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(ESPN) Unlikely Baltimore jumps above the Patriots after barely escaping a "trap game" in this week's NFL Power Rankings (Week 9)   (espn.go.com) divider line 332
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2011-11-01 12:01:48 PM
The Niners at #2??

This is what you get when Alex Smith has a good coach.

Thanksgiving is going to be fun.
 
2011-11-01 12:07:07 PM
The Ravens barely escape shiatting the bed to a second terrible team in a row and they're above the Patriots? Really?
 
2011-11-01 12:22:54 PM
Quasar: The Ravens barely escape shiatting the bed to a second terrible team in a row and they're above the Patriots? Really?

The Ravens had a dismal 4:16. Other than that, a decent first half and a splendid second. The Pats played horribly for a full 60.
 
2011-11-01 12:30:30 PM
Quasar: The Ravens barely escape shiatting the bed to a second terrible team in a row and they're above the Patriots? Really?

Not every win is decisive, and every team plays a bad game. Remember the Saints needing a lot of serendipity to avoid losing to the dreadful Redskins (Dreadskins?) during their Super Bowl year? The Ravens have plowed Pittsburgh, Houston and NYJ. They lost to an up-and-down Tennessee team that nevertheless has a winning record. They have an unexplainable loss to the Jags and a narrow win over the Cardinals.

I'd put the Bills higher. Their losses are to two 5-2 teams. They have wins over the Pats, Raiders (before implosion), Chiefs, and up-and-down Eagles. They're scoring 30 per game and giving up 20 per game. The only reason the Bills aren't above the Pats and the Saints is the subconscious "this can't be for real" factor.
 
2011-11-01 12:31:50 PM
teto85: The Niners at #2??
This is what you get when Alex Smith has a good coach.


True, he's gone from being a terrible quarterback before this year to a halfway-decent QB this year, and presumably Harbaugh deserves the credit for that. While I welcome his new status as "doesn't suck" as opposed to "completely sucks," I still say that Smith is not, and never will be, a quality NFL quarterback--and let's face it, when a QB is chosen as the #1 overall pick in the draft, "doesn't suck" isn't really good enough.

The Niners' success this year is attributable to a lot of factors--mostly attributable to Harbaugh's game plans and his success in getting the most out of his players--but the Niners have been successful despite not having a great quarterback. But can you imagine what kind of year they would be having if they had selected Aaron Rogers in 2005 instead of Smith with their #1 pick? I mean, it's not like they couldn't have heard of a guy who played college football right across the bay.
 
2011-11-01 12:40:34 PM
Gecko Gingrich: The Ravens had a dismal 4:16. Other than that, a decent first half and a splendid second. The Pats played horribly for a full 60.

I wouldn't call going into halftime 24-6 against the then 1-5 Cardinals "a decent first half" nor a last minute field goal to eke out a three point win at home "splendid." They rallied back huge and the Cardinals failed themselves out of a nice upset, but leapfrogging the Patriots (who I hate, by the way) whose losses are to a 6-2 and a 5-2 team is just bizarre.
 
2011-11-01 01:13:54 PM
We win and we lose a game? Yeah, that's totally fair.
 
2011-11-01 01:24:59 PM
Cyberluddite: teto85: The Niners at #2??
This is what you get when Alex Smith has a good coach.

True, he's gone from being a terrible quarterback before this year to a halfway-decent QB this year, and presumably Harbaugh deserves the credit for that. While I welcome his new status as "doesn't suck" as opposed to "completely sucks," I still say that Smith is not, and never will be, a quality NFL quarterback--and let's face it, when a QB is chosen as the #1 overall pick in the draft, "doesn't suck" isn't really good enough.

The Niners' success this year is attributable to a lot of factors--mostly attributable to Harbaugh's game plans and his success in getting the most out of his players--but the Niners have been successful despite not having a great quarterback. But can you imagine what kind of year they would be having if they had selected Aaron Rogers in 2005 instead of Smith with their #1 pick? I mean, it's not like they couldn't have heard of a guy who played college football right across the bay.


Alex Smith has thrown 2 picks in 7 games. Give the man his due for playing the position well this year.
 
2011-11-01 01:59:06 PM
Terri Schiavo > Tebow
 
2011-11-01 01:59:13 PM
Quasar: The Ravens barely escape shiatting the bed to a second terrible team in a row and they're above the Patriots? Really?

