CBS Sports Powerranking You Will Like!
There are lots of NFL Power Rankings. NONE of them mean squat. But, here's one you probably will like. This guy eats some serious crow.
Power Rankings: You win, McDaniels; apologies to you!
I'm not sure what's so difficult for these guys to figure out. I ripped McDaniels for his off-season personnel moves too. But, I was never an idiot about it, questioning his coaching ability.By Pete Prisco
CBSSports.com Senior Writer
Tell Pete your opinion!
Updated Oct. 20
It all seems so hard to believe. A coaching star is fired, replaced by a fresh-faced kid whose claim to fame is calling plays for one of the era's great quarterbacks. The kid then jettisons the young franchise quarterback he inherits, brings in "his" guy to play the position, and then fist-pumps his way to a 6-0 start doing things exactly the way he said he would do them.
Who was I to doubt Josh McDaniels?
I'm done being a Denver Broncos skeptic. For weeks, I kept saying they weren't as good as their record. Dallas, I said, would beat them. They didn't. New England surely would. Nope. But, wait, San Diego had to have Monday's game if the Chargers were to have any real chance of winning the AFC West. Plus, they were coming off a bye, a rested, desperate team.
The final was Denver 34, San Diego 23. So much for that angle.
Division race: Over.
My doubts about the Broncos: Over.
The Broncos and McDaniels are proving to many people, me included, that we have no idea what to expect each and every NFL season. Anybody outside the Rocky Mountain region not named McDaniels who thought this would be a playoff team is lying worse than that balloon fool.
I have been a champion McDaniels ripper. Maybe even the gold-medal winner.
He traded away Jay Cutler. I ripped him.
He smugly answered questions at the league meetings about his decision to consider the move -- before it was made. I ripped him.
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Let's see. I ripped him for mimicking Bill Belichick -- hoodie and whistle twirling included -- and I ripped him for his apparent disdain for the media, including not making time for his local beat guys at the combine, not even 15 minutes.
At 6-0, none of that matters now. McDaniels could push cameramen around now, just like Bill, and it wouldn't matter. He can browbeat the media, just like Bill, and it wouldn't bother anybody. He can put up all those cliché signs that Bill uses -- "Do Your Job" is a favorite -- and nobody blinks an eye. If he wanted to send Brandon Marshall to Siberia, it wouldn't matter.
That's what winning can do. It makes McDaniels look smarter than everybody else, certainly smarter than me, and leaves those of us who questioned him wondering why we ever did.
The Broncos face a tough schedule the next month or so. They play at Baltimore, home against Pittsburgh, at Washington (OK, not so tough), home against San Diego and then home against the New York Giants on Thanksgiving.
I would say those five games will get the best of the Broncos. But the way they're going, I won't dare.
The Broncos head to their bye week at 6-0, which has them in the fourth spot in our Power Rankings. It's hard to believe they are 6-0 and the Tennessee Titans are 0-6. And who could have imagined Kyle Orton would be an MVP candidate?
That's the beauty of the NFL.
It's also what makes it so maddening to try to figure out.
After all, how could anybody know before the season what kind of COACH he'd make? It was reasonable to assume the team would have a slow start because of all the changes in personnel and the new system and new coaches.
He's surpassed all expectations there by hitting the ground running. After the Dallas game, nobody with any sense would predict what the Broncos would do with the Patriots. Then after they beat the Pats who with a brain would condescendingly argue that "of course the Chargers would win."
I had NO IDEA whether the Broncos would beat the Pats and Chargers. It was a pure toss-up what would happen. Nobody would bet on those games with any confidence.
But, the defense held up just the same against all those teams. That's the signal of a good team. A tough defense. You can't hope to win in the playoffs unless you have a defense that can stop people. Not even if you have Peyton Manning at QB.
For the first six weeks, the Broncos defense has rivaled the 2000 Baltimore Ravens (Ravens 10.3 points/game; Broncos 11).
As long as the defense plays like that there's NOT ONE TEAM IN THE NFL the Broncos CAN'T beat. NONE. Period.
We don't know if they will hold up like that all season, but they have so far and who's to say they can't? And every game they do, that pushes them farther towards a potential playoff RUN, not just an appearance (which is now virtually certain unless they suffer another improbable collapse like last year).
Here's the rest of the Power-Rankings:
I never like to see the Broncos on top of these polls. I think it's a jinx!Power Rankings
Current Team Previous
1 Colts 2
They come off the bye at the top of the rankings. They really shouldn't be challenged for another couple of weeks. The bye helped their injured players and we know Peyton Manning is on his way to an MVP.
