1. Indianapolis Colts (7-0) – Beating New England in the playoffs matters more. Just ask Pittsburgh. But this weekend's game is the most important game on the Colts' schedule.

2. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2) – The latest tweak to Ben Roethlisberger's knee makes you wonder if this is going to be a season-long issue. And if Pittsburgh is going to get to the Super Bowl, the defense must jump another level.

3. Denver Broncos (6-2) – In the last six games, Jake Plummer has 11 touchdowns and no interceptions. But he's not the NFL's MVP. He might not even be his own team's MVP.

4. New York Giants (5-2) – The hype has died down, but Jeremy Shockey is better now than he's ever been. And if you haven't noticed, Michael Strahan hasn't lost anything from his game.


5. Seattle Seahawks (5-2) – It was a bye week with plenty of good news: Shaun Alexander is nearing a new contract with the club and Bobby Engram could be back in the lineup Sunday.


6. New England Patriots (4-3) – Are the Patriots still Super Bowl material in the AFC? Monday night's game against Indianapolis will provide the definitive answer.


7. Atlanta Falcons (5-2) – We get it. Michael Vick isn't a "conventional" quarterback. But it's ridiculous that Kyle Orton has a better passer rating and LaDainian Tomlinson has only two fewer touchdown passes.


8. Cincinnati Bengals (6-2) – All four NFC North quarterbacks have thrown five interceptions in a single game, three of those instances coming against the Bengals (Daunte Culpepper, Orton and Brett Favre). Cincinnati gets its shot at perfection against Detroit on Dec. 18.


9. Carolina Panthers (5-2) – With Steve Smith playing this way, the Panthers might not need to worry about the emergence of a No. 2 receiver. Throw out the game at Detroit, and Jake Delhomme has thrown 10 touchdowns and two interceptions since Sept. 25.


10. Dallas Cowboys (5-3) – Bill Parcells has culled some fine talent beyond the first round of the draft: Julius Jones, Jason Witten, Marion Barber, Patrick Crayton, Rob Petitti, Al Johnson and Bradie James.


11. Philadelphia Eagles (4-3) – The pass rush is atrocious. With that in mind, has anyone noticed that former Philly defensive end Derrick Burgess has seven sacks for the Raiders?


12. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-2) – Brian Griese doesn't seem like such a terrible starter anymore, does he? The offense's struggles are just beginning.


RISING

San Diego Chargers (4-4) – San Diego has had this game circled since last season's playoff loss to the Jets. Rookies Luis Castillo and Shawne Merriman gave the pass rush a boost last weekend with 3½ sacks.


THE MUDDLED MIDDLE (in alphabetical order)

Baltimore Ravens (2-5) – The little tiff between Derrick Mason and Anthony Wright won't matter in the long run. Kyle Boller could be the starter again by the end of this week.


Buffalo Bills (3-5) – Despite the loss, the offense was productive against the Patriots. But the assumed rise of Lee Evans into one of the league's best No. 2 receivers is taking far longer than expected.


Chicago Bears (4-3) – The loss of Mark Bradley is huge. Not only did he seem to have a great rapport with Kyle Orton, but he also showed flashes of being one of the steals of the draft.


Detroit Lions (3-4) – Jeff Garcia took some veiled shots at the offensive line after Sunday's loss to Chicago. Rick DeMulling is one of the biggest free-agent disappointments.


Jacksonville Jaguars (4-3) – Like it or not, last year's fourth-round wideout, Ernest Wilford, is a better player then last year's first-round receiver, Reggie Williams. The Jaguars need to do what's best for the team and start Wilford.


Kansas City Chiefs (4-3) – With a defense that has surrendered around 400 yards in three of the last four games, this is starting to look a lot like the same old Chiefs.


Miami Dolphins (3-4) – If anyone hasn't figured it out by now, Ronnie Brown should be getting more than 20 touches every game.


New York Jets (2-5) – Herm Edwards threatened to bench players this week if they don't start playing better. What took so long? On the bright side, Jay Fiedler's return is in sight.


Oakland Raiders (3-4) – Joey Porter scored his first touchdowns of the season Sunday, then joked, "I don't show up until Week 8 anyway." Funny how if Randy Moss had made the same joke, we would be beside ourselves ripping him.


St. Louis Rams (4-4) – The Joe Vitt/Steve Fairchild combination has worked wonders with a banged-up team. With all due respect to Mike Anderson, Jerome Bettis and Willis McGahee, Steven Jackson might be the most powerful running back in the NFL.


San Francisco 49ers (2-5) – Bryant Young for the Pro Bowl. With eight sacks in seven games, it's not unthinkable.


Tennessee Titans (2-6) – Is it just me, or does Jeff Fisher complain about bad calls more than any coach in the league?


Washington Redskins (4-3) – The defense absolutely needs Cornelius Griffin healthy, or the problems against the run are going to continue. David Patten has been a tremendous disappointment.


FALLING

Minnesota Vikings (2-5) – Fred Smoot might be the worst thing to happen to the Vikings this season. And to think, they doled out a $34 million contract and a $10.8 million signing bonus for these problems.


THE BOTTOM FIVE

28. Arizona Cardinals (2-5) – Anquan Boldin's bone bruise should be a huge relief. And no, it won't be long before Dennis Green turns the offense back to Kurt Warner again.


29. New Orleans Saints (2-6) – Too bad owner Tom Benson can't instill his feistiness into the Saints. Even with the surrounding issues, Jim Haslett's job is again in jeopardy.


30. Cleveland Browns (2-5) – It's officially time to get Braylon Edwards into the starting lineup. And maybe Charlie Frye, too.


