I had a good week last week and I only wish I had taken Tennessee.  I should have known better, but I won't be making that mistake again!!

Last Week: 2-1
Overall Record: 14-12

*NOTE* For those who wonder, I look at the percentages from Yahoo! and take a look at my picks and compare them to what everyone else picked on that website.  If a team has under 30% then I would consider it a high risk pick, a team that has been picked between 30-40% would rank as a medium risk, and 40% and up would be a low risk pick.

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Welcome to my second solo installment of Power Rankings. Feel free to knit pick and post your own rankings for this week!

The points system is pretty basic and based solely on my opinion.  I rank each team according to how I see them in comparison to the best team in my ranking.  In a way, I was trying to show how close I felt the teams were to each other.

Zappa's Week 12 Power Rankings

RANK	LOGO	TEAM	PTS	COMMENTS	TREND
1. (2)		NYG 9-1	1.000	It is time I stop looking at record and look at pure performance. The Giants are dominating playoff teams, while the Titans are eeking past non playoff teams.
2. (1)		TEN 10-0	.996	No real change in this team...it's just the Giants are getting that much better.	--
3. (4)		ARI 7-3	.956	This team is hitting its stride, but could they have hit their stride too early in the season?
4. (3)		CAR 8-2	.941	I am starting to think this team is not nearly as good as their record shows.
5. (6)		TB 7-3	.923	These guys have a talent for winning close games, except when facing the Broncos.
6. (9)		PIT 7-3	.903	This team could be dangerous if their offense ever started to click. There is no denying that the defense is playing at a championship level.
7. (10)		IND 6-4	.892	The Colts are looking real good and after ripping off three straight wins, I see no reason to continue doubting them.
8. (5)		WAS 6-4	.877	This team is too inconsistent to be considered elite and they barely have a hold on staying in the Top 10 at this point.
9. (7)		NE 6-4	.867	The loss to the Jets wasn't as bad as many might believe. All they did was split the series with a divisional rival. I think that they are still the better team and this will be proven by seasons end.
10. (14)		NYJ 7-3	.859	Favre strikes again and the Jets suddenly look like the real deal. They are not and I will be looking for them to get a wild card at best.
11. (12)		DEN 6-4	.831	Our young football team is finally starting to figure out what it takes to win football games. However, their success still relies on the arm and decision making abilities of Jay Cutler.
12. (8)		ATL 6-4	.829	Losing at home to one of the league's worst defense is inexcusable. This team has been playing beyond its ability and should fade as the season comes to an end.
13. (16)		DAL 6-4	.813	Yeah, so they won. I still think they are the most overrated team in the league. See how the media jumps back on their bandwagon right after they win a game? Uhg.
14. (13)		BAL 6-4	.790	I just don't think the Ravens are good enough to hang with all of the AFC powerhouses this year.
15. (22)		GB 5-5	.783	If their running game holds up, this team will be dangerous going into the playoffs.
16. (20)		MIA 6-4	.745	I feel like Neo on the movie The Matrix, "I am beginning to believe". They have a big test this weekend and we will all find out if they are for real or not.
17. (18)		MIN 5-5	.737	They should be dominating their division with the level of talent they have. The coach needs to go after this season.
18. (15)		CHI 5-5	.721	What a giant egg they laid this past weekend. Perhaps Orton just needs a few weeks to get back into the swing of things.
19. (19)		NO 5-5	.719	They rose slightly with their win over KC, but it was a pretty unimpressive win at that.	--
20. (11)		PHI 5-4-1	.686	A tie to the Bengals? That's just disgusting. I hope they lose again this week so I can put them even farther down on my list.
21. (17)		JAX 4-6	.683	Another talent laden team whose coach should be shown the door at the end of the year.
22. (24)		CLE 4-6	.584	Could be 6-4 right now. They should hurt a few teams playoff chances down the stretch.
23. (21)		BUF 5-5	.583	This team has screwed me over three weeks in a row. I hope they finish 5-11 for almost costing me first place in my pick'em money league. I got lucky, they won't.
24. (23)		SD 4-6	.544	These guys have truly hit rock bottom. If they lose this weekend, the AFC West will likely be coming back home to Denver in 2008.
25. (27)		SF 3-7	.493	This team has the talent to compete and it will be interesting to see how this team plays out the rest of the season under a much better coach in Mike Singletary.
26. (25)		HOU 3-7	.441	Man it would be great to get Kubiak back someday...I wonder how impatient the Texan ownership is.
27. (26)		SEA 2-8	.413	These guys suck, period. Once they admit they need to rebuild then they might become competitive again in the future.
28. (29)		KC 1-9	.401	Why this team doesn't have more wins is beyond me. They have played harder and more competitively than any of the teams ranks below them here.
29. (30)		OAK 2-8	.398	This team is in complete disarray, but they might be looking for revenge next week after being embarrassed on national television in Week 1.
30. (31)		CIN 1-8-1	.366	Why is it the two teams who have just one win seem to be play their opponents tough every week yet never win?
31. (28)		STL 2-8	.316	Well after a brief resurgence of competitive play, the Rams are back down into the bottom of the barrel.
32. (32)		DET 0-10	.187	All I gotta say to the Lions organization is "Ohhh You suckakaaa, you suckakaa !"	--

