaker 1: Westling podcast studio. I'm Dan hansis joined as I always am,
Speaker 1: by the great Colleen Wolf. What's up, Connie. You know
Speaker 1: I'm not feeling that great today. I have a little
Speaker 1: bit of a fever of Phillies fever. As we discussed
Speaker 1: in the ramp up to today's program, baseball season is over.
Speaker 1: As a professional, you should keep your focus on professional football. Oh,
Speaker 1: I can do both. Turn the page. Sorry, I'm sorry,
Speaker 1: I'm sorry. Congratulations I am I'm happy for you. Uh,
Speaker 1: Philadelphia fans really need something right now. The um. This
Speaker 1: is the Power Rankings Podcast where we go through one
Speaker 1: through thirty two and figure out where the power truly
Speaker 1: lies in our league and Week six will forever Connie
Speaker 1: be remembered by everyone in the world a civilized world,
Speaker 1: or me specifically, and maybe you if you agree with
Speaker 1: this as the Sunday that broke the Power Rankings. Nothing
Speaker 1: made sense. Nothing made sense. It was a total atomic
Speaker 1: poop storm, and I was left to try. I mean, yeah,
Speaker 1: that's the description. I felt like Week seven was about
Speaker 1: picking up the pieces a little bit. And I'm not
Speaker 1: saying the league now makes sense, but it makes more
Speaker 1: sense than it did a week ago. Well, now we
Speaker 1: have more to go off of, and as we progress
Speaker 1: through this season, I'm feeling less and less confident in
Speaker 1: teams like the Packers. I'm more and more worried about
Speaker 1: teams like the Bucks. I feel good about the Chiefs,
Speaker 1: like a lot of teams are starting to follow trends
Speaker 1: and that feels like stability, whereas before it was just
Speaker 1: all over the place and it felt like the entire
Speaker 1: league was three and three, and at the very least,
Speaker 1: I feel good about the top four now, which I
Speaker 1: could not even see last week. So with that in mind,
Speaker 1: let's check out our tears, our quadrants. You know, our
Speaker 1: producer Drew, he gets in my ear and he goes,
Speaker 1: let's get to the first tier. It's a quadrant. It's
Speaker 1: a quadrant. We're gonna get him on the show. Sny
Speaker 1: Kelly behind the glass, our podcast producer, Shawnny can you
Speaker 1: just tap because I know he'll like this. Tap Drew
Speaker 1: on the shoulder, invade his physical space and say it's
Speaker 1: a quadrant. Sure that will go. Well, let's get to it.
Speaker 1: The top eight Bills, Eagles, Chiefs, nothing changes there. Those
Speaker 1: are the big three and they remain the Big three.
Speaker 1: Bills and Eagles on by, Chiefs wiped out the Niners.
Speaker 1: Then you have the Cowboys up to to number four,
Speaker 1: Bengals hold at number five and get to them in
Speaker 1: a minute. Giants up one to six, hard to believe,
Speaker 1: the Vikings uh down three to seven, off there by
Speaker 1: Waca waka, and the Ravens hold steady at number eight,
Speaker 1: so real quick on the top up three. I do
Speaker 1: wonder how much you are itching to move the Chiefs
Speaker 1: up because the Eagles are sitting there with their perfect record,
Speaker 1: and I wonder how much you're buying into it. Like
Speaker 1: I feel like even on the A T. N podcast,
Speaker 1: when you were asking the question whether or not teams
Speaker 1: were good, you didn't necessarily say that the Eagles were good.
Speaker 1: You just said that they had a perfect record, And
Speaker 1: I just wonder if you're waiting to drop them. Oh,
Speaker 1: the Eagles are good. I think the Eagles are great.
Speaker 1: I think there are three great teams and they are
Speaker 1: one of them. And I'm not gonna I'm not gonna
Speaker 1: do Philly like that, even though you guys seem to
Speaker 1: be getting everything you want right now. It's wonderful. I
Speaker 1: dropped them out of the number one spot despite them
Speaker 1: not having a loss, just because I could. I couldn't
Speaker 1: turn away from the fact in my mind that the
Speaker 1: Bills are the best team in football. But at six
Speaker 1: and oh during thereby, it just didn't feel right to
Speaker 1: drop them down to number three. Uh that said the Chiefs.
Speaker 1: If you put those two teams on a neutral field, yeah,
Speaker 1: I don't know if I'm going against Mahomes. But at
Speaker 1: this point it was like, let's give the Eagles the edge,
Speaker 1: Let's get them back in action and see how they look.
Speaker 1: But yes, the Chiefs are there's a big gap between
Speaker 1: the Chiefs and the number four team. But I say
Speaker 1: that because the Cowboys really helped me out, Connie, because
Speaker 1: I had the vikings at four last week and I
Speaker 1: never believed it. And that was Yeah, that wasn't me
Speaker 1: doing like a bad job and not knowing what I'm
Speaker 1: doing on the power rankings, which is the case sometimes.
Speaker 1: It was because there was no number four team in
Speaker 1: the league that literally didn't exist. But for the purpose
Speaker 1: jump up like a lot of spots last week to
Speaker 1: the fourth spot because somebody had to be there. But
Speaker 1: they weren't really the fourth best team in the league.
Speaker 1: They were just number four. Listen. That might not make sense,
Speaker 1: but when the power ranks were broken, old Zeus had
Speaker 1: to still figure out a way to put some things together.
Speaker 1: So you're gluing it back together, and you just decided
Speaker 1: that the Vikings would go up to seven when they
Speaker 1: were on a buy. They didn't even do anything wrong
Speaker 1: because they never were four. That is so heartbreaking. It's
Speaker 1: it's okay. Seven is still good too, even though they're
Speaker 1: not really seven either, but probably like an eleven or twelve.
Speaker 1: But this is a different year. It's a strange year.
Speaker 1: I'm trying to put things back together. The Cowboys are
Speaker 1: a real number four team, and I feel good about
Speaker 1: them because the Cowboys of yesteryear and I mean last year,
Speaker 1: and even going back to peak Romo era, it always
Speaker 1: seemed to be built a similar way that they had
Speaker 1: this prolific, high profile offense, and the years when the
Speaker 1: Cowboys were good, that's what everybody was talking about. And
Speaker 1: then the playoffs would come around and either the offense
Speaker 1: would gag a little bit or not be quite as
Speaker 1: good as they were saying early November or in October,
Speaker 1: and then they would find ways to lose in another
Speaker 1: season of disappointment in North Texas. But now this is
Speaker 1: a team with balance, Connie. You have Dak Prescott back
Speaker 1: knocking off the rust and getting the win against the Lions.
