N8Dogg's Week 9 NFL Power Rankings

The Elite:
1. (1) New England Patriots(8-0)
2. (2) Indianapolis Colts(7-0)
3. (3) Dallas Cowboys(6-1)
4. (5) Green Bay Packers(6-1)
5. (6) Pittsburgh Steelers(5-2)
6. (4) New York Giants(6-2)
7. (7) Tennessee Titans(5-2)
8. (8) Jacksonville Jaguars(5-2)
9. (12) San Diego Chargers(4-3)
10. (14) Detroit Lions(5-2)
About the most surprising thing here is the Lions at #10. Jon Kitna guaranteed 10 wins at the beginning of the season and everyone laughed. But they play the Packers twice in the second half and they can't seem to find a way to lose. As for the Chargers, they appear to be back. Three straight wins has them back in the top 10 and they should win at least 2 of their next 3 as well.

The Hopefuls:
11. (11) Seattle Seahawks(4-3)
12. (17) Cleveland Browns(4-3)
13. (13) Tampa Bay Buccaneers(4-4)
14. (15) Baltimore Ravens(4-3)
15. (9) Washington Redskins(4-3)
16. (16) Kansas City Chiefs(4-3)
17. (10) Carolina Panthers(4-3)
18. (18) Denver Broncos(3-4)
19. (19) Arizona Cardinals(3-4)
20. (22) Philadelphia Eagles(3-4)
21. (25) New Orleans Saints(3-4)
22. (20) Houston Texans(3-5)
Washington and Carolina took a nose dive here. The Redskins looked to have it going their way but the Patriots put up a wall. Expect them to get going again right away as they play the 1-7 Jets. Carolina can't win at home. Good news for them as they go on the road this week. Bad news is they play the 5-2 Titans. Should be a good game. The Saints have resurged and are looking more like the team they were last year. Expect them to keep climbing. Meanwhile, after Houston's excellent 2-0 start, they've gone 1-5. It's apparent they still suck and are looking forward to losing at Oakland this coming week.

The Wannabes:
23. (21) Chicago Bears(3-5)
24. (26) Buffalo Bills(3-4)
25. (24) Minnesota Vikings(2-5)
26. (23) Cincinnati Bengals(2-5)
27. (27) Oakland Raiders(2-5)
28. (28) San Francisco 49ers(2-5)
29. (29) New York Jets(1-7)
30. (30) Atlanta Falcons(1-6)
31. (31) Miami Dolphins(0-8)
32. (32) Saint Louis Rams(0-8)
No big surprises here. Unless you count the Bears at 23. They should either be a "Hopeful" or the Texans should be a "Wannabe," but I could only choose one and since I hate the Bears, well yeah. Plus I had the Texans ahead of them last week, it wouldn't be fair to them to switch places. I can hear it now, "then explain why Minnesota and Cincy flip-flopped." Alright I will. Brad Childress named Adrian Peterson as the starter. Simple as that. They still suck, just not as bad as the Bengals. The most depressing thing about the "Wannabes" is that in the bottom 5, 2 of the teams play each other (49ers and Falcons) and the worst 2 teams have a bye this week meaning neither can climb out of the hole. Good news for San Fran, though. If they beat the Falcons they might edge their way out of the bottom 5!