NFL: Power Ranking: Heavyweights in Free Fall?

Week 5 is in the rearview mirror, all teams have played at least the first quarter of their season – time for the first half of the season!In the SPOX Power Ranking the Carolina Panthers, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Los Angeles Rams climb clearly, while for the Steelers as well as for the Dallas Cowboys the arrow points downward.The Lions and Seattle Seahawks remain miracle bags, the red lantern is in the familiar hands.

Unfortunately, the hoped-for progress has not yet been visible.The run game was supposed to be the backbone and pillar of this offense, but so far the run-blocking is bad, the running backs are not constant and the line is generally not as good as hoped, so that the offense rests too much on the shoulders of DeShone Kizer.It shows what you would expect from his college tape – big ups and downs and little consistency.The fact that Hue Jackson put him on the bench against the jets and is now carrying out the QB exchange suggests that he himself is now coaching for his job, while his own secondary is a huge problem.It doesn’t help that the Browns with a lightning percentage of 46 (!) per cent clearly lead the league and put the defensive backs under great pressure.Cleveland was unusually high in the Power Ranking before the season, and the first few games have shown that the Browns rebuild will take even longer.

New York’s offense was already hanging by a thread before the game against the Chargers, but before Week 6 we have to say: The Giants are facing another season, which will test their own character and possibly set the course for the future (what will come from Manning?).This team definitely has nothing more to do with the playoffs.The offense is also schematically completely dependent on Odell Beckham, but the receiver will miss the rest of the season – just like Brandon Marshall.Run-blocking and the run game as a whole remain a huge problem, and the defence cannot tie in with last season’s dominance: only three teams allow more yards per run, only four teams have collected more passing touchdowns.The G-Men are a little bit worse than last season in all parts of the team, while the Scheme is stagnating aggressively.A very bad formula.

So much can be said about San Francisco: the positive approaches are evident.This is especially true of the defensive front, which exerts pressure against the pass and belongs in the upper third of the league against the run.Even the line plays on average and Pierre Garcon’s commitment has definitely paid off so far.However, you can also see that even a great open-scheme mind and play-caller like Kyle Shanahan are reaching their limits when it comes to player talent.This starts with the quarterback position, where Brian Hoyer’s performance has so far been far too low.The Niners have one of the worst passing games in the NFL.The run game works better, but not good enough to carry the team.The result: San Francisco can keep up with the competition in many games.But not much more.

Twelve completions for 92 yards against the more than fragile Titan’s secondary are the latest proof of Jay Cutler’s enormous problems and the entire Dolphins Open.And they are complex in nature: the line – still the engine of the offense in the early season – plays badly, especially in run-blocking.Jay Ajayi suffers from this, who still produces yards after contact with opponents, but all too often has to deal with defenders directly at or before the line of scrimmage.In combination with this, it becomes clear that coach Adam Gase Cutler and the line are not trusted, which results in insanely conservative game plans and makes the offense toothless.What can be said on the positive side?The Run-Defense looks pretty good so far, the Pass-Defense is less susceptible than expected.Miami should be on the offensive sooner rather than later, otherwise it will be a very tough and very restless season in South Beach.

The debut of Mitchell Trubisky had the expected highs and lows: Trubisky shows that he can relieve Chicago’s line and run game with his athletics in rollouts and play action in general – passes in coverage and very simple reads will also be shown in the coming weeks.Add to this the fact that Chicago is battling with the Browns for the title of the worst receiving corps in the NFL.Chicago has a solid run game and some very good players in the defensive front.But if you can’t throw the ball consistently and defend your pass defensively, you won’t win too many games in today’s NFL.

What Jacoby Brissett has achieved so far in Indianapolis is worthy of all credit, but the passing of the Colts is constantly improving – also because T. Y.Hilton meanwhile had two absolute monster games and played a very good season.The offensive line, however, is and remains a big problem, which mainly affects the run game.All the more important that the explosive Marlon Mack could play himself against San Francisco in the foreground.Nevertheless, the offense is still too one-dimensional, while defensive the pass defence is still much too fragile.The rebuilt front, however, is making progress, and if the Colts manage to stabilize the line with the return of Ryan Kelly, Andrew Luck’s long-awaited comeback to the division could be within reach.

Unreasonably disappointing season for Arizona so far.Of course, David Johnson’s injury is a big factor and the running back would have covered some of the flaws.But the problems are much too blatant, especially in the offensive line: More than once now it has happened that the Cardinals could not stop a three-man rush with a six-man-protection.Carson Palmer is under constant pressure and receives hit after hit, while at the same time making the best of the situation over long distances – Palmer is not the cause of the offensive problems.At the same time, Arizona doesn’t have the touch of a run game behind the injured, desolate line, the offense is not functional and defensive pass rusher Markus Golden is out for the rest of the season.Even with Golden, the cardinals couldn’t get out of the court all too often, even with long third downs – this was once again evident against the Eagles.Conclusion: Palmer and Fitzgerald play well, John Brown slowly increases and Patrick Peterson plays an excellent season, just like Chandler Jones.Some building blocks remain, but the overall picture does not fit at all.The trade for Adrian Peterson, who is unlikely to see much land behind this line, will not change that much.

When we talk about the positive surprises of this season, we must also talk about the jets.Expectations before the season were on average about one win, after five weeks the divided first place in the division is due to be won.Of course, only a snapshot and New York should be completely different in four weeks.But what works so far is impressive: The jets have a good run game and a more efficient pass game than you could expect in the run-up to the season.So far Josh McCown is exactly the quarterback the Jets responsible for the fighter’s flight are hoping for.In the pass defense, the jets belong to the more stable teams, with players such as Jamaal Adams, Marcus Maye and Morris Claiborne shining here.The possibilities for this team remain limited, but you have to respect the performance so far.

Page 1: From Cleveland to New York

Page 2: From Tennessee to Jacksonville

Page 3: From Pittsburgh to Seattle

Page 4: The top group – returnees, old acquaintances and some surprises