BetUS NFL Week 15 Rankings

Their season is Brees-ing by

This is the most topsy-turvy rankings list yet. We had so many teams moving around here in Week 15 that it took twice as long to crunch the numbers and assign every club their rightful place. How about the Chargers? They plummeted an incredible ten spots on our list.

Conversely, New England jumped nine spots on the strength of their Buffalo blowout. Green Bay also had a nice showing on the list. But, the Packers mainly moved up because we had to downgrade several fading teams.

We realize that Cleveland and Baltimore moved up despite their losses. But this is because there were ranked ahead of several free-falling teams. In any event, enjoy the latest BetUS rankings, as they are interesting to say the least.

All comments concerning the rankings can be sent to Matthew@BetUS.com and we’ll post them in the Face Off section.

Rank   (LW)                           Team & Reason

32        (32)                              Houston Texans

Reggie Bush knows that the top pick goes to a terrible team. But it doesn’t make it any easier to stomach. I think USC could probably take the Texans right now. I wonder if Dom Capers actually thinks he has a chance at returning as coach.

31        (30)                           San Francisco 49ers

From the ridiculous to the absurd. Alex Smith’s NFL career has not exactly shot out of the gate. To say this team is limping towards the finish line would be an understatement. Whatever the spread in their last three games, I recommend you go against them.

30        (28)                              Tennessee Titans

Beating the worst team in football will not advance you too high on any list. Tennessee does have some building blocks, they just have to figure out what Steve McNair will do for 2006.

29        (24)                              Detroit Lions

This team just doesn’t care about the 2005 season anymore. As much as Jeff Garcia wants to whine and bitch to his offensive teammates, there just really isn’t anything more they can do at this point. Well, Roy Williams not dropping passes would help.  

28        (21)                              Oakland Raiders

This team doesn’t know what direction they’re going. Every year, they draft poorly, pick up over-the-hill free agents and commit way too many penalties. Coach after coach doesn’t change their philosophy. What do you think it will take before Al Davis realizes he might be the problem.

27        (31)                              New York Jets

Jets win! Jets win! Hooray! Wait, didn’t they want Bush or Leinart? Darn, the Jets won. He wasn’t Broadway Joe, but Brooklyn Brooks got the job done versus the sad sack Raiders.

26        (23)                              Buffalo Bills

Yuck. That’s the first word that comes to mind when thinking about the Bills’ season. It’s been disappointing to say the least. You know this team is bad when opposing teams don’t fear visiting Orchard Park in December.

25        (25)                              New Orleans Saints

The problem with New Orleans aside from their unbelievably awful turnover ratio, is that they only seem to play in spurts. It’s never a constant effort over 60 minutes. I know they’ve dealt with more turmoil than possibly any team in history, but they have to let Jim Haslett go. 

24        (27)                              Baltimore Ravens

Guts. That’s the only thing this team has left in 2005. Boller is the most erratic quarterback in the history of the game, Ray Lewis is now reduced to coaching from the sidelines and Jamal Lewis is already a thing of the past. It wasn’t supposed to be like for the Ravens in ’05. But they did almost pull off the major upset in Mile High.

23        (26)                              Cleveland Browns

I don’t care if they dropped a three-point decision to Cincy on Sunday, this team is getting better and better. Charlie Frye will be a solid QB in this league and the Browns have hope a lot earlier than they thought they would. Romeo Crennel fits Cleveland like a glove and Browns fans are in love.

22        (22)                              St. Louis Rams

Another week and another week where the defense lets them down. The Rams are starting to look like they’re mailing it in and that is bad news for their fans. Too bad. They have a lot of talent on this squad and deserved a better fate. I guess we know Mike Martz wasn’t the only problem.

21        (29)                              Green Bay Packers

Gado, Gado, Gado. They were chanting his name in the waning moments at Lambeau. Who would have thought a Nigerian rookie would be the story in Green Bay in December and not Mr. Favre? So many injuries and so many close losses. Things could have been very different in 2005 for the Pack.

20        (20)                              Arizona Cardinals

This team is close. They have to tighten up on defense somewhat and get a more consistent effort out of the running attack. Other than that, I don’t see why Kurt Warner couldn’t lead them to a .500 or better record in 2006. Wait for the BetUS odds on winning the Super Bowl in 2006 and take a shot on them.

19        (19)                              Philadelphia Eagles

A very nice bounce back performance. The Eagles showed guts and a desire to compete versus the Giants, they simply lost to the better team. Ryan Moats racked up over 100 yards in his first career start against a good defense, giving Philly fans something exciting to look forward to next season.

