Writing the Pine

AP Photo/Patrick Semansky

1) New Orleans Saints (5-0) – Finally, after defeating a team that has been number one on Anderson’s NFL Power 10 throughout this entire NFL season, the New Orleans Saints have leapfrogged into first place. After being tested in Week 4 against the Jets, many wondered how legitimate this Saints team was and how they would handle one of the best teams in football who’s balanced on both sides of the ball. Any questions or doubts about the Saints now should be thrown out the window. A lot was made into this game as to how Drew Brees would respond following two games where he hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass. Was Brees just a quarterback that racked up huge statistics, but couldn’t deliver big numbers in big games? Let’s just say this was a statement game for Drew Brees and all of his receivers: a statement not only to the New York Giants, but to the all of the writers and critics that place only Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in the discussion for best quarterback in the NFL. Not to be forgotten is the more than adequate performance that the Saints defense provided. The defense put enough pressure on Eli Manning that forced some errant throws the entire game. Although they gave up 27 points and over 300 yards, the Saints had built a big enough lead early that they could afford to play prevent defense for a good portion of the game. That’s been the theme of the Saints for most of the year: their offense builds a big lead, their defense plays a conservative prevent defense defending big plays and fishing for turnovers. Looking at their schedule for the rest of the season, the Saints only have 3 difficult games left in the regular season: 2 division games against the Atlanta Falcons and 1 huge Monday Night game against the New England Patriots. Talks of going 16-0 are premature, but the thought isn’t farfetched.

2) Minnesota Vikings (6-0) – I know I’m going to get protest from Vikings fans for not giving them the number one spot despite being ahead of the Saints on the rankings last week and having a better record, but the fashion in which both games (Giants at Saints, Ravens at Vikings) were won was enough for me to make a clear cut decision. The Vikings were bailed out by a missed field goal yesterday along with a questionable Ravens secondary, who I’ve been harping on all season. The Vikings have the potential to be as complete of a team as there is in the NFL, but their inconsistent play on defense yesterday was an eye opener for me. On offense, they are balanced at every position. Their special teams is dynamic with a clutch field goal kicker in Ryan Longwell and an electrifying returner in Percy Harvin. My question lies in their defense. Their defensive front four is undoubtedly the best in the league and they easily account for much of the team’s success on run defense. However, I am still not sold on their pass coverage. Antoine Winfield is a top 10 corner, but in a matchup against teams with multiple playmakers and a strong QB, I wonder if they would have much success covering the pass. One intriguing storyline is that should the Vikings face the Saints in the NFC Championship, the game would be played in a dome regardless of who has home field advantage. Let’s not forget that the Vikings’ decision not to resign Darren Sharper might come back to haunt them.

3) Indianapolis Colts (5-0) – The Colts had a bye week and it could not have come at a better time. This gives Bob Sanders and Anthony Gonzalez another week to get better. The Colts have been very explosive on offense that their defense hasn’t been exposed yet. The pass rush of Dwight Freeney has helped mask their deficiencies on defense. However, if Bob Sanders can return healthy onto the field soon, those deficiencies may not have a chance to be exposed. I have no doubt that Peyton Manning took notice of the play of Drew Brees and Tom Brady this week and will look to have another strong week…against the Rams.

4) New York Giants (5-1) – There’s no doubt that the Giants were embarrassed this weekend in New Orleans, but there’s no reason for them to hang their heads on this loss. For one, they were playing an explosive Saints offense this past Sunday after having played only J.V. teams (as Justin Tuck kindly put it) thus far this season. Also, they were not playing at full strength considering Eli Manning isn’t completely healthy and considering they were playing without Michael Boley at linebacker and Aaron Ross at cornerback. The loss does hurt in that they are essentially two games behind New Orleans in the fight for home field advantage. The Giants schedule gets significantly more difficult in the upcoming weeks. However, with the other NFC East teams appearing to be much weaker this season that in seasons past, the Giants should have a stranglehold on the division.

5) Denver Broncos (6-0) – Wow, the Denver Broncos are 6-0 to start the 2009 season. Wait, one more time: The Denver Broncos are 6-0 to start the 2009 season. I’ll be repeating this first line with an adjustment on the record should they continue to go undefeated in the following weeks. I had my concerns about this team being a fluke, especially considering that they lacked (and still do) an identity on offense. However, I’ve learned in the past few weeks that this team’s identity falls on defense. Yes, they were ranked 29th last year in team defense, but newly instated defensive coordinator Mike Nolan has really done wonders to revitalize that defense much like Greg Williams has done in New Orleans. The defense is now 1st this year in total defense and the amazing thing is that the personnel, for the most part, is the same as last year except with Brian Dawkins being the only key addition. Yet, Dawkins has been huge for the defense. He’s helped shore up a horrendous run defense with his hard hitting style and nose for the ball. His physical attitude has seemed to rub off on his teammates and you can see the Philadelphia defense struggling this year with his absence. They pressure alot from their 3-4 defense, and their ability to play man to man on the outside with Champ Bailey and Andre Goodman is the one of the main reasons why they can play this aggressive style. On offense, Kyle Orton has done a great job of managing the game and making plays when he needs to. Quality wins against Cincinnati, Dallas, New England, and now San Diego validates their hot start. How long can they keep it up?

