Wurzell
Rookie
Tuesday, October 29
Bye week lifts Chargers to the top
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ESPN.com
ESPN.com's Power Poll
The rankings are determined by a poll of ESPN.com's NFL staff -- senior writers John Clayton, Len Pasquarelli and Chris Mortensen
Another week and another new No. 1.
Through eight weeks of NFL action it's clear that there isn't a dominant team and that's reflected in this week's rankings where the Chargers are the third straight new No. 1 team and the sixth different top team so far this year.
Meanwhile, the Bears continue to plummet. Losers of five straight, Chicago dropped from No. 23 last week all the way to No. 31.
Anyway, on to the rankings. If you want to see last week's rankings, click here.
2002 Power Rankings: Week 9
1 Chargers 6-1-0 Hey this is pretty easy. Take a week off and move up to the top spot.
2 Broncos 6-2-0 Pretty impressive performance against the Patriots. Out gained New England 351-179 and should have won by 14.
3 Packers 6-1-0 Gotta love Brett Favre making his 165th straight start before a national TV audience on MNF.
4 Eagles 5-2-0 Just when everyone is going crazy over Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb steps up and reminds us all that he's still the best combination of running and passing at QB.
5 Dolphins 5-2-0 Better hope that Ray Lucas got a chance to put his performance against the Bills behind him during Miami's bye week.
6 Saints 6-2-0 Saints' porous defense finally jumped up and cost them a game they should have won.
7 49ers 5-2-0 When Garcia and Owens are clicking, the 49ers put a bunch of points on the board.
8 Buccaneers 6-2-0 If Brad Johnson misses more time, Shaun King will play because Rob Johnson could get hurt watching TV.
9 Bills 5-3-0 Drew Bledsoe won't come out and say it, but we're betting he gets a little smile when he looks at the standings and sees the Patriots looking up at the Bills
10 Steelers 4-3-0 After stumbling early, the Steelers are right where they are supposed to be -- on top of the AFC North.
11 Raiders 4-3-0 Wonder if Tim Brown is happy? He got the ball more, but it didn't translate into a win.
12 Falcons 4-3-0 If you could only watch one player in the NFL, Michael Vick would have to be near the top of the list.
13 Chiefs 4-4-0 Just imagine where the Chiefs would be if their defense had played that well all season. 6-2? 7-1?
14 Colts 4-3-0 Wasn't Tony Dungy supposed to improve the defense while the offense remained explosive? That plan isn't working too well right now.
15 Patriots 3-4-0 Bad times in New England. The Pats need to get back that chip they had on their shoulders at the beginning of the season.
16 Cardinals 4-3-0 They made it a game, but it's pretty clear the Cardinals aren't yet in the class of a team like the 49ers.
17 Browns 4-4-0 Huge win for the Browns keeps them within sight of the Steelers in AFC North.
18 Ravens 3-4-0 The Ravens have done OK without Ray Lewis, but if he's out for the year, their season could go south fast.
19 Rams 2-5-0 Big game coming up against the Cardinals, who are ahead of St. Louis in the NFC West.
20 Giants 3-4-0 Kudos to Shockey for stepping up and playing hurt. But next time, maybe you should just keep your mouth shut.
21 Titans 3-4-0 Pretty amazing, but a win Sunday against the Colts and the Titans will be tied for first in the AFC South.
22 Redskins 3-4-0 Shane Matthews should get at least one or two more weeks as the starting QB.
23 Jaguars 3-4-0 Losing to the Texans is bad, but no coach deserves to be spit on by the home fans. That's just nasty.
24 Panthers 3-5-0 Panthers offense is obviously a year or two away, but they have a playoff defense right now.
25 Jets 2-5-0 Stick a fork in them. A win would have given Jets fans some hope, but that's gone.
26 Cowboys 3-5-0 If Troy Hambrick is that good then he deserves to play. But we have a hard time believing he'd be better than Emmitt right now.
27 Seahawks 2-5-0 Here's hoping Darrell Jackson makes a speedy recovery from the seizure he suffered in the locker room following the Seahawks victory over the Cowboys.
28 Lions 2-5-0 At least Lions fans won't have to watch Emmitt Smith break the record against Detroit.
29 Texans 2-5-0 It will be interesting to see how the Texans respond in a game they are actually expected to win.
29 Vikings 2-5-0 Bryant McKinnie appears close to signing. Think he'll get a warm reception in the Minnesota locker room when he finally shows up?
