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We are getting down to crunch time in the NFL. After 75% of the season, we are beginning to see the contenders separate themselves from the pack, and several intriguing division races are heading into the stretch run. The AFC West, for instance, is an exciting race with both the Chargers and Broncos controlling their own destinies. The Seahawks seem to have finally established themselves as a bonafide NFC powerhouse, while the AFC North has seen a changing of the guard with the Bengals taking control from the Steelers in week 13.
Each week is like a question-and-answer session with each contender stating its case for the playoffs. What can we expect from the defending champs? Is Eli Manning capable of winning on the road in the playoffs? Will David Garrard carry the Jags to a playoff berth? Can the Bears’ mighty defense carry them to Detroit? These questions will be answered in the following weeks as we enjoy the last month of regular season football.
To compile these rankings, we asked several Cafe members who know their football to rank the NFL’s 32 teams from worst to first. Combining these rankings allows us to take a look at where each team stands at this point of the 2005 NFL campaign.
| Rank | Change | TEAM | Avg Rank | d a n r | d a n l | h a w k | S w i p e | A r l o |
| 1 (1) | Indianapolis | 1.2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Any questions? Well, other than whether or not they will go undefeated… | ||||||||
| 2-T (3) | Cincinnati | 3.0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | |
| Defense is definitely a concern, but the offense is just a juggernaut. Posting 37, 42, and 38 points against three top-five defenses is impressive. This team probably has the best chance among AFC teams to hang with Indy at the RCA Dome. | ||||||||
| 2-T (2) | Denver | 3.0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | |
| Have they ever won at Arrowhead? No worries, this team is still a top playoff contender, but that final game in San Diego looms as an early playoff game. That duel will be for the AFC West title, and the Broncos desparately want to hang on to that bye. | ||||||||
| 2-T (4) | Seattle | 3.0 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| Does anybody remember who the Dolphins beat in the Super Bowl of 1972? I thought not. This is a very good team that may be forgotten because this is the year of a great team. That 42-0 thrashing on Monday Night Football was impressive. | ||||||||
| 5 (5) | San Diego | 5.8 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 | |
| Nobody wants to play this team right now, and as long as LaDainian Tomlinson gets healthy and stays healthy, the Chargers will be a force. The Broncos are nervous right now. | ||||||||
| 6 (6) | Chicago | 6.8 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 7 | |
| Kyle Orton = problems on the road in the playoffs. | ||||||||
| 7 (8) | Carolina | 7.6 | 6 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 6 | |
| The Panthers exorcised the Vick demons and put themselves in good position to get a first-round bye. The decision to go from Stephen Davis to DeShaun Foster at tailback was genius. The Panthers now have a fresh young gun at tailback for the stretch run. | ||||||||
| 8-T (11) | Jacksonville | 8.8 | 7 | 7 | 11 | 10 | 9 | |
| This is a gutsy team that needs its quarterback to be a contender in the playoffs. A pancake schedule pretty much guarantees the Jaguars a postseason berth, but it might be short-lived with Garrard at the helm. | ||||||||
| 8-T (10) | New York Giants | 8.8 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 10 | |
| Eli Manning has a completion percentage of just over 50%. That is bad news for a playoff team. The good news is that the defense is playing better than any other unit besides Chicago right now. As weak as the NFC is right now, the Giants have a shot at the big game. | ||||||||
| 10 (13) | Kansas City | 9.6 | 12 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 13 | |
| Larry Johnson is running like a man possessed and will be a top-five pick in fantasy drafts next year. The Chiefs just might ride #27 into the playoffs if they get lucky. Priest who? | ||||||||
| 11 (6) | Pittsburgh | 10.2 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 8 | |
| There’s desperation in the Steel City right now, folks. The Steelers have to win out because of the strength of the AFC. There are only two spots for Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, Kansas City, and San Diego. That means that two very good teams will be watching from home, and the Steelers might be one of them. | ||||||||
| 12 (12) | Atlanta | 12.4 | 11 | 9 | 16 | 14 | 12 | |
| How the mighty have fallen. Only six points? This is a team that reached the NFC Championship game last year, but the Falcons now find themselves in danger of missing the playoffs. | ||||||||
| 13 (15) | New England | 12.8 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 12 | 15 | |
| It’s hard to count Tom Brady out, but he sure needs some help. The Patriots win the AFC East by default, but the defense needs to step up big time against teams like Indianapolis, Cincy, and Denver in the playoffs. Brady can’t outscore everybody by himself. | ||||||||
| 14 (9) | Dallas | 13.2 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 11 | |
