The Sports Couple

Rank	Sarah’s Ranking	Mike’s Ranking
1	Yikes – they are good.	Mike: I agree- the 49ers are physical- a throw back kind of team that shunned all this passing crap and said we will just run the ball, tackle, and win. It's what the Jets should be, but aren't.
2	Eli is playing well at the start of the season. Good luck to all future Giant opponents. And look at those no names step it up!	I went with the old school helmet, because the Eagles defense reminds of the days when the great Reggie White sacked quarterbacks and preached- look out, the Eagles offense hasn’t hit its stride yet but they are still 2-0, and beat the Ravens.
3	Habit spot? Look for this to explode soon. Rodgers is too talented to be playing this mediocre.	I like to reward teams that win games- and Houston has handled their business. Interesting 2 of the top 3 teams can run the football and play defense folks- and the NFL is a passing league? Not so fast!
4	Scary team and Ray Lewis is a beast. I look for them to play well this year – especially if they think Lewis may retire.	I think Joe Flacco is playing for the big bucks, and I watched a football life with Ray Lewis- this may rank them higher then they deserve, but they finally have a potent offense.
5	AFC South in the top five? What is this? 2006?	They haven’t had a full complement on defense this season, yet are still playing well- I just worry about Big Ben getting beat up too much, when he finally gets sacked- that guy is annoying to watch if you’re not a Steelers fan.
6	I am not 100% sold. They did not take advantage of P-Dog’s picks.	Eli is really good- the defense played well last week, but I worry about them surviving the season healthy—and Tom Coughlin’s head exploding.
7	I will always keep P-Dog toward the top – age and injury be damned. He is a winner.	I haven’t been to impressed with Aaron Rodgers yet- has he lost his edge because of too many commercials? Will Clay Matthews fall victim as well?
8	Tom Brady will do what he always does…win.	Maybe a bit low, considering they are 2-0. I worry about having to hang on against Denver though, even with 4 takeaways by the half.
9	Don’t sleep on the Eagles. They may have won the first few by a small margin-but they have lots of talent and a QB playing at his worst.	Never trust Norv Turner- they are due for a precipitous plummet. Or maybe not, with Mathews coming back this week. I don’t think anyone likes ranking/gambling on this team.
10	Always good. Always successful. Always injured.	Scary good D and Special Teams- and a scary starting QB. They need to sign David Garrard. And get Larry Fitzgerald the damn ball! [fantasy rank #76 in standard leagues]
11	Never win early Norv is winning early. What?!	I went with the old school logo once again—is this team aging? Brady hasn’t looked good, Welker isn’t involved. But I can’t write them off because Mr. Ugg has been too damn good over the years.
12	Hello, Arizona. I thought you had a QB problem. Is Kolb going to play to his expected potential?	Rookie QB be damned- defense is good, and when Marshawn Lynch enters beast mode it scares the crap out of me. Can 3 teams from the NFC West really be this good?
13	They started off less than desirable – but Calvin Johnson will dodge the Madden curse and put up big fantasy number while in conjunction – he shall accumulate a plethora of points that make it difficult for opponents to match.	Matt Stafford hasn’t looked too good yet, but I think they will begin to play better for the next few weeks. This is the interchangeable and volatile area of the power rankings.
14	I refuse to count the Saints out. They have an awful defense – but an insanely skilled QB. I look for Brees to quit taking Nyquill before the game and put up some big numbers to lead them to victory. ßThomas More (Saint)	This week they will look great, next week they will look terrible. A miserable start in Seattle last week. But they did go into the Meadowlands and beat up the Giants, so there you go.
15	A healthy defense is a scary defense. A humble WR is a scary WR. A loud head coach is an entertaining head coach.	If the Bronco’s still used this logo I would like them more. I think Peyton will be fine, but with a brutal schedule and an over achieving defense how far can they go? I don’t know.
16	I am patiently waiting for the resurgence of the Tony Romo fumble fingers.	The only team so far in which the first google search for the logo brought up another team first- the Bulls. If they had a better o-line, they would be a contender.
17	Good defense. Head case QB. If Cutler quits acting like a grade-A jerk – look for them to be successful.	Is a Miami miracle in the works—the start of Tebow-Mania and the complete meltdown of the Sanchize occurred in the same city last year—will history repeat itself?
18	RGIII is doing well so far. If he powers through this week without Pierre Boy – they look for Washington to climb the charts.	I have no idea what to make of this team. Their defense has sucked, and I thought they would be better. I expect them to be sneaky good by the time the season is over.