Speaker 1: You have a running game that works as a two
Speaker 1: headed monster. It's no longer. There's no more hand twist.
Speaker 1: Handwringing about hand twisting. Also, push your hands around about
Speaker 1: Zeke Elliott know him and Pollard are a good one too.
Speaker 1: They do different things. And then the defense read led
Speaker 1: by Michael Parsons, is elite. That's a well rounded team
Speaker 1: and they are on the Eagles level. They're not ahead
Speaker 1: of the Eagles, but they're not too far behind. No,
Speaker 1: this is a team that's won five of six since
Speaker 1: that dreadful Week one game. But you have three based
Speaker 1: on the record, you have three strong teams in the
Speaker 1: NFC East, and we can get to the other teams
Speaker 1: coming up. I do want to get your thoughts on
Speaker 1: the Giants, but the defense of this Cowboys team is
Speaker 1: what is really scary. And I know you love them
Speaker 1: too because of the Zaddi factor Mike McCarthy like, I
Speaker 1: feel like he kind of plays into that as well.
Speaker 1: But this defense is just such a game changer. Five
Speaker 1: takeaways led to twenty one points in this game. Now
Speaker 1: I did. I was a little disappointed, And maybe that's
Speaker 1: because I expect more of Dak Prescott because I didn't
Speaker 1: see it from him before he was hurt in Week
Speaker 1: one against the Books, and I didn't see what I
Speaker 1: thought I would see against a really bad, struggling Detroit defense.
Speaker 1: Like I wished I saw a little bit more. I
Speaker 1: understand he's coming back from the injury, give him a
Speaker 1: little bit of time, but the offense is still having
Speaker 1: some issues. I need them to work it out, especially
Speaker 1: on third down. But that defense can hold, and especially
Speaker 1: with the running game, they can get it done. That's fair.
Speaker 1: There was a moment in the game, I think about
Speaker 1: twelve minutes to play where Jamal Williams gets the ball
Speaker 1: at the Cowboys one yard line and if he goes
Speaker 1: over the goal line, Detroit's in the lead in Dallas,
Speaker 1: and this whole celebration of Dak being back could have
Speaker 1: been a totally different storyline coming out of that building.
Speaker 1: But Jamal Williams puts it on the ground for the
Speaker 1: first time ever. Cowboys recover and then they end up
Speaker 1: turning five turnovers into one. And that's the recipe. I
Speaker 1: mean they it's Jamal Williams had that ball knocked away,
Speaker 1: Jared Goff had the ball stripped away multiple times through
Speaker 1: multiple turnovers. Because the Cowboys are elite on defense. That
Speaker 1: travels into January and again the top three they're kind
Speaker 1: of in their own class. There's a gap, but the
Speaker 1: Cowboys be careful, Connie, they can close that gap. Listen.
Speaker 1: I'm I'm not too worried. Jordan Lewis, though, by the way,
Speaker 1: he did run into Liz Frank. Um so that Harlot's back, So,
Speaker 1: I I mean, I hate it. And I'm not a
Speaker 1: big Dallas gal, but I hate that. And you're a
Speaker 1: feminist as I. But Liz Harlotte's a woman that we
Speaker 1: don't need. Liz Frank, We don't like her, We want
Speaker 1: her out. Liz Frank stupid. I got the mangles at
Speaker 1: number five. Here's a little victory lap for talk about
Speaker 1: wonderful um I was. I've kept If you check out
Speaker 1: the Cincinnati Bengals in this exercise since week one, even
Speaker 1: when things weren't going well, I kept him in the
Speaker 1: periphery of the top ten, top twelve because two reasons. A,
Speaker 1: not a lot of teams are separating and making me
Speaker 1: have to force the Bengals down. And too, I believed.
Speaker 1: I believed in Joe Burrow and their ability to figure
Speaker 1: some things out. And sure enough, once the offensive line
Speaker 1: made some improvements, Joe Burrow started cooking. And he is
Speaker 1: cooking big time. Three yards in the first half, Connie,
Speaker 1: I can believe that. And and uh, a four hundred
Speaker 1: yard passing game. He was lights out against Atlanta, record
Speaker 1: breaking day for him. He was just locked in. And
Speaker 1: we heard from Zach Taylor after the game talking about, hey,
Speaker 1: like I told you, guys, have some patience. This is
Speaker 1: the known That was a nice little victory lap for
Speaker 1: Taylor exactly, and he was right. And I wonder if
Speaker 1: we can continue to see this type of production from
Speaker 1: Tyler Boyd because he had a huge game, a career
Speaker 1: high one and fifty five receiving yards on eight catches,
Speaker 1: just a massive first quarter from him. And it's just
Speaker 1: really interesting to me that in an offense that has
Speaker 1: Jamaar Chase and Tie Higgins that Tyler Boyd can also
Speaker 1: stand out, like when they are playing like this, they
Speaker 1: really do look like the team that ended last season.
Speaker 1: Tay Boyd's legit and um Te Higgins is as good
Speaker 1: as any number two receiver in the league. And Jamaar
Speaker 1: Chase kind of challenged him on on the power rankings.
Speaker 1: That's what I connected to a couple of weeks ago.
Speaker 1: Zach Taylor like, pop the hood and figure out how
Speaker 1: to get Jamar Chase, the big time playmaker back. And
Speaker 1: he's been the dude that we saw last year when
Speaker 1: he took over the league the last two weeks. So
Speaker 1: you add it all up. Oh, by the way, Cincinnati
Speaker 1: hasn't given up a second half touchdown. Yeah, I think
Speaker 1: that's right. I'm kind of trying to make sure I'm
Speaker 1: right about this. Maybe our producer behind the last glass,
Speaker 1: young Kelly, can double check on that. Put him to work.
