CMagoon89
Contributor
With half the season in the books we are going to be taking a look at the Top 5 teams in the Power Rankings this year. This is the closest I have personally ever seen the top teams being as far as who is the actual strongest. After looking at the top teams here is where it pans out in Week 9 on the Top 5 and who is just on the outside looking in.
1. Tennessee Titans 7-1 (3-0) Offense - 6th Defense - 18th AVG Win Margin - 17.1 Pts
Tennessee has been doing it all year long blowing teams out with only 1 loss to their credit being a 31-21 defeat on the road in Detroit. They are led by QB Marcus Mariota who is 10th in the league this year with 1,827 yards through the air with an outside TD/INT ratio with 17 TD to 4 INT. Of course not to be outdone is his right hand man Demarco Murray who is 2nd in the NFL this year in rushing with 820 yards on the ground and also 2nd with 9 TDs. As you can see above Tennessee is in the top 10 in Offense and middle of the pack as far as Defense goes. Don't let the ranking fool you though one of the three players tied for the league lead in INT's is one of Tennessee's own CB's in Perrish Cox who also has a defensive TD on the year. Not only will Tennessee come at you on Offense but their defense is very opportunistic as well.
2. New England Patriots 7-1 (3-0) Offense - 5th Defense - 25th AVG Win Margin - 18.8
Now I know what you're thinking here, why is New England ranked lower than Tennessee when they have the higher win margin and a better offense? I will tell you why, the cliche statement that is as old as time "Defense Wins Championships" has always held true and until proven false the Pats will stand here at Number 2. Then there is their blow out loss on the road at Cleveland losing 44-21 we can look at which just pops off the paper. As stated the Patriots defense is very close to the bottom of the NFL this season but their offense is better than the Titans out gaining them by 323 yards, so in reality its really close. The Pats are led by none other than Tom Brady who is 7th in the NFL with 1,951 Passing Yards and 15 TDs to 6 INT. The other astounding thing here is that Legarrette Blount leads the NFL in rushing with 937 yards on the ground with 6 TDs to go along with it. On paper New England is an outstanding team but it seems that they have to put at least 30 points on the board to have a chance at winning and this causes concern, hence not being at the top ranked position.
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7-1 (3-0) Offense - 18th Defense - 8th AVG Win Margin - 9.4 Pts
Tampa Bay coming in at number three this week with a very stout defense and a middle of the pack offense to go with it. Some of you may remember this is exactly how Tampa won their Super Bowl back in 2002. Tampa just like Tennessee has one of the League Leaders in INTs in their FS Bradley McDougald with 5 INT's on the year as well as a defensive TD. As of right now it looks like Tampa's defense is doing plenty to get the ball back into their offense's hands so they can make the most of it. Issue is that their QB Jameis Winston is 24th in the NFL with 1,352 Passing Yards and a very abysmal 7 TDs and 6 INTs. Luckily for the Bucs their feature RB Doug Martin is 3rd in the NFL in rushing with 713 yards and 7 TDs to go with it. In order to stay here on this list and to continue to keep winning Tampa's offense needs to figure something out and try and move up the ladder. Hopefully they can keep riding their defense all the way to Houston.
4. Seattle Seahawks 7-1 (2-1) Offense - 3rd Defense - 26th AVG Win Margin - 10.7 Pts
Here in the Seattle Seahawks we have our highest ranking offense and lowest ranking defense out of the teams in the Top 5 of the Power Rankings. This leads me to place them in the same category as the Patriots with the exception of well New England is outscoring them by 5 PPG. As I said previously in this article Defense is what wins you championships, shall I mention the 18-1 New England Patriots season? Don't get me wrong Seattle has every chance of winning it all this year with their outstanding offense led by Russell Wilson who is 3rd in the NFL with 2,088 yards Passing with a lovely 17 TDs and 6 INTs to go with it. Just like the Patriots and the Titans they aren't just a passing team out here in Seattle, their RB Thomas Rawls is 6th in the NFL running for 638 yards thus far in Week 9 and adding 6 TDs on the ground as well. The same can be said about Seattle's defense that I said about Tampa's offense, only difference is Tampa's offense isn't as sad as the Seahawks defense. Coach Carroll needs to figure something out that works to help them push through the Post Season and not have a shoot out every game.
