Peter King - MMQB

[pzummo]

This is a bit out of hand and I'm not sure where Peter King comes up with this. But seriously, how are Green Bay AND Chicago both ahead of us with worse records when we beat both of them? Our two losses were to his #4 and #6 teams. We BEAT his #8 and #10 teams. And he ranks us lower than them while we have a better record? Chicago I could maybe give him a pass even though we owned them the entire game, we did have home field advantage and we barely squeezed that oen out. But Green Bay we beat IN LAMBEAU, there is no way they should be ahead of us. As a matter of fact, at #14, we have a better record than the next 6 teams on his list. Ridiculous!

1. New York Giants (5-1). Lots of interesting and/or great games next weekend. Saints-Chargers in London will be terrific, with San Diego's playoff mortality flashing before its eyes. Rams-Patriots is suddenly interesting because with the mediocrity of the NFC West, St. Louis will be in the race with another win. Bucs at Cowboys will be a chance for the fans in Dallas to show their love to their fine football team. Falcons-Eagles is cool because the Atlantans are better than anyone thought they'd be. It's Matt Ryan playing against the team he got hoarse for as a kid. Colts-Titans could be the Changing of the Guard in the AFC South. But Steelers-Giants is the best game of the weekend, and none of the others is close for second.

2. Tennessee (6-0). Kerry Collins threw to starting receivers Brandon Jones and Lavelle Hawkins on Sunday. These Titans are a deep team.

3. Pittsburgh (5-1). Ben Roethlisberger, native son of the Buckeye State, is now 10-0 as a pro in games contested in Ohio.

4. Tampa Bay (5-2). The more I see of the reincarnation of Jeff Garcia, the more I see Doug Flutie with a few more inches and a few more completion-percentage points. Did you see him scramble against Seattle? You can't be much better than he was in building a 17-0 halftime lead -- 19 of 24, 228 yards, one touchdown, no picks.

5. Buffalo (5-1). Good chance the AFC East will be won or lost in the next three weeks for these Bills, who hold a 1.5-game lead over second-place New England in the division this morning. Buffalo is at Miami this week, the Jets at home next week and New England in Foxboro in game three of the decisive stretch.

6. Carolina (5-2). "We were so pathetic last week,'' Jake Delhomme said over the cell last night. "We had to prove to ourselves we weren't that bad against a team we need to beat in our division.'' Presto: Panthers 30, Saints 7. They held Drew Brees, the 2008 Marino, touchdownless, while Delhomme had an efficient 122 passer rating.

7. Washington (5-2). Surprisingly tough time with Cleveland, but I think it had more to do with the Browns finally playing the defense Romeo Crennel and defensive coordinator Mel Tucker knew they could. Not to be outdone, Washington defensive coordinator Greg Blache really frustrated Derek Anderson in 14-11 Redskins victory.

8. Chicago (4-3). Told Kyle Orton after the game it looked like he was inordinately comfortable in the offense in putting up 34 on the Vikings. (The Bears also scored 14 special-teams points in a 48-41 win over the Vikes.) "I've felt that way since the first game of the season,'' he said.

9. Philadelphia (3-3). Brian Westbrook's ribs really needed the bye week.

10. Green Bay (4-3). When I saw last January that the Colts were slated to go to Green Bay this year, I thought: Manning-Favre, for the last time. At Lambeau. Cool. Favre's understudy thoroughly outplayed the legendary Manning yesterday, as my colleague Don "Donnie Brasco" Banks explains here.

11. Jacksonville (3-3). I smell 6-3, with Cleveland, at Cincinnati, at Detroit on the horizon.

12. San Diego (3-4). Chargers go to London this week to play the Saints. Saints home game, technically. This means the Chargers, if the current scheduling format stays intact in the coming years, will go 19 years between dates on Bourbon Street -- 1997 to 2016. Hope there's no LaDainian Tomlinson Fan Club in Louisiana. He'll never play there.

13. New England (3-2). My big worry for the Pats tonight: In the past four games, the pass defense has allowed foes to complete 69, 86, 48 and 67 percent of their passes. They can't let Jay Cutler get comfy tonight, the way they allowed Chad Pennington and Philip Rivers to get.

14. (tie) Atlanta (4-2). No fluke.

