2. New Orleans Saints (2) – I saw some push the Saints down a couple spots after they came up short against the Cowboys on Saturday night, but there’s no doubt in my mind that they’re still the second-best team in football.  You must give them credit though; down 24-3, and to end the game 50 yards from a tie against Dallas’ best performance of the year.

3. San Diego Chargers (4) – Fine, I’ll admit it; I was tempted to leapfrog the Bolts over the Halos.  What a hot team.  Their Christmas night affair with the Titans is a fascinating one, as two of the hottest teams in the league face off.  While Tennessee has everything to play for, the Chargers have all but locked up the AFC’s second seed.

4. Philadelphia Eagles (5) – How about this combo platter to end the season: vs Denver, at Dallas.  The Iggles haven’t lost in their last five games and – in case you forgot – they were in the NFC championship game last year.  I know I usually forget that.

5. Minnesota Vikings (3) – You know what usually cures wayward teams who have lost two of three and look entirely mortal?  A night game against Jay “Mr. Interceptable” Cutler and the Chicago Bears.  Hey, look at that!  The Vikings are in Soldier Field on Monday night!  To quote the creepy oracle in “The Matrix”, they’ll feel right as rain in no time.

6. Dallas Cowboys (not ranked) – Big bump up from the abyss, but that’s what happens when you knock off an undefeated team in week 14.  I guess that whole December issue is solved, eh?

7. Arizona Cardinals (9) – The question has become, which was more impressive, the Cardinals beating the Lions by one score, the Titans beating the Dolphins by one score, or the Patriots beating the Bills by one score?  Hard to say.

8. Tennessee Titans (8) – I said it above, but the season is very much on the line for the Titans on Christmas.  Beat the Chargers, and you have a pulse (especially with Denver and Baltimore, the two teams ahead of them in the wild card chase, both having tough games in Pennsylvania this weekend).  Lose and it’s over.

9. Green Bay Packers (7) – They hung 36 on the Steelers.  Very impressive.  But the alleged Number 1 defense in football coughed up 503 passing yards to a team that has no threat of a running game?  One and done is how I see the Green Bay playoff experience.

10. New England Patriots (10) – No bump for beating the hapless, coach-less, quarterback-less, talent-less Buffalo Bills.  Sorry, Bradychick.

2. New Orleans Saints (1) – A Matt Ryan-less, Michael Turner-less Falcons team stayed in the game, a week after Washington had to miss a chip-shot field goal and cough up an overtime fumble for the Saints to squeak by?  It’s going to take a little better effort this week against Dallas to keep the undefeated dream alive.

3. Minnesota Vikings (3) – A week after being taken to task by the Cardinals, purple did some damage to the Bengals.  My God, what an NFC championship game it looks to be in the Superdome.

4. San Diego Chargers (5) – What a smokin’ hot team.  If they march into Lucas Oil Stadium with the AFC title up for grabs, I see no reason why they couldn’t move on to Miami.

5. Philadelphia Eagles (8) – That was quite a track meet in Giants Stadium.  Donovan McNabb is having one of his best seasons, but the defense is going to have to tighten it up if the Iggles expect to go indoors and knock off the Saints or Vikes.

6. Cincinnati Bengals (6) – By the results, it would only be right to dump the Bungalows down a notch, and give the Package a push.  No thanks.  The Bengals are a much better team than Green Bay, regardless of what happened Sunday.

7. Green Bay Packers (7) – And what happened on Sunday, to me, was that the Packers barely squeaked by a terrible Bears team, and showed that despite their fine record, there just isn’t a whole lot of “there” there.

8. Tennessee Titans (9) – Yep, it was the Rams, and they’re terrible.  But 47-7 is still 47-7.

9. Arizona Cardinals (4) – What the hell was that disaster?  What the hell is with this team?  Beat up the Vikings one week, get taken to the shed by the lowly 49ers?  I don’t know how dinged Larry Fitzgerald is, but if it’s serious at all, that’s serious trouble in Zona.

10. New England Patriots (not ranked) – It was a game they really needed, should’ve won, and did win against Carolina.  There is nothing at all that feels right about this team.  Randy Moss is falling into old behavior patterns, and the defense is lacking… something.  Could be one of the more difficult stretches in Bill Belichick’s remarkable career.

