Monday, October 13, 2008

Metallman's Heavy Metal Rankings (NFL - Week 6)

Hey there friends. What a week in the NFL! Much is still to be decided in conference standings. Many of the teams that we figured would rule their divisions are floundering or just ready to submerge from the depths of mediocrity. New England is the biggest loser this week, dropping 12 spots while the Falcons soar with a 10 spot jump. Let's get to it.

Rank - Team - Record - Previous - High - Low

Heavy Metal

#1 Tennessee Titans (5-0) - Last #3 - High #1 - Low#3

The Titans looked strong against a tough Baltimore defense and their BYE week served the team well. Leading the AFC South standings by 2 games, the Titans travel to KC this week, looking to avoid falling into a trap game with the Chiefs. Rumors are swirling that KC may trade their star TE Tony Gonzalez. With or without Gonzalez, Titans should steamroll over the Chiefs. Week 7 @ KC

#2 Pittsburgh Steelers (4-1) - Last #5 - High #2 - Low #5

Big Ben benefited the most this BYE week, resting his aching body. The Steelers are winning games with their defense, ranking in the top 4 in the major defensive rankings. The offensive line has not given Ben the chance to get this offense going. The offense ranks in the bottom third of the NFL. They look to improve those numbers against a win less Cincy team. Week 7 @ CIN

#3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-2) Last #9 - High #3 - Low#9

With QB Jeff Garcia at the helm (QB Brian Griese has a bum elbow), the Bucs showed an impressive running game, stampeding all over the Carolina defense. RB Warrick Dunn ran for 115 yards on 22 carries, while QB Garcia completed 75% of his passes (15/20 for 173 yds and 1 TD) . The Bucs came out with an early 14 point lead and never looked back. Bucs coach, Jon Gruden, has announced that QB Griese will be his starter against the Seahawks this week. Week 7 SEA

#4 New York Giants (4-1) - Last #1 - High #1 - Low #4

Eli Manning and crew struggled early against the Browns, entering half time down 17-14, and the troubles continued through the rest of the game, handing the Giants thier first loss of the season. Eli Manning, looking to score, tosses another INT (3 total) in the 4th qtr, which is returned 94 yards to put the nail in the coffin. Week 7 SF

#5 Atlanta Falcons (4-2) Last #15 - High #5 - Low #15

The Falcons are showing the NFL that they mean business. They posted an impressive win against an Aaron Rodgers led Green Bay team and now, they defeat a strong defense in Chicago. K Jason Elam had missed a 33 yard kick that would have given them the lead. Instead, it turned to a TD for the Bears on the following drive, leaving 11 secs in the game. After a squibb kick, Atlanta has a fighting chance, starting at their 44 yard line. Showing some fight, QB Matt Ryan hits WR Micheal Jenkins for a 26 yd catch, leaving 1 sec in the game. K Jason Elam comes out and redeems himself by kicking a 48 yarder winning the game. Week 7 BYE

# 6 Buffalo Bills (4-1) Last #10 - High #6 - Low #10

The Bills expect their starting QB Trent Edwards to return to the line up this week against a surging San Diego team. Sitting atop the AFC East, nothing is in stone considering that the Jets look to make a move while the Pats and Dolphins are still looking for an identity. Week 7 SD

#7 Arizona Cardinals (4-2) Last #14 - High #7 - Low #14

The high flying offense of QB Kurt Warner hosted Dallas and showed some fight against America's team. Despite the running game being non existent, the Cardinals won this game on defense, forcing 3 fumbles and limiting Dallas WR Terrell Owens to only 4 catches. After a bogus call against the Cards, Dallas scored 3 in the final seconds to go into over time. After stopping Dallas, the Arizona special teams unit comes up big blocking the punt attempt and scoring the TD, earning the Cards a big W against Dallas. Cardinals look playoff bound in the weak NFC West. Week 7 BYE

