2017-18 NFL Week 6 Power Ranking (NFC)

Eagles (x)
It seems a little early to anoint Wentz as a top QB but he's getting it done out there, you can't front on that. The defense is really good, the special teams is top notch and the offensive weapons look good enough to grind through their up-and-down division. I'll stick with them.

Packers (wc)
(Yeah, picked a tough week to do the power ranking) Well, the Packers have been the best, most explosive, most reliable team in the NFC so far. But without Aaron Rodgers can they keep that up? Rodgers was covering up their offensive line woes, dropping that onto a never-used backup is gonna be grueling. That said, I was reasonably impressed with Hundley, I'm optimistic that he can use his feet and be a poor man's Rodgers well enough to keep them in playoffs. On the other hand, the Bears are looking a little better and the Lions are quite capable of winning a shootout, there's not much margin for error for this Packer squad.

Rams (x)
They feel a year (or two) ahead of schedule but they're getting wins on the road and that's no joke. The Cards have deteriorated badly, the Niners are still not good enough to win and the Seahawks seem within their reach, so I've got to put them up here. Nice young QB, good RB, solid d-line, they've built themselves up the right way and they're competing with them best of them right now. #3 in the NFC (with a Rodgers-less Packers ahead of them) seems high but they've earned it.

Panthers (x)
It may seem like a reach to put the Panthers here though they've had a few wonky games, but I still think this team has all the pieces needed to win their division and make a good run in the playoffs. Looks like Kuechly is out for a while but I think they can overcome that. They need top quality Cam to win games and I think he's ready to bust out.

Vikings (x)
I haven't been blown away by the Vikings but they're good not great at seemingly every position which isn't a bad way to go. With the return of Teddy Bridgewater they have a full-on controversy brewing at QB but so far Case Keenum has played well and gotten the job done, I reckon they'll stick with him. The defense is good enough to keep every game close, Keenum needs to merely not make mistakes and they'll go a long way to catching and passing the Pack. 

Seahawks (wc)
I dunno, they seem to be slipping. They've been there at the end year after year but that offensive line looks even worse than usual. Russell Wilson has had to do a lot so far and that's just to eke out the close wins. They're asking a lot of him and in a year when the pass rushes seem to be catching up, it's a tall order for Wilson to keep lugging this team around on his back. The defense is still good but not quite great, I'm not sure I have any faith in the running game, I want to like this team but I think they've got the potential to fall.

Saints
The offense is cooking, the defense is not bad. The Saints know who they are, there's no controversies there and that makes a big difference in the NFL. Right now, I'd say they're still looking up to the Packers but they can be caught (as can the Panthers). I think the Saints offense can get better and the defense will probably have to. They're definitely still in the hunt for the post-season.

Redskins
I thought the Eagles and Redskins would pass up the Cowboys and Giants this year and so far I think I'm right. The Cowboys can still get better but if the Redskins could just get to an even keel, I think they can get to the post-season--and surprise people! The pass defense is really impressive and the offense has moments. If they can hold off the Cowboys, I think they'll be hanging with Saints, Packers and Seahawks for the wild cards.

Cowboys
I've got to put the Cowboys ahead of the Falcons because I think the Cowboy deficiencies are overcome-able (whereas I don't think that about the Falcons). I still like Dak and that O-line, but I'm not particularly in love with anything else they got going right now. I thought they overachieved last year, I think they're slightly underachieving this year. If they can tread water til Elliott returns, maybe they can make a late season push.

Lions
The Lions have a nice offense and a nice defense, a nice home field advantage and they don't suck too bad on the road. Yeah, they're about the middle of the NFL right now which is not good enough for the playoffs. They're a couple pieces away from either the playoffs or a top five pick. Don't think they get to either this season.

Falcons
The Falcons early on looked like a team that would be so-so on the road and old-time dominant at home; but dropping their last two home games to non-conference opponents (with a bye week in between!) puts the lie to that. Looking pretty clear that the Falcons overachieved last year and this team is in a rebuild til they all get back on the same page. I don't think they get back into the wild card race this season.

Bears
Early on I was impressed with the running game and the pass rush, those are two good cornerstones to build on. They've added on a promising rookie QB and that's a good thing. I suspect by year's end they'll win more games than they ought to. But for now they're just plucky overachievers.

Cards
Man, they got old fast. They just look beat on both sides of the ball. Pretty common in soccer: some team you never thought twice about makes a nice run in the World Cup, then brings back the same team four years later...and looks terrible. Someone always holds on to the old stars a little too long and then gets punished severely for it. The Cards are getting punished severely this year. Rebuilding and yet there's no sense of future development here. (They could be monumentally awful next year, for now they're just not very good)

Bucs
Every year folks think the Bucs are ready to take the next step and every year they don't that step. This is just another year of that. Talent, plenty of talent, but no winners, you know? There's no one in that locker room that can guide this team forward.