For Everything Raiders Related, Check Out Silver & Black Pride

The biggest rivalry in football is not so much of a rivalry these days. Except for 2002, there has been no Bronco-Raider rivalry to speak over for nearly fifteen years. The sad state of affairs in Oakland has become the biggest laughing stock in the football world. Al Davis, who was instrumental in building Championship teams around cheating(I really can't help myself), has now utterly destroyed his organization and with every move he makes he digs a bigger hole from which the Raiders may never ascend from.

If I wasn't a Bronco fan...I might feel sorry for the Raider fans. Then again, there are many Raider fans who behave like this scumbag loser and I feel like they are getting exactly what they deserve.  It is unfortunate that the few respectable Raider fans I have met through Silver & Black Pride have to suffer along with the rest of them.  At least many of them are beginning to believe that Al Davis is truly the problem, not the solution.

The mantra of "Al Davis is the Raiders" is beginning to wear thin among the Raider faithful and eventually the fans will and should turn on Al Davis. At which point Al Davis will likely move the team again to attempt to escape some fake paranoid dementia of "everyone being out to get him". The soap opera that is the Oakland Raiders will continue to be an embarrassment to the league that seems to only be rivaled by the Bengal and Lion organizations.

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I was too busy to post last week, but here are my upset picks for Week 11.  I did quite poorly in Week 9 the last time I did the upset picks, but hopefully I can get back on the right track this week!

Last Week: 1-3
Overall Record: 12-11

*NOTE* For those who wonder, I look at the percentages from Yahoo! and take a look at my picks and compare them to what everyone else picked on that website.  If a team has under 30% then I would consider it a high risk pick, a team that has been picked between 30-40% would rank as a medium risk, and 40% and up would be a low risk pick.

Continue reading this post »

I have decided to discontinue the group power rankings because of the mass confusion I have created by experimenting with different methods nearly every week!!  I believe it will be reinstated at the beginning of next season with specific guidelines, but for the remainder of 2008 I will only be publishing my own personal Power Rankings for each week.  Feel free to knit pick and post your own rankings for this week!

The points system is pretty basic and based solely on my opinion.  I rank each team according to how I see them in comparison to the best team in my ranking.  In a way, I was trying to show how close I felt the teams were to each other.

