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Steeling home
St. Louis slips, Pittsburgh slides into top spot
Posted: Tuesday November 27, 2001 6:20 PM
Usually around this time of year people are thinking, "Wow, wouldn't you
love to see so-and-so play so-and-so in the Super Bowl?" (I know how I'd
bet that one. Strictly an underdog pick). It might not work out exactly the
way you'd want, but at least there would be a few teams up at the top that you
wouldn't mind watching against each
other.
Now? Well, there are the Rams, of course, even after their Monday night loss.
They're the most interesting only because the NFC offers so little behind them.
Would you really like to see a Chicago vs., say, Pittsburgh Super Bowl?
Presenting Jim Miller, Marty Booker and the cast of thousands against former
Slash and current psychological reclamation project, Kordell Stewart. The
Raiders? I guess they're interesting enough, and I'd have a really fun week
counting all the stories with the same Jerry Rice angle. But I keep thinking
about the way Seattle socked 'em in the mouth.
I guess a Raiders-Rams Super Bowl would be the most interesting, but it just
doesn't thrill me because I know how it would turn out. Oakland simply wouldn't
be able to mount enough of a pass rush to slow St. Looie down.
Meanwhile, as I mentioned in my handicapping
column, we've got some teams that are going to be in the playoffs,
even though they don't know it yet and neither do their fans. I'm talking about
clubs wandering around at the 4-6 or 5-5 level or thereabouts. It's like one of
those bike races when all of a sudden someone decides to put on a furious
sprint. Someone will put on a sprint and steal a wild-card spot. Just watch.
You'll see 9-7 teams in the postseason, maybe even an 8-8 or two. Speaking of
mediocre, here come the
you-know-whats.
| Dr. Z's Power Rankings |
| Rank |
LW |
Team |
| 1 |
2 |
|
Pittsburgh Steelers (8-2)
Tennessee should have beaten them. The Titans were getting ready to launch
their winning drive against a tired defense when the Ghost of Miscommunicated
Intent rose up and steered the ball from the hands of Steve McNair into those of
Chad Scott, who'd been his pigeon all day. Tennessee had done a good job
against the Steelers pass rush, which poses two problems, Jason Gildon rushing
from the left side, Joey Porter from the right. Gildon was given over to tackle
Fred Miller, plus volunteers. He was an annoyance. Porter was assigned to
280-pound Erron Kinney, the second tight end, who wrapped him up in a neat
package. Blitzes were picked up to the extent that the Steelers drew in their
horns and rushed fewer people, resulting in 24 points and 405 yards, the most
Pittsburgh has allowed this year in each category. Offensively, I found another
thing not to like. With more than half of the final quarter left, the Steelers
led by three and they'd just allowed an 11-play, 82-yard drive. So they ran the
ball five times and punted, putting their defense right back into the meat
grinder, in perfect position to lose the game. Fate dictated otherwise, but
mine is the eye that sees all and the hand that records all. So tell me,
please, Mr. Wise Man, if you're so down on them, why are they your No.1? Two
reasons. They won, the Rams
lost.
|
| 2 |
1 |
|
St. Louis Rams (8-2)
There was no dishonor in losing to a team as fired up as the Bucs were. The
turnovers were bad, but that's what will happen against a crazed opponent. The
real reason I've dropped them no further than second is that I just don't think
any of the teams lower down are better than they
are.
|
| 3 |
3 |
|
Chicago Bears (8-2)
I guess you've realize by now that I don't think much of offensive coordinator
John Shoop. The Vikings loaded the box with eight, nine, even 10 a couple of
times -- that's right, they dropped only one guy back -- and Chicago ran right
at it. The defense was set up for the dink pass, so the Bears dinked it right in
there. It's an offense designed to take the pipe against the first serious
playoff opponent, but the defense has some superior athletes who play hard and
that's what's keeping Chicago up
there.
|
| 4 |
4 |
|
San Francisco 49ers (8-2)
Are you getting tired of all these 8-2's? Well, grit your teeth because there's
still another one to come. The Niners are a nice, cohesive, well-coached team,
and I'm greatly looking forward to their Dec. 9 contest against St. Louis in the
Speed
Dome.
|
| 5 |
5 |
|
Oakland Raiders (8-2)
They might be the best team in football, or at least No. 2, but I couldn't raise
them this week because the Bears and Niners did nothing to merit the old
droperoo. The real error, I fear, might have been made when I shipped the
Raiders south after the Seattle
debacle.
|
| 6 |
6 |
|
Green Bay Packers (7-3)
Were you impressed by them against the Lions? Me, neither. But once the lineup
is established, and people win, it's tough to penalize
them.
|
| 7 |
8 |
|
New York Jets (7-3)
I heard a very funny thing in the Monday night telecast. Speaking about the
Rams' backup tailback, Trung Canidate, someone said, "He ran for 195 yards
against a very tough Jets defense." Huh? After that October game the Jets
were last in the league in total defense, last against the run and groping
blindly for direction. To their credit, they found
it.
|
| 8 |
7 |
|
Philadelphia Eagles (6-4)
The temptation is to give them a more severe reprimand after their offense died
against the Redskins, but look at it this way: Before that contest they'd beaten
three tough opponents by a combined score of 105-27. OK, two tough opponents.