Speaker 1: But I don't think they've given up a touchdown in
Speaker 1: the second half. So the defense is better. And Zach
Speaker 1: Taylor is kind of a target of derision on football Twitter,
Speaker 1: especially the scholarly set on Twitter, people that study the
Speaker 1: game and decide who's good and who's bad. Zach Taylor
Speaker 1: sometimes that's appointed to it. Oh, he's actually not good,
Speaker 1: even though his team went to the Super Bowl last year. Um,
Speaker 1: and when they get off to the slow start, Zach
Speaker 1: Taylor is the problem here, Like he said, just you
Speaker 1: gotta be patient. You gotta be patient. And what they've
Speaker 1: been able to do once the offensive line got some
Speaker 1: things ironed out, they're using a spread offense attack and
Speaker 1: with that personnel and that quarterback, and we get Monday
Speaker 1: night football with them, we get a primetime game on Halloween,
Speaker 1: a division game too. Around Sean Kelly, I am correct,
Speaker 1: I'm being told. Were you just telling yourself that you
Speaker 1: were correct? No, I am correct. The the Bengals have
Speaker 1: not given up a touchdown in the second half. Let's
Speaker 1: move to Quadrant two. The Tennessee Titans, speaking of, have
Speaker 1: some patients and a dog poop division. They've now won
Speaker 1: four and two and are in total control. Up five
Speaker 1: spots the nine my Jets, My Jets to New York
Speaker 1: teams in the top ten for the first time since
Speaker 1: I don't know the power rankings back then, I'm almost
Speaker 1: certainly not. Got the Rams up one spot to eleven
Speaker 1: on the by the Niners, down a spot to twelve
Speaker 1: after that thumping to the Chiefs. The Raiders up three
Speaker 1: to number thirteen. That's another team I've kind of hung with,
Speaker 1: and hopefully they don't make me look bad. The Dolphins
Speaker 1: up nine spots with two of back in the lineup
Speaker 1: to fourteen. The Seahawks up five after another really good
Speaker 1: performance by their defense to fifteen, and then the Chargers
Speaker 1: a big dip down six spots. Where do you want
Speaker 1: to start here, Connie? So the Titans are good. I
Speaker 1: was kind of fighting it all season, and I think
Speaker 1: they were sort of in a way too. But now
Speaker 1: they're on this four game winning streak and I'm starting
Speaker 1: to believe their only losses are to the Giants and
Speaker 1: the Bills. Sweeping the Colts at this point doesn't look
Speaker 1: that impressive. I kept trying to make the Colts a thing.
Speaker 1: They're not a thing. It's not gonna that is not
Speaker 1: gonna happen. The Cults are not gonna happen. So the
Speaker 1: a f C South bowe it's not great. So, I mean,
Speaker 1: this is a situation where the Titans are on a roll.
Speaker 1: They're able to run the ball with uh with Derrick
Speaker 1: Henry and obviously this defensive front was living in this
Speaker 1: game against the Colts. Yeah, and they inadvertent, I mean,
Speaker 1: what a few what a Week four I believe was
Speaker 1: their first matchup against the Colts, beat them, then they
Speaker 1: sweep them uh in week seven and inadvertently and the
Speaker 1: Matt Ryan era short as it was, uh and show
Speaker 1: the limitations of having a statue quarterback in the league
Speaker 1: right now because Ryan had no ability to get away
Speaker 1: led to the Andrew Adams pick six that really changed
Speaker 1: this game. And yeah, I think the Titans. There's no
Speaker 1: sizzle really with the Titans. But this is what I
Speaker 1: like about Tennessee. Uh, their battle tested, they're well coached,
Speaker 1: they have a quarterback who keeps things under control. Derrick
Speaker 1: Henry is still very much the big dog. And in
Speaker 1: the league the way the league is this year, where
Speaker 1: there's so much the middle class is so huge, like
Speaker 1: what's happening with the Giants. A team that can run
Speaker 1: the football, that's well coached, that can win close games,
Speaker 1: you're gonna to look up in January and they're gonna
Speaker 1: be eleven and six or twelve and five, and they
Speaker 1: might even have the first seed in the a f
Speaker 1: c or Um. Certainly home game in the playoffs. So
Speaker 1: love it or hate it, you're gonna see Tennessee in
Speaker 1: the playoffs again because they know how to win. This
Speaker 1: is what they do. The Winds. They aren't pretty, they're ugly.
Speaker 1: They need more offense on rhythm for sure. Or wait,
Speaker 1: they need more rhythm on offense either. I don't know
Speaker 1: if you know this about me. I am dyslexic and
Speaker 1: I've been working through it for my entire life. We're
Speaker 1: all very proud of you, Thank you, thank you. Um
Speaker 1: I will say I wonder about Ryan Tannehill's ankle. He's
Speaker 1: progressing through that got banged up in the game, so
Speaker 1: that is just something to watch. But their next five
Speaker 1: games include games against the Chiefs, the Packers, which well,
Speaker 1: I guess that doesn't matter anymore, and the Bengals, though,
Speaker 1: who are back certified into the top five number five.
Speaker 1: I trust. I trust the Bengals at this point. But
Speaker 1: anyone that looks ahead at the schedule right now and
Speaker 1: is saying things like oh man, tough schedule ahead or
Speaker 1: even easy schedule head, it's not very easy to do
Speaker 1: that when teams are kind of the same. But the
Speaker 1: Chiefs and Bengals are good teams. Yes, it's time now.
Speaker 1: Do you want to get into a little should we
Speaker 1: do it? Let's do it power moves presented by Energizer.
Speaker 1: Let's talk about my New York Jets. So, yes, they're
Speaker 1: up three spots to number ten. Look where they were
Speaker 1: a month ago, number thirty one week after week four,
Speaker 1: up to twenty six after week five, up to seventeen
Speaker 1: after week six, up to thirteen after week seven. And yes,
Speaker 1: now they have cracked the top ten. Certainly the first
Speaker 1: time since I've been doing this, Connie, Uh, it's been
Speaker 1: a meteorc rise. And again in this giant middle class,
Speaker 1: you can make you can make a quick rise, especially
Speaker 1: when win four games in a row. I'm a little worried.
Speaker 1: I'm a little worried for you that you have them
Speaker 1: in the top ten. Do you disagree? No, I think
Speaker 1: that they're I mean, I don't know. I think that
Speaker 1: they've had some really good wins. I like the way
Speaker 1: that they're they're running the ball. But obviously, with Breeze
Speaker 1: Hall getting hurt, I don't know how much James Robinson
Speaker 1: is going to be able to replace that production. I
Speaker 1: think that I love the trade and I love what
Speaker 1: Joe Douglas has done. Robinson was excellent two years ago.
