1. Indianapolis Colts, 4-0 (Last week: No. 1): If you didn't get to see it, try to catch a replay of the 4th quarter of the Colts-Jets game. On the road, facing off with an aroused, angry New York team, Peyton Manning led his Colts on two late drives to reclaim the lead, then finished it off by bulling his way over the goal line. Everybody runs on these guys right now, because their interior line is nicked up. They're not a complete team, but they don't need to be.
2. Chicago Bears, 4-0 (Last week, No. 3): The Bears beat the defending NFC Champs 37-6, and the game was never that close. That's what we call a "statement game." Madden started the broadcast talking about Rex Grossman in "show-me" terms and wound up comparing Rex to his boyfriend, Brett Favre. DT Tommie Harris is making a case for Defensive Player of the Year through the first month of the season.
3. Baltimore Ravens, 4-0 (Last week, No. 15): McNair's game-winning drive was big-time football. They get a big boost in the intangibles.
4. San Diego Chargers, 2-1, (Last week, No. 6): The Bolts outplayed the Ravens, but their kicker really let them down.
5. Seattle Seahawks, 3-1 (Last week, No.3): That one's going to leave a mark -- a cleat-shaped mark that looks like Chicago DT Tommie Harris' foot on Matt Hasselbeck's rump. The Seahawks get a bye-week to adjust, but here's the good news: They don't have to play the Bears again this year. In the regular season, anyway.
6. Cincinnati Bengals, 3-1 (Last week, No. 4): The Bengals get a week off to stew over that poor performance at home against a vulernable Patriots team. For their own sake, let's hope they figure it out. Step 1: Tackle the running back.
7. Philadelphia Eagles 3-1 (Last week, No. 8): Not having Westbrook hurts this team, but McNabb was enough to beat the Packers. I'm not convinced they can beat Dallas this week without him, though.
8. Jacksonville Jaguars 2-2 (Last week, No. 5): Not only did
their loss to Washington shock me, but the way they lost to Washington
shocked me. Someone please explain to me how you only run a healthy
Fred Taylor seven times? Very questionable.
9. Denver Broncos, 2-1 (Last week, No. 7): . Talk about a tough matchup after a bye-week: Denver hosts the 4-0 Ravens on MNF.
10. Pittsburgh Steelers, 1-2 (Last week: No. 9): There are easier matchups coming off a bye week than the Chargers.
11. New England Patriots 3-1 (Last week, No. 11): When it came down to picking the New England/Cincinnati game, I blinked and took the Bengals. Wrong. There are several reasons why it's not surprising that the Pats ran on the Bengals like that, but New England is showing signs of being able to do that on anybody.
12. Dallas Cowboys, 2-1 (Last week, No. 12): The Cowboys won their scrimmage against the Titans, now draw the Eagles in the "T.O. Media Hype Bowl."
13. Carolina Panthers, 2-2 (Last week, No. 14): Once again, the Cats have avoided diaster, pulling even in Week 4 after an 0-2 start. They still don't look right, but you can see them starting to find their rhythm. Steve Smith is the heart and soul of this team.
14. Atlanta Falcons, 3-1 (Last week, No. 13): The Falcons effectively ended the career of former All-Pro QB Kurt Warner on Sunday, but they really didn't look all that great doing it. Even Alge Crumpler is dropping passes now. But I'm quibbling: they made big plays all over the field, albeit against a demoralized opponent.
15. New York Jets, 2-2 (Last week, No. 26): That was a gutty performance against the Colts. Pennington and the Jets are a real team, capable of contending for the AFC East or a wild card slot.
16. Kansas City Chiefs, 1-2 (Last week, No. 17): Damon Huard and the offense made excellent use of their bye week, but the defense just dominated an improving 49ers team. They'll return to .500 this week with a win over the Arizona.
17. Buffalo Bills, 2-2 (Last week, No. 20): I said Dick Jauron's Bills would play decently against decent teams, but this week they actually won. The Vikings didn't play horribly and the Bills didn't play great... just... better.
18. Minnesota Vikings, 2-2 (Last week, No. 10): Clunk. Thud. Splat. The Vikings couldn't get it together Sunday, dropping a winnable game against a decent Buffalo team. Now they're on a two-game slide... but should get well this week against the Lions.
19. Washington Redskins, 2-2 (Last week, No. 24): I didn't think the Redskins had the guts to beat a blue-collar team like Jacksonville. Shows you what I know. I still don't believe that Brunell can produce at this level consistently enough to make the Redskins a playoff contender.
20. New Orleans Saints, 3-1 (Last week, No. 18): I picked them as guaranteed losers immediately after their emotional win last Monday night, and yes, they lost. But the way they lost earned them some respect from me. This defense, so maligned by yours truly, has registered 13 sacks in four games. Not too shabby.
21. New York Giants, 1-2 (Last week, No. 16): They're coming off their bye week.
23. San Francisco 49ers, 1-3 (Last week, No. 19): Young teams like the 49ers have games like this, games when nothing works and you just want to go watch the film and start over. They'll bounce back strong this weekend against the Raiders in the Battle of the Bay.
24. Arizona Cardinals, 1-3 (Last week, No. 21): In midweek, Denny Green reversed field and said Kurt Warner was still his QB. He was only delaying the inevitable. Warner looked... used up against the Falcons. The Matt Leinart era begins this week against the Chiefs.
25. Green Bay Packers, 1-3 (Last week, No. 25) : They just weren't up to the Eagles on the road. You could literally watch the starch come out of them in the second quarter, and after that it was just ugly.
26. Cleveland Browns, 1-3 (Last week, No. 27): I'm starting to really like this Charlie Frye kid. He threw one of the dumbest interceptions you've ever seen this week, but he still scrapped the Browns to a comeback win.
27. Detroit Lions, 0-4 (Last week, No. 28): The Rams were low-hanging fruit, and the Lions simply couldn't pluck it. They're not awful, just cursed.
28. Houston Texans, 1-3 (Last week, No. 30): Believe it or not, I actually picked these guys to win this week. David Carr and Andre Johnson have been quietly putting up some respectable stats. It will be interesting to see how they use this bye week.
29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 0-3 (Last week, No. 29): Coming off their bye week.
30. Miami Dolphins, 1-3 (Last week, No. 23): Oooo, that was awful. These guys just lost to the Texans, and it wasn't as close as the score made it look. Then, in what is becoming the team's post-game ritual, Nick Saban made an ass of himself.
31. Tennessee Titans, 0-4 (Last week, No. 31): At least Fisher manned up after that humiliating Haynesworth assault, but it just goes back to the original observation: Bad karma begets bad karma. By the way, Vince Young is the new starting QB, and if you've got fantasy players on this squad and you haven't dumped them yet, you're hosed.32. Oakland Raiders, 0-3 (Last week, No. 32): The bye week helped, but even with the extra preparation for Andrew Walter, they're still not ready. The good news is, they pulled within striking distance of the 31st-worst spot.
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