01. TENNESSEE TITANS (10-0)

02. NEW YORK GIANTS (9-1)

If you saw them steamroll the Ravens on Sunday you know it’s hard to argue there is a better team in the NFL than the G-Men, but undefeated must be honored with the top spot until somebody knocks them off and guess who gets a crack at the Titans this week?

03. NEW YORK JETS (7-3)

Yes my friends, it happened, it really happened, and this is a day of independence, for all the Jet fans and their descendants!

• GAME RECAP: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOEq-ImGWJ0 
• STARRING: JUDY GARLAND as BRETT FAVRE
• 

04. CAROLINA PANTHERS (8-2)

The Lions put a little scare into the Panthers for three quarters, but Carolina pulled away in the forth quarter and won by a comfortable nine point margin.

05. ARIZONA CARDINALS (7-3)

Other than the Jets this is my favorite team to watch this year. I’m a big Kurt Warner guy. He might be the most under-rated Great Quarterback whoever lived. He reminds me of HOFer Dan Fouts, and these Cardinals, with Fitzgerald and Boldin and company, remind me of Air Coryell. This team is fun to watch, unless you’re playing them, in which case they will scare the daylights out of you.

06. PITTSBURGH STEELERS (7-3)

It wasn’t pretty and the gamblers are about the storm the NFL Gates with torches and pitchforks in hand, but don’t lose sight of the important football ramifications. Pittsburgh drove the nail in San Diego’s coffin.

07. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (6-4)

A lot of teams in the AFC were wishing these guys would go away quietly this year and not qualify for the playoffs, but I don’t think we’ll have any such luck. Looks like some team will have to beat Peyton Manning in January, and while certainly doable, that is not a pleasant idea.

08. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (6-4)

Huge showdown at Miami this week, both teams standing at 6-4 but Miami already holding a head-to-head win over the Pats. I don’t think it’s accurate to call this a must win or to suggest the loser is toast, but if the Pats lose this one, in the immortal words of Tuco in the Good the Bad and the Ugly after Blondie missed the rope from which Tuco was hanging with his first shot, they will feel the devil clutching at their heels. Needless to say, Miami would really like to have this one too.

09. DALLAS COWBOYS (6-4)

Last week I said I expected the Cowboys to save their season in Washington with Romo back at the helm. Well it wasn’t easy, but mission accomplished and now they have a chance to make some noise.

10. MIAMI DOLPHINS (6-4)

The Raiders took them right down to the wire, but Miami won and that’s all that matters. That sets up a gigantic division game verses the Pats in their own building. The good news for the Jets is that one of these teams will definitely lose this week barring a tie. The bad news is, one will definitely win.

11. DENVER BRONCOS (6-4)

Nice win over the surging Falcons and now they get the team (and man) Mike Shanahan loves to abuse, Al Davis and his woeful Raiduhs, and he gets them in his building. Looks like 7-4 is in the bag.

12. TAMPA BAY BUCANNEERS (7-3)

Jon Gruden is a great coach and this team is further evidence. I look at this team and I’m not seeing it. I’m just not seeing it. But Gruden has them winning and on Sunday they upended the Vikings.

13. BALTIMORE RAVENS (6-4)

When you pride yourself on being physical as the Ravens do, and you get flatout steamrolled as the Ravens did on Sunday verses the Giants, that has to be a huge blow to your collective psychie as a team. It will be interesting to see how (or if) they bounce back verses Philly this week, an Eagles team that is suddenly desperate for a win after tying the lowly Bengals.

14. ATLANTA FALCONS (6-4)

Played well but lost a close one to Denver on Sunday. Now for all of their good deeds, and they have been one of the leagues most pleasant surprises this team, they are facing their first critical game and it comes verses a very a good Carolina team. The Falcon Eddies are home and this is a big one. Not a must win, but a big game nonetheless.

15. GREEN BAY PACKERS (5-5)

Now we have three teams in the NFC North locked in a 5-5 dead heat, GB, Chicago and Minnesota. I’ve said all along I believe the Packers will win this division, and after obliterating Chicago (37-3), one week after toppling the Vikings, I think the Pack has made a statement and is finally taking command.

16. WASHINGTON REDSKINS (6-4)

They played the Cowboys tough in a defensive game that could have broke either way, but the Cowboys took it because the Redskins offense was dreadful.

17. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (5-5)

Jets fans were screaming bloody murder when the Chiefs played us so close a few weeks back, but you know what, the Chiefs have been playing hard and they’re scaring the heck out of everybody. Sunday was New Orleans turn. They won by ten, but that game was way to close for comfort for most of the day.

18. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (5-4-1)

Suddenly the Bengals have emerged as spoilers, first knocking off the Jaguars in a game they desperately needed, then playing Philly to a stalemate in a game the Eagles really needed as well. I’m telling you, folks, whoever coined the phrase “Any Given Sunday” was a genius.

19. MINNESOTA VIKINGS (5-5)

As I said earlier (See: Packers), they’re tied for first in their division with Green Bay and Chicago so they are very much alive, even at 5-5. However it has been rumored they may lose both of their starting defensive tackles to suspension, Kevin and Pat Williams, and if that happens they’re probably done.

20. CHICAGO BEARS (5-5)

Again, tied for first and very much alive, although Green Bay really blew their doors off (37-3) on Sunday.

