Week 6 Power Report

The end of the Lions/49ers game was probably the most dramatic handshake in history. The highlight of the week has got to be the Lions’ coach taking exception to the ignorant “good game, best of luck next week” from Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh was excited for his team to get a big win, and he is a pretty animated, excitable guy, no doubt. But come on, he slapped Jim Schwartz pretty hard, pushed him aside, and yelled out a "woo!" (along with what the Lions' coach thought was an obscenity). Harbaugh has to have a little more respect and act like he’s won before. Schwartz' overreaction was inappropriate, but I do like his "take no crap" attitude.

Stats o' the Week
-2: How's this statistical anomoly? The Patriots, Ravens and 49ers were all -2 in turnovers and each won. The 49ers also committed 15 penalties for 120 yards.

3: Rams points. The Rams gained 424 yards of offense, only gave away one turnover (as did their opponent), and managed to score only 3 points?

6: Patriots & Cowboys turnovers, compared to a combined 3 touchdowns.

17: Career kick return touchdowns for Devin Hester

25: Seems to be the magic number. Of the six teams with 1 or fewer losses (Packers, Patriots, Chargers, Lions, 49ers, Ravens), five have given up 25 points only once (Lions twice).

178: Dolphins' 1st quarter yards on offense (Jets had 10).

It looks like the league's passing frenzy has started to ease up. This week saw 6 quarterbacks throw for 300+ yards (none over 383), and there were 8 running backs who hit 100 yards rushing. In Week 5 there were eleven 100 yard rushers and just six 300 yard passers.

Power Report


1. Packers. Aaron Rodgers is on fire: 17 touchdowns (plus 2 more rushing), 3 interceptions, and a quarterback rating of 124.1. And his team is 6-0.
2. Patriots. I’m sick of hearing about the terrible Patriots’ defense. That “terrible” unit has allowed only 18 points a game over their last 3 contests.
3. Ravens. NFL’s best defense get the terrible Jaguars and Cardinals next.
4. 49ers. Speaking of defense, 49ers are the first team to keep Calvin Johnson out of the endzone. Rare win in the eastern time zone.
5. Lions. I’m glad Jim Schwartz has only lost 1 game this year. The last four Lions' possessions: 4 plays, punt. 3 plays, punt. 4 and out, 4 and out.
6. Saints. Defense gave up 420 yards and the offense turned the ball over 4 times. You’re not going to win doing that.
7. Chargers.
8. Raiders. I have mixed feelings about their trade. Carson Palmer may be the best QB on the market, but is he in shape? He hasn't played in forever. And he hasn't been too good the last couple years. And the Raiders have done a pretty bad job lately drafting in the first round, but losing 2 first round picks for Palmer? If he's decent then the Raiders ought to make the playoffs, but is that enough for what they gave up?
9. Steelers. Jags made it close in the end, but Steelers really dominated for a second easy win a row. And they play the Cardinals next.
10. Giants. Defense has more holes in the middle than swiss cheese. GMen receivers drop or tip waaaaay too many passes. But Eli and the defense step up when they need to and they rebounded from last week’s embarrassment with a nice win. Big Blue is alone in first.
11. Cowboys. Conservative play calling at the end, but can you blame Garrett for taking the ball out of Tony Romo the Goat’s hands?
12. Bears. Prettiest pass of the week belongs to Jay Cutler. Jay looks really good when there is no pressure and the Vikings defense did nothing.
13. Buccaneers. Josh Freeman has his best game of the year at the right time as the Bucs bounce back and beat the Saints to take first place. But this is one team that we need to see more if we want a good evaluation.
14. Titans. Texans, Jags, and Colts all lose. The bye week couldn’t have been better.
15. Texans. Back-to-back losses knock them out of first place and up next is a road game in Tennessee.
16. Bills. Offense is pretty good but while the defense has been opportunistic, they can’t stop anybody.
17. Jets. Over three games, the Jets offense had a string of 18 three-and-outs (3 plays and punt) in 25 possessions. That's 72% of their "drives" don't even get a first down.
18. Eagles. After a win and Cowboys/Redskins loss there is life again. Eagles have significantly outgained their opponent in all 6 games. In the last 4 games the Eagles have been outscored 23-56 in the second half, which maintains cause for concern.
19. Bengals. Only team that has not given up 25 points in a game.
20. Falcons. Falcons do pretty well when Matt Ryan doesn’t throw the ball very often. In 3 losses Ryan averages 42 pass attempts. In 3 wins he has averaged just 30.
21. Redskins. There has been a John Beck sighting. Before that you wondered how this team ever won 3 games. The defense has done a pretty good job keeping them in games.
22. Seahawks.
23. Chiefs.
24. Browns. It's official: Peyton Hillis is a victim of the Madden Curse.
25. Panthers. Had a lead after the 3rd quarter and put up some pretty good numbers, but 3 Cam Newton turnovers bury the Panthers again.
26. Vikings. McNabb looked ready to sign retirement papers in the game against the Bears. I know McNabb had a good career in Philadelphia, but at this point in his career, he is a terrible quarterback. When watching the Vikings play that is painfully obvious. Christian Ponder didn’t put up any impressive numbers coming in relief, but he made some plays and looked pretty good.
27. Broncos
28. Cardinals
29. Jaguars. You would think in a game where they were down 17-3 at halftime that Gabbert would pass for more than 109 yards.
30. Dolphins. It seems the Dolphin receivers don’t want anything to stop them from getting Andrew Luck. Matt Moore got no help at all against the Jets.
31. Colts. Made it interesting near the end, but it makes you wonder if they will ever win a game.
32. Rams. On the bright side, they shut out the Packers in the second half and gained more yards in the game. But they still lost by 3 touchdowns and are 0-5.