Giants
Nice win last week at Denver. It was a mirage, though, this team is not good at all, not good anywhere. This team needs to rebuild now, sell off every player, empty out the practice squad, open up the playbook, find a new direction.

Niners
I kinda hate to put the Niners at the bottom, they really do play hard. They cover spreads and keep games close and I respect that. But this team just doesn't have enough talent to pull out a win. They need a QB badly, otherwise they don't look that bad.

NBA: League Pass Power Ranking (pre-season)(part 3)

The Western Stand-bys (16-18)
Thunder, Spurs, Clippers -- For these squads it’s all about injuries and not much else.  Some nights it’s cool to watch the good teams take over, but on others the relatively low stakes of the regular season make the whole thing seem routine, where even their brilliance is too casual for its own good.  They’re gonna be good, they’re gonna be entertaining but they’re gonna be predictable for stretches too.  I’ll pop in on them but I doubt I’ll watch a ton…until they play each other. 

Eastern curiosities (19-20)
Knicks, Bulls -- I know who the Knicks and Bulls are: underachieving big brother, overachieving little brother; the Bulls are gonna prevail no matter how lovely or ugly it gets while the Knicks are slug their way into a losing fight 9 times out of 10.  Both of these teams will get more interesting as the season goes on, win or lose.  I am curious to see Cleanthony Early and Nicola Mirotic. 

Less fascinated by (21-24)
Pistons, Nuggets, Blazers, Grizzlies -- I’m open to be into these teams, I’m just not seeing it right now.  The Pistons will either be wildly better than last year…or they won’t; the Nuggets will have a home court advantage that will keep the relevant in the West and yet mask their actual competence on the court all year long; Blazers have Aldridge and Lillard but without any upgrade at all, I don’t see how they avoid sinking in the West; Grizzlies are fascinating in the playoffs when they’re putting the wood to the Clips or Thunder or Mavs or even the Spurs, but regular season they’re a snoozefest, no thanks.

90% don’t care (25-28)
Nets -- They’re gonna be such a mess all year, only curious if they start winning, watching them lose sounds boring, I don’t think they’re in the playoff hunt at all.  Joe Johnson is not terribly exciting to watch, Deron Williams is depressing and KG is just embarrassing.  Next summer will be another dreary one in Brooklyn too.  (Wacky prediction: Keep an eye on Bogdan Bogdanovich for ROY, he’ll get plenty of run, plenty of opportunities, no pressure to perform and if there is a silver lining to this team it’ll probably be him.  In New York that might be good enough for ROY)

Pacers -- Tough to watch a good team fall so quick and, shit, they were no fun to watch when they were rolling!  Man, can’t imagine how sorry that offense is gonna be this year.  Unless PG makes a speedy recovery, I’m ignoring the Pacers til Draft Day.

Rockets – Personal bias: Harden is one of my least favorite players to watch in the game and Howard has never been as much fun for me as for everyone else, the two flakiest big stars in the league.  The Rockets are a blocky boring team and from time to time they’ll be wretched, I’ll pass.  I think they’ll challenge for a playoff spot so I’m sure I’ll end up watching some by the end of the year but only when circumstances suggest I need to.

Celtics – Frankly I think they’re going to be a grease fire this year and out of respect for Brad Stevens and Marcus Smart (the sneaky ROY d’jour) I think I’ll avoid them.  Rajon Rondo as tradebait isn’t as interesting as it ought to be (personally, I think he gets stuck in Boston, then becomes a UFA next summer).  If they start to win, maybe I’d watch but I don’t really see that happening, so they’re already part of next year’s draft coverage for me. 

99% don’t care (29-30)
Sixers -- I wanna see Nerlens Noel and….not much else.  I figure MCW has about 5 or 6 of those blow up number hanging games, I’ll catch the highlights.  Otherwise there’s not gonna be much else to see.  Compare this roster to last year’s Milwaukee Bucks team that won 15 games: the Sixers aren’t even remotely close to as good as that Bucks team.  Think about that. 

Lakers -- I wanna see Randle but I don’t think he’ll do much this year.  I’m not a Laker hater but this team looks horrible and Kobe on a horrible team is a horrible thing to watch.  I’m glad they’re on prime time, they won’t interrupt my League Pass.  Kobe’s milestones will make the highlights and not much else I reckon.