2. Indianapolis Colts (2) – They’d been questioned about as much as a 12-0 team could possibly have been questioned, with some tight wins and a few come-from-behinds.  Give credit where it’s due; they solidly handled one of the hottest non-undefeated teams in the league in the Titans, and kept the unblemished record intact.

3. Minnesota Vikings (3) – No shame in dropping one to a tough Cardinals team out in the desert.  And it’s taken longer than I anticipated, but Old Man River finally got sloppy and tossed the other team a few passes.  This weekend’s tilt with the Bungalows should be quite a contest.

4. Arizona Cardinals (7) – What a statement game for the defending NFC champions.  If you’d asked me four weeks ago which Super Bowl XLIII team would be on the bubble, and which one would look prepared to make another run, I would’ve called Mr. Warner the Bubble Boy.

5. San Diego Chargers (4) – They did what they were supposed to do: beat an awful team.  They’ll visit the Cowboys on Sunday for what looks to be quite a showdown against likely division winners.

6. Cincinnati Bengals (5) – No style points for beating the Lions in an entirely-too-close contest.  Sorry.

7. Green Bay Packers (not ranked) – I think I pick against this team virtually every week, and somehow they have twice as many wins as losses, and are in prime position to scoop up a wild card and try their hand in the second season.

8. Philadelphia Eagles (not ranked) – I realize Atlanta was without their franchise passer, but was unaware that they also played without their franchise’s defense.  Philly put on a show even with a few banged up stars of their own.  I just don’t quite know what to make of this team week to week, but this week, I make them the underdogs in Giants Stadium.

9. Tennessee Titans (9) – Yes, they lost.  But they lost to Peyton Manning, so how can that really count?

10. Denver Broncos (not ranked) – Speaking of losing to Peyton Manning, Kyle Orton and the plucky if not special Broncos are scheduled to be Unlucky Number 13 this week.  Hopefully I will be able to drop them back off the list and into the abyss from whence they came afterwards.

2. Indianapolis Colts (1) – A lot of folks thought that Houston outing was going to be Indy’s downfall.  I’m not one of them.  They may stumble after home field advantage is locked up in a couple weeks, but these Colts are coasting.

3. Minnesota Vikings (3) – That wasn’t very nice, Purple.  Leave my poor Bears alone!

4. San Diego Chargers (5) – I keep thinking that the Bolts could be dangerous in the AFC playoffs.  Then I remember: Norvelous will always, ALWAYS find a way to botch it.

5. Cincinnati Bengals (not ranked) – I’m trying to figure out how it is that the Bungalows tumbled off of my list last week, but they did.  And I was wrong.  And they promptly went out and beat the mighty Brownies.  With a two game advantage on the corpse-like Steelers and the back-and-forth Ravens, the Bengals are going to have a home playoff game, and maybe a bye.  I’m very interested to see what they can do in the playoffs.

6. Dallas Cowboys (7) – It took a turkey-like Raiders team to put the ‘Boys back in the end zone after a few weeks of avoiding it.  This may be the most difficult team in the NFL to get a read on right now.  You have to like the talent, but something seems amiss.

7. Arizona Cardinals (6) – Losing to one of the hottest teams in the NFL isn’t that big a deal.  Losing Kurt Warner for any extended period of time, however, is.

8. Baltimore Ravens (not ranked) – What a game on Sunday night, and a statement win against the defending champs.

9. Tennessee Titans (10) – What a remarkable rebound the Music City men have created.  This week, however, they must face the music in Indianapolis.  The magic – and their playoff aspirations – will end, I fear.  But you have to love the effort.

10: New England Patriots (4) – On the other hand, what kind of effort was that in the Superdome on Monday, Hoodie?  Many may fear the Brady-Belichick mystique, but if you put them in different uniforms and changed their names, would anybody really fear this team?  Those five 2nd quarter touchdowns against Tennessee seem like ages ago.

2. New Orleans Saints (2) – That’s not to say that I think the Saints are a lesser team, nor Drew Brees an inferior passer.  I just think that the Colts’ defense finds a way to get the ball back to their leader, and their leader finds a way to get the ball into the end zone.  Every time.