18        (8)                                San Diego Chargers

A stinker. A choke job. San Diego drops the most spots in the rankings and it’s well deserved. BetUS can’t condone leaving a team up in the half of this rankings that lays an egg when their season is on the line. They could very well still make the playoffs, but they’ll have to do it the hard way. If they beat the Colts on Sunday, then they deserve to climb back up the list.

17        (18)                              Miami Dolphins

It’s called momentum and confidence. Miami is getting big plays from their receivers, a good ground game and solid defense. Nick Saban is well on his way to making Fins fans finally move past Marino.

16        (17)                              Washington Redskins

Another December road win for a team on the fringe of contending for the playoffs. They’ll have to run the table and get help to even think about the postseason. Nevertheless, it’s been a nice rebound and an impressive couple of weeks.

15        (13)                              Kansas City Chiefs

You can blame this one on a kicker all you want, but I prefer to blame it on a porous defense that appears to be regressing at the wrong time of the year. The Chiefs have a tough schedule and will certainly deserve a playoff spot if they go 3-0 down the stretch. Will it happen? Not with that type of defensive effort it won’t.

14        (16)                              Atlanta Falcons

The Saints game was a matchup they were supposed to win and they did. Now the task is to take their act on the road and win a game they’re not supposed to win. Michael Vick is battered and bruised, but he has got to pull off some vintage performances this month.

13        (15)                              Minnesota Vikings

A slow and steady climb is taking place for the Vikings in these rankings. I think they’re erecting a Brad Johnson statue outside the Metrodome. I also heard that Daunte Culpepper is his personal assistant. Seriously, the two reasons Minnesota has turned it around are Koren Robinson and a multitude of turnovers their defense is creating.

12        (7)                                Chicago Bears

Their defense finally couldn’t come up with enough plays to win a game for them. Kyle Orton was better, but not good enough. Chicago has to figure out a way to stretch the field more on offense in order to hang on and win their division.

11        (9)                                Jacksonville Jaguars

They gave it a shot versus the best team in football. But, they simply could not defend third downs well enough against Peyton Manning. However, Jacksonville is very much alive and well in the playoff hunt and they have a very easy schedule the rest of the way.

10        (10)                              Dallas Cowboys

Sorry Cowboy fans, we couldn’t promote Dallas even after a win, as they won because of a missed field goal and a questionable penalty call. Still, the Cowboys are a contender and we won’t soon forget that.

9          (11)                              Pittsburgh Steelers

Steeltown can breathe a sigh of relief, as vintage Pittsburgh ball is alive and well. Riding The Bus, the Steelers looked pretty darn good versus the Bears. But defense is the key for them, as they have to bring the pain if they want to sneak into the playoffs.

8          (2)                                Carolina Panthers

What an enigmatic ball club. Can anyone predict what this team will do from week-to-week? It really is befuddling. There’s a lot of talent on this team and John Fox can still make something of this season. The keys? Run better with DeShaun Foster and get the ball as often as possible into the hands of Steve Smith.

7          (12)                              Tampa Bay Buccaneers

When will John Gruden begin to get consideration for coach-of-the-year? Let’s remember he’s got a rookie quarterback and running back. Defensively, the Bucs showed the world last week that they can stop anyone, anywhere, any time.

6       (6)                                   Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals won a close December game, something they haven’t been able to do in the past. It was a great gut check, one Carson Palmer and company can carry over into the postseason, as clearly they will be there.

5          (14)                              New England Patriots

We are jumping on the Pats’ bandwagon baby! This team is a force once again and teams better start to treat them that way! New England has a healthy Corey Dillon and that spells trouble for the rest of the league. The defensive turnovers are also starting to come back.

4          (4)                                Denver Broncos

A win’s a win and Denver got one. Although it was not impressive, Jake Plummer did his part in managing the game and their defense rebounded nicely. The Broncos must re-establish a solid running attack to really have Super Bowl aspirations.

3          (5)                                New York Giants

New York won a very tough road game against a wounded animal last week. Now, they try to fine tune their game and march towards the postseason. Eli Manning is still only a second-year quarterback, but his poise has been impressive.

2          (3)                                Seattle Seahawks

Domination and annihilation are terms to describe this team’s performance as of late. But, can they do it versus top opponents when it’s do-or-die? I am not so sure. Nevertheless, they belong in this spot until they prove otherwise.

1          (1)                                Indianapolis Colts

Everything is clinched. The Colts will have the easy road to the Super Bowl. Now, will they bench the stars or go all out? My money is on benching, particularly versus the Cards. Then again, that it would look pretty bad if Arizona was the team that stopped the streak.