21. CLEVELAND BROWNS (4-6)

There was a bunch of games that could have helped the Jets this weekend, but only two teams came through for us, the Giants waxing the Ravens and the Brownies upsetting the Bills in Buffalo on MNF.

22. BUFFALO BILLS (5-5)

5-1 must seem like a lifetime ago in Buffalo. This ship be sinkin’

23. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (4-6)

They had Tennesee on the ropes, looked like they might even deliver the upset, but the second half was all Titans and when the final dust settled Jevon Kearse was wearing that 10-0 sign around his neck.

24. SAN DIEGO CHARGERS (4-6)

You know what the sad part is if you’re a Chargers fan? I mean even sadder than having to watch the incompetent Norv Turner and the rest of these clowns spit the bit. Over the past few years you can argue the Chargers have had the most talented team in the league on paper, and of course a big part of that has been the great LaDainian Tomlinson, and now it appears as if LT may have lost a step and that means these clowns have essentially wasted his prime. If I was a Chargers fan that idea would make me physically ill.

25. HOUSTON TEXANS (3-7)

Too me these guys are like the Browns. Their record stinks and certainly they have under-achieved, but they have some talent and I wouldn’t look forward to playing them.

26. SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (3-7)

As a Jet fan I’m scared of this game in week fourteen. I’m not looking forward to playing this game in Candlestick. Ever since Mike Singletary read these clowns the riot act they have been playing with a renewed sense of purpose and that scares me. At this time of year bad teams usually start to mail it in to some degree, but I don’t see that happening on Mad Mike’s watch.

27. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (2-8)

Here’s another team we might be catching at the wrong time. They have been decimated by injuries all year, including Matt Hasselbeck and Deon Branch. Well last week they got both of those guys back and we may be catching them just as they are finally getting healthy.

28. CINCINNATI BENGALS (1-8-1)

Their last two games are a win over Jacksonville and a tie with the Eagles. This team has under-achieved horribly and of course losing Palmer was a killer, but they are suddenly playing the role of spoilers and they seem to be enjoying it. Or should I say they enjoy making others miserable, fore as the old saying goes, misery loves company. That’s another thing that scares me about SF and Seattle.

29. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (1-9)

These guys are playing like they are absolutely determined to avoid the #1 Overall Pick. They’re not winning because they’re not very good, but it’s not for a lack of effort.

30. OAKLAND RAIDERS (2-8)

They almost beat Miami and I really wanted that one in the worst way. They came as close as you can come, but alas they didn’t get it done, close but no cigar.

31. ST. LOUIS RAMS (2-8)

In the 49ers comments I eluded to bad teams mailing it in at this time of year, and I said it’s usually a matter of degree. Well these guys have been the poster child and it’s been to the ength degree. They are getting obliterated week after week and no NFL team can be that bad. That usually portends a lack of talent, yes, but a complete lack of effort as well.

32. DETRIOT LIONS (0-10)

Now that they’ve reached double digits the 0-16 watch officially commences, and as I said last week, I look at their schedule and I have a hard time seeing which one they win? I think their best chance is this week, at home verses the Bucs. I’m not too high on Tampa Bay and I think the Lions might get this one. But if they don’t it’s the Titans, Vikings, Colts, Saints and Packers. The only one I’ll give them any chance to win is Minnesota, and that’s only if Kevin and Pat Williams are suspended as rumored. If not, I can’t see them beating the Vikings either. Anyway, if they want to avoid football infamy they better do it this week or they might not do it at all.

I’m getting that 94 Vibe, and I’m referring to the 1994 NY Rangers.

I see a number of similarities, although it didn’t fully register with me until Thursday nights epic in Foxboro. But more on that later.

First there is the obvious Favre/Messier correlation, two living legends in their respective sports who in the immortal words of Reggie Jackson, did not come to New York to become stars, they brought their stars with them, and indeed these are two proverbial straws that stir the drink as well.

But where this really becomes interesting, or should I say eerily similar, is that both men were essentially recruited to slay the metaphorical dragons. Both franchises had gone decades, many decades, without a championship. Both had an entire generation of fans who had (have) never seen their teams win a championship.

In fact lets call a spade a spade, both franchises were deemed to be cursed if you believe in such nonsense. I don’t, but I do believe that perception creates a losing enviornment. It creates a sense of doom that follows an organization around like the plague.

With the Rangers it was the constant chants of “1940″, while with the Jets it has been the constant fallback position of “Same Old Jets” at the first sign of trouble. That constant negative re-enforcement is hard to overcome. Very hard to overcome.

That, in essence, is the real dragon. That is the curse. In that sense the curse is real, but the curse, or the dragon so to speak, is that over-riding sense of doom that permeates an organization that has experienced generations of futility.

In that instance I believe it takes a very special individual who can rise above the sense of doom and inspire his team-mates to do likewise. Who can in fact inspire everyone to believe, fans included. His owner, his coaches, his team-mates, the fans, everybody!

Messier was that kind of rare and special individual and I believe Brett Favre is very much the same. I think everyone believes if the game is close, he will find a way. He will lead the way and he will find a way.

I can’t explain why. If you could explain it more guys would do it. I have no idea what makes a George Patton or a Lombardi tick. I Just know when Messier came to the Rangers it was no longer the same.

I sincerely believed the Rangers would win the Stanley Cup on his watch, but more importantly his team-mates and the entire organization from top to bottom believed it too. Brian Leetch, Mike Richter, Adam Graves and many others have discussed this.

