2008 NFL Power Rankings: Week 2

By: N-F-L Correspondent Darren Farinas

1. Dallas Cowboys (2-0-0, Last Ranking: 1) Tony Romo made a couple of mistakes against the Eagles but this is still the most complete team in the NFL. Assuming, of course, the defense plays better than it did Monday night.

2. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-0-0, Last Ranking: 3) The Steelers may have held on to a messy one in Cleveland but it’s clear this team is solid. The only question mark still looming over this team is if Big Ben’s shoulder problems are as bad as some people believe, which Mike Tomlin has vehemently denied.

3. Green Bay Packers (2-0-0, Last Ranking: 5) Can we leave Aaron Rodgers alone now? He dealt with a tough defense in Week 1 against Minnesota, and apparently hosted a clinic against the Detroit Lions, putting 21 points on the board eighteen minutes into the game.

4. New York Giants (2-0-0, Last Ranking: 4) Justin Tuck has been the anchor of this absurdly tough defense with Osi and Strahan gone; he already has three sacks and nine tackles on the year. On the offensive side of the ball, the team has been clicking on all cylinders and Eli looks like he is in mid-season form.

5. Philadelphia Eagles (1-1-0, Last Ranking: 6) Yes, they’re 1-1, but they lost to arguably the best team in football by four points. Donovan McNabb hasn’t looked nearly this good since the Eagles last made the Super Bowl. Are they really set for another run?

6. Tennessee Titans (2-0-0, Last Ranking: 9) Who needs a good quarterback? It doesn’t matter who this team has under center; they will simply beat whoever is on the other side of the ball to a bloody pulp and never look back. The Titans have been the best team in the AFC South this year and that statement should hold throughout the season.

7. Carolina Panthers (2-0-0, Last Ranking: 14) Nobody could have seen this coming. The Panthers have been outstanding so far this year, and Jake Delhomme has never thrown the ball the way he is this year. All the damage this team has caused… and it’s been without Steve Smith.

8. Buffalo Bills (2-0-0, Last Ranking: 8) The Bills are for real. Despite being a young team, Buffalo is looking good on offense with great performances from Trent Edwards (454 passing yards, 2 TDs) and Marshawn Lynch (135 rushing yards and 2 TDs).

9. Denver Broncos (2-0-0, Last Ranking: 7) I don’t know if Denver deserves to be this high, especially with the lucky break they got against the Chargers. But this offense is absurd, and Jay Cutler’s drawing comparisons to that other quarterback that used to play for this team . . . and I don't mean Jake Plummer.

10. New England Patriots (2-0-0, Last Ranking: 13) The Patriots held together nicely against the Jets without Tom Brady. Matt Cassel did a great job of managing the offense, and overall the team looks much more balanced. Now if every team could play the Pats as conservatively as the Jets did on Sunday, New England should have no problems this season.

11. San Diego Chargers (0-2-0, Last Ranking: 12) Nobody was expecting this team to start 0-2 this season but that just shows how volatile the NFL can be. If Sunday proved anything about the Chargers, it’s that this team is capable of playing at a very high level without LaDainian Tomlinson, who may struggle for the next few weeks with that toe injury.

12. Indianapolis Colts (1-1-0, Last Ranking: 11) The Colts are in some major trouble yet again. Despite that win on Sunday against the Vikes, Indy is looking at serious problems on defense now that Bob Sanders is out for six weeks with a high ankle sprain. On top of that, 80% of the Colts’ starting offensive line is injured. The Colts are going to be an interesting team to watch over the next few weeks.

13. New Orleans Saints (1-1-0, Last Ranking: 2) I may have been a bit premature to praise the Saints during my Week 1 Rankings. They lost a heartbreaker to Washington on Sunday but they’ll bounce back. That is, if Jeremy Shockey can be a great receiving target for Drew Brees like he was meant to be, especially with Marques Colston out until at least Week 6.

14. Washington Redskins (1-1-0, Last Ranking: 22) In the same breath, perhaps I was too hasty to write off Washington. The team had a rough outing against the Giants in Week 1 but absolutely tore the Saints up on offense, with Jason Campbell piling up 321 yards on 24 completions in 36 attempts and Clinton Portis rushing for nearly 100 yards and 2 TDs.

15. Chicago Bears (1-1-0, Last Ranking: 10) The Bears got beat by a good team on Sunday, plain and simple. Kyle Orton has at least been reliable thus far, but he won’t keep up his consistency under center all season.

16. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-1-0, Last Ranking: 16) The Brian Griese-led Bucs easily disposed of the Falcons but Jeff Garcia should be back at quarterback for this team before long. Garcia is a better QB than Griese and has chemistry with the offense already. Jon Gruden knows that Garcia can handle this offense and should not be holding a shaky relationship or one average game against him.

