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teams are measured from a top rating of 25.
Home field advantage is worth 3 points. To calculate
the approximate pointspread, simply add home
field advantage to the power rating of the team
playing at home and then subtract the visiting
teams power rating from this total.
1. Indianapolis Colts (3-0) -
Hold the forts! The Colts are 3-0 and they are
getting it done with defense! We have yet to
see the Peyton Manning of years' past (only
2 TD passes this year), but that is exactly
why I'm so impressed. The Colts' offense is
way too talented to not explode at any minute.
And the defense is already there! When that
happens, this team will be incredibly dangerous.
They also have a very managable schedule upcoming
in the next week weeks. This week: @ Tennessee.
PR = 23
2. Philadelphia Eagles (2-1)
- It wasn't pretty, but the Eagles got the job
done at home vs the Raiders last Sunday. McNabb
threw for 365 yards and Owens caught 9 balls.
And the Eagles' "other" receiver, Greg Lewis
also got into the act, having a fine game. As
has been the case for the last 4 years, Philadelphia
is again the team to beat in the NFC by far.
Of minor concern, K David Akers is likely done
for the year with a torn hamsting and is being
replaced by Todd France, who probably is a step
up from LB Mark Simoneau! This week: @ Kansas
City PR = 21
3. New England Patriots (2-1)
- Huge comeback win for the Patriots last Sunday
on the road against Pittsburgh. New England
just doesn't lose 2 games in a row. Tom Brady
redeemed himself from the week before by throwing
for 372 yards and Corey Dillon chipped in with
2 touchdown runs against a pretty good run defense.
Huge concern for the Pats is losing S Rodney
Harrison for the year as New England is already
missing some of it's key defenders. My prediction
is that the Pats get thought it (like they always
seem to do). This week: vs San Diego. PR = 21
4. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-1)
- While losing a game to the Patriots is hardly
cause for concern, Pittsburgh was exposed last
week in several spots. Their pass defense (a
concern in the preseason) was simply torn apart
and RB Willie
Parker suddenly looked pedestrian. Roethlisberger
(despite 2 TD passes) had a less than adequate
game. Still, all this was against the defending
champions and HC Bill Cowher will have this
team ready to go despite the setback. The Steelers
are still a major player in the AFC. This week:
Bye. PR = 20
5. Cincinnati Bengals (3-0) -
If the Bengals indeed have a somewhat decent
defense (as shown last week vs the Bears), Cincinnati,
with their powerful offense, can compete with
anybody. Last week, they simply tore apart a
very good Chicago defense and picked off Bears'
QB Orton 5 times. Carson Palmer is the real
deal and it's time to start recognizing that
this is a very good team, folks. Did I just
see Cris Collinsworth doing cartwheels? This
week: vs Houston. PR = 18
6. Atlanta Falcons (2-1) -
Great win for the Falcons last weekend in beating
a pretty good Buffalo team on the road with
a hurting Michael Vick. Atlanta, and their 1-2
RB punch (not including Vick) rushed for 236
yards against one of the better front 7's in
the NFL. The most underrated defense in the
league sacked QB JP Losman 4 times and held
him to 75 yards passing. Remember, this team
has already beaten the Eagles, but the passing
game must improve. This week: vs Minnesota.
PR = 18
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-0)
- Granted the Bucs beat a terrible Green Bay
team last Sunday to move to 3-0, let's not forget
that that marked the first time they have beaten
the Packers on the road since 1902. The Tampa
defense picked off Brett Favre twice, sacked
him twice, and held Ahman Green to just 58 yards
rushing. The difference in the Bucs' offense
is no doubt the play of RB Carnell Williams
(and the O-line) who went off for 158 yards
rushing and leads the NFL in that catagory.
Bucs are one of the most improved teams in the
NFL thus far. This week: vs Detroit. PR = 17
8. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-1)
- Excellent road win for the Jaguars last week
against a NY Jets team that suddenly has no
quarterback. This team is just a few unmade
plays against the Colts from being 3-0. Their
defense will keep them in most games, but the
offense has to improve in order for this squad
to reach the upper-echilon. I'm not entirely
sold on QB Leftwich and handing the ball of
the "Fragile" Fred Taylor 37 times a game certainly
isn't the answer. We'll learn more about this
team in the coming weeks. This week: vs Denver.
PR = 17
9. Kansas City Chiefs (2-1)
- The Chiefs simply laid an egg last Monday
against the Denver Broncos. Kansas City's defense,
who had looked sharp in their first 2 games,
was burned for several big plays which turned
out to be the difference. After that performance,
the jury is still out on KC's "improved" defense.
