ESPN NFL

Oh yeah, it's Power Rankings day here at ESPN.com, and you're dying to know how your NFC East teams have fared in this week's poll. Well, the two teams that actually played Sunday ... not so good. The two teams that had the week off saw a little bump up the rankings. Yes, it seems that one of the best things you can do right now if you play in the NFC East is not play.

Here's a look at how our four teams stand in the latest edition of the Power Rankings:

10. Washington Redskins (Last week: 12). The bye was good to Washington, as four of the teams that had been in front of them lost and they jumped up two spots into the league's top 10. Not a bad spot for a team that began the season ranked 28th in this poll. Now, when the Giants were here last week, I expressed some mild skepticism about their ability to hold the spot. I feel somewhat the same about Washington, though not as strongly. They run the ball better than the Giants do, and they play better defense. Their offense is intentionally vanilla, but they've committed the fewest penalties in the league and are second in the league in average time of possession. Basically, if everyone around them keeps being so wildly inconsistent, I like the Redskins' chances to stay steady and take advantage of that. Right now, I'd probably rank the Raiders and Texans higher, and maybe the Titans. And the Cowboys did beat them, so you could make that case, too. But that's nitpicking, and I'm not a voter, so it doesn't matter what I think. The Redskins are a top-10 team in the Power Rankings, so enjoy that, Skins fans.

14. New York Giants (10). The Giants and the Cowboys tied for the No. 14 spot in this week's poll, but the Giants win the tiebreaker by virtue of their better win-loss record. Mike Sando in particular really took that Sunday game to heart, as he's got the Giants ranked 19th and the Seahawks 17th. But this mid-pack range seems more like where the Giants belong than did last week's top-10 heights. They've shown plenty of heart and toughness in their wins, but until they start running the ball better on offense and stopping the run better on defense, they're going to be too inconsistent week-to-week.

15. Dallas Cowboys (17). Dallas didn't play, but it moves up two spots thanks to poor games by the Buccaneers and Jets. I'd probably rank them ahead of the Giants right now if I had to make that call, since I think they've generally played better even though the records say otherwise. But I don't feel especially strongly about it. I'm fascinated to see how they come out of the bye and play in New England, where no one ever wins regular-season games. If they put up a good fight this Sunday, and they come out of the game healthy, I think Dallas is in a good position to make a strong run the rest of the way. The schedule isn't bad and they've shown an ability to play with good teams.

21. Philadelphia Eagles (20). I mean, I've seen four of their five games in person. They have plenty of athletic talent, but they just don't play the game of football especially well. And I really think that's going to hold them back. John Clayton still has them up at 18, which inflates this ranking a bit. But right now they're down there in the bottom third, and they've earned their way there. I'll be interested to see their ranking next week. If they play well and by some miracle win in Washington, I wonder if the voters will bump them way up thinking "they're back." And if they lose and fall to 1-5, they'll have to be down right there at the bottom with the other absolute worst teams in the league. No matter how much athletic talent they have.

It's Power Rankings day here at ESPN.com, and the voters have spoken. Here's how our division's teams fared this week:

6. Philadelphia Eagles (Last week's ranking: 3). The Eagles drop from their elite perch following their Sunday night loss in Atlanta and the injury to Michael Vick. Their ranking appears to have been hurt especially by John Clayton ranking them 11th, which strikes me as a tad harsh. I mean, it's not as though no one's gone to Atlanta and lost the past couple of years. The run defense and the pass protection -- two preseason areas of concern -- looked worrisome. And without Vick, I agree that they're not a top-five team. But they're still loaded in a lot of places, and Vick isn't guaranteed to miss time. I'd rank them above the Texans, who moved ahead of them into fifth.

13. Dallas Cowboys (13). The overtime win in San Francisco kept Dallas right where they were last week, which I think it's about right for now. I still think they'll end up being better than the Bears (10) and Lions (11) before it's all said and done, but based on what we've seen so far you couldn't put them ahead of Detroit just yet. The defense has outperformed expectations, but the injuries they have on offense could make it tough to score for the next few weeks, so they'll do well just to hang in the middle of the pack for now.