Speaker 1: Um had over a thousand yards seven touchdowns. But he's
Speaker 1: a high volume back too, so you could use him
Speaker 1: as a one to punch with Michael Carter. But I
Speaker 1: just worry that you're setting yourself up here to be
Speaker 1: disappointed when you have to drop them, Like maybe maybe
Speaker 1: just be a little bit more concerned, maybe just bump
Speaker 1: them up one and then all of a sudden you're
Speaker 1: just like raising them up. But your logic makes sense,
Speaker 1: But that is not my duty. Is the powerings guy
Speaker 1: I'm looking out for. Keep it real. I know it's
Speaker 1: a friend you're looking out for me, and that I respect.
Speaker 1: The Breeze Hall injury is absolutely brutal. A few plays earlier,
Speaker 1: he breaks off a sixty two yard touchdown run against
Speaker 1: the Broncos and his top speed was about twenty one
Speaker 1: point seven five miles per hour at the moment, was
Speaker 1: the fastest run by running back all season. He literally
Speaker 1: looked like Barry Sanders shooting down the sideline and I
Speaker 1: raced a Twitter and I, oh my god, Breeze Hall
Speaker 1: is a star as he's running down the field. Elijah
Speaker 1: vera Tucker, the Jets do it all um, rising star
Speaker 1: offensive lineman is sprinting down the field and is the
Speaker 1: first one to meet him in the end zone. And
Speaker 1: by the end of that half, both of those guys
Speaker 1: suffered season ending injuries. Um. And to me, I think
Speaker 1: it kind of ends for me the why not Us
Speaker 1: portion of the proceedings for the Jets, which stinks as
Speaker 1: a Jets fan, because all you wanna do is have
Speaker 1: a special season like Cincinnati had or Philly a few
Speaker 1: years ago. Um, I don't think that happened now because
Speaker 1: at Breeze Hall was the center, central point of that offense.
Speaker 1: He was the superstar guy he could. He has that
Speaker 1: potential to be an instant superstar, and hopefully he will
Speaker 1: be next year you take him out. James Robinson is
Speaker 1: just a guy. I think he was a nice pickup
Speaker 1: by Joe Douglas. I think Michael Carter end up seeing
Speaker 1: more work in that backfield. But Vera Tucker is a
Speaker 1: guy that had played guard, left tackle, right tackle and
Speaker 1: done him all well. So you have to now replace him,
Speaker 1: and I think it just puts a little bit of
Speaker 1: a cap on the season. I'm gandman being quietly, why
Speaker 1: not us too? All right, let's see if we could
Speaker 1: squeeze out four or five more wins, maybe end the
Speaker 1: playoff drought, and then if Zach Wilson shows some growth,
Speaker 1: the season is a success. But that's frustrating because Jets
Speaker 1: fans deserved the chance to just dream through this month
Speaker 1: and into November and December. I feel like it was
Speaker 1: a bit of a reality check. I disagree, though, because
Speaker 1: I think that James Robinson has a high ceiling because
Speaker 1: we've seen it before and he had no control over
Speaker 1: Travis e t n coming in and being a star
Speaker 1: for Jacksonville, and the fact that you just mentioned how
Speaker 1: large of the middle classes in the NFL, like there
Speaker 1: are not very many good teams, and the Jets could
Speaker 1: continue to build on this, and yeah, James Robinson is
Speaker 1: not going to be Breece Hall, but he might be
Speaker 1: able to fill some of that production. And I think
Speaker 1: that Brian day Ball is uh, I'm sorry, Robert Sala,
Speaker 1: I'm getting the New York there. I think that Robert
Speaker 1: Sala and Colleen just come out. There's a seventy four
Speaker 1: year old grandmother that lives within Colleen that comes out
Speaker 1: at any moment, just like, hello, what are you guys
Speaker 1: doing out here. Um, I just think that that the
Speaker 1: offense they might be able to scheme it up and
Speaker 1: might be able to get I hope you're right, but
Speaker 1: maybe that is me protecting myself, knowing full well how
Speaker 1: much the team means to me. Number thirteen, let's head
Speaker 1: to the twilight zone where the Las Vegas Raiders Connie
Speaker 1: Um move up three spots with their win over the Texans.
Speaker 1: And you know, no one's gonna be throwing bouquets at
Speaker 1: the feet of any team for beating Houston. But at
Speaker 1: the same time, I thought it was nice to see
Speaker 1: them get a win after all those painful losses coming
Speaker 1: out of there by, and with a soft schedule ahead,
Speaker 1: or what seems like a soft schedule, you might start
Speaker 1: stacking some wins here and really get back into the race.
Speaker 1: They needed this game. I mean, if they lost this game,
Speaker 1: they would have been dropped to what where would you
Speaker 1: have dropped them? If they got beat by the Texans,
Speaker 1: they'd be probably around Okay. So this is a massive difference.
Speaker 1: It's about a ten spot swing. But I thought that
Speaker 1: this was a big step for them. That Derek Carr
Speaker 1: he looked efficient in this game. Josh Jacobs go off
Speaker 1: he has like the lifetime it's about for this entire offense.
Speaker 1: I I just loved that they declined his fifth year
Speaker 1: option and he's like, okay, yeah, no problem. Watch me.
Speaker 1: Watch what I do. A hundred and forty three rushing
Speaker 1: yards on twenty carries, three touchdowns. I love this. He
Speaker 1: joined Marcus Allen with his fifth career game with one
Speaker 1: hundred rushing yards and multiple touchdowns. Like, this is a
Speaker 1: guy who you can build around if he is producing
Speaker 1: at this level. Now, their next six games, they have
Speaker 1: the Saints, the Jags, the Colts, the Broncos, the Seahawks,
Speaker 1: the Chargers. I mean, as you just said, I know
Speaker 1: you said it's not great to look ahead at the schedule,
Speaker 1: but these are are winnow. A lot of these are
Speaker 1: winnable games. It's a soft schedule, so they could be
Speaker 1: moving up all right, Where else do we want to
Speaker 1: go on this quadrant? You want to go to the Dolphins.
