(Last week’s ratings in parentheses)
1. Indianapolis (1): It’s the Colts’ bye week. They’ll score only 20.
2. New England (2): The Patriots won’t be scared to go to Dallas.
3. Dallas (3): That was a close one in Buffalo.
4. Pittsburgh (6): Steelers show Seahawks what AFC is all about.
5. Jacksonville (9): The Jaguars are starting to click.
6. Washington (10): The Joe Gibbs over-the-hill talk is premature.
7. Tennessee (11): The AFC South is nasty good.
8. Green Bay (4): Packers may rue that home loss to the Bears in a couple of months.
9. Arizona (12): Can Kurt Warner recapture his St. Louis magic?
10. Seattle (5): The Seahawks are happy to be in the NFC.
11. Baltimore (13): Still no offense here.
12. New York Giants (14): Look who is suddenly red-hot.
13. Tampa Bay (7): Buccaneers are typical NFC team. They can’t hang with the AFC’s elite.
14. Houston (18): The young Texans are learning how to win.
15. Carolina (19): Still don’t have a read on this team.
16. Detroit (8): Welcome back to the pack, Lions.
17. San Diego (22): Oh, there you are, Chargers. We’ve missed you.
18. Oakland (20): Your first-place Raiders? OK, whatever.
19. Chicago (23): Bears may have saved their season in Green Bay.
20. Denver (15): Broncos have a bye. They’ll still give up 150 yards on the ground.
21. San Francisco (16): Who said Alex Smith isn’t important?
22. Kansas City (17): Chiefs can’t hang with good teams these days.
23. Cleveland (21): Browns really are getting better.
24. Buffalo (25): You just have to feel badly for those poor Bills.
25. Cincinnati (24): Bengals must come out of bye with some spunk.
26. New York Jets (26): The Jets really are this bad.
27. Philadelphia (27): The Eagles really aren’t this bad.
28. Minnesota (28): Oh, who cares?
29. Atlanta (29): Petrino needs to win over his new troops now.
30. New Orleans (30): Stunning, just stunning.
31. St. Louis (31): Don’t be shocked if Rams knock off Ravens.
32. Miami (32): Be surprised if the Dolphins knock off the Browns on Sunday.
ON THE MOVE
Detroit
This is no major stunner. The Lions just aren’t very good and they aren’t a playoff team. They simply were overrated because they jumped out to a 3-1 start. But after a big loss to the Washington Redskins on Sunday, they slipped in stature. Watch for this team to stay near the middle of the pack the rest of the season.
