Power Rankings: Giant blip aside, Patriots still the ones

Updated May 20

I feel sorry for the New York Giants.

They are the defending Super Bowl champions. Their shiny new bling rings are coming this summer after capping off a magical playoff run with an upset victory over the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII, and yet they are getting little love heading into 2008.

Have Eli Manning and the Giants had their moment? (Getty Images)

You hear people actually say their victory was a fluke or lucky or not sustainable. Most so-called experts don't even list the Giants as the top NFC team right now when doing rankings, with that honor going to the Dallas Cowboys. Didn't the Giants go into Dallas and upset the Cowboys during their Super run? Did I miss something?

When I spoke to Cowboys coach Wade Phillips a few weeks ago, he pointed out that the Cowboys outgained the Giants and ran the ball for more yards, yet lost.

"We won almost everything except for the score," Phillips said. "You have games like that. The stats went our way, but they made the plays and won the game. We didn't play bad. We played a good game. We just didn't make the plays we had been making all season."

Phillips, by the way, was speaking to me at Tom Coughlin's charity golf tournament in Jacksonville, with Coughlin a short chip away.

No respect, none at all.

Coughlin still has a quality team and a quarterback who just might have punched his ticket to join the elite if that fourth-quarter performance in the Super Bowl is an indication of things to come.

Eli Manning, I think, arrived that day.

It's too bad he might be coming to a place already occupied by his brother, Peyton, and that model-loving quarterback he beat in the Super Bowl.

Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are the two reasons why New England and Indianapolis are ranked 1-2 in my latest CBSSports.com Power Rankings. Yes, ahead of the Giants.

If the Giants and Patriots played 10 times last February, I think the Patriots would have won seven of them. That's not to take away from what the Giants did, but the Patriots were the better team.

Just not that day.

Don't buy for a minute, though, the talk that the Boston Herald story about a possible taping of the Rams' walk-through before Super Bowl XXXVI, which ran the Friday before this year's Super Bowl, had any impact on the game. The Patriots are claiming it might have. That's absurd -- and they know it.

With Spygate now buried by the league, which clearly wants it to go away, the smug Bill Belichick is back. Did you see how arrogant he was in that interview with Armen Keteyian on the CBS Evening News?

It was a far cry from the woe-is-me Belichick we saw at the league meetings in March when he was peppered with questions about Spygate with the uncertainty of what Matt Walsh knew still to be determined.

With Walsh providing no new information, Belichick blasted away. You can bet he will try to use all of that as motivation for his team.

He doesn't really need it. The Patriots are the best team right now. And the Colts are the second-best team.

But I'm not going to put the Cowboys ahead of the Giants just yet. At least New England lost to the Giants on a neutral field. The Cowboys lost on their home field.

I'm not ready to pick the Giants to repeat, but it's not a stretch to say they're the best team in the NFC right now.

Too bad few others think that.

Power Rankings
Current		Team	Previous
	1	Colts · Trends	1
	They should send Belichick a Christmas card. What a gift. They face a tough road game this week at Baltimore.
	2	Saints · Trends	2
	They probably learned a valuable lesson against the Rams: Anybody can challenge you on any Sunday. They need to be careful when playing lesser teams.
	3	Vikings · Trends	3
	Get ready for the playoffs. The NFC North belongs to the Vikings. It's obvious nobody else in that division is in their class.
	4	Bengals · Trends	5
	You believe? You have to now. They've beaten both Baltimore and Pittsburgh twice. That's a statement right there.
	5	Patriots · Trends	4
	They are still in control of the AFC East, but don't lose this week against the Jets. Then it's another story.
	6	Steelers · Trends	6
	The champs have a wild-card look about them after being swept by the Bengals. That's OK. They won a Super Bowl a few years back taking that route.
	7	Cowboys · Trends	7
	Just when they start feeling good about the way they're playing, they go and lay an egg in Green Bay. Who was that in Tony Romo's jersey?
	8	Broncos · Trends	8
	It's amazing how quickly their season has turned around. Now they play the Chargers with a gimpy Kyle Orton and first place on the line.
	9	Chargers · Trends	12
	They have a chance to take over first place in the AFC West this week if they can win at Denver. That's hard to believe after their start.
	10	Cardinals · Trends	10
	The division title is theirs unless they have a disaster. Now they have to work on playing better at home because they will have a home playoff game.
	11	Eagles · Trends	9
	They might want to stay away from the West Coast. That is two bad games out there after losing to the Chargers on Sunday. Was that their defense we saw against San Diego?
	12	Giants · Trends	13
	They come off the bye with a huge game against Atlanta, trying to end a four-game losing streak. Did they dispose of the bad karma during the break? If not, they'll be watching come playoff time.
	13	Texans · Trends	14
	They come off their bye with a chance to earn their first playoff berth with a good second half. The key will be how well they play on defense.
	14	Falcons · Trends	11
	With Michael Turner down with an ankle sprain, it's time Matt Ryan truly takes over the offense. He has been struggling, and that has to stop.
	15	Ravens · Trends	15
	They have a huge game with Indianapolis this week. I can tell the Ravens defense this: The Colts offense doesn't look anything like the Browns' unit.
	16	Jaguars · Trends	17
	Don't look now, but they really are in the playoff hunt. The schedule is really soft, which will help their chances.
	17	Packers · Trends	18
	They will look back on that loss to Tampa Bay in Week 9 the rest of the season. How did it happen? They still have major issues on their offensive line.
	18	Jets · Trends	16
	If they don't win this week at New England, which won't be easy, they can kiss the playoffs goodbye. Were they overrated at 3-0? Yes.
	19	Panthers · Trends	21
	They have life. They've done a nice job of turning things around. Now they have to do it without Jordan Gross, which won't be easy.
	20	Bears · Trends	19
	You have to start to wonder about Jay Cutler. He's trying to do too much. Where's Matt Forte? They are a playoff long shot now.
	21	Dolphins · Trends	20
	Chad Henne time is here. His game-winning drive was impressive. Now they have a quick turnaround against Carolina.
	22	Titans · Trends	24
	Don't look now, but Vince Young is 3-0. Can they make a run? Is it possible?
	23	49ers · Trends	25
	Moral of their season: If you can't throw it consistently, you can't win. Alex Smith had a regress game against the Bears.
	24	Seahawks · Trends	22
	Their disappointing season gets worse every week. They will not be a playoff team with the injuries they've had. Bad first year for Jim Mora Jr.
	25	Bills · Trends	23
	Dick Jauron is gone. The Bills aren't playing very well and now must go to Jacksonville.
	26	Chiefs · Trends	27
	OK, so it came against the Raiders. But winning on the road is big for this young team. Jamaal Charles might be the real deal at running back.
	27	Redskins · Trends	28
	They have life. The Redskins won a game, but does that matter for coach Jim Zorn? Not really.
	28	Raiders · Trends	26
	Tom Cable should be looking for a realtor. There is no way he comes back next season. When does somebody fire Al Davis?
	29	Rams · Trends	29
	Steve Spagnuolo has to feel good about his team's effort. They are getting better. Just ask the Saints.
	30	Buccaneers · Trends	30
	They have to be thrilled with the way they are playing with Josh Freeman at quarterback. That bodes well for the future. Now it's time to fix the defense.
	31	Lions · Trends	31
	They picked Matthew Stafford last spring to help fix the offense. Now they are another team that needs to fix its defense next spring. Good news: The Browns are coming to Detroit.
	32	Browns · Trends	32
	That offense is as bad as I've seen. I mean ever. They can't even attempt passes down the field. What an eyesore.