Speaker 1: They stopped the bleeding, which was nice, and after three
Speaker 1: game losing streak. I was happy about that that the defense,
Speaker 1: they were opportunistic, came into the game with only one
Speaker 1: interception and then they left with three. That was nice.
Speaker 1: I'm still not I'm not. I've never been sold onto
Speaker 1: and I'm still not sold on. I'm happy he got
Speaker 1: through this game healthy. Not so happy he like put
Speaker 1: his shoulder down on some that why can't slide? I know,
Speaker 1: I don't know, it's one of those things. But he
Speaker 1: also very nearly could have thrown five interceptions in this guy.
Speaker 1: I mean that's and that's not like me just thrown
Speaker 1: out a number. Watch this game. He threw one and
Speaker 1: there were four more that were very catchable. So he
Speaker 1: needs to be better. And you know, you don't throw
Speaker 1: it out, but you separate that Ravens come back where
Speaker 1: they just were unstoppable in the fourth quarter. This team
Speaker 1: score is like sixteen to twenty one points every week. Yeah, well,
Speaker 1: for me, I was just so surprised that Tua came
Speaker 1: out and looked really good at first, like the ball
Speaker 1: was coming out quickly, he was connecting with his receivers,
Speaker 1: and then all of a sudden it just fell off
Speaker 1: and the timing was off. Everything everything looked off with
Speaker 1: the offense and general he just looked really rusty. So
Speaker 1: I don't know with all of those would be picks,
Speaker 1: you just have to think that, like Pittsburgh, if they
Speaker 1: could have just caught a couple of those, they would
Speaker 1: have won this game. Yeah, and I they did jump
Speaker 1: up nine spots because I kind of had that they're
Speaker 1: kind of existing spots they went up. Yeah, they were
Speaker 1: kind of existing in purgatory with two out, and now
Speaker 1: that he's back and they gotta win. They are absolutely
Speaker 1: in the mix there in that playoff the group of
Speaker 1: teams that are on the playoff fringe. So but I
Speaker 1: do need to see more from the offense. Here's the
Speaker 1: good news for them. They get the Lions next week.
Speaker 1: I like their chances there. Finally, talking about the Seahawks
Speaker 1: they're at I'm kind of into the sea. Should have
Speaker 1: put the Seahawks higher. I think you should have put
Speaker 1: them above the Dolphins. I feel like moving the Dolphins
Speaker 1: up nine spots is aggressive for a team that you're
Speaker 1: not that sold on, and perhaps you like I can
Speaker 1: tell that you like the Seahawks and you're not wrong.
Speaker 1: They could maybe make a run, which I would have
Speaker 1: told you you were absolutely insane if you told me
Speaker 1: that in the off season with Gino Smith leading the show.
Speaker 1: But I don't, I don't know. This is this is
Speaker 1: they're in sole possession of first place in the nfcust
Speaker 1: did not see that. Did not see that coming. You're
Speaker 1: a liar if you did. And I think the offense, obviously,
Speaker 1: I think is one of the biggest surprises in the
Speaker 1: league this year. Gino has played well almost every week.
Speaker 1: Rashad Penny was a breakout dude, and then he suffers
Speaker 1: a season ending injury. Then Kenneth Walker steps up and
Speaker 1: he has been playing big time, a hundred and sixty
Speaker 1: eight yards on the ground. But I think the reason
Speaker 1: why they're jumping five spots here, um is because the defense,
Speaker 1: which it had been as bad as any in the
Speaker 1: league this side of Detroit UH entering week seven, excuse
Speaker 1: me entering week six, has now delivered back to back
Speaker 1: good performances um, which makes me think maybe they've turned
Speaker 1: the corner on that end of the ball with Pete Carroll.
Speaker 1: And then you have a team again in a wide
Speaker 1: open league. Yeah, why why couldn't Seattle win ten games
Speaker 1: this year? You know, I'm really interested in their game
Speaker 1: next week against the Giants, And you mentioned the Seahawks defense.
Speaker 1: They had three sacks, two takeaways in this game and
Speaker 1: the fact that DK metcalf he went down a little
Speaker 1: worried about that. I don't think it is as serious
Speaker 1: it's as some people. It's not going to be a
Speaker 1: surgery situation. They're saying that it's not clear how long
Speaker 1: DK will be out. But they were able to get
Speaker 1: Marquis Goodwin involved in this game four catches, two of
Speaker 1: them were touchdowns, and that one on third and fifteen.
Speaker 1: I mean, it is his first touchdown of the season.
Speaker 1: It was beautiful, and then he had another one after that.
Speaker 1: So it was just nice to see them be able
Speaker 1: to replace the production from DK. All right, two quadrants down,
Speaker 1: two to go. We're gonna take a break and we'll
Speaker 1: dive into the rest of the power rankings. Stay right there,
Speaker 1: all right, we're back. Let's check out Quadrant three. The
Speaker 1: Patriots to a tough one on Monday Night football. But
Speaker 1: I keep the faith. I keep him at seventeen because
Speaker 1: everything else beneath them not doing it for me at eighteen.
Speaker 1: Got the Bucks down nine spots, the Packers down four
Speaker 1: after another disappointing performance by their offense to nineteen. The
Speaker 1: Cards at twenty up six spots after their Thursday night showing.
Speaker 1: The Saints after their Thursday night showing down to twenty one,
Speaker 1: the Falcons down four to the Bears up six to three,
Speaker 1: and the Steelers down to four. Where should we start here?
Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure I want to start right at the
Speaker 1: top of that quadrant. The Patriots. They lose the game
Speaker 1: in primetime, everyone's watching, and you don't drop them. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and um, you know sometimes you wake up in the
Speaker 1: morning and you have you think you stuff that I
Speaker 1: get that one quite quite right. Yeah, I got it
Speaker 1: right totally. You feel you feel really good about it,
Speaker 1: great about it. Definitely crossed. The Patriots had a really
Speaker 1: bad night, but they looked really good leading up to
Speaker 1: Monday night. And I think Bill not that I would
Speaker 1: ever challenge the genius of Bill Belichick, but but I
Speaker 1: think he kind of opened up a can of worms
Speaker 1: that should have just stayed on the shelf here with
Speaker 1: how he's handling his quarterbacks, giving mac Jones three possessions, uh,
Speaker 1: and then pulling him in favor of Billy's appy. It
Speaker 1: was almost like Bill was like affected by the crowd
Speaker 1: and how they were reacting to the situation of Foxborough,
Speaker 1: which I would have never guess. It was just so
Speaker 1: shocking to see because that is so not Bill Belichick.
