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Receiver says San Diego gave up on him for “factors that don’t have to do with football.”

Posted by ESPN.com’s Matt Mosley



It’s that time of the week where we second-guess the voters in the NFC East Power Rankings. The Cowboys and Eagles are on the rise while the Giants are in free-fall mode. Here’s how the Beast teams finished:



8. Cowboys — The Cowboys moved up one spot with their blowout win over the Seahawks. AFC South blogger Paul Kuharsky ranked them No. 7, but he was canceled out by Jeff Chadiha and NFC West blogger Mike Sando, who both had the Cowboys ninth. I would’ve put the Eagles ahead of the Cowboys based on their impressive performance against the Giants.



9. Eagles — Sando, whose hard-line stance against the Beast has been a source of frustration for fans across the nation, had Philly in the 11th hole behind the Ravens and Falcons. I’m not sure how you can put the Eagles behind the Falcons after they’ve had consecutive losses. Chadiha gave the Eagles their highest mark, putting them at No. 9.



15. Giants –The Giants had the longest fall in the league, going from No. 8 to No. 15. Pretty remarkable fall — and they certainly earned it. John “The Professor” Clayton is hanging in there with them with a No. 12 ranking, but Chadiha and Sando buried them at 16. I can’t really blame them at all.



25. Redskins — Kuharsky gave them a mercy vote at No. 24. This team’s irrelevant in the Beast race. Hate to say it, but it’s true.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Pat Yasinskas



Well, I just got back home from my trip to New Orleans and was pleasantly surprised when I clicked on our power rankings and saw the Saints were No. 1.



It’s about time. I’ve been saying for weeks they’re the best team in the NFL and our voters finally agreed. They pushed them ahead of the Colts, even though Indianapolis remains undefeated. I totally respect the Colts and think they’re a great team. Hey, they could even end up winning the Super Bowl.



But, right now, no team has played better through seven games than the Saints and it’s nice to see them get what they deserve.



As for the rest of the NFC South, I think our voters got it right when they kept the Falcons at No. 11, despite their loss to the Saints on Monday night. Atlanta actually played a very strong game and could have won with a couple of breaks. If Michael Turner can continue to run like he did against the Saints, the Falcons will be just fine.



The Panthers moved up only one spot to No. 23, despite an impressive victory in Arizona. But I can understand the logic here. The Panthers need to play like that a few games in a row before anyone’s going to believe they’re for real.



Finally, the Bucs have secured the No. 32 spot after St. Louis got a win against Detroit. All I can really say here is the Bucs truly have earned this honor.

Nov. 3: Rep. Bobby Rush, the chair of House Energy and Commerce subcommittee, decides against NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell request for a Congressional intervention to amend federal labor laws on drug testing and anti-doping policies. (Other)

	Getty Images; AP Photo
	Green Bay’s Cullen Jenkins and Charles Woodson have expressed frustration with the team’s defensive play calling, and Aaron Kampman hasn’t been as productive in the new 3-4 scheme.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert



I’ll be honest. I’m not sure whether to be impressed, surprised or concerned about the message Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy planned to deliver Monday. Facing another round of internal criticism about the Packers’ new 3-4 scheme, McCarthy said that players need to “handle frustration” better.



“We’re the fourth-ranked defense in the National Football League. We’re leading the league in turnover ratio right now … I’ve said it before, and I’ll confirm it here. I’ll confirm it today again in the team meeting. I’m not interested in having Pro Bowl players and having a 27th-ranked defense. Our interest and our focus is on being a top-three defense in the league. It’s utilizing all of our players. Sometimes players are asked to do things, to sacrifice so someone else can benefit from it, and that’s part of the deal. That’s the way we operate. We have a lot of good players on defense. It’s not about one guy getting his. That’s not the way we operate, and that will be our focus, and it has been our focus since [new defensive coordinator Dom Capers] came here.”



That response came after defensive end Cullen Jenkins complained that it was time for Capers to remove the “handcuffs” from some players and let them play to their strengths. Three weeks ago, cornerback Charles Woodson expressed disappointment in Capers’ play calling. And don’t forget that linebacker Aaron Kampman never endorsed his position shift and recently has been lining up more often as a traditional defensive end.



Jenkins. Woodson. Kampman. They are three of the Packers’ best and most respected defensive players. Never have they been considered malcontents, nor are they prone to public outbursts. The question facing McCarthy is whether or not the complaints reflect purely selfish motives amid team success. Or are the players simply questioning whether the scheme gives them their best chance to win?



Based on his comment Monday, it appears McCarthy has settled on the former. Is he right? Hdas the Packers’ defense fulfilled its mission this year? Or are players justified in questioning its direction?



First, let’s look at a statistical snapshot of the Packers’ seven-game defensive performance:

Indeed, based on the way the NFL measures team defense, the Packers rank No. 4 overall. If you prefer points per game as your measure, the Packers would rank No. 9. In fact, Capers’ group ranks in the top 10 in most major defensive categories you can find.