Still not happy? Well, one tough opponent then. All right, all right, leave me
alone already. No tough opponents. But at least they were NFL teams with a
logo and everything. Besides, I like the
Eagles.
|
| 9 |
9 |
|
Cleveland Browns (6-4)
These are the Bears of the AFC. A joke of an offense and a defense that's not
to be messed with. |
| 10 |
10 |
|
Miami Dolphins (7-3)
Looking at the fourth quarter of the Bills game, you'd say that they should be
raised in the rankings. Looking at the first three quarters, you'd want to
lower them. Since I'm a fair person, I'm keeping 'em right where they were last
week.
|
| 11 |
11 |
|
Baltimore Ravens (7-4)
As soon as Jacksonville went into that soft three-man line against them on the
final drive, I knew exactly what would happen and I started weeping. I shed
tears of sympathy for all those poor writers who would have to suffer through
Brian Billick's postgame press conference. "What do you think of our
quarterback now? Huh?
Huh?"
|
| 12 |
12 |
|
New England Patriots (6-5)
It is late September in Foxboro. The Patriots are 0-2. Their quarterback is
out. Their long-ball wideout is serving a suspension. All along the Mass Pike
there are homemade signs reading, "Pats Tickets for Sale." Time
fries. Drew Bledsoe can't get back into the lineup. Terry Glenn? Who's he?
Facing the team is a trip to New York and a Jets contest that ranks as one of
the truly big ones in recent Patriots' memory. Win that and, gosh, the playoffs
beckon. Yes, I foresee an upset, unless, of course, the Jets are taking this
one as seriously as New England is, and I don't think they
are.
|
| 13 |
14 |
|
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-5)
Forget the complex schemes designed to stop the Rams. The Bucs won because
their best athletes played their asses off. All of a sudden Derrick Brooks'
foot seemed healed and he was making plays all over the field. And Warren Sapp
was crashing the double-team instead of riding with it. And the DBs were flying
and the offensive line was driving people off the ball, and the Dunn-Alstott
combo was functioning as it used to in the past. Is this a one-shot or can they
sustain it for the rest of the season? As you can see, I went conservative and
raised them moderately, because after going so far out on a limb with this team
in bygone days, I refused to be burned again. I can hear your thinking.
Hey, who does this guy think he is, anyway? The man with the microphone,
at least for
now.
|
| 14 |
16 |
|
Washington Redskins (5-5)
Logically speaking, they're even money or better to make the playoffs. Just
check the rest of the schedule and see if there are any killers
there.
|
| 15 |
15 |
|
Tennessee Titans (4-6)
Terrific effort against the Steelers. Everyone's saying, what a shame, they're
out of the postseason now. Hardly. If they run the table, they're in at 10-6.
If they lose one, they've still got a chance at 9-7. If they lose two, it'll
look real bad, but as I said before, I've got a feeling that someone will sneak
in at 8-8. Not at 7-9, though.
|
| 16 |
13 |
|
New Orleans Saints (5-5)
I didn't tape this game, so I would like to know how the Patriots ran for 191
yards on them. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Jimmy, please send through any e-mail with
pertinent information, not the general blah blah about Antowain Smith running
well, etc. I mean who did what to whom up front where it counts. Let's put it
this way. If you'd have looked at the Saints' schedule before the season
started and asked, which team is the least likely to hit them for 191 on the
ground, you'd have said New England, right? You wouldn't? Well, who would you
... c'mon now, of course you would have.
|
| 17 |
23 |
|
Atlanta Falcons (6-4)
Note to Dan Reeves, and especially to Aaron Salkin, the p.r. director, who kept
telling me all preseason, "Watch us, we're gonna be good." Your team
has been reviled and degraded. People have mocked your personnel and your
quarterback. You have known what it's like to hide your face in a crowd, to eat
potato soup seven days a week, even grits. I have been as guilty of this as the
next person, who happens to be my wife. In the future I will try to make
amends. I know this $10 check won't go a long way toward ... OK, it's enough
already. Congratulations and I wish that the logistics of this project that you
see before you would allow me to place you at a higher position.
|
| 18 |
19 |
|
Denver Broncos (6-5)
Ray Rhodes is another guy who protects a lead by letting his defense go soft.