Speaker 1: Style at all is Bill Okay? It just feels like
Speaker 1: from the beginning of the season there was this like
Speaker 1: wishy washy, who is going to be calling plays? Is
Speaker 1: going to be this guy or this guy? And with
Speaker 1: the quarterback though, this is bizarre, the fact that you
Speaker 1: pull mac Jones after three drives in the interception And yes,
Speaker 1: Bailey Zappy provided a spark when he first went in,
Speaker 1: but then it all fell apart in the second half,
Speaker 1: so kind of blew up in his face. Yeah, and
Speaker 1: I think Bill deserves and by Bill, we mean Bill
Speaker 1: Belichick with this guy that we've never met. But have
Speaker 1: you met Bill belchck? I have, But just like through
Speaker 1: very very what were the dinner parties, Like, oh my god,
Speaker 1: come on, like me and Bill, we go way back.
Speaker 1: He's like my uncle, actually his family. I think he
Speaker 1: has a ton. He deserves a ton of credit for
Speaker 1: getting this show on the road, figuring out the new
Speaker 1: offense with his coaching staff. But this one struck me
Speaker 1: as odd. Odd that the reports that came out that
Speaker 1: his plan was to use both quarterbacks like it was
Speaker 1: or something he said at half time he was going
Speaker 1: to use both in the second half, and he only
Speaker 1: us one right, and it just it struck me as odd,
Speaker 1: and it makes me think there's more going on here
Speaker 1: than we realized, potentially connected to Mac Jones. So this
Speaker 1: is just something to the track, and you know you're
Speaker 1: not gonna get anything out of Bill or anyone else
Speaker 1: in that building had a fear for retribution or death.
Speaker 1: So we just have to see how it plays out
Speaker 1: on the field. But that was a very odd, very
Speaker 1: strange Monday night. It felt very knee jerk and I
Speaker 1: just was wondering, maybe Mac Jones needs more time with
Speaker 1: the ankles rain, like maybe there's something going on and
Speaker 1: we're just not aware of. But the fact that the
Speaker 1: Patriots defense also didn't show up last night, that was
Speaker 1: another thing. Well the obviously this is where I'm gonna
Speaker 1: turn into the Bears a little bit, because yes, New
Speaker 1: England's d uh struggled in this game, especially against the run,
Speaker 1: especially on third down. But I want to credit the Bears.
Speaker 1: I mean, they're they're starting to resemble a football team
Speaker 1: and they're making the rise. They're up six spots from
Speaker 1: from twenty nine. And just like we were talking about
Speaker 1: with the Jets, you may say, oh, come on, did
Speaker 1: you see the way they played put them up into
Speaker 1: number fifteen. You have to have a little patience in
Speaker 1: the power rings game. You need to see a team
Speaker 1: really start to stack performances and they will rise quickly.
Speaker 1: So I'm really interested to see what happens. Do you
Speaker 1: think the Falcons are a better team than the Bears
Speaker 1: overall they have been on in Week seven one sample? No,
Speaker 1: certainly not. But it's it's more it's big picture and
Speaker 1: little picture combined. It's nebulos, as Michael Scott would say.
Speaker 1: But Justin Fields making plays both of his legs and
Speaker 1: his arm and looking more comfortable. Still gets hit way
Speaker 1: too much and takes too many unnecessary shots. But otherwise,
Speaker 1: if you're a Bears fan, you're feeling pretty good. Well,
Speaker 1: they snapped a three game losing streak, and this is
Speaker 1: exactly how Justin Fields should look. This is the game,
Speaker 1: this is the skill set that is his that they
Speaker 1: should work around it. It felt like this game they
Speaker 1: kind of threw everything away and stopped overthinking it and
Speaker 1: let Justin Fields play the way that he should play
Speaker 1: and that he was meant to play, and that's the
Speaker 1: way that the offense works. Like I do agree that
Speaker 1: he's taking way too many hits. But I just think overall,
Speaker 1: this is the way that we should go forward, that
Speaker 1: they should go forward the Bears and try and build
Speaker 1: the offense around him. They have ten more games to
Speaker 1: evaluate what they have in him, and this was a
Speaker 1: nice start because if they can build off of this,
Speaker 1: maybe he stays in place for the future and the
Speaker 1: rebuild doesn't have to take his law. I'm totally on board.
Speaker 1: I'm I'm on board with Justin Fields, and they need
Speaker 1: to continue to develop him and not make this like
Speaker 1: a get better or else here. I think he's already
Speaker 1: shown to me there's enough there to work with, and
Speaker 1: his ability to make plays and scramble and pick up
Speaker 1: huge yards is stuff that you know you see more
Speaker 1: and more in the NFL now. You look at the Bucks,
Speaker 1: a team that we have um at eighteen now, and
Speaker 1: I never would have thought that this would be the
Speaker 1: such a conversation we'd be having at the end of October.
Speaker 1: They're down nine spots and Tom Brady, the opposite of
Speaker 1: Justin Fields, can't move. He can move around in the pocket,
Speaker 1: but can't scramble and pick up those extra yards. So
Speaker 1: when there's issues with a passing game as there have
Speaker 1: been all season in Tampa. He doesn't have that to
Speaker 1: fall back on, and I think that's a huge difference
Speaker 1: between Brady, Matt Ryan, these type of guys in the
Speaker 1: league and the younger players that can move. Man. I
Speaker 1: just I can't get the play the wide open Mike
Speaker 1: Evans dropped out of my head. And then after that
Speaker 1: when Brady way over him. There was a bounce pass
Speaker 1: at one point that Brady through just like into the
Speaker 1: dirt way in front of I think it was Mike Evans.
Speaker 1: Was just the fact that Brady wasn't able to connect
Speaker 1: with Evans, Godwin and then Russell Gauge in the end zone.
Speaker 1: It was three straight incomplete passes right there within ten yards.
