Testaverde Touchdown: NFL Power Poll, Week 10

NFL Power Poll, Week 10

Rank (Last)	Team	Record	Notes
1 (4)		9-1	Wins over Carolina and San Francisco, and a 5-1 road record, are enough to give them the top spot.
2 (3)		9-0	I'm waiting to see Kansas City play a team with an actual starting quarterback before handing them the top spot.
3 (5)		8-1	I'd like to see Denver beat a good team before considering them for the top spot.
4 (6)		7-2	Stop me if you've heard this one before…Patriots look somewhat unimpressive in the first half of the season, but then you look up and they are playing above .750 ball, have a comfortable lead in their division, and an inside track on a bye.
5 (7)		7-2	That was an impressive dismantling of the Cowboys, but right now I believe it says more about the Cowboys than the Saints. This is the same Saints team who recently lost to the Jets.
6 (8)		6-3	Well, you can't say they made their record all on cupcakes anymore. Carolina staked their claim as a playoff threat with that win over San Francisco, but their schedule doesn't let up: they get the Patriots this week and the Saints twice in the final 6 weeks.
7 (9)		6-3	The Lions lost plenty of games last season due to a lack of discipline. Are they more disciplined this year? No, they're just making more plays to overcome their sloppiness. Right now that’s enough in that division (with everyone else's quarterback situation in tatters), but not enough to be a true Super Bowl threat.
8 (1)		6-3	Last year the 49ers won on the strength of their running game and defense, complemented by the passing game. This season they either win on the back of their running game and defense, or they lose when the passing game is forced to make plays.
9 (2)		6-3	That loss to the Rams was jarring. Their offense really misses Reggie Wayne.
10 (13)		5-4	In a quarterback driven league, you can win with a great defense and an average quarterback (Carson Palmer). What you can't do is win with a great defense and poop at quarterback (John Skelton/Ryan Lindley).
11 (10)		6-4	Andy Dalton has made strides this season, but he's not going to lead this team anywhere special. And with the injuries mounting on defense, that means Cincinnati will have another very short stay in the playoffs.
12 (12)		5-4	How on earth did it take Green Bay over 8 days to sign Matt Flynn after Aaron Rodgers went down with his collarbone injury?
13 (11)		5-4	This is not the contract-year drive that Jay Cutler or his agent envisioned.
14 (22)		4-5	The defense is going to have to carry this team as far as they will go. You have to think that when they paid their quarterback $120 million that having the defense lead the way wasn't the plan.
15 (18)		4-5	If they can keep Jason Campbell healthy, they juts might have a chance (words no one expected to ever say).
16 (17)		5-4	Thanks to a well-placed bye week, if the Jets keep up their odd week win/even week loss pattern, they will finish the season 9-7 and likely the 6th playoff berth in the AFC.
17 (25)		5-5	So is the question whether or not Nick Foles can keep this up in Chip Kelly's offense, or is it whether the Chip Kelly offense can keep Nick Foles healthy long enough to not have to put Matt Barkley on the field again for the rest of the season?
18 (15)		5-5	Stop me if you've heard this one before…The Cowboys' lack of depth on defense is probably going to torpedo the second half of their season.
19 (14)		4-5	This is the part where the wheels completely come off the good ship Dolphin, right?
20 (16)		4-5	Losing the chance to make an informed decision on Jake Locker's status as starting quarterback is much worse than losing out on a possible 2nd wild card berth for this season. Can Tennessee really afford to not take a quarterback from the upcoming draft class?
21 (26)		4-6	Why did it take losing San Bradford for the Rams' defense to wake up and start playing like they did last season?
22 (19)		4-5	The Chargers feel like a team that beats the bad teams on their schedule and loses to all the halfway decent ones. But this is also the team that beat Indianapolis and lost to Oakland…so I guess I simply have no idea who this team is.
23 (28)		3-6	Is this the usual Giants charge at a playoff spot? Did they juts leave it later than usual?
24 (20)		2-7	It's a shame that the Texans' stretch of legitimately dominant defense and their stretch of competent quarterbakc play didn't overlap at all.
25 (21)		3-6	Oh, right. Even as Robert Griffin works his way back into game shape, that defense is still bad enough to make Christian Ponder look good.
26 (29)		3-6	Really? Steelers players want Ben to become more cerebral? As my wife said, "So they want him to become an entirely different person?"
27 (23)		3-7	Stop me if you've heard this one before…Despite offseason promises and excitement, the Buffalo Bills are well on their way to a 5-11/6-10 type of season.
28 (30)		2-7	Christian Ponder looked good. (Yay!) But it was against Washington (Oh…)
29 (24)		2-7	They made a calculated decision to amass a group of stars at the expense of their bench. Last year it got them within 10 yards of a Super Bowl. This year many of the stars are injured, and it's got them a bottom-5 ranking.
30 (27)		3-6	There's plenty of room aboard the Terrelle Pryor bandwagon now. Wait, why are you running away? The heat works, you can stay warm in here. Come back! You can have shotgun! Please?
31 (31)		1-8	When talking about losing teams people make a big deal of whether or not the players quit on the coach or not. With all the rumblings that have come out of Tampa this season, the fact that the players haven't quit on Schiano may come as a surprise. But even if Schiano is fired by the end of the season, the new guy will come in and the first thing he'll do is assess the roster he's inherited. You know what he'll use for that assessment? This year's film! So if you look terrible in the games this year, you may find yourself in the unemployment line right alongside that coach you quit on.
32 (32)		1-8	Kudos to this team for getting a win.