5. Baltimore Ravens 6-1 (1-0) Offense - 25th Defense - 1st AVG Win Margin - 3.5 Pts
The Baltimore Ravens have an absolutely scary defense this year being 9th in the NFL in sacks with 21, 1st in the NFL in INTs with 20, and giving up the 2nd fewest points in the league. Who has given up less than them you ask? Tampa Bay hence the higher ranking. Really the only thing here we can talk about with Baltimore is their defense. Granted they do win games but when they do its by the skin of their teeth, their largest win was a 24-16 win over the Redskins. They certainly better play this great of Defense the rest of the season because Joe Flacco sure isn't helping them ranked 21st in the league in Passing with 1,446 yards. Then you add the fact that he has thrown more INTs than TDs this year (10TD 13 INT), not really helping your team there Joe. I wish I could say Baltimore has a threat somewhere on offense but even Justin Forsett isn't having a good season with only 340 yards on the ground and he hasn't even sniffed the goal line this year. The still dangerous Steve Smith Sr. has been held to just 10 catches this season. Harbaugh and company need to figure something out that will get this offense moving, it may be the division they play in being one of the toughest in the NFL but still they will not win a Super Bowl if they can't move the ball.
Teams On the Outside Looking In
Kansas City Chiefs 6-1 (1-1) Offense - 21st Defense - 14th AVG Win Margin - 7.5 Pts
Atlanta Falcons 6-3 (2-2) Offense - 1st Defense - 21st AVG Win Margin - 15 Pts
Minnesota Vikings 5-3 (2-1) Offense - 15th Defense - 11th AVG Win Margin - 5.8 Pts
Jacksonville Jaguars 5-2 (1-1) Offense - 26th Defense - 6th AVG Win Margin - 9 Pts
Philadelphia Eagles 5-2 (2-0) Offense - 19th Defense - 8th AVG Win Margin - 14 Pts
1. Tennessee Titans 7-1 (3-0) Offense - 6th Defense - 18th AVG Win Margin - 17.1 Pts
Tennessee has been doing it all year long blowing teams out with only 1 loss to their credit being a 31-21 defeat on the road in Detroit. They are led by QB Marcus Mariota who is 10th in the league this year with 1,827 yards through the air with an outside TD/INT ratio with 17 TD to 4 INT. Of course not to be outdone is his right hand man Demarco Murray who is 2nd in the NFL this year in rushing with 820 yards on the ground and also 2nd with 9 TDs. As you can see above Tennessee is in the top 10 in Offense and middle of the pack as far as Defense goes. Don't let the ranking fool you though one of the three players tied for the league lead in INT's is one of Tennessee's own CB's in Perrish Cox who also has a defensive TD on the year. Not only will Tennessee come at you on Offense but their defense is very opportunistic as well.
2. New England Patriots 7-1 (3-0) Offense - 5th Defense - 25th AVG Win Margin - 18.8
Now I know what you're thinking here, why is New England ranked lower than Tennessee when they have the higher win margin and a better offense? I will tell you why, the cliche statement that is as old as time "Defense Wins Championships" has always held true and until proven false the Pats will stand here at Number 2. Then there is their blow out loss on the road at Cleveland losing 44-21 we can look at which just pops off the paper. As stated the Patriots defense is very close to the bottom of the NFL this season but their offense is better than the Titans out gaining them by 323 yards, so in reality its really close. The Pats are led by none other than Tom Brady who is 7th in the NFL with 1,951 Passing Yards and 15 TDs to 6 INT. The other astounding thing here is that Legarrette Blount leads the NFL in rushing with 937 yards on the ground with 6 TDs to go along with it. On paper New England is an outstanding team but it seems that they have to put at least 30 points on the board to have a chance at winning and this causes concern, hence not being at the top ranked position.
