VanFulpen’s NFL Power Rankings – Week 2

1. New Orleans Saints (2-0) – The Saints are the best team in the NFL and proved it on Monday Night Football traveling to San Francisco and being able to win with a field goal on the final play.

2. Green Bay Packers (2-0) – Quarterback Aaron Rogers looks like he is the leader for the NFL MVP award and their defense is great as well.

3. Houston Texans (2-0) – Overtime win against the Redskins and now they are at home against the Cowboys if they can beat their in state rivals will go along for their confidence.

4. Miami Dolphins (2-0) – Great win against the Vikings on the road now they take on the Jets.

5. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-0) – No Big Ben no problem in the first two weeks.

6. Chicago Bears (2-0) – Jay Cutler has looked like the Pro Bowl player the Bears thought they traded for in the first two weeks.

7. Kansas City Chiefs (2-0) – On of the surprise teams of the early season so far but can they keep it up.

8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-0) – The other surprise team and they have a good young quarterback leading them.

9. Indianapolis Colts (1-1) – The Colts looked they are ready to roll again this season.

10. San Diego Chargers (1-1) – Maybe the early season lost to the Chiefs was a good thing for them.

11. New York Jets (1-1) – They have to go play Miami this week, who last season they where 0-2 against.

12. New England Patriots (1-1) – Patriots didn’t look like themselves in the second half against the Jets.

13. New York Giants (1-1) – Eli and the Giants got beat by his older brother Peyton but still look like the team to beat in the NFC East.

14. Cincinnati Bengals (1-1) – The Bengals need to get their offense going and score touchdowns and not kick field goals.

15. Baltimore Ravens (1-1) – The Ravens can’t wait to get Ed Reed back because then their defense will be even better.

16. Atlanta Falcons (1-1) – The Falcons can’t afford running back Michael Turner to be hurt and miss too much time.

17. Tennessee Titans (1-1) – Vince Young will be back as the starter, but they need to open more holes for running back Chris Johnson then what they did on Sunday against the Steelers.

18. Philadelphia Eagles (1-1) – Michael Vick has played well but they are going back to quarterback Kevin Kolb, might not be the right move.

19. Washington Redskins (1-1) – Donovan McNabb should have this team right around a late season wild card push.

20. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-1) – The Jaguars have to get better play out of their quarterback or will be looking for a new quarterback and new head coach in the off-season.

21. Denver Broncos (1-1) – The beat the Seahawks this past Sunday but don’t look like a playoff type team.

22. Oakland Raiders (1-1) – The Raiders might be looking for another quarterback this off-season as Jason Campbell was benched in the first half Sunday.

23. Seattle Seahawks (1-1) – The great opening day win didn’t look so great after getting beat by the Broncos.

24. Arizona Cardinals (1-1) – Derrick Anderson is not the answer at quarterback and they could be draft one in the first round again.

25. Minnesota Vikings (0-2) – Brett Farve came back for this? Life isn’t looking good, but just what the doctor ordered the Detroit Lions and Shaun Hill this Sunday.

26. Dallas Cowboys (0-2) – The Cowboys have to go on the road and beat the Texans this week.

27. San Francisco 49ers (0-2) – The 49ers play in the worst division in the NFL, the NFC West so an 8-8 record might win the division.

28. Detroit Lions (0-2) – Lions fans can’t wait to get quarterback Matthew Stafford back.

29. Carolina Panthers (0-2) – The Jimmy Clausen era has started in Carolina.

30. Cleveland Browns (0-2) – The Browns are hoping the quarterback Andrew Luck falls to them next April.

31. St. Louis Rams (0-2) – The Rams need offensive weapons and should trade for Vincent Jackson.

32. Buffalo Bills (0-2) – The Bills have benched quarterback Trent Edwards after week two.

Power Ranking Number 9: Miami Dolphins

Quarterback Chad Henne goes into the season as the starter and the Dolphins are hoping that by adding a big play wide receiver in Brandon Marshall that will take his game to the next level. He needs to cut down on the interceptions that he throws and make better decisions, last season he threw 14 interceptions and only 12 touchdowns. Running back Ronnie Brown is coming back from a foot injury that caused him to miss the finally 7 games of the season last year and the Dolphins are counting on him being back to one hundred percent. Back-up running back Ricky Williams rushed for 1,121 yards and 11 touchdowns last season and provides and the Dolphins and excellent one-two punch with Brown.

