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Week 11 Power Rankings

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Posted: Wednesday November 24, 1999 11:40 AM

You will notice two teams with losing records up there among the top 15 (top 12, actually). This is not a misprint. Do not hit the delete button. Do not, as they used to say on the old TV show Outer Limits, reach for the dial on your set.

Denver, which won via an odd scenario Monday night -- Brian Griese coming off the bench, like a seasoned vet, in relief of a battle-shocked Chris Miller -- will, I fully believe, capture four out of its final five games (losing only to Jacksonville on the road), to fall just short of wild-card honors.

The Jets, who showed once again that their defensive coach, Bill Belichick, really has Doug Flutie's number, will remain competitive throughout the season, ending up at, oh, something like 8-8 or 7-9. But they will shock the world on Sunday by defeating the current darlings of the NFL, the Indianapolis Colts. Why do I say this? Because I favor the matchup of Belichick over Indy's offensive coordinator, Tom Moore. I noted the way the Giants ran against the Colts, and if they don't fall behind too far and too quickly, I think the Jets will do likewise. Give Curtis Martin about 135 yards on 30 carries.

I must add, though, Tuesday I was down at NFL Films watching tapes with some football people and not one of them concurred with my upset prediction. And a few smirked behind their hands. I don't care. Just wait. You'll see.

There will be no Dr. Z's Mailbag this week because of the Thanksgiving holiday.