14. (tie) Arizona (4-2). Might be a fluke.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writ...20/week7/1.html

[falconsfan1987]

It don't matter to me. I like to be the underdog. That just means we will upset alot of teams this year.

[BlazerSlayer]

Media people (rightly or wrongly) think of a team's history over the last few seasons when compiling a power poll. Thus, San Diego are still in the fine fifteen despite being 3-4 and looking a non playoff team. The same reason why Atlanta are low, people think of them as the team from last year.

[FALCONS IN FLIGHT]

you know yourself it is all about respect. We will get it one day, and the Falcons will be the talk of the NFL.

[fly_falcon_fly]

Hey atleast he gave us "No Fluke" ! Wooohoo !! Remember, more credence you pay to them, mightier they become. Leave them alone and they will come when it's time. Meanwhile let's just keep on winning..

[Atlsport]

Another rant about rankings,

shocker.

[tkizzleATL]

yea, i like the mentality of us being the underdogs. the rankings don't matter s&%$ to me it's all about what happens in the post season

[atljbo]

how is this a slap in the face....He said no fluke...... That means we are fa real

[Russdogg]

i'll take 14 and considered no joke.... remember last year, i'll take that hands down. dont over build the hype, that has been our fall in the past, and why we lose fans.

[Statick]

Why are some of you still looking towards the media to give us any props?

To **** with them. As long as the Falcons concentrate on their game and get better, then they'll have to report that eventually.

[HaynesRisonCase]

It's always the same ol story. Every team is good till they get beat by the Falcons. GO DIRTY BIRDS

[Bring It]

See "Fiddler on the Roof".

TRADITION.

The sports world lives by it.............swears by it.

The hallowed Dallas Cowboys could turn out having a 5-11 season this year and they would STILL be the media darlings and heros.

Tradition.

Screw 'em......................all of 'em.

GO FALCONS !!!!!!!!!

[michaelgee]

didn't he pick us to win 1 game, his intelligence is on display.

[pzummo]

how is this a slap in the face....He said no fluke...... That means we are fa real

I was referring to putting Chicago at 8 and Green Bay at 10, with us at 14. That's how it's a slap in the face. The ranking itself doesn't bother me. I'm wondering how the **** you put us behind those two teams (pretty far behind at that) when we have a better record and we beat both of them. That's ridiculous.

To the other posters in here, it's not so much about getting respect from the media. It's about respecting the writer. I enjoy reading articles by particular writers, MMQB is one that I look forward to. But when a writer lacks logic in their article, it make me question their writing.

[Shiney_McShine]

Another reminder. These guys don't vote who gets to be in the play offs. Therefore, it does nmot matter what they think.

[aerosmith67]

didn't he pick us to win 1 game, his intelligence is on display.

Considering last year, a rookie coach, a rookie QB starting, what was thought to be a porous O-line and Defense 1-3 wins in the preseason wasn't that crazy. It's great that the Falcons are breaking low expectations, but I wouldn't knock someones intelligence over a rational prediction. (made before the season started) If anything I'm jealous of King, he's got a great job.

[SoLuvinMyFalcons]

It's okay. I figure we really need to beat some divisional teams.

[aerosmith67]

I was referring to putting Chicago at 8 and Green Bay at 10, with us at 14. That's how it's a slap in the face. The ranking itself doesn't bother me. I'm wondering how the **** you put us behind those two teams (pretty far behind at that) when we have a better record and we beat both of them. That's ridiculous.

To the other posters in here, it's not so much about getting respect from the media. It's about respecting the writer. I enjoy reading articles by particular writers, MMQB is one that I look forward to. But when a writer lacks logic in their article, it make me question their writing.

The rankings are all based on what the teams have done and the potential the teams have going forward, nobody is certain about the Falcons, but going on past seasons it's a safe bet that the Bears, Packers and Bucs will be in good shape in terms of playoffs come December/January.. . not to mention these picks are King's opinions, there will be other opinions released tomorrow with the Power Rankings and there will be more for the next 10-12 weeks... in the end it doesn't matter because sports writers don't vote on who plays for the Super Bowl.

[BruceReville]

It's okay. I figure we really need to beat some divisional teams.

