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Power Rankings: Week 5 2007
Cold, Hard Football Facts for October 2, 2007
 By Jonathan Comey
Cold, Hard Football Facts powerlifter
Last year at the one-fourth mark of the NFL season (technically the four-seventeenths mark thanks to byes), your top 2 teams in the Power Rankings were Chicago and Indianapolis.
Four months later, there they were in Miami, playing for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Were those first four weeks really enough to tell that the Colts and Bears would rise to the top? Well, they were certainly a good indicator – even though both teams went through big downswings in December, they rebounded in January to regain their early perch atop the football world.
This wasn't the first time our early Power Rankings proved to be premonitory.
In 2004, your top-ranked teams were New England and Philadelphia, and they finished in that exact order.
Certainly no one would be surprised if No. 1 New England was playing No. 2 Indianapolis in the AFC title game, and No. 3 Dallas in the Super Bowl.
But it's no lock. In
2005 eventual champion Pittsburgh was No. 5, and NFC Super Bowl rep Seattle was back in the pack. And in 2003 (before the birth of the Cold, Hard Football Facts and the most accurate Power Rankings in football), the champion Patriots were in the middle of the pack at 2-2 coming off a home loss to mediocre Washington.
So,
until the phrase “Championships are won in early October” becomes an accepted cliché,” early victories are merely pieces in the puzzle.
On to this year's rankings, which may or may not be a glimpse into football's future:
THE DOMINANT DOZEN
1. NEW ENGLAND (4-0, previous rank: 1)
- Last week: New England put together scoring drives of 66, 65, 62, 81, 53 and 85 yards in a 34-13 road win in Cincinnati.
- Cold, Hard Football Facts: In a season of amazing statistics for the Patriots, this could be the most amazing: in the second half of games in 2007, Tom Brady is 42 of 48 for 541 yards, 7 TDs and 0 INTs (153.22 rating).
- Next: Cleveland. The Patriots lost the tiebreaker for the final wild-card spot in 2002 to the Browns. Since, they’ve beaten Cleveland twice, by an average margin of 16.5 PPG.
2. INDIANAPOLIS (4-0, previous rank: 2)
- Last week: The Colts edged out the Broncos in the ground battle (226 yards to 223 yards) and crushed them on the scoreaboard, 38-20.
- Cold, Hard Football Facts: RB Joseph Addai is quietly having a huge season, averaging 102 YPG with five rushing TDs and a league-high 26 first-down runs. The Colts have been stopped for losses just three times, No. 1 in the NFL.
- Next: Tampa Bay. The last time Tony Dungy faced his old Tampa team was a Monday Night Football classic; the Colts came back from 35-14 down with under four minutes to go and won in OT.
3. DALLAS (4-0, previous rank: 4)
- Last week: Dallas’ tailback committee (the Texas Trio?) of Julius Jones, Marion Barber and Tyson Thompson combined for 29 carries, 149 yards and a score in a 35-7 win over the Rams.
- Cold, Hard Football Facts: In his first 10 starts for the Cowboys, WR Patrick Crayton racked up a total of 279 receiving yards; he had 184 in his 11th start Sunday vs. the Rams.
- Next:
at Buffalo, Monday night. Who at ESPN greenlighted this game? Must have been Chris Berman. Nobody circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills.
4. GREEN BAY (4-0, previous rank: 5)
- Last week: Green Bay tight ends combined for nine catches and 96 yards in a 23-16 win at Minnesota.
- Cold, Hard Football Facts: During Green Bay's eight-game win streak dating to last year, QB Brett Favre has thrown an average of 41.6 passes per contest.
- Next: Chicago, Sunday night. Pack looks primed to avenge 26-0 home loss to Bears in Week 1 of 2006.
 5. PITTSBURGH (3-1, previous rank: 3)
- Last week: Ben Roethlisberger tossed 2 INTs in a 21-14 road loss to Arizona.
- Cold, Hard Football Facts: Receiver on the rise: over his last 16 games, second-year WR Santonio Holmes has hauled in 58 catches for 1,036 yards.
- Next:
Seattle. Steelers are 6-8 all-time against Seattle, but can comfort themselves with 5-0 edge in Super Bowl rings.
 6. SEATTLE (3-1, previous rank: 7)
- Last week: Seahawks defense held an opponent touchdown-less for the second time in 2007, beating San Francisco 23-3.
- Cold, Hard Football Facts: LBs Lofa Tatupu and Julian Peterson have combined for 50 solo tackles, five sacks, an INT and six forced fumbles in four games.
- Next: at Pittsburgh. Seahawk fans still insist Steelers “stole” Super Bowl XL. Now’s their chance for early-October revenge ... which is kind of like getting tofu when you ordered a Roethlisburger.
 7. TENNESSEE (2-1, previous rank: 6)
- Last week: Titans spent bye thanking their lucky stars Madden Curse has yet to touch Vince Young.
- Cold, Hard Football Facts: Nine of Titans’ 11 offensive starters are homegrown. Only center Kevin Mawae and WR Eric Moulds have played for other franchises.
- Next: Atlanta. Imagine the hype train if this were Young vs. pre-disaster Michael Vick.
 8. TAMPA BAY (3-1, previous rank: 12)
- Last week: Jeff Garcia played another flawless game (0 INTs in 2007) in Tampa’s impressive 20-7 win at Carolina.