3. Minnesota Vikings (3) – Hell is coming to breakfast for my beloved Bears.  Last week I predicted that Brett Favre Interceptionfest 2009 would begin against Seattle.  That worked out well – he only threw four touchdowns and no picks.  Week by week, the old sombitch keeps proving that I’m an idiot… but I swear to God, one of these weeks, he’s going to Favre it and throw some picks.  Is it this week?  Does Zack Bowman have a three-pick game in him?  Ha!

4. New England Patriots (5) – I am tingling with anticipation of Saints-Patriots this weekend.  I hope New Orleans wipes the floor with them, but I am getting a sneaking suspicion about it.

5. San Diego Chargers (5) – They’re on cruise control, sailing to another AFC West championship thanks to a nice hot streak, and playing in the league’s worst division.  Oakland, Kansas City and Denver will all have losing records to conclude the season (How about them Broncos!), so just like last year, the Chargers only need a total of 8 wins for the crown.  By my math, they’re one away from that right now.  Perhaps they win 10 or 11 just for kicks.

6. Arizona Cardinals (8) – The Cards have the division wrapped up, but if Kurt Warner is less than perfectly healthy in the playoffs, a return trip to the Super Bowl is completely out of the question.

7. Dallas Cowboys (9) – Well done, holding the Redskins to 6 points.  But scoring 7 spells “uh oh” in Big D.

8. New York Giants (not ranked) – Welcome back to the party, my darling Super Bowl pick.  Do me a favor – no more four game losing streaks to make me feel bad about the world.  Okay?

9. Pittsburgh Steelers (7) – Is somebody going to scramble that egg you laid in Kansas City?  Speaking of scrambled eggs, how’s Big Ben’s brain this morning?

10. Tennessee Titans (not ranked) – Welcome home, my lovelies!  Your incredible free-fall start to the season notwithstanding, I am officially on the bandwagon, and of the opinion that you are back on course not only to go to the playoffs, but to meet the Giants in the Super Bowl, as I predicted!  Okay, maybe not… but hot damn are these Titans playing some solid football right now.

2. New Orleans Saints (1) – Sorry kids.  Just barely pulling out a win in St. Louis is less impressive than just barely pulling out a win against New England.

3. Minnesota Vikings (3) – The Seahawks visit the Horror Dome this week.  Prediction: Bret Favre Interceptionfest 2009 officially kicks off this week.

4. Cincinnati Bengals (6) – I was tempted to push them past the Vikes, but there are seven more weeks to do that.  The Bengals are clearly the best team in their division after sweeping Pittsburgh and Baltimore, but what happens come playoff time?

5. New England Patriots (5) – They played the best team in football and should’ve won.  No downward bump after a loss like that.  By the way, circle your calendar:  Monday, November 30th: Patriots at Saints.

6. San Diego Chargers (8) – It was rocky early for the Bolts, but the defense has turned it on and is putting quarterbacks on their asses.  Not only will the Chargers win their division over the fraudulent Broncos, but they will be a force in the playoffs, if things hold up.

7. Pittsburgh Steelers (4) – Just as I start to give them some love – and pick them HUGE to beat the Bengals – the Steelers prove that they’re not quite as good as I thought.

8. Arizona Cardinals (not ranked) – Emphatic exclamation point on their (inevitable) division title with a win in Seattle puts the Cards in the top 10 for the first time in a while.  Remember last January?  I think they’re starting to remember it too.

9. Dallas Cowboys (8) – I wanted to drop them off the list for losing to the Packers, who are quite bad.  But the rest of the league is stinky, so the Boys get a reprieve from my wrath.

10. Atlanta Falcons (9) – Twelve NFL teams have a record of 5-4 or 4-5.  The Falcons are one of them, because they laid down and died against Carolina, who – in case you missed it – is bad.

2. Indianapolis Colts (2) – Peyton Manning is having one of the best seasons of his career.  Think about how good a season has to be to be one of HIS best.  Remarkable how the departure of Tony Dungy has done nothing to hurt this team.

3. Minnesota Vikings (3) – I haven’t checked the line on this week’s Lions at Vikings game, but I think it’s fair to say that this is a bit of a mismatch.  Matt Stafford will be wearing Jared Allen like a jacket.  This could be the ugliest game of the year.