Speaker 1: Like this was such a bad, bad showing for the Bucks,
Speaker 1: especially against the team that just fired their head coach
Speaker 1: and just shipped off two players, one of them being
Speaker 1: their absolute superstar and Christian McCaffrey doesn't want to run
Speaker 1: the ball. It was so weird. The league doesn't make
Speaker 1: any sense, and you know, it's destabilizing to see Tom
Speaker 1: Brady and the Bucks struggle the way they have. It's
Speaker 1: destabilizing to see Aaron Rodgers and the Packers be unable
Speaker 1: to figure things out. I got them down four spots
Speaker 1: to nineteen UM and it's just not getting better. And
Speaker 1: I don't understand, and it's not gonna with the Bills
Speaker 1: coming up. I just don't understand their philosophy on offense
Speaker 1: because they don't have the dudes to be a high
Speaker 1: impact passing offense. They just don't like there. It's not
Speaker 1: there right now. But you still have these two really good,
Speaker 1: maybe great running backs, and time and time again, they
Speaker 1: just there's something going on with Matt Lafore he refuses
Speaker 1: to establish a run. He won't drive this offense to
Speaker 1: the running game. Why not? It is so it's afraid
Speaker 1: of Rodgers, that is your strong point. But you would
Speaker 1: think that Aaron Rodgers just wants to in And I mean,
Speaker 1: I guess maybe it's an ego, but I see, I don't.
Speaker 1: I was careful not to to say that, because it's
Speaker 1: like that's the only are not making this running the
Speaker 1: offense through the Russian game at a deference or or
Speaker 1: fear or intimidation with Aaron Rodgers because he's such a
Speaker 1: massive figure in that organization at this point. I don't
Speaker 1: think that's what it is necessarily, but It certainly is
Speaker 1: strange that they have not been able to shift gears
Speaker 1: and really drive the offense, even Haron Jones. How many
Speaker 1: times have we looked at the box score at the
Speaker 1: end of these games and you have Aaron Jones, UM
Speaker 1: not getting more than ten twelve cars doesn't make any sense.
Speaker 1: And A J. Dillon, one of the great thumpers in
Speaker 1: the league. On these third and fourth in shorts, they're
Speaker 1: throwing the ball to Romeo Dobbs and whoever else and
Speaker 1: you're not getting the results. It's they're frustrating. They have
Speaker 1: losses to the Giants, the Jets, the Commanders, and now
Speaker 1: they're facing the most explosive offense in the league that
Speaker 1: are coming off of by in the Buffalo Bills in
Speaker 1: prime time. That's just such a recipe for an absolute
Speaker 1: blow up. Okay, here's the thing, not a blow up,
Speaker 1: a blow up, blow up, blow up. I think we
Speaker 1: could get a spicy Aaron Rodgers performance in that I
Speaker 1: want that to happen, Um, but he needs help. So
Speaker 1: that's me kind of just saying Aaron Rodgers is awesome,
Speaker 1: so everything will be okay. And that worked more when
Speaker 1: Davante Adams was around. UM, but his the reigning back
Speaker 1: to back m v P playing in prime time against
Speaker 1: the cream of the crop in our league. Okay, maybe Gooty,
Speaker 1: maybe Goody makes a call, maybe makes a call, take
Speaker 1: us to take us the quadrant fork? Shall we Okay?
Speaker 1: Here we go? Is it kind of wrong that I
Speaker 1: would like to lop off the back end of these
Speaker 1: power rankings and just tell them to like go home
Speaker 1: for the season and prepare for next year because some
Speaker 1: of these games, like they're just it's teams. This is
Speaker 1: your first year on the power rankings. Beat you think
Speaker 1: it's dark, now wait until the center. All right, the Colts,
Speaker 1: it's dark in Indianapolis, Matt Ryan had been, Oh, yeah, wait,
Speaker 1: do you want me to go through? Yeah? I teed
Speaker 1: you up perfectly. And then it's almost like I'm distracted.
Speaker 1: Let's go to twenty five. Here, you got the place
Speaker 1: they sat there? The Colts moved down five spots there
Speaker 1: at twenty six, the Broncos at twenty seven, down three,
Speaker 1: the Commanders, a, oh my goodness. At nine, you have
Speaker 1: the Jags down to the Panthers only up two spots
Speaker 1: to thirty. The Lions are poor Lions down three to
Speaker 1: thirty one, and then the Texans down another spot thirty two.
Speaker 1: Remember when we did the Hard Knocks podcast, Colleen and
Speaker 1: those great times we had together and Jamal Williams was
Speaker 1: the happy, go lucky dude putting the ball on the
Speaker 1: carpet there with a chance to take the lead in
Speaker 1: Geral World in the fourth quarter. That that was pain.
Speaker 1: Where should we start here? Let's start with the Colts.
Speaker 1: I think because Matt Ryan, the fact that he was
Speaker 1: coming off his best game as a cult again the
Speaker 1: Jags in Week six and then shows up here and
Speaker 1: it's just NonStop picks and now he's benched for the season,
Speaker 1: and I kind of can't believe it, like for the
Speaker 1: entire season. To me, that feels like a desperation move.
Speaker 1: And I guess they needed it after being swept now
Speaker 1: by the Titans. But like Jonathan Taylor only got ten
Speaker 1: carries in this game, Like it didn't matter that Jonathan
Speaker 1: Taylor and Nahim Hines were back, they still lost. Their
Speaker 1: offensive line is still bad. It's not totally Matt Ryan's fault,
Speaker 1: but he's obviously not helping them. And so now they're
Speaker 1: going to go forward with Sam Ellinger. How does that
Speaker 1: make sense? I don't know, I don't know, make it
Speaker 1: makes sense. Well, here's the thing, like you follow the
Speaker 1: bread crumbs on some of these things, and you just
Speaker 1: wonder who's who's calling the shots, um, because they invested
Speaker 1: a lot of resources to get Matt Ryan in the building.
Speaker 1: He's coming off that game where he really played well
Speaker 1: when they had to pass the ball constantly and they won,
Speaker 1: they won in a come back, and then he has
Speaker 1: a bad game, looks old again, looks overmatched against the
Speaker 1: division rival, a very frustrating loss, and then all of
Speaker 1: a sudden he's gone. And you just like you want
Speaker 1: to follow the red crumbs, and you you it might
Speaker 1: be going all the way up to the owner's door.