The Pats lost to a team the Ravens beat by 28, and the Ravens won.

I don't know what there is to debate.
 
2011-11-01 02:00:25 PM
Trap game
Trap game
Trap game
Trap game
Trap game


/ This headline was for you, rickythepenguin
 
2011-11-01 02:02:33 PM
9 volt to the taint > Tebow
 
2011-11-01 02:02:48 PM
I still don't get why the Packers are rated so high.
 
2011-11-01 02:05:18 PM
Only dropped to 6? 6? Really? 6? After that disgusting performance?

Should be ahead of the Bears and Texans, on account of the head-to-head, but behind the Bills, Giants, and Lions right now.
 
2011-11-01 02:05:26 PM
Also, Saints should have dropped below the Bills. They lost to the Rams. The Rams.
 
2011-11-01 02:06:02 PM
i.imgur.com

No argument in the top 3, Ravens and pats could be flipped, but Lions and Bills should be above the saints.

I get that they didn't want to overreact and put teams like 9ers, lions, bills too high too early, but it's week 9, teams are who they are at this point.
 
2011-11-01 02:06:15 PM
Treygreen13: Also, Saints should have dropped below the Bills. They lost to the Rams. The Rams.

By rule, they've been sent to the UFL.
 
2011-11-01 02:06:45 PM
netweavr: / This headline was for you, rickythepenguin


the moment i saw it my blood began to boil.

THERE ARE NO TRAP GAMES IN THE NFL.


on another note, my theory about this season have more safeties appears to be borne out; there have been 9 thus far, whereas in 2010 there were I think 16 all season, 2009 had 14, and 2008 had something like 21. So while 2008 was a bumper crop, 9 thus far is in fact more than we saw in 2009 or 2010.

i love the safety. I hate that it is only 2 points. and again, it was hilarious how sunday night, Jim Nantz is like, "OMG WHAT A HEADS UP PLAY BY POLAMALU, KNOCKING THE BALL FORWARDS, WHAT A HEADY PLAY!" (he punched the ball probably 10-15 yards forwards, into the Pats end zone, safety, game over).

with perfect comic timing, Esiasion is like, "uhhh......yeah.....that's illegal."
 
2011-11-01 02:07:18 PM
I always look forward to the NFL BCS rankings every Tuesday.
 
2011-11-01 02:07:23 PM
Also, I'd be fine with the Chiefs over the Raiders at this point.
 
2011-11-01 02:07:37 PM
www.thatanimeblog.com
 
2011-11-01 02:08:03 PM
Treygreen13: The Pats lost to a team the Ravens beat by 28, and the Ravens won.

The Ravens lost by a total of 18 to two teams the Steelers beat by a total of 25. That's 43 and more than makes up for that 28. Also, Pittsburgh didn't need a to come back from 21 down versus the Cardinals. What does this mean? Nothing.

[it doesn't work like that.jpg]

The transitive property doesn't work in football.
 
2011-11-01 02:08:22 PM
DamnYankees: Cyberluddite: teto85: The Niners at #2??
This is what you get when Alex Smith has a good coach.

True, he's gone from being a terrible quarterback before this year to a halfway-decent QB this year, and presumably Harbaugh deserves the credit for that. While I welcome his new status as "doesn't suck" as opposed to "completely sucks," I still say that Smith is not, and never will be, a quality NFL quarterback--and let's face it, when a QB is chosen as the #1 overall pick in the draft, "doesn't suck" isn't really good enough.

The Niners' success this year is attributable to a lot of factors--mostly attributable to Harbaugh's game plans and his success in getting the most out of his players--but the Niners have been successful despite not having a great quarterback. But can you imagine what kind of year they would be having if they had selected Aaron Rogers in 2005 instead of Smith with their #1 pick? I mean, it's not like they couldn't have heard of a guy who played college football right across the bay.

Alex Smith has thrown 2 picks in 7 games. Give the man his due for playing the position well this year.


Aaron Rodgers has only thrown 3 but managed to thrown 20 TDs (to Smith's 9) and 1100 more yards.

/Not saying Smith isn't playing well, he is playing WAAY better than he has for his entire career.
//they just have an consistent run game and coach that doesn't suck.
 