It’s no secret. To a man they will all tell you Mark Messier inspired them to believe anything is possible.

His will and his ability to lead by example inspired everyone to believe a Stanley Cup was definitely in the cards. It was a combination of the two. The sheer force of his will and and his sheer greatness as a player that completely overwhelmed “1940″ or any thoughts of a so-called curse.

This was a man who stared that dragon in the eye and said “You’re finished.” But more importantly, that was a man who inspired all of his team-mates and all of the fans to think likewise.

But here’s when it really dawned on me, when that whole 94 Rangers correlation came into much sharper focus, and it happened Thursday night in that epic Jets/Pats classic at Foxboro.

When Randy Moss hauled in that game tying touchdown pass with one second left in regulation I was devistated. I was beyond devistated. I was despondent. I might have been suicidal had I not been in such a complete state of shock.

So there I sat, basically in a coma, when it actually ocurred to me that I have been here before. As a Jet fan I have visited this place too many times to count, but ironically none of those flashed through my mind.

Well that’s not entirely true. They did initially. When Moss first caught that TD Pass a flood of every “Same Old Jets” moment I have endured over the decades immediately flashed through my mind, sort of like the way a mans life flashes before his eyes right before he dies, or so they say, but that was definitely my initial reaction.

Then a funny thing happened. The Jets won the coin toss just prior to overtime and I immediately flashed back to Game 7 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals between the Rangers and Devils.

I remembered being only seconds away from the Cup finals when the Devils scored a game trying goal as time was just about expired, and I remembered that feeling of absolute devistation, not at all unlike my feeing when Moss caught that TD Pass with one second left on the clock. In fact it was exactly the same. In both cases I just sat there in a coma. The shock was so overwhelming I could barely move.

Then I remembered .. the Rangers won that game!

Indeed, the pain of going to OT when the Cup finals was so close I could taste it was absolutely unbearable, and yet the euphoria of winning in OT (Matteau, Matteau, Matteau!) is a feeling I will never forget if I live to be a hundred … and I remembered that on Thursday night when we won the coin toss.

And then, when we won the game in OT, when The Great Brett Favre stared adversity in the eye and kicked its @$$ as he has so many times during his brilliant career, I remembered what so many of Messier’s team-mates said following that famous Game 7.

I imagined they had to be devistated when the Devils scored that late goal, and on some level I’m sure they were, they wouldn’t be human if they weren’t, but they all insisted Messier regained their focus when he told them all this means is we have to work for it a little longer than we anticipated, but we’re gonna win this game and when we do it’s gonna feel that much sweeter … and they believed him!

But why wouldn’t they believe him. This was only one game after he guaranteed a win in Game 6 at New Jersey and only went out and scored a hat-trick to make it happen. So of course they believed him, AND NOW, after what Brett Favre did on Thursday night, do you think he team-mates will ever doubt his ability to win a football game if they simply do their part and give him a chance to win it?

Let me tell you something, folks, after what he did on Thursday night, considering the opponent, the venue and the history between these two teams going in, there is not a player in that Jets locker-room who doesn’t believe the Super Bowl is possible, even likely if they do their part, because #4 will lead the way.

And you know what, just like 1994 … I believe it too.

01. TENNESSEE TITANS (9-0)

I suspect they may lose this week in Jacksonville. Call it a hunch.

02. NEW YORK GIANTS (8-1)

You can make a really good case for the Giants at #1. It’s hard to imagine they can be this good after losing Strahan and Osi, one HOF DE and one All-Pro, but Tuck has been Terrific, Kiwi has been solid and they are playing with such confidence on both sides of the ball. Next up it’s the 6-3 Ravens.

03. CAROLINA PANTHERS (7-2)

This week it’s the winless Lions at Carolina and that means 8-2 seems pretty likely, wouldn’t you say?

04. NEW YORK JETS (6-3)

The Jets have now won three in a row and five of their last six. In other words not counting Tennessee and the G-Men, the NY Jets are currently the hottest team in the league. Yes, even hotter than Carolina, but none of that matters if they don’t take care of business this week. This is the BIG ONE, my friends. Win this one and we’ll have visions of “Superbowls” dancing in our heads. Win this one and even the most ardent “Jet haters/Patsie lovers” will have to grant us that much. Win this one and no-one can dismiss that idea as a pipe-dream. That’s what we have an opportunity to accomplish this week, to stamp ourselves as bona-fide Superbowl contenders. As regular season games go, they don’t get much bigger than this.

05. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (6-3)

These guys are absolutely certain they will win Thursday night and frankly I don’t blame them. Just see my prior blog entry and you’ll understand why. They are just counting the minutes till they can kick dirt in our faces for the millionth time. Now if the Jets want to give these guys an attitude adjustment they’ll have their chance come Thursday, but talk is cheap, it’s time to put up or shut up.

06. ARIZONA CARDINALS (6-3)

Kurt Warner has been a league MVP (twice) and a Superbowl MVP. He has the greatest percentage of 300 Yard Passing Games per start (Approx. 46%) in league history for any QB with at least a hundred starts. He is a serious league MVP candidate again in 2008, and if he wins it he will join our very own Brett Favre as the only three time winners of that award in league history. Translation: Though he’s rarely spoken of in these terms, Kurt Warner is a Hall of Fame candidate and he would get my vote.