#8 Carolina Panthers (4-2) Last #6 - High #6 - Low #8

What happened to that Carolina defense that posted a donut against the Chiefs? QB Jake Delhomme, having one of his worst games ever, tosses 3 INTs, limiting the time the offense was on the field. When he wasn't throwing INTs, he was over throwing his receivers, and when the ball did hit the receivers, the receivers simply dropped the ball. The football gods must have been frowning on the Panthers because what could have gone wrong, did. They better hope they get their act together because the Saints are marching in. Week 7 NO

#9 Washington Redskins (4-2) Last #2 - High #2 - Low #9

Washington fell victim to playing down to their competition. After showing strong wins against Philly and Dallas, the pesky Rams put a damper on their parade, losing the game on the final play of the game. The Skins didn't help their cause, fumbling the ball away on three occasions. The bright spot? RB Clinton Portis' streak of 100 yard games continues with this being his third. Week 7 CLE

#10 Indianapolis Colts (3-2) Last #12 - High #10 - Low #12

QB Peyton Manning came alive against a stingy Baltimore defense, shredding them for 271 yards and 3 scores. 2 of those TD passes came to the dormant WR Marvin Harrison. The Indy defense did their best impersonation of the Baltimore defense, forcing Baltimore QB Joe Flacco to toss 3 INTs, and creating 4 fumbles, 3 of which the Indy defense recovered. Week 7 @ GB

Soft Rocks

#11 Dallas Cowboys (4-2) Last #4 - High #4 - Low #11

The Dallas star is falling and it's falling fast. The 'Boys had many chances (some would argue that it was with the help of the refs) to put the Cards away and they just couldn't do it. Despite QB Romo having great passing numbers (321 yds, 2 TDs) he fumbled 3 times losing 1 to the Cards. To make matters worse, QB Romo is out for 4 weeks with a broken pinky finger. Week 7 @ STL

#12 Denver Broncos (4-2) Last #7 - High #7 - Low #12

Turnovers killed the Broncos. 2costly fumbles and an INT was all it took to assure that the Broncos would not come back against the Jags. JAGS RB Jones-Drew ran all over the Denver defense cutting them up for 125 yards and 2 scores. A game at New England may be what the doctor ordered to get them back on track. WR receiver Brandon Stokely may be out since he suffered a concussion during the game. Week 7 @ NE

#13 New York Jets (3-2) Last #21 - High #13 - Low #21

Brett Favre is looking more and more comfortable in the Jets offense. Despite having a sub-par game (189 yds, 1 TD, 2 INTs), RB Thomas Jones scores 3 TDs (2 rushing TDs and 1 receiving TD) to pull out the victory over the win less Bengals. Week 7 @ OAK

#14 Jacksonville Jaguars (3-3) Last #22 - High #14 - Low #21

Solid play by QB David Garrard (276 yds, 1 TD) and a strong running game by RB Maurice Jones-Drew (125 yds, 2 TDs) kept the Broncos at bay, keeping them on pace in the tough to determine AFC South. Week 7 CLE

#15 Chicago Bears (3-3) Last #8 - High #8 - Low #15

The Bears defense had the worst 11 seconds of the season. The game seemed done after QB Kyle Orton tosses a TD to WR Rashied Davis with 11 seconds left in the game. After an awful kick and a deep pass, Atlanta was in prime position to take this game from the sleeping Bears. Week 7 MIN

#16 San Diego Chargers (3-3) Last #16 - High #16 - Low #16

The Bolts put away a hapless New England team. On the brink of mediocrity, QB Philip Rivers tosses for 306 yards and 3 TDs. RB LaDainian Tomlinson is yet to break for the big one, but he's nearly there, rushing for 74 yards and receiving 44 yards more. Week @ BUF

#17 New Orleans Saints (3-3) Last #23 - High #17 - Low #23

QB Drew Brees completes 87% of his passes (26/30 for 320 yds and 3 TDs) against an atrocious Oakland defense. QB Brees completes 16 consecutive passes before one finally hits the field. RB Reggie Bush is good for 2 TDs (1 on the ground and 1 in the air) to handily put the beat down on the Raiders. Week 7 @ CAR