2011-11-01 02:09:27 PM
/9ers Fan

Good to see them so high however I'm not sure we should be above the Stealers, but I'm hoping for an epic Steelers 49ers clash on Monday night football in week 15.

Also the Ravens and the Saints are to high. The Ravens have glaring offense issues and my feeling is, if that game was on the road, they would have lost. Anybody has a good chance of beating the Ravens on the road at this point.

Saints lost to the freaking Rams, the rams, who are without their starting quarterback and who don't have an O line and had their way with Brees.

Pats and Bills should be ahead of the Ravens and Lions Giants and Bills should be ahead of the Saints.
 
2011-11-01 02:10:21 PM
With St. Louis visiting, will the Cardinals suffer their first local TV blackout at University of Phoenix Stadium? (Sando)


wow, i had not thought of that.....it is bound to happen this season.

I don't think i'm going to any games this year. why bother? 70-90 minutes to get there, paying minimum of about....ehhh.....$50 for a nosebleed seat, $30 for parking, sit threough 3.5 hours of shiat football, then at least 90 minutes to get home. no thanks.
 
2011-11-01 02:10:26 PM
Overfiend: I still don't get why the Packers are rated so high.

ha ha....

well, I've got to admit...they could certainly look better on defense (3rd down D is attrocious, pass D overall blows) and offense needs to stay consistent. But heck, i'll take 7-0. We could easily be 5-2 right now but aren't, so they're doing something right.
 
2011-11-01 02:10:31 PM
rickythepenguin: with perfect comic timing, Esiasion is like, "uhhh......yeah.....that's illegal.

Phil Simms. I realize they seem like the same person, but Boomer is actually way better at his job.
 
2011-11-01 02:10:36 PM
rickythepenguin: netweavr: / This headline was for you, rickythepenguin


the moment i saw it my blood began to boil.

THERE ARE NO TRAP GAMES IN THE NFL.

on another note, my theory about this season have more safeties appears to be borne out; there have been 9 thus far, whereas in 2010 there were I think 16 all season, 2009 had 14, and 2008 had something like 21. So while 2008 was a bumper crop, 9 thus far is in fact more than we saw in 2009 or 2010.

i love the safety. I hate that it is only 2 points. and again, it was hilarious how sunday night, Jim Nantz is like, "OMG WHAT A HEADS UP PLAY BY POLAMALU, KNOCKING THE BALL FORWARDS, WHAT A HEADY PLAY!" (he punched the ball probably 10-15 yards forwards, into the Pats end zone, safety, game over).

with perfect comic timing, Esiasion is like, "uhhh......yeah.....that's illegal."


Ha, I don't recall which game it was Sunday, but one of the guys was just wailing and wailing about how they should review a play to see if a penalty occurred, and after being told several times that you cannot review penalties the guy said, "but it was a scoring play" and with this heavy, heavy sigh the other guy says, "THEY CANNOT REVIEW THAT."

Now, 12 men on the field... you can review that.
 
2011-11-01 02:11:11 PM
rickythepenguin: on another note, my theory about this season have more safeties appears to be borne out; there have been 9 thus far, whereas in 2010 there were I think 16 all season, 2009 had 14, and 2008 had something like 21. So while 2008 was a bumper crop, 9 thus far is in fact more than we saw in 2009 or 2010.

i love the safety. I hate that it is only 2 points. and again, it was hilarious how sunday night, Jim Nantz is like, "OMG WHAT A HEADS UP PLAY BY POLAMALU, KNOCKING THE BALL FORWARDS, WHAT A HEADY PLAY!" (he punched the ball probably 10-15 yards forwards, into the Pats end zone, safety, game over).

with perfect comic timing, Esiasion is like, "uhhh......yeah.....that's illegal."


How pissed must that ref have been on the review.

Ref: "Wtf? He punched it forward."
Guy upstairs: "Uh.. technically you can't review that."
Ref: "But he f*cking punched the ball forward."
Guy: "Rules are rules. Sorry man."

I half-expect the NFL to make a Polamalu-Rule so if you punch/kick the ball it gets given to the other team at the spot of the foul. Also, it'll be reviewable.
 
2011-11-01 02:11:41 PM
Overfiend: I still don't get why the Packers are rated so high.

Let's get this out of the way early...

www.greenbaypackernation.com

3 of 4 in the top 10 and the Viqueens are showing promise. Damn it feels good to be a gansta.