17. Minnesota Vikings (0-2-0, Last Ranking: 17) This team would be 1-1 (and around number 10 on this list) if Gus Frerotte had been leading the offense on Sunday. Now that a reliable option is under center in Minnesota, the Vikes should have the balance and consistency they need to be a playoff contender.

18. Arizona Cardinals (2-0-0, Last Ranking: 20) Kurt Warner better stay healthy because the Cards aren’t going to get anything close to this production from Matt Leinart. Warner is tossing the ball around like he did with the Rams many moons ago. The Cards could dominate the NFC West and end up with a much better record than I predicted last week, after all.

19. Cleveland Browns (0-2-0, Last Ranking: 18) The Browns are off to a rough start, but they faced the two best teams in the NFL in back-to-back opening weeks. They’ll go into the bye week with a 2-2 record, but come back in Week 6 to play the Giants. Things are looking grim for the Dawg Pound.

20. Jacksonville Jaguars (0-2-0, Last Ranking: 15) The Jags were an expected given for a playoff berth, but with their decimated offensive line, the Jags may just be lucky to be a .500 team this year. David Garrard… 3 interceptions through the first two games? Didn’t you have 3 interceptions ALL LAST SEASON?

21. New York Jets (1-1-0, Last Ranking: 19) The Jets have the pieces to make a playoff run but the biggest detriment to the team right now is coaching. Until the coaching staff mans up and stops coaching so conservatively, the head coach of this team is Eric Mangina. Grow a pair and I’ll take back that name.

22. San Francisco 49ers (1-1-0, Last Ranking: 28) The Niners are looking pretty good with J.T. O’Sullivan at quarterback. Granted, they played a depleted Seattle squad, but still, how often is San Francisco expected to win?

23. Seattle Seahawks (0-2-0, Last Ranking: 21) That Super Bowl window is gone. Things have fallen apart for this franchise in a matter of months. Things may change but the only way this team can win now is with great defense; Matt Hasselbeck has nothing to work with on the offense.

24. Baltimore Ravens (1-0-0, Last Ranking: 24) The Ravens had an unexpected break. Now comes a long, grueling stretch against Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, and Indianapolis. I hope they didn’t get too high off of that win against the Bengals in Week 1.

25. Houston Texans (0-1-0, Last Ranking: 27) Things are only going to get worse for the Texans. Besides their stadium being badly damaged as a result of Hurricane Ike, they now have to go on the road against AFC South rivals Tennessee and Jacksonville before they head home to play against Indianapolis. An 0-4 record is not much of a stretch at this point.

26. Miami Dolphins (0-2-0, Last Ranking: 25) Chad Pennington is doing the best he can with a very young team but it still confuses me as to why the Dolphins put Chad Henne into the end of the game against Arizona. More confusing is why the team’s two-headed running attack, Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, cannot get any yardage. This offensive line is not THAT bad.

27. Atlanta Falcons (1-1-0, Last Ranking: 23) Welcome back to Earth, Matt Ryan and Michael Turner. The Falcons got a little dose of reality on Sunday against the Bucs; though I’m sure the team realized things wouldn’t be as easy as they were against the Lions.

28. Oakland Raiders (1-1-0, Last Ranking: 29) Darren McFadden is the great hope for the Raiders. The team was planning on phasing Justin Fargas out as McFadden started to get more carries, but with Fargas out with a groin injury, McFadden is likely the clear-cut starter.

29. Detroit Lions (0-2-0, Last Ranking: 31) The Lions should not be this horrible. The offense had a very nice rally against the Packers last week, but Jon Kitna’s high risks (i.e. back-to-back-to-back interceptions) quickly derailed any hope of the Lions starting out 1-1. Why do they keep putting practice squad players on defense during actual games? (My friend actually told me that is actually the Lions’ first-team defense. Could’ve fooled me….)

30. Kansas City Chiefs (0-2-0, Last Ranking: 26) The Chiefs are a mess at quarterback. Tyler Thigpen takes over this week for a team rife with young players. This week sees the Chiefs play the Falcons. Craptastic Game of the Week? Definitely.

31. Cincinnati Bengals (0-2-0, Last Ranking: 30) Carson Palmer has looked bad but the majority of it is not his fault. The Bengals are another team that a bad offensive line will sink an otherwise talented offense rather quickly. We know Cincinnati’s defense sucks but who would have thought this offense was going to start out the season with 17 points in two games?

32. St. Louis Rams (0-2-0, Last Ranking: 32) The Rams have scored 16 points and given up nearly 1,000 yards and 79 points in the first two weeks. It amazes me that this team made very few improvements in the places where they suffer the most: the offensive and defensive lines (Yes, I’m aware of Chris Long but that doesn’t make up for the other players on the D-line)