[Bama4256]

1.San Diego Chargers-(11-2)-The Chargers crushed their
division rivals the Denver Broncos, 48-20 in San Diego. Running back LaDainian Tomlinson broke the NFL
record for most touchdowns in a single season by
scoring three touchdowns in Sunday's action. He now
has 29 for the season. Breaking Seattle's Shaun
Alexander record of 28 last season. Tomlinson gained
103 yards on the ground on 28 carries. San Diego won
the game with deadly efficiency converting 8 of 13
third downs. QB Philip Rivers completed 15 of 23
passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns. Tight end
Antonio Gates caught seven passes for 104 yards and
two touchdowns. Wide receiver Vincent Jackson caught
three passes for 95 yards. Linebacker Donnie Edwards
ranks fourth in the NFL in tackles with 118. Next game
Dec. 17th against the Kansas City Chiefs in San Diego.

2.Baltimore Ravens-(10-3)-The Ravens beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 20-10 in Kansas City. QB Steve McNair
completed 21 of 27 passes for 283 yards and one
touchdown. Wide receiver Mark Clayton caught five
passes for 112 yards and one touchdown. Clayton caught
a 87 yard touchdown in the third quarter. Baltimore
safety Ed Reed had two interceptions in the game. The
rest of the defense came up with five sacks in the
game. Next game Dec. 17th against the Cleveland Browns
in Baltimore.

3.Chicago Bears-(11-2)-The Bears beat the St. Louis
Rams, 42-27 in St. Louis. Rookie kick returner Devin
Hester does the almost impossible by returning two
kickoffs for touchdowns in last night's win. Setting a
new NFL record by scoring his fifth and sixth
touchdowns of the year on kick returns. Hester scored
his first touchdown of the night with a 94-yard return
in the second quarter then a 96-yard return in the
fourth period. Wow! This young man deserves a raise
and now. Quarterback Rex Grossman had a better
performance this week, but still not great. He
completed 13 of 23 for 200 yards and two
touchdowns. One touchdown was on a 34-yard pass to
wide receiver Bernard Berrian in the second quarter.
Running back Thomas Jones rushed for 76 yards on 11
carries and scored one touchdown. Linebacker Brian
Urlacher led the Bears defense with 10 tackles.
Chicago's defense ranks third overall in the NFL,
allowing 280.7 yards per game. Next game Dec. 17th
against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Chicago.

4.New Orleans Saints-(9-4)-The Saints embarrassed the
Dallas Cowboys, 42-17 in Dallas. New Orlean's head
coach Sean Payton out coached his former mentor Bill
Parcells big time. Quarterback Drew Brees had another
big game by passing for 384 yards and five touchdowns.
Brees is number one in the NFL in passing yards with
4,033 and in quarterback efficiency with a rating of
101.2. He also leads in touchdowns with 25. Definitely
a MVP season. One of the reason Dallas was off balance
most the night was the Saints use of fullback Mike
Karney. I don't think anyone expected him to be a
scoring threat. He rushed for one touchdown and caught
two passes for touchdowns. Running back Deuce
McAllister rushed for 111 yards on 21 carries. Running
back Reggie Bush caught six passes for 125 yards and
one touchdown. For the Saints defense, defensive end
Will Smith had two sacks in the game to give him 10.5
for the season. Next game Dec. 17th against the
Washington Redskins in New Orleans.

5.Indianapolis Colts-(10-3)-The Colts were crushed by
the Jacksonville Jaguars, 44-17 in Jacksonville. This
team has really been struggling of late. Their biggest
problem is stopping the run. They rank last in rushing
defense in the NFL, allowing 176.5 yards per game. Yet
they rank second in the NFL in passing defense,
allowing only 156.6 yards per game. Just run on this
team and you have a good chance of winning.
Quarterback Peyton Manning completed 25 of 50 passes
for 313 yards. He threw no touchdown passes. Rookie
running back Joseph Addai could only gain 22 yards on
11 carries. Wide receiver Reggie Wayne caught eight
passes for 110 yards and wide receiver Marvin Harrison
caught six for 101 yards. Harrison joined three other
receivers in NFL history by going over 10,000
receiving yards in his career. Next game Dec. 18th
against the Cincinnati Bengals in Indianapolis.

6.New England Patriots-(9-4)-The Patriots got blanked
by the Miami Dolphins, 21-0 in Miami. New England's
offense could only muster 189 yards of offense on the
day. They also lost three fumbles on the day. Not your
typical Patriots football. Quarterback Tom Brady had
an awful day completing 12 of 25 passes for only 78
yards. Running back Corey Dillon rushed for 79 yards
on 16 carries. Rookie running back Lawrence Maroney
was out with an injury. On defense for the Patriots,
linebacker Tedy Bruschi led the team with nine
tackles. Next game Dec. 17th against the Houston
Texans at New England.

