What They Say…Week 3 Power Rankings
By author
In planning what I would say in this week’s Power Rankings, I knew that I wanted to stay positive in the face of the critics who would move the Giants up, but with an asterisk, leaving no question that they fully believe the Giants were not going to stay up this high for long. I wanted to argue against this way of thinking. But then this happened. Hixon is the latest to tear his acl, leaving the Giants another key player down. And what is worse is this is the same knee he injured last year. This puts a big question mark on his career, and that is just a shame.
But we move on, as the Giants are all too used to doing at this point. The National Football Post has moved them up five spots to number 17, but an ugly win leaves them with little doubt that the team has issues. I have to agree, because even though they find ways to win it’s tough to come together as a team when you have new starters every week. Let’s see what everyone else has to say…
The Giants Across the Board
"The Giants have some issues in the defensive secondary, but if they continue to pressure the QB like they did Sam Bradford, it won’t be exploited as much as it could. As the offensive line continues to gel, look for their power running game to get back into high gear."
Well said, the defensive front will need to carry this unit unless a change can be made in the secondary.
"The third-down offense is horrible. They can’t be that bad and win at Philadelphia if it stays that way."
I don’t disagree, but there was improvement as the game wore on Monday night. Losing Nixon hurts here especially, but they have something to build on after some good plays late in the game.
"Might be higher, but I’m lazy and anticipating the loss to the Eagles next week, I don’t want to have to move them much. Their secondary is absolutely awful right now and when they play the tough pass offenses they have to play later in the year (Packers, Saints, Eagles twice, a healthy Cowboys passing offense) they are going to be in big trouble."
Well at least our friend admits his laziness! But he is obviously right about the secondary.
"The NFC East could be the most evenly-matched division in the league."
Interesting to hear this when everyone talks endlessly about the “Dream Team”. Well, they are all certainly becoming more evenly matched as the injuries pile up.
Some more relevant rankings via National Football Post:
Philadelphia Eagles: 5 (1-1, week 3)
The Eagles live and die by Michael Vick, so whether or not he plays makes all the difference in the world. I have no doubt that he will get the start, which I think is incredibly stupid but then, that’s the Eagles for you. They have been very focused on screwing with the Giants this season, even more so than usual, so I doubt we will know what to expect for sure until the last minute.
Arizona Cardinals: 21 (1-1, week 4)
They lost to the Redskins after leading in the fourth quarter. That they allowed the Redskins to become the only undefeated NFC East team should be enough for the Giants to want to go all out on former Eagle Kevin Kolb and the rest of the Cards.
Seattle Seahawks: 32 (0-2, week 5)
Lost to the 49ers and shut out by the Steelers. They just plain stink. Guess the Tarvaris Jackson experiment isn’t working too well, but at least they will be in the market to snag a top QB in the 2012 draft.
Buffalo Bills: 16 (2-0, week 6)
They need to start getting bad again before week 6, because I will be at this game, and I don’t know if I can stomach a home loss to the Bills in person.
Dallas Cowboys: 12 (1-1, week 14)
Gutsy performance by Tony Romo, which basically means he won’t receive criticism as he heals his ribs and lung. The alternative would have been continued criticism, but no punctured lung. Which would you choose?
Washington Redskins: 15 (2-0, week 15)
The Rex Grossman-led Redskins are in first place in the NFC East, with the only undefeated record. Just let that one marinate with you for awhile. Welcome to bizarro-NFL.