07. BALTIMORE RAVENS (6-3)

They are playing really good football and young Joe Flacco is looking better each week. It’s time to take the Ravens serious, and very serious if they can beat the Giants at the Meadowlands this week, but that is a tall order.

08. ATLANTA FALCONS (6-3)

Substitute Joe Flacco for Matt Ryan and it’s the same deal. After smoking the high flying Saints it is time to take these Falcon Eddies dead serious. For you older folks who remember the 1970’s, did you like that “Rich Man, Poor Man” reference?

09. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (5-4)

When you beat the Pats and Steelers back-to-back, your season is officially back on the right track. The rest of the AFC shouldn’t sleep on the Colts. If they make the playoffs they will be dangerous and nobody will look forward to dealing with Peyton Manning in a one game elimination.

10. PITTSBURGH STEELERS (6-3)

Lost to both Mannings on their home turf over the past three weeks, and both losses on late Manning led TD drives with under five minutes left in the game.

11. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (5-4)

There’s no shame in losing a close one to the Giants.

12. DALLAS COWBOYS (5-4)

This ranking is based on the return of Tony Romo and what kind of team I believe they are with Romo on the field, and my belief that they will beat the Redskins at Washington on Sunday night, but I’ll drop them significantly next week if I’m wrong.

13. MIAMI DOLPHINS (5-4)

Riding a three game winning streak and they’ll probably make if four at home verses Oakland. Miami and Atlanta in the TOP 13 off of last years disaster for both teams. Even if you think I’m ranking them too high, you have to respect how they’ve turned it around so quickly.

14. MINNESOTA VIKINGS (5-4)

That was a big win over Green Bay to pull themselves into a first place tie with Chicago atop the NFC North.

15. TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (6-3)

Coming off a bye they’ll get the Vikings at home this week, and I believe they’re getting Cadillac Williams back as well?

16. WASHINGTON REDSKINS (6-3)

Coming off a bye they have a huge division game on Sunday night with the 5-4 Cowboys in their own building. Cowboys are coming off a bye as well and barring any setbacks it looks like they’ll get Romo back this week, which means I like the Cowboys in this one.

17. CHICAGO BEARS (5-4)

Came within a whisker of knocking off the undefeated Titans. Close, but no cigar.

18. DENVER BRONCOS (5-4)

Jay Cutler threw for 447 Yards, 167 to uber rookie Eddie Royal (one of my fantasy football guys), as his Broncos prevailed in a 34-30 shootout in Cleveland.

19. BUFFALO BILLS (5-4)

This team was riding high at 5-1 and Adam Schein (SNY) was talkin all kinds of smack, then they started the AFCE part of their schedule and dropped three straight to Miami, the Jets and New England.

20. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (4-5)

Dismantled the Lions on Sunday and as I said earlier, I smell an upset over the Titans this week.

21. SAN DIEGO CHARGERS (4-5)

Barely squeaked by the Chiefs when a KC two point conversion fell incomplete at the gun, but the Chiefs are playing hard and they have scared quite a few contenders including the Jets and Pats.

22. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (4-5)

Much like the Chargers this team is way too talented to be under .500 after nine games, and that means they have under-achieved to this point.

23. GREEN BAY PACKERS (4-5)

Lost a tough division game at Minnesota on Sunday, but they’ll have a chance to redeem themselves this week with the division rival Chicago Bears coming into Lambeau field. This is a game the Packers must win or their playoff hopes will be on life support if not outright dead, and I believe it’s the latter if they lose. But if they win they’ll still have a chance to win their division. The stakes are that critical.

24. CLEVELAND BROWNS (3-6)

If you’re looking for Coach Crennel in Clevelend after this season, I think you might be saying … Where for art thou, Romeo?

25. HOUSTON TEXANS (3-6)

They got absolutely pummeled at home verses Baltimore, 41-13, and now their season is officially spiraling into the abyss. Much like Clevelend I think they should be more competitive than this.

26. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (1-8)

Their record stinks and they are what their record says they are, but to their credit they continue to play hard and they have scared quite a few teams as I mentioned earlier. (See: Chargers)

27. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (2-7)

Played Miami close, but lost as usual and did the rest of the AFCE no favors.

28. SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (2-7)

What you saw on that final drive Monday night was so comical and so inept that even Herm Edwards was making fun of the 49ers for poor clock management and ultra conservative play-calling.

29. ST. LOUIS RAMS (2-7)

Yeah that’s right, that’s what happens when you mess with the Jets!

30. OAKLAND RAIDERS (2-7)

I really hope they beat Miami just so we’re not the only boneheads in the AFCE who lost to these clowns.

31. CINCINNATI BENGALS (1-8)

Two weeks ago they beat the Jags in a game the Jaguars desperately needed and that made me feel a little better about losing to Oakland. Just a little, tiny bit.

32. DETROIT LIONS (0-9)

Look at their remaining schedule (Panthers, Bucs, Titans, Vikings, Colts, Saints and Packers) and tell me where these Jokers are getting a win? I think the Bucs @ Detroit are probably their best chance.

You may believe the Patriots hate the NY Jets, and you’re not wrong, but I’m here to tell you it goes way beyond normal hate between division rivals. This is not the kind of hate that you are familiar with.

Make no mistake about it, this is not “just hate.”

No No No, It is a lot worse than that.

It is disdain and it is contempt.

That’s what this is all about, this is a hate borne of contempt.

DO NOT confuse this for normal “hate” between rivals.