| Life can go on as usual – we all knew Drew Bledsoe was somehow in the locker room for the first few games and Jeff George was wearing the #11. Well, they let Drew back on the field and the ‘Boys are in freefall. | ||||||||
| 15 (14) | Tampa Bay | 14.8 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 16 | |
| Chris Simms isn’t any better than Kyle Orton. The defense is worse than Chicago’s. This is a problem. | ||||||||
| 16 (16) | Minnesota | 15.0 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 14 | |
| Its about time Brad Johnson starts getting credit for his career. Maybe Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl win had more to do with the QB than we thought. Johnson remains undefeated as a starter this year, and the Bears are hearing footsteps… | ||||||||
| 17 (17) | Washington | 17.4 | 17 | 19 | 17 | 17 | 17 | |
| This is a tough team to figure out. Washington plays hard every week, but it’s hard to be sure if they should be better than 6-6 or worse than 6-6. Then again, maybe 6-6 is just right. | ||||||||
| 18 (22) | Miami | 18.8 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 21 | |
| For those of you keeping track, that is two wins in a row for Nick Saban, who will be a very good coach in the NFL. His players haven’t quit on him which is admirable. | ||||||||
| 19 (19) | St. Louis | 19.2 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 18 | |
| Do these guys know that Steven Jackson plays for the Rams? Maybe they think he’s playing point guard for the Pacers up in Indy. Oh right. Thats Stephen Jackson. Either way, this team has success when they run and failure when they don’t. A franchise in disarray. | ||||||||
| 20 (18) | Philadelphia | 21.0 | 18 | 24 | 24 | 20 | 19 | |
| If you know any Atlanta fans feeling sorry for themselves, refer them to Philly. First TO, then McNabb, and now Westbrook. That Super Bowl window they were talking about has closed. | ||||||||
| 21 (20) | Oakland | 21.4 | 22 | 17 | 25 | 23 | 20 | |
| His name is Randy Moss. He wears #18, and we hear he’s pretty good. What a waste. | ||||||||
| 22 (21) | Buffalo | 22.2 | 21 | 25 | 21 | 22 | 22 | |
| That was a huge collapse against Sage Rosenfels. How do you give up a 20-point lead with ten minutes left against a guy that sounds like he is the janitor at the local elementry school? Mike Mularkey needs a QB, and that vaunted defense is in shambles. | ||||||||
| 23 (25) | Arizona | 23.0 | 24 | 21 | 20 | 25 | 25 | |
| I wonder if Kurt Warner ever catches himself calling Boldin and Fitzgerald, “Isaac and Torry”? | ||||||||
| 24 (24) | Baltimore | 23.2 | 25 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 23 | |
| This team has had a vicious schedule. Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, Cincy twice, and now Denver. That’s not the only reason the Ravens are in reeling, however. The offensive line and QB play has been disturbing, to put it lightly. | ||||||||
| 25 (23) | Cleveland | 23.4 | 23 | 26 | 23 | 21 | 24 | |
| This team will be very good someday. Romeo Crennell and Reuben Droughns have the Browns pointed in the right direction. Unfortunately, they are in a division with two powerhouses, so the progress is harder to see. | ||||||||
| 26 (26) | Tennessee | 26.4 | 26 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 27 | |
| The Titans need to part ways with Steve McNair in 2006. He is a great guy and a good QB, but he’s just holding back the improvement process. Time to get Billy Volek some reps. | ||||||||
| 27 (27) | Green Bay | 26.6 | 28 | 23 | 27 | 29 | 26 | |
| See above. Brett Favre needs to step down. Unfortunately, Aaron Rodgers will never be a franchise QB. Enjoy these last few games, because they are the last we will see of a living legend. Time for another period of rebuilding in cheesehead town. | ||||||||
| 28 (28) | New Orleans | 28.0 | 27 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 28 | |
| Aaron Brooks said he would quit if the Saints move stadiums again. Tom Benson is probably asking around to see where he can move, and if he can get there before the next game. Brooks is that bad. | ||||||||
| 29 (29) | Detroit | 29.6 | 29 | 31 | 32 | 27 | 29 | |
| It’s hard to tell what’s wrong with this team. There are so many things wrong that we’ll just chalk it up to Matt Millen and the fact that the entire organization is underacheiving. | ||||||||
| 30 (32) | Houston | 30.0 | 30 | 28 | 31 | 30 | 31 | |
| Rejoice, Texans fans! You will have your choice of Reggie Bush or Matt Leinart. The problem is that Domanick Davis and David Carr are fine – it’s the other 51 players who are the problem. Can we fix that with a #1 overall pick? | ||||||||
| 31 (31) | San Francisco | 30.4 | 31 | 30 | 29 | 30 | 32 | |
| This team reminds me of Miami – playing over its head for a good young coach who will be a great success someday. You can tell Mike Nolan is doing things right because these guys don’t quit and he gets more out of them than their ability would indicate. | ||||||||
| 32 (30) | New York Jets | 31.2 | 32 | 32 | 30 | 32 | 30 | |
| Once this team adds a couple offensive linemen and a QB, they might be in good shape. Herm Edwards is good, but the talent and health have been decimated. It’s pretty sad when your QB has engineered one touchdown in 38 drives or some ridiculous number like that. | ||||||||
| Legend danr = danielrp danl = danleroi22 hawk = black_hawk8888 Swipe = SwiperNoSwiping |
A big thank you to the football buffs who contributed to these rankings!
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