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Tony Romo - Tom Brady - Peyton Manning
http://assets.espn.go.com/photo/2007/1008/nfl_powerrankings_412.jpg

Pre-Week 8 ESPN Power Rankings
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/powerranking?season=2007&week=8
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RK (LW) TEAM REC COMMENT

1 (1) Patriots 7-0-0 Randy Moss has been able
to do in seven games what no Patriots receiver has
done in the past 20 years -- catch 10 touchdown
passes in a season. And Wes Welker and Benjamin
Watson also are on pace for 10-TD seasons.

2 (2) Colts 6-0-0 Not that this comes as any great
revelation, but the AFC South race is essentially
over. After whipping the Jaguars in Jacksonville
on Monday, the Colts have beaten all three division
foes on the road.

3 (4) Cowboys 6-1-0 Marion Barber III might
not have all-world talent, but is there any tougher
runner in the league? Cowboys fans might wonder
why he's not starting, but perhaps that's exactly the
kind of motivation he needs.

4 (9) Giants 5-2-0 The Giants, who'll be 6-2 after
they beat Miami in London on Sunday, haven't lost
since Antonio Pierce blew an air horn while speak-
ing to the media. 'I just sparked something,' he told
the NY Post.

5 (6) Packers 5-1-0 Not only are the Packers last
in the league with 394 yards rushing, but that total
is less than the league's top 19 individual rushers.
No wonder Brett Favre said, 'We're hanging on by
a thread.'

6 (3) Steelers 4-2-0 Weird play calling: Despite
facing the league's worst run defense, the Steelers
opted to pass on 10 of their first 13 plays Sunday.
Oh, and did we mention that the Steelers have the
best rushing team in the AFC?

7 (5) Jaguars 4-2-0 How quickly fortunes can
change in the NFL. The Jags were riding high with
a four-game win streak. Now the streak is over,
they play the next three on the road, and QB David
Garrard is injured.

8 (12) Titans 4-2-0 Good news for the Titans:
Their next three games are at home. Better news:
QB Vince Young should return from injury this
week against the Raiders.

9 (10) Chargers 3-3-0 Just when the Chargers
are starting to find themselves, they have to deal
with the wildfire problem that has affected the
homes of a dozen players and even more staff
members. Practice this week will be in Arizona.

10 (11) Redskins 4-2-0 So, do the Redskins have
any hope of pulling off the upset in New England this
week? Well, if their running game gets going, and the
secondary plays its best and ... oh, forget it. No way.

11 (15) Lions 4-2-0 The Lions have started 4-2
for the sixth time since the NFL expanded to a 16-
game season in 1978. But in just two of the previous
five times did the Lions make the playoffs.

12 (13) Panthers 4-2-0 One of the amazing stats
connected to 43-year-old Vinny Testaverde: Since
he was drafted No. 1 overall in 1987, 239 quarter-
backs have been drafted. Oh, and 1987 was also the
last time the Celtics reached the NBA Finals.

13 (16) Chiefs 4-3-0 Second-year safety Jarrad
Page has five career regular-season interceptions ...
and four have come at the expense of the Raiders,
including Sunday's pick that preserved the K.C.
win.

14 (7) Ravens 4-3-0 The Ravens have a tough
second half after their bye week, with games against
the Pats, Colts and Chargers, plus two vs. the Steel-
ers. But it appears starting QB Steve McNair will
return to the lineup soon.

15 (14) Seahawks 4-3-0 The schedule after Seat-
tle's bye week sets up for a good run. The Seahawks,
who lead the NFC West, will not face a team cur-
rently holding a winning record until mid-December
when they face the 4-2 Panthers.

16 ( Buccaneers 4-3-0 Earnest Graham had his
best game as a pro, with 92 yards rushing and 99
yards receiving. Newcomer Michael Bennett should
relieve some of the burden on Graham once he gets
up to speed.

17 (21) Broncos 3-3-0 Including Sunday's 49-
yarder at the gun to beat Pittsburgh, Jason Elam has
kicked Denver to each of its three wins this season.
That gives Elam 23 game-winning or game-saving
field goals in his career.

18 (23) Bears 3-4-0 Has Brian Griese brought some
stability -- dare we say, even playmaking ability -- to
the QB position? Griese had his second straight game
of 300-plus yards and led the team on a 97-yard drive
to beat Philly.

19 (19) Browns 3-3-0 Forget about the Pats' record
pace on offense. The Browns are on pace to score a
franchise-record 445 points; the current franchise
record is 415, set in 1964. That team, by the way, had
Jim Brown and Paul Warfield.

20 (1 Cardinals 3-4-0 WR Anquan Boldin has a
warning for those teams who've yet to face the Card-
inals this season. 'Next nine games, whoever we got,
they better bring their A game,' he told The Arizona
Republic.

21 (20) Texans 3-4-0 The Texans' running game is
virtually nonexistent (just 12 carries in the loss to Ten-
nessee). Ahman Green averaged 4.6 yards on his first
31 carries this season; he has averaged 2.8 on the past
31.

22 (17) Eagles 2-4-0 The Eagles are off to their
worst start since Andy Reid's first season as the head
coach (1999), and with the other three NFC East teams
off to strong starts, it might be too much to climb out
of the basement.

23 (27) Bengals 2-4-0 Give the Bengals credit for
sticking with the run after falling behind 23-10 to the
Jets. Cincy's 41 rushing attempts were its most in a
game since 2003. 'Old-fashioned Bengals football,'
tackle Levi Jones told the Cincy Enquirer.

24 (26) Saints 2-4-0 Reggie Bush has 86 carries
this season, with his longest going for 22 yards. Pierre
Thomas, an undrafted free agent from Illinois, has
three carries this season, with 24 yards as his long-
est. Go figure.

25 (2 Bills 2-4-0 In Buffalo's first three games
(all losses), opponents averaged 458.3 yards to Buf-
falo's 200. In the past three games (two wins), oppon-
ents' average has dropped to 346.3 and the Bills' has
increased to 258.3.

26 (22) Vikings 2-4-0 Perhaps in time, Tarvaris
Jackson will be a serviceable quarterback, maybe
even a playoff-caliber one. But it's not happening
now, and the Vikings are suffering for it.

27 (25) Raiders 2-4-0 It's official: The Raiders
have scored more touchdowns this season (13) than
in all of last season. But that doesn't mean the offense
is worth watching -- it had just 90 first-half yards
Sunday.

28 (24) 49ers 2-4-0 A promising start has turned
into four consecutive losses. A frustrated Frank Gore
said some players aren't trusting the play calling of
new offensive coordinator Jim Hostler. Sounds like
a mutiny!

29 (29) Falcons 1-6-0 Is there a curse associated
with playing quarterback for the Falcons? Michael
Vick's problems. Joey Harrington's benching. Now
Byron Leftwich's injury. Note to Chris Redman:
You've been warned!

30 (30) Jets 1-6-0 Twice in the past three weeks,
the Jets have blown 10-point halftime leads, and
they have been outscored 73-35 in the fourth quarter
overall. 'The frustration is reaching another level,'
Jerricho Cotchery told the NY Daily News.

31 (31) Rams 0-7-0 The Rams began playing
football in 1937 -- and until this season, they had
never started 0-7. On the positive side, Donnie
Jones' 80-yard punt Sunday was the franchise's
longest since 1947. So there's that.

32 (32) Dolphins 0-7-0 Anybody else feel sorry
for British fans who shelled out big bucks to see
two NFL teams play a meaningful game in London
... and one of those teams is the league's worst?
Maybe they won't know Ronnie Brown is out.

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