It almost cost him the Dallas game. It might be percentage football, but it's
embarrassing and the players don't like it. It's not manly. I once discussed
this with Lawrence Taylor and he said, "When you've got a lead, that's the
time you blitz and take chances and go after the quarterback. You want to knock
a team out of the game, once and for all." I ought to frame that and send
it out to defensive coordinators as a Christmas
card.
|
| 19 |
17 |
|
Indianapolis Colts (4-6)
Oooh, did you hear what Jim Mora said? In the creepy world of tabloid
journalism and TV talk shows, a man's agony has been the subject of one-liners.
These are the same types of people who like to go to the zoo and poke sticks
through the bars at the animals.
|
| 19 |
18 |
|
Seattle Seahawks (5-5)
The whole offseason was geared toward fortifying the run defense. Now, in the
last two losses, the Hawks have given up an average of 209 yards on the ground.
I can't remember a team that was this suspect against the run doing anything in
the postseason. Of course I'll recall about a dozen of them once this piece is
filed.
|
| 21 |
20 |
|
San Diego Chargers (5-6)
They have now lost four in a row. John Butler's a nice guy, but you can make
him sore by asking him if his coach is actually going to go back into college
ball. One of the really happy September and October stories has turned sour in
November, and I'm afraid I have nothing more to add on the
subject.
|
| 22 |
21 |
|
Minnesota Vikings (4-6)
Now let me get this straight. Randy Moss says that his arena is the night game
on network TV. Which means that Monday night opponents better watch out, and
sure enough, he's had fine performances in each of those contests. But a cable
game on Sunday night? That's kind of a gray area, and since the rules were not
clarified, he went belly up against the Bears. I sure would like to see the
wording on his
contract.
|
| 23 |
25 |
|
Jacksonville Jaguars (3-7)
I will not let go of this topic. The Jaguars defensive players were furious
after the Ravens loss because their coach went soft and gave the game to
Baltimore. Here's the deal about those coverage schemes, after you've been
playing aggressively all night: A player gets psyched up for the battle with a
man, not an area. No matter how many bodies are positioned in certain places,
they're passive bodies, not aggressive ones. When I become commissioner,
three-man lines will be outlawed, unless they appear in the base defense, backed
up by four
linebackers.
|
| 24 |
22 |
|
New York Giants (5-6)
After the Raiders beat them, Jim Fassel said that the Giants did a bad job of
putting points on the board while at the same time failing to stop the other
team from scoring. I wish every coach would make it this clear.
|
| 25 |
28 |
|
Arizona Cardinals (4-6)
Fourth-quarter comeback No. 15 for the Snake and still I hear talk about how he
might be a cap casualty. A big mistake. Better off working on bringing in a
pass-catching tight end and an offensive tackle and one more
wideout.
|
| 26 |
27 |
|
Kansas City Chiefs (3-7)
With a Dick Vermeil team, you never know when a running game will unexpectedly
surface, like a long-lost cousin who'd been living in South America for 20
years. The Chiefs have won three this year, and each time they rushed for 188
yards or
better.
|
| 27 |
26 |
|
Dallas Cowboys (2-8)
What happened to those little charts that coaches keep on the sidelines, showing
when you go for one and when you try for the deuce? I won't rehash the
mathematical foul-up at the end of the Denver game. We've all worked it out by
now, but what I've said for years is that there should be someone on the
sidelines to relieve a coach of the burden of 1) clock management; and 2) extra
point decisions. Things just get too churned up in the heat of the
action.
|
| 28 |
24 |
|
Cincinnati Bengals (4-6)
It's not a spite thing. I'm not trying to get even with anybody by sending them
down the slide. It's just that I happened to watch that Cleveland game. This
is a team that's slipped badly since those heady days when they were beating
clubs such as the Ravens and
Browns.
|
| 29 |
29 |
|
Buffalo Bills (1-9)
Someday, maybe five or 10 years from now, Gregg Williams will be sitting down
and reminiscing about the darkest days of his coaching career and the game that
topped 'em all, Miami, when he lost it on a blown extra point and a fumbled
kickoff. What I will say to him today is, "Get 'em all out of your system
right now, so there won't be any left over for next
season."
|
| 30 |
31 |
|
Detroit Lions (0-10)
Poor Lions. Just when they were ready to play their best game of the season on
Thanksgiving Day, they ran into the NFL's worst referee in the business, Jeff
Triplette. You remember this guy. He's the one who blinded Orlando Brown in
one eye. Well, he and his crew really did a number on the Lions, and if you
want to know the name of the replay official who didn't feel that the non-TD
call at the end was worthy of review, it's Rex Stuart. I'll bet that he'd like
to hear from
you.
|
| 31 |
30 |
|
Carolina Panthers (1-10)
I'm sure you'll find this basement apartment comfortable. With a little work,
you could really make it attractive. Actually you're lucky it came on the
market. The last tenant, Detroit, had to
vacate.
|
To send a question or comment to Dr. Z, click here.
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