15. Washington Redskins (19). That's a 13-spot jump in two weeks from a team that began the season ranked 28th on this list. Only the Bills (11 spots), Titans (eight spots) and Texans (five spots) made bigger jumps this week than did the Redskins, who vault into the top half of the list. Based on the way they've played so far, they've earned the spot, and clearly they never belonged down at 28 in the first place (as at least one astute and ruggedly handsome blogger said at the time). You could even make the case to rank them ahead of San Diego, Dallas or Tampa Bay -- the three teams directly ahead of them -- based only on the way they've played so far. But I think it's fair to put them where they are right now until we see more. If they're 3-0 this time next week, I expect another big jump, not to mention a lot of Rex Grossman feature stories in national publications.

18. New York Giants (17). One of only two teams (along with the Steelers) to win their Week 2 game and drop in the rankings, the Giants surely suffered for how awful they looked in their Monday Night Football victory over the Rams. They have major issues still to solve, especially on the health front, and they look awful in the secondary and shaky in the run game. Ashley Fox has them ranked 14th, which saves them from dropping further. Three of the five voters ranked the Giants in the 20s. Personally, based on results so far, the only team behind them I think I might move ahead of them is Oakland, but that's no sure thing. They're in about the right spot, for me, but you could see the bottom dropping out with a few more injuries.

So yeah. That's Power Rankings for Week 3. Your thoughts?

Folks, we're going to do another power rankings next week, and this time we're ranking the best defensive players in the league. I have sent in my top 10, but Mike Sando assures me I still have time to change it before it becomes a part of the internet forever. So without giving away my list, and in a likely futile effort to numb your inevitable outrage, I'll tell you that our little division here... isn't well represented on my list.

Now, as you know if you listen to and believe me, I have no bias for or against anyone. Just going on what I've seen covering the league for the past couple of years. But I want to hear from you, dear readers. I'd like to hear you make your case for your favorite defensive player and why he belongs in the league's top 10. If you convince me, I'll call Sando and yell "Stop the presses!" or whatever the internet equivalent of that is. And I'll make sure to give you credit.

So please, fire away, either here or in the mailbag. I have mentioned the mailbag, right? It's here. Use it. Live it. Love it.

Thanks. Back later with something on the Eagles. And probably something on the Giants, after Tom Coughlin talks to NFL Live at 4 p.m. ET. Maybe he can sell me on Justin Tuck, I don't know.

As we continue our Power Rankings series, it’s time to look beyond the player and examine what’s wrapped around his head.

Let’s blow the lid off this NFL helmet caper, shall we?

The NFL helmet has long been an obsession. Whether it’s the unmistakable star of the Dallas Cowboys, the beyond-the-gridiron meaning in Pittsburgh or the great helmet–change fiasco in San Francisco in the early 1990s, the NFL has been all about the helmet. After all, in football, we don’t look at faces, we look at logos.

Come on, who hasn’t spent a Saturday afternoon feeding countless quarters into a gumball machine full of worthless plastic all in the name of getting a complete set of NFL helmets?

So, we put our artistic eyes together (with the courtesy of professional help) and came up with our top 10 NFL helmets. Consensus? No, not even close. In a 2011 Power Rankings record, 26 lids collected votes. Eye of the beholder, folks.

Interestingly, two of the six teams that got no lid love received kudos from our guest judge. I’d take her word over mine. You should see what I’m wearing right now. Think John Belushi in "Animal House." Then take it down a few notches.

We’ve had our battles this spring when it came to ranking players, coaches and owners, but this task has to be the most subjective of all. It’s vanilla or chocolate. Or, in this case, purple or red.

Still, there were several helmets -- traditional teams seemed to catch the imagination -- that received more votes than others.

Fittingly, the winning helmet is of a team that has been scoring big during this entire series: the Pittsburgh Steelers. The black helmet received 50 voting points, cruising to an easy win. Second-place Indianapolis, and its famous horseshoe, received 41 points.