CNN/SI Power Rankings Rank LW Team 1 1 Jacksonville Jaguars 9-1 Tom Coughlin is no dummy. He knows that his offense will have to open it up somewhat when the playoffs begin, so he gave it a dress rehearsal against the Saints and the result was 494 yards. Now that's what I expect from a No. 1 Z-ranked team. 2 2 Indianapolis Colts 8-2 For real now ... is Peyton Manning the All-Pro QB for 1999? It's gotta be Peyton or Kurt Warner, right? At least at this stage. 3 3 Seattle Seahawks 8-2 Why is everyone so excited? You could look it up; I had the 'Hawks 12-4, preseason. "Yeah," my wife says, "and you had the Colts 5-11." For God's sake, will someone put a muzzle on that woman? 4 5 Miami Dolphins 8-2 And I had the Dolphins 10-6 -- not out of the realm of possibility, is it? 5 6 Tennessee Titans 8-2 Hey, this is fun, let's keep it going. I had the Titans at 10-6. Not a bad pick, considering that not many people were too excited about them. 6 7 St. Louis Rams 8-2 O.K., this is where the game ends. I had the Rams at 6-10. Lots of people picked them to be worse. No one predicted that they'd be good. Who cares about preseason picks, anyway? 7 4 Buffalo Bills 7-4 Revenge game coming up. Last year in New England they got beaten by all that weird officiating, remember? Now they get the Pats at home, and I look for all the things that didn't work right against the Jets to function efficiently in this one. 8 8 New England Patriots 6-4 Two shaky games in a row for Drew Bledsoe. Buffalo, where the hawk flies in late November and the wind comes whipping off Lake Erie with real anger, is not the place in which to get healthy. 9 9 Detroit Lions 6-4 Lions-Packers was one of the games I watched on the coaching tapes Tuesday. Do you know that left corner Bryant Westbrook grabs the receivers and holds on for dear life on practically every play? 10 10 Minnesota Vikings 6-4 The division is up for grabs. Home game vs. Detroit on Jan. 2 will be huge (either that or it won't). 11 19 New York Jets 4-6 Stop hollering that I'm a Bill Parcells house man. This is a good team. 12 18 Denver Broncos 4-7 And so is this one. Have you ever seen a more clutch kick than Jason Elam's 53-yarder? Frozen field, new ball, into a slight wind, Broncs need the kick to send the game into OT. C'mon now, give these guys a break. 13 15 Green Bay Packers 5-5 A new Brett Favre last week. Playing under control. Taking the short, sure stuff. No theatrics, minimal flamboyance. I don't think anyone coached him to do this; I think he just sat down and figured out that making the playoffs is more important than making the All-Madden team. 14 13 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 6-4 The new Trent Dilfer didn't have much of a day, but they won anyway. It's called having a defense. 15 12 Oakland Raiders 5-5 Long, sustained, grinding drives against the once-formidable Chargers defense. Is this what we can now expect from the formerly explosive Raiders? 16 16 Washington Redskins 6-4 I haven't checked the tape of the 'Skins' game against the Giants yet. You know: short week, holidays, etc. I'm interested to see the line-blocking combos that got Stephen Davis his 183 yards. I know Tre' Johnson's a destroyer, but who else was doing a number on that good New York front seven? I'll have it for you next week, promise. 17 12 Dallas Cowboys 5-5 What is it with this team? They let a whipped dog back in the game, and that's a week after they played their butts off. Maybe they play to the level of the competition. Maybe they're just not that good to begin with. 18 14 Kansas City Chiefs 5-5 Lots of moving, lots of activity, then in crunch time, choke-a-roo. 19 20 Pittsburgh Steelers 5-5 The word is out that Billy Cowher's intensity level is down this year. Gee, I don't know, he looks pretty fierce in that Dr. Pepper commercial. I especially like the part where he grabs the cheerleader's pom-pon. 20 17 New York Giants 5-5 What's my take on the switch to Kerry Collins? I think it'll be a disaster, maybe not this Sunday against the Cards, but definitely in the weeks to follow. 21 21 Chicago Bears 5-6 Marcus Robinson is making things very tough on your faithful narrator. I thought I had my eventual All-Pro wideouts sorted out (Cris Carter and Marvin Harrison) with some head-scratching to figure out how to sneak Ed McCaffrey in there, but if Marcus keeps lighting it up, what do I do? Maybe I cop out entirely and go to a four-wide package. 22 23 Arizona Cardinals 4-6 Sure, they have a playoff shot. Why not? Dallas, with whom they have split, leads them by a game. So do the Giants, whom they can sweep with a win Sunday. They trail the Redskins by two but they've got another crack at them. I write this in all seriousness, but do I really believe it? You have asked a very embarrassing question. 23 24 Baltimore Ravens 4-6 This franchise is in pretty good shape. Their defense is in place, and it's basically young. If Brian Billick somehow manages to latch onto a QB and a couple of wideouts, they'll be ready for the playoffs next year. 24 26 Carolina Panthers 3-6 Offense can show plenty of killer instinct against the bad teams. Defense is nowhere. This is a blueprint for a 24th-ranked team. 25 22 Philadelphia Eagles 3-8 Pregame last Sunday, the serious analysts on ESPN warned Indy to beware. This was a classic trap game. The hee-haws on CBS scoffed and predicted a blowout. I agreed wholeheartedly with the former and scorned the shallow thinking of the latter, who turned out to be right while all of us geniuses took the pipe. You think I'm not bitter about the Eagles? Wish I could put them at No. 32. 26 25 San Diego Chargers 4-6 Flash: Ryan Leaf is up and about and breathing air once again, and they're trying to get him ready for the winter offensive. Note to Bobby Beathard: I've got some Corsican friends in the Bronx who will be happy to pay a visit to your complex and put an end to the problem forever. 27 27 Atlanta Falcons 2-8 I'm at a loss for words. I respect Dan Reeves. Good person, good coach. I wish they could just get a bye for the rest of the year. 28 28 San Francisco 49ers 3-7 They were the big spenders, the big tippers. I once saw Eddie D. and Carmen Policy hand a head waiter in a restaurant a C-note apiece, and this was after he had been basically nasty to them. Who cares? We mint money, right? The old story of hubris-nemesis, folks; it's just too bad that Carmen isn't still around to catch some of the heat. 29 29 Cleveland Browns 2-9 Their position doesn't change. Nothing much is changing down here in the dungeon. It's still bread and water. 30 30 New Orleans Saints 2-8 Good, lively game plan and exciting first half against the Jags. The real villain is the guy who rang the bell for round No. 2. 31 31 Cincinnati Bengals 1-10 Confession time: I have not yet seen the Bengals for an entire game this year. By Thursday this will not apply, since I have their Ravens game on the tape. I asked the pros I watched the tapes with Tuesday for their reading on the Bengals. Shrugs all around. They hadn't been charting them much, either. "Well, they're pretty young on defense," Ron Jaworski said. O.K., I admit that this is all rather lame, but I will, and this I swear to you, have a complete breakdown by Thanksgiving night.

 

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