- Cold, Hard Football Facts: What’s Tampa’s secret to success? Not known for their running game, the Bucs boast a league-high 339 yards rushing on 1st and 10.
- Next: at Indianapolis. Tests don't get much stiffer than this one for the NFL's early-season Cinderella.
9. JACKSONVILLE (2-1, previous rank: 10)
- Last week: Jaggernauts spent bye week wishing they lived in a better city.
- Cold, Hard Football Facts: With only three games in the books, seven different Jaguars have recorded sacks.
- Next:
at Kansas City. Jacksonville's snakebit season ended with 35-30 loss in KC last year.
 10. ARIZONA (2-2, previous rank: 18)
- Last week: Cardinals played even with Steelers, rode special-teams score to 21-14 win in Arizona. Arizona is the only team in the NFL with two wins over teams with winning records.
- Cold, Hard Football Facts: With three sacks Sunday afternoon, DT Darnell Dockett claimed the NFL's clubhouse lead in sacks for the season (5.5) before getting upstaged by Giants' Osi Umenyiora’s six-sack frenzy in the night game; Dockett had 5.5 sacks in his three-year career as a full-time starter in the desert.
- Next:
at St. Louis.
11. DETROIT (3-1, previous rank: 19)
 12. HOUSTON (2-2, previous rank: 9)
- Last week:
Matt Schaub played well again (101.8 passer rating), but D faltered in 26-16 loss at Atlanta.
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Cold, Hard Football Facts: Houston’s O-line, which allowed 68 sacks in 2005 and 43 in 2006, is on pace to allow 24 in 2007.
-
Next:
Miami. Texans have played Dolphins twice and won twice in dramatic fashion, 21-20 and 17-15
.
THE TEPID TWENTY
 13. WASHINGTON (2-1, previous rank: 13) – Redskins spent bye week basking in over-.500 glory, shining Coach Gibbs’ custom red-and-yellow Toyota Camry.
14. NEW YORK GIANTS (2-2, previous rank: 22) – Defense allowed 45 points in Week 1, then 35, 17, and 3 in following games; by Week 7, Giants will allow minus-24 PPG.
15. BALTIMORE (2-2 previous rank: 8) – WR Derrick Mason has been thrown to 50 times (2nd in NFL), but ranks 22nd in yards (287).
16. CLEVELAND (2-2, previous rank: 27) – The Browns rank 7th in receiving yards (998) but 30th in yards after catch (192)
17. CAROLINA (2-2, previous rank: 11) – RB DeShaun Foster averages a robust 5.0 YPA, but he’s lost an NFL-high three fumbles.
18. KANSAS CITY (2-2, previous rank: 24) – Counting the Chiefs out? They still have seven home games, and they’re 14-3 at Arrowhead since 2005.
19. OAKLAND (2-2, previous rank: 26) – Just Run, Baby! Raiders lead NFL in rushing attempts (148), rushing yards (777) and rushings yards per attempt (5.25). Last year they ranked 30th in attempts (394), 29th in yards (1,519) and 22nd in YPA (3.86).
20. DENVER (2-2, previous rank: 14) – Broncos won’t leave friendly confines for a month; they have three home games and a bye in the next four weeks.
21. PHILADELPHIA (1-3, previous rank: 15) – Second-year tackle Winston Justice, welcome to the lineup: how’s five sacks allowed sound?
22. SAN DIEGO (1-3, previous rank: 16) – Don’t blame Antonio; TE Gates on pace for 132 catches, 1,504 yards.
23. CINCINNATI (1-3, previous rank: 17) – Bengals have lost six of seven dating back to 2006 and surrendered an average of 29.9 PPG in the process.
24. SAN FRANCISCO (2-2, previous rank: 21) – 49ers are dead last in total offense (213.2 YPG), less than half of No. 1 Dallas (440.8).
25. ATLANTA (1-3, previous rank: 30) – WR Roddy White is emerging as Joey Harrington’s go-to guy; he’s on pace for 1,204 yards receiving, which would be most by a Falcons pass catcher since Terance Mathis in 1994 (1,342 yards)
26. MINNESOTA (1-3, previous rank: 25) – Vikings have scored 17 points or less in 12 of head coach Brad Childress’ 20 games; Minnesota is 3-11 in its last 14 games.
27. CHICAGO (1-3, previous rank: 20) – It could have been worse for the Bears; they fumbled five times against the Lions, but lost none of them.
28. NEW YORK JETS (1-3, previous rank: 23) – One ray of sunlight? Jets are the only team in the NFL not to have lost a fumble.
29. BUFFALO (1-3, previous rank: 31) – Bills have only one pass play or more than 25 yards, fewest in the NFL.
30. MIAMI (0-4, previous rank: 28) – Dolphins’ next four: at Houston, at Cleveland, host New England, play Giants in London.
31. ST. LOUIS (0-4, previous rank: 29) – Of the Rams’ 11 drives against Dallas, only one was longer than 19 yards, and that one ended in an interception.
32. NEW ORLEANS (0-3, previous rank: 21) – Still in the cellar, but with a very winnable home game vs. Carolina on tap. It won't be easy for a Saints team that ranks 30th in scoring offense (12.7 PPG), 25th in total offense (296.0 YPG), 32nd in scoring defense (34.3 PPG) and 26th in total defense (355.3 YPG).
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