Another week where my average power rating is still well underwater. There are at least a dozen Very Good teams, but as of right now the teams we thought would be elite aren’t quite getting there for us.

Most of it is injuries, and future casting probably has some of the more experienced teams ending up back where they belong by midseason, but for now, every top team has its flaws, including my new #1: Detroit. It’s hard to price exactly how bad the secondary will look, given the rash of injuries. I guess the silver lining for them is that Rashee Rice got a longer suspension than expected, and they don’t have him to deal with.

We talked about most of our sizeable moves on Tuesday’s morning show, but I did want to touch on some of the bigger moves for the year. We’re at a point where we have a pretty good idea where teams are, and while a ton of the movement is injury-based, that’s just the name of the game; it’s football.

The biggest moves from preseason numbers to where we stand right now:

RISERS📈

1. The Colts: +5.68 points I had very little faith in post-injuries Daniel Jones coming in as the “lesser of two evils” option at QB, but Steichen has done wonders with the game plans, making us remember just how good Taylor, Pittman and this offensive line are.

2. Seattle: +4.43 points. This would be even higher if the defense were healthy, but again, another nice job by a play caller getting the most out of a quarterback that we weren’t sure on. I think they have room to keep moving up as the defense progresses and gets everyone back.

3. Dallas: +3.42 points. A theme is emerging: Offenses clicking. Not sure how much credit goes to Shotty, but last week was impressive, even against a bad team. Winning big in the trenches and Dak looking like an MVP candidate (for now).

Honorable Mentions: New England, Los Angeles Rams, New Orleans, Jacksonville

FALLERS 📉

Skipping Baltimore (-11.75) and Cincinnati (-7.5) for obvious reasons.

1. Miami: -4.53 points. Coaching, Tua, Tyreek hurt, no secondary left, no real direction on either side of the ball. We still see some flashes of what got us excited about Mike McDaniel at times, but seeing a full effort for a full game hasn’t been there. Congrats on beating the Jets.

2. Minnesota: -4.46 points. Still a solid defense, but that’s not going to get you anywhere with the offensive line injuries and sloppy QB play we’ve seen. Somehow, this team has a winning record heading to the bye.

3. Tennessee: -4.38 points. This one feels mean since they started near the bottom, but the offense has nearly a -0.2 EPA/play through five weeks. We’ve seen flashes from Cam Ward, including a hell of a throw late in last week’s wild win, but he needs to be much more consistent to merit coming out of the basement.

Honorable Mentions: Philly, Houston, Arizona, Denver

HAVE I GONE SOFT?

And since everyone online seems to have an opinion on the Gannon incident & subsequent fine, I figured I’d share mine. (I had no idea this was such a hot button topic, but many are saying we’ve gone “soft” as a society?!!)

Maybe the price tag was a little steep, but I think it comes down to one thing: he hit him after he chewed him out. If it’s just an ass chewing, then nothing happens. I’m fine with the punishment because when it’s all said and done, it’s a workplace.

Even in a world where we have millionaire gladiators destroying each other for our entertainment, you might want to draw the line at “letting your boss hit you”. Is the argument that it was ok because football itself is a physical game/job? Should a construction manager get to smack around the subcontractors on the jobsite?

Sure, he didn’t reach back and clock the guy in the face, but do we really want to get subjective with that and start grading the ferocity of a strike? Do we need UFC judges to help? (kidding, they’re awful).

I was reminded of a classic line from a VERY old Simpsons episode, where Grandpa Simpson explains the limits of military punishment to Bart.

Maybe I’m just getting old.

Either way, we’ll see you this afternoon for the week 6 NFL breakdown and best bets with me and Drew Dinsick.