AFC North blogger James Walker was the only person to vote for the Steelers, who received top-10 votes from six of eight voters, as the No. 1 helmet. Only NFC North blogger Kevin Seifert (he received big-league redemption -- we’ll explain later) and AFC East blogger Tim Graham shunned the Steelers.

Walker explained that it was fitting for the Steelers’ helmet to win because it represents a gritty, historic city.

“Most helmets have a mascot or the team’s name or initials, but Pittsburgh’s helmet actually has in-depth meaning,” Walker said. “The colors of the diamond shapes each represent elements of steel, which was once a major industry in Pittsburgh. Also, Pittsburgh is the only NFL team with its helmet logo on one side. I think the uniqueness and tradition helps separate the Steelers.”

Here’s the rest of the top-10 list after the Steelers and Colts: Oakland Raiders (my first-place vote -- just look cool, baby), Green Bay Packers, San Diego Chargers, Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, Cleveland Browns, Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins.

Below are some key aspects of the vote:

Walking the Runway: We are thrilled to have a celebrity presence this week. Former "Project Runway" contestant Peach Carr, a successful Chicago fashion designer and self-professed sports nut, lent her expertise this week.

Predictably, her opinion differed greatly from many of us slouches. Hey, sportswriters are rarely accused of being spiffy, snappy, hip or even presentable, so what do you expect?

The most telling of Carr’s selections was her choice of the San Francisco 49ers at No. 2. They were among the six teams shut out by the rest of us. I’d listen to the Peach, San Francisco.

Carr went with the hometown Bears as her top choice. The Bears finished ninth in our poll. Major fashion buttons to Seifert. He was the only voter to agree with the professional. Reached for comment, Seifert had this to say: “Yesssssss.”

Well said, Mr. Blackwell.

Carr placed the Houston Texans as her No. 6 helmet. It was also one of the six helmets the rest of us neglected.

You made it work, Peach. Auf Wiedersehen to the rest of us.

The Lone Vote State: In an upset, the Cowboys’ helmet finished sixth. Graham was the lone blogger to vote Dallas’ helmet first.

“I was shocked to see nobody else put the Cowboys at the top of their ballots,” Graham said. “That helmet is the most iconic of them all. The lone blue star is known immediately by grandmothers who never watch football. It's a classic look that strikes you whether you're watching from the stands or at home. There's no tiny print to read, no cluttered symbols to decipher. You see it, you know it. And it likely conjures a visceral reaction whether you're a fan or not.”

Going traditional: In addition to the 49ers and Texans, the Tennessee Titans, Cincinnati Bengals, Atlanta Falcons and Arizona Cardinals were the only teams shut out by the eight voters. The 49ers are the only team in the group that has a history-rich franchise. However, the top 10 is dominated by tradition-rich teams.

NFC West blogger Mike Sando saw a trend.

“My thought is that success helps a brand become appealing in a lot of cases,” Sando said. “Would the Steelers' helmet really rank first if the team had tanked every year? I do not think so. Look at the Colts, Raiders, Packers, Cowboys, Browns ... all have storied histories.”

Kicking it old school: If the “throwback” helmets were allowed in the voting, I bet things would be different. My prized possession (probably says more about my collection of stuff than my sentiment) is my complete set of NFL throwback mini helmets. It is proudly displayed in my office.

There are some beauties in that collection. That’s one of the reasons I went with the New York Jets' helmet as my No. 2 choice. I like the old-style look. My favorite helmet of all time is the old-school New England Patriots helmet. I love me some Patriot Pat and couldn’t get enough of watching the Patriots when the league honored the AFL in 2009.

Put your thinking helmet on. What do you think is the most fashionable helmet in the NFL? Fill the comments section below with your thoughts.