31. Green Bay Packers (1-6) – The Packers should be irate over Sunday's fan incident in Cincinnati. But it's hard to believe Green Bay could have pulled out a win anyway.


32. Houston Texans (1-6) – In a season in need of bright spots, Jerome Mathis is making good on his raw talent. If Andre Johnson were healthy, the offense might have some solid options for David Carr.

Giants are fourth in that one and they are 4th in the NFL.coms rankings as well

I mean where is hiphops true female when you need her?


POWER RANKINGS
Current Team Previous
1 Indianapolis Colts 1
They come off the bye with their nemesis, the New England Patriots, up next. It's time they go to Foxboro and win a game.
2 Atlanta Falcons 4
Did Mike Vick spend the bye week working on the passing game? At some point, Vick has to get the ball outside to the receivers.
3 Pittsburgh Steelers 5
They didn't look good against the Ravens, but you will have those kinds of games along the way. The key is to find a way to win, and they did.
4 New York Giants 6
This team is for real. If the defense can continue to improve, they might be the Super Bowl team in the NFC.
5 Denver Broncos 7
The Broncos go to their bye week with a 6-2 record and atop the AFC West. They are doing things the Denver way: running the football.
6 Seattle Seahawks 9
The league's top-ranked offense has to hope the bye week didn't slow it down. They head to the second half as the clear favorite to win their division.
7 Cincinnati Bengals 11
Carson Palmer bounced back from the Steelers loss to play well against the Packers. The young defense has to play better in the second half.
8 Dallas Cowboys 12
Heading into the bye week, Bill Parcells has to feel good about his team. If not for a couple of tough losses, the Cowboys would be atop the NFC East.
9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2
The Bucs have always hated going to the West Coast, and it hasn't changed. Losing to the 49ers should never happen if this team is for real.
10 Carolina Panthers 15
Watch out, here come the Panthers. Jake Delhomme got it cranked up in a big way against the Vikings. Now he has to do it against Tampa Bay on the road.
11 Jacksonville Jaguars 8
Maybe they're not as good as they think. Losing to a crippled St. Louis team is not a good sign as they ready for the soft spot of their schedule. They're not good enough to count anything as a victory.
12 Philadelphia Eagles 3
How can they go from limiting LaDainian Tomlinson to 7 yards to getting gashed by the Broncos for 253? This team just doesn't look right, does it?
13 New England Patriots 14
They still don't look like they have the past few years, but you know it's coming. They get a chance to show it against the Colts.
14 Washington Redskins 10
The Giants smacked them back to reality. The offense was awful and the defense wasn't much better. It's funny how perception changes in a week.
15 San Diego Chargers 16
At. 4-4, the Chargers are scraping and fighting to stay in the playoff hunt. As long as Antonio Gates is catching passes and Tomlinson is running the ball, they might actually overcome a tough schedule to get there.
16 Chicago Bears 17
The first-place Bears. Doesn't sound right, does it? But believe it. The defense is for real and rookie quarterback Kyle Orton is playing well now, too.
17 Kansas City Chiefs 13
Who said the defense was fixed in the offseason? It sure doesn't look like it. This is the same old Chiefs.
18 Oakland Raiders 20
The Raiders are 3-4 and have won two consecutive games to get back into the playoff talk. The defense is starting to play better, which is a good thing.
19 St. Louis Rams 18
Joe Vitt did a nice job getting his team ready to play Sunday. They were scrappy and played tough. Steven Jackson is a man.
20 Miami Dolphins 22
The Dolphins bounced back after looking horrible against the Chiefs by dominating the Saints on the road. That's a sign of good coaching.
21 Detroit Lions 19
Joey Harrington or Jeff Garcia? Does it really matter which one the Lions trot out? Neither one of them is very good.
22 Buffalo Bills 21
There's no way they should have lost to the Patriots. They had them beat, but blew it in the end. That one will sting.
23 Baltimore Ravens 23
Without Ed Reed and Ray Lewis, they played as well as they could on defense against the Steelers. The offense even showed some signs of life. But does it really matter when they leave with another loss?
24 Arizona Cardinals 24
This trendy preseason pick is still a year or two or three away. They just don't have what it takes to run the ball, which cripples the offense.
25 New York Jets 26
When the Jets return to play, Vinny Testaverde is still their quarterback. But you can expect a quick hook if he struggles this week.
26 New Orleans Saints 28
Their season is basically done. They've had so many bad things go against them, they almost seem to expect them now. It truly is a season from hell.
27 Tennessee Titans 29
It's time to start looking ahead to the future, which might mean thinking about what it's like to be without Steve McNair. The Titans are young and McNair might not want to stick around for the rebuilding.
28 San Francisco 49ers 31
Mike Nolan has his team fighting, which is all a coach can ask of a young, banged-up team. Bouncing back from a thumping by the Redskins to upset the Bucs is a good sign for the long-term for this team.
29 Houston Texans 32
The Texans got their first victory and now go to Jacksonville to face a team they owned last season. Can they get No. 2? Is Dom Capers ready to make a push to save his job?
30 Minnesota Vikings 25
The Vikings' ship is sinking. And now Daunte Culpepper is out with a knee injury. The noose around Mike Tice's neck gets tighter by the week.
31 Cleveland Browns 27
Romeo Crennel has a lot of work to do to get this to be a playoff team. It soon might be time to play Charlie Frye.
32 Green Bay Packers 30
They've had way too many injuries to win many games. It looks like they might be picking first come April. Do you think Brett Favre will be around to see it?

Good shit
except

Steelers will be on TOP

numba 1

yeah chargers are rising!!