Sporting Joe NFL Power Poll: Week 10

After nine weeks of constant change, the Sporting Joe Power Poll is unusually stable this week.  The top nine teams either won or were on their bye week.  Pittsburgh lost a mild shocker to the New York Jets as Ben Roethlisberger finally cooled off.  Enjoy the stability this week as New England journeys to Indianapolis, Philadelphia visits Green Bay, and Detroit faces Arizona.  Those games and the inevitable upsets will inevitably alter the Power Poll once again.

1)      New England- The Patriot’s likely anticipate the Colts to come out swinging on Sunday night.  The quickest, and surest, way to silence the crowd will be isolating Rob Gronkowski on Colt’s linebacker D’Qwell Jackson.  Jackson is a phenomenal player in lateral or forward moving plays but he struggles to cover good tight ends.  At the moment Gronkowski may be the best receiving tight end in the NFL.
              

2)      Green Bay- Moving Clay Matthews to inside linebacker worked against an often-uninspired Chicago squad.  For the remainder of the season Matthews’ energy and willingness to chase down a play from the backside will outweigh the negative plays generated from his coverage deficiencies. 

            

3)      Denver-  Adding offensive lineman Richie Incognito seems like an odd move for a team with minimal chemistry issues.  Denver’s biggest issue to date appears to be Brock Osweiler’s understandable reaction to Peyton Manning trotting onto the field up 41-10 with seconds left in the third quarter of Sunday’s win over Oakland.

4)      Arizona- Carson Palmer cannot catch a break as a torn ACL has ended his season. Drew Stanton is now the starter and despite the best record in the NFL, the 8-1 Cardinals are back in the role of the underdog.

 

5)      Indianapolis-  Last season a young Colts team used a Sunday night visit from Denver as a coming out party as an AFC contender.  This year the Patriots walk into Lucas Oil stadium on a Sunday night.  Featuring Ahmad Bradshaw instead of Trent Richardson will ease Andrew Luck’s burden. 

    

6)      Dallas- It is easy to dismiss Jacksonville (1-9) as a bad team.  However, Gus Bradley has the Jaguars pointed in the right direction and playing hard, which makes Dallas and their 31-17 victory look good.

 

7)       Detroit- Another week and another down to the wire win, 20-16 over Miami, for the Lions.  Momentum is building in Motown.

      

8)      Philadelphia- With the dismantling of a dying Carolina Panthers team never in doubt, questions remain about Mark Sanchez’s ability to play well under pressure.  Darren Sproles will serve as a massive security blanket for Sanchez this week.  Look for Chip Kelly to isolate Sproles on Clay Matthews at Lambeau.

     

9)      Baltimore- Jim Harbaugh has been branded the “fierier” of the two brothers but John Harbaugh’s controversially aired comments following the Ravens’ win over Tennessee begs to differ.

   

10) Seattle-  The Seahawks may not catch Arizona, although they do play each other twice, but it is doubtful that the NFC West will not produce a second playoff team.  With Patrick Willis headed to injured reserve and Navarro Bowman still experiencing knee pain San Francisco continues to have their depth tested.  Seattle has had numerous injuries as well but Russell Wilson’s play gives them the edge in the playoff race.