Sporting Joe NFL Power Poll: Week 1

Week 1 of the season is in the books and everything went as expected.  Assuming that Buffalo winning in Chicago, Pittsburgh almost blowing a 24-point lead to Cleveland, J.J. Watt being the best player on the field against Washington, and Minnesota steamrolling St. Louis was all expected.  Week 1 had the requisite surprises and now the mantra for fans must be patience.  Overreaction is tempting but Sporting Joe is taking the season long view. 

                                                   

1)      Seattle-  The biggest problem facing Seattle at the moment appears to be Richard Sherman becoming bored during the games due to a lack of targets.

               

2)      Denver- With three first-half touchdown receptions tight end Julius Thomas has served notice that Jimmy Graham may no longer be the unequivocal best at his position anymore.

  

3)      Green Bay-  This is a tricky ranking.  Teams three thru number seven lost last week so no clear-cut number three has emerged.  Green Bay has significant concerns on the offensive and defensive lines.  This could cost the Packers some playoff seeding but they have talent and losing at Seattle is not enough to justify sounding the alarm. 

4)      Philadelphia- Trailing Jacksonville 17-0 is not ideal for starting a season but the Jags are improved.  The Eagles shook off the poor start and reeled off 34 unanswered points.  That is the sign of a maturing team looking to build on last season’s early playoff exit.

5)      New Orleans- Matt Ryan is a good quarterback who has shredded many defenses but the uneven play of safety Jairus Byrd is disconcerting.

6)      New England-  Since Bill Belichik has been New England’s head coach, the Patriots have outscored Miami 356-334 in South Florida but the Patriots are 7-8 during that span, so losing to the Dolphins in Miami in not unexpected.

     

7)       San Francisco- Suspensions and injuries are non-factors for a coaching staff that continues to game plan as well as any in the league. 

8)      Chicago- The Bears have dropped eight straight road games against San Francisco, there last win was in 1985, perhaps the new Levi’s Stadium will end Chicago’s frustration.

  

9)      Miami- The new Philadelphia style offense paid dividends in week 1 as did free agent pick up Knowshon Moreno.

10) Cincinnati-  Andy Dalton’s perfectly placed fourth quarter bomb to A.J. Green should slightly ease the concerns about Dalton’s ability to execute under pressure.