dberce1

Dr Z's new power rankings for the week. Saints listed at 26, below San Diego, Miami, Arizon, and Detroit. Thanks Dr Z, you a$$wipe.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...ngs/index.html

SaintFanInATLHELL

No point in worrying about such silly rankings. One thing about the NFL is that all raking is done on the field without the input of sports writers. The Saints true ranking really won\'t be known until December at the very earliest because of the really lite non division schedule. I expect that all 4 teams in our division to be somewhere between 5-3 and 8-0 against the two West divisions with everyone taking out SanFran, the Cards, Oakland, and the Chargers, and winning 1-4 games against the Rams, Seahawks, KC, and Denver. Carolina has already lost to Green Bay and will get Philly as its other conference game.

So it pretty much comes down to the division games. I\'m betting that the team that goes 4-2 or 5-1 in division will probably take it. But for the Saints 5 of those 6 division games in the last 6 weeks of the season getting both Atlanta and Carolina twice in that span.

Even if the Saints are 7-3 going into that stretch, presuming a win against TB (in October), taking out the 4 teams listed above and splitting the four games against the Rams, KC, Denver, and Minnesota. By Thanksgiving we\'ll still know almost absolutely nothing about the final fate of the team.

Let\'s just get ready for the next 4 weeks. If we stumble in any of those games, it\'ll just make the stretch run, which the Saints of late have been exceedingly bad at, even harder.

SFIAH

[Edited on 16/9/2004 by SaintFanInATLHELL]

Super Bowl Championships: New Orleans Saints:1, Carolina:0, Atlanta Chokers: STILL ZERO

Only Atlanta choked in an unchokable situation... Life is definitely good.

CheramieIII

I don\'t know about everyone else, but it makes me feel alot better to know that we actually play like some people predict, at least we are consistent with one thing, our inconsistency.

:soleil:

CheramieIII

and here\'s some more great news:

Power Rankings: NFL back off its bye; Pats still the 1
By Pete Prisco
SportsLine.com Senior Writer
Tell Pete your opinion!

Did the 2003 season really end, or are we just picking up after six-month bye week?

The calendar says September, but little has changed from the end of last season. Consider:

The Chiefs and Colts still can\'t stop anybody. Kansas City\'s defense might be wise to say penance to their Priest: Please bless us for we have sinned. We can\'t stop anybody.
The Patriots are still finding ways to pull out games they shouldn\'t win and still playing dominatrix with the Colts. Spank us, please.
The Broncos can still run the ball, even if their franchise back is with another team and their new guy stands eye-to-eye with all 5-feet-6 of me.
Miami\'s offense is offensive.
So is Baltimore\'s.
The Saints should be in the state pen for killing themselves.
The Vikings offense is the Purple People (Yardage) Eaters.
Arizona still isn\'t very good.
T.O. can still go.
If Week 1 is an indicator, we\'re stuck in a time warp. There were a few wrinkles -- such as the Cleveland Browns and San Diego Chargers winning -- but, for the most part, this season started out much like the last one ended.

Jake Plummer and the Broncos have another explosive running back in Quentin Griffin. (AP)
New England\'s victory over the Colts keeps them atop the SportsLine.com Power Rankings, a perch they have held for a long, long time. But there are teams closing fast, the fastest being the Vikings.

Seeing what Daunte Culpepper and his explosive offense did Sunday to a Dallas defense that finished 2003 ranked No. 1 does not bode well for the defenses that will face him this year.

Playing the Vikings is like competing against the United States 4x100-meter relay team: Deadly if they don\'t drop the baton.

If Culpepper can hang on to the ball -- turnovers have killed him in the past -- Minnesota is going to be one tough beat and will spend time atop these rankings at some point this season.

For now, it\'s still the Patriots looking down on the rest of the league. Would we expect anything else since the past six months seemingly have been nothing more than the longest bye week in league history?

The complete Power Rankings after Week 1:

POWER RANKINGS
Current Team Previous
1 New England Patriots 1
The Patriots stay in the top spot, but they owe Edgerrin James a little something for helping them do it. That wasn\'t the Super Bowl defense we saw last week against the Colts.
2 Minnesota Vikings 3
They are one tough offense, but they also struggled some on defense. A big early test next Monday against the Eagles on the road will tell a lot about this team.
3 Philadelphia Eagles 4
Any more doubters as to what Terrell Owens will mean to this team? Just remember, it was only the Giants.
4 Indianapolis Colts 2
They should start hoping like heck they don\'t have to see the Patriots again. Then again, they did roll up 446 yards of offense against them.
5 Denver Broncos 6
Clinton who? Not quite, but Quentin Griffin is the real deal. They have a tough road game this week at Jacksonville, which has a good run defense.
6 Seattle Seahawks 8
After seeing them live Sunday, they are for real. The improved defense is the difference.
7 Tennessee Titans 10
Dominated defensively against a bad Miami offense, but the Colts will present a test of a far different level this week.
8 Green Bay Packers 12
The fact they pushed around a heck of a defense Monday night is impressive. The attack defense also showed well.
9 Kansas City Chiefs 7
It\'s the same old story: The Priest does his part, but the defense is still looking for divine intervention.
10 Baltimore Ravens 5
We\'ll give them a mulligan for that terrible showing at Cleveland. But if the offense doesn\'t get going, it\'s going to be a long season for Ray Lewis and his defense.
11 Jacksonville Jaguars 13
They should feel very fortunate today the way they won, but after not winning at all on the road last season, they\'ll take it any way they can. Big test this week at home against Denver.
12 Carolina Panthers 11
The offensive line stinks, and now they will be without their only deep threat in Steve Smith. The defense also was shredded. Repeat as NFC champ? Not happening.
13 St. Louis Rams 14
They\'re 1-0, but do they feel good about it? This might be a sliding team, and maybe Marc Bulger isn\'t as good as thought.
14 Pittsburgh Steelers 15
It\'s hard to gauge this team on beating the Raiders, who are a bad team. But there were some good things.
15 New York Jets 17
This is a team to watch closely. They just might be better than we all thought, particularly if Curtis Martin runs like he did last week. He won\'t.
16 Washington Redskins 19
The Joe Gibbs Era II is off to a good start, but temper the enthusiasm because the Bucs are bad. Gregg Williams had that defense flying to the ball.
17 Atlanta Falcons 22
Winning on the road is tough for any team against any opponent, so beating the 49ers in Frisco is a good way to start for Jim Mora.
18 New Orleans Saints 9
So much for those high expectations. They made the same mistakes they did last year in their loss to the Seahawks. That will change, though.
19 Cleveland Browns 29
They pulled off the shocker of the week, beating the Ravens the way they did. The defense looked much improved.
20 Cincinnati Bengals 16
They competed in a tough venue against a pretty good team, plus Carson Palmer had his moments in his first NFL start. We have said it all along, but they are a year away.
21 Dallas Cowboys 18
And they thought the worry was Vinny Testaverde. At least he did his part. That top-ranked defense from 2003 was shredded.
22 Buffalo Bills 20
Ouch. Losing the way they did is a stinger for first-year coach Mike Mularkey and his team. Those types of losses can send a team reeling for the year, which will test Mularkey\'s coaching skills.
23 Detroit Lions 26
The road woes have ended -- for now. Winning at Chicago is a good first step for this young team, but can they can go 2-0 as they play host to the Texans?
24 Miami Dolphins 21
They\'re like a fish -- OK, we know it\'s a mammal -- out of water, flailing to stay alive after one week. Another loss this week and they\'ll start stinking like washed-up dolphin.
25 Oakland Raiders 23
They fought hard, especially old-guy quarterback Rich Gannon, but without a running threat, it\'s going to be a long season.
26 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24
This season is going to test every coaching fiber in Jon Gruden\'s body. The talent simply isn\'t there.
27 San Diego Chargers 31
Surprise, surprise. They aren\'t the worst team in the league. That was a big road victory for a young team, but enjoy it, because there won\'t be many more.
28 Houston Texans 25
Losing to San Diego smells. A lot. If they are truly to make a step forward that type of thing can\'t happen.
29 Chicago Bears 27
The opener wasn\'t all Lovie-dovie for this team. Losing at home to the Lions doesn\'t bode well for Smith\'s first season.
30 San Francisco 49ers 30
We knew it would be a tough year, but losing your top two quarterbacks in the same game for a period of time? Anybody have a number for Joe Montana?
31 Arizona Cardinals 32
They played tough on the road against the Rams, but that\'s more of an indictment of St. Louis than it is a sign the Cardinals are better.
32 New York Giants 28
It\'s going to be a long first year for this team no matter who starts at quarterback. What did Tom Coughlin get himself into?

Golf and sex are about the only things you can enjoy without being good at them.
Jimmy Demaret

Euphoria

yeah this silly power ranks mean what... nothing. Its just some Gerald\'s opinion is all. Hell I can do one and post it what goes it mean... nothing. Does it effect out playoff spot... nope.

CheramieIII

I agree E, it doesnt effect anything, but the attitude of some of the players. We seem to be alot more motivated when we are 30 out of 32.