Power Rankings: Seriously now, any great teams out there?

Updated Oct. 31

Do you ever look around the league on a Sunday and ask yourself this question:

Are any of the 32 teams really that good?

Mike Shanahan and his Broncos came up short to the Colts. (US PRESSWIRE)

Eight weeks into the regular season, I did that Sunday night. The Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts are both unbeaten, but the Bears have beat up a lot of bad teams and the Colts would have trouble stopping me running into the gut of their defense.

The Patriots made a strong statement Monday night in beating up the Vikings, but their two most-impressive victories are that one and another on the road against the Bengals, which is a team we are still trying to figure out.

I don't think anybody's ready to anoint any of those top three teams in the CBS SportsLine.com Power Rankings as Super Bowl champs just yet.

Take a look at the rest of the rankings, particularly the top, and there are teams with issues as well. In the top 10 we have a couple of teams with offensive questions (Ravens, Broncos), one (the Saints) we're still not sure about, and another (Jaguars) that was blown out by the Texans two weeks ago.

We have questions, questions and more questions.

The Atlanta Falcons are a perfect case in point.

Two weeks ago, they were coming off a horrific game in which the New York Giants went into Atlanta and dominated them. That set off a firestorm of sorts. Some wondered if the end was coming for coach Jim Mora. Mike Vick's passing skills were roasted all over the league and Vick questioned the play-calling and some of his receivers.

Here we are two weeks later and Vick has morphed into Steve Young. Vick's pin-point passing has carried the Falcons to two big victories, one over the Steelers, and then Sunday on the road against the Bengals.

The 5-2 Falcons are tied atop the NFC South with the Saints, and the doom and gloom of three Sundays ago seems a long time ago.

They're flying high. But are they really that good? If they don't knock Ben Roethlisberger out in the game with the Steelers, they might have never stopped them. And who knows where they'd be?

So, I ask again, are any of these teams really that good?

We know the bad teams. That's obvious to all, with Arizona the bottom feeder of the bunch. The clock is ticking on Dennis Green. In the spirit of Halloween, they need eggs thrown at them (see, that's what I remember from my Halloweens as a youth).

The rest of the bad teams stand out as well, sort of like that apple in your bag of Halloween candy. But nearly halfway through the schedule for all 32 teams, we still have no idea if any of the teams at the top are that good.

The next month should help sort that out since several of the top 10 teams play each other. The Bears have road games against the Giants and Patriots, and the Colts play at the Patriots.

Then again, come December, we might be asking the same question I asked myself Sunday night. Are any of these teams really that good?

Or are they just masquerading as one?

Power Rankings
Current		Team	Previous
	1	Colts · Trends	1
	They're finding ways to win, but they aren't playing great. The offense is moving the ball, but not scoring touchdowns. That can't happen this week against New England.
	2	Saints · Trends	2
	The schedule gets tissue soft the rest of the way, except for a game or two. They might really start talking undefeated season.
	3	Vikings · Trends	3
	The concern coming out of the bye is Brett Favre's injured groin. Or at least he says he's injured.
	4	Patriots · Trends	5
	They have a firm grip on the division heading to the second half, but to have a chance at the top seed in the conference they need to win at Indy. The way their offense is getting cranked up, it's definitely possible.
	5	Bengals · Trends	6
	The way their defense is playing, they will be around come January. They can run, throw and play defense. Yes, they're good.
	6	Steelers · Trends	7
	Don't look now, but here come the champs. They have a huge rematch with the Bengals this week in Pittsburgh. They had better win, or risk going the wild-card route.
	7	Cowboys · Trends	9
	Dallas is suddenly a hot team in first place. Where did all those problems go? The defense is really coming on. How do you contain Miles Austin?
	8	Broncos · Trends	4
	Still raving about the way Kyle Orton manages the game? Didn't think so. You need more than that. They are limited offensively.
	9	Eagles · Trends	8
	Hard to believe their offense wend dead against Dallas. Now they have to go to the West Coast and face a surging San Diego team. The last time they went west, they lost at Oakland.
	10	Cardinals · Trends	11
	Weird team. Can't win at home, but they dominate on the road. They are easily the class of the NFC West.
	11	Falcons · Trends	15
	They have to be thrilled with how their coach took up for them on the sideline last week. Mike Smith doesn't back down, and neither do his players. They have to be careful at Carolina this week.
	12	Chargers · Trends	14
	At 5-3, they are now just one game behind the Broncos in the division. So much for being buried. The Eagles will be a tough game this week.
	13	Giants · Trends	12
	They limp to the bye with four consecutive losses. No team has won a Super Bowl after losing four consecutive games during the season.
	14	Texans · Trends	13
	They showed well at Indy, but at some point they have to win a game like that. It's the wild-card route at best for the Texans now.
	15	Ravens · Trends	10
	At 4-4, they have to get it going or they could be playoff-less. Their passing game went dead at Cincinnati.
	16	Jets · Trends	19
	They come out of their bye at .500 and face another .500 team in Jacksonville. They can't afford another loss, not with New England the following week.
	17	Jaguars · Trends	20
	They go to the second half at 4-4, which is a good sign for this young team. At some point, though, they have to win a game on the road like the one they have this week at the Jets.
	18	Packers · Trends	16
	Maybe they're just not as good as we thought they were going to be. They have issues on their offensive line that show up every week.
	19	Bears · Trends	17
	Remember when the Chicago Bears meant defense and nasty football? Now they can't stop anybody. There is nothing black and blue about the way they play now. It's just blue.
	20	Dolphins · Trends	18
	The good news is that Chad Henne is improving. That bodes well for next season, even if the playoffs this season look unlikely.
	21	Panthers · Trends	21
	They are playing better, but to have any playoff shot they have to win at home against Atlanta on Sunday. That won't be easy.
	22	Seahawks · Trends	24
	They actually looked good in the second half against Detroit, but that's nothing to get overly excited about. There is still a lot of work to do.
	23	Bills · Trends	23
	They had a bye, which they badly needed. It could mean Trent Edwards is back. Watching Ryan Fitzpatrick play, you know how much they need Edwards taking snaps.
	24	Titans · Trends	29
	Vince Young is 2-0 as a starter. Really? It helps that Chris Johnson is running wild.
	25	49ers · Trends	22
	Has the hype about this team subsided? They've lost four consecutive games, one at home to the Titans. Ouch.
	26	Raiders · Trends	25
	Hard to believe they're this high, but it says a lot about the bottom of the league. It isn't good.
	27	Chiefs · Trends	26
	Larry Johnson is gone, but does it matter? This isn't a good team right now, with or without him. So why keep him?
	28	Redskins · Trends	27
	How low can they go? You want to point a finger? Blame the men at the top. They didn't do a thing about the offensive line this spring.
	29	Rams · Trends	28
	Here's a hunch: They will be improved in the second half. There are a lot of young players who are starting, and the improvement will show.
	30	Buccaneers · Trends	32
	Josh Freeman showed that he might be their franchise passer of the future. He made some plays in the victory over Green Bay. Maybe they should keep the throwback jerseys they wore that day.
	31	Lions · Trends	30
	There will be calls to pull Matthew Stafford, but that makes no sense. This team isn't going anywhere, so let him learn on the job.
	32	Browns · Trends	31
	Wonder who's getting fired this week? Expect Brady Quinn in as the starter, and that's the way it should be.