On defense two outstanding linebackers are gone in Jason Taylor (Jets) and Joey Porter (Cardinals), but the Dolphins did bring in Karlos Dansby as a free-agent and drafted Koa Misi. The Dolphins expect Misi to start at one of the outside linebacker positions and Cameron Wake to start at the other. Wake had 5.5 sacks last season and the Dolphins expect him to improve on that total. Last season Sean Smith and Vontae Davis where rookies and played in all 16 games, now that they both have a year under their belt the Dolphins are expecting even bring things then last year from the both of them.

The Dolphins should have both a good offense and good defense and have a nice mix of veteran players to go along with their young players. Bill Parcells and Jeff Ireland have done a nice job of building this team and they have a chance to be very good this season.

News & Notes

Tulsa CB John Destin has received significant interest from the following teams, the Green Bay Packers, Carolina Panthers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Miami Dolphins, and there is a good possibility he will get drafted in the later rounds.

DB Dominique Daniels of Nicholls State had a personal workout with the Atlanta Falcons.

DB Dominique Daniels of Nicholls State had a personal workout with the New Orleans Saints.

QB Blake Joseph of Sam Houston State has significant interest from the following teams, the Green Bay Packers, Carolina Panthers, Tennessee Titans, New Orleans Saints, and Jacksonville Jaguars. Many scouts feel that he has a better arm then last year quarterback out of Sam Houston State, Rhett Bomar who was drafted in the 5th round by the New York Giants.

DE/FB James Peters of Abilene Christian at his Pro Day measured in at 6003, 259 pounds and the ran the 40 yard dash in 4.62 seconds. He measured a 9-foot-9 inch broad jump, a 39.5 inch vertical jump and did 44 reps of 225 pounds. He projects as a full back at the next level and did a personal workout for the Dallas Cowboy.

2010 Senior Bowl - Wednesday Practices

2010 Senior Bowl Mid-Way Risers & Faller

Senior Bowl: Players to watch this week

Here are some of the players to watch is this years Senior Bowl.

QB Tim Tebow, Florida – Tebow has a lot to prove and can do a lot to his draft stock this week.

QB Dan LeFevour, Central Michigan – LeFevour with a good week of practice and the game can get up in the 2nd round.

QB Jarrett Brown, West Virginia – NFL Scouts want to know if he is a one year wonder, and can he be an NFL quarterback.

QB Tony Pike, Cincinnati – Pike with a good week of practice and good game could solidify himself as the number four quarterback in this years draft.

RB Anthony Dixon, Mississippi State – Dixon is a battle to see who will be the next senior running back drafted after CJ Spiller.

RB Dexter McCluster, Mississippi – McCluster is a do it all type of player, but his size is a big question mark and how his small frame can handle the pounding against much bigger players will go a long way to see where he will get drafted.

RB Montario Hardesty, Tennessee – Hardesty had a very good senior season, but teams want to find out did he just turn it on this season because he knew the NFL was his next stop. He can answer a lot of questions this week.

WR Brandon LaFell, LSU – With a good week of practice and a good game, LaFell can show NFL teams that he belongs in the 1st round of the draft and he is the best senior wide receiver.

WR Mardy Gillyard, Cincinnati – NFL scouts want to see Gillyard route running improve and he can do a lot to cement his draft grade this week.

OL Vladimir DuCasse, UMass – I have heard one NFL team has him rated as a late first round pick, DuCasse will have to answer a lot of questions this week going against the higher level of competition.

DE Jerry Hughes, TCU – Scouts will work out Hughes as a linebacker and defensive end this week to see what his true NFL position is.

DE Antonio Coleman, Auburn – Coleman with a good week of practice and game can move his draft stock up since it has slipped this entire season.

DE Brandon Graham, Michigan – Graham doesn’t have great height but is a good overall football player, some team have him graded as a late 1st round pick while other have him more in the late 2nd round, this is a big week for him.

DT Terrence Cody, Alabama – If he has a good week of practices he can lock in a 1st round grade from NFL teams.

LB Eric Norwood, South Carolina – Norwood is a good overall football player, the question is, what defensive does he fit best in a 3-4 defense or a 4-3 defense. NFL scouts hope to have that question answered after this week.

CB Javier Arenas, Alabama – Arenas can separate himself from the other second group of cornerbacks with a good week.

S Taylor Mays, USC – Mays came into the season with a high first round grade but inconsistencies with his ability in coverage and reading the plays this season has drop his stock will need a big week to raise that back up.