4. Pittsburgh Steelers (4) – The championship mojo seems to be working again.  Big win in the Rockies on Monday night; a showdown with the Bungalows awaits.  More on that below.

5. New England Patriots (6) – This week’s game in Indianapolis may decide home field advantage in the AFC playoffs.  And, as always, it is certain to be a wildly entertaining affair; exactly the kind of game that makes the NFL great.

6. Cincinnati Bengals (7) – Thank God the Bengals are good this year.  If we had to go through yet another season of the endless Patriots-Colts-Steelers rotation atop the AFC, I was going to lose it.  This week’s rematch against the Steelers will tell us a LOT of what we need to know about how far the Bengals have or have not come.

7. Dallas Cowboys (8) – They walked into Philly and beat an Eagles team who had been crushing people of late.  I was not on board the Dallas bandwagon before that game, but I officially declare them contenders.  They now travel to Green Bay, to face the pre-season’s most overrated and over-hyped team (not by me, mind you… the Packers are EXACTLY what I thought they were.  Mediocre.). I anticipate Dallas’ hot streak continuing.

8. San Diego Chargers (not ranked) – I have no idea what the hell has happened to the Giants, but their prior three losses notwithstanding, I gave Norv Turner’s crew absolutely no chance of going into the Meadowlands and winning the Eli-Phillip Bowl.  I was wrong.  Things are finally coming back to reality in the AFC West, where the Chargers are proving that they are still the best team, despite Denver’s fluky start.

9. Atlanta Falcons (not ranked) – Hard to decide if a win against the Redskins was enough to bump them ahead of the Eagles.  But I guess I just did.

10. Philadelphia Eagles (5) – After all the good faith I showed in you last week, you take a spill at home?  Losing to Dallas is hardly cause for embarrassment, but it’s plenty good enough cause for a five notch drop.

2. Indianapolis Colts (2) – Okay, it wasn’t a great win against San Francisco, but it still counts.  They hit a bit of a rough road for the rest of November: Houston, New England, at Baltimore, at Houston.  I would target that Baltimore game as the end of the perfect season, but I’ve been wrong before, and I’ll be wrong again.

3. Minnesota Vikings (3) – There was no way Old Man River would march back into Lambeau and not go wild.  For the record, I was right about Brett Favre being washed up.  He has only thrown 16 touchdowns and has an embarrassing 3 interceptions.  Shoulda stayed retired, old man!  Shoulda known when to quit!

4. Pittsburgh Steelers (4) – I actually think this outfit is better than the Vikings, but those early-season fuck-arounds with the Bears and Bengals are holding them down here.

5. Philadelphia Eagles (not ranked) – Fine!  I’m SORRY for disrespecting you guys all year!  Did you HAVE TO go out and systematically destroy my Super Bowl pick just to prove it?  I guess you did, otherwise I’d probably keep overlooking you.  Then again, you did lose to the RAIDERS a few weeks ago, so let’s not get all superbowly just yet.

6. New England Patriots (6) – Bye week.  Big-time stretch of games for them, however. Miami, at Indy, Jets, at Saints, at Miami.  Win three of those, and I’m going to have to start thinking number 4 for B&B.

7. Cincinnati Bengals (7) – I love mid-season bye weeks.  Better than that week 4 crap.  They needed the rest, too, because Baltimore comes to town, and then they travel to Pittsurgh.  Could get ugly for the bungalows.

8. Dallas Cowboys (not ranked) – I haven’t shown the Boys much love this year, because they looked really bad in their losses, and fairly bad in some of their wins.  But apparently they’re trying to get it together, and it’s about the right time to do so.

9. Denver Broncos (5) – Not exactly concrete proof of a fraud, but at least we know this team is human.  And I assure you, they will continue to display their humanity quite a bit this year.

10. New York Giants (9) – Ughhh… what the hell?  One more bad loss, and I may banish you to the hell from whence you came!

