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NFL Wildcard Weekend Power Rankings Edition

NFL wilcard playoffs power rankings plus ratings for each week of the 2010-11 NFL season by Cappers Picks nfl betting experts and nfl wild card weekend betting site…

2011 NFL Football Power Ratings

Each week during the heart of the NFL season, and once or twice during the NFL Preseason, we’ll gather the troops around the roundtable and hash out the NFL Power rankings. We check out the stats, looks at the records, and, most importantly, we take a close, close look at the heart of each team.

We encourage you to come back each week and see how the NFL Power Rankings have changed.

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            After New England’s summary beatdown of the Dolphins last week, it took the dour Bill Belichick about a tenth of a second to throw cold water on the Patriots’ best-in-NFL 14-2 record: “We’re all 0-0 right now,” said smiling Bill.

            It’s playoff time, and time to test out the Dennis Green “They are who we thought they were” Theory. Can the Seahawks become the Cardinals of 2008? Can the Pats continue to force turnovers? Can Ben Roethlisberger stay out of trouble in the next two weeks?

            So many questions as we unveil playoff rankings:

  • New England Patriots – Let’s see what the Pats have going for them. Best coach. Best quarterback. Best offense. Undefeated record at home. Home-field edge throughout AFC playoffs. Improving defense that forces turnovers. Best cold- and bad-weather team in the NFL. Tons of experience, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Two players who have won Super Bowl MVPs trophies. Regular-season victories over four of the five possible playoff opponents. That about cover it?
  • Pittsburgh Steelers – Speaking of teams that know how to get to big games, and then win them, the Steelers may be one of the few teams with enough pedigree to make it out of the AFC. Any team that can stop the run in cold-weather games has to figure to be in the mix, and God knows the Steelers can stop the run. The bye will help Pittsburgh gets its defense healthy again, and Roethlisberger can also use a week off to get his ailing wheels aligned. One caveat: For some reason Pittsburgh seems to turtle against Brady and the Pats. Steelers haven’t beaten NE since 2004.
  • New Orleans Saints – The gang’s all here, and who’s to say that the Saints can’t ride Drew Brees’s energy to another spot in the Super Bowl? It won’t be easy as the No. 5 seed, but the Saints can gather momentum like few others can. The Whodats have enough offensive weapons to cruise in Seattle this weekend, setting up a probably rematch with the Falcons in Atlanta, where NO already owns a win.
  • Atlanta Falcons – The Falcons have two huge advantages in the NFC playoffs – two home games. Problem is, they get no respect because they franchise lacks an identity. Matt Ryan is good but boring, and even Roddy White isn’t boorish enough to get fans to take notice. But they win, and they have more than a puncher’s chance at getting to the Super Bowl. Atlanta holds teams to 18 points a game, but even Falcon fans can’t deny that their 13-3 record was built on the back of a relatively weak schedule that included four wins against NFC West teams.
  • Baltimore Ravens – The Ravens should make it to Week 2 of the playoffs after taking care of a skittish Chiefs team this coming weekend, and their 2010 track record bodes well for games after that. They split with the Steelers this season and played the Patriots tough in Foxboro last October before losing in overtime. Offensively the Ravens have versatility they have lacked in the past – they can go 5 wide or close it in tight and pound the ball on the ground. Getting to the Super Bowl requires the defense going balls to the wall on the road three straight times against three solid teams. Might be too much to overcome.
  •  Chicago Bears – This low only because of concerns about the offensive line, which has been spotty all season. The Bears have disguised their problems by having Jay Cutler use more three-step drops, and the re-emergence of Matt Forte as a decent running back has helped out. Not sure what the Bears were thinking last Sunday when they let Cutler stayed out there long enough to be sacked 6 times by the Packers.
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  • Indianapolis Colts – Somehow the Colts have earned a home game, and you have to believe that Peyton Manning is licking his chops as he studies film of the Jets and their over-aggressive defense. If they blitz him, they could give up demoralizing big plays. And getting to him is next to impossible because he will almost always throw the ball away rather than risk a shot in the ribs. After the Jets game it becomes more problematic for the finesse-style Colts as any further games will be played outdoors in cold weather in the north. Manning hates cold weather.
  • Philadelphia Eagles – There was a strange report out of the Philadelphia last week. Seems that Michael Vick missed some on-field workouts because the coaches had him in the film room because they were concerned about his inability to recognize and react to blitz packages. If true, Vick had better study fast because the Packers’ 3-4 attacking style is made to order for a team trying to contain Vick. Lots here depends on the field conditions. Vick had trouble on slick turf in Chicago in Week 12.
  • Kansas City Chiefs – After going worst to first in the AFC West, the Chiefs get rewarded with a home game. But Oakland proved last weekend that KC is not invincible at home, and doubts about Matt Cassel in big games have started to creep in to the playoff conversation. If the Chiefs are in just-happy-to-be-here mode, the in-your-face Ravens could present a huge problem. KC does have big plusses on the sidelines – Romeo Crennel and Charlie Weis have lots of big games on their coaching resumes.
  • Green Bay Packers – Great (not good) defense that allowed opponents just 15 points a game. Terrific quarterback who ranks in the top 6 in the league. Solid receivers. So what’s appears to be the problem for a Green Bay team that scored 148 more points than it allowed and still had to beg, borrow and steal just to get into the playoffs? GB just has not been very consistent, and head-scratching losses along the way (Miami, Detroit, Washington) have taken a toll. It’s time now to pay the piper, and that means that to get to the Super Bowl the Packers will have to win consecutive games at Philadelphia, at Chicago and (probably) at Atlanta. Ouch.
  • New York Jets – Team Creepy gets another bite at the playoff apple, hoping that it can replicate last season’s march to the AFC Championship Game. This is likely to be a one-and-done deal, though. After TripGate and videos of Rex Ryan’s foot fetish activities, don’t be surprised if Jets opponents trade in uniforms for HazMat gear. If they can somehow manage to get past Peyton Manning and the Colts, another bitchslap from the Patriots in Foxboro awaits.
  • Seattle Seahawks – These guys are in the playoffs? Really? Who knew? Guess if you can’t be with the one you love, then love the one you’re with. Pete Carroll is no doubt selling the troops on a possible 2008 Cardinals-type run, but at least some fans in the Great Northwest are ticked at the Seahawks because getting to the playoffs drops them at least 10 spots in the draft.

  • Comment on the Power Rankings below, or as always hit us with your pregame NFL picks and predictions…

    Lawrence Paul is a regular contributor to the Cappers Picks Blog, and is a free-lance gambling and travel writer from Massachusetts.

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    By Lawrence Paul

    Lawrence Paul is back in the saddle as a regular contributor to the Cappers Picks Blog. He's got an AMAZING knack for predicting when a team will have a letdown! Stick with our resident gambling experts sports betting tips all season long!