It looks like the Giants and Eagles are trying to put the NFC East back on top in the power rankings. Our four esteemed panelists have shown the Beast great respect this week and they could've been a lot tougher on the Cowboys. Let's take a look at where the four NFC East teams were ranked:

8. Eagles -- Philly rose three spots in the rankings after a dominating win over the Falcons. I think they're better than the Packers (No. 7) but that's probably close to a push. John "The Professor" Clayton and Paul Kuharsky of AFC South both had the Eagles at No. 9. Kuharsky and Clayton both had the Cowboys still ranked in front of the Eagles.

10. Cowboys -- I thought the Cowboys were probably too high at No. 7 last week, so I don't have a problem with the Giants loss docking them three spots. As we mentioned, Kuharsky and Clayton rushed to the Cowboys' defense. Perhaps they believe Wade Phillips' theory that reporters have fabricated his December record.

12. Giants -- The Giants rose three spots from last week and Kuharsky tried to move them up to No. 11. It shows how much respect that the voters have for the Giants that they never let that awful stretch drop them out of sight.

27. Redskins -- I'm not sure why you would drop the Redskins a spot after they almost knocked off an undefeated team, but it's not worth getting worked up over. Once you get into the 20s, it's sort of a crapshoot.

Kuharsky is bullish on the Beast, giving them an average ranking of 13.75. He has the NFC East just behind his beloved AFC South. And Clayton was right behind him, giving the Beast an average ranking of 14.0. It looks like the NFC East and AFC South will fight it out the rest of the season for division supremacy. The NFC North has fallen off the pace -- despite the fact that the Packers are on a roll. Having the Lions and Bears around doesn't help anything.

Either the Giants or Eagles will move up a couple of spots last week because they play each other. And the Cowboys could move up two or three spots with a win over No. 4 San Diego on Sunday.

I'll be in the Meadowlands again to witness Giants-Eagles. Should be fun.

The NFC East came roaring back last Sunday and that was reflected in the ESPN.com Week 12 Power Rankings. The voters apparently were waiting for a reason to fall in love with the Giants again -- and an overtime win over the Falcons was good enough to vault them five spots in the rankings.

Thanks to the magic of Mike Sando's database, we know exactly where all the votes came from. Now let's take a team-by-team look at how things went down:

8. Dallas Cowboys: Not totally sure I understand why a 7-6 win over the Skins allows a team to move up two spots, but that's what happened. John Clayton had the Cowboys at No. 7 and the other three voters had them at No. 8. The panelists have the Cowboys in front of the Steelers and the Packers, a team the Pokes lost to recently.

10. Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles also moved up two spots after their win in Chicago. I'll give the Eagles more credit for their win than I give the Cowboys for the win over the Skins. Sando, who's anti-Beast votes are the stuff of legend, actually gave the Eagles their highest ranking at No. 9. Jeff Chadiha, a cross-over star at ESPN and ESPN.com, had the Eagles with their lowest ranking at 11.

11. New York Giants: I guess this group of voters believes in the power of Tom Coughlin because the Giants made the biggest leap of any team in the rankings. And they barely escaped against the Falcons. I'm not sure what caused the huge jump. Maybe it was simply that some teams in front of them fell apart -- like the Broncos and Falcons for instance. AFC South blogger Paul Kuharsky and Chadiha weren't as impressed as Sando and Clayton, ranking the Giants 13th. That's about where I'd put them. But it was quite odd to see Kuharsky put the Falcons ahead of the Giants.

24. Washington Redskins: You can't dock the Skins for going on the road and almost pulling the upset over the Cowboys. They were one made field goal from getting it done. Sando and Clayton gave the Skins their highest marks with a pair of 24s.

The Beast climbed back into second place in the overall division rankings with an average of 13.6. The AFC South came in at a 12.8. But if the three teams at the top of the NFC East keep climbing, they'll eventually overtake Kuharsky's beloved division. The Texans don't have what it takes and the Titans simply waited too late to change quarterbacks. I thought Vince Young was superb last night. An absolute pleasure to watch. He just never looked stressed out at all.

