NFL Week 6 Power Rankings

By now we’ve all realized that there is little to no consistency this season. Certain teams look great one week and look horrible the next, so we don’t know what to expect. It’s made for a riveting season thus far, and I’m hoping that it continues. I don’t think anyone will be able to pull away from the pack for at least another month, because we all saw from the 1:00 games on Sunday, there weren’t any double-digit victories.

32) Jacksonville Jaguars (0-5) Previous week: 32

I don’t need to explain this anymore do I?

31) Oakland Raiders (0-4) Previous week: 31

BYE WEEK

30) Tennessee Titans (1-4) Previous week: 30

The Titans looked like they were on track to an easy win, but fell apart in the second half. The collapse actually began in the final few minutes of the first half, when the Browns were driving down the field. The Titans were actually up 28-3 before Brian Hoyer threw a TD pass to capitalize a 90-yard drive with 12 seconds to go in the half. In the second half it was all Cleveland, as they outscored Tennessee 19-0 to win 29-28. They just can’t seem to put together a full 60 minutes of football.

29) New York Jets (1-4) Previous week: 27

As bad as the Jets looked against the Chargers, there’s good news. There’s nowhere to go but up! They were out possessed 39-21, and ran 54 plays for an average of 2.8 yards per play, which is simply disgusting. Not only that, but they don’t have any viable options at the quarterback position. It’s going to be a tough go for the Jets from here on out.

28) St. Louis Rams (1-3) Previous week: 28

Austin Davis continues to impress us, but the Rams defense is slacking. They have the best pass defense in the NFL, but they’re giving up 152 yards per game on the ground, which is fourth worst. The Rams are in too tough of a division to make any serious noise, but if Austin Davis keeps this play up, they can play spoiler to a good handful of teams.

27) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-4) Previous week: 29

The Bucs actually played well for most of week 5, but fell apart in the fourth quarter. They had a 31-20 lead, but let the Saints score 11 unanswered points in the final 10 minutes. Mike Glennon should have the starting job on lock just because he’s giving them chances to win games. If the defense can play like it did last year the Bucs will surely be able to scratch out a few more wins this year.

26) Minnesota Vikings (2-3) Previous week: 26

The poor Vikings got absolutely spanked by the Packers, largely in part because Christian Ponder played. That man will set you up for failure no matter what, so they were doomed as soon as Bridgewater was ruled out. The good news is Bridgewater is eager to prove himself and earn the starting job outright, and honestly that shouldn’t be an issue for him.

25) Washington Redskins (1-4) Previous week: 24

The Redskins put up a fighting chance against the Seahawks who were fresh off the bye week. Kirk Cousins played well enough to keep them in it by not turning over the ball. Alfred Morris however had a night to forget against the formidable Seattle run defense. Washington didn’t look that bad, but they’re still 1-4, and are the clear outsider of the NFC East.

24) Miami Dolphins (2-2) Previous week: 25

BYE WEEK

23) Atlanta Falcons (2-3) Previous week: 22

The Giants were able to pull away from the Falcons when it came down to the wire, which proved that Atlanta still doesn’t know how to win.

22) Kansas City Chiefs (2-3) Previous week: 20

Alex Smith was not able to win against his former team, and the Chiefs fell to 2-3. They looked okay throughout the game, but we still haven’t seen the Chiefs that won the first 10 games of last year.

21) Chicago Bears (2-3) Previous week: 17

How did I know the Bears were going to do this? Oh, because they do it every single year. I don’t know why but they can’t ever string together multiple weeks of success. Luckily for them everyone in their division is clustered together, but their defense is going to have to pick it up.

20) New Orleans Saints (2-3) Previous week: 21

The Saints needed overtime to beat the lowly Bucs, which doesn’t look good on their already poor 2014 resume. Drew Brees looked worse than he has all year, Colston is officially washed up, and the defense is slacking. But giving credit where credit is due, they pulled out a win when they appeared to be down and out.

19) Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2) Previous week: 19

A small margin of victory against the worst team in the NFL adds virtually nothing to Pittsburgh’s resume.

18) Detroit Lions (3-2) Previous week: 9

I apologize for having Detroit at 9, because they haven’t looked good since week 1. The offense is a total disaster and the team as a whole is banged up. Like the Bears though, they are in a position to rebound just by being in the NFC North.

17) Buffalo Bills (3-2) Previous week: 18

The Bills ended their 2-game skid with a comeback win over the Lions, but will need a little more production on the ground if they’re going to beat New England in a critical divisional matchup next week (22 carries for 49 yards).