What the Pats, and especially Bill Belichick, feel for the NY Jets is far more demeaning than hate.

You can hate someone and still respect them or fear them or grudgingly admire something about them, for example the way you may have hated Dan Marino but in your heart of hearts you admired him as a player and probably wished we had drafted him. But we didn’t, he was the enemy and he was a “dangerous enemy”, therefore you built up an animosity or even hate, but in reality it was a hate borne of fear or respect.

That is a normal hate between sports rivals, but that is not what we’re dealing with here.

NOT EVEN CLOSE.

What we’re dealing with here is pure disdain and sheer, utter contempt.

I’m talking about Bill Belichick specifically and the Patriots as a whole.

And why shouldn’t they be contemptuous of this Jets team?

They have been slapping this team in the face for so long, with little resistance, that I don’t blame them for looking down their noses at this team, that’s what happens when you get sand kicked in your face and you do practically nothing about it.

If you let them bamboozle you to that degree, for as long as the Patriots have been putting the bull the NY Jets, and with the Jets even KNOWING Belichick and the Pats hold them in contempt {AND THEY DO KNOW IT!!}, then you deserve to be viewed with contempt … you don’t deserve respect … you don’t deserve the “normal hate” that is usually reserved for a legit rival who represents any kind of threat.

Right now this so-called rivalry is nothing of the kind and Patriots know it. Belichick knows it all too well and don’t think he doesn’t revel in it.

Over the past decade this has been a rivalry like the hammer verses the nail, and guess who’s been the nail?

And you better believe Belichick knows it, as do the Patriots from top to bottom (fans included), and you better believe Belichick loves it.

Other than winning the Super Bowl, I get the feeling he loves nothing more than taking the NY Jets to the woodshed.

But on Thursday nite the Jets get another chance to change all that.

Not unlike week two, only this time even moreso, these guys are wounded and ripe to be beaten, and yet they still believe they are going to pound the Jets into submission … AGAIN … AS USUAL … and they have every right to believe that, especially after week two when they put the kibosh on “Favre Fever” with yet another beatdown in our own building, and this time with the immortal Matt Cassel (not Tom Brady) at Quarterback.

After that debacle I’m sure the Pats are absolutely convinced, one punch in the face and the Jets will fold like the chumps that they are, all we have to do is show them who’s boss … AGAIN … and that will end any delusions they might have about winning this division.

I’m absolutely certain that is how the Pats are viewing this game behind the scenes. There is no real concern about the Jets, NOT REALLY, not on on any level other than “lets just make sure we don’t give these clowns the game, make them have to earn it, make them have to win it, in which case we will slap them silly as usual.”

Like I said, its not hate in the traditional sense. I mean it is hate, but it’s really disdain and a hate borne of contempt, and there’s only one way to deal with someone who holds you in such contempt, and that would be to give this team a beating they will never forget.

Walk into their building and beat the living daylights out of them on national TV and right in front of their own fans, as they have done to us a million times including week two.

Just winning would be nice, I’ll take it, but if you really want to humble these guys, unleash sixty minutes of fury and give them a beating they will never forget. That’s how you turn contempt into “normal hate.” Do that and they will still hate us, perhaps even moreso, but they won’t be comtemptuous.

In the immortal words of Don Corleone, “then they will fear you.”

Well maybe not fear, but that will definitely put an end to this contempt nonsense. It’s a lot harder to look down on someone who just beat the living whiz out of you.

Or as Al Capone famously said, and I mean the real Al Capone, not the re-write in the Untouchables …

“A KIND WORD GOES ONLY SO FAR … A KIND WORD AND A GUN GOES A LOT FURTHER”

Al Capone
1924

Indeed, and it is time for the NY Jets to pistol-whip these guys.

01. TENNESSEE TITANS (8-0)

They’ll maintain this ranking at least until somebody beats them.

02. NEW YORK GIANTS (7-1)

Let this be a lesson for the Jets, a lesson they should heed in two weeks verses the Patriots. What the Giants did to the Cowboys on Sunday, their heated division rivals, was a lesson in how to deliver the kill shot when your mortal enemy is wounded and ripe for the kill. This is a lesson the Jets must learn if they want to win the AFC East.

03. CAROLINA PANTHERS (6-2)

Coming off a bye with the Raiders on deck, so 7-2 seems likely.

04. PITTSBURGH STEELERS (6-2)

BIG BEN went down but his team didn’t miss a beat when Leftwich stepped in and proceeded to pick apart the Redskins on Monday night.

05. ARIZONA CARDINALS (5-3)

This team is playing good football and Kurt Warner looks like the Kurt Warner from his “Greatest Show on Turf” days in ST. Louis. I hope we can beat the Rams as easily as the Cards did (34-13) on Sunday.

06. NEW YORK JETS (5-3)

For all the angst the Jets have caused us they are technically in first place after dispatching of the Bills at Buffalo, no easy task, and now they have quietly won four of their last five games. Only the Titans and Giants are on the better role. Next up the Rams and Pats over a critical four day span, Rams on Sunday and the Pats on Thursday, four days that may define the Jets season for better or worse.

07. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (5-3)

This is a different and more dangerous team with Westbrook in the line-up.

08. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (4-4)

If I’m in the NFC there are two teams I want no part of in the playoffs, Arizona and Nawleans, because both can explode on offense and put 40 on the board if they start rolling downhill. Two scary teams.