Stop right here for a moment and ask yourself this question: Rankings aside, do the Packers have one of the best 10 defenses in the NFL?



I think it’s hard to make that argument. Green Bay already is a long shot to win the NFC North, primarily because of two losses against Minnesota. Here are the Packers’ per-game averages in those contests against the Vikings:



Yards: 344.5

Passing: 257.5

Rushing: 87

Third down pct.: 50

Points: 34

Takeaways: 1.5



It’s not surprising that player complaints arose from the first Minnesota game (Woodson) and the second (Jenkins). When your defense gives up an average of 34 points in the two games that essentially scuttle your division hopes, it’s hard to put much stock in midseason rankings.

	Aaron Josefczuk/Icon SMI
	Mike McCarthy has defended his team-first approach: “I’m not interested in having Pro Bowl players and having a 27th-ranked defense.”

I understand the message McCarthy is trying to send: That no individual goals will supersede the team structure. But are we sure that’s what Woodson and Jenkins were seeking? What if there is nothing selfish about their complaints? What if they don’t believe they — and the team — can succeed within the roles they’ve been assigned?



Sunday evening, Capers told reporters he wasn’t concerned about the latest round of criticism.



“I think players get frustrated,” Capers said. “They want to win. When you win, I don’t think you hear much of it. The last couple of weeks, we’ve played pretty darn well. We didn’t play as well [Sunday]. Every man has to be accountable for his job. You have to make sure you do your job.”



It’s only fair to point out that on those “couple of weeks” Capers referred to, the Packers played Detroit (1-6) and Cleveland (1-7). Their offenses rank No. 25 and No. 30 in the NFL, respectively, based on yardage gained and points scored.



To be clear, this friction point is not unusual for teams making a schematic transition. I saw it happen three years ago in Minnesota, when coach Brad Childress installed a rigid West Coast offense on a group that had been playing in a downfield passing attack for most of the previous 10 years. Ultimately, players either made the adjustment or left after the season. (You knew I couldn’t write an entire column without mentioning the Vikings, right?)



The key difference, of course, is that Childress made that transition in the first year of his tenure. McCarthy is in Year 4, and the expectation was that the 3-4 scheme would yield both short- and long-term dividends. Can we say with any certainty that their defense is better this season than it was in 2008? Not yet.



That’s why I’m not ready to dismiss the complaints of Woodson and Jenkins as mere frustration. Often, individual success and team goals can go hand-in-hand. In the 4-3 scheme, Jenkins was a lively playmaker. In the 3-4, he’s asked more often to hold his place on the line of scrimmage so that others can make a play. If Jenkins makes more individual plays, the Packers will play better defense. The same is true if more blitzes succeed.



As Capers noted, players don’t usually complain after victories. But that’s not because they’re devoid of frustration. It’s because they know the scheme they played resulted in a victory. You can’t argue with a win. Typically, a player criticizes a coaching point because he felt he could have done more to help the team win.



So we stand at a critical point in the Packers’ season. They’ll need legitimate top-10 play from their defense to make a playoff run. And I think we can very safely say we don’t know if the defense has that capacity. McCarthy and Capers haven’t found the balance between the scheme they want to run and the strengths of their players. They are still pushing through the contradictions on the path to harmony.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky



Fresh off a giant rushing day in a loss to Tennessee, Maurice Jones-Drew graciously donated 20 minutes to the AFC South Blog to chat about the latest version edition of ESPN.com’s power rankings.

	Fernando Medina-US PRESSWIRE
	Maurice Jones-Drew weighed in with an opinion on every team in the league.

He wound up offering more of a team-by-team commentary on the league than on the rankings, which is just fine with us.



So here are a sampling of his thoughts:



“The Saints and Colts both struggled this week, I just don’t know how long those guys can last with those high-powered offenses. It seems like New Orleans, at least, has to have a shootout every week to win, you know. So I don’t know how long that’s going to last. The Colts survived a scare. So call them the Houdinis, they find a way to win.”



“Minnesota I think is one of the best balanced teams with the running game, passing game, great defense and special teams. They’re firing on all cylinders right now.”



“Denver at four, I don’t know how long they are going to last with just throwing the ball all the time. You’ve got to have a balanced offense in this league, and to run the ball just 10 times against the Ravens was not good.”



“New England’s just sneaky, I haven’t heard too much about them yet. They ranked No. 5, so you all have your eye on them.”



“Cincinnati is revived, new heart.”



“Pittsburgh, great defense.”



“Dallas was like on the bottom half of the league last week or two weeks ago, weren’t they? [They were 19 just two weeks ago, I tell him.] I just remember everyone saying Dallas is horrible, they aren’t going to be any good. Now all of a sudden they are up there. Nineteen two weeks ago, now eight? That’s a question mark how guys can jump up that far, this is not the BCS.”



“I like Philadelphia. Donovan McNabb has multiple weapons, defense is playing solid right now. They are an opportunistic team.”



