NFL Brain Dump - For The Birds

Week 3 of the NFL season didn't provide fans much as far excitement goes; it pretty much was for the birds. Among the 32 franchises that comprise the NFL, five of them are nicknamed after a particular species of birds. All five - Falcons, Ravens, Cardinals, Seahawks, and Eagles - earned themselves a victory in week 3; in this sense, we can definitely say that last week was for the birds.

Both of these birds reached the end zone against the Redskins.

Paper Pigskin Point Potential 2014 - Cincinnati Bengals

This is a series on my 2014 outlook of players you would want to have on your Paper Pigskin team (fantasy football). What you'll find here are my views based on years of playing experience and countless hours of geeking out researching stats, trends, and articles.  I'll advise where to reach and whose hype not to believe.

Tyler Eifert is one of my biggest sleepers

CINCINNATI BENGALS - Passing 259 ypg     Rushing 110 ypg

The Bengals are going to pound the ball on the ground under new Offensive Coordinator Hue Jackson. Jackson also promised the offense would be faster and more rhythmic than in years past. Reports out of camp are the Bengals have incorporated more no-huddle and are playing at a slightly quicker pace than they did under Jay Gruden.

NFL Week 17 Power Rankings

One week left in the season, let's see how they stack up.

1.  Seattle  No longer invincible at home but still belongs on top. They're going to need to figure out how to loosen up defenses for their run game.

2.  Denver  There shouldn't be a question about who the best regular season quarterback of All-Time is. The defense is hurting for certain, with no signs of improvement.

NFL Brain Dump - Playoff Race of Disgrace

So many teams had a chance to make a statement in week 15 and strengthen their playoff position but failed to capitalize on their opportunities. The top three seeds in the AFC all lost and gave other teams hopes of getting either a playoff bye or home game. Outside of the West division, the top teams in the NFC are falling by the wayside. Now there are teams whose life lines were weak just a week ago, are now revitalized.

NFL Week 16 Power Rankings

Just one new team sneaks in this week. We're heading for an exciting close to the NFL season as teams fight for playoff seeding but in these power rankings, Seattle is back at the top.

1.  Seattle  All we talk about is Seattle's defense but Russell Wilson is a special player. He has yet to lose while playing on his home field. I expect to see him at Met Life Stadium in February.

2.  Denver  No problem scoring points but this defense is just flat out horrible. The winterization of their offense will take away the biggest advantage they have over opponents.

NFL Week 15 Power Rankings

1.  Denver  400 yards and 4 touchdowns versus one of the better pass defenses in the league answered questions about Peyton's play in the cold.

2.  Seattle  Played a gritty game; this is what they do. Barely finished on the wrong side.

NFL Brain Dump - Sleeping In Seattle

No! I don't mean "sleeping on Seattle", although I'll be the first to admit I had my doubts about the offense being able to produce points on a consistent basis. I actually mean that any NFC team with Super Bowl aspirations will have to sleep in Seattle, Washington in order to accomplish that. After beating up the New Orleans Saints in front of the entire school, The Hawks are now 2 games clear of the closest challenger for the best record in their conference.  Carolina and New Orleans (both 9-3) face each other twice in the final four games. Seattle is brash and they love to talk trash . . . boy are they fun to watch?

NFL Week 14 Power Rankings

Barring a meltdown, NFC championship contenders will have to deal with the 12th Man.

1.  Seattle  Dominant performance. With a 2 game gap, the NFC road to the Super Bowl officially runs through Seattle.

NFL Week 13 Power Rankings

1.  Seattle  The league’s most consistent team up until this point. We’ll see what they’re made of this upcoming week against a team that has an explosive offense as well as good D.

2.  New Orleans  Extremely shaky win at Atlanta, now Drew Brees faces the best secondary in the league.  They’ve had trouble stopping the run all season long. Seattle will give them a heavy dose.

3.  New England  The hard part of their schedule is now out of the way.  Look for them to run the rest of the regular season table. Road to the Super Bowl might have to pass through Foxboro.

NFL Week 12 Power Rankings

1.  Denver  Reclaimed top dog status in the AFC with huge win over division rivals. Peyton Manning is probably the best at salting games away with a lead.

2.  Seattle  They’ve just ran through competition without a real challenge since the Indy game. They get one after the bye.

3.  New Orleans  Came up big under pressure. They really need to find a run game or else defenses will just tee off on Brees. That balance is needed.

NFL Week 11 Power Rankings

1.  Kansas City With a week to prepare for the Broncos, they have a chance to silence the doubters.

2.  Denver They treated the Chargers like the practice squad and shut it down late in the game.

3.  Seattle They control their own destiny, now Harvin adds some explosiveness to the offense.

NFL Week 10 Power Rankings

A few teams caught some unexpected losses last week but much of the top 10 remains the same. The Colts continue to impress while Seattle and Kansas City are barely escaping.

1.  Kansas City- They get a well deserved week off before a showdown with Denver. They'd be wise to figure out O-line protection so that Alex Smith can exploit a shaky Bronco secondary.

2.  Denver- Let’s see if they’ve fixed the defensive woes during the bye week.  The Chargers will surely test them.

NFL Week 9 Power Rankings

Not much has changed from last week.  Although, the Chiefs, Broncos, Patriots, and Seahawks looked shaky in their wins, none of the previous top 10 lost.

1.  Kansas City   They continue to not lose to the teams on their schedule. It's crazy to see the lack of respect this team as a whole gets because nobody believes in their shoddy quarterback.

NFL Week 8 Power Rankings

My friends over at the The OpinioNation blog releases a weekly "The Strength Of Ten" article which is basically a top 10 version of NFL power rankings. I'm on the panel that comes up with the list, I figured I should share my personal choices that factor into it.  Check there rankings and see how it compares to mine.

NFL Week 7 Power Rankings

My friends over at the The OpinioNation blog releases a weekly "The Strength Of Ten" article which is basically a top 10 version of NFL power rankings. I'm on the panel that comes up with the list, I figured I should share my personal choices that factor into it.  Check there rankings and see how it compares to mine.

Paper Pigskin Point Potential AFC North

This is a series on my 2013 outlook of players you would want to have on your Paper Pigskin team (fantasy football).  I'll be organizing them by division.  What you'll find here are my views based on years of playing experience and countless hours of geeking out researching stats, trends, and articles.  I'll advise where to reach and whose hype not to believe.

Cincinnati Bengals  224 passing ypg  109 rushing ypg  (posted August 24, 2013)

QB:  Andy Dalton has lead the Bengals to playoff births in his first two seasons. Similar to Joe Flacco, Dalton wins games in real life but not so much in Paper Pigskin.  What makes the ginger different is that Cincinnati have added to their supporting cast to go with one of the best targets outside.  Wait until the 10th round when backup QBs start to come off the board to select Dalton, the extra options on offense might be enough to elevate him to a borderline QB1.