09. BUFFALO BILLS (5-3)

I don’t think we’ve heard the last of the Bills. This is a good football team and I suspect they are going to bounce back with a huge effort verses the Pats this week. My gut tells me they going to win that game at Foxboro, but I’m sure Belichick has other ideas.

10. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (4-4)

If Peyton Manning is still playing, the Colts are still dangerous.

11. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (5-3)

We’re gonna find out a lot about the Patriots over the next nine days with Buffalo and the Jets on the dockett. These are some huge division games. In fact this muddled AFCE picture may be much clearer by next Thursday night. But I won’t count the Patriots out till someone drives a stake through Count Dracula’s (AKA: Bill Belichick’s) heart. I have to see it to believe it.

12. WASHINGTON REDSKINS (6-3)

I’m not a believer and I’m not surprised the Steelers slapped them silly.

13. BALTIMORE RAVENS (5-3)

How bout muh-man Ray Rice rushing for 154 like he was back at Rutgers!

14. ATLANTA FALCONS (5-3)

I didn’t like Matt Ryan in the draft. Thought he had a weak arm and didn’t want to draft him. In fairness to myself I did think he was a much better fit for a dome team like the Falcons, there I thought he would have a better chance to succeed, but I did not think it could be this good and certainly not this fast. Anyway, I was wrong and it looks like the Falcons hit the Jackpot.

15. MIAMI DOLPHINS (4-4)

I could rank them higher and I almost did. This is not last year’s Miami Dolphins, that much is crystal clear, this is a dangerous team and they’ve knocked off quite a few of the so-called big dogs … and suddenly that opening day win for the Jets at Miami looks a lot more impressive in retrospect.

16. SAN DIEGO CHARGERS (3-5)

I still believe they will win the AFC West, and if they do this is still a team no-one in the AFC will look forward to playing.

17. DALLAS COWBOYS (5-4)

I knew they were walking into a buzzsaw at the Meadlowlands and without Tony Romo, but I didn’t realize until now what a Glass-Jaw this team has. I mean these guys simply cannot take a punch. They are classic front-runners who just don’t know how to deal with adversity. Talent out the wazoo, but the first sign of trouble and they fold like a cheap suit.

18. TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (6-3)

I Just don’t think they’re very good. I mean seriously, record aside, is this a team that scares you in any way? In my view they’re the opposite of the Chargers, they’re the team everyone will want to play in the post season because there is nothing about this team that scares you.

19. GREEN BAY PACKERS (4-4)

They put up a valiant fight at Tennessee and took the undefeated Titans into Overtime. I think this team is better than their record indicates and I still expect them to win the NFC North, but if I’m right they’ll have to start by beating the Vikings at Minnesota this week and that won’t be easy.

20. CHICAGO BEARS (5-3)

I “think” the Packers will win the NFC North, but right now the Bears lead that division and despite a scare verses the winless Lions in their own building, they pulled it out in the end to take a one game lead.

21. MINNESOTA VIKINGS (4-4)

Nice win over a Texans team that was riding a three game winning streak.

22. DENVER BRONCOS (4-4)

It’s amazing to think this team is still in first place, sole possession no less, but it’s true, although not for long if the Chargers can just get their act together for a little while.

23. CLEVELAND BROWNS (3-5)

Poor Derek Anderson must feel like Dan Aykroyd in Trading Places. Seems like only yesterday when he was the toast of the town and living high on the hog, and now, POOF, just like that, Brady Quinn is sitting in what used to be his chair.

24. HOUSTON TEXANS (3-5)

The streak ended at three in Minnesota.

25. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (3-5)

So long as Carson Palmer was out and Ryan Fitzpatrick was in, I really thought the Bengals had a shot at 0-16, then the under-achieving Jags had to go and mess it all up.

26. ST. LOUIS RAMS (2-6)

Jets better not sleep on this team. They’ve fallen back on hard times, but it was only a few weeks ago when they were beating Washington and Dallas back-to-back and then giving the Pats all they could handle at Foxboro. So this is not a team you can take lightly and live to tell about it.

27. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (1-7)

They’re not winning, but they are playing hard and they’re not playing bad either. In recent weeks they have scared the living daylights out of the Jets and Bucs, and on opening day they scared the Patriots as well.

28. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (2-6)

This team has been decimated by injuries and it shows. For the most part they are not even competitive.

29. OAKLAND RAIDERS (2-6)

I know, I know, it makes you sick that the Jets lost to this team, right?

30. CINCINNATI BENGALS (1-8)

Too high? Hey, they just beat the Jags and that’s a favor for the rest of the AFC teams on the cusp, so I say lets give them a little love this week for a job well done.

31. SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (2-6)

Two weeks ago they got blown out (34-13) at home verses the dreadful and decimated Seattle Seahags. Need I say more?

32. Detriot Lions (0-8)

They scared me on Sunday. I thought we were about to lose our last two remaining winless teams after the Bengals upended the Jaguars and the Lions alomst did likewise at Chicago. But they came through in the end and we still have one possible winless season on the horizon.

01. TENNESSEE TITANS (7-0)

• Undefeated, waxed their division rivals (Colts) on MNF and opened up a 4 Game lead in the AFC South. Right now it’s one big party in Nashville.

02. NEW YORK GIANTS (6-1)

• Can you imagine how good this team would be if they still had Strahan and Umenyiora. Scary thought, huh?