One Ring to rule them all.

media.mwcradio.com

Look at it...LOOK AT IT!!!

big-nasty.com

Who mad? You mad?

thebiglead.fantasysportsven.netdna-cdn.com
 
2011-11-01 02:12:42 PM
cameroncrazy1984: Phil Simms. I realize they seem like the same person, but Boomer is actually way better at his job.


thats funny because i knew that, but yeah, they're the same guy to me. goofy corn pone white guys that played QB.

my bad.
 
2011-11-01 02:12:49 PM
Why are they farking the Bengals? I'm not a fan...but wtf? Shouldn't they be up in the conversation with all the other 2 loss teams?
 
2011-11-01 02:13:08 PM
The Cowboys are too damn high. After a game where the team as a whole decided not to show up (which happens often when playing in Philly) the team should be ranked dead last. As a Cowboys fan I'm ashamed at the turd the team turned in this week.
 
2011-11-01 02:13:48 PM
slykens1: Treygreen13: The Pats lost to a team the Ravens beat by 28, and the Ravens won.

The Ravens lost by a total of 18 to two teams the Steelers beat by a total of 25. That's 43 and more than makes up for that 28. Also, Pittsburgh didn't need a to come back from 21 down versus the Cardinals. What does this mean? Nothing.

[it doesn't work like that.jpg]

The transitive property doesn't work in football.


It doesn't apply to the Steelers, who have a better record and also won, thus putting them (logically) over the Ravens in spite of the head to head loss.

But when you have 2 teams, and one JUST WON and one JUST LOST and they have 1 common opponent, who the team that JUST WON beat and the other who JUST LOST lost to... fark it it's ESPN they'd put the Pats in at #1 if GB lost next week and the Patriots managed to eek one out against the Giants this week.
 
2011-11-01 02:14:04 PM
i.imgur.com

/I want my graph this week, I didn't get it last week
//WHAR GRAPH
 
2011-11-01 02:14:12 PM
I'm not a Steelers fan but let me make sure everyone understands this clearly.


THE PATS WOULD STILL HAVE LOST THE GAME REGARDLESS OF THE "PUNCH".

So stop crying.
 
2011-11-01 02:14:22 PM
I still don't think the Niners are for real, but we'll find out in January.

Anyway, once Pittsburgh disposes of the Ravens this Sunday the road to the Super Bowl goes through Heinz Field. Which is as it should be.
 
2011-11-01 02:14:26 PM
mrjared: Why are they farking the Bengals? I'm not a fan...but wtf? Shouldn't they be up in the conversation with all the other 2 loss teams?

Survive the next 6 weeks and we'll talk. Until then you're assumed chubby with frosting covering your lips.
 
2011-11-01 02:14:39 PM
netweavr: rickythepenguin: on another note, my theory about this season have more safeties appears to be borne out; there have been 9 thus far, whereas in 2010 there were I think 16 all season, 2009 had 14, and 2008 had something like 21. So while 2008 was a bumper crop, 9 thus far is in fact more than we saw in 2009 or 2010.

i love the safety. I hate that it is only 2 points. and again, it was hilarious how sunday night, Jim Nantz is like, "OMG WHAT A HEADS UP PLAY BY POLAMALU, KNOCKING THE BALL FORWARDS, WHAT A HEADY PLAY!" (he punched the ball probably 10-15 yards forwards, into the Pats end zone, safety, game over).

with perfect comic timing, Esiasion is like, "uhhh......yeah.....that's illegal."

How pissed must that ref have been on the review.

Ref: "Wtf? He punched it forward."
Guy upstairs: "Uh.. technically you can't review that."
Ref: "But he f*cking punched the ball forward."
Guy: "Rules are rules. Sorry man."

I half-expect the NFL to make a Polamalu-Rule so if you punch/kick the ball it gets given to the other team at the spot of the foul. Also, it'll be reviewable.


Ah, that's the play I was thinking of.
 
2011-11-01 02:15:14 PM
Apples01: [i.imgur.com image 270x394]

/I want my graph this week, I didn't get it last week
//WHAR GRAPH


Di had it up last week, it was just late.
 
2011-11-01 02:15:21 PM
Cyberluddite: teto85: The Niners at #2??
This is what you get when Alex Smith has a good coach.