About 45 minutes ago, the ESPN.com Week 11 Power Rankings were released to the world. After taking a minute to peruse the rankings, it's time to discuss how NFC East teams continue to plummet -- and deservedly so. All we can do is try to hold onto the memories of the the early weeks, when the Giants and Eagles were beating up on a soft schedule. Here's how the Beast teams finished this week:

10. Dallas Cowboys -- The Cowboys only dropped two spots after a road loss to the Packers. Either the voters think Sunday's performance by Dallas was an aberration or they think the Packers are about to make a run.

12. Philadelphia Eagles -- The Eagles only dropped one spot in the rankings from last week. I think that says more about the staggering amount of mediocre teams in the league than it does the voters' faith in the Eagles.

16. New York Giants -- The Giants had a strong bye week with the Cowboys and Eagles losing, but the voters went ahead and dropped them another spot. They will play a Falcons team that dropped a whopping five spots in the rankings to No. 14 overall.

24. Washington Redskins -- The win over the Broncos moved the Skins up two spots, which is about right. I thought they were too high at No. 26, but they deserved a bump after the impressive win. If they beat the Cowboys on Sunday, they'll make a serious move in the rankings.

We'll return in a little while to talk about how the NFC East stacks up with the other divisions.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

I know many of you are upset that the NFC East has been surpassed by the AFC North in the overall power ratings competition. It's a dark day for the Beast -- and you can blame it mostly on the Giants' 40-17 loss to the mighty Eagles. The Skins had the weekend off so we can't blame anything on them. The Giants dropped all the way to No. 15 in the rankings, which is pretty remarkable when you consider they once sat in the No. 2 position.

AFC South blogger Paul Kuharsky and John "The Professor" Clayton hung in there with the NFC East, with average rankings of 13.25 and 13.5 overall. But NFC West savant Mike Sando continued his assault on the division with a 15.5. Sando gave the Steelers and Ravens their highest rankings, which helps explain why they finished with a 12.25 on his ballot.

Here's how the rankings ended up:

1. AFC North

2. NFC East

3. NFC North

4. AFC South

5. AFC East

6. NFC South

7. AFC West

8. NFC West

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 Matt Mosley

Each Tuesday, the nation gathers around its collective laptop to check out the ESPN.com's Power Rankings. Bosses claim that Tuesday has become the new Monday in terms of low productivity -- and they attribute that mostly to our rankings. Please enjoy our analysis of where the NFC East teams ended up:

5. New York Giants: After that performance against the Saints, it's hard to argue with the Giants falling three spots. Every member of the four-man panel had the Giants fifth, and that's what we call a consensus. I think the Giants will bounce back up to at least No. 3 at some point this season, but they better start by getting a win over the Cardinals. All in all, a three-spot drop seems about right.

12. Philadelphia Eagles: It's impossible to label this team right now, but we know they were awful Sunday. The panel made the Eagles pay, dropping them five spots from last week's No. 7. Jeff Chadiha was the most forgiving voter, putting the Eagles' 10th on his ballot. Mike Sando, master of the spreadsheet, responded swiftly and harshly to the Raiders loss. He had the Eagles at No. 13. But honestly, it's hard to blame him.

19. Dallas Cowboys: It was one of the best bye weekend's in the history of the franchise -- but they fell two spots. John "The Professor" Clayton did his part in trying to rescue the Cowboys by voting them No. 15. But Sando continued his attack of the Beast by putting the Cowboys No. 20 on his ballot. He has the Houston Texans and Miami Dolphins ahead of the Cowboys.

27. Washington Redskins: The Redskins fell three spots -- and it certainly could've been a worse. Chadiha had them four spots ahead of the Chiefs at No. 25. I would've made sure to put the Chiefs in front of the Skins after Sunday's performance. Sando and voting newcomer Matt Williamson pounded the Skins with a No. 29 ranking.

Here's something to do in your spare time today. Go back and take a look at how the NFC East teams have done in the power rankings since 2002.