2. Indianapolis Colts (2) – Oh, the poor Rams.  What a mismatch.  And here come the Cardinals – into Lucas Oil Stadium – for their beating… we think…

3. Minnesota Vikings (3) – A loss!  They’re HUMAN!  Not a lot of teams march into Heinz Field and come away with a win against the home team.  The bigger story is, did Old Man River start to show his age, just a bit?  The answer is YES.  I’ll be very interested to see how he looks in bad weather.  Unfortunately, they may not be challenged in a bad weather game until the playoffs.  Only a week 16 meeting in Chicago has frigid potential.  They may roll until then.

4. Pittsburgh Steelers (10) – Quite a leap for the defending champs, who weren’t even on the list two weeks ago.  That’s what happens when you are as hot as anybody in the league, starting to get healthy, and knocking down one of the few remaining unbeatens.  Can they beat their second unbeaten in a row when they travel to…

5. Denver Broncos (5) – …who are coming off a bye, and hosting their toughest challenge to date.

6. New England Patriots (6) – No bump for beating the Bucs, even if they did have to travel all the way to London to do it.  Sorry, Brady.  I’m afraid I won’t be impressed until you throw six touchdowns in a quarter.

7. Cincinnati Bengals (9) – Well, welcome to the big boys club.  That was a statement game at home against a (previously) solid Bears team who needed a win.  Baltimore, and a rematch with the Steelers are on the agenda now.  Pivotal stretch.

8. Green Bay Packers (7) – They didn’t deserve a one-notch bump after doing as they should and disposing of the Browns.  But let’s face it, they should’ve won by eight touchdowns, not four.  Hell comes to breakfast this week though, with Old Man River returning to Lambeau for the first time without the green and yellow dress.  The reception should be interesting, but the game should be awfully tough for the home crowd.

9. New York Giants (not ranked) – I don’t know what I was smoking last week, dropping the Giants from the top spot in Week 6 to unranked after only one loss.  That was clearly an overreaction to the betrayal I felt after they laid down and died in the Superdome.  But with a little more time to think about it – and a tough loss to the Cardinals (?) – I remembered that I still think this is one of the best teams in football, and still expect them to play ball in February.  Mea culpa.

10. Atlanta Falcons (4) – A little premature, popping them into the top 4 last week after that win at home against the Bears.  But going into the JerryDome is nothing to sneeze at, even if Dallas hasn’t exactly played what you’d call Cowboys Football this season.  I like this team quite a bit, and I REALLY like the Falcons-Saints on Monday night; should be a wild one.

2. Indianapolis Colts (2) – Two bye weeks in a row, with the Rams up next.  This one will be ugly early.

3. Minnesota Vikings (3) – 31 points allowed at home on Sunday.  Eventually these tight games will catch up with them, you would think.

4. Atlanta Falcons (6) – Good win over the Bears, who couldn’t overcome too many miscues in key spots.  The birds fly to Dallas and New Orleans the next two weeks, which begins a stretch of 4 road games in the next 5 weeks.  By the time they finish up with the Giants toward the end of November, we’ll have a real good idea of just how good this team is.

5. Denver Broncos (5) – Three games into The Mid Season Schedule From Hell, and this shocking team remains undefeated.  I will never, ever, ever in my life believe that a team quarterbacked by Kyle Orton can contend for a title, but for the first six weeks of 2009, God bless the thumping Denver defense, fantastic O line, and top rate receivers and return game.

6. New England Patriots (not ranked) – 59-0 says it all.  And I think Tom Brady might just be healed up.

7. Green Bay Packers (not ranked) – Tore through the Lions, and now a really tough test: the Browns.  Yikes.  But after that, the Vikings come to town for a showdown with Old Man River.  I haven’t been sold on this team all year, and I continue not to be.  There is nothing they can do in Cleveland to change that, but in two weeks…

8. Chicago Bears (7) – They let a winnable game slip through their fingers against a good Atlanta team Sunday night.  A showdown with the upstart Bengals awaits this Sunday, and the loser is in danger of tumbling off this list.

9. Cincinnati Bengals (8) – Dropping one to the Texans isn’t great, but they could redeem themselves with a win at home against the Bears.  I still like this team, and it’s one of the few turnaround predictions of mine that isn’t turning out to be completely terrible.

10. Pittsburgh Steelers (not ranked) – Quite an accomplishment to put up 417 passing yards and only 27 points, but the Steelers pulled that off against the hideous Browns.  Trouble comes a-callin’ this week with Old Man River and the Vikings.