NFL Poll: Week 9

When I was growing up in Paducah, back in the 1970's and 1980's, KFVS-TV used to show the St. Louis Football Cardinals almost every week during football season.  Except for a few good years under Don Coryell in the mid-1970's, the Cardinals were almost always terrible.  They were, and are, the only NFL franchise that simply moved away with almost no drama -- the folks in St. Louis just weren't that sorry to see them leave.  And, in fact, St. Louis (which may now be on the verge of losing another franchise) still has more Super Bowl trophies than the Cardinals.

But this year, the Cardinals are on a roll -- they now have the best record in the whole NFC.  And so they are up to number 2 in the AP Poll.  Meanwhile, I'm curious about the Seahawks, who have scraped their way back into the top 10:

1.  Denver Broncos:  6-1
2. Arizona Cardinals:  6-1
3.  New England Patriots:  6-2
4.  Dallas Cowboys:  6-2
5.  Philadelphia Eagles:  5-2
6.  Detroit Lions:  6-2
7.  Indianapolis Colts:  5-3
8.  San Diego Chargers:  5-3
9.  Green Bay Packers:  5-3
10.  Seattle Seahawks:  4-3

The Dolphins (4-3) beat the hapless Jaguars, but fell from 15th to 17th in the rankings.  The Redskins (3-5) moved from 27 to 23 with their overtime win in Dallas.

Six teams are on bye this week, including the Lions and Packers, but there are still some good match-ups.  For most people, the Game of the Week is Brady/Manning Bowl Infinity, as the Number-1 Broncos are in the Greater Boston Area to play the Number-3 Patriots.  I've seen this game so many times that I'm just not that interested in it anymore -- I'm more curious about the old-school NFC East contest between the Number-2 Cardinals and the Number-4 Cowboys.