It's at that point in the season where a team can't use expressions like, "If only". At this point, if you're 1-3, then you're a 1-3 team. If you're 3-0, you're 3-0. Obviously, a little more slack will be shown a 1-3 Packer team than a 1-3 Arizona. But the point remains the same. If you're struggling and losing games, those are losses you can't get back. Just like if you're winning (a la Pittsburgh and the Giants), it's tough to keep holding you down. A win is a win, and having three at this point and/or being in first place is pretty darned good. Thus, this week there will be some big moves up and down. I am finally at the point where I'll give much credit where it is due, and penalize those who haven't shown what I expected. There is, of course, a middle ground in all this that is very subjective. It is, after all, my opinion. But I'm taking W/L record into much greater account now because that is, ultimately, what determines the quality of a team right?

As I said last week, I was going to make this a more interactive piece hoping to elicit some response. The end result was that I got several comments that weren't completely fit for a G-rated audience. The vast majority, however, were simple questions dealing with specific teams.

I wanted to limit it to just a few and see how it goes in the early going, so I've included two questions dealing with teams that several people asked about - Tennessee and Seattle. Most wondered why I had the Titans so low, and others questioned how I could have Baltimore ahead of Seattle. Let's get to it.

David - Bloomington, Indiana. I noticed that you mentioned that Tennessee is a team in decline. While this is music to my ears because I'm a Colts fan, I was wondering if you would feel the same way if Calico were healthy and contributing as the big playmaker a lot of people feel he can be? With the emergence of Chris Brown this year, do you think a healthy Calico could make the difference for an explosive Titan offense and give the Titans a playoff spot?

David, my preseason projection for Tennessee was counting on a relatively healthy Calico. While I don't think even a healthy Calico is quite on the level of Justin McCareins, I figured he was a good replacement and in time would out-produce McCareins. The offense wasn't the concern to me. What I was worried about with Tennessee is a combination of their defensive issues from last year (namely, the ability to defend the pass) coupled with the loss of Jevon Kearse and several key injuries to their LB corps. Last year, they could get away with a suspect pass defense because their run defense was so tremendous. But I didn't think that'd be the case this year, and to this point, it's been a valid concern to have. Granted, they've been tested by 3 of the league's top runners in Edgerrin James, Fred Taylor, and LaDainian Tomlinson, but they've been TORCHED by those guys. That's not what you expect from a Titans run defense. The Calico injury, coupled with the McNair injury and plenty of moderate to severe injuries elsewhere, have me thinking long and hard about this team's ability to even finish at .500.

This one's from a reader named Mad Sweeney. I think it's a nickname. If so, it seems appropriate at least.

How can you have the Seahawks behind three 2-1 teams? I can accept, grudgingly, Minnesota and Indy's losses as they cam against higher ranked teams. But Baltimore? Losing to Cleveland? How do you lose to the #27 team and still stay in the top five, ahead of a 3-0 team that won two on the road, back to back? What is this, the NCAA? Sorry, but the top five doesn't take scrubs that lose to a bottom third team, period. I am very disappointed in this ranking, and it throws into doubt the veracity of the rest of your input. If you can convince me of your reasoning, then I can perhaps accept it, but there's no way (barring homerism) that Baltimore belongs in the top five ahead of Seattle.

Well, Mad, I have to admit it - you're right. On most of it. Obviously, following the events of the past weekend, Baltimore will be moving down the list and Seattle will be moving up. A lot of what went into that ranking was based on previous expectations of the two clubs. I was probably giving Jamal Lewis and the Baltimore defense too much credit. I gave them a pass on the Cleveland game, but you're right in that it shouldn't take away anything from what the Seahawks had accomplished to that point. However, I still wasn't terribly impressed by Seattle's first two wins, and Baltimore just seemed to be clicking coming into this past week. My rationale for keeping Baltimore ahead of the Seahawks was that they were already ahead of them to begin with and they won, so they shouldn't move down. I kept them high even after the Week 1 loss to Cleveland, and if I didn't move them down after a loss, how could I justify moving them down after a win? I'm not saying that'll never happen, but just not here, not yet. Of course, I COULD have just said rather than calling it Baltimore moving down, though, it could have been justified by saying it's more that Seattle is moving up. Yes, they were good enough to move up. Just as the Jets were good enough to move up the past few weeks. But if no one ahead of you takes a tumble, and/or you don't beat a quality opponent, I'm going to try not to lend too much credence to the week before. Like I said, I wasn't overly impressed until the win over the 49ers and even that was against a terrible team. I would expect that now that Seattle has moved up, they won't be falling much if at all if they keep up their high level of play and beat some quality teams.