#18 Philadelphia Eagles (3-3) Last #18 - High #18 - Low #18

The Eagles fought back to .500 with a win over the struggling 49ners. With the 49ners leading 26 to 17 after 3 qtrs, QB Donovan McNabb leads the eagles to 23 4th qtr points to put the 49ners in their place. Week 7 BYE

#19 Minnesota Vikings (3-3) Last #13 - High #13 - Low #19

Fumbles were the name of the game, with RB Adrian Peterson coughing it up twice (111 yds rushing). If not for an incompetent Detroit QB Dan Orlovsky running out of his own end zone, causing a safety, this game could have very well been decided on the overtime coin flip. Week 7 @ CHI

#20 Green Bay Packers (3-3) Last #19 - High #19 - Low #20

QB Aaron Rodgers tosses for 208 yds and 2 TDs against the Seahawks, to keep them in a three way tie in the mediocre NFC North. Week 7 IND

#21 Baltimore Ravens (2-3) Last #20 - High #20 - Low #21

This Baltimore defense is barely keeping this team out of my Pile of Crap section. Their defensive stats took a huge hit from the Indy offense. Look for them to take out their frustrations against the Dolphins. Week 7 @ MIA

Pile of Crap

#22 New England Patriots (3-2) Last #11 - High #11 - Low #22

The team took a huge hit with that dismal showing against the San Diego Chargers. After looking to be alright after QB Tom Brady's injury, QB Matt Cassel is struggling to keep this ship afloat. Week 7 DEN

#23 Cleveland Browns (2-3) Last #27 - High #23 - Low #27

QB Derek Anderson and WR Braylon Edwards hooked up 5 times for 154 yds and a score to pull the upset against the top ranked Giants. The defense came up big, scoring a TD on 1 of Giants QB Eli Manning's 3 INTs. Week 7 @ WAS

#24 Miami Dolphins (2-3) Last #17 - High #17 - Low #24

The Wild Cats, I mean Dolphins, almost came up with another big win. The Dolphins are now 2 games behind the division leading Bills. Week 7 BAL

#25 Houston Texans (1-4) Last #29 - High #25 - Low #29

Ring leader QB Matt Schaub runs it in with 3 secs left in the game to lift the Texans over the Dolphins, showing QB Rosenfels how it's done. Week 7 DET

#26 Kansas City Chiefs (1-4) Last #28 - High #26 - Low #28

There's rumors flying that star TE Tony Gonzalez may be traded. Gonzalez may be a Giant before the night is over. Week 7 TEN

#27 San Francisco 49ners (2-4) Last #24 - High #24 - Low #27

After staying on top of the Eagles for 3 qtrs, the 49ner team decided to call it a night and decided not to play defense or offense in the 4th qtr, allowing 25 unanswered points. Week 7 @ NYG

#28 Seattle Seahawks (1-4) Last #25 - High #25 - Low #28

QB Charlie Frye tosses a dismal 83 yds, 2 TDs, and 2 INTs against the Packers. You can't win the game if your top receiver only had 23 yards. Week 7@ TB

#29 St. Louis Rams (1-4) Last #30 - High #29 - Low #30

Good start to the Jim Haslett era by getting a big win against a good Washington team. K Josh Brown hits a 49 yarder in the final seconds of the game to put the Rams in the win column. Week 7 DAL

#30 Oakland Raiders (1-4) Last #26 - High #26 - Low #30

The Oakland defense took a monstrous step back by taking a siesta during the game against New Orleans. Defensive coach Rob Ryan better get that defense on the same page or he'll soon find himself right next to Lane Kiffin, in the unemployment line. Week 7 NYJ

#31 Detroit Lions (0-5) Last #32 - High #31 - Low #32

Detroit let a golden opportunity pass by when the Vikings decided to take the day off. Week 7 @ HOU

#32 Cincinnati Bengals (0-5) Last #31 - High #31 - Low #32

Benching QB Carson Palmer may bite this team in the ass if he doesn't come back to form after resting for 2 weeks. Week 7 PIT



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