Riggo’s Power Rankings Week 3: 49ers Still First, Redskins Drop
By Jeff Johnson
Welcome to the 2012 NFL season. I can’t remember the last time the NFL has shown this much parity after two weeks. Yes it’s a small sample size, but still there are only six undefeated teams left and the Arizona Cardinals are one of them. Meanwhile, how many of you had the Saints going 0-2? The 49ers did nothing but solidify their spot as the top ranked team in the NFL by shutting down, for most of the night, a highly powered Lions offense. The other elite team right now is the Texans. After that, I believe we will be seeing a lot of volatility in our rankings over the next 3-5 weeks.
| Rank | Team | Record | Last Week | Comment |
| 1 | 49ers | 2-0 | 1 | Alex Smith refused his linemen’s help cleaning up the blood off his face after cutting his nose. This guy is starting to take this Rambo leadership stuff a little too seriously. |
| 2 | Texans | 2-0 | 5 | The defense has put up gaudy numbers, but now they face an NFL team this week. Houston gets a big first real test up in the thin air in Denver. |
| 3 | Packers | 1-1 | 6 | A. Rodgers hasn’t looked the same since the Chiefs beat him up in Arrowhead. Or maybe the guys over at State Farm took his mojo when they stole his dance. |
| 4 | Falcons | 2-0 | 9 | Tony Gonzalez said this is Matt Ryan’s team. If that wasn’t obvious before, the fourth quarter proved it when the lack of a running game almost cost Atlanta a 20-point 4th quarter lead. |
| 5 | Ravens | 1-1 | 2 | Flacco should worry more about holding onto the ball than the refs performance. Yes, the reffing is bad, but if you don’t turnover the ball twice, you probably win. |
| 6 | Steelers | 1-1 | 13 | The Pirate (Roethisberger) is back and licking his chops to throw against a suspect secondary this week. |
| 7 | Broncos | 1-1 | 3 | O.K. So how do we know which Manning we will see this week? The one with arm strength, or the one that flutters balls over the middle? |
| 8 | Eagles | 2-0 | 15 | I’m sorry, but I refuse to believe a team can continue to turnover the ball 4.5 times a week win. Something has to give. |
| 9 | Patriots | 1-1 | 4 | So this is why Brady sat out so much of the preseason. They weren’t joking that their offensive line is suspect. |
| 10 | Bears | 1-1 | 7 | I don’t know, would you yell at your body guards in the middle of a fight? Cutler is a good quarterback, but is he a leader? |
| 11 | Cardinals | 2-0 | 21 | Everyone has been focusing on K. Kolb. Unfortunately for my weekly picks, I forgot how good their defense is and how they now have won 9 of their last 11 games. |
| 12 | Seahawks | 1-1 | 25 | People aren’t laughing anymore when they see a 5’11 rookie quarterback. Wilson has quietly been putting up some decent numbers. |
| 13 | Cowboys | 1-1 | 8 | It will be interesting to see how the Cowboys bounce back this week. Having your special teams spot the opposing team 10 points is not a fair way to start a game. |
| 14 | Giants | 1-1 | 10 | Coughlin, tell the Chargers that kneeling the ball down is just a simple play. Last year it cost San Diego the AFC West. |
| 15 | Chargers | 2-0 | 16 | How is a 2-0 team ranked this low? Beating the Titans and Raiders doesn’t give you much street cred. Here come the Falcons, prove me wrong and you go straight up from here. |
| 16 | Lions | 1-1 | 17 | The Lions will have to show us that they belong back in the playoffs. In order to do that, you have to beat the teams that are considered your easier opponents like the Titans. |
| 17 | Buccaneers | 1-1 | 19 | Tampa Bay goes into a hostile environment and without a career day by Manning, everyone would be taking this team a whole lot more seriously. |
| 18 | Redskins | 1-1 | 11 | Josh “Captain” Morgan, ruined what was another great game for RG3. This is a lesson that should not be forgotten by the rest of the team. |
| 19 | Bengals | 1-1 | 20 | Maybe I wouldn’t be so concerned about their defense if it wasn’t the Ravens and Cleveland they were giving over 400 yards a game against. |
| 20 | Rams | 1-1 | 27 | Bradford has St. Louis believing again. They are a few seconds shy of being 2-0 right now. |
| 21 | Saints | 0-2 | 18 | Which is of a bigger concern: Drew Brees ranked 28th among all QB’s or the Saints defense who apparently needed the bounties in place to play. |
| 22 | Jets | 1-1 | 12 | Sanchez loses one game and the calls for Tebow are already starting. Was Tebow going to complete passes the receivers were dropping? |
| 23 | Bills | 1-1 | 29 | Jackson’s injury has unleashed a weapon in C.J. Spiller even the Bills didn’t know they had. But if they didn’t know it, why did they draft him in the first round two years ago? |
| 24 | Panthers | 1-1 | 26 | Welcome back Mr. Newton. A week late, but in this competitive NFC South, he needs to come to play every weekend. |
| 25 | Colts | 1-1 | 30 | Luck is already showing signs of leadership, and the Vikings were just the first of what will become many of his victims. |
| 26 | Vikings | 1-1 | 22 | Ponder outplayed Luck on Sunday, but what this team is missing is that big play on defense Jared Allen provided last year each week. |
| 27 | Chiefs | 0-2 | 14 | Crennel said that he isn’t concerned about being the Defensive Coordinator and Head Coach at the same time. How can that be? As head coach, his DC has given up 75 points in two games. |
| 28 | Titans | 0-2 | 23 | Chris Johnson is having a worse September than he did last year. Fantasy football coaches around the nation are thinking “Here we go again.” |
| 29 | Dolphins | 1-1 | 32 | Reggie Bush is starting to show that 2011 was not a fluke. If he can keep this up, maybe Tannehill can purchase O.J.’s Heisman trophy for him as a thank you. |
| 30 | Browns | 0-2 | 31 | The Browns future looks bright. A punt return for a touchdown might have been the difference between fans thinking: “The same old Browns”, instead of: “This young team is on the way up soon.” |
| 31 | Jaguars | 0-2 | 24 | Gabbert is banged up, says he will be able to play this week, but will miss practice. Is Gerrard still available? |
| 32 | Raiders | 0-2 | 28 | If the Raiders thought their secondary was in trouble before, now they have to face Roethisberger, P. Manning and Ryan in their next three games. |
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October 30, 2011; San Francisco, CA, USA; A detail view of a San Francisco 49ers helmet lays on the sidelines before the game against the Cleveland Browns at Candlestick Park. The 49ers defeated the Browns 20-10. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE
