Rick McGlothlin, Draftek.com Senior Writer

For the week ending October 19th (Week 6 of action in the NFL) The strong got stronger and the weak ….hey, wait a minute, some of the weak got ……uhhhhh, less weak? Surprising wins from Oakland and Kansas City on Sunday raises those two bottom dwellers up a little bit. They were helped out by a team that decided not to show up for the snow party in New England.

Meantime, the undefeated Saints didn’t have to march very far – but they did keep marching up and down the Superdome field – all over the previously unbeaten and formerly #1 ranked Giants, 48-27, to move to 5-0 on the season. While a big win for New Orleans, the Vikings had a big win of their own, keeping Minnesota unbeaten at 6-0, one game better overall than the Saints.

But the team folks will probably now admit they’ll need to keep a much closer eye on is the surprising Denver Broncos, who are kicking butt and taking names through 6 games of this young NFL season. If anyone doubted them through the first five weeks, this win over San Diego should put those doubts completely to rest.

So Mac’s Power Rankings has a few changes in the order after week six in the NFL.

1.(2) Minnesota (6-0) – Looked like the Vikings were celebrating a little prematurely after taking a 27-10 lead late in the 4th quarter. It almost did them in. But the HOF’er came in and led them on yet another game-winning drive, while the defense finished them off one final time late. The Viking defense is starting to get a little leaky and I haven’t quite decided yet whether it’s  letdown when getting a good lead, or just poor play at critical times. They’ll have to button it up over the next two weeks with road games against Pittsburgh and Green Bay.

2.(3) Indianapolis (5-0) – BYE

Drew Brees

3.(4) New Orleans (5-0) – Completely manhandled the Giants from start to finish. A bit shaky on defense the first series, but really got it going after that. Drew Brees got a little lucky on a pass in his first series, as it looked like Corey Webster had a pick sail right through his hands for a reception by the Saints. After that, it wasn’t even close as New Orleans racks up over 500 yards in offense on the top rated defense in the NFL while the Saints D did some damage of its own.

4.(5) Denver (6-0) – If there’s a better defense in the NFL, I don’t know if I’ve seen it yet. The Bronco D went on the road to San Diego and held that potent offense to just 23 points – only THREE after halftime – enroute to a 34-23 whipping of their arch-rivals in the AFC West.  What’s more, Kyle Orton was able to guide the Bronco offense up and down the field behind one of the best offensive lines in the league, converting the majority of their 3rd downs to keep the ball moving and the Charger offense on the sidelines.

It is extremely difficult for me not to move the Broncos further up the ladder in Mac’s Power Rankings, but I think I’ll wait and see what happens with this club after their bye in week 7. After that, they go on the road to Baltimore, then host the Pittsburgh Steelers on another MNF showdown. One thing is for sure, Josh McDaniels is leader of the pack for Coach of the Year at this point.

5.(1) New York Giants (5-1) – Was this on purpose? I mean, did the Giants allow the Saints to march up and down the field on them in order for New York to get a good game film on them come playoff time? It just nags at me that this team looked not at all like it usually does defensively. The offense didn’t do all that much better, but didn’t look AS messed up. Now that Brees has torched them for 4 touchdowns, they get to face Kurt Warner in the Big Apple.

While the Giants are no doubt a good quality team, the rather weak early schedule has hurt them.  Fortunately for them the NFC East isn’t as strong as some other divisions in the NFL this season, so they shouldn’t stumble in the East. ( Unless you consider Oakland a powerhouse by beating Philly, or KC clubbing Washington and almost beating Dallas last week.)

6.(8) Atlanta (4-1) – Great stands by the Falcon defense throughout the game as they kept the Bears out of the endzone on several trips inside Falcon terrority. Jonathan Babineaux’s big hit and forced fumble was key as the Bears tried to get the ball in the endzone. Matt Ryan continues to impress, throwing two TD passes with nearly two hundred throwing yards. Next up is a trip to Big D.

7.(7) Cincinnati (4-2) – Kinda saw this coming after the roller-coaster ride the Bengals have been on the last week with the passing of Coach Zimmer’s wife, the funeral and then a kind of “trap” game against Houston. Not that you don’t take the Texans seriously – that’s my point, they did – but it just looked like everyone in the orange and black was one step slower and one second off their timing. They are still atop the division even though both the Bengals and Steelers have identical records.

8.(9) New England (3-2) – And just like that, the Pats are back on top of the AFC East division. Can’t move them up too far, after all, the Titans didn’t even bother showing up. However, it looks as if Brady is back, the defense is coming along and the running game showed up along with the snow. While this all looks and sounds good, we still might want to consider this was against a Tennessee Titans team that wreaks right now.

9.(13) Pittsburgh (4-2) – It looks like the Steelers might be getting out of their funk, but it might also be awhile still. At least Polamalu is back and the Steelers handled their business against an inferior divisional opponent. But Pittsburgh hasn’t been kicking the crap out of anyone either (except for the 3 quarters against San Diego), edging Tennessee by 3, Detroit by 8 and now the Browns by 13. I do, however, see a pattern developing here.

10.(6) N.Y. Jets (3-3) – Losers of three in a row, the Jets were rocked with even more bad news when they found out NT Kris Jenkins is out for the season. No reason to panic with QB Mark Sanchez, who tossed 5 picks in the loss to Buffalo. Much of it is still timing and knowing his receiving corp, and he just got Braylon Edwards on board a little over a week ago. The defense now bears watching with the loss of Jenkins in the middle.

11.(10) Baltimore (3-3) – Used to be you could count on the defense to hold opponents down and allow their field goal kicker to win close games for them. Not anymore. Now it’s an offense based on throwing (why, I don’t know, when they have Ray Rice, McGahee and McClain running for them. But yeah, Joe Flacco is the real deal – too bad his “D” didn’t have his back as the Ravens (and the D) tumbled for the 3rd consecutive week.

12.(11) Chicago (3-2) – The Bears blew several opportunities to put points on the board, but penalties and turnovers did them in. Just when you thought the team had turned the corner, they implode on national TV. They need to correct their course pretty quick, as they face the surprising Bengals in the Queen City next week.

13.(12) Philadelphia (3-2) – ROTFLMAO @ the Eagles. Nuff said.

14.(14) San Francisco (3-1) – BYE

15.(16) Dallas (3-2) – BYE

16.(17) Green Bay (3-2) – Nothing to get all ecstatic about, as the Packers SHOULD be able to go out and dominate the Lions at home in Lambeau. Which they did, and Donald Driver and Aaron Rodgers had outstanding games. Rodgers passed for an amazing 350+ yards and 2 TD’s while Donald Driver surpassed Sterling Sharpe for the career reception record (956). Let’s see if the Packers can keep from looking ahead to the Minnesota rematch and not forget the Browns are next on the schedule.

17.(18) Arizona (3-2) – Moved back within striking distance of the 49ers at 3-2, with a 27-3 thrashing of Seattle. Warner was hitting his big play targets and racked up 276 yards passing with 2 TD’s, while the running game was just “okay” but not all that big a factor even though the ‘Zona offense had the ball for 42 and a half minutes of the 60 minute game.

18.(15) San Diego (2-3) – Could not keep the Bronco pass-rush from creating havoc in the backfield, and never could establish a running game of any kind on offense. All the while the Bronco offense ran the clock with long, time-consuming drives that eliminated the usual second and third opportunities for the Charger offense to get back on the field. It is quite apparent at this point that San Diego has problems in several areas. 1) Their running game is non-existant. 2) Their pass rush isn’t what it used to be at all. 3) The offense would be dead in the water if it weren’t for Antonio Gates and Rivers.

19.(19) Houston (3-3) – Matt Schaub, doing his best Peyton Manning imitation, tossed 4 TD passes and hit seven different wideouts. He also racked up 390+ passing yards as he led his team to a triumphant 28-17 win over the Bengals. Big game coming up next week against the 49ers at home.

Samurai Schaub

20.(20) Miami (2-3) – BYE

21.(22) Jacksonville (3-3) – Evidently Jack del Rio didn’t want his decoy sitting around doing nothing this weekend, and decided to give him the ball. He only responded with 3 TD’s with 133 yards on 33 carries. David Garrard, meanwhile, threw for nearly 400 yards but almost cost the Jags the game with two picks – one returned for a game-tying TD by the Rams Leonard Little.

22.(23) Carolina (2-3) – Before commenting on the win, let me just say that the NFL should suspend Dante Wesley indefinitely for that atrocious hit on the Bucs Clifton Smith. That was completely uncalled for AND worse, it was premeditated as he clearly ramped up to strike him with the forearm. At any rate, that’s just a personal thought on a ridiculously stupid action.

The Panthers did just enough to beat Tampa Bay after looking to have the game in hand early on. Luckily, Carolina turned away from Delhomme’s arm and got the running tandem going – to the tune of 252 yards rushing. Up 21-7 at one point, the Panthers allowed Tampa Bay back in the game and were fortunate to pull out a seven point win to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.

23.(21) Seattle (2-4) – For the Seahawks, this game should’ve been a big one for the offense against the Cardinal pass defense. Or lackthereof. However, Seattle could manage only a measley 112yards passing, their rushing attack was even more inept. At least it wasn’t a shut-out. The big hit came after the game with news that Seahawk LB Lofa Tatupu is out for the year.

24.(24) Washington (2-4) – Watching paint dry can probably be more entertaining than watching the Redskins these days, but I doubt then I can’t figure out why that should even be a possible comparison. It’s gotten that bad. Jim Zorn says he’ll give up play-calling duties. And focus on what, the defense? Special teams? Cheerleading? Okay, okay, it’s not all Zorn’s fault. Can someone help clue us in and what IS the problem then?

25.(29) Buffalo (2-4) – I’m not sure, but I think Buffalo has invented several new ways to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory. But THIS time, they reversed trend and captured a close one – in OT. Although it looked like it was a game destined to end in a tie. The win temporarily gives their head coach, Dick Jauron, another week on the job.

26.(31) Oakland (2-4) – I don’t bet much, but I ALMOST put money on this game for some strange reason. I just had that feeling that the Raiders would be “up” and the Eagles “down” a bit. And that’s the way it played out much of the day. Oakland’s defense was dominating most of the day and the lone TD ( a hilariously long, 10-bottom-plow-dragging rumble run after catch by TE Zach Miller) gave the Raiders their only touchdown.

27.(27) Kansas City (1-5) – Congrats to a ballclub that has been “right there” in most games this season but couldn’t quite get over the hump. Until today. Now let’s see if that can carry over into a home contest against the Chargers next Sunday at 1 p.m.

28.(25) Detroit (1-5) – Probably the only game they’ve been “out of” from start to finish this year. Culpepper going out early had something to do with it, but I expected more out of the Lion defense. Then again, they DID hold the Packers to four FG’s after the 1st quarter and left Green Bay with a 20% mark in redzone efficiency. It was just that all the yardage (and time) the Packers consumed didn’t leave much time for the Lions to do anything. Well, that and the fact Detroit was 0-10 in 3rd down conversions.

29.(28) Cleveland (1-5) – Except for Big Ben, Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes and Rashard Mendenhall, I think the Browns did a pretty good job of containing the Steelers. Well, except for that 17-point barrage in the 2nd quarter that Pittsburgh put on ‘em. And there WERE those 4 turnovers, 3 by Derek Anderson. Next up for Cleveland is a Dawg Pound visit by Green Bay.

30.(30) Tampa Bay (0-6) – Trailing 21-7, the Buc’s Sammy Stroughter returned a kickoff 97 yards for a TD and gave Tampa Bay new life heading into the final quarter. Then the Bucs tied it on an pick-6 by Jackson and the stage was set for the Bucs to pull off their first win of the season. However, it wasn’t meant to be as the Panthers scored one more time and Tampa Bay couldn’t answer.

31.(32) St. Louis ( 0-6) – That was painful to watch as the Rams were oh-so-close to nailing down their first win of the season, only to see it slip away. Of course, if SOMEONE had stopped MJD a couple times, it may have made the difference. That said, the Rams DID pick off Garrard twice and forced a fumble, so they had their chances. I was listening to someone talking about an idea of the Rams trading away Stephen Jackson for multiple draft picks….and I’m thinking that’s a pretty sound idea.

32.(26) Tennessee (0-6) – Yeah, that’s right, I’ve got this team dead last. At least the Bucs, Rams, Chiefs, Lions and Browns show up to play every weekend knowing that they likely will get their heads handed to them. For the Titans to not even show up for the game with New England proves their lack of mental toughness. They just quit before the game had started. It looked like they didn’t want to be there, didn’t like the weather and probably didn’t like playing in the Houston throwbacks again. Poor babies. Jeff Fisher has some serious problems in Tennessee.

A rare successful Titans play