Future questions/comments/rants should be sent to: [email protected]. Please be sure to include your name and hometown/home state so I can properly credit you in the article.

Rank...Team...W/L...(Last week)

1.New England Patriots 3-0 (1)
The sun came up. The Earth continued spinning. And the Patriots won.

2.Indianapolis Colts 3-1 (2)
They'd better hope that Week 1 loss doesn't haunt them come January.

3.Philadelphia Eagles 4-0 (3)
I'm saying it now. I GUARANTEE the Eagles won't win this week.

4.Minnesota Vikings 2-1 (4)
Mike Tice joked that Herschel Walker was starting this week. At least I THINK he was joking.

5.Seattle Seahawks 3-0 (6)
Offense wins games, but defense wins...well, you know the phrase. They're looking scary good.

6.Jacksonville Jaguars 3-1 (7)
Not in the upper echelon quite yet, but still played well against an elite team.

7.Denver Broncos 3-1 (8)
The offense is having problems NOT related to Jake Plummer? Welcome to Crazyville.

[On a side note, my Microsoft Word spell check said that the correct spelling of Crazyville is actually Crazy Ville. So apparently it's a real place. Someone needs to find out if it is, and if so, where is it?]

8.Atlanta Falcons 4-0 (12)
Do NOT forget that many people picked this team for the Super Bowl last year.

9.Baltimore Ravens 2-2 (5)
Think of how bad this Raven offense is at times. Now take away Jamal Lewis. Ewwww!

10.Dallas Cowboys 2-1 (10)
So players have tried to hit Parcells. Key word being 'tried'.

11.New York Jets 3-0 (11)
Santana Moss was picked before Curtis Martin in most leagues. Ok, our nooses are ready.

12.Pittsburgh Steelers 3-1 (20)
Didn't want to respect them too much because rookie QBs are iffy, but so far, so good.

13.New York Giants 3-1 (24)
Ok, I admit it - they're a LOT better than I thought. A huge bump, but it's a long time coming.

14.Green Bay Packers 1-3 (9)
All they've beaten this year is the lowly Panthers. Could they have been grossly overrated?

15.Carolina Panthers 1-2 (13)
Moved up last week due to inactivity. Now they begin a descent that I feel will last awhile.

16.Saint Louis Rams 2-2 (22)
Rushing more than passing isn't really 'fast and furious'. But it's smart.

17.Tennessee Titans 1-3 (15)
Saw a headline that said Volek played well. Since when is 58 passes for 278 yards good?

18.Oakland Raiders 2-2 (16)
One step forward, two steps back.

19.Cincinnati Bengals 1-3 (14)
Lewis said he'd stick with Palmer as long as he didn't cost them games. Well?

20.New Orleans Saints 2-2 (17)
We're officially into the "The Saints season is weird as hell" phase of the year.

21.Washington Redskins 1-3 (18)
This just in: Joe Gibbs has blamed last week's loss on Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s cursing.

22.Kansas City Chiefs 1-3 (23)
Alright, they won the first must-win game. Now how about the rest of them?

23.Cleveland Browns 2-2 (27)
"William Green will still get meaningful carries" = coachspeak.

24.San Diego Chargers 2-2 (29)
Charger run defense has been outstanding. In other news, several pigs have sprouted wings.

25.Detroit Lions 2-1 (25)
Harrington-to-Williams is the next great combo. Well, at least the Williams part.

26.Chicago Bears 1-3 (21)
Can't fault them for last two tough opponents, but Green Bay win looks less impressive now.

27.Houston Texans 2-2 (30)
If the Texans win 3 in a row, David Carr has said he'll start brushing his teeth and showering.

28.Buffalo Bills 0-3 (19)
As much as they've competed, there comes a point where you have to win some games.

29.Tampa Bay Buccaneers 0-4 (26)
Remember when the Bucs won the Super Bowl 12 years ago? WHAT??? TWO years ago?!?

30.Arizona Cardinals 1-3 (32)
Well, if McCown isn't going to throw TDs, Emmit may as well give it a shot right?

31.San Francisco 49ers 0-4 (28)
When your most productive offensive player is Curtis Conway...well, enough said.

32.Miami Dolphins 0-4 (31)
Tough to rank them here because the defense is SO good. Just shows how terrible the offense is.

Super Shufflers Of the Week (+)

Plungers Of the Week (-)