Saints 2 3
They served notice to the rest of the league by the way they handled the Giants. Drew Brees and that offense got it cranked up again. They need to be careful of a letdown against Miami this week.
Vikings 3 4
Get ready for the champs. Coming off their big victory against Baltimore, they get another AFC North team this week. This one is on the road at Pittsburgh.
Broncos 4 5
And we thought McDaniels was too young and Kyle Orton not good enough. They better get rested during the bye. The schedule after that is brutal.
Falcons 5 6
The next two weeks will be big for the Falcons. They go to Dallas and then play a Monday night game at New Orleans. Losing corner Brian Williams for the season will hurt.
Giants 6 1
Was that defense exposed against the Saints? It sure looked that way. The safeties aren't very good. Without the pass rush, they struggled. Now they have to deal with Kurt Warner.
Patriots 7 10
What we saw Sunday is what we've come to expect from Tom Brady. As the season moves along, we'll see more of it. It's a matter of timing.
Bengals 8 8
Just when we think they aren't the same Bengals, they go and lay an egg like they did against the Texans. Now they are forced to play without Antwan Odom, their best pass rusher, who is out of the year.
Steelers 9 11
The best thing to come out of the Cleveland game is that the defense played a lot better. It will be a unit that gets a tough test against Adrian Peterson and Brett Favre on Sunday.
Eagles 10 7
That wasn't pretty at Oakland, but they get the perfect tonic in the Redskins next Monday. They need to get Brian Westbrook going more.
Bears 11 9
The biggest issue is their lack of a running game. What has happened? Matt Forte has been a fantasy football disaster, if that type of thing matters to you.
Cowboys 12 15
They come off the bye with a lot of questions. Who's the main pass catcher? Will the secondary play better? How about Tony Romo?
Cardinals 13 17
They are now tied for the division lead heading north to play the Giants. The way the defense played at Seattle has to give them hope the rest of the way. The trip east will be big talk this week.
Packers 14 18
Their defense came alive, but was that because it came against the Lions? Aaron Rodgers continues to play at a high level.
Ravens 15 12
Three consecutive losses have this team reeling. They sure don't look like the same defense. The secondary isn't very good right now. Who can they stop? They get a bye, followed by Denver.
Jets 16 13
Three weeks have turned Mark Sanchez from the star into a goat. If he plays like that one more week, a change could be coming.
49ers 17 16
They will finally have Michael Crabtree this week. With the way Shaun Hill plays, it might not matter. Is Alex Smith coming soon?
Chargers 18 14
The talent is there. That's all we ever hear about the Chargers. But is it? And what about Norv Turner? Will he be gone after this season?
You can argue with the Broncos placement, but I agree with it. The teams ahead of them have much more powerful offenses and elite QBs. The Broncos defense is young and unproven. This is the first season they've played together, let alone having an established record of dominance over an entire season like the Steelers do.
The Ravens game will be a big test in a lot of ways.
#1 The Bye Week: Both coaches will have an entire extra week to prepare for each other, just like it's a Super-bowl. That's rare indeed. Normally one team's coming off a bye while the other has been playing.
Thus we'll get to see which coaching staff can better prepare the team for this game.
#2 Ravens Desperation Factor: It turn out to be a factor for the Chargers despite all the pre-game hype. But the Ravens can't afford to lose 4 in a row and have any hope for the season. That team went to the AFC Championship last year and they have the SB in their sights. Anything less will be a huge disappointment for the city of Baltimore.
For the first time they have their franchise QB in Joe Flacco and the offense is strong. They don't have to simply rely on their defense.
But, now the defense has tapered off. Hard to say why. They still have Haloti Ngata, who is probably the best DL in football right now, Terrell Suggs and Ray Lewis and a bunch of veterans, but they're not dominating like they were last year.
It's nice to see San Diego mired at 18th. And the Chiefs and Chargers?
JaMarcus Russell has a long way to go but it's only his 2nd season. He might very well improve. Of course Al Davis will be there as a ancient withered sea anchor until he dies, so probably not much will come of it.Raiders 25 29
JaMarcus Russell actually resembled a quarterback last Sunday against the Eagles. Can he do it again this week against the Jets? The way Sanchez is playing, Russell might not be the shakiest passer on the field.
Chiefs 26 31
They are getting better. There are a lot of young players on that defense, which should improve as the season moves along. Of course, they don't get the Redskins every Sunday.
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Originally Posted by Cugel