Zappa's Week 11 Power Rankings

RANK	LOGO	TEAM	PTS	COMMENTS	TREND
1.		TEN 9-0	1.000	You can't deny the proper recognition owed to the only undefeated team in football.	--
2.		NYG 8-1	.998	This team is hungry for a repeat.
3.		CAR 7-2	.953	These guys are playing like the over-hyped team they are usually proclaimed to be by the media.
4.		ARI 6-3	.940	I have been forced to begrudgingly admit that the Cardinals have finally changed their culture of defeat. Kudos to them!
5.		WAS 6-3	.916	Only two teams are going to make it out of the NFC East to make the playoffs, these guys will be one of them!
6.		TB 6-3	.915	The Bucs make the case for average talent plus good coaching equals playoffs.
7.		NE 6-3	.901	The victory over Denver has lit a spark for this team as they have won 4 out of their last 5 games.
8.		ATL 6-3	.883	A poor divisional record may spell the end for this teams hopes for a playoff berth.
9.		PIT 6-3	.850	Stock in this team is falling rapidly; not looking good in the Steel City.
10.		IND 5-4	.837	Two consecutive weeks of output has risen the Colts out of the ashes of despair. Manning & Co. are smelling playoffs now - look out!
11.		PHI 5-4	.819	Tough team to figure out. One week they are great, the next they suck. Jury is still out.	--
12.		DEN 5-4	.796	It's apparent we can only win if we score 30+. Our playoff hopes hinge on Jay Cutler beastly arm, go Cuts!
13.		BAL 6-3	.795	If Joe Flacco keeps playing like he has been then this team may just win the horse race for the second seed in the AFC!
14.		NYJ 6-3	.784	Are you kidding me? Where did these guys come from?!?
15.		CHI 5-4	.780	Their only hope is for Kyle Orton to get back out on the field.
16.		DAL 5-4	.746	Tell me, what usually happens to the pre-season hyped up teams? One word, "Kerrplunk"
17.		JAX 4-5	.712	I'm sick from watching this roller coaster ride, but they have a chance to save their season this weekend against the Titans!
18.		MIN 5-4	.703	Another seesaw ride with this team, but they may have saved their season thanks to a missed field goal.
19.		NO 4-5	.691	Loss to Falcons all but ended their chances in 2008. Such a dominating passing attack too...
20.		MIA 5-4	.642	I may have been a little hard on this team, but I just can't believe a 1-15 team a year ago is this much better. Yet anyway...
21.		BUF 5-4	.627	Lost four out of last five. Talented, but young football team. Maybe next year!
22.		GB 4-5	.611	Blew two straight games and have dug themselves into a nice sized hole.
23.		SD 4-5	.589	Nearly blew a lead at home against the lowly Chefs. Though, apparently this team has super natural powers that enables them to become a Super Bowl calibur team at a moments notice!
24.		CLE 3-6	.547	Committed to rebuilding with a new QB, but then after losing they will end up firing everyone and screwing over the progress made with Brady Quinn. Doh!
25.		HOU 3-6	.503	Losers of two straight after putting together a nice three game win streak.
26.		SEA 2-7	.433	Wow, teams can really fall hard and fast can't they?
27.		SF 2-7	.425	I see life in this team...much more so than all the rest of the bottom feeders. Besides, I like Singletary's style of coaching.
28.		STL 2-7	.370	Well, the Rams were who we thought they were and they have regressed back into the rotten cesspool of mediocrity.
29.		KC 1-8	.364	Though this team continues to lose, they are hanging tough with better teams and eventually they'll win one somewhere down the line. lol
30.		OAK 2-7	.347	Falling hard, Falling fast. Al Davis has succeeded once again at ruining the rebuilding process of his team. Kudos!
31.		CIN 1-8	.344	This just in! The Bengals have WON! I repeat, the Bengals have won!
32. (32)		DET 0-9	.187	Is it possible to kick a team out of the league? I am sure there are many other cities out there who could field a better team.	--

I've been thinking about Jason Elam this week and I was wondering about a few things.  Kicker's obviously do not get into the hall of fame and I wouldn't consider very many, if any, past kickers to be worthy of such an "honor".  However, when I look at Jason Elam, I can't think of any Bronco kicker in the past that is as deserving to be honored by the Bronco organization.  Certainly, such an honor wouldn't come for many years, but a decade from now I wonder if fans would be ready to put Jason Elam up on the Ring of Fame. 

He was the most prolific kicker in Bronco history and holds many of the team records.  He even trained his replacement so the Broncos wouldn't miss a beat once he left for free agency.  Jason Elam has been nothing but a class act and a superior kicker in the NFL and I feel he deserves to be honored one day by the Denver Broncos.  There, I've said my piece.  Feel free to vote in the poll!