7.Dallas Cowboys-(8-5)-The Cowboys lost big to the New Orleans Saints, 42-17 at home in Dallas. Head coach
Bill Parcells looked mighty perplexed the entire game,
as his former assistant whupped his butt good in his
own backyard. QB Tony Romo had a tough game completing
16 of 33 for 257 yards and one touchdown. He threw two
interceptions and was sacked twice. Running back
Julius Jones rushed for 116 yards on 10 carries and
scored one touchdown. One thing that hurt Dallas was
getting away from their running game which has been
one of their strong points this season. Of course,
having to play catchup during the entire game didn't
help matters. Wide receiver Terry Glenn caught eight
passes for 150 yards. Terrell Owens wasn't much of a
factor during the game, but he did catch a pass that
was almost intercepted for a touchdown in the third
quarter. Next game Dec. 16th against the Atlanta
Falcons in Atlanta.

8.Jacksonville Jaguars-(8-5)-The Jaguars crushed the
Indianapolis Colts, 44-17 in Jacksonville. What a game
running back Maurice Jones-Drew had. He ran for a
career high 166 yards and scored two rushing
touchdowns. Drew also returned two kickoffs for 109
yards. One was a 93-yard touchdown in the third
quarter. Running back Fred Taylor ran for 131 yards on
nine carries and scored one touchdown. Jacksonville
finished with 375 yards rushing on the day. Tied for
second most in the NFL since the 1970 merger. On
defense for the Jaguars linebacker Daryl Smith led the
team with eight tackles and one sack. Kicker Josh
Scobee kicked three out of four field goals. His
longest was a 48-yarder in the second quarter. Next
game Dec. 17th against the Tennessee
Titans in Tennessee.

NOTE:Even though Jacksonville beat Indianapolis
decisively, I still rank the Colts ahead of the
Jaguars. If the Jaguars were a better overall team
they would be leading their division. Just my humble
opinion.

9.Cincinnati Bengals-(8-5)-The Bengals defeated the
Oakland Raiders, 27-10 in Cincinnati. The Bengals are
starting to play some good ball now. Their offense
rolled up 439 yards against the Raiders Sunday. They
were 7 of 11 in third down efficiency. Quarterback
Carson Palmer completed 20 of 28 passes for 297 yards
and two touchdowns, but he threw three interceptions.
Palmer ranks second in the NFL in quarterback
efficiency with a rating of 98.7. Running back Rudi
Johnson rushed for 117 yards on 30 carries and scored
two rushing touchdowns. Wide receiver T.J.
Houshmandzadeh caught eight passes for 118 yards and
one touchdown. Chad Johnson caught five passes for 101
yards. Johnson leads the team in receptions with 77
and in yardage with 1,247. He leads the NFL in
receiving yards. Defensive end Robert Geathers of the
Bengals had two sacks on the day. He's in his third
year in the NFL out of Georgia(4th round pick). Next
game Dec. 18th against the Indianapolis Colts in
Indianapolis.

10.Seattle Seahawks-(8-5)-The Seahawks lost to the
Arizona Cardinals, 27-21 at Arizona. Quarterback Matt
Hasselbeck completed 20 of 28 passes for 243 yards and
three touchdowns. Running back Shaun Alexander rushed
for 76 yards on 22 carries. Wide receiver D.J. Hackett
caught four passes for 104 yards and one touchdown.
Turnovers hurt Seattle bigtime. They lost three
fumbles. Next game Dec. 14th against the San Francisco
49ers in Seattle.

[MJHMarc]

You are eligible to hold your own opinion.

Decent preview though, and I am looking forward to next week.

[Bama4256]

Thanks I appreciate that. Stay warm down there!

[simple simon]

it all looks pretty sound Bama

and real nice job on all the extra info

i would might move the Saints up a slot, they have been playing unreal this year and they sure handled the Cowboys

i keep waiting for the Ravens to stumble but the are real strong

how close is your top ten now to how you pictured it when the year began ?

i would guess most people would figure to atleast drop the Saints for Carolina and move up Seattle........thats what i figured before the season started

[Bama4256]

To be honest I really thought Carolina and Cincinnati would be the two top teams in the NFL. Never thought the Saints would be in the top 10.

I figured they might win six games this season.

[GoHeelsGo]

Now that is an in-depth review.

I love it that people are talking about the Saints like they are a seriuos threat. LOVE IT!!!!

[MJHMarc]

And some people thought that the Saints would be hogging last place...