16) Baltimore Ravens (3-2) Previous week: 12

Baltimore went away form what was working with the run, and only ran the ball 15 times. Joe Flacco meanwhile posted a 16.0 QBR on 42 drop backs…

15) New York Giants (3-2) Previous week: 23

Don’t blink but Eli has played well for three straight weeks! What’s even more surprising is that his receivers haven’t been dropping passes. Having Odell Beckham Jr. certainly helped this week, but Rashad Jennings is out next week, which may be a cause for concern. However rookie Andre Williams played well last week so the Giants should be fine.

14) Cleveland Browns (2-2) Previous week: 15

Brian Hoyer continues to impress, and with Ben Tate back and running strong, the Browns look to be in great shape offensively. The defense looked great in the second half against Tennessee, but we can’t forget that they haven’t held a team to under 23 points in a game yet this year.

13) Carolina Panthers (3-2) Previous week: 16

The Panthers managed to end their skid, but it wasn’t easy. The defense still doesn’t look like it should and despite scoring 31 points the offense wasn’t anything to marvel at. However they did earn the credible win, which is a sign of relief for Panther fans.

12) Houston Texans (3-2) Previous week: 10

Despite Arian Foster’s unbelievable game on the ground, the Texans lost a tough one to the surging Cowboys. Fitzpatrick was unable to produce anything of value all game, and it hurt them in the end.

11) New England Patriots (3-2) Previous week: 14

The Pats finally looked like the quality team that they’re supposed to be against the previously undefeated Bengals. Brady came out firing on all cylinders, and you knew from the get-go that they weren’t looking back. The Pats had something to prove and Brady made sure that they were going to prove it.

10) Green Bay Packers (3-2) Previous week: 13

Aaron Rodgers made quick work of Minnesota, and things are looking up for Green Bay.  The Vikings aren’t a top-tier team by any means but when you score the first 42 points of the game, it’s going to feel good no matter who you play.

9) San Francisco 49ers (3-2) Previous week: 8

The 49ers have won two in a row, and they appear to have righted the ship. Kaepernick is playing better and Frank Gore has been a bull in the past couple weeks. It appears that San Fran should be fine moving forward.

8) Arizona Cardinals (3-1) Previous week: 3

The Cardinals were beaten badly by the Broncos this week, which showed many people that they can’t compete with the big dogs. They’re still a very good team, but they don’t have the offensive unit to compare with the elite teams of the NFL.

7) Cincinnati Bengals (3-1) Previous week: 2

The Bengals failed yet again to perform on primetime, and they instilled doubt in a lot of minds. They’ll be fine going forward, but this is a big step back for a team that looked great going into their bye week.

6) Dallas Cowboys (4-1) Previous week: 11

The Cowboys have won four straight since losing the season opener to San Fran. Tony Romo is playing well, the defense has somehow played well in nearly every game, and DeMarco Murray is the man among men. As I’ve said in the past, if their offense plays to their potential, they have a chance to win every game.

5) Philadelphia Eagles (4-1) Previous week: 6

The Eagles needed to have a flawless week, and they were looking to be in good shape on Sunday. But then the defense mentally shut down and they only won by a mere six points over the Rams. However the offense is still putting up a stupid amount of points, so they’ll be fine moving forward.

4) San Diego Chargers (4-1) Previous week: 7

The Chargers are technically in first place in the NFL, and I don’t think anyone saw that coming except for maybe Skip Bayless.  I know they’re playing outstanding football right now, but please keep in mind that they’ve had the third easiest schedule thus far. Don’t invest too much into this team just yet; they have a long way to go.

3) Indianapolis Colts (3-2) Previous week: 5

Andrew Luck is looking more confident with each passing week, and teams should be very scared of him. He has fallen in love with Dwayne Allen and Ahmad Bradshaw, and he still has T.Y. Hilton on the wing along with trusty veteran Reggie Wayne. Luck can put the Colts in a position to win every game as long as the defense holds up.

2) Denver Broncos (3-1) Previous week: 4

Surprise surprise, the Broncos are back in the top 2. They dominated the Cardinals this past week, and Peyton looks just as good as he did last year. Oh and in case you missed it, Peyton threw for a new career high (479 yards) to go along with his 4 touchdowns. Peyton hasn’t slowed down in the slightest bit, and the Broncos are clearly in prime condition to make it back to the top of the AFC.

1) Seattle Seahawks (3-1) Previous week: 1 

Russell Wilson put on a show against Washington on MNF, and he’s brought the Seahawks back to the top of the loaded NFC West. The Legion of Boom was once again a menacing presence for their opponents top receiver (Pierre Garcon), and the run defense was stellar once again. I’d also like to point out to people that Bobby Wagner is on his way to stardom. The third year linebacker is averaging over 10 tackles a game, and he’s changing the way opposing teams run the ball against the Seahawks. I say this because Wagner goes unfairly unnoticed behind their secondary, and he deserves as much credit as they do for his performance thus far.