Both the NFC North and AFC North ended the NFC East's reign in terms of average ranking this week. Chadiha tried to hang in there with the Beast (14.25), but he was thwarted by Sando's 16.75 average for the Beast. Sando was responsible for giving each of the NFC East teams their lowest vote. That's something he'll have to live with for a long time.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

It's the time of the week where we take a look at how the NFC East stacked up against the rest of the league in the all-important ESPN.com power rankings. Our four voters have spoken -- and they actually made some sense with this week's results.

In case you missed them, here are the actual power rankings -- as decided by the Nashville-based Paul Kuharsky, Kansas City resident Jeff Chadiha and our men from the Seattle area, Mike Sando and John "The Professor" Clayton. If you'd like to second-guess these brave men, here's a chart that shows how they voted.

2. New York Giants -- Kuharsky and Chadiha continue to put the Giants where they belong -- at the top. Sando and Clayton both have the Giants ranked No. 3, behind the Colts and Vikings. I'll give you the Colts even though I think the Giants would win in a head-to-head matchup. But are the Vikings a better team than the Giants at this point in the season?

7. Philadelphia Eagles -- The Eagles may have moved up even more if not for Kuharsky leaving them at No. 10. The Eagles moved up three spots, which was one of the bigger surges of the week. As one might imagine, the Bengals made the biggest move, rising all the way to No. 6. But with the Eagles beating a dreadful team such as the Bucs, I'm thinking fans should be fairly pleased with that No. 7 ranking. Clayton, Sando and Chadiha all have the Eagles at No. 7, so that's a pretty good consensus.

17. Dallas Cowboys -- The Cowboys didn't rise or fall following their 26-20 overtime win over the Chiefs. The voters did the wise thing and left them exactly where they were. I think that's a pretty good decision. I thought they had the Cowboys a little low after the narrow loss to the Broncos, but No. 17 seems about right at this point. The 49ers and Packers are still ranked ahead of them. Not sure about that, but it's not like you can make a passionate argument on the Cowboys' behalf. Sando was toughest on them, ranking them 20th. But he's been doing that all season. He might be wrong, but at least he's consistent about it.

24. Washington Redskins -- Don't let that 2-3 record fool you, Skins fans. They've played one of the weakest schedules available -- and they've manged two wins. This is a really, really bad football team right now with major injury issues and turmoil in the locker room. I have no problems with Sando putting them at No. 28. After all, he's a guy that knows Jim Zorn pretty well. If anyone on this panel was going to give Zorn the benefit of the doubt, it would be Sando -- but he has them 28th. The benevolent Chadiha has the Redskins at No. 21. The seven spots between Sando and Chadiha was the widest gap in the voting process.

The Beast once again finished as the highest division with an average ranking of 12.8. That's up from last week's 13.1 finish. Sando continues to rank the NFC East behind the NFC North, but he's the only one. Chadiha loves the Beast, turning in an average ranking of 11.5. The NFC West checked in with a sad little 21.3 average ranking.

My compliments to Sando for doing such an amazing job on compiling all this stuff. It's a pretty cool feature.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

At 2 p.m. ET today, the Week 15 ESPN.com power rankings will be revealed to the world. As usual, we're letting you know in advance how we voted. I'm now pleased to present the NFC Beast power rankings:

1. Titans
2. Giants -- I'm not going to worry too much about one loss to a desperate team. Lose Sunday in Dallas, though, and we need to talk.
3. Steelers
4. Panthers
5. Colts
6. Bucs
7. Ravens
8. Falcons
9. Cowboys -- The defensive effort was superb, but this team will go as far as Tony Romo can take it. That wasn't very far in the fourth quarter Sunday.
10. Cardinals
11. Vikings
12. Dolphins
13. Patriots
14. Eagles -- I wanted to move them up even more, but it's hard to trust them. If they get to the final game at 9-5-1, they'll be playing for the final wild card -- against Dallas.
15. Broncos
16. Jets
17. Saints
18. Bears
19. Redskins -- It's difficult to say this, but this team's effectively out of the playoff race. I just don't see another holiday run in them.
20. Texans
21. Bills
22. Chargers
23. Packers
24. 49ers
25. Jags
26. Browns
27. Raiders
28. Seahawks
29. Chiefs
30. Rams
31. Bengals
32. Lions

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

Like clockwork, the ESPN.com power rankings always arrive on Tuesday afternoons. For the first time since I've joined the Worldwide Leader, one division has the first, second and third-ranked teams overall.