31 Bears 2-5-0 Things are pretty ugly in Chicago and it doesn't look like they're going to get any better.
32 Bengals 0-7-0 How low can they go? Not much lower, but a loss to the Texans would be pretty low.
Bye week lifts Chargers to the top
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ESPN.com
ESPN.com's Power Poll
The rankings are determined by a poll of ESPN.com's NFL staff -- senior writers John Clayton, Len Pasquarelli and Chris Mortensen
Another week and another new No. 1.
Through eight weeks of NFL action it's clear that there isn't a dominant team and that's reflected in this week's rankings where the Chargers are the third straight new No. 1 team and the sixth different top team so far this year.
Meanwhile, the Bears continue to plummet. Losers of five straight, Chicago dropped from No. 23 last week all the way to No. 31.
Anyway, on to the rankings. If you want to see last week's rankings, click here.
2002 Power Rankings: Week 9
1 Chargers 6-1-0 Hey this is pretty easy. Take a week off and move up to the top spot.
2 Broncos 6-2-0 Pretty impressive performance against the Patriots. Out gained New England 351-179 and should have won by 14.
3 Packers 6-1-0 Gotta love Brett Favre making his 165th straight start before a national TV audience on MNF.
4 Eagles 5-2-0 Just when everyone is going crazy over Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb steps up and reminds us all that he's still the best combination of running and passing at QB.
5 Dolphins 5-2-0 Better hope that Ray Lucas got a chance to put his performance against the Bills behind him during Miami's bye week.
6 Saints 6-2-0 Saints' porous defense finally jumped up and cost them a game they should have won.
7 49ers 5-2-0 When Garcia and Owens are clicking, the 49ers put a bunch of points on the board.
8 Buccaneers 6-2-0 If Brad Johnson misses more time, Shaun King will play because Rob Johnson could get hurt watching TV.
9 Bills 5-3-0 Drew Bledsoe won't come out and say it, but we're betting he gets a little smile when he looks at the standings and sees the Patriots looking up at the Bills
10 Steelers 4-3-0 After stumbling early, the Steelers are right where they are supposed to be -- on top of the AFC North.
11 Raiders 4-3-0 Wonder if Tim Brown is happy? He got the ball more, but it didn't translate into a win.
12 Falcons 4-3-0 If you could only watch one player in the NFL, Michael Vick would have to be near the top of the list.
13 Chiefs 4-4-0 Just imagine where the Chiefs would be if their defense had played that well all season. 6-2? 7-1?
14 Colts 4-3-0 Wasn't Tony Dungy supposed to improve the defense while the offense remained explosive? That plan isn't working too well right now.
15 Patriots 3-4-0 Bad times in New England. The Pats need to get back that chip they had on their shoulders at the beginning of the season.
16 Cardinals 4-3-0 They made it a game, but it's pretty clear the Cardinals aren't yet in the class of a team like the 49ers.
17 Browns 4-4-0 Huge win for the Browns keeps them within sight of the Steelers in AFC North.
18 Ravens 3-4-0 The Ravens have done OK without Ray Lewis, but if he's out for the year, their season could go south fast.
19 Rams 2-5-0 Big game coming up against the Cardinals, who are ahead of St. Louis in the NFC West.
20 Giants 3-4-0 Kudos to Shockey for stepping up and playing hurt. But next time, maybe you should just keep your mouth shut.
21 Titans 3-4-0 Pretty amazing, but a win Sunday against the Colts and the Titans will be tied for first in the AFC South.
22 Redskins 3-4-0 Shane Matthews should get at least one or two more weeks as the starting QB.
23 Jaguars 3-4-0 Losing to the Texans is bad, but no coach deserves to be spit on by the home fans. That's just nasty.
24 Panthers 3-5-0 Panthers offense is obviously a year or two away, but they have a playoff defense right now.
25 Jets 2-5-0 Stick a fork in them. A win would have given Jets fans some hope, but that's gone.
26 Cowboys 3-5-0 If Troy Hambrick is that good then he deserves to play. But we have a hard time believing he'd be better than Emmitt right now.
27 Seahawks 2-5-0 Here's hoping Darrell Jackson makes a speedy recovery from the seizure he suffered in the locker room following the Seahawks victory over the Cowboys.
28 Lions 2-5-0 At least Lions fans won't have to watch Emmitt Smith break the record against Detroit.
29 Texans 2-5-0 It will be interesting to see how the Texans respond in a game they are actually expected to win.
29 Vikings 2-5-0 Bryant McKinnie appears close to signing. Think he'll get a warm reception in the Minnesota locker room when he finally shows up?
31 Bears 2-5-0 Things are pretty ugly in Chicago and it doesn't look like they're going to get any better.
32 Bengals 0-7-0 How low can they go? Not much lower, but a loss to the Texans would be pretty low.