“Baltimore is catching their stride right now which is going to be pretty dangerous for some people. They can run, they can throw, they play great defense, their special teams are starting to come on and their head coach is a special teams guy. I like them, I think they are going to be a good team and later on they’ll be higher than 10.”



“Atlanta is going to be a team that sneaks up on people to. I think they should be a little bit higher. They lost their last two, but before that they were like No. 6 or something, weren’t they? They were high up there. I just don’t know how teams drop in this week-by-week deal.”



“The Packers can’t beat the Vikings. They can’t win their division it seems like.”



“Cardinals live by the pass die by the pass. It’s a risky way, but if that’s what you’re going to be, know who you are.”



“Texans at 14, oh man. I don’t know…”



Blogger break in: Jones-Drew gets to the security gate of his neighborhood. “Hello,” he says. “Monroe, right?” the woman asks him. “No, Jones-Drew,” he says politely. “I’m sorry,” she says. Then turning back to me on the phone: “That’s crazy, my own neighborhood doesn’t even know me. I tell you what, I’ve still got a long way to go.”



“…Texans, Matt Schaub was struggling and Ryan Moats steps up big for them in that Buffalo Bills game. I have Matt Schaub on my fantasy team and he did not play well for me.”



“The Giants were the No. 1 team probably three weeks ago and they lost three now, I guess they are on a skid. Now 15, they will probably be down where they Jaguars are next.”



“San Diego? Slow start. They always start slow and they always pick it up towards the middle and the end of the season. So it’s kind of surprising, people have to realize that’s how they play the majority of the time. I think they will be higher.”



“I don’t know about the Bears. They’re kind of inconsistent. Matt Forte, he’s on my fantasy team, I’m glad he had a big week against Cleveland. They are just inconsistent. I think now, 16, 17 on down you’re going to get to the teams that are just inconsistent.”



“Injuries are what make the Jets so low at 18, to lose Kris Jenkins is a big hit for them on the defensive side. And then you lose Leon Washington, your kickoff returner and your backup running back, one of the most explosive guys in the league. That’s tough.”



“I think the 49ers are catching their stride. They played Houston tough and almost beat Houston, they came back on them. They played Indy incredibly tough with the Joseph Addai touchdown. Whenever you can hold Peyton Manning with no touchdowns, it’s real big.”



“Miami, I think they are undefeated in divisional play, right? You win your division you get to the playoffs. They are they head of their division but that can beat anyone else. Divisional bullies?”



“Jaguars at 21? That’s bull. We should be No. 1. [I chime in that I understand why he says so, but he knows how it sounds to people, right?] “If I didn’t say that, it wouldn’t be right. Everyone should say that about themselves. If you don’t believe in yourself, who will?”



“Buffalo, injuries. They’d be higher if they didn’t have as many injuries.”



“Carolina, give the ball to Steve Smith. Give him the rock, feed him. You have a running game, but no Steve Smith. That’s why they are ranked that low.”



“Seattle: listen to Houshmandzadeh.”



“Washington, 25th, they’re struggling. What Haynesworth said: When they want to win, they will.”



“The Titans beat the Jaguars.”



“Oakland: Off the field issues.”



“Kansas City: Off the field issues.”



“The Lions got their first victory.”



“I think St. Louis should be ranked higher than Detroit, they should flip-flop spots 29 and 30. The Rams beat them didn’t they? If two teams are evenly matched like that, usually the team that beat the other one should be right ahead of them.”



“Cleveland: internal bleeding. They are firing everybody in Cleveland right now. They just traded Braylon Edwards, now you’re going to fire your GM. Who’s next?”



“Tampa Bay? [Expletive]! I know how they feel, like anything and everything you do isn’t right. You can do all the hard work in the world and it still doesn’t pay off.”



“I think you guys did pretty good. Denver I understand they are high up there, they beat New England which was a big win. Other than that, most of their wins were against opponents that aren’t up there. …I obviously think we’re way too low, we beat Houston. I think Houston could be a little bit higher. At 5-3 they are a little tougher than what people think.”



“Fantasy-wise, I need Antonio Gates to step up. I need Philip Rivers to throw the ball to Antonio Gates more. We play two quarterbacks, I have Matt Cassel but I hope he does bad [in Jacksonville Sunday]. I might just play one quarterback.”

Posted by ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky



The latest power rankings are in, and the Indianapolis faithful may be disappointed. After four weeks in the top spot, the Colts have been overtaken by the Saints for the No. 1 slot.



I understand the case for Indy, but I’ve had them second for a while behind New Orleans. I would love to see the two teams play, and imagine a lot of people would pick it as a Super Bowl matchup right now.



NFC West maven Mike Sando details some of that in his always informative breakdown of the voting which you can find here.



Here’s how the AFC South ranks:

There is only one team on which I strayed as much as three spots from the rest of the voting panel:



Chicago ranks 17th; I have the Bears 20th, three spots lower than anyone else. I just don’t have a lot of faith in the Bears against good teams right now, and I’d pick the Niners, Dolphins, Jets and Chargers to beat them right now.