As always, my colleague and pal Mike Sando has put together a chart that reveals how each of the 12 ESPN.com "experts" voted. This allows you to aim most of your anger Jeremy Green's way.

I'm thinking about calling Jeremy this afternoon. Surely he has a good reason for ranking the Eagles No. 9 in his power rankings. He and Bill Williamson paved the way for the Giants to be ranked ahead of the Eagles. Williamson ranked the Eagles sixth. Green thinks the Bills, Titans, Steelers, Patriots, Broncos and Packers are all better than the Eagles at this point of the season. Never mind that the Eagles sacked Ben Roethlisberger nine times in a 15-6 victory at the Linc on Sunday.

I've been accused of taking unpopular stances in an effort to rile you guys up, but Jeremy has taken things to another level with his treatment of the Eagles. As I told you earlier, I put the Cowboys, Eagles and Giants in the top three spots. The Redskins were in the No. 11 hole.

Williamson was the biggest supporter of the Redskins, ranking them seventh, ahead of both the Steelers and Packers. The Cowboys were the unanimous choice at No. 1. Six of us thought the Eagles should be No. 2, but we were trumped by Williamson and Green's votes.

No one asked for my opinion in Bristol, but maybe we should treat this like an Olympic sport and throw out the two best scores and two worst scores. OK, back with more in a moment.

The NFL Live crew debates the surprises on the power rankings list.

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

Power Ranking Team Highest Vote Lowest Vote Disparity 20 Carolina 11 27 16 27 Oakland 19 32 13 17 Arizona 13 25 12 26 St. Louis 19 31 12 9 Seattle 6 17 11 13 Philadelphia 9 19 10 14 Tennessee 10 20 10 16 Washington 13 23 10 19 Houston 15 25 10 21 Baltimore 16 26 10 11 Minnesota 7 16 9 18 Buffalo 15 24 9 22 Denver 18 27 9 23 NY Jets 18 27 9 25 Chicago 21 30 9 8 Green Bay 5 13 8 12 New Orleans 8 16 8 28 San Francisco 23 31 8 6 NY Giants 1 8 7 10 Cleveland 8 14 6 15 Tampa Bay 12 18 6 24 Cincinnati 20 26 6 29 Detroit 24 30 6 30 Kansas City 25 31 6 3 San Diego 2 6 4 4 Dallas 2 6 4 5 Jacksonville 2 6 4 7 Pittsburgh 6 10 4 2 Indianapolis 1 4 3 31 Miami 29 32 3 32 Atlanta 29 32 3 1 New England 1 3 2

The Panthers were a tough team to figure in ESPN.com's latest power rankings, published today.

John Clayton ranked Carolina 11th, higher than any of the 10 panelists. James Walker ranked the Panthers 27th, lower than any panelist. No team in the league generated as large a disparity among panelists.

The Patriots generated near-unanimity. Eight voters ranked them first overall. No voter ranked them lower than third. No team produced a smaller disparity between high and low votes.

Seattle, Green Bay and the Giants produced the most disparate results among teams ranked in the top 10.

• Seifert ranked the Seahawks sixth. Matt Williamson of Scouts Inc. ranked them 17th.
• Clayton ranked the Packers fifth. I ranked them 13th.
• Bill Williamson ranked the Giants first. Clayton and Seifert ranked them eighth. 

Panelists produced more consistent results for Baltimore than they did when ESPN.com released its first 2008 power rankings in May. The disparity shrunk from 15 spots, a league high, to 10 spots.

Voters pegged Baltimore between 16th (Walker) and 26th (Bill Williamson) this time. The earlier disparity reflected a No. 13 ranking (Matt Mosley) and a No. 28 ranking (Yasinskas). Mosley dropped the Ravens to 22nd. Yasinskas raised them to 21st.