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NFL Power Rankings – Week 12

NFL week 12 power rankings plus ratings for each week of the 2011-12 NFL season by Cappers Picks nfl betting experts and nfl week 12 betting site…

NFL Football Power Ratings For Week 12

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. 

Best performance from Week 11

This was a tough one with most teams that were expected to win doing so.  For my money I liked the Lions comeback against Carolina.  Even though a good team shouldn’t fall behind like that, they rallied and were impressive on offense once they got rolling.

If Kevin Smith solidifies running game than lookout.

Worst performance from Week 11

I wanted to pick Buffalo but I had to go with the New York Giants because they were at home.  They had a chance to knock out a rival and not only did they lose, they did so with Eli Manning being outplayed by Vince Young…and no it wasn’t Texas vs Ole Miss.

Best game of current week.

Green Bay at Detroit – The only shame is that this game kicks off the week instead of closing it out on Monday night.  To beat Green Bay you have to be able to score the ball.  The Lions can.  First one to 35 wins?  38?  42?  45?

Onto the Rankings

1. Green Bay (10-0) The Pack are perfect and are showing no signs of slowing down.  Their thanksgiving visit to Detroit should be their toughest test of the season so far.  Will perfection end?

2. San Francisco (9-1) No change at the very top but here’s a question.  If the Pack lose at Detroit does SF jump to #1.  They already beat the Lions on the road this year.

3. Baltimore (7-3) The Ravens leap to the top of the AFC with win over Bengals.  Great Thursday nighter as the Harbaugh brothers square off on Thanksgiving.

4. New England (7-3) When they finally woke up in the second half it looked like the Patriots were toying with the Chiefs a little bit.  Is anybody going to figure out how to cover Gronk?

5. New Orleans (7-3) Saints drop due to out of sight out of mind bye week.  Big game against the Giants this week on Monday night at home.  Little margin for error with Atlanta lurking.

6. Pittsburgh (7-3) Another team that was off the map last week resting.  It must have hurt to see Baltimore win as they now have to out play them down the stretch to grab the division.  This feels like one team that would have used the bye week wisely.

7. Detroit (7-3) Very impressive offensive performance but it was against Carolina.  If these guys want to have a chance in the playoffs they have to stop spotting opponents the first quarter.

8. Chicago (7-3) I am not sure how long they can hold this spot with Cutler out of the lineup.  They might have even been higher if not for the injury.  Rumour has Kyle Orton stepping in…that would be a good fit.

9. Dallas (6-4) The Cowboys have pulled even with the Giants and it feels like nobody is paying attention.  Has this team disappointed too many times that we won’t believe it until we see it.  Everyone will get a chance with the traditional game on Thanksgiving.  Odds are they beat Miami to put the pressure on the team below.

10. New York Giants (6-4) The Giants are in a bad spot.  They have lots of injuries and their schedule is really tough from here on out.  Monday night in New Orleans is going to be a really hard game to win and odds are they will be looking up at Dallas a week from now.  They didn’t take advantage of early opportunities and down the stretch they will pay the price.

11. Oakland (6-4) The Raiders may not be a fabulous team but you have to like their chances in the AFC West, especially with the Chargers and Chiefs falling apart at the seams.  Palmer is getting better and odds are they host a playoff game.

12. Atlanta (6-4) The Falcons are laying in wait in case anyone stumbles.  They get what should be a gimme for Matty Ice by hosting the Vikings.  This team more than any other might benefit from Cutler’s injury.

13. Cincinnati (6-4) The schedule gods giveth and they taketh away.  Back to back losses to the Steelers and Ravens were no surprise.  They have to win at home against Cleveland this week before a trip to Pittsburgh next.  They have 4 winnable game left so they could make it interesting.

14. New York Jets (5-5) There is still a lot of promise for these Jets but the window for this season is closing.  They have Buffalo this week in what is essentially an elimination game in the AFC.

15. Denver (5-5) The most talked about team in the NFL right now.  All because of you know who.  If they hosted a playoff game in bad weather that Tebow guy wouldn’t be a bad guy to lead the charge.

16. Houston (7-3) This was a tough team to place.  With seven wins already they should sail into the playoffs but they will be without their main QB still from here on out.  Lucky there are only two teams left on the schedule with winning records.

17. Buffalo (5-5) Down to .500 with a three game losing streak and a visit to the Jets.  Looks like another Buffalo fade.  Or were they just not that good?  Depends on whether you are a glass is half full or empty type.

18. Miami (3-7) Few teams are playing better than the Dolphins right now.  I was tempted to put them ahead of the Bills but they are still well below .500 and I don’t want to get too far out on that ledge.  Let’s see how they do against Dallas on Turkey day. [soliloquy id=”82219″]

19. Philadelphia (4-6) It is hard to know where to slot these guys because whatever you think they are going to do you are wrong.  They beat the Giants last week and as a result might not be totally out of it yet.

20. Tennessee (5-5) There is nothing to like about this Titans team…and when Chris Johnson is all bottled up there is no reason to watch them either.  I am still shocked these guys are at .500.

21. Tampa Bay (4-6) I keep thinking they can turn it around but this is looking like a lost season.  This is still a young team and would be my early candidate for most improved in 2012.

22. San Diego (4-6) This team didn’t have the hype of Philly but they are just as disappointing.  They are probably lower than they should be but they have burned me too many times not to take personally.

23. Seattle (4-6) Thankfully with the 49ers blazing the Hawks have no chance of sneaking into the playoffs this season.  That said they might extend their winning streak to three hosting Washington this week.

24. Cleveland (4-6) One good thing about NFL scheduling is that the bad teams play each other a lot.  It makes for horrible TV but at least teams like Cleveland can finish the season with a few wins in their cap.

25. Carolina (2-8) They may not have as many wins as some teams below but at least they are entertaining.  They have to work on staying power.  They had Detroit dead to right last week but couldn’t finish them off

26. Arizona (3-7) They had won two in a row but the 49ers put a stop to that.  A great spot to rebound at St. Louis.  P.S. Who is Richard Bartel?

27. Jacksonville (3-7) They lost at Cleveland and put up only 10 points in the process.  I have not been a fan of what I have seen of Blaine Gabbert so far.  I miss Garrard’s moxie.  He would have been good for another win or two.  Maybe he goes to the Bears.

28. Washington (3-7) They pushed the Cowboys to over time which is better than I expected.  Touch schedule down the stretch with maybe just one opportunity for a victory.

29. Kansas City (4-6) With no Matt Cassel and not much doing on defense or in the running game this team might not win another game this year.  They are still in the race for now but Raiders and Broncos are rising.

30. Minnesota (2-8) They had their chances against the Raiders but didn’t capitalize.  The best thing they can say about this season now is that they are getting a chance to get a good look at Christian Ponder.

31. St. Louis (2-8) The Rams are doing everything they can to keep the Colts in their sights at the very bottom.

32. Indianapolis (0-10) Just because they took the week off doesn’t get them any closer to jumping out of last place.

By The Wiesguy

The Wiesguy is a newcomer to the handicapping scene. Hailing from Toronto, Canada he is always sweet on the underdogs and you can often find his thoughts, musings and picks at moneydogs.blogspot.com.