2014 Ryder Cup Wrap-Up

Much to my displeasure, Ryder Cup events are over until the fall of 2016. Unless you count the PGA of America announcing their 2016 captain at the end of the year, but that isn’t exactly nail biting. It was a great tournament, and there’s actually a lot to take away from it.

If any of you adjusted your sleeping schedule to watch this epic weekend, I have the upmost respect for you. Or you could have been like me and slept for a total of 10 hours all weekend. Either way if you watched the Ryder Cup live you’re doing things right, and if you didn’t then you missed out.

I’d like to point out that I nailed it directly on the head by predicting a final score of 16.5-11.5 (Here’s my pre-Ryder Cup column for proof). I was slightly off on my prediction of the singles matches, but I’ll excuse myself and toot my own horn.

The Americans actually exceeded expectations in many ways. They kept it close on day 1, gave themselves a fighting chance, and actually outscored Europe in the fourball matches. The American rookies shined brightly amidst the dimmed veterans, which is a great sign for years to come.

Europe on the other hand played amazing golf all weekend, whether it was a rookie or veteran. They truly deserved the win, and Paul McGinley needs to be credited with an excellent weekend as team captain.

Before I get into my analysis of the tournament here’s a quick view of how each golfer performed.

·      = rookie.

·      Records are written out “win-loss-tie”

·      (How many strokes they won/lost by & How many holes were left when the match ended)

·      1UP = the player/pairing won by one hole

·      1DN = the player/pairing lost by one hole

·      Bottom Row signifies how many points the team earned in each style of match.

TEAM USA

Player	Fourball	Foursome	Singles
Jordan Spieth*	2-0-0 (5&4, 5&3)	Halved	Lost 2&1
Patrick Reed*	2-0-0 (5&4, 5&3)	Halved	Won 1UP
Rickie Fowler	Halved Twice	0-1-1 (5&4)	Lost 5&4
Hunter Mahan	1-0-0 (4&3)	0-2-0 (2&1, 3&2)	Halved
Phil Mickelson	1-0-0 (1UP)	0-1-0 (3&2)	Won 3&1
Bubba Watson	0-2-0 (5&4, 3&2)	0-0-0	Lost 4&2
Matt Kuchar	0-1-0 (3&2)	0-2-0 (2DN, 2&1)	Won 4&3
Jim Furyk	1-0-0 (4&3)	0-2-0 (2DN, 3&2)	Lost 1DN
Webb Simpson	0-1-0 (5&4)	0-0-0	Halved
Keegan Bradley	1-0-0 (1UP)	0-1-0 (3&2)	Lost 4&3
Jimmy Walker*	Halved Twice	0-1-1 (5&4)	Won 3&2
Zach Johnson	0-0-0	0-2-0 (2&1, 2&1)	Halved
Total=11.5	5	1	5.5

TEAM EUROPE

Player	Fourball	Foursome	Singles
Graeme McDowell	0-0-0	2-0-0 (3&2, 5&4)	Won 2&1
Henrik Stenson	2-0-0 (5&4, 3&2)	1-0-0 (2&1)	Lost 1DN
Rory McIlroy	0-1-1 (Lost 1DN)	1-0-1 (3&2, Halved)	Won 5&4
Justin Rose	2-0-0 (5&4, 3&2)	1-0-1 (2&1, Halved)	Halved
Stephen Gallacher*	0-1-0 (5&4)	0-0-0	Lost 3&1
Martin Kaymer	0-1-1 (5&3, Halved)	Halved	Won 4&2
Thomas Bjorn	0-1-1 (5&3, Halved)	0-0-0	Lost 4&3
Sergio Garcia	0-1-0 (Lost 1DN)	1-0-1 (3&2, Halved)	Won 1UP
Ian Poulter	0-1-1 (5&4, Halved)	0-0-0	Halved
Jamie Donaldson*	0-1-0 (4&3)	2-0-0 (Won 2UP, 2&1)	Won 4&3
Lee Westwood	0-1-0 (4&3)	2-0-0 (Won 2UP, 2&1)	Lost 3&2
Victor Dubuisson*	0-0-0	2-0-0 (3&2, 5&4)	Halved
Total=16.5	3	7	6.5

As you can see in the tables above, there were impressive rookies for both sides. When I woke up at 2 o’clock on Friday morning and saw the fourball matchups, I felt good. I sent out a tweet saying that I loved the Spieth and Reed pairing, and they didn’t let me down. I was slightly concerned since they were up against Ian Poulter, but Gallacher held Poulter down a bit. Reed and Spieth combined to earn the US 6 points, which is quite the feat. Not only that, but they were the leading point-getters for team USA. Furthermore, Reed’s 3.5 points were second in the entire field to Justin Rose’s 4. The rest of the rookies played well too. With the exception of Stephen Gallacher, Dubuisson, Donaldson and Walker earned upwards of 2 points a piece (Gallacher earned 0).