6) Atlanta Falcons (5-1) – Don’t look now, but the Atlanta Falcons are 5-1! They are still flying under the radar given all of the attention and buzz that is surrounding the Saints in the NFC South. And as mentioned before, the two division games against New Orleans has yet to be played, so the division is still wide open for these two teams. Matt Ryan looked shaky for the first time all season against the Bears defense on Sunday night. Prior to that game, Ryan was tops in the league in QB rating when it came to handling the blitz. Although Michael Turner hasn’t been as explosive this season, the Falcons defense has been stepping it up. At the end of the day, they need contributions from their entire team if they want to replicate the production of the Saints, their NFC South rival.

7) Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2) – Again, don’t look now, but the Steelers are a tiebreaker away from being at the top of their division. After being written off by many after starting off the season 1-2, the Steelers have reeled off 3 straight wins. What people tend to forget is that the Steelers are likely a few plays away from being undefeated right now. They lost off of missed field goals by Jeff Reed in Chicago, and they lost on a last minute drive for a touchdown by Carson Palmer. Troy Polamalu is finally getting healthy again and his presence was sorely missed. Even though they are still applying great pressure on opposing quarterbacks, the Steelers have uncharacteristically given up points in the 2nd half of games to allow teams to have some life at the end. I’m still waiting for their annual division games against the Ravens, which end up being slugfests and are great indicators for where each team stands.

8 ) New England Patriots (4-2) – Not to shatter the broken record, but don’t look now, the Patriots are ahead in the AFC East and apparently back to their fun and gun ways like they’re playing in a Steve Spurrier offense. Bill Belichick can say all that he wants, but there’s no question that he was definitely making a statement in yesterday’s game. After losing in dramatic fashion to his protege, Josh McDaniels, last week, good ol’ BIll was certainly motivated this week to get his team back on track. Even though the Titans are 0-5, to put up 52 points in a half against any team is impressive. I wouldn’t say that Tom Brady is back just yet because he did play a defense that’s given up the most passing yards and also, a defense that was playing without their two starting cornerbacks. Nevertheless, the win is impressive and the fact that the team is on top of their division again does mean that the Patriots are back on track, sort of.

9) Cincinnati Bengals (4-2) – I’m not going to lie, I was expecting a letdown of sorts this week by the Bengals. After all, all 5 of their games have come down to the wire. In any event, they should not be surprised by this loss only because the Houston Texans have been as potent on offense as any team in the NFL this season. I am just not quite sold on this team just yet. They have a solid quarterback-receiver combo in Carson Palmer and Chad Ochocinco and Cedric Benson has had a revival of sorts this season, but who else do they have? I’m not even sold on Benson keeping up his play for an entire season. Antwan Odom was just lost for the season and he was leading the league in sacks. They have solid pieces on defense in Keith Rivers, Rey Maualuga, and Leon Hall, but not enough to be a dynamic defense like their AFC North counterparts in the Ravens and Steelers. Winning their remaining division games will be huge if they’re hoping to sustain their division lead.

10) Arizona Cardinals (3-2) – Ahh, some fresh blood on Anderson’s Power 10. The Cardinals are always forgotten even though they went to the Super Bowl last year because they underachieve in a one of the weakest conferences in all of football. Yes, they are underachieving at 3-2. Arizona has the pieces on offense to be the best offense in the NFL, yet there are days when they don’t play like it because they fail to establish their running game. Hello Ken Whisenhunt, did you not draft Beanie Wells for this reason?? This was a problem that the Saints had in years past, when Sean Payton’s pass-run ratio was close to 4 to 1. I think Whisenhunt will learn this in time much like Payton has learned this evidenced by their fourth ranked rushing attack in the NFL. Their defense is generally solid. Actually, they played exception against the Seahawks. The unit has some dynamic playmakers on the team to be a really good defense in Antrel Rolle, Adrian Wilson, Darnell Dockett, and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. However, they have to learn to play great defense on a week to week basis, although a running game would greatly support this effort.