12. New York Jets: 2-1 ↓
When I say trending down, I don’t mean drastically. Look, without Decker and Ivory (fooling us all that he was going to be active even though he didn’t line up for a snap), a viable reason pops up as to why they couldn’t muster enough offense to psyche out the Eagles. It’s still to be determined in whether Decker’s sprained knee will be OK to give it a shot against Miami this Sunday.
In other news, Geno Smith is back. He’s probably wondering why nobody has brought his name back into the equation but for now it’s Fitzpatrick’s job going forward. Another piece of news is that after Week 4 the Jets defensive line will most likely bring back Sheldon Richardson. Although we already know how much of knucklehead he was this past offseason but his addition to an already strong defense will give Gang Green a real chance to be the team of New York this season.
11. Pittsburgh Steelers: 2-1 ↓
Everything seemed all fine and gravy after the Steelers put a whipping on the 49ers in Week 2, especially with the return of Le’Veon Bell.
However, that was all but short-lived.
Big Ben’s sprained MCL suffered at the hands of Bucs S Mark Barron will cost him to miss about 4-6 weeks, leaving the man himself, Michael Vick, another shot in the limelight. My advice for Vick is to stay in the pocket, game-manage, and only run it when it’s completely necessary to. We all know he’s not the same, elusive and dynamic runner he once was, far from it actually. If they can play .500 football before Roethlisberger comes back, I think the Steelers will be back to being the Super Bowl contending team they were showing to be.
10. Oakland Raiders: 2-1 ↑
Derek Carr may not have had to start on a new expansion team like his older brother David had to endure with with the Houston Texans, but revitalizing an Oakland Raiders franchise might be just as challenging if not more. You might be rubbing your eyes as if you needed to take a double-take on this ranking, but yes, the Oakland Raiders I believe have earned being the 10th best team in the league at this very moment.
They say this is a place where “legends go to die” when in fact it was Justin Tuck’s hit on Josh McCown that forced the game-ending interception, picked off by none other than Charles Woodson.
Latavius Murray and Amari Cooper will be real play-makers on this offense. I hope the trending arrow will continue to remain green for black and silver.
9. Carolina Panthers: 3-0 ↔
It’s been a relatively easy schedule thus far for Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers. If they hadn’t lost last year’s big time 6’5” WR Kelvin Benjamin during the off season, I’d rank Carolina even higher on here. They did however just acquire DE Jared Allen which will only add onto to already sound defense. Sometimes in this league, it’s not always about how you win them but as long as you get the W.