As I predicted, Furyk and the other veterans struggled for Team USA, and Europe’s veterans (Stenson, Kaymer, McIlroy, Garcia, etc.) had solid tournaments. The only American vet that played well was Phil Mickelson.

One thing that I failed to mention in my preview was the pairing of Mickelson and Keegan Bradley. They were 3-0 together entering the tournament, and won their first match on Friday. They were in position to win their second match of the day but conceded the lead to Dubuisson and McDowell. They’re now 4-1 as a couple, and as long as they both make the squad they’ll continue playing together.

The togetherness of the European team is the most explicit contrasting quality between the two squads, and the captains have a lot to do with that. The Europeans captain selection is a lot more methodical than that of the American team. Each European captain has to have been a vice captain at one point, so they already know the ropes. They value captainship, and it shows.

In addition to that, there are a lot of European players that have developed chemistry with each other. They’ve played as partners in the past, and it gave them a very noticeable edge in the foursome matches. Rose and Stenson are a lethal pairing, along with McIlroy and Garcia. Europe knows they have that advantage and they will continue to use that strategy until it fails to work. Aside from Mickelson and Bradley, there isn’t any consistent pairing amongst any of the players. I have a feeling Reed and Spieth will be paired together for the 2016 Ryder Cup, but as of right now there isn’t a lot of American chemistry.

Here’s another downside to team USA. According to the American players, there wasn’t a lot of communication with captain Tom Watson. In an interview shortly after the conclusion of the Ryder Cup, it was said that they weren’t involved with any of the decisions, which could be a reason for the failures that USA experienced in the foursome matches.

Prior to the Ryder Cup, I didn’t have any issues with Watson as the captain. While watching the Ryder Cup though, he had me in a tizzy. Why did Bubba Watson play in both matches on Friday? He looked absolutely terrible in the morning fourball, and had no business playing another 18 holes. Instead Watson should have played Spieth and Reed, who were the clear-cut best option for his team all weekend. Following up with the lineup issues, I don’t agree with his decision to play Phil in both Friday matches. He’s too old for that, and he had to sit out all day Saturday. Phil should’ve played 18 a day; nothing more, nothing less. Not having Phil available on Saturday was a huge setback, and it showed.

Then came the singles matches… Leading off with Spieth was not a good idea. Nor was sending out Reed after him, and Fowler after Reed, and then Mahan after Mickelson. European captain Paul McGinley put his veterans out first because he wanted to seal the deal early. I would have led off with Kuchar or Furyk. The Americans were outmatched no matter what in head-to-head, and sending out youngsters first only dug ourselves into a hole.

I know Reed won his match, and Spieth should have, but he collapsed. He was up 3 at the turn, and McDowell bided his time before storming back to take 5 out of the next 6 holes. When Spieth was struggling to close out the match, Watson was nowhere to be found. What Jordan needed was a veteran presence to calm him down and help him out. Instead, he was left out to dry. It was sad to watch the collected Graeme McDowell win hole after hole against the inexperienced Spieth. I blame Watson for that opening singles loss, which was so crucial to the rest of the day.

Following that up, Hunter Mahan was in a difficult situation on the eighteenth hole. He was just shy of the green on the right-hand side, and the pin was up. He had two options; he could have either take a flop shot to try and land it on the back side of the pin, or he could have bumped it on to the top of the slope and let it coast down towards the hole. Had he taken the second option, he would have easily halved the hole (at worst) and won the match. Instead he elected to try and go for gold, and he lost the hole.

Say America won those two matches, they would have earned an additional 1.5 points while Europe would have lost 1.5 points. A 3-point swing at the beginning of Ryder Cup Sunday would have been pivotal to the outcome of the match, as the score would have been 11-10 after the first 5 singles matches (opposed to 12.5-8.5).

Opposed to Watson’s poor captainship, McGinley led his team to a well-earned victory. The US will be better prepared and equipped to regain the trophy in 2016, but Europe was simply too good this year. As you can see with Spieth, Reed and Horschel, the Americans have a batch of rising stars in the game of golf.

The 2014-2015 PGA Season kicks off this Thursday with the Frys.com Open.