Power Rankings: For Giants, All Losses Shouldn’t Be Equal
Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
The New York Giants lost in week 1 to their division rivals the Dallas Cowboys which rightfully has them dropping in every power rankings list. The question is how far should they drop following the loss. While it is easy to point at the obvious negatives, there is no excuse for having six turnovers in one game, there was plenty to be pleased with following that loss.
Most teams who commit that many turnovers in one game on the road would probably be laughed out of the stadium. Despite 14 points directly given up off turnovers and another 10 that were setup by miscues, the Giants only lost by five points.
The Giants defense played excellent only allowing one sustained touchdown drive all game and Eli Manning and the Giants offense were able to move the ball at will whenever they weren’t turning it over.
Many of the rankings have the Giants closer to the bottom third of the league which is more of a reflection of how poorly they were ranked last week. Hopefully the Giants can pull off a big win over NFL darling Denver on Sunday and shoot up these rankings next week.
ESPN.com rank: 16th (last week: 12)
ESPN.com was the highest on the Giants last week which is probably why they are still the highest this week. They obviously mentioned the turnovers but they did at least give a shout out to Eli Manning and his receiving core. A quick glance at their overall rankings shows that they are willing to course correct some picks with some teams moving up or down greatly.
What were they thinking: Espn.com had no problem having teams jump around drastically this week. The Redskins moved down nine spots following their home loss, the Eagles jumped up 11 spots in one week which is major course correction. So with that in mind how do the Baltimore Ravens only drop three spots and sit at number 11. They were blown away on opening night, allowing seven passing touchdowns to Peyton Manning. At least an eight spot drop would have made sense, placing them behind the Giants.
Foxsports.com: 20th (15)
I can only assume based on the shortest write-up of any team on the list that Brian Billick didn’t even see the Giants game. If that is the case than his rankings would make some sense. To point out one obvious fact is just simply lazy. To think there is 19 teams better than the Giants following one week is absurd. I’d give more analysis but Billick gave me nothing to work with.
What were they thinking: Besides the ridiculous favoritism of having his former team, the Ravens, still in the TOP 10, my issue is with the other D.C. team’s ranking. The Washington Redskins are two spots ahead of the Giants on this list. Both teams dropped five spots this past week. In what way were the two losses even close to the same. The Redskins are the reigning division champs and were run up and down the field by the Eagles on their home turf. Mark my words the Redskins are in for a really long season.
CBSSports.com: 20th (16)
Another ranking in the twenties here. Pat Kirwan decided to take some shots at the play of the offensive line. I thought the offensive line played pretty well. Sure they had no running game but that has more to do with their starting running back being benched. I’d much rather see Eli Manning wing it around the field than turn around and hand if off to a fourth string running back. In fact once the moved away from running the Giants offense became really effective and it opened holes for the running game late.
What were they thinking: The Rams, the Chiefs, the Redskins all find themselves ahead of the Giants this week. I don’t agree with any of them but at least there is a case that those teams have some talent or looked good in week 1. However, I never expected to see the Tennessee Titans ahead of the Giants this season in any rankings. Their ugly win on Sunday was more of a representation of how poor the Pittsburgh Steelers will be this season than an impressive win by the Titans.