03. CAROLINA PANTHERS (6-2)

• These Guys are playing really well. They just beat the Saints and Cardinals back-to-back, probably the leagues two most explosive offenses, out-scoring the Cards (27-23) after routing the Saints and holding them to only seven points.

04. WASHINGTON REDSKINS (6-2)

• Nothing fancy, but they’re winning and they did beat the Cowboys in Dallas before Romo went down. Also beat the Eagles at Philly.

05. DALLAS COWBOYS (5-3)

• Yes they’ve fallen upon hard times since Romo went down, that was to be expected, but he’s not out for the season, he’s coming back in the not to distant future and when he does he’ll find WR Roy Williams opposite Terrell Owens and this will be a very dangerous team from top to bottom. Unfortunately Romo will not be back for the Giants this week, Brooks Bollinger may get the nod, and this one could get real ugly. Translation; it may get worse in Dallas before it gets better.

06. PITTSBURGH STEELERS (5-2)

• There’s no shame in losing to the Giants.

07. BUFFALO BILLS (5-2)

• Anyone can lose to a division rival (Miami) on the road, but this week the Bills are home and they are laying in wait to take it out on the Jets. The Jets better know that and they better be fired up too, or they are going to get their clocks cleaned in Buffalo.

08. PATRIOTS (5-2)

• Let’s face it, Belichick is a genius. Just about any other coach in the world and the Pats are already toast having lost Tom Brady and practically their entire stable of RB’s, not to mention a banged up O-line and other assorted injuries, yet here they sit in a tie for first place despite being decimeted to that degree. As a Jet fan it is absolutely sickening.

09. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (4-4)

• I know the Chargers are struggling, but any time you beat SD I’m still impressed. Besides that, as a fan I give the Saints extra credit because they are so much fun to watch so long as they are not slicing & dicing the Jets secondary.

10. ARIZONA CARDINALS (4-3)

• Lost a close one to Carolina on Sunday, but beat Dallas (with Romo) and Buffalo back-to-back prior to their bye week and those wins still resonate with me. In fact they crushed the Bills 41-17 without Anquan Boldin.

11. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (4-3)

• Brian Westbrook came back with a bang on Sunday, adding over 200 Yards of total offense (167 Rushing, 42 Rec) with two rushing TD’s.

12. GREEN BAY PACKERS (4-3)

• Aaron Rodgers seems healthy after torching the Colts prior to GB’s bye week, and that bye will only help his wing to heal even further, so I think the Pack is back on track to make some noise.

13. TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (5-3)

• I don’t love them, but they are 5-3 and they did rout Carolina a few weeks back so I can’t rank them much lower than this. 

14. CHICAGO BEARS (4-3)

• Honestly I had trouble with this spot, but since the Bears have the Lions at Soldier Field this week I’ll treat it like they’re already 5-3.

15. DENVER BRONCOS (4-3)

• Coming off their bye they’ve had two weeks to stew over that 41-7 massacre at New England, and two weeks to prepare for Miami’s single-wing. I suspect the fins may be walking into an ambush.

16. BALTIMORE RAVENS (4-3)

• I’m with Steve Young, this team put me to sleep, but you know what, I wish the Jets had put me to sleep two weeks ago by crushing the hapless Raiders 29-10 as these Ravens did on Sunday.

17. ATLANTA FALCONS (4-3)

• They were competitive at Philly and may have won that game if not for a terrible call by the officials. Unfortunately the Falcons were out of timeouts, therefore they could not challenge that missed call of a phantom muffed punt, which definitely would have been over-turned, but it they couldn’t challenge it, Westbrook promptly converted that break into a TD, and that was all she wrote.

18. NEW YORK JETS (4-3)

• This is it, fellas, Jets @ Buffalo, time to put up or shut up. For further explanation just see my prior blog entry, but to make a long story short, if this team has any designs on a division title or wants to be taken serious as a contender, now is the time to prove it. Not two weeks from now. Not three weeks from now. Not next month or the week after that. NOW is the time to prove it.

19. CLEVELAND BROWNS (3-4)

• This team had high expectations then got off to a terrible start, but they’ve since defeated the Giants and Jagaurs over the past three weeks, with a loss to the Redskins sandwiched in between. This week they get the Ravens at home and if they can win that one they’ll officially be back in this race.

20. MIAMI DOLPHINS (3-4)

• You know what, the Jets might not even be in this division race if not for Miami. They’ve upended New England and Buffalo and kept both within shouting distance. Of course it won’t matter if we can’t take care of our own business, starting this week in Buffalo, but that’s another story.

21. HOUSTON TEXANS (3-4)

• When this team was 0-4 I continued to insist they are better than their record indicates. They have since ripped off three in a row and it would have been four had they not snatched defeat from the jaws of victory and flatout gift-wrapped one for the Colts.

22. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (3-4)

• I Gave them the nod over Indy because they already beat the Colts head-to-head in the dome, but I still think the Colts are more dangerous.

23. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (3-4)

• Tennessee has a four game lead and the division seems all but lost, even Tony Dungy practically admitted as much, but the wild cards are still very much in play and the Colts better start by beating the Patriots this week in the dome or they’ll be in serious danger of missing the playoffs altogether, and I’m pretty sure they know it.

24. SAN DIEGO CHARGERS (3-5)

• That I can rank Indy and SD near the mid twenties is absolutely stunning too me. Even more stunning is that these two rankings will probably draw no more than mild disagreement if any at all.

