The Tentative Ten – Week 2

My power rankings are fittingly named the ‘Tentative Ten’ because every week it’s subject to change, and erratically at that.

1. New Orleans Saints (2-0)

Good teams come back from behind on the road and cause turnovers in the red-zone. The Saints managed both of these things. New Orleans isn’t just trying to repeat what worked last year, this time around they’re trying to establish the run game early and not have to put the world on Drew Brees’ shoulders (not like he can’t handle it though). So far, it’s working.

2. Green Bay Packers (2-0)

I can’t tell what is more impressive, the Packers offense or defense. Some might say the defense is the most startling, but Green Bay blew out the Bills without really utilizing Greg Jennings (much to my fantasy dismay).

3. Houston Texans (2 -0)

The Texans are proving to the world that they are a complete team. A week after they rode Arian Foster for a win, they relied not only on Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson to bring them back from a 17 point deficit, but their defense as well. Mario Williams is proving why he was the first overall pick of the 2006 draft, gathering up 3 sacks against the Redskins (4 on the year).

4. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-0)

No one expected the Steelers to start out with two wins. What no one also expected was for that defense to that devastating. For the second consecutive week the Steelers shutdown a pro-bowl running back (Michael Turner and Chris Johnson). Despite how terrible both Dennis Dixon and Charlie Batch have been, they have still managed to win. It’s scary to think what will happen when Big Ben comes back.

5. Miami Dolphins (2-0)

The Dolphins have won their last two games because of their defense. They absolutely embarrassed Brett Favre on Sunday. The Dolphins secondary was on a mission to make sure that Favre’s interception record will never be broken. Don’t buy into the Jet’s hype, the Dolphins actually have  a chance to win their division this year.

6. Indianapolis Colts (1-1)

I’m not sure whether I should give credit to the great Colts team or the terrible Giant’s offensive play calling. The Colts were absolutely demolished by Arian Foster, so wouldn’t you think that establishing the run game would be a priority? For God sakes the Giants have Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs. No wonder why Jacob’s threw his helmet against the wall on Sunday night. Not to take away anything from the Colts though, their offense was clicking on all cylinders Sunday night. Denver has a reason to worry.

7. New York Jets (1-1)

The Jets decisively beat the Patriots at home, but now they’ll have to tackle the Dolphins without Darrelle Revis. Jets fans better hope Antonio Cromartie can repeat his performance on Sunday. Mark Sanchez looked really good, but Miami’s secondary is a whole hell of a lot better than the young Patriots one.

8. New England Patriots (1-1)

The Jets exposed a chink in the Patriots armor, namely Deon Butler. Butler looked terrible out there and he’ll need to step it up if the Pats have any hope for the playoffs this year.

9. Atlanta Falcons (1-1)

That’s the Matt Ryan we know. The Falcon’s secondary didn’t look too bad either, but I’m not sure whether that’s their own doing or Derek Anderson‘s.  The Falcon’s look like a wildcard contender this year, but they’ll need to fix that atrocious run defense if the plan on going anywhere.

10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-0)

Call me crazy, but the Buccaneers have been playing like a top 10 team. What makes a good team?

1. Wins? The Bucs are 2-0.
2. A good quarterback? Josh Freeman has been playing great so far
3. A good running back? Cadiliac Williams is back.
4. A capable wide receiver? Mike Williams looks like the steal of the draft.
5. A reliable tight end? Kellen Winslow Jr. is a f@#%ing soldier.
6. A defensive line? The Bucs had 4 sacks against the Panthers
7. An offensive line? Donald Penn is a double threat.
8. A secondary? Does Ronde Barber actually age?
9. Special teams? Michael Spurlock can do it all.

I don’t mean to hype up the Bucs, but they have the pieces of a good team. If Tampa Bay continues to execute properly they could surprise a lot of people this year. However, this article is called the “Tentative Ten” for a reason, the Bucs could easily slide and fall off this list.

Where are the Broncos?

15-20. Denver Broncos (1-1)

One blowout game unfortunately isn’t enough to pop into the top ten. However, if Kyle Orton continues to play like this then Denver could find themselves upsetting some teams. What the Broncos really need to do is fix that run game. It’s easy to rely on the great new third down connection between Orton and Demaryius Thomas, but Knowshon Moreno really needs to step it up.

What I will give Josh McDaniels credit for is that his run game is not like your typical run of the mill hand-off or one-cut system. McDaniels is a fan of bubble screens and dinks to replace your generic hand-offs. This is why Moreno had the second most amount of receiving yards on the team.

What do you think Nation? Any more deserving teams in the Tentative Ten? Air it out!