Another cause for concern is RB Priest Holmes
noticable decline as he suddenly looks old and
slow. While I expect this team to rebound, it's
going to take a couple weeks to get an accurate
read on this squad. This week: vs Philadelphia.
PR = 17
10. Denver Broncos (2-1) -
Dominating win over the Chiefs on Monday night
not neccisarily a "buy" signal for this club,
aothough the Broncos will be in the playoff
hunt all season. Can Denver continue the dominance
they had over KC? Or, will problems at the running
back position continue to haunt this team? Jake
Plummer had a nice, efficient game and Denver
is going to need that in order for their offense
to have any punch. This week: @ Jacksonville.
PR = 16
11. Washington Redskins (2-0)
- The Redskins had a bye week last week but
are coming into this week's contest on a 2-0
run. Maybe the old Joe Gibbs magic is back?
He certainly made the right move in replacing
the awful Patrick Ramsey with Mark Brunell and
with a pretty good defensive squad, this Redskin
squad could surprise some people this year.
This week: vs Seattle. PR = 15
12. San Diego Chargers (1-2)
- Some may think this ranking is a tad high,
but let's remember, this team is 2 plays NOT
made away from being undefeated. The Chargers
FINALLY featured LaDanian Tomlinson against
the Giants last Sunday and that resulted in
a 45-23 pasting, with LT rushing for nearly
200 yards. This is probably the most underrated
offense in the NFL, the key is how the defense
performs. And they will HAVE to perform with
an absolutely murderous schedule upcoming. This
week: vs New England. PR = 15
13. Carolina Panthers (1-2)
- The Panthers were simply ambushed by a very
much improved Miami Dolphins squad last Sunday
follwing their upset over New England. I have
said from the very beginning of the preseason
that this Carolina squad is not a Super Bowl
caliber team like alot of folks suggested. The
Panthers are proving once again that they win
the games they are supposed to lose and lose
the games that they are supposed to win. This
week: vs Green Bay. PR = 15
14. Dallas Cowboys (2-1) -
Wheww! Narrow escape last Sunday against the
San Francisco 49ers that would have been absolutely
devestating. Despite the near loss and the absolute
meltdown against the Redskins the week before,
I am still high on this squad. I believe last
week's comeback will inspire this team even
more, not to mention the wrath that Bill
Parcells must have laid on this team the last
2 weeks. This week: @ Oakland. PR = 15
15. Buffalo Bills (1-2) - The
Buffalo Bills are hanging on for dear life in
our Top 15. Despite last week's poor showing,
I am still really high on this defense. But
QB Losman has now had 2 absolutely abysmal games
in a row and teams are learing that if they
put heavy pressure on him, he's in major trouble.
RB McGahee had a fine game, but Buffalo must
find a way to limit Losman's mistakes and win
games running the ball and on defense. Until
this happens, the Bills will be just another
also-ran. This week: @ New Orleans. PR = 14
The Rest:
16. New York Giants (2-1) - This week: vs St
Louis. PR = 14
17. Seattle Seahawks (2-1) - This Week: @ Washington.
PR = 14
18. St Louis Rams (2-1) - This week: @ NY Giants.
PR = 13
19. Baltimore Ravens (0-2) - This week: vs NY
Jets. PR = 13
20. Miami Dolphins (2-1) - This week: Bye. PR
= 13
21. Minnesota Vikings (1-2) - This week: @ Atlanta.
PR = 12
22. New Orleans Saints (1-2) - This week: vs
Buffalo. PR = 12
23. Chicago Bears (1-2) - This week: Bye. PR
= 12
24. NY Jets (1-2) - This week: @ Baltimore.
PR = 10
25. Detroit Lions (1-2) - This week: @ Tampa
Bay. PR = 10
26. Oakland Raiders (0-3) - This week: vs Dallas.
PR = 10
27. Tennessee Titans (0-3) - This week: vs Indianapolis.
PR = 9
28. Green Bay Packers (0-3) - This week: @ Carolina.
PR = 9
29. Arizona Cardinals (0-3) - This week: vs
San Francisco. PR = 8
30. San Francisco (1-2) - This week: vs Arizona.
PR = 8
31. Cleveland Browns (1-2) - This week: Bye.
PR = 8
32. Houston Texans (0-2) - This week: @ Cincinnati.
PR = 7
Stephen Salmon is a documented member of The
Professional Handicappers League.
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