25. MINNESOTA VIKINGS (3-4)

• There are rumors floating around that the Vikings may lose both of their starting defensive tackles (Pat and Kevin Williams) to suspension for violating the leagues performance enhancement substance policy, and if that happens for two to four games, simultaniously, the Vikings are probably done.

26. ST. LOUIS RAMS (2-5)

• The Rams are playing a lot better as of late, of course just in time to give the Jets a tough one following the Bills. In fact if the Rams were playing this well from the outset they wouldn’t be in this 2-5 mess.   

27. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (2-5)

• Destroyed the Niners on Sunday but Hasselbeck is hurt, they’re receiving core is a mess and the only thing they’re in contention for is a TOP 5-10 Pick in the draft.

28. SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (2-6)

• If Vernon Davis turns his career around and justifies that #6 Overall Pick, he’ll have Mike Singletary to thank … and I, as a Jet fan, would pay good money if Singletary would come and have a little chat with our recent #6 Overall Pick as well, another Vernon who looks like Tarzan and plays like Jane.

29. OAKLAND RAIDERS (2-6)

• This week John Elway ripped Al Davis and warned JaMarcus Russell to somehow make his escape from that dysfunctional organization or his career is going down the tubes.  Ouch!

30. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (1-6)

• No sugarcoating it, it’s a disgrace that the Jets kept these tomato cans in the game till the very last minute after losing to the hapless Raiders. It’s hard to win on the road in the NFL so I didn’t kill the Jets for losing at Oakland, but had they lost at home to the Chiefs that would have been inexcusable, even taking “Any Given Sunday” into account, and that was far too close to happening. 

31. DETROIT LIONS (0-7)

• The only thing separating Detriot from Cincinnati is one game, one less game and therefore one less loss for the Lions, otherwise these teams are equally as putrid.

32. CINCINNATI BENGALS (0-8)

• If Carson Palmer does not come back, if he’s shutdown for the season as ESPN suggested he might be, I have a hard time seeing how the Bengals win a game. I’ve looked at their schedule and it’s not easy.  Other than KC on the final weekend, this team (minus Palmer) has 0-15 written all over them. 
• In fact I looked at the Lions schedule and they don’t even have one Kansas City, unlike Cinci they don’t have an easy one, so they might make a run at 0-16 too.  And you know what, between the two of these stumble bums I think there’s a decent chance we may actually get a winless team this year.

• That brutal home loss to the Pats.
• That blowout at San Diego.
• That miserable loss at Oakland.
• Barely escaping verses the dreadful Kansas City Chiefs.

All of it means nothing if we can rip off a win down in Buffalo this week.

I know Jet fans are not very happy, but you might as well let it go because all of it means nothing if the Jets can finally bring their A-Game this week, something I believe we have not seen as of yet, and frankly I think we’re due.

Indeed with the Pats heading to Indy this week, and you have to favor Peyton Manning over Matt Cassel in the dome, the Jets could be sixty minutes away from a three way tie for first place in the AFC East and a brand new season at the halfway mark, AFCE entirely up for grabs.

This is an enormous division game, the implications are immense, so in my view this is hardly the time to be stuck in the past. What’s happened up until now has happened and nothing will change it, but the course and complexion of this season can shift dramatically if the Jets can get that big W this week.

This, my friends, is the proverbial “moment of truth”. This is a defining moment. We’ve been waiting for the Jets to bust out their A-Game all year, offense, defense and special teams, where all three phases come together for sixty minutes of the very best football this team has to offer, and now is the time to unvail it.

Alan Faneca, this is why the Jets cut you that enormous check. Now is the time to bust open some holes for TJ and Leon like your life depends on it, to be that all-pro road grader we inked to that massive deal, and to protect Brett Favre like you’re protecting your newborn infant. Same goes for you messers Ferguson and Mangold, now is the time to bring your very best game as pros. And over on the right side we need Damien Woody to be the player he was in New England and Brandon Moore to show us why we’re set at RG for the forseeable future and there’s no reason to look elsewhere.

All season we’ve been waiting for you guys to gel. We’ve been waiting for this running game to bust out. And frankly the pass protection has regressed in recent weeks and #4 has taken far too many vicious hits. Well this is the week to put it all together, allow Brett Favre to be great, give him the time he needs to be great, and give him the complimentary running game that he needs as well.

On defense we simply need to treat Marshawn Lynch as we have every other RB this season thus far, now is not the time to backslide in the regard, but it is time for the DB’s to step up and start intercepting the football. We need a consistant pass rush and we need some big take-aways. And let’s not turn Trent Edwards into John Unitas as we have too often this year. He’s a nice player, but let’s get in his face, let’s knock him down, and let’s not turn him into Johnny U. ala Tyler Thigpen.

On special teams let’s just keep on doing what we’ve been doing, and maybe this is the week Leon or Miller takes one to the house? That would definitely be nice.

And last but certainly not least, this is the week Favre needs to be Favre, the guy we saw verses Arizona and the guy who has had one of the all-time brilliant careers in this league. Now is the time to unleash that Brett Favre on a division rival with a possible share of first place on the line.

In other words it’s time for the A-Game and that means all three phases, and that means sixty minutes too.

I think the A-Game is overdue and I think this team has a chance to accomplish big things, but this is the week to bring it, there is no tomorrow, this is where the rubber meets the road. 60 Minutes Away from a possible first place tie at the halfway mark, but only if we win this football game!