19	Best home field advantage ever. Despite the fact Pete Carroll looks like a loon on the sidelines, his leadership style might work well for these men in neon.	They have played much better this year, but blowing leads is usually a bad sign. They head into a make or break week in Dallas and I have a feeling they may break.
20	The Bills looked like crap week one. Ftizpatrick looked like Curtis Painter. But they looked good week two. Obviously the Bills need to work on consistency.	I would feel much better about this team if they replaced the color blind Ryan Fitzpatrick. Is Jim Kelley or Doug Flutie available? I think they would settle for Rob Johnson [another USC QB bust!]
21	Is there a resurgence in Tampa Bay?	Better then you think. They can run the ball and rush the passer. Percy Harvin is dangerous and will make a game changing play today that will make the 49ers sweat out a victory. Ponder makes me think they may be okay, if he continues to eliminate turnovers. Game Manager alert.
22	Disappointment on the River.	A chippy defense makes me a believer that they could win more games this year [6] but will be in just about everyone making them better than we think.
23	Jeff Fisher and Brian Schottenheimer are showing the NFL that they can coach. They have made this Rams team look like a decent team.	Ladies and gentlemen, the evidence that coaching matters in the NFL. The defense looks terrible. I feel bad for these folks but look out for next year when they have a full coaching staff and a GM.
24	Last Thursday was a colossal disappointment of epic proportion. I am beginning to think that Mr. Newton is just a fantasy super star. Not a game winner. Steve Smith needs to continue to ream him out and get him focused.	RGIII has certainly been RGIII and not Bob Griffin so far this year. I just don’t have faith in the defense, especially after losing two key starters for the rest of the year. They should be fun to watch, as long as the referees don’t allow RGIII to be killed by cheapshots.
25	Remember when Tennessee gave Peyton a run for his money? Remember when Chris Johnson was really good? Obviously Tennessee blocks good stuff out.	Sulking QBs make me worry. Their defense is terrible. They don’t run the ball as much as they should. One day they will get it.
26	The offensive line is horrible. The run game is horrible. The defense is mediocre. But the kicker, qb, and pro-bowl WR are solid. I look for them to split with all (sans Texans) AFC South teams.	Reggie Bush is really good—it is unfortunate that he doesn’t play both WR & RB. They have a solid D, but no weapons on the outside. Jimmy Stewart, err, Joe Philbin, does not inspire confidence.
27	For a while – it looked like the Raiders were heading upwards. But they keep replacing coaches and providing reactionary leadership.	I am sick of the Raiders. They are the ultimate tease. How much do you think they regret the Carson Palmer trade on a scale of 1-100. ∞? I am also surprised that Run DMC hasn’t got it going to this point.
28	Jimmy Stewart may motivate this team to do well. But they are not playing Washington – so don’t expect much this season.	Damn it Donald! If they had a better o-line/RB situation, they would be a major threat to sneak into a wildcard spot because of a weak division. I’m not sure if this is their logo, or Andrew Luck’s signature by the way.
29	Is KC ever relevant? There is likely a reason why I was not sure what state KC was in until recently. Well, faulty geographical education of yore and horrible NFL presence. This team is a mess. Conspiracy theories. Injuries. Bah.	Is there a less compelling team in the NFL to watch than the Jaguars? What a boring, crappy experience. You know a team isn’t fun when the owner’s mustache should become their logo.
30	Indianapolis beat them last week. Indianapolis beat them last week. Indianapolis beat them last week. Indianapolis beat them last week.	Really disappointed by this team—I thought there young guys would pull it together this year. Shockingly low for a team that has this much talent. I have no idea how to fix this team other than blowing it up. It all makes sense now why Todd Haley exploded on the sideline so often.
31	The Browns are as boring as this helmet. I would say LeBron cursed this city. But the Browns have been pretty pitiful for a while – despite good draft spots. Shall we see if Richardson can elevate them to the 29 spot?	I found a more exciting logo for this team. Their play is as boring as their uniforms. Trent Richardson looks pretty good for the future, but that’s about it in terms of weapons for this team.
32	The MJD holdout was ridiculous when it happened. It is still ridiculous when we look back in hindsight. With an in-shape MJD they could be where they usually are – below mediocre status quo. Until then – welcome to last place, Jacksonville.	Remember the Titans—or at least when they had a good defense and when Chris Johnson could run the football? What a terrible joke they have become. And to think, they flirted with Peyton Manning earlier this year. Any questions remaining that #18 is the smartest QB in the league?