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7-1 (3-0) Offense - 18th Defense - 8th AVG Win Margin - 9.4 Pts
Tampa Bay coming in at number three this week with a very stout defense and a middle of the pack offense to go with it. Some of you may remember this is exactly how Tampa won their Super Bowl back in 2002. Tampa just like Tennessee has one of the League Leaders in INTs in their FS Bradley McDougald with 5 INT's on the year as well as a defensive TD. As of right now it looks like Tampa's defense is doing plenty to get the ball back into their offense's hands so they can make the most of it. Issue is that their QB Jameis Winston is 24th in the NFL with 1,352 Passing Yards and a very abysmal 7 TDs and 6 INTs. Luckily for the Bucs their feature RB Doug Martin is 3rd in the NFL in rushing with 713 yards and 7 TDs to go with it. In order to stay here on this list and to continue to keep winning Tampa's offense needs to figure something out and try and move up the ladder. Hopefully they can keep riding their defense all the way to Houston.
4. Seattle Seahawks 7-1 (2-1) Offense - 3rd Defense - 26th AVG Win Margin - 10.7 Pts
Here in the Seattle Seahawks we have our highest ranking offense and lowest ranking defense out of the teams in the Top 5 of the Power Rankings. This leads me to place them in the same category as the Patriots with the exception of well New England is outscoring them by 5 PPG. As I said previously in this article Defense is what wins you championships, shall I mention the 18-1 New England Patriots season? Don't get me wrong Seattle has every chance of winning it all this year with their outstanding offense led by Russell Wilson who is 3rd in the NFL with 2,088 yards Passing with a lovely 17 TDs and 6 INTs to go with it. Just like the Patriots and the Titans they aren't just a passing team out here in Seattle, their RB Thomas Rawls is 6th in the NFL running for 638 yards thus far in Week 9 and adding 6 TDs on the ground as well. The same can be said about Seattle's defense that I said about Tampa's offense, only difference is Tampa's offense isn't as sad as the Seahawks defense. Coach Carroll needs to figure something out that works to help them push through the Post Season and not have a shoot out every game.
5. Baltimore Ravens 6-1 (1-0) Offense - 25th Defense - 1st AVG Win Margin - 3.5 Pts
The Baltimore Ravens have an absolutely scary defense this year being 9th in the NFL in sacks with 21, 1st in the NFL in INTs with 20, and giving up the 2nd fewest points in the league. Who has given up less than them you ask? Tampa Bay hence the higher ranking. Really the only thing here we can talk about with Baltimore is their defense. Granted they do win games but when they do its by the skin of their teeth, their largest win was a 24-16 win over the Redskins. They certainly better play this great of Defense the rest of the season because Joe Flacco sure isn't helping them ranked 21st in the league in Passing with 1,446 yards. Then you add the fact that he has thrown more INTs than TDs this year (10TD 13 INT), not really helping your team there Joe. I wish I could say Baltimore has a threat somewhere on offense but even Justin Forsett isn't having a good season with only 340 yards on the ground and he hasn't even sniffed the goal line this year. The still dangerous Steve Smith Sr. has been held to just 10 catches this season. Harbaugh and company need to figure something out that will get this offense moving, it may be the division they play in being one of the toughest in the NFL but still they will not win a Super Bowl if they can't move the ball.
Teams On the Outside Looking In
Kansas City Chiefs 6-1 (1-1) Offense - 21st Defense - 14th AVG Win Margin - 7.5 Pts
Atlanta Falcons 6-3 (2-2) Offense - 1st Defense - 21st AVG Win Margin - 15 Pts
Minnesota Vikings 5-3 (2-1) Offense - 15th Defense - 11th AVG Win Margin - 5.8 Pts
Jacksonville Jaguars 5-2 (1-1) Offense - 26th Defense - 6th AVG Win Margin - 9 Pts
Philadelphia Eagles 5-2 (2-0) Offense - 19th Defense - 8th AVG Win Margin - 14 Pts
Hopefully that turns around quickly.