If we beat New Orleans --- "Reggie Bush was out of the game"

If we beat Tampa --- "Garcia was suffering from a hangnail"

If we beat Carolina --- "Julius Peppers was bothered with a nagging (Insert body part here)

We could go 14-2 and it would be 1998 all over again - underdogs every step of the way because it's the Falcons

[aerosmith67]

If we beat New Orleans --- "Reggie Bush was out of the game"

If we beat Tampa --- "Garcia was suffering from a hangnail"

If we beat Carolina --- "Julius Peppers was bothered with a nagging (Insert body part here)

We could go 14-2 and it would be 1998 all over again - underdogs every step of the way because it's the Falcons

Which is fine because we've done what exactly to be considered one of the elite teams in the NFL? We need to build a history of winning before we can expect respect. Back to back winning seasons will be a start, I think this year is a good starting point as well to the Falcons earning respect.

[g-dawg]

I was referring to putting Chicago at 8 and Green Bay at 10, with us at 14. That's how it's a slap in the face. The ranking itself doesn't bother me. I'm wondering how the **** you put us behind those two teams (pretty far behind at that) when we have a better record and we beat both of them. That's ridiculous.

To the other posters in here, it's not so much about getting respect from the media. It's about respecting the writer. I enjoy reading articles by particular writers, MMQB is one that I look forward to. But when a writer lacks logic in their article, it make me question their writing.

its no slap in the face.......like someone else said, rankings are about more than just record and head-to-head performances - its the writer's opinion of where he projects the teams to be at year-end, based on what they have done so far, and what their future prospects are.....its highly subjective and not scientific - its not a college football poll.........if it was, you would have a gripe but its not!

[BruceReville]

Which is fine because we've done what exactly to be considered one of the elite teams in the NFL? We need to build a history of winning before we can expect respect. Back to back winning seasons will be a start, I think this year is a good starting point as well to the Falcons earning respect.

What has Carolina done to garner being a media darling? - since they became a franchise in 1995.

1) No back-to-back winning seasons.

2) In fact only 3 winning seasons in the franchise's history and 2 8-8 seasons.

3) Last winning season was 2005.

4) To date they have 101 wins and 113 losses.

Yet they have been picked by the media almost constantly to be a play-off team or to win the division out-right. Explain that one.

[g-dawg]

What has Carolina done to garner being a media darling? - since they became a franchise in 1995.

1) No back-to-back winning seasons.

2) In fact only 3 winning seasons in the franchise's history and 2 8-8 seasons.

3) Last winning season was 2005.

4) To date they have 101 wins and 113 losses.

Yet they have been picked by the media almost constantly to be a play-off team or to win the division out-right. Explain that one.

agree that the Pansies have consistently been overrated through the years - however, in fairness - the Panthers were not ranked that high going into this season........Also, they have beat teams badly this year in all of their five wins.........and beat us Falcons pretty decently too.

[BruceReville]

agree that the Pansies have consistently been overrated through the years - however, in fairness - the Panthers were not ranked that high going into this season........Also, they have beat teams badly this year in all of their five wins.........and beat us Falcons pretty decently too.

Most of the media outlets had them winning the division - Bradshaw has them picked to even make it to the Super Bowl along with a couple of others whose name I can't remember -_-

[aerosmith67]

What has Carolina done to garner being a media darling? - since they became a franchise in 1995.

1) No back-to-back winning seasons.

2) In fact only 3 winning seasons in the franchise's history and 2 8-8 seasons.

3) Last winning season was 2005.

4) To date they have 101 wins and 113 losses.

Yet they have been picked by the media almost constantly to be a play-off team or to win the division out-right. Explain that one.

Considering they've only been around since 1995 these are pretty nice things to have under your belt:

Conference Championships (1)

* NFC 2003

Division Championships (2)

* NFC West: 1996

* NFC South: 2003

Playoff Appearances (3)

* NFL: 1996, 2003, 2005

Compared to the Falcons who have been around since 1966, nearly 30 years longer then the Panthers:

Conference Championships (1)

* NFC: 1998

Division Championships (3)

* NFC West: 1980, 1998

* NFC South: 2004

Playoff Appearances (8)

* NFL: 1978, 1980, 1982, 1991, 1995, 1998, 2002, 2004

The numbers projected out are much better for the Panthers... the Falcons between recent history and their entire history haven't done much to EARN respect. I think we're finally on the right path right now and things can change very quickly, but you can't say the Panthers haven't done anything in 13 years when you compare it to what the Falcons have done over 40+ years.