True, he's gone from being a terrible quarterback before this year to a halfway-decent QB this year, and presumably Harbaugh deserves the credit for that. While I welcome his new status as "doesn't suck" as opposed to "completely sucks," I still say that Smith is not, and never will be, a quality NFL quarterback--and let's face it, when a QB is chosen as the #1 overall pick in the draft, "doesn't suck" isn't really good enough.

The Niners' success this year is attributable to a lot of factors--mostly attributable to Harbaugh's game plans and his success in getting the most out of his players--but the Niners have been successful despite not having a great quarterback. But can you imagine what kind of year they would be having if they had selected Aaron Rogers in 2005 instead of Smith with their #1 pick? I mean, it's not like they couldn't have heard of a guy who played college football right across the bay.


Rogers would've sucked under NOlan and Dinglberry if he were picked instead of Smith. Everyone in the Niners locker room feels that way.

Alex Smith just put a professional glass celing on all defensive coordinators in the NFL.
 
2011-11-01 02:17:07 PM
GimpyNip: I'd bring Bills & Lions ahead of the Pats and drop the Ravens behind the Titans. Other than that, no real complaints.

I like the Rams ranking.

Beat the Saints? F*ck you, you're still below Tebow.
 
2011-11-01 02:18:35 PM
netweavr: I half-expect the NFL to make a Polamalu-Rule so if you punch/kick the ball it gets given to the other team at the spot of the foul. Also, it'll be reviewable.

The thing was, in real time it looked legit. Only on the replay was it so glaringly obvious.
 
2011-11-01 02:18:52 PM
netweavr: half-expect the NFL to make a Polamalu-Rule so if you punch/kick the ball it gets given to the other team at the spot of the foul. Also, it'll be reviewable.


there was some discussion afterwards whether it was reviewable, and i don't recall specifically what was said. and while it didn't absolutely end the game, it certainly didn't help the Pats admittedly extremely long shot to win the game.

the refs wree just in bad position to see the punch. live action, i saw it from my seat, but the refs just didn't have position. a call that should have been made that just slipped through.

and it thus falls within that twilight zone of "if you don't see it happen live, can you find the penalty on reivew" situations. that said, i think the NFL would be wise to revisit the rule, whatever its current status is, on a scoring play. that's huge. that isn't, you know, "hey, we found a PI on review, on review, the spot was 1 yard off", etc. Taht's a scoring play. You have to get that right.

again, that game was probably over anyways, but....a pretty damn egregious foul on a scoring play? the competition committee has to get that right. otherwise teams wil be going Rocky Balboa on the speed bag on any fumble inside the red zone.
 
2011-11-01 02:19:06 PM
netweavr: GimpyNip: I'd bring Bills & Lions ahead of the Pats and drop the Ravens behind the Titans. Other than that, no real complaints.

I like the Rams ranking.

Beat the Saints? F*ck you, you're still below Tebow.


Tebow>Rams, please use proper notation
 
2011-11-01 02:19:12 PM
Beating the Saints
 
2011-11-01 02:19:52 PM
The Giants schedule is brutal from here on out. And given who they lost to (Washington, Seattle at home), they could have been going into this 7-0. It may bite us in the ass.
 
2011-11-01 02:20:02 PM
Pontious Pilates: Beating the Saints

Stupid html.

Tebow > Beating the Saints
 
2011-11-01 02:21:05 PM
Treygreen13: fark it it's ESPN they'd put the Pats in at #1 if GB lost next week and the Patriots managed to eek one out against the Giants this week.

Peter King says "These things happen," and put them at #4 behind GB, SF, PIT.

I don't know if I'd put the Ravens above them - Baltimore has big consistency problems on offense and the defense can only bail you out so many times. As a Steeler fan, this is what we went through a few years ago. At some point, after being on the field for 35+ minutes, the defense will crack.

I think the Patriots have big problems too and any team in the top half of the league on defense and a quarterback with a pulse now has a plan to beat them. As open as Miller was in the middle on most plays I probably could have hit him.
 
2011-11-01 02:21:17 PM
Treygreen13: Also, Saints should have dropped below the Bills. They lost to the Rams. The Rams.

The Rams. I like the Rams. Sam Bradford. Steven Jackson. OK, well I like those 2 Rams, but still.

The Rams.


Anyway, hm.... Graph

i27.photobucket.com


Link to larger (new window) if only it were always that simple
 
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