…is a quarter of the season really gone already? Time flies when you’re having fun, I guess, but still…
Anyway, in honour of it being a quarter of the way through the season, I thought I’d redo my Power Rankings and do some quarter-season awards in addition to the normal weekly awards later in the week. Don’t worry, the rankings won’t be as long as the preseason ones, I’ll just do the names. I promise. Mostly.
1. Pittsburgh Steelers
2. New York Jets
3. Atlanta Falcons
4. Baltimore Ravens
5. Green Bay Packers
6. Kansas City Chiefs
7. New Orleans Saints
8. Houston Texans
9. New England Patriots
10. Indianapolis Colts
11. Philadelphia Eagles
12. Chicago Bears
13. San Diego Chargers
14. Cincinnatti Bengals
15. Miami Dolphins
16. Denver Broncos
17. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
18. Jacksonville Jaguars
19. New York Giants
20. Tennessee Titans
21. Washington Redskins
22. Dallas Cowboys
23. St. Louis Rams
24. Minnesota Vikings
25. Seattle Seahawks
26. Cleveland Browns
27. Detroit Lions
28. Arizona Cardinals
29. Oakland Raiders
30. Carolina Panthers
31. San Francisco 49ers
32. Buffalo Bills
1/4 MVP: Michael Vick, QB, Eagles
Can there be any argument here? Vick transformed a terrible Eagles offense into the most explosive in the league when he came on in relief of an injured Kevin Kolb in week 1. Vick is himself injured this week with bruised ribs, but I can’t see Kolb making the same turnaround Vick did. Vick will be the starter once he’s better, and the Eagles will be exponentially improved for it.
1/4 Surprise Team: Kansas City Chiefs
Could anyone have predicted this? The Chiefs were predicted to improve, but nowhere near so quickly. They have a very stout defence under Defensive Coordinator Romeo Crennel, and a solid running game. the only weak link is the passing game, with an inconsistent QB in Matt Cassel and only one decent WR and TE to throw to. Sounds a bit like the Jets last year….Speaking of which
1/4 Most Improved Player: Mark Sanchez, QB, Jets
Again, Sanchez was expected to make strides this year, but nothing like this. 8 TDs and 0 INT after 4 games is hugely impressive considering his 12 TD, 20 INT rookie season. He is also rated 4th in the NFL in passer rating, yet has one of the lowest yardage totals, showing how improved he is wit his accuracy, decision-making, and performance against blitz.
Rookie of the Quarter: Sam Bradford, QB, Rams
Simply put, Bradford is playing like a 4th year pro. He’s accurate with a strong arm, and commands good leaderhip in the huddle. He’s also putting up impressive numbers, throwing for as many TDs in 4 games as the Rams did in the whole of last year. Most importantly, the Rams are now looking like a team that could take advantage of a very weak division and make the playoffs. Whether it continues remains to be seen, but it’s looking very promising.
So, those are my first quarterly awards. I’ll do the normal weekly review tomorrow. Until then, dear fellows…