Speaker 1: And when you get into that situation where there's a frustrated,
Speaker 1: angry owner and we know this is the case because
Speaker 1: you remember how last season ended and the reporting that
Speaker 1: was out there after they blew their season with Carson
Speaker 1: Wentz against the UH Jaguar is the worst team in
Speaker 1: the league. Jim Rsey summoned everyone, the decision makers, the
Speaker 1: coach at GM to his office like at midnight the
Speaker 1: night of the eight team collapse, and and Carson Wentz
Speaker 1: was gone in short order and then they went and
Speaker 1: got Matt Ryan. And now my point being, Frank Reich
Speaker 1: Chris Ballard are in very shaky ground and this just
Speaker 1: feels like an organization that is in desperation mode. Is
Speaker 1: they continued fine look for the Andrew Luck replacement. It
Speaker 1: just it doesn't make any sense to me based on
Speaker 1: last year. Before the that two game collapse at the
Speaker 1: end of the season, they looked like superstars. They looked
Speaker 1: like the team that no one wanted to face in
Speaker 1: the playoffs. I remember one of the Thursday night games,
Speaker 1: Jonathan Taylor just went off. He was having an incredible
Speaker 1: season last year, and now this team doesn't even resemble
Speaker 1: that team from last season. Uh. Speaking of wins Gon
Speaker 1: and Indy, maybe gone in Washington because Taylor heineke Um
Speaker 1: played some hero ball down the stretch and a win
Speaker 1: for the Commanders. Yeah, I only jumped him up two
Speaker 1: spots because I'm not really buying in necessarily even against
Speaker 1: the Packers who are named brand Victory. But we know
Speaker 1: where the Packers are as a team right now. Um.
Speaker 1: But I really want to give just some love to
Speaker 1: Terry McLaren. Yeah, he doesn't fill up the box score
Speaker 1: because his team doesn't allow him to do so. But
Speaker 1: if you put McLaren on a team that had a
Speaker 1: higher functioning quarterback slash offense, I I'm convinced he'd have
Speaker 1: some of the best stats in the league. He's a
Speaker 1: stud and he saw it. He won that game with
Speaker 1: Heineke late. He actually plays well with Taylor Heineke. And
Speaker 1: this is what I mentioned on the Around the NFL
Speaker 1: podcast last week that maybe they could be a little
Speaker 1: spicy with Taylor in the mix, and maybe Terry McLaurin
Speaker 1: would be a little scary. I said it last week.
Speaker 1: Connie got it right. Oh no, but this was a
Speaker 1: huge second half. Connie has done it again. She is back.
Speaker 1: Who bird watching? I have been bird watching. There was
Speaker 1: an oriole in my backyard the other day. Fascinating. It
Speaker 1: was one more team, let's talk one more team. Let's
Speaker 1: do the Panthers. Are they back in the division race
Speaker 1: after one win? At two and five? They could be
Speaker 1: That division is no good? Is that division full of bumps?
Speaker 1: That's God's division? Uh? Yeah? I thought that was just
Speaker 1: a nice win for Steve Wilkes, who everyone in that
Speaker 1: organization and above him and many of the coaches perhaps
Speaker 1: and players even are turning the page and looking ahead
Speaker 1: to three. So to lose Christian McCaffrey in a trade
Speaker 1: and then rip off a hundred and seventy six yards
Speaker 1: on the ground to upset Tom Brady and the Bucks
Speaker 1: that had to feel nice. I'm not gonna go crazy
Speaker 1: about what it means for the two. They're built very
Speaker 1: much too. Let's face it, they're engineered right now to
Speaker 1: lose many games and have a top three pick. But
Speaker 1: these guys are players that are competing and want to
Speaker 1: feel good about themselves. So good good for the Panthers.
Speaker 1: I was surprised how well they ran the ball, and
Speaker 1: I'm wondering if p J Walker remains the starter. Sure
Speaker 1: why not? I mean this is a very much like
Speaker 1: to my point of developmental season. You know, Bakers not
Speaker 1: the dude. Sam Donald had his chance last year. So
Speaker 1: as long as p J Walker shows himself to be
Speaker 1: a guy that can move the chains and and run
Speaker 1: the offense proficiently, just ride with him. I don't think
Speaker 1: any There's almost nothing that p J. Walker can do
Speaker 1: short of turning into the next Geno Smith, which is
Speaker 1: a weird sense, but that's two that would keep him
Speaker 1: in the plans as the start of going forward. But
Speaker 1: because I think Caroline is going to draft a quarterback
Speaker 1: next year, no matter what, early in that draft, but
Speaker 1: he's definitely earns a place on that roster if he
Speaker 1: gives us something here. Okay, just out of curiosity before
Speaker 1: we say goodbye, I do want to know out of
Speaker 1: the rankings this week, which team did you have the
Speaker 1: most difficult time landing in a spot? Which team moved
Speaker 1: around the most before you finally yes, yes, yes you
Speaker 1: have one. Maybe you didn't, maybe I did, maybe I didn't.
Speaker 1: Let's go with you know. It was the Jets actually
Speaker 1: really because the Jets um have one enough lately to
Speaker 1: warrant that top ten bump. But it was so crushing, Uh,
Speaker 1: the injuries and what that means to the long term future.
Speaker 1: And then all of a sudden, James Robinson in the
Speaker 1: middle of the writing process of the Power rankings, which
Speaker 1: you can get at NFL dot com, Uh, he's added
Speaker 1: to the team and you have to calibrate that. So
Speaker 1: they were kind of jump in between ten and like
Speaker 1: fourteen throughout the Monday writing process. So there's your answer. Well,
Speaker 1: I think you nailed it. Great job this week, hopefully
Speaker 1: We'll get some more answers and some more trends as
Speaker 1: we continue on. Yes, and thank you. Did I hit
Speaker 1: your face? No? But now I'm ripping up your rankings.
Speaker 1: Thank you to everybody for watching. We We'll be back
Speaker 1: next Tuesday, and check out the Power Rankings podcast obviously,
Speaker 1: where have you get your podcasts? And Connie check her
Speaker 1: on NFL Network and around the NFL podcast every Tuesday.
Speaker 1: That's it Tell next Tuesday, Heat the Call. NFL Power
Speaker 1: Rankings as a production of the NFL in partnership with
Speaker 1: I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my Heart Radio,
Speaker 1: visit the i Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
Speaker 1: you get your podcasts.