Music to listen to: Live in Los Angeles (WIP I) by the Omar Rodgriguez-Lopez Group
Let’s get to my NFL Power Rankings and predictions for this upcoming week
32- Carolina (1-9): The Panthers have an interesting decision to make in this upcoming draft. Do they stick with Jimmy Clausen as their quarterback of the future or look to someone else. What we do know is that Brian St. Pierre isn’t the answer. Also, why hasn’t John Fox gotten more flack for this terrible team? He went from the possible top free agent coach in the NFL this offseason to being not even in the top five.
31- Cincinnati (2-8): Yes, your team does stink Terrell Owens. How can you go from being up 17 at halftime, to Buffalo, AT HOME, and still lose by 18 points?
30- Arizona (3-7): Do you take a flier on Donovan McNabb or Vince Young this offseason as a Cardinals’ organization?
29- Denver (3-7): Bad showing at San Diego on Monday. I don’t care how many yards Kyle Orton throws for because if you can’t run the ball or stop anybody on defense, you end up with a double-digit loss season which is exactly where the Broncos are heading. And no, its not Tebow time.
28- Detroit (2-8): I don’t understand why people don’t like seeing Dallas and Detroit every Thanksgiving (OK, really it’s the Lions). I like the tradition of the Lions hosting a game, even though they will probably get handled easily by New England on Thursday.
27- San Francisco (3-7): Bad home showing by the 49ers in their 21-0 loss at home to Tampa. This is another squad that needs quarterback help. It may also be time to end the Mike Singletary era as well.
26- Minnesota (3-7): The Vikings finally pulled the plug on Brad Childress and I thought I would enjoy it more. I anticipated the moment too much and ended up disappointed. Its similar to when you look forward to eating that piece of pie from your favorite bakery and while its still good, its not as great as you would like it. Oh yeah, bench Brett Farve, its time.
25- Buffalo (2-8): I was very tempted to put them ahead of some other squads but this is still a two-win squad. Ryan Fitzpatrick has been a revelation at quarterback as well as Steve Johnson at receiver.
24- St. Louis (4-6): The Rams are still in the NFC West race but has to do better than 0-4 on the road as they have been this year. This week’s game at Denver would be a nice step.
23- Houston (4-6): This squad is too talented to have the last two losses at Jacksonville and the New York Jets to take place. The question is whether Texans’ owner Bob McNair retains head coach Gary Kubiak for next season even though he signed an extension late last season.
22- Cleveland (3-7): Things were looking up for the Browns with Colt McCoy at quarterback and Peyton Hillis beasting at the running back spot but now McCoy is hurt and Jake Delhomme is back at the helm. That’s bad news for everybody.
21- Seattle (5-5): They will probably win the NFC West but it still won’t matter in the playoffs.
20- Dallas (3-7): If the right head coach is hired, the Cowboys can be a top-five NFL team in three years. I don’t think that Jason Garrett is that guy.
19- Miami (5-5): Their .500 record is a true indication of what the Dolphins’ season has been. Things went bad for them after that New England home contest debacle.
18- Oakland (5-5): The Raiders had a chance to show that they’re ready to make a step up as an organization at Pittsburgh last Sunday but were underwhelming.
17- Tennessee (5-5): Its time for Vince Young and the Titans organization to part ways. Its like a relationship with a partner while you were a senior and the other one is a freshman in college. You graduated and have moved on to adult-related issues while your girlfriend constantly nags you about unimportant things. You’re thinking about your career and preparing a retirement plan while she is worried about not getting a good grade in her chemistry test or one of her girlfriends not talking to her in the dining hall on campus. One of you has matured and the other one hasn’t. Time to break up and find different partners.
16- Washington (5-5): Still don’t know how they won at Tennessee but the Redskins did.
15- Jacksonville (6-4): If the playoffs started today, the Jags would be in and the Colts would be out.
14- San Diego (5-5): We’ve seen this song and dance before from San Diego. Start off slow, end fast and lose a home playoff game.
13- Kansas City (6-4): Ahead of the Chargers for now but that can and probably will change quick.
12- Chicago (7-3): Jay Cutler throws too many bad passes, Matt Forte is still not running like he did two years ago and their third-down conversion percentage is terrible. Yet, the Bears are on a three-game winning streak.
11- New York Giants (6-4): I don’t think the Giants will make the playoffs this season. Losing winnable division games two weeks in a row is a bad sign and hints at a potential downslide.
10- Indianapolis (6-4): The Colts will probably find a way to make the playoffs but this has to be one of their weaker teams in the past ten years.
9- Tampa (7-3): The Bucs are a top-ten NFL squad. They play solid defense and don’t turn the ball over. Sounds like a nice recipe to me. They’re also the youngest good team in the league right now so the Bucs aren’t going anywhere in the near future.
8- New Orleans (7-3): The Saints are a dangerous team, especially if they can get Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush healthy. Their contest at Dallas on Thanksgiving will be an interesting test to see where the Saints are at.
7- Baltimore (7-3): The Ravens are a good team and have a win over the Jets, but also looked weak in wins over lowly Buffalo and Carolina. Baltimore has the look of a contender but has moments of being a pretender.
6- Philadelphia (7-3): The Eagles are going to put up points but it’s the defense that has to be on point if they want to return to the Super Bowl. What happens when Philly is at Atlanta or Green Bay facing those offenses?
5- Green Bay (7-3): Destroyed Minnesota and head into Atlanta for the NFC game of the year on Sunday.
4- Atlanta (8-2): Excellent squad at home and will need that help when hosting Green Bay this Sunday.
3- Pittsburgh (7-3): Good win over Oakland and are ahead of the Falcons because of a win at home over Atlanta in the first week of the season.
2- New York Jets (8-2): By my logic above, I should have the Jets as my top squad because they beat New England earlier in the year but I don’t like the need for the late-game heroics against teams they’re clearly better than like Houston, Cleveland and Detroit. A dominant home performance against Cincinnati at home would be a nice step in that direction.
1- New England (8-2): They’re the top team in the league right now after an excellent win over Indianapolis last Sunday
Here are my picks for this upcoming week (home team in CAPS):
New England (-6.5) DETROIT
DALLAS (+3.5) New Orleans
NY JETS (-9) Cincinnati
WASHINGTON (-1) Minnesota
BUFFALO (+6.5) Pittsburgh
HOUSTON (-6.5) Tennessee
NY GIANTS (-7) Jacksonville
Carolina (+10) CLEVELAND
BALTIMORE (-7.5) Tampa
Philadelphia (-3.5) CHICAGO
Green Bay (+2) ATLANTA
OAKLAND (-3) Miami
SEATTLE (+2) Kansas City
DENVER (-4) St. Louis
INDIANAPOLIS (-3) San Diego
ARIZONA (-1) San Francisco
Last week:11-5
Season: 88-67-3
Those are my thoughts, what are yours?
The Sports Inquirer 
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