Arizona Cardinals ESPN Power Ranking Probably Too Low
By Scott Allen
Sep 16, 2012; Foxboro, Massachusetts, USA; Arizona Cardinals tight end Todd Heap (86) is tackled by New England Patriots middle linebacker Brandon Spikes (55) during the second quarter at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-US PRESSWIRE
When you go read the newest ESPN Power Rankings the first thought this week was how impressed are the bloggers with the Arizona Cardinals? Well, it was enough to raise them to number 14 from number 20. The New England Patriots? They are ranked fifth this week. They are probably ranked too high. Granted, they lost to the Cards, so maybe not? Seriously though, there are six 2-0 teams and the Cards are 14th? To me, the rankings are about how you are playing NOW. Not reputation, not how I think you should have played. I’m a results guy. The results say the Cards are one of the best six teams now. Not saying it will be this way next week. Just now.
So let’s disect those ranked ahead of the Cards:
The 49’ers, Texans and Falcons are 1-3. I’m good with that. They are all undefeated. I agree with the order too. The Niners have clearly been the best team. The Texans took awhile to best the Dolphins in week one. The Falcons still had a chance to lose late last night despite getting four turnovers in the first quarter. They won, so still deserve number three.
The next three are the Packers, then the Pats, then the Ravens. The Packers really haven’t played that well, but are 1-1 and did lose to the Niners. The Pats lost at home to the 20th ranked team from last week. They did dominate the Titans the week before, however I think the Chargers exposed the Titans a little more for what they may really be this past week.
The Eagles are 2-0 and sure maybe a little lucky to be there after winning two one-point games and nine turnovers, however, they still WON the games. In my book, doesn’t matter if it’s by 1 or 100. That only comes into play in tie-breakers for me. They are 2-0 because they know how to win. Good teams find a way, even when they aren’t playing very well. The winner of their game against the Cards this week will say a lot about both teams.
The Giants, Steelers, and Broncos are 8-10. The Giants are too high and only up there because they are New York and they are the defending champs. They are there based on reputation and what they’ve done in the past. They could easily be 0-2. It was an impressive comeback against the Bucs after a horrible first half. The Giants lost to the Cowboys, who lost to the Seahawks, who lost to…the Cards. So, in my book, that means the Cards should be above the Giants…for now. The Steelers and Broncos, they are both probably ranked properly.
The Chargers, Bears, and Lions make up the last three spots in front of the Cards at 11-13. The Chargers are 2-0, so naturally they should be in the top six by my standards, regardless of who they played. Hey – it’s the Chargers! They never start 2-0. That said alone, they should be ranked higher too. The Bears – too high. They beat the Colts in Andrew Luck’s first ever game. Quarterback Jay Cutler looked pretty bad at times. Then he went to Green Bay and looked a lot worse. Then there are the Lions. It’s a close call, but at 1-1, Arizona should be ranked above them. They struggled to beat St. Louis at the end of the game in week one. They didn’t play well in San Francisco. The Cards should be a top six team, but I understand why people have them lower. They should be no lower than 10th right now. One writer, John Clayton, had them at 17. That’s just a flat out bias right there. A 2-0 team at 17?? Ridiculous. NFC West writer Mike Sando ranked them the highest at 12th. If you just rank the Giants and Bears lower, I could live with that. So, 14 it is and if they beat the